Definition of "Hansard"

The Armes of a very ancient Family, ſettled at Kelſey in the County, which came to them by the Marriage of the Heireſs of Hanſard.

1726, Samuel Kent, “Of Whole-footed Beasts”, in The Banner Display’d: Or, An Abridgment of Guillim: Being a Compleat System of Heraldry, in All Its Parts. […] In Two Volumes, volume I, London: Printed for Thomas Cox, […], section III, pages 328–329

Walworth, (Durham,) near Heighington, was anciently the ſeat of the Nevils; from whom it paſſed by marriage to the Hanſards, one of the baron-families of the Bpk [bishoprick].

1751, Stephen Whatley, “Walworth”, in England’s Gazetteer; or, An Accurate Description of All the Cities, Towns, and Villages of the Kingdom. […], volume II, Printed for J. and P. Knapton, D. Browne, A[ndrew] Millar, J. Whiston and B[enjamin] White, column 1

Composition Inking-rollers came in with cylinder printing-machines. The success of the new machines depended on the rollers. According to Hansard, they were first made by Forster of Weybridge, England, who derived his knowledge of the value of a mixture of glue and molasses as a receiver and transferrer of ink from the Staffordshire potteries, where it was used as an aid in the decoration of crockery.

1896 August, Joseph Moxon, Theo[dore] L[ow] De Vinne, “Notes”, in Moxon’s Mechanick Exercises, or, The Doctrine of Handy-works Applied to the Art of Printing: A Literal Reprint in Two Volumes of the First Edition Published in the Year 1683, volume II, New York, N.Y.: The Typothetae of the city of New-York, paragraph 319, page 427

The cloſe of the thirteenth century appears to been have a remarkable era in the commercial hiſtory of London. In 1296, the company of merchant-adventurers was firſt incorporated by Edward I. The Hanſards, or Hanſe merchants, also received conſiderable privileges about the ſame time.

1819, Abraham Rees, “LONDON”, in The Cyclopædia; or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature. [...] In Thirty-nine Volumes, volume XXI, London: Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown, […] [et al.], column 1

The merchants of the Hanse Towns, or Hansards, as they were then commonly termed, were established in London at a very early period, and their factory here was of considerable magnitude and importance.

1871, J[ohn] R[amsay] M‘Culloch, “HANSEATIC LEAGUE”, in Hugh G. Reid, editor, A Dictionary Practical, Theoretical, and Historical of Commerce and Commercial Navigation. […], new revised and corrected edition, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., page 672, column 1

The earlier commercial fisheries of the northern Atlantic waters were mainly of herring and mackerel, taken by nets in the North and Norwegian seas and marketed abroad by Hansard merchants.

1975, Carl Ortwin Sauer, “Early Sixteenth Century (1501–1518)”, in Sixteenth Century North America: The Land and the People as Seen by Europeans, 1st paperback edition, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Calif., London: University of California Press, part I (The Atlantic Coast as Known to Midcentury), page 11

Discussions concerning economic activities of the Hansards often immediately turn to kontors and outposts. [...] At these junctions in the European trade network, the economic sphere, partly dominated by the Hansards, connected various trade regions with different economic and social cultures, goods, and customs.

2015, Mike Burkhardt, “Kontors and Outposts”, in Donald J[ames] Harreld, editor, A Companion to the Hanseatic League (Brill’s Companions to European History), Leiden, Boston, Mass.: Brill, part 2 (Themes in Hanse History), page 127

Festering antagonism between English and Hanseatic merchants was rooted in the principle of reciprocity. The Hansards enjoyed extensive trading privileges in England, especially at the Steelyard in London, yet they offered their English counterparts no such commercial concessions in their own markets.

2015, Charles D. Stanton, “The German Hanse: Martial Merchants of the Baltic”, in Medieval Maritime Warfare, Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Maritime, Pen & Sword Books, part II (Northern Europe – The North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the English Channel), page 282

Mr. BURNS thought that if they were to have a Hansard at all, they should take steps to have it thoroughly well done, and he would be very glad if they could get rid of these corrections altogether. He thought the exact words, or as nearly as possible the exact words, should be put into the Hansard, and the staff should be so efficient that there would be no necessity for corrections.

1868 October 16, A[rthur] J[ohn] Burns, “Reporting Debates”, in New Zealand. Parliamentary Debates. Third Session of the Fourth Parliament. […] (House of Representatives), volume IV, Wellington: G. Didsbury, government printer, page 372, column 1

Now, Hansard's Debates originated in the year 1803, and through the enterprize of a son of the late Mr. Luke Hansard, who had been so long connected with the printing of the House, these Debates had supplied the Parliament with a very accurate record of its proceedings. They were cited continually in the House, and so great was their reputation that even in Prussia they had a Preussiches Hansard; there was also a Hansard's Debates both in Canada and Australia. [...] Suppose, then, that these Debates came to an end to-morrow; [...] the newspapers would not supply them with the materials which were now contained in Hansard. It was impossible that the newspapers could report the proceedings of the House at sufficient length.

1875 May 4, Mitchell Henry, “Parliament—Publication of Debates and Exclusion of Strangers.—Resolution.”, in Hansard’s Parliamentary Debates, […] (House of Commons), volume CCXXIV (Third Series), 3rd volume of the session, London: Published by Cornelius Buck, at the office for “Hansard’s Parliamentary Debates,” […], columns 68–70

He, for example, who would essay to take account of Mr. [William Ewart] Gladstone, must read much else besides Hansard; he must brush up his Homer, and set himself to acquire some theology.

1885, [Augustine Birrell], “Carlyle”, in Obiter Dicta, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, page 1

In any case, the judges are not allowed to read Hansard in order to see what the sponsors, or any other member, may have said. This is a much criticised rule, but there is a certain amount to be said for it. The legislative processes, through which the parliamentary draftsman's work must pass, are confusing and muddled.

1983, Geoffrey Lewis, “Statutory Interpretation”, in Lord Atkin, London: Butterworths, page 118; reprinted Oxford, Oxfordshire, Portland, Or.: Hart Publishing, 1999

In a country like India with a vibrant democracy, parliamentary debates play a very crucial role and are watched with keen interest by the people, who are politically conscious. The Reporters' Branch is entrusted with the responsibility of producing the Indian Hansard, i.e., the Official Report of the proceedings of Lok Sabha.

1992, “The Indian Hansard”, in Parliament of India: The Ninth Lok Sabha 1989–1991: A Study, New Delhi: Northern Book Centre for the Lok Sabha Secretariat, part I (Articles), page 63, column 1

The object of the court in interpreting legislation is to give effect so far as the language permits to the intention of the legislature. If the language proves to be ambiguous I can see no sound reason not to consult Hansard to see if there is a clear statement of the meaning that the words were intended to carry. The days have long passed when the courts adopted a strict constructionist view of interpretation which required them to adopt the literal meaning of the language. [...] I cannot agree with the view that consulting Hansard will add so greatly to the cost of litigation, that on this ground alone we should refuse to do so. Modern technology greatly facilitates the recall and display of material held centrally. I have to confess that on many occasions I have had recourse to Hansard, of course only to check if my interpretation had conflicted with an express Parliamentary intention, but I can say that it does not take long to recall and assemble the relevant passages in which the particular section was dealt with in Parliament, nor does it take long to see if anything relevant was said.

1992 November 26, Lord Griffiths [Hugh Griffiths, Baron Griffiths] (judge of the House of Lords), “Pepper (Inspector of Taxes) … Respondent and Hart … Appellant”, in The Law Reports of the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting: House of Lords, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and Peerage Cases‎, London: Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales, published 1993, archived from the original on 18 September 2019, pages 617–618

Imagine a parliamentary stenographer scribbling furiously in the days before tape recorders. His job is to record politicians' speeches so they can be written up and preserved in an official parliamentary record like Hansard. [...] When some dramatic break or swerve in the speech seems too uncertain to sort out there and then, the stenographer sticks in clumps of hyphens, partly as a signal to himself that he will need to sort this out later when "correcting" and "clarifying" his final copy for Hansard.

1993, Graham Bradshaw, “Appendix: Dashing Othello’s Spirits”, in Misrepresentations: Shakespeare and the Materialists, Ithaca, N.Y., London: Cornell University Press, page 258

Following the debate in question, Tim Loughton sent an unmarked copy of Hansard to his constituent to inform him that he would no longer be acting as his MP as the constituent had made this position untenable. [...] However, and unbeknown to Loughton, the constituent reported the debate to the police as a 'hate crime' and complained that sending a copy of Hansard was 'harassment'.

2015, Roger Williams, “Harassment in Sussex”, in Rough Justice: Citizens’ Experience of Mistreatment and Injustice in the Early Stages of Law Enforcement, Hook, Hampshire: Waterside Press, part 1 (Contributions, Media and Experiences), page 106