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MANUAL OF PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 RULES 
 
 OP 
 
 PROCEEDING AND DEBATE 
 
 IN 
 
 DELIBERATIVE ASSEMBLIES. 
 
 BY LUTHER S.) GUSHING. 
 
 REVISED TO DATE 
 
 BY JOHN JAMES INGALLS, 
 
 President of the United States Senate, 1887-1891, 
 
 ALSO AN APPENDIX CONTAINING THE CONSTITUTION 
 OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 A. L. BURT COMPANY 
 PUBLISHERS NEW YORK 
 
(LA 
 
 Copyright 1895, by A. L. BURT. 
 
EDITOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 LUTHER STEARNS GUSHING was born 
 June 22, 1803, in Lunenburg, Mass., and 
 died in Boston, on his birthday, 1856. He 
 was clerk of the house of representatives of 
 Massachusetts in 1832, judge of the court of 
 common pleas in 1844, and reporter to the 
 supreme court in 1848, of whose reports 
 eight volumes bear his name. He was a 
 learned and discriminating jurist, but his 
 chief claim to distinction rests upon his 
 studies of parliamentary law. His original 
 
 Manual for Deliberative Assemblies," was 
 followed by the great work on the " Law and 
 Practice of Legislative Assemblies in the 
 United States/ 7 which is recognized as 
 standard authority in the common law 
 governing the organization and procedure 
 of parliamentary bodies. 
 
 It is important to remember, however, that 
 rules of order and debate have only the force 
 of precedent and example, and none of the 
 
iv EDITOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 sanctions of statute. Every deliberative 
 body is a law unto itself, and its authority 
 over its own modes of action is supreme. 
 The rules of parliaments, congresses and 
 legislatures, like the charters of nations, are 
 voluntary concessions for the protection of 
 minorities. Majorities can take care of 
 
 themselves. 
 
 JOHN J. INGALLS. 
 
 OAK RIDGE, ATCHISON, KAN., ? 
 January 24, 1895. f 
 
PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. 
 
 THE following treatise forms a part only 
 Ipf a much larger and more comprehensive 
 Dwork, covering the whole ground of parlia- 
 ^mentary law and practice, which the author 
 has for some time been engaged in preparing; 
 and which it is his intention to complete and 
 publish as soon as possible. In the mean- 
 ^time, this little work has been compiled, 
 chiefly from the larger, at the request of the 
 ^publishers, and to supply a want, which was 
 ^supposed to exist to a considerable extent. 
 The treatise now presented to the public, 
 is intended as a Manual for Deliberative 
 Assemblies of every description, but more 
 especially for those which are not legislative 
 in their character ; though, with the excep- 
 tion of the principal points, in which legis- 
 lative bodies differ from others, namely, the 
 several different stages or readings of a bill, 
 and conferences and amendments between 
 
VI PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION". 
 
 the two branches, this work will be found 
 equally useful in legislative assemblies as in 
 others. 
 
 The only work which has hitherto been in 
 general use in this country, relating to the 
 proceedings of legislative assemblies, is the 
 compilation originally prepared by Mr. 
 Jefferson, when Yice-President of the United 
 States, for the use of the body over which he 
 presided, and which is familiarly known as 
 Jefferson's Manual. This work, having been 
 extensively used in our legislative bodies, 
 and, in some States, expressly sanctioned by 
 law, may be said to form, as it were, the 
 basis of the common parliamentary law of 
 this country, Kegarding it in that light, 
 the author of the following treatise has con- 
 sidered the principles and rules laid down by 
 Mr. Jefferson (and which have been adopted 
 by him chiefly from the elaborate work of 
 Mr. Hatsell) as the established rules on this 
 subject, and has accordingly made them the 
 basis of the present compilation, with an oc- 
 casional remark, in a note, by way of expla- 
 nation or suggestion, whenever he deemed it 
 necessary. 
 
 Members of legislative bodies, who may 
 have occasion to make use of this work, will 
 
PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. vif 
 
 do well to bear in mind, that it contains 
 only what may be called the common parlia- 
 mentary law; which, in every legislative 
 assembly, is more or less modified or con- 
 trolled by special rules. L. S. C. 
 BOSTON, November 1, 1844. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 *** The figures refer to the numbers of the paragraphs. 
 
 INTRODUCTION 1 to 15 
 
 CHAPTER I. OF CERTAIN PRELIMINARY 
 
 MATTERS 16 to 25 
 
 SEC. I. Quorum 17 to 19 
 
 SEC. II. Rules and Orders 20 to 22 
 
 SEC. III. Time of Meeting 23 
 
 SEC. IV. Principle of Decision 24 to 25 
 
 CHAPTER II. OF THE OFFICERS 26 to 35 
 
 SEC. I. The Presiding Officer 27 to 30 
 
 SEC. II. The Recording Officer 31 to 35 
 
 CHAPTER III. OF THE RIGHTS AND 
 
 DUTIES OF MEMBERS. . . 36 to 42 
 
 CHAPTER IV. OF THE INTRODUCTION OF 
 
 BUSINESS 43 to 58 
 
 CHAPTER V. OF MOTIONS IN GENERAL. 59 to 61 
 
 CHAPTER VI. OF MOTIONS TO SUPPRESS. 62 to 67 
 
 SEC. I. Previous Question 63 to 66 
 
 SEC. II. Indefinite Postponement 67 
 
 CHAPTER VII. OF MOTIONS TO POST- 
 PONE 68 to 72 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. OF MOTIONS TO COMMIT 73 to 77 
 
 CHAPTER IX. OF MOTIONS TO AMEND. . 78 to 133 
 SEC. I. Division of a Question. ... 79 to 83 
 SEC. II. Filling Blanks 84 to 87 
 
X TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. OF MOTIONS TO AMEND 
 Continued. 
 
 SEC. III. Addition Separation 
 
 Transposition 88 to 91 
 
 SEC. IV. Modification, etc., by the 
 
 Mover 92 to 93 
 
 SEC. V. General Rules Relating to 
 
 Amendments 94 to 102 
 
 SEC. VI. Amendments, by striking 
 
 out 103 to 112 
 
 SEC. VII. Amendments, by inserting. .113 to 121 
 
 SEC. VIII. Amendments, by striking 
 
 out and inserting 122 to 127 
 
 SEC. IX. Amendments, changing the 
 
 nature of a question 128 to 133 
 
 CHAPTER X. OF THE ORDER AND SUC- 
 CESSION OF BUSINESS. .134 to 187 
 
 SEC. I. Privileged Questions 136 to 149 
 
 Adjournment 137 to 140 
 
 Questions of Privilege . . . 141 
 Orders of the Day 142 to 149 
 
 SEC. II. Incidental Questions 150 to 165 
 
 Questions of Order, 151 to 154 
 
 Beading of Papers 155 to 160 
 
 Withdrawal of a Motion. l\ to 162 
 Suspension of a Rule . . 163 to 164 
 Amendment of Amend- 
 ments 165 
 
 SEC. III. Subsidiary Questions 166 to 187 
 
 Lie on the Table 171 to 173 
 
 Previous Question 174 to 175 
 
 Postponement 176 to 180 
 
 Commitment 181 to 183 
 
 Amendment 184 to 187 
 
 CHAPTER XL OF THE ORDER OF PRO- 
 CEEDING. 188 to 200 
 
 CHAPTER XII. OF ORDER IN DEBATE. 201 to 232 
 
 SEC. 1. As to the Manner of Speak- 
 ing 203 to 208 
 
 SEC. II. As to the Matter in Speaking. 209 to 214 
 
TABLE OF.COXTE1STS. XI 
 
 CHAPTER XII. OF ORDER IN DEBATE 
 Continued. 
 
 SEC. III. As to Times of Speaking 215 to 219 
 
 SEC. IV. As to Stopping in Debate 220 to 222 
 
 SEC. V. As to Decorum in Debate.. . .223 to 226 
 
 SEC. VI. As to Disorderly Words 227 to 232 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. OP THE QUESTION . . . .233 to 249 
 CHAPTER XIV. OF RECONSIDERATION. 250 to 257 
 
 CHAPTER XV. OF COMMITTEES 258 to 311 
 
 SEC. I. Their Nature and Functions. 258 to 262 
 
 SEC. II. Their Appointment 263 to 272 
 
 SEC. III. Their Organization, etc 273 to 285 
 
 SEC. IV. Their Report .286 to 296 
 
 SEC. V. Committee of the Whole 297 to 311 
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS 312 to 315 
 
 ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS 316 to 340 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Constitution of the United States of Amer- 
 ica 209 to 338 
 
 The Declaration of Independence ....... .239 
 

 PARLIAMENTARY 
 PRACTICE. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 1. Organization : Objects of. The 
 purposes, whatever they may be, for which 
 a deliberative assembly of any kind is con* 
 stituted, can only be effected by ascertaining 
 the sense or will of the assembly, in reference 
 to the several subjects submitted to it, and 
 by embodying that sense or will in an in- 
 telligible, authentic, and authoritative form. 
 To do this, it is necessary, in the first place, 
 that the assembly should be properly consti- 
 tuted and organized; and, secondly, that it 
 should conduct its proceedings according to 
 certain rules, and agreeably to certain forms, 
 which experience has shown to be the best 
 adapted to the purpose. 
 
 2. Organization : May be Regulated 
 by Statute, but Usually Voluntary. 
 Some deliberative assemblies, especially those 
 which consist of permanently established 
 
2 PARLIAMENTARY PKACTICE. 
 
 bodies, such as municipal and other corpora- 
 tions, are usually constituted and organized, 
 at least, in part, in virtue of certain legal 
 provisions; while others, of an occasional or 
 temporal*} 71 character, such as conventions 
 and political meetings, constitute and organ- 
 ize themselves on their assembling together 
 for the purposes of then' appointment. 
 
 3. Voluntary Organization : How 
 Effected. The most usual and convenient 
 mode of organizing a deliberative assembly is 
 the following: The members being assembled 
 together, in the place, and at the time, ap- 
 pointed for their meeting, one of them, 
 addressing himself to the others, requests 
 them to come to order; the members there- 
 upon seating themselves, and giving their 
 attention to him, he suggests the propriety 
 and necessity of their being organized, before 
 proceeding to business, and requests the 
 members to nominate some person to act as 
 chairman of the meeting; a name or names 
 being thereupon mentioned, he declares that 
 such a person (whose name was first heard by 
 him) is nominated for chairman, and puts a 
 question that the person so named be re- 
 quested to take the chair. If. this question 
 should be decided in the negative, another 
 
OFFICERS. 3 
 
 nomination is then to be called for, and a 
 question put upon the name mentioned (being 
 that of some other person) as before, and so 
 on until a choice is effected. When a chair- 
 man is elected, he takes the chair, and pro- 
 ceeds in the same manner to complete the 
 organization of the assembly, by the choice 
 of a secretary and such other officers, if any, 
 as may be deemed necessary. 
 
 4. Permanent Organization : Method 
 of Perfecting. An organization, thus 
 effected, may be, and frequently is, sufficient 
 for all the purposes of the meeting ; but if, 
 for any reason, it is desired to have a greater 
 number of officers, or to have them selected 
 with more deliberation, it is the practice to 
 organize temporarily, in the manner above 
 mentioned, and then to refer the subject of 
 a permanent organization, and the selection 
 of persons to be nominated for the several 
 offices, to a committee ; upon whose report, 
 the meeting proceeds to organize itself, con- 
 formably thereto, or in such other manner as 
 it thinks proper. 
 
 5. Officers : Names and Functions of. 
 The presiding officer is usually denominated 
 the president) and the recording officer, the 
 secretary; though, sometimes, these officers 
 
4 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 are designated, respectively, as the chairma 
 and cleric. Ifc is not unusual, besides iu 
 president, to have one or more vice-presidents 
 who take the chair, occasionally, in the 
 absence of the president from the assembly, 
 or when he withdraws from the chair to 
 take part in the proceedings as a member; 
 but who, at other times, though occupying 
 seats with the president, act merely as mem- 
 bers. It is frequently the case, also, that 
 several persons are appointed secretaries, in 
 which case, the first named is considered as 
 the principal officer. All the officers are, 
 ordinarily, members of the assembly;* and, 
 as such, entitled to participate in the pro- 
 ceedings; except that the presiding officer 
 does not usually engage in the debate, and 
 votes only when the assembly is equally 
 divided. 
 
 6. Right of Membership : Indispen- 
 sable Preliminary Question. In all 
 deliberative assemblies, the members of 
 
 * In legislative bodies, the clerk is seldom or never a mem- 
 ber; and, in some, the presiding officer is not a member; as 
 for example, in the Senate of the United States, the Senate of 
 New York, and in some other state senates. 
 
 [In preliminary organization, the clerk is usually a member. 
 The presiding officer is always a member except when other- 
 wise provided by constitution or statute. J. J. I.] 
 
BIGHT OF MEMBERSHIP. 5 
 
 which are chosen or appointed to represent 
 .others, it is necessary, before proceeding 
 f to business, to ascertain who are duly elected 
 and returned as members; in order not only 
 'that no person may be admitted to participate 
 in the proceedings who is not regularly 
 authorized to do so, but also that a list of 
 the members may be made for the use of the 
 assembly and its officers. 
 
 7. Right of Membership: How and 
 When Ascertained. The proper time for 
 this investigation is after the temporary and 
 before the permanent organization; or, when 
 the assembly is permanently organized, in 
 the first instance, before it proceeds to the 
 transaction of any other business; and the 
 most convenient mode of conducting it is by 
 the appointment of a committee, to receive 
 and report upon the credentials of the mem- 
 bers. The same committee may also bo 
 charged with the investigation of rival 
 claims, where any such are presented. 
 
 8. Right of Membership: Order of 
 Proceedings Concerning. When a ques- 
 tion arises, involving the right of a member 
 to his seat such, member is entitled to be 
 heard on the question, and he is then to 
 withdraw from the assembly until it is 
 
6 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 decided; but if, by the indulgence of the 
 assembly, he remains in his place, during the 
 discussion, he ought neither to take any 
 further part in it, nor to vote when the 
 question is proposed; it being a fundamental 
 rule of all deliberative assemblies, that those 
 members, whose rights as such are not yet set 
 aside, constitute a judicial tribunal to decide 
 upon the cases of those whose rights of mem- 
 bership are called in question. Care should 
 always be taken, therefore, in the selection 
 of the officers, and in the appointment of 
 committees, to name only those persons 
 whose rights as members are not objected to. 
 
 9. Right to Preserve Order: Absolute 
 and by Force if Necessary. The place 
 where an assembly is held being in its pos- 
 session, and rightfully appropriated to its use, 
 no person is entitled to be present therein, 
 but by the consent of the assembly; and, 
 consequently, if any person refuse to with- 
 draw, when ordered to do so, or conduct 
 himself in a disorderly or improper manner, 
 the assembly may unquestionably employ 
 sufficient force to remove such person from 
 the meeting. 
 
 10. Special Rules and Regulations: 
 Supersede Common Parliamentary 
 
GENERAL PARLIAMENTARY LAW. 7 
 
 Law. Every deliberative assembly, by the 
 mere fact of its being assembled and consti- 
 tuted, does thereby necessarily adopt and 
 become subject to those rules and forms of 
 proceeding, without which it would be impos- 
 sible for it to accomplish the purposes of 
 its creation. It is perfectly competent, how- 
 ever, for every such body and where the 
 business is of considerable interest and im- 
 portance, or likely to require some time for 
 its accomplishment, it is not unusual to 
 adopt also certain special rules for the regu- 
 lation of its proceedings. Where this is the 
 case, these latter supersede the ordinary par- 
 liamentary rules, in reference to all points to 
 which they relate; or add to them in those 
 particulars in reference to which there is no 
 parliamentary rule; leaving what may be 
 called the common parliamentary law in full 
 force in all other respects. 
 
 ii. General Parliamentary Law: 
 Whence Derived and How Modified. 
 The rules of parliamentary proceedings in 
 this country are derived from, and essentially 
 the same with, those of the British .parlia- 
 ment; though, in order to adapt these rules 
 to the circumstances and wants of our legis- 
 lative assemblies, they have, in some few 
 
8 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 respects, been changed, in others, dif- 
 ferently applied, and in others, again, 
 extended beyond their original intention. 
 To these rules, each legislative assembly is 
 accustomed to add a code of its own, by 
 which, in conjunction with the former, its 
 proceedings are regulated. The rules, thus 
 adopted by the several legislative assemblies, 
 having been renewed in successive legisla- 
 tures, with such extensions, modifications 
 and additions as have been, from time to time, 
 thought necessary, the result is, that a 
 system of parliamentary rules has been estab- 
 lished in each state, different in some par- 
 ticulars from those of every other state, but 
 yet founded in and embracing all the essential 
 rules of the common parliamentary law. 
 
 12. General Procedure and Special 
 Rules : Simultaneous Government by,. 
 Incompatible. The rules of proceeding, in 
 each state, being of course best known by 
 the citizens of that state, it has sometimes 
 happened in deliberative assemblies, that the 
 proceedings have been conducted not merely 
 according to the general parliamentary law, 
 but also in conformity with the peculiar 
 system of the state in which the assembly 
 was sitting, or of whose citizens it was com- 
 
OBJECT OF RULES 'OF DEBATE. 9 
 
 posed. This, however, is erroneous; as no 
 occasional assembly can ever be subject to 
 any other rules than those which are of 
 general application, or which it specially 
 adopts for its own government; and the rules 
 adopted and practiced upon by a legislative 
 assembly do not thereby acquire the character 
 of generaHaws. 
 
 13. Conclusions of Body: How Ex- 
 pressed. Order, Resolution and Vote: 
 Difference Between. The judgment, 
 opinion, sense, or will of a deliberative 
 assembly is expressed, according to the nature 
 of the subject, either by a resolution, order, 
 or vote. When it commands, it is by an 
 order; but facts, principles, its own opinions, 
 or purposes, are most properly expressed in 
 the form of a resolution; the term vote may 
 be applied to the result of every question 
 decided by the assembly. In whatever 
 form, however, a question is proposed, or by 
 whatever name it may be called, the mode of 
 proceeding is the same. 
 
 14. Object of Rules of Debate and 
 Procedure: To Ascertain the Exact 
 Judgment of Majority of Members. 
 The judgment or will of any number of 
 persons, considered as an aggregate body, 
 
10 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 is that which is evidenced by the consent or 
 agreement of the greater number of them; 
 and the only mode by which this can be 
 ascertained, in reference to any particular 
 subject, is, for some one of them to begin by 
 submitting to the others a proposition, ex- 
 pressed in such a form of words, that, if 
 assented to by the requisite number, it will 
 purport to express the judgment or will of 
 the assembly. This proposition will then 
 form a basis for the further proceedings of 
 the assembly; to be assented to, rejected, or 
 modified, according as it expresses or not, or 
 may be made to express, the sense of a 
 majority of the members. The different 
 proceedings which take place, from the first 
 submission of a proposition, through all the 
 changes it may undergo, until the final 
 decision of the assembly upon it, constitute 
 the subject of the rules of debate and pro- 
 ceeding in deliberative assemblies. 
 
 15. Motions and Forms of Question : 
 Objects and Purposes of. If the proceed- 
 ings of a deliberative assembly were confined 
 to the making of propositions by the indi- 
 vidual members, and their acceptance or 
 rejection by the votes of the assembly, there 
 would be very little occasion for rules in such 
 
MOTIONS AND FORMS OF QUESTION. 11 
 
 a body. But this is not the case. The func- 
 tions of the members are not limited to 
 giving an affirmative or negative to such 
 questions as are proposed to them. When 
 a proposition is made, if it be not agreed to 
 or rejected at once, the assembly may be 
 unwilling to consider and act upon it at all; 
 or it may wish to postpone the consideration 
 of the subject to a future time; or it may 
 be willing to adopt the proposition with cer- 
 tain modifications; or, lastly, approving the 
 subject-matter, but finding it presented in 
 so crude, imperfect, or objectionable a form, 
 that it cannot in that state be considered at 
 all, the assembly may desire to have the 
 proposition further examined and digested, 
 before being presented. In order to enable 
 the assembly to take whichever of the courses 
 above indicated it may think proper, and 
 then to dispose of every proposition in a 
 suitable manner, certain motions or forms of 
 question have been invented, which are per- 
 fectly adapted for the purpose, and are in 
 common use in all deliberative assemblies. 
 
12 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OF CERTAIN PRELIMINARY 
 MATTERS. 
 
 16. Preliminary. Before entering upon 
 the subject of the forms and rules of pro- 
 ceeding, in the transaction of business, it 
 will be convenient to consider certain matters 
 of a preliminary nature, which are more or 
 less essential to the regularity, despatch, and 
 efficiency of the proceedings. 
 
 SECTION I. QUORUM. 
 
 17. Presence of Quorum : Why Es- 
 sential. In all councils, and other collective 
 bodies of the same kind, it is necessary that 
 a certain number, called a quorum, of the 
 members, should meet and be present, in 
 order to the transaction of business. This 
 regulation has been deemed essential to secure 
 fairness of proceeding; and to prevent matters 
 from being concluded in a hasty manner, or 
 agreed to by so small a number of the mem- 
 
QUORUM 13 
 
 bers as not to command a due and proper 
 respect. 
 
 18. Quorum : Number to Constitute, 
 and How Fixed. The number necessary 
 to constitute a quorum of any assembly may 
 be fixed by law as is the case with most of 
 our legislative assemblies; or by usage, as in 
 the English house of commons; or it may be 
 fixed by the assembly itself; but if no rule is 
 established on the subject, in any of these 
 ways, a majority of the members composing 
 the assembly is the requisite number. 
 
 19. Quorum : Presence of Indispen- 
 sable to Transaction of Business. No 
 business can regularly be entered upon until 
 a quorum is present; nor can any business be 
 regularly proceeded with when it appears 
 that the members present are reduced below 
 that number; consequently, the presiding 
 officer ought not to take the chair until the 
 proper number is ascertained to be present; 
 and if, at any time, in the course of the 
 proceedings, notice is taken that a quorum is 
 not present, and, upon the members being 
 counted by the presiding officer, such ap- 
 pears to be the fact, the assembly must be 
 immediately adjourned, or absent members 
 may be sent for and brought in. 
 
14 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 SEC. II. RULES AND ORDERS. 
 
 20. Rules and Orders : Power of 
 Assembly Over. Every deliberative as- 
 sembly, as has already been observed, is, by 
 the fact alone of its existence, subject tot 
 those rules of proceeding, without which it 
 could not accomplish the purposes of its 
 creation . It may also provide rules for itself, 
 either in the form of a general code estab- 
 lished beforehand, or by the adoption, from 
 time to time, during its sitting, of such, 
 special rules as it may find necessary. 
 
 21. Rules and Orders: How Amended 
 and Repealed. When a code of rules is 
 adopted beforehand, it is usual also to pro- 
 vide therein as to the mode in which they 
 may be amended, repealed, or dispensed with. 
 Where there is no such provision, it will be 
 competent for the assembly to act at any 
 time, and in the usual manner, upon questions 
 of amendment or repeal; but in reference to 
 dispensing with a rule, or suspending it, in a 
 particular case, if there is no express pro- 
 vision on the subject, it seems that it can 
 only be done by general consent. [^ 316]. 
 
 22. Rules and Orders : How, When 
 and by Whom Enforced.- When any of 
 
PRINCIPLE OF DECISIOX. 15 
 
 the rules, adopted by the assembly, or in 
 force, relative to its manner of proceeding, 
 is disregarded or infringed, every member 
 has the right to take notice thereof, and to 
 require that the presiding officer, or any 
 other whose duty it is, shall carry such rule 
 into execution; and, in that case, the rule 
 must be enforced, at once, without debate or 
 delay. It is then too late to alter, repeal, or 
 suspend the rule; so long as any one member 
 insists upon its execution, it must be enforced. 
 
 SEC III. TIME OF MEETING. 
 
 23. Time of Daily Meeting : How 
 and When Determined. Every assembly, 
 which is not likely to finish its business at 
 one sitting, will find it 'convenient to come 
 to some order or resolution beforehand, as to 
 the time of reassembling, after an adjourn- 
 ment; it being generally embarrassing to fix 
 upon the hour for this purpose, at the time 
 when the sitting is about to close, and in con- 
 nection with the motion to adjourn. 
 
 SEC. IV. PRINCIPLE OF 
 DECISION. 
 
 24. Rule of Majority: Fundamental 
 Principle of All Decisions. The priu- 
 
16 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 ciple, upon which the decisions of all aggre- 
 gate bodies, such as councils, corporations, 
 and deliberative assemblies, are made, is that 
 of the majority of votes or suffrages; and 
 this rule holds not only in reference to ques- 
 tions and subjects, which admit only of an 
 affirmative on one side, and a negative on the 
 other, but also in reference to elections in 
 which more than two persons may receive the 
 suffrages. 
 
 25. Rule of Majority: Prevails Only 
 in Absence of Special Rule Directing 
 Otherwise. But this rnle may be con- 
 trolled by a special rule in reference to some 
 particular subject or question ; by which 
 any less number than a majority may be ad- 
 mitted, or any greater number required, to 
 express the will of the assembly. Thus, it 
 *is frequently provided, in. legislative assem- 
 blies, that one-third or one-fourth only of 
 the members shall be sufficient to require 
 the taking of a question by yeas and nays, 
 and, on the other hand, that no alteration 
 shall take place in any of the rules and orders, 
 without the consent of a-t least two-thirds, or 
 even a large number. 
 
PRESIDENT AXD- SECRETARY". 19 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 OF THE OFFICERS. 
 
 26. President and Secretary or Clerk : 
 Must be Chosen by Majority Vote, and 
 Why. The usual and necessary officers of 
 a deliberative assembly are those already 
 mentioned, namely, a presiding, and a re- 
 cording, officer ; both of whom are elected 
 or appointed by the assembly itself, and 
 removable at its pleasure. These officers are 
 always to be elected by absolute majorities, 
 even in those states in which elections are 
 usually effected by a plurality; for the reason, 
 that, being removable at the pleasure of the 
 assembly, if any number short of a majority 
 were to elect, a person elected by any such 
 less number would not be able to retain his 
 office for a moment; inasmuch as he might 
 be instantly removed therefrom, on a ques- 
 tion made for that purpose, by the votes of 
 those who had voted for other persons on the 
 election; and it is essential to the due and 
 
^ PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 >ry performance of the functions of 
 officers, that they should possess the 
 confidence of the assembly, which they can- 
 not be said to do unless they have the suf- 
 frages of at least a majority. 
 
 SEC. I. THE PRESIDING 
 OFFICER. 
 
 27. Presiding Officer: Duties of. The 
 
 principal duties of this officer are the follow- 
 ing: 
 
 To open the sitting, at the time to which 
 the assembly is adjourned, by taking the 
 chair and calling the members to order; 
 
 To announce the business before the as- 
 sembly in the order in which it is to be acted 
 upon; 
 
 To receive and submit, in the proper man- 
 ner, all motions and propositions presented 
 by the members; 
 
 To put to vote all questions, which are 
 regularly moved, or necessarily arise in the 
 course of the proceedings, and to announce 
 the result; 
 
 To restrain the members, when engaged in 
 debate, within the rules of order; 
 
 To enforce on all occasions the observance 
 of order and decorum among the members; 
 
VICE-PRESIDENT. 19 
 
 To receive all messages and other com- 
 munications and announce them to the as- 
 sembly; 
 
 To authenticate, by his signature, when 
 necessary, all the acts, orders, and proceed- 
 ings of the assembly; 
 
 To inform the assembly, when necessary, 
 or when referred to for the purpose, in a 
 point of order or practice; 
 
 To name the members (when directed to 
 do so in a particular case, or when it is 
 made a part of his general duty by a rule) 
 who are to serve on Committees; and, in 
 general, 
 
 To represent and stand for the assembly, 
 declaring its will, and, in all things, obeying 
 implicitly its commands. 
 
 28. Vice-President : When to Pre- 
 side. If the assembly is organized by the 
 choice of a president, and vice-presidents, it 
 is the duty of one of the latter to take the 
 chair, in case of the absence of the president 
 from the assembly, or of his withdrawing 
 from the chair for the purpose of participat- 
 ing in the proceedings. 
 
 29. President or Chairman Pro Tern- 
 pore : When and How Chosen. Where 
 but one presiding officer is appointed, in the 
 
PAKLIAMENTARY PEACTICE. 
 
 fc instance, his place can only be supplied, 
 in case of his absence, by the appointment of 
 a president or chairman pro temporej and, in 
 the choice of this officer, who ought to be 
 elected before any other business is done, it 
 is the duty of the secretary to conduct the 
 proceedings. 
 
 30. Presiding Officer : Attitude of. 
 The presiding officer may read sitting, but 
 should rise to state a motion, or put a ques- 
 tion to the assembly. 
 
 SEC. II. THE RECORDING 
 OFFICER. 
 
 31. Secretary or Clerk : Duties of. 
 
 The principal duties of this officer consist 
 in taking notes of all the proceedings, and 
 in making true entries in his journal of all 
 " the things done and past " in the assembly; 
 but he is not, in general, required to take 
 minutes of "particular men's speeches," or 
 to make entries of things merely proposed or 
 moved, without coming to a vote. He is to 
 enter what is done and past, but not what is 
 said or moved. This is the rule in legis- 
 lative assemblies. In others, though the 
 spirit of the rule ought to be observed, 
 it is generally expected of the secretary, 
 
SECKETAEY OR CLERK PRO TEMPORE. 21 
 
 that his record shall be. both a journal and 
 in some sort a report of the proceedings. 
 
 32. Secretary or Clerk : Duties of. 
 It is also the duty of the secretary to read all 
 papers, etc., which may be ordered to be read;} 
 to call the roll of the assembly, and take note! 
 of those who are absent, when a call is or-' 
 dered; to call the roll and note the answers 
 of the members, when a question is taken by 
 yeas and nays; to notify committees of their 
 appointment and of the business referred to 
 them; and to authenticate by his signature 
 (sometimes alone and sometimes in conjunc- 
 tion with the president) all the acts, orders, 
 and proceedings of the assembly. 
 
 33. Secretary or Clerk : Duties of, 
 Concerning Books, Papers and Docu- 
 ments. The clerk is also charged with the 
 custody of all the papers and documents of 
 every description, belonging to the assembly, 
 as well as the journal of its proceedings, 
 and is to let none of them be taken from 
 the table by any member or other person, 
 without the leave or order of the assembly. 
 
 34. Secretary or Clerk Pro Tempore : 
 How and When Appointed. When but 
 a single secretary or clerk is appointed, his 
 place can only be supplied, during his ah- 
 
22 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 sence by the appointment of some one to act 
 pro tempore. When several persons are ap- 
 pointed, this inconvenience is not likely to 
 occur. 
 
 35. Secretary or Clerk: Attitude of. 
 The clerk should stand while reading or call- 
 ing the assembly. 
 
ABSOLUTE EQUALITY. 23 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 OF THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES 
 OF THE MEMBERS. 
 
 36. Absolute Equality : The Founda- 
 tion of Parliamentary Codes. The 
 
 rights and duties of the members of a deliber- 
 ative assembly, as regards one another, are 
 founded in and derived from the principle of 
 their absolute equality among themselves. 
 Every member, however humble he may be, 
 has the same right with every other, to sub- 
 mit his propositions to the assembly, to 
 explain and recommend them in discussion, 
 and to have them patiently examined and 
 deliberately decided upon by the assembly; 
 and, on the other hand, it is the duty of 
 every one so to conduct himself, both in de- 
 bate, and in his general deportment in the 
 assembly, as not to obstruct any other mem- 
 ber, in the enjoyment of his equal rights, 
 The rights and duties of the members require 
 to be explained only in reference to words 
 
24 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 spoken in debate (whether spoken of a mem- 
 ber or otherwise) and to general deportment. 
 The first will be most conveniently noticed 
 in the chapter on debate ; the other will be 
 considered in this place. 
 
 37. Decorum : Why Requisite and 
 How Violated. The observance of de- 
 corum, by the members of a deliberative 
 assembly, is not only due to themselves and 
 to one another, as gentlemen assembled 
 together to deliberate on matters of common 
 importance and interest, but is also essential 
 to the regular and satisfactory proceeding of 
 such an assembly. The rules on this subject, 
 though generally laid down with reference 
 to decorum in debate, are equally applicable 
 whether the assembly be at the time engaged 
 in debate, or not; and, therefore, it may be 
 stated, generally, that no member is toj 
 disturb another, or the assembly itself, by 
 hissing, coughing, or spitting; by speaking 
 or whispering to other members; by standing 
 up to the interruption of others; by passing 
 between the presiding officer and a member 
 speaking ; going across the assembly room, 
 or walking up and down in it; taking 
 books or papers from the table, or writing 
 there. 
 
DISORDERLY CONDUCT. 25 
 
 38. Breaches of Decorum : How Ag- 
 gravated. All these breaches of decorum 
 are doubtless aggravated by being committed 
 while the assembly is engaged in debate, 
 though equally contrary to the rules of pro- 
 priety, under any other circumstances. As- 
 saults, by one member upon another, 
 threats, challenges, affrays, etc., are also 
 high breaches of decorum. 
 
 39. Decorum : Relation of the Hat 
 to. It is also a breach of decorum for a 
 member to come into the assembly room with 
 his head covered, or to remove from one 
 place to another with his hat on, or to put 
 his hat on in coming in or removing, or, 
 until he has taken his seat; and, in many 
 assemblies, especially those which consist 
 of a small number of members, it is not 
 the custom to have the head covered at 
 all.* 
 
 40. Disorderly Conduct : Proceedings 
 Concerning. In all instances of irregular 
 and disorderly deportment, it is competent 
 for every member, and is the special duty 
 of the presiding officer, to complain to the 
 
 * In any deliberative or legislative assembly in the United 
 States a covered head, except in case of infirmity, would be 
 regarded as disorderly. 
 
26 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 assembly, or to take notice of the offense, 
 and call the attention of the assembly to it. 
 When a complaint of this kind is made by 
 the presiding officer, he is said to name the 
 member offending; that is, he declares to 
 the assembly, that such a member, calling 
 him by name, is guilty of certain irregular 
 or improper conduct. The member, who is 
 thus charged with an offense against the 
 assembly, is entitled to be heard in his place 
 in exculpation, and is then to withdraw. 
 Being withdrawn, the presiding officer states 
 the offense committed, and the assembly 
 proceeds to consider of the degree and 
 amount of punishment to be inflicted. The 
 assembly may allow the member complained 
 of to remain, when he offers to withdraw ; 
 or, on the other hand, it may require him to 
 withdraw, if he do not offer to do so of his 
 own accord. The proceedings are similar, 
 when the complaint is made by a member, 
 except that the offense is stated by such 
 member, instead of being stated by the pre- 
 siding officer. 
 
 41. Member Directly Concerned in 
 Matter Pending: Should not Attend, 
 nor Debate, nor Vote upon Question. 
 No member ought to be present in the 
 
BREACHES OF DECORUM. 27 
 
 assembly, when any matter or business con- 
 cerning himself is debating; nor, if present, 
 by the indulgence of the assembly, ought he 
 to vote on any such question. Whether the 
 matter in question concern his private inter- 
 est, or relate to his conduct as a member 
 as for a breach of order, or for matter arising 
 in debate as soon as it is fairly before the 
 assembly, the member is to be heard in ex- 
 culpation and then to withdraw, until the 
 matter is settled.* If, notwithstanding, a 
 member should remain in the assembly and 
 vote, his vote may and ought to be dis- 
 allowed; it being contrary, not only to the 
 laws of decency, but to the fundamental 
 principle of the social compact, that a 
 man should sit and act as a judge in his 
 own case. 
 
 42. Breaches of Decorum : How 
 Punished. The only punishments, which 
 can be inflicted upon its members by a de- 
 liberative assembly of the kind now under 
 consideration, consist of reprimanding, ex- 
 clusion from the assembly, a prohibition to 
 speak or vote, for a specified time, and ex- 
 pulsion; to which are to be added such 
 
 * It is not the usual practice in the United States to require 
 an interested or inculpated member to withdraw. 
 
28 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 other forms of punishment, as by apology, 
 begging pardon, etc., as the assembly may 
 see fit to impose, and to require the offender 
 to submit to, on pain of expulsion. 
 
MODES OF COMMUNICATION. 29 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 OF THE INTRODUCTION OF 
 BUSINESS. 
 
 43. Business Proceedings : How In- 
 itiated. The proceedings of a deliberative 
 assembly, in reference to any particular sub- 
 ject, are ordinarily set in motion, in the 
 first instance, by some one of the members 
 either presenting a communication from 
 persons not members, or himself submitting 
 a proposition to the assembly. 
 
 44. Modes of Communication : Form 
 and Purpose of. Communications made 
 to the assembly are of two kinds, namely, 
 those which are merely for its information 
 in matters of fact, and those which contain 
 a request for some action on the part of the 
 assembly, either of a general nature, or for 
 the benefit of an individual. The latter 
 only, as they alone constitute a founda- 
 tion for future proceedings, require to be 
 noticed. 
 
30 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 45. Motions : Form and Objects of 
 
 Propositions made by members are drawn 
 up and introduced, by motion, in the form 
 which they are intended by the mover 
 to bear, as orders, resolutions, or votes, if 
 they should be adopted by the assembly. 
 These propositions, of whatever nature they 
 may be, are usually denominated motions,, 
 until they are adopted; they then take the 
 name which properly belongs to them. 
 
 46. Right to Address Assembly : 
 How Obtained. When a member has 
 occasion to make any communication what- 
 ever to the assembly, whether to present a 
 petition or other paper, or to make or second 
 a motion of any kind, or merely to make a 
 verbal statement, as well as when one 
 desires to address the assembly in debate, he 
 must, in the first place, as the expression is, 
 ( ' obtain the floor " for the purpose he has 
 in view. In order to do this, he must rise 
 in his place,* and, standing uncovered, ad- 
 dress himself to the presiding officer, by his 
 
 * In the house of representatives of Massachusetts, where 
 each member's seat is regularly assigned to him, and num- 
 bered, it has been found useful, in deciding upon the claims 
 of several competitors for the floor, to prefer one who rises 
 in his place, to a member who addresses the speaker from 
 the area, the passageways, or the seat of any other member. 
 
ILLUSTRATION. 31 
 
 title; the latter, on hearing himself thus ad- 
 dressed, calls to the member by his name; 
 and the member may then, but not before, 
 proceed with his business. 
 
 47. Conflicting Claims to Floor : 
 How Adjusted. If two or more members 
 rise and address themselves to the presiding 
 officer, at the same time, or nearly so, he 
 should give the floor to the member whose 
 voice he first heard. If his decision should 
 not be satisfactory, any member may call it 
 in question, saying that in his opinion such 
 a member (not the one named) was first up, 
 and have the sense of the assembly taken 
 thereon, as to which of the members should 
 be heard. In this case, the question should 
 be first taken upon the name of the member 
 announced by the presiding officer ; and, if 
 this question should be decided in the nega- 
 tive, then upon the name of the member for 
 whom the floor was claimed in opposition to 
 him. 
 
 48. Illustration. The mode of proceed- 
 ing upon such communications from persons 
 not members, as are above alluded to, may 
 be explained by that adopted on the presen- 
 tation of a petition which may be considered 
 as the representative of the whole class to 
 which it belongs. 
 
32 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 49. Petitions : Formality Attending 
 Presentation of. A petition, in order to 
 be received, should be subscribed by the 
 petitioner himself, with his own hand, either 
 by name or mark, except in case of inability 
 from sickness, or because the petitioner is 
 attending in person; and should be presented 
 or offered, not by the petitioner himself, but 
 by some member to whom it is intrusted for 
 that purpose. 
 
 50. Petition : Substance of to be 
 Stated, and Propriety of Vouched for. 
 The member, who presents a petition, should 
 previously have informed himself of its con- 
 tents, so as to be able to state the substance 
 of it, on offering it to the assembly, and 
 also to be prepared to say, if any question 
 should be made, than in his judgment it is 
 couched in proper language, and contains 
 nothing intentionally disrespectful to the 
 assembly. 
 
 51. Petition: Mode of Presentation 
 Further Explained. Being thus prepared, 
 the member rises in his place, with the peti- 
 tion in his hand, and informs the assembly 
 that he has a certain petition, stating the 
 substance of ifc, which he thereupon presents 
 or offers to the assembly, and, at the same 
 
PETITION. 36 
 
 time moves (which, however, maybe done by 
 any other member) that it be received; this 
 motion being seconded, the question is put 
 whether the assembly will receive the petition 
 or not. This is the regular course of pro- 
 ceeding; but, in practice, there is seldom any 
 question made on receiving a petition; the 
 presiding officer usually taking it for granted, 
 that there is no objection to the reception, 
 unless it be stated. If, however, any objec- 
 tion is made to a petition, before it has been 
 otherwise disposed of, the presiding officer 
 ought to retrace his steps and require a mo- 
 tion of reception to be regularly made and 
 seconded, [f 317.] 
 
 52. Petition : Disposition of. If the 
 question of reception is determined in the 
 affirmative, the petition is sent up to the 
 table by the member presenting it; and is 
 there read as of course by the clerk. It is 
 then regularly before the assembly, to be 
 dealt with as it thinks proper; the usual 
 course being either to proceed to consider the 
 subject of it immediately, or to assign 
 Borne future time for its consideration, or to 
 order it to lie on the table for the examina- 
 tion and consideration of the members indi- 
 viduallv. 
 
34 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 53. Motions and Resolutions : Pro- 
 ceedings Concerning. Whenever a mem- 
 ber introduces a proposition of his own, for 
 the consideration of the assembly, he puts it 
 into the form he desires it should have, and 
 then moves that it be adopted as the resolu- 
 tion, order, or vote of the assembly. If this 
 proposition so far meets the approbation of 
 other members, that one of them rises in his 
 place and seconds it, it may then be put to 
 the question; and the result, whether affirma- 
 tive or negative, becomes the judgment of 
 the assembly. 
 
 54. Motion : Should be in Writing. 
 A motion must be submitted in writing; 
 otherwise the presiding officer will be justified 
 in refusing to receive it; he may do so, how- 
 ever, if he pleases, and is willing to take the 
 trouble himself to reduce it to writing. This 
 rule extends only to principal motions, 
 which, when adopted, become the act and 
 express the sense of the assembly; but not 
 to subsidiary or incidental motions * which 
 merely enable the assembly to dispose of the 
 former in the manner it desires, and which 
 are always in the same form. In the case of 
 
 *Such as, to adjourn, lie on the table, for the previous 
 question, for postponement, commitment, etc. 
 
MOTIOK. 35 
 
 a motion fco amend, which is a subsidiary 
 motion, the rule admits of an exception, so 
 far as regards the insertion of additional 
 words, which, as well as the principal motion, 
 must be in writing. 
 
 55. Motion : Should be Seconded, and 
 Why.* A motion must also be seconded, 
 that is, approved by some one member, at 
 least, expressing his approval by rising and 
 saying, that he seconds the motion; and if a 
 motion be not seconded, no notice whatever 
 is to be taken of it by the presiding officer; 
 though, in practice, very many motions, 
 particularly those which occur in the ordi- 
 nary routine of business, are admitted with- 
 out being seconded. This rule applies as 
 well to subsidiary as principal motions. The 
 seconding of a motion seems to be required, 
 on the ground, that the time of the assembly 
 ought not to be taken up by a question, 
 which, for any thing that appears, has no one 
 in its favor but the mover. There are some 
 apparent exceptions to this rule, which will 
 be stated hereafter, in those cases, in which 
 one member alone has the right of instituting 
 
 * The rule requiring a motion to be seconded is practically 
 obsolete in the United States. There is no good ground for it, 
 and it should be abandoned altogether. 
 
36 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 or giving direction to a particular proceeding; 
 and an actual exception is sometimes made 
 by a special rule, requiring certain motions 
 to be seconded by more than one member. 
 [T 318.] 
 
 56. Motion : When May be Debated. , 
 When a motion has been made and 
 seconded, it is then to be stated by the pre- 
 siding officer to the assembly, and thus be- 
 comes a question for its decision; and, until 
 so stated, it is not in order for any other 
 motion to be made, or for any member to 
 speak to it; but, when moved, seconded, and 
 stated from the chair, a motion is in the 
 possession of the assembly, and cannot be 
 withdrawn by the mover, but by special leave 
 of the assembly, which must be obtained by 
 a motion made and seconded as in other 
 cases. [1" 319.] 
 
 57. Motion: Must be Read When* 
 Presented and as Often as Desired for 
 Information. When a motion is regularly 
 before the assembly, it is the duty of the pre- 
 siding officer to state it, if it be not in 
 writing, or to cause it to be read, if it be, as 
 often as any member desires to have it stated 
 or read for his information. 
 
QUESTION OR MOTION. 
 
 58. Question or Motion Pen 
 Must be Disposed of Before Anotner 
 Can be Taken Up. When a motion or 
 proposition is regularly before the assembly, 
 no other motion can be received, unless it be 
 one which is previous in its nature to the 
 question under consideration, and conse- 
 quently entitled to take its place for the time 
 being, and be first decided. 
 
38 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 OF MOTIONS IN GENERAL. 
 
 59. Subsidiary Questions and Mo- 
 tions : What Are. When a proposition is 
 made to a deliberative assembly, for its adop- 
 tion, the proposition may be in such a form 
 as to be put to the question, and the assem- 
 bly may be in such a state as to be willing to 
 come to a decision upon it, at once; and 
 when this is the case, nothing more can be 
 necessary than to take the votes of the mem- 
 bers, and ascertain the result. But a dif- 
 ferent state of things may and commonly 
 does exist; the assembly may prefer some other 
 course of proceeding to an immediate decision 
 of f -he question in the form in which it is 
 presented; and, as it is proper, that every 
 parliamentary body should have the means 
 of fitly disposing of every proposition which 
 may be made to it, certain forms of question 
 have from time to time been invented, and 
 
SUBSIDIARY MOTIONS. 39 
 
 are now in general use, for that purpose. 
 These forms of question may properly be 
 called subsidiary, in order to distinguish 
 them from the principal motion or question 
 to which they relate. 
 
 60. Subsidiary Motions : Four Divi- 
 sions of Defined. The different states of 
 mind, in which a proposition may be re- 
 ceived by a deliberative assembly, and the 
 corresponding forms of proceeding, or sub- 
 sidiary motions, to which they give rise, in 
 order to ascertain the sense of the assembly, 
 are the following: 
 
 First. The assembly may look upon the 
 proposition as useless or inexpedient; and 
 may therefore desire to suppress it, either for 
 a time, or altogether. The subsidiary mo- 
 tions, for this purpose, are the previous 
 question and indefinite postponement. 
 
 Second. The assembly may be willing to 
 entertain and consider a proposition, but not 
 at the time when it is made; either because 
 more information is wanted by the members 
 individually; or because they desire further 
 time for reflection and examination; or be- 
 cause the assembly is then occupied with 
 some other matter, which has more pressing 
 claims upon its present attention. The usual 
 
40 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 motions, under such circumstances, are post- 
 ponement to some future day or time, and to 
 lie on the table. 
 
 Tfiird. The subject-matter of a proposition 
 may be regarded with favor, but the form in 
 which it is introduced may be so defective, 
 that a more careful and deliberate consider- 
 ation, than can conveniently be given to it in 
 the assembly itself, may be necessary to put 
 it into a satisfactory form. In this case, it 
 is most proper to refer the proposition to a 
 committee. 
 
 Fourth. The proposition may be accept- 
 able, and the form in which it is presented 
 so far satisfactory, that the assembly may be 
 willing to consider and act upon it, with such 
 alterations and amendments as may be 
 thought proper. The motion adapted to this 
 case is to amend. 
 
 61. Subsidiary Motions: Previous 
 Statement of, Not Exclusive of Others. 
 It is not to be supposed, that the sub- 
 sidiary motions above specified are the only 
 ones that have at any time been adopted or 
 used; or that it is not competent to a delib- 
 erative assembly to frame new motions at 
 pleasure; but these are the forms in most 
 common use$ and are entirely sufficient for 
 
SUBSIDIARY MOTIONS. 41 
 
 all practical purposes.* Neither is it to be 
 supposed, that these motions are always ap- 
 plied strictly to the cases to which they most 
 appropriately belong; several of them are 
 frequently used to effect purposes, for which 
 others would be more proper. There mis- 
 applications will be taken notice of, under 
 the heads of the several motions. 
 
 * It is usual, in legislative assemblies, to provide by a special 
 rule, both as to the particular motions to be used, and the order 
 in which they may be made. Thus, the rule in the house of 
 representatives of congress (which is also adopted in the 
 house of representatives of Massachusetts), is, that, " when a 
 question is under debate, no motion shall be received, but to 
 adjourn, to lie on the table, for the previous question, to post- 
 pone to a day certain, to commit, to amend, to postpone indefi- 
 nitely, which several motions shall have precedence in the 
 order in which they are arranged." 
 
PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 OF MOTIONS TO SUPPRESS. 
 
 62. Previous Question and Indefinite 
 Postponement : Purpose of. When a 
 proposition is moved, which, it is supposed, 
 may be regarded by the assembly as useless 
 or inexpedient, and which it may therefore 
 be desirous to get rid of, such proposition 
 may be suppressed for a time by means of 
 the previous question, or altogether by a 
 motion for indefinite postponement. 
 
 SEC. I. PREVIOUS QUESTION. 
 
 63. Previous Question: Originally a 
 Subsidiary Motion to Suppress of Main 
 Question, But Perverted to Suppress 
 Debate. The original and proper parlia- 
 mentary use of the previous question being, 
 as above stated, the suppression of a main 
 question, it seems proper to consider it as 
 one of the subsidiary motions for that pur- 
 pose; although, in this country, it has been 
 
PREVIOUS QUESTION. , 43 
 
 perverted to a wholly different use, namely, 
 the suppression of debate. This consider- 
 ation, in connection with the difficulty of 
 the subject, and the importance of a correct 
 understanding of it, makes it proper to 
 devote more room to the previous question, 
 than needs to be given to most of the other 
 subsidiary motions. It will first be con- 
 sidered according to its original use and 
 intention; and, afterward, as used in this 
 country. 
 
 64. Previous Question : Origin of, 
 How Put, and Effect of in Negative. 
 There are several motions, which give rise to 
 questions previous in their nature to other 
 questions to which they relate; but the term 
 previous has been applied exclusively to a 
 motion denominated the previous questian, 
 which has for its object the suppression of a 
 principal motion or question. This motion 
 was introduced into the house of commons, 
 in England, more than two centuries ago, 
 for the purpose of suppressing subjects of a 
 delicate nature, relating to high personages, 
 or the discussion of which might call forth 
 observations of an injurious tendency. When 
 first made use of, the form of the motion 
 was, shall the main question be put? and the 
 
44 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 effect of a decision of ifc in the negative was 
 to suppress the main question for the whole 
 session. The form of it was afterward 
 changed to that which it has at present, 
 namely, shall the main question be now put 9 
 and the effect of a negative decision of it 
 now is to suppress the main question for the 
 residue of the day only. The operation of 
 this motion, in suppressing the question to 
 which it is applied, results from the principle, 
 that no further consideration or discussion 
 can regularity be had of a subject, which it 
 has been decided shall not be put to the 
 question; and, therefore, when, on the mo- 
 tion of the previous question, it has been 
 decided, that the principal question shall not 
 now be put, that question is disposed of for 
 the day, and cannot be renewed until the 
 next or some succeeding day. This is the 
 purpose for which the previous question was 
 originally invented, and for which it is still 
 used in the British parliament. 
 
 65. Motion for Previous Question : 
 Effect of, if Decided in Affirmative. 
 But the previous question, may be decided 
 in the affirmative, as well as the negative, 
 that is, that the main question shall now be 
 put; in which case, that question is to be 
 
MOTION FOR PREVIOUS QUESTION. 45 
 
 put immediately, without any further debate, 
 and in the form in which^ it then exists. 
 This operation of the previous question, 
 when decided affirmatively, has led to the 
 use of it for the purpose of suppressing 
 debate on a principal question, and coming 
 to a vote upon it immediately; and this is 
 ordinarily the only object of the previous 
 question, as made use of in the legislative 
 assemblies of the United States.* The 
 operation of a negative decision is different in 
 different assemblies; in some, as, for example, 
 in the house of representatives of congress, 
 it operates to dispose of the principal or 
 main question by suppressing or removing it 
 from before the house for the day; but in 
 others, as in the house of representatives of 
 Massachusetts, and in the house of assembly 
 of JSTew York (in the former by usage only, 
 and in the latter by a rule), the effect of a 
 negative decision of the previous question is 
 
 * Mr. Jefferson (Manual, xxxiv.) considers this extension 
 of the previous question as an abuse. He is of opinion, that 
 "its uses would be as well answered by other more simple 
 parliamentary forms, and therefore it should not be favored, 
 but restricted within as narrow limits as possible." Notwith- 
 standing this suggestion, however, the use of the previous 
 question, as above stated, has become so firmly established, 
 that it cannot now be disturbed or unsettled. 
 
46 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 to leave the main question under debate for 
 the residue of the sitting, unless sooner dis- 
 posed of, by taking the question, or in some 
 other manner. 
 
 66. Previous Question : How Em- 
 ployed in England and in the United 
 States. In England, the previous question 
 is used only for suppressing a main question; 
 the object of the mover is to obtain a deci- 
 sion of it in the negative; and the effect of 
 such a decision, though in strictness only to 
 suppress the question for the day, is, practic- 
 ally and by parliamentary usage, to dispose 
 of the subject altogether. In this country, 
 the previous question is used chiefly for sup- 
 pressing debate on a main question; the 
 object of the mover is to obtain a decision of 
 it in the affirmative; and the effect of a 
 decision the other way, though in some as- 
 semblies operating technically to suppress the 
 main question for the day only, is, in general, 
 merely to suspend the taking of the question 
 for that day; either leaving the debate to go 
 on during the residue of the day, or the sub- 
 ject to be renewed on the next or some other 
 day. The operation of an affirmative decision 
 is the same, in both countries, namely, the 
 putting of the main question immediately, 
 
MOTION FOR POSTPONEMENT. 47 
 
 aiid without futher debate, delay, or con- 
 sideration.* 
 
 SEC. II. INDEFINITE POST- 
 PONEMENT. 
 
 67. Motion for Indefinite Postpone- 
 ment : Object and Effect of. In order 
 to suppress a question altogether, without 
 coming to a direct vote upon it, in such a 
 manner that it cannot be renewed, the proper 
 motion is for indefinite postponement; that 
 is, a postponement or adjournment of the 
 question, without fixing any day for resum- 
 ing it. The effect of this motion, if decided 
 in the affirmative, is to quash the proposi- 
 tion entirely; as an indefinite adjournment 
 is equivalent to a dissolution, or the con- 
 tinuance of a suit, without day, is a discon- 
 tinuance of it. A negative decision has no 
 effect whatever. 
 
 * In the Senate of the United States the previous question 
 cannot be moved, and the only limit of debate is exhaustion 
 or argument. Originally devised to retard or defeat a meas- 
 ure, the " previous question " has gradually developed in the 
 United States into a proceeding to hasten, and secure favor- 
 able action upon it. Instead of being a "perversion" as 
 described by the author, the change has been beneficent, and 
 the motion should have higher privilege. J. J. I. 
 
48 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 OF MOTIONS TO POSTPONE. 
 
 68. Motions to Postpone and to Lay 
 on Table : Objects of. If the assembly 
 is willing to entertain and consider a ques- 
 tion, but not at the time when it is moved, 
 the proper course is either to postpone the 
 subject to another day, or to order it to lie 
 on the table. 
 
 69. Motion to Postpone to a Future 
 Day : Object of. When the members in- 
 dividually want more information than they 
 possess, at the time a question is moved, or 
 desire further time for reflection and exami- 
 nation, the proper motion is, to postpone the 
 subject to such future day as will answer 
 the views of the assembly. 
 
 70. Motion to Postpone to an Impos- 
 sible Future Day : Improper Use of. 
 This motion is sometimes used improperly, 
 to get rid of a proposition altogether, as 
 would be done by an indefinite postpone- 
 
MOTION TO LAY O]ST THE TABLE. 49 
 
 ment. This is effected by fixing upon a day 
 which, according to the common course of 
 things, will not arrive until after the assem- 
 bly has been brought to a close. But a 
 motion, worded in this manner, is precisely 
 equivalent to a motion for indefinite post- 
 ponement, and should be so considered and 
 treated. 
 
 71. Motion that Matter Lie on 
 Table : Purpose an Effect of. If the 
 assembly has something else before it, which 
 claims its present attention, and is therefore 
 desirous to postpone a particular proposition, 
 until that subject is disposed of, such post- 
 ponement may be effected by means of a 
 motion that the matter in question lie on the 
 table. If this motion prevails, the subject 
 so disposed of may be taken up, at any time 
 afterward, and considered, when it may 
 suit the convenience of the assembly. 
 [1 320.] 
 
 72. Motion to Lay on the Table : 
 Final Disposition of Question if Not 
 Afterward Taken Up. This motion is 
 also sometimes made use of for the final dis- 
 position of a subject; and, it always has that 
 effect, when no motion is afterward made to 
 take it up. 
 
50 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 OF MOTIONS TO COMMIT. 
 
 73. Motions to Commit or to Refer : 
 Object of. The third case for the use of a 
 subsidiary motion, as already stated, occurs, 
 when the subject-matter of a proposition is 
 regarded with favor, but the form in which 
 it is introduced is so defective, that a more 
 careful and deliberate consideration is neces- 
 sary, than can conveniently be given to it in 
 the assembly itself, in order to put it into a 
 satisfactory form. The course of proceeding 
 then is, to refer the subject to a committee; 
 which is called a commitment, or, if the sub- 
 ject has already been in the hands of a com- 
 mittee, a recommitment. 
 
 74. Motion to Commit : Selection 
 between Standing and Select Com- 
 mittee- If there is a standing committee 
 of the assembly, whose functions embrace 
 the subject in question, the motion should 
 be to refer it to that committee; if there is 
 
MOTION TO COMMIT. 51 
 
 no such committee, then the motion should 
 be to refer to a select committee. If it is a 
 matter of doubt, whether a particular stand- 
 ing committee is appropriate or not, and 
 propositions are made for a reference to that 
 committee, and also for a reference to a select 
 committee, the former proposition should be 
 first put to the question. 
 
 75. Motion to Commit : May be With 
 Instructions or Without. When a sub- 
 ject is referred or recommitted, the committee 
 may be instructed or ordered by the assem- 
 bly, as to any part or the whole of the duties 
 assigned them; or the subject may be left 
 with them without instructions. In the 
 former case, the instructions must be 
 obeyed, of course; in the latter, the com- 
 mittee have full power over the matter, and 
 may report upon it, in any manner they 
 please, provided they keep within the recog- 
 nized forms of parliamentary proceedings. 
 [1 321.] 
 
 76, Motion to Commit : May Affect 
 Part of Subject or All, and May be to 
 Different Committees. A part only of a 
 subject may be committed, without the resi- 
 due; or different parts may be committed to 
 different committees. 
 
53 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 77. Motion to Commit with Instruc- 
 tions : Uses of. A commitment with in- 
 structions is some times made use of, as a 
 convenient mode of procuring further in- 
 formation, and, at the same time, of post- 
 poning the consideration of a subject to a 
 future though uncertain day. 
 
MOTIONS TO AMEND. 53 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 OF MOTIONS TO AMEND. 
 
 78. Motion to Amend : Object of. 
 
 The last case, for the introduction of sub- 
 sidiary motions, is when the assembly is 
 satisfied with the subject-matter of a propo- 
 sition, but not with the form of it, or with 
 all its different parts, or desires to make 
 some addition to it. The course of proceed- 
 ing then is, to bring the proposition into 
 the proper form, and make its details satis- 
 factory, by means of amendments, or of cer- 
 tain proceedings of a similar character, and 
 having the same general purpose in view. 
 The latter will be first considered. 
 
 SEC. I. DIVISION OF A QUES- 
 TION., 
 
 79. If Question Consists of Two or 
 More Parts : Separate Vote May be 
 Had When. When a proposition or mo 
 
54 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 tion is complicated, that is, composed of two 
 or more parts, which are so far independent 
 of each other, as to be susceptible of division 
 into several questions, and it is supposed 
 that the assembly may approve of some but 
 not of all these parts, it is a compendious 
 mode of amendment, to divide the motion 
 into separate questions, to be separately voted 
 upon and decided by the assembly. This 
 division may take place by the order of the 
 assembly, on a motion regularly made and 
 seconded for the purpose. 
 
 80. Separate Vote Upon Divided 
 Question : Effect of. When a motion is 
 thus divided, it becomes a series of questions, 
 to be considered and treated each by itself, 
 as an independent proposition, in the order 
 in which they stand; and when they have 
 all been gone through with and decided, the 
 result will be the same, as if motions to 
 amend by striking out the several parts had 
 been made and put to the question. When 
 a motion for a division is made, the mover 
 ought to specify in his motion the manner 
 in which he proposes to make the division; 
 and this motion, like every other of the 
 nature of an amendment, is itself susceptible 
 of amendment. 
 
DIVISION OF QUESTION. 55 
 
 81. Division of Question and Sepa- 
 rate Vote : Not the Right of Member 
 to Demand. It is sometimes asserted, that 
 it is the right of every individual member to 
 have a complicated question (provided it is 
 susceptible of division) divided into its 
 several parts, and a question put separately 
 on each, on his mere demand, and without 
 any motion or any vote of the assembly for 
 that purpose. But this is a mistake; there 
 is no such rule of parliamentary proceeding; 
 a complicated question can only be separated 
 by moving amendments to it in the usual 
 manner, or by moving for a division of it in 
 the manner above stated. 
 
 82. Division of Question : Rule for 
 on Demand of Member, Common. It 
 is not unusual, however, for a deliberative 
 assembly to have a rule providing for the 
 division of a complicated question (provided 
 it is susceptible of division) into its several 
 parts, upon the demand of a member. When 
 this is the case, it is for the presiding officer 
 (subject of course to the revision of the as- 
 sembly) to decide, when the division of a 
 motion is demanded, first, whether the pro- 
 position is susceptible of division, and, 
 secondly, into how many and what parts it 
 may be divided. 
 
56 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 83. Division of Question : When 
 Allowable. A proposition, in order to be 
 divisible, must comprehend points so distinct 
 and entire, that if one or more of them be 
 taken away, the others may stand entire 
 and by themselves; but a qualifying 
 paragraph, as, for example, an exception or 
 a proviso, if separated from the general 
 assertion or statement to which it belongs, 
 does not contain an entire point or propo- 
 sition.* 
 
 SEC. II. FILLING BLANKS. 
 
 84. Blanks of Times and Numbers f 
 How Filled. It often happens, that a 
 proposition is introduced with blanks pur- 
 posely left by the mover to be- filled by the 
 assembly, either with times and numbers, or 
 with provisions analogous to those of the 
 proposition itself. In the latter case, blanks 
 are filled in the same way, that other amend- 
 ments by the insertion of words are made. 
 In the former, proposition to fill blanks are 
 not considered as amendments to the ques- 
 tion, but as original motions, to be made and 
 decided before the principal question. 
 
 * The motion to strike out and insert is regarded now in 
 practice in the United States as indivisible. J. J. I. 
 
ORDER OF FILLING BLANKS. 57 
 
 85. Motions to Fill Blanks : How 
 Acted Upon. When a blank is left to be 
 filled with a time or number, motions may 
 be made for that purpose, and the question 
 taken on each by itself, and before another 
 is made; or several motions may be made and 
 pending before any of them are put to the 
 question. This last mode of proceeding, 
 which is the most usual as well as convenient, 
 requires that the several propositions should 
 be arranged, and the question taken on them, 
 in such order as will the soonest and with the 
 most certainty ena'ble the assembly to come 
 to an agreement. 
 
 86. Order of Filling Blanks : Object 
 Sought. In determining upon the order to 
 be adopted, the object is not to begin at that 
 extreme, which and more being within every 
 man's wish, no one can vote against it, and, 
 yet, if it should be carried in the affirmative, 
 every question for more would be precluded: 
 but, at that extreme, which will be likely to 
 unite the fewest, and then to advance or 
 recede, until a number or time is reached, 
 which will unite a majority. 
 
 87. Order of Filling Blanks : Reasons 
 for the Method that is Followed. 
 Hence, when several different propositions 
 
58 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 are made for filling blanks with a time or 
 number, the rule is, that if the larger com* 
 prehends the lesser, as in a question to what 
 day a postponement shall take place, the 
 number of which a committee shall consist, 
 the amount of a fine to be imposed, the 
 term of an imprisonment, the term of irre- 
 deemability of a loan, or the terminus in 
 quern in any other case, the question must 
 begin a maxima, and be first taken upon the 
 greatest or farthest, and so on to the least or 
 nearest, until the assembly comes to a vote: 
 But, if the lesser includes the greater, as in 
 questions on the limitation of the rate of 
 interest, on the amount of a tax, on what 
 day the session of a legislative assembly shall 
 be closed, by adjournment, on what day the 
 next session shall commence, or the ter- 
 minus a quo in any other case, the question 
 must begin a minima, and be first taken on 
 the least or nearest, and so on to the greatest 
 or most remote, until the assembly comes to 
 a vote.* 
 
 * The above is the rule as laid down by Mr. Jefferson ( 33), 
 and holds where it is not superseded by a special rule, which 
 is generally the case in our legislative assemblies; as, for 
 example, in the senate of the United States, the rule is, that 
 in filling blanks, the largest sum and longest time shall be 
 first put. In the house of commons, in England, the rule 
 established by usage is, that the smallest sum and the longest 
 time shall be first put. 
 
TRANSPOSITION. 5 
 
 SEC. III. ADDITION SEPARA- 
 TION TRANSPOSITION. 
 
 88. Condensation of Matters : How 
 Reached. When the matters contained in 
 two separate propositions might be better put! 
 into one, the mode of proceeding is, to reject 
 one of them, and then to incorporate the 
 substance of it with the other by way of 
 amendment. A better mode, however, if the 
 business of the assembly will admit of its 
 being adopted, is to refer both propositions 
 to a committee, with instructions to incor- 
 porate them together in one. 
 
 89. Distribution of Matters : How 
 Reached. So, on the other hand, if the 
 matter of one proposition would be more 
 properly distributed into two, any part of it 
 may be struck out by way of amendment,, 
 and put into the form of a new and distinct 
 proposition. But in this, as in the former 
 case, a better mode would generally be to 
 refer the subject to a committee. 
 
 90. Transposition : How Secured. 
 In like manner, if a paragraph or section re- 
 quires te be transposed, a question must be 
 put on striking it out where it stands, and 
 another for inserting it in the place desired. 
 
60 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 91. Numbering Sections and Para- 
 graphs : Clerical Only. The uumbers 
 prefixed to the several sections, paragraphs, 
 or resolutions, which constitute a proposition, 
 are merely marginal indications, and no part 
 of the text of the proposition itself; and, if 
 necessary, they may be altered or regulated 
 by the clerk, without any vote or order of the 
 assembly. 
 
 SEC. IV. MODIFICATION OR 
 
 AMENDMENT BY THE 
 
 MOVER. 
 
 92. Amendment of Motion : May be 
 Made at Any Time by General Con- 
 sent. The mover of a proposition is some- 
 times allowed to modify it, after it has been 
 stated as a question by the presiding officer; 
 but, as this is equivalent to a withdrawal of 
 the motion, in order to substitute another in 
 its place; and, since, as has already been 
 seen, a motion regularly made; seconded, and 
 proposed, cannot be withdravfawithout leave; 
 it is clear, that the practice alluded to rests 
 only upon general consent; and, that, if 
 objected to, the mover of a proposition must 
 obtain the permission of the assembly, 
 by a motion and question for the purpose, 
 
AMENDMENTS. 61 
 
 in orcier to enable him to modify his propo- 
 sition. 
 
 93. Amendment to Motion : Mover 
 of Original Question May Accept* by 
 General Consent. So, too, when an 
 amendment has been regularly moved and 
 seconded, it is sometimes the practice for the 
 mover of the proposition to which it relates 
 to signify his consent to it, and for the 
 amendment to be thereupon made, without 
 any question being taken upon it by the as- 
 sembly. As this proceeding, however, is 
 essentially the same with that described in 
 the preceding paragraph, it, of course, rests 
 upon the same foundation, and is subject to 
 the same rule. [T 322.] 
 
 SEC. V. GENERAL RULES RE- 
 LATING TO AMENDMENTS. 
 
 94. Amendments : Three Forms of. 
 
 All amendments, of which a proposition 
 is susceptible, so far as form is concerned, 
 may be effected in one of three ways, namely, 
 either by inserting or adding certain words; 
 or by striking out certain words; or by 
 striking out certain words, and inserting or 
 adding others. These several forms of 
 amendment are subject to certain general 
 
62 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 rules, which, being equally applicable to 
 them all, require to be stated beforehand. 
 
 95. Order of Amendments: Numer- 
 ical Sequence Should be Followed. 
 First rule. When a proposition consists of 
 several sections, paragraphs, or resolutions, 
 the natural order of considering and amend- 
 ing it is to begin at the beginning, and to 
 proceed through it in course by paragraphs; 
 and when a latter part has been amended, it 
 is not in order to recur back, and make any 
 alteration or amendment of a former part, 
 
 96* Amendment : Limitation of. 
 Second Rule. Every amendment, which can 
 be proposed, whether by striking out, or 
 inserting, or striking out and inserting, is 
 itself susceptible of amendment; but there 
 can be no amendment of an amendment to 
 an amendment; this would be such a piling 
 of questions one upon another, as would lead 
 to great embarrassment; and as the line must 
 be drawn somewhere, it has been fixed by 
 usage after the amendment to the amend- 
 ment. The object, which is proposed to be 
 effected by such a proceeding, must be sought 
 by rejecting the amendment to the amend- 
 ment, in the form in which it is proposed, 
 and then moving it again ir> the form in 
 
ILLUSTKATIOX. 63 
 
 which it is wished to be amended, in which 
 it is only an amendment to an amendment; 
 and in order to accomplish this, he who 
 desires to amend an amendment should give 
 notice, that, if rejected, in the form in 
 which it is presented, he shall move it again 
 in the form in which he desires to have it 
 adopted. 
 
 97. Illustration : Thus, if a proposition 
 consist of A B, and it is proposed to amend 
 by inserting D, it may be moved to amend 
 the amendment by inserting E F; but it 
 cannot be moved to amend this amendment, 
 as, for example, by inserting Gr. The only 
 mode, by which this can be reached, is to 
 reject the amendment in the form in which 
 it is presented, namely, to insert E F, and 
 to move it in the form in which it is desired 
 to be amended, namely, to insert E G F. 
 
 98. Proposition : Finally Agreed to 
 Cannot be Afterward Amended. Third 
 Rule. Whatever is agreed to by the assembly, 
 on a vote, either adopting or rejecting a pro- 
 posed amendment, cannot be afterward 
 altered or amended. 
 
 99. Illustration : Thus, if a proposition 
 consist of A B, and it is moved to insert C; 
 if the amendment prevail, C cannot be after- 
 
64 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 ward amended, because it has been agreed 
 to in that form; and, so, if it is moved to 
 strike out B, and the amendment is rejected, 
 B cannot afterward be amended, because a 
 vote against striking it out is equivalent to a 
 vote agreeing to it as it stands. 
 
 100. Proposition : Disagreed to Can- 
 not be Moved Again. Fourth Rule. 
 Whatever is disagreed to by the assembly, 
 on a vote, cannot be afterward moved 
 again. This rule is the converse of the 
 preceding, and may be illustrated in the 
 same manner. 
 
 101. Illustration. Thus, if it is moved 
 to amend A B by inserting C, and the amend- 
 ment is rejected, cannot be moved again; 
 or, if it is moved to amend A B by striking 
 out B, and the amendment prevails, B can- 
 not be restored, because, in the first case, C, 
 and, in the other, B, have been disagreed to 
 by a vote. 
 
 102. Inconsistency : Ground for Re- 
 jection, But Not for Suppression on 
 Point of Order. Fifth Rule. The incon- 
 sistency or incompatibility of a proposed 
 amendment with one which has already been 
 adopted, is a fit ground for its rejection by 
 the assembly, but not for the suppression of 
 
ILLUSTRATION. 65 
 
 it by the presiding officer, as against order; 
 for, if questions of this nature were allowed 
 to be brought within the jurisdiction of 
 the presiding officer, as matters of order, 
 he might usurp a negative on important 
 modifications, and suppress or embarrass 
 instead of subserving the will of the as- 
 sembly. 
 
 SEC. VI. AMENDMENTS BY 
 STRIKING OUT. 
 
 103. Rejected Amendment to Strike 
 Out : Limitations of, If an amendment 
 is proposed by striking out a particular para- 
 graph or certain words, and. the amendment 
 is rejected, it cannot be again moved to strike 
 out the same words or a part of them; but 
 it may be moved to strike out the same 
 words with others, or to strike out a part of 
 the same words with others, provided the 
 coherence to be struck out be so substantial, 
 as to make these, in fact, different proposi- 
 tions from the former. 
 
 104. Illustration. Thus, if a proposi- 
 tion consist of A B C D, and it is moved to 
 strike out B C; if this amend mentis rejected, 
 it cannot be moved again; but it may be 
 moved to strike out A B, or A B C, or B G 
 D or CD. 
 
66 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 105. Amendment to Strike Out 
 Agreed to : How Limited. If an amend- 
 ment by striking out is agreed to, it cannot 
 be afterward moved to insert the same words 
 struck out or a part of them; but it may be 
 moved to insert the same words with others, 
 or a part of the same words with others, pro- 
 vided the coherence to be inserted make 
 these propositions substantially different 
 from the first. 
 
 106. Illustration. Thus, if the propo- 
 sition A B G D is amended by striking out 
 B C, it cannot be moved to insert B G 
 again; but it may be moved to insert B 
 with other words, or B with others, or C 
 with others. 
 
 107. Three Amendments to Motion : 
 To Amend by Striking out, Described. 
 When it is proposed to amend by striking 
 out a particular paragraph, it may be moved 
 to amend this amendment, in three dif- 
 ferent ways, namely, either by striking out a 
 part only of the paragraph, or by inserting 
 or adding words, or by striking out and in- 
 serting. 
 
 108. Illustration. Thus, if it is moved 
 to amend the proposition A B G D, by strik- 
 ing out B G, it may be moved to amend this 
 
MOTIONS TO AMEKD. 67 
 
 amendment by striking out B only or C only, 
 or by inserting E, or by striking out B or 0, 
 and inserting E. 
 
 109. If Motion to Strike Out is Pend- 
 ing: Motion to Amend Paragraph to 
 be Retained Must be Made When. 
 In the case of a proposed amendment by 
 striking out, the effect of voting upon it, 
 whether it be decided in the affirmative or 
 negative, according to the third and fourth 
 rules above mentioned, renders it necessary 
 for those who desire retain the paragraph 
 to amend it, if any amendment is necessary, 
 before the vote is taken on striking out; as, 
 if struck out, it cannot be restored, and, if 
 retained, it cannot be amended. 
 
 no. Motions to Amend : Precedence 
 of. As an amendment must necessarily be 
 put to the question before the principal 
 motion; so the question must be put on an 
 amendment to an amendment before it is put 
 on the amendment but, as this is the ex- 
 treme limit to which motions may be put 
 upon one another, there can be no precedence 
 of one over another among amendments to 
 amendments; and, consequently, they can 
 only be moved, one at a time, or, at all events, 
 must be put to the question in the order in 
 which they are movsd. 
 
68 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 in. Motion to Strike Out : Form of, 
 and Reason thereof. When a motion for 
 striking out words is put to the question, the 
 parliamentary form always is, whether the 
 words shall stand as part of the principal 
 motion, and not whether they shall be struck 
 out. The reason for this form of stating the 
 question probably is, that the question may 
 be taken in the same manner on a part as on 
 the whole of the principal motion; which 
 would not be the case, if the question was 
 stated on striking out; inasmuch as the ques- 
 tion on the principal motion, when it comes 
 to be stated, will be on agreeing to it, and 
 not on striking out or rejecting it. Besides, 
 as an equal division of the assembly would 
 produce a different decision of the question, 
 according to the manner of stating it, it 
 might happen, if the question on the amend- 
 ment was stated on striking out, that the same 
 question would be decided both affirmatively 
 and negatively by the same vote.* 
 
 112. Motion to Amend by Striking- 
 Out : Statement of. On a motion to 
 amend by striking out certain words, the 
 
 * The common, if not the only, mode of stating the question, 
 in the legislative assemblies of this country, is on striking 
 out. 
 
ILLUSTRATION. 69 
 
 manner of stating the question is, first to 
 read the passage proposed to be amended, as 
 it stands; then the words proposed to be 
 struck out; and, lastly, the whole passage as 
 it will stand if the amendment is adopted. 
 [IF 323.] 
 
 SEC. VII. AMENDMENTS BY 
 INSERTING. 
 
 113. Rejected Amendment to Insert: 
 Same Proposition Cannot be Moved 
 Again. If an amendment is proposed by 
 inserting or adding a paragraph or words, 
 and the amendment is rejected, it cannot be 
 moved again to insert the same words or a 
 part of them; but it may be moved to insert 
 the same words with others, or a part of 
 the same words with others, provided the ' 
 coherence really make them different propo- 
 sitions. 
 
 114. Illustration. Thus, if it is moved 
 to amend the proposition A B by inserting 
 C D, and the amendment is rejected, C D 
 cannot be again moved; but it may be moved 
 to insert C E, or D E, or ODE. 
 
 115. Motion to Insert Agreed to 
 Prevents Motion to Strike Out Same 
 Proposition. If it is proposed to amend 
 
70 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 by inserting a paragraph, and the amend- 
 ment prevails, it cannot be afterward moved 
 to strike out the same words or a part of 
 them; but it may be moved to strike out the 
 same words with others,* or a part of the 
 same words with others, provided the coher- 
 ence be such as to make these propositions 
 really different from the first. 
 
 116. Illustration. Thus, if in the ex- 
 ample above supposed, the amendment pre- 
 vails, and C D is inserted, it cannct be after- 
 ward moved to strike out C D, but it may be 
 moved to strike out A C or A D, or D B, 
 or D B. 
 
 117. Motion to Insert : Three Ways 
 to Amend. When it is proposed to amend 
 by inserting a paragraph, this amendment 
 may be amended in three different ways, 
 namely, either by striking out a part of the 
 paragraph; or by inserting something into 
 it; or by striking out and inserting. 
 
 118. Illustration. Thus, if it is pro< 
 posed to amend A B by inserting C D, tins 
 amendment maybe amended either by strik- 
 ing out C or D. or inserting E, or by striking 
 out C or D and inserting E. 
 
 * This is the common case of striking out a paragraph, after 
 having amended it by inserting words. 
 
AMENDMENTS TO INSERT. 71 
 
 119. When Motion to Insert Must 
 be Amended. When it is proposed to 
 amend by inserting a paragraph, those who 
 are in favor of the amendment should amend 
 it, if necessary, before the question is taken; 
 because if it is rejected, it cannot be moved 
 again, and, if received, it cannot be 
 amended. 
 
 120. Amendments to Insert : No 
 Priority in. There is no precedence of one 
 over another in amendments to amendments 
 by inserting, any more than in amendments 
 to amendments by striking out. 
 
 121. Question: How Stated. On a 
 motion to amend by inserting a paragraph, 
 the manner of stating the question is, first, 
 to read the passage to be amended, as it 
 stands; then the words proposed to be in- 
 serted; and, lastly, the whole passage as it 
 will stand if the amendment prevails. 
 
 SEC. VIII. AMENDMENTS BY 
 STRIKING OUT AND IN- 
 SERTING. 
 
 122. Motion to Strike Out and In- 
 sert : Question Divisible. The third 
 form of amending a proposition, namely, by 
 striking out certain words and inserting 
 
72 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 others in their place, is, in fact, a combination 
 of the other two forms; and may accordingly 
 be divided into those two forms, either by a 
 vote of the assembly, or on the demand of a 
 member, under a special rule to that effect.* 
 [1" 323.] 
 
 123. Proceedings in Case of Division. 
 If the motion is divided, the question is first 
 to be taken on striking out; and if that is 
 decided in the affirmative, then, on inserting; 
 but if the former is decided in the negative, 
 the latter falls, of course. On a division, the 
 proceedings are the same, in reference to each 
 branch of the question, beginning with the 
 striking out, as if each branch had been 
 moved by itself. 
 
 124. Proceedings when Motion to 
 Strike Out and Insert is Not Divided. 
 If the motion to strike out and insert is put 
 to the question undivided, and is decided in 
 the negative, the same motion cannot be 
 made again; but, it may be moved to strike 
 
 * Mr. Jefferson ( xxxv) says, " the question, if desired, is 
 then to be divided,' 1 etc. ; but, as he makes no exception of a 
 motion to strike out and insert, when treating of the subject 
 of division, and does not here state it as an exception, he un- 
 loubtedly supposes the division in this case to be made in the 
 egular and usual manner. 
 
 Not divisible in practice in United States. J. J. I. 
 
MOTION TO AMEND. 73 
 
 out the same words, and, 1, insert nothing; 
 2, insert other words; 3, insert the same 
 words with others; 4, insert a part of the 
 same words with others; 5, strike out the 
 same words with others, and insert the same; 
 6, strike out a part of the same words with 
 others, and insert the same; 7, strike out 
 other words and insert the same; and, 8, 
 insert the same words without striking out 
 anything. 
 
 125. If Motion to Strike Out and In- 
 sert Decided in Affirmative : What. - 
 If the motion to strike out and insert is 
 decided in the affirmative, it cannot be then 
 moved to insert the words struck out or a 
 part of them, or to strike out the words in- 
 serted, or a- part of them; but, it may be 
 moved, 1, to insert the same words with 
 others; 2, to insert a part of the same words 
 with others; 3, to strike out the same words 
 with others; or, 4, to strike out a part of the 
 same words with others. 
 
 126. Motion to Amend by Striking 
 Out and Inserting May be Amended 
 in Three Ways. When it is proposed to 
 amend by striking out and inserting, this 
 amendment may be amended in three dif- 
 ferent ways in the paragraph proposed to be 
 
74 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 struck out, and also in the paragraph pro- 
 prosed to be inserted, namely, by striking 
 out, or inserting, or striking out and insert- 
 ing. And those who are in favor of either 
 paragraph must amend it, before the ques- 
 tion is taken, for the reasons already stated, 
 namely, that, if decided in the affirmative, 
 the part struck out cannot be restored, nor 
 can the part inserted be amended; and, if 
 decided in the negative, the part proposed to 
 be struck out cannot be amended, nor can 
 the paragraph proposed to be inserted be 
 moved again. 
 
 127. Motion to Amend by Striking* 
 Out and Inserting : Amended How. 
 On a motion to amend, by striking out cer- 
 tain words and inserting others, the manner 
 of stating the question is first to read the 
 whole passage to be amended, as it stands; 
 then the words proposed to be struck out; 
 next those to be inserted; and, lastly, the 
 whole passage as it will stand when amended. 
 
 SEC. IX. AMENDMENTS 
 
 CHANGING THE NATURE 
 
 OF A QUESTION. 
 
 128. Motion to Amend May be Made 
 by Those Who Do Not Favor Original 
 
ILLUSTRATION". 75 
 
 Proposition. The term amendment is in 
 strictness applicable only to those changes 
 of a proposition by which it is improved, 
 that is, rendered more effectual for the pur- 
 pose which it has in view, or made to express 
 more clearly and definitely the sense which 
 it is intended to express. Hence it seems 
 proper, that those only should undertake to 
 amend a proposition, who are friendly to it; 
 but this is by no means the rule; when a 
 proposition is regularly moved and seconded, 
 it is in the possession of the assembly, and 
 cannot be withdrawn but by its leave; it has 
 then become the basis of the future proceed- 
 ings of the assembly, and may be put into 
 any shape, and turned to any purpose, that 
 the assembly may think proper. 
 
 129. Proposition May be Entirely 
 Changed by Amendment. It is conse- 
 quently allowable to amend a proposition in 
 such a manner as entirely to alter its nature, 
 and to make it bear a sense different from 
 what it was originally intended to bear; so 
 that the friends of it, as it was first intro- 
 duced, may themselves be forced to vote 
 against it, in its amended form. 
 
 130. Illustration. This mode of pro- 
 ceeding is sometimes adopted for the pur- 
 
76 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 pose of defeating a proposition, by compel- 
 ling its original friends to unite with those 
 who are opposed to it, in voting for its 
 rejection. Thus, in the British house oi 
 commons, Jan. 29, 1765, a resolution being 
 moved, " That a general warrant for appre- 
 hending the authors, printers, or publishers 
 of a libel, together with their papers, is not 
 warranted by law, and is an high violation of 
 the liberty of the subject:" it was moved to 
 amend this motion by prefixing the following 
 paragraph, namely: " That in the particular 
 case of libels, it is proper and necessary to 
 fix, by a vote of this house only, what ought 
 to be deemed the law in respect of general 
 warrants; and, for that purpose, at the time 
 when the determination of the legality of 
 such warrants, in the instance of a most 
 seditious and treasonable libel, is actually 
 depending before the courts of law, for this 
 house to declare " that a general warrant 
 for apprehending the authors, printers, or 
 publishers of a libel, together with their 
 papers, is not warranted by law, and is an 
 high violation of the liberty of the subject. 
 The amendment was adopted, after a long 
 debate, and then the resolution as amended 
 
ILLUSTRATION. 77 
 
 was immediately rejected without a divi- 
 sion.* 
 
 131. Illustration. -But sometimes the 
 nature of a proposition is changed by means 
 of amendments, with a view to its adop- 
 tion in a sense the very opposite of what 
 it was originally intended to bear. The 
 following is a striking example of this 
 mode of proceeding. In the house of com- 
 mons, April 10, 1744, a resolution was moved, 
 declaring, " That the issuing and paying 
 to the Duke of Aremberg the sum of forty 
 thousand pounds sterling to put the Austrian 
 troops in motion in the year 1742, was a 
 dangerous misapplication of public money, 
 and destructive of the rights of parliament/' 
 The object of this resolution was to censure 
 the conduct of the ministers; and the friends 
 of the ministry, being in a majority, might 
 
 * This mode of defeating a measure, however, is not always 
 successful. In 1780, Mr. Dunning having made a motion, in 
 the house of commons, " that, in the opinion of this house, 
 the influence of the crown has increased, is increasing, aud 
 ought to be diminished, 1 ' Dundas, lord-advocate of Scotland, 
 in order to defeat the motion, proposed to amend, by insert- 
 Ing, after the words, in the opinion of this house, the words, 
 it is now necessary to declare that, etc. But this amend- 
 ment, instead of intimidating the friends of the original motion 
 was at once adopted by them, and the resolution passed as 
 amended. 
 
78 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 have voted directly upon the motion and 
 rejected it. But they preferred to turn it 
 into a resolution approving of the conduct of 
 ministers on the occasion referred to; and it 
 was accordingly moved to amend, by leaving 
 out the words " a dangerous misapplication/' 
 etc., to the end of the motion, and inserting 
 instead thereof the words, " necessary for 
 putting the said troops in motion, and of 
 great consequence to the common cause." 
 The amendment being adopted, it was 
 resolved (reversing the original proposition) 
 " That the issuing and paying to the Duke 
 of Aremberg the sum of forty thousand 
 pounds, to put the Austrian troops in motion, 
 in the year 1742, was necessary for putting 
 the said troops in motion, and of great con- 
 sequence to the common cause/' 
 
 132. Proposition May be Defeated 
 by Amendments : How. It i sa mode of 
 defeating a proposition, somewhat similar to 
 that above mentioned, to carry out or extend 
 the principle of it, by means of amendments, 
 so as to show the inconvenience, absurdity, 
 or danger of its adoption, with such evident 
 clearness, that it becomes impossible for the 
 assembly to agree to it. Thus, a motion 
 having been made in the house of commons, 
 
INCONGUOUS MATTERS. 79 
 
 " for copies of all the letters written by the 
 lords of the admiralty to a certain officer in 
 the navy," it was moved to amend the motion 
 by adding these words; " which letters may 
 contain orders, or be relative to orders, not 
 executed, and still subsisting." This amend- 
 ment being adopted, the motion as amended 
 was unanimously rejected. 
 
 133. Incongruous Matters May be 
 Added by Amendment. It Will be seen, 
 from the foregoing examples, that as the 
 mover of a proposition is under no restriction 
 as to embracing incongruous matters under 
 the same motion; so, on the other hand, the 
 assembly may engraft upon a motion, by way 
 of amendment, matter which is not only in- 
 congruous with, but entirely opposed to, the 
 motion as originally introduced; and, in 
 legislative assemblies, it is not unusual to 
 amend a bill by striking out all after the en- 
 acting clause, and inserting an entirely new 
 bill; or to amend a resolution by striking out 
 all after the words " Eesolved that," and 
 inserting a proposition of a wholly different 
 tenor, [t 324.] 
 
60 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE* 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 OF THE ORDER AND SUCCES- 
 SION OF QUESTIONS. 
 
 134. Exceptions to Rule : That 
 Question Pending Must be Disposed 
 of Before Another Can be Taken Up. 
 It is a general rule, that, when a propo- 
 sition is regularly before a deliberative as- 
 sembly, for its consideration, no other pro- 
 position or motion can regularly be made or 
 arise, so as to take the place of the former, 
 and be first acted upon, unless it be either, 
 Jirsf, a privileged question; secondly, a sub- 
 sidiary question; or, thirdly, an incidental 
 question or motion. 
 
 135. Three Excepted Motions Take 
 the Place of Main Question. All these 
 motions take the place of the principal mo- 
 tion, or main question, as it is usually called, 
 and are to be first put to the question; and, 
 among themselves, also, there are some, 
 which, in like manner, take the place of all 
 
PRIVILEGED QUESTIONS. 81 
 
 the others. Some of these questions merely 
 supersede the principal question, until they 
 have been decided; and, when decided, 
 whether affirmatively or negatively, leave 
 that question as before. Others of them 
 also supersede the principal question, until 
 they are decided; and, when decided one 
 way dispose of the principal question; 
 but, if decided the other way, leave it as 
 before. 
 
 SEC. I. PRIVILEGED QUES- 
 TIONS. 
 
 136. Privileged Questions: What 
 Are. There are certain motions or ques- 
 tions, which on account of the superior im- 
 portance attributed to them, either in con- 
 sequence of a vote of the assembly, or in 
 themselves considered, or of the necessity of 
 the proceedings to which they lead, are 
 entitled to take the place of any other 
 subject or proposition, which may then be 
 under consideration, and to be first acted 
 upon and decided by the assembly. These 
 are called privileged questions, because they 
 are entitled to precedence over other ques- 
 tions, though they are of different degrees 
 among themselves. Questions of this nature 
 
$2 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 -are of three kinds, namely, first, motions 
 to adjourn; secondly, motions or questions 
 relating to the rights and privileges of the 
 assembly, or of its members individually; 
 and, thirdly, motions for the orders of the 
 day. 
 
 ADJOURNMENT. 
 
 137. Motion to Adjourn Has Priority: 
 \Vhy. A motion to adjourn takes the place 
 of all other questions whatsoever;* for, other- 
 wise, the assembly might be kept sitting 
 -against its will, and for an indefinite time; 
 but, in order to entitle this motion to pre- 
 cedence, it must be simple to " adjourn," 
 without the addition of any particular day 
 or time. And, as the object of this motion, 
 when made in the midst of some other pro- 
 
 * It is commonly said, that a motion to adjourn is always 
 in order, but this is not precisely true. The question of ad- 
 journment may, indeed, be moved repeatedly on the same 
 day ; yet, in strictness, not without some intermediate ques- 
 tion being proposed, after one motion to adjourn is disposed 
 of , and before the next motion is made for adjourning; as, 
 for example, an amendment to a pending question, or for the 
 reading of some paper. The reason of this is, that, until some 
 other proceeding has intervened, the question already decided 
 is the same as that newly moved. 
 
 [A motion to adjourn is not in order when a member is 
 speaking, nor during the verification of a vote, nor having been 
 defeated, till other business has intervened. J. J. I.] 
 
ADJOURNMENT SINE DIE. 83 
 
 ceeding, and with a view to supersede a 
 question already proposed, is simple to break 
 up the sitting, it does not admit of any 
 amendment by the addition of a particular 
 day, or in any other manner; though, if a 
 motion to adjourn is made, when no other 
 business is before the assembly, it may be 
 amended like other questions. [*|[ 325.] 
 
 138. Motion to Adjourn : How Put 
 and Effect of. A motion to adjourn is 
 merely, " that this assembly do now adjourn; 1 ' 
 and, if it is carried in the affirmative, the 
 assembly is adjourned to the next sitting 
 day; unless it has previously come to a reso- 
 lution, that, on rising, it will adjourn to a 
 particular day; in which case, it is adjourned 
 to that day. 
 
 139. Adjournment Sine Die Equiv- 
 alent to Dissolution. An adjournment 
 without day, that is, without any time being 
 fixed for reassembling, would, in the case of 
 any other than a legislative assembly, be 
 equivalent to a dissolution.* 
 
 *It is quite common, when the business of a deliberative as- 
 sembly has been brought to a close, to adjourn the assembly 
 without day. A better form is to dissolve it; as an adjourn- 
 ment without day if we regard the etymology of the word 
 adjourn, is a contradiction in terms. 
 
 [An adjournment without day, sine die, would in all cases 
 be equivalent to dissolution. J. J. I.] 
 
84 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 140. Effect of Adjournment Upon 
 Pending Question. When a question is 
 interrupted by an adjournment, before any 
 vote or question has been taken upon it, it is 
 thereby removed from before the assembly, 
 and will not stand before it, as a matter of 
 course, at its next meeting, but must be 
 brought forward in the usual way. 
 
 QUESTIONS OF PRIVILEGE. 
 
 141. Other Questions of Privilege : 
 What Are. The questions, next in relative 
 importance, and which supersede all others 
 for the time being, except that of adjourn- 
 ment, are those which concern the rights 
 and privileges of the assembly, or of its in- 
 dividual members; as, for example, when 
 the proceedings of the assembly are disturbed 
 or interrupted, whether by strangers or 
 members; or where a quarrel arises between 
 two members; and, in these cases, the mat- 
 ter of privilege supersedes the question pend- 
 ing at the time, together with all subsidiary 
 and incidental ones, and must be first dis- 
 posed of. When settled, the question inter- 
 rupted by it is to be resumed, at the point 
 where it was suspended. 
 
ORDERS OF THE DAY. 85 
 
 ORDERS OF THE DAY. 
 
 142. Order of the Day: What When 
 the consideration of a subject has been as- 
 signed for a particular day, by an order of 
 the' assembly, the matter so assigned is called 
 the order of the day for that day. If, in the 
 course of business, as commonly happens in 
 legislative assemblies, there are several sub- 
 jects assigned for the same day, they are 
 called the orders of the day. 
 
 143. Order of the Day Takes Pre- 
 cedence When Reached. A question, 
 which is thus made the subject of an order 
 for its consideration on a particular day, is 
 thereby made a privileged question for that 
 day; the order being a repeal, as to this 
 special case, of the general rule as to busi- 
 ness. If, therefore, any other proposition 
 (with the exception of the two preceding) is 
 moved, or arises, on the day assigned for the 
 consideration of a particular subject, a mo- 
 tion for the order of the day will supersede 
 the question first made, together with all 
 subsidiary and incidental questions connected 
 with it, and must be first put and decided; 
 for if the debate or consideration of that 
 subject were allowed to proceed, it might 
 
86 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 continue through the day and thus defeat 
 the order. 
 
 144. Orders of the Day : How Con- 
 sidered. But this motion, to entitle it to 
 precedence, must be for the orders generally, 
 if there is more than one, and not for any 
 particular one; and, if decided in the affirm- 
 ative, that is, that the assembly will now 
 proceed to the orders of the day, they must 
 then be read and gone through with, in 
 the order in which they stand; priority of 
 order being considered to give priority of 
 right. 
 
 145. Motion to Proceed to Consider- 
 ation of Order of the Day : Privileged 
 When. If the consideration of a subject 
 is assigned for a particular hour on the day 
 named, a motion to proceed to it is not a 
 privileged motion, until that hour has ar- 
 rived; but. if no hour is fixed, the order is 
 for the entire day and every part of it. 
 
 146. Orders of the Day : Priority of. 
 Where there are several orders of the day, 
 and one of them is fixed for a particular 
 hour, if the orders are taken up before that 
 hour, they are to be proceeded with as they 
 stand, until that hour, and then the subject 
 assigned for that hour is the next in order; 
 
FAILURE TO DISPOSE OF ORDERS. 8? 
 
 but, if the orders are taken up at that time 
 or afterward, that particular subject must be 
 considered as the first in order. 
 
 147. Pending Question How Affected 
 by Proceeding With Orders of the 
 Day. If the motion for the orders of the 
 day is decided in the affirmative, the original 
 question is removed from before the assem- 
 bly, in the same manner as if it had been in- 
 terrupted by an adjournment, and does not 
 stand before the assembly, as a matter of 
 course, at its next meeting, but must be 
 renewed in the usual way. 
 
 148. Negative Decision Upon Motion 
 to Proceed With Orders of the Day: 
 Effect of. If the motion is decided in the 
 negative, the vote of the assembly is a dis- 
 charge of the orders, so far as they interfere 
 with the consideration of the subject then 
 before it, and entitles that subject to be first 
 disposed of. 
 
 149. Failure to Dispose of Orders of 
 the Day on Day Assigned : Conse- 
 quence of. Orders of the day, unless pro- 
 ceeded in and disposed of on the day as- 
 signed, fall, of course, and must be renewed 
 for some other day. It may be provided, 
 however, by a special rule, as in the legis- 
 
88 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 lative assemblies of Massachusetts, that the 
 orders for a particular day shall hold for 
 every succeeding day, until disposed of. 
 
 SEC. II. INCIDENTAL QUES- 
 TIONS. 
 
 150. Incidental Questions Defined. 
 
 Incidental questions are such as arise out 
 of other questions, and are consequently to 
 be decided before the questions which give 
 rise to them. Of this nature are, first, 
 questions of order; second, motions for 
 the reading of papers, etc.; third, leave to 
 withdraw a motion; fourth, suspension of 
 a rule; and, fifth, amendment of an amend- 
 ment. 
 
 QUESTIONS OF ORDER. 
 
 151. Questions of Order : By Whom 
 and How Enforced. It is the duty of the 
 presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, 
 to enforce the rules and orders of the body 
 over which he presides, in all its proceedings; 
 and this without question, debate, or delay, 
 in all cases, in which the breach of order, 
 or the departure from rule, is manifest. 
 It is also the right of every member, 
 taking notice of the breach of a rule, to 
 
OF ORDER. 89 
 
 insist upon the enforcement of it in the 
 same manner. 
 
 152. Question as to Fact of Breach 
 Must First be Determined. But, though 
 no question can be made, as to the enforce- 
 ment of the rules, when there is a breach or 
 manifest departure from them, so long as 
 any member insists upon their enforcement; 
 yet questions may and do frequently arise, as 
 to the fact of their being a breach of order, 
 or a violation of the rules in a particular 
 proceeding; and these questions must be 
 decided before a case can arise for the 
 enforcement of the rules. Questions of 
 this kind are denominated questions of 
 order. 
 
 153. Preliminary Question Super- 
 sedes Other Action Till Disposed of. 
 
 | AVhen any question of this nature arises, in 
 / the course of any other proceeding, it neces- 
 sarily supersedes the further consideration of 
 the subject out of which it arises, until that 
 question is disposed of; then the original 
 motion or proceeding revives, and resumes 
 its former position, unless it has been itself 
 disposed of by the question of order. 
 
 154. Question of Order : How Raised, 
 Stated and Decided. Anpeal From 
 
PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 decision of Chair: How Conducted. 
 
 When a question of order is raised, as it may 
 be by any one member, it is not stated from 
 the chair, and decided by the assembly, like 
 other questions; but is decided, in the first 
 instance, by the presiding officer, without 
 any previous debate or discussion by the 
 assembly. If the decision of the presiding 
 officer is not satisfactory, any one member 
 may object to it, and have the question 
 decided by tbe assembly. This is called 
 appealing from the decision of the chair. 
 The question is then stated by the presiding 
 officer, on the appeal, namely: shall the de- 
 cision of the chair stand as the decision of the 
 assembly? and it is thereupon debated and 
 decided bv the assembly, in the same manner 
 as any other question; except that the pre- 
 siding officer is allowed to take a part in the 
 debate* which, on ordinary occasions, he is 
 prohibited from doing, [^j 326.] 
 
 READING PAPERS. 
 
 155, Reading of Papers : When 
 Allowed. It is, for obvious reasons, a 
 general rule, that, where papers are laid be- 
 
 * It would not be considered appropriate for the presiding 
 officer to participate in the debate. J. J. I. 
 
LEAYE TO HEAD PAPERS. 91 
 
 fore a deliberative assembly, for its action, 
 every member has a right to have them once 
 read at the table, before he can be compelled 
 to vote on them; and, consequently, when 
 the reading of any paper, relative to a ques- 
 tion before the assembly, is called for under 
 this rule, no question need be made as to the 
 reading; the paper is read by the clerk, under 
 the direction of the presiding officer, as a 
 matter of course. 
 
 156. Papers Not Within the Rule 
 Can Only be Read on Leave. But, with 
 the exception of papers coming under this 
 rule, it is not the right of any member to- 
 read himself, or to have read, any paper, 
 book, or document whatever, without the 
 leave of the assembly, upon a motion made 
 and a question put for the purpose. The 
 delay and interruption, which would other- 
 wise ensue from reading every paper that 
 might be called for, show the absolute neces- 
 sity of restricting the rule within the nar- 
 rowest possible limits, consistently with per- 
 mitting everv member to have as much 
 information as possible, on the subjects in 
 reference to which he is about to vote. 
 
 157. Leave to Read Papers : Ob- 
 tained How. When, therefore, a member 
 
9# PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 desires that any paper,, book, or document, 
 on the table, whether printed or written 
 (except as above mentioned) should be read 
 for his own information, or that of the as- 
 sembly; or desires to read any such paper, 
 book, or document, in his place, in the 
 course of a debate, or otherwise; or even to 
 read his own speech, which he has prepared 
 beforehand and committed to writing; in 
 all these cases, if any objection is made, 
 he must obtain leave of the assembly, for 
 the reading, by a motion and vote for the 
 purpose. 
 
 158. Reading Generally Allowed. 
 When the reading of a paper is evidently for 
 information, and not for delay, it is the 
 usual practice for the presiding officer to 
 allow of it, unless objection is made, in which 
 case leave must be asked; and this is seldom 
 refused, where there is no intentional or 
 gross abuse of the time and patience of the 
 assembly. 
 
 159. Reading Papers in Full Once 
 May be Demanded. It is not now the 
 practice, as it once was, in legislative assem- 
 blies, to read all papers that are presented, 
 especially when they are referred to commit- 
 tees immediately on their presentation; 
 
MOTION" MAY BE WITHDRAWN. 93 
 
 tftough the right of every member to insist 
 upon one reading is still admitted. It would 
 be impossible, with the amount of business 
 done by legislative bodies, at the present day, 
 to devote much of their time to the reading 
 of papers. 
 
 160. Motion for Reading of Paper if 
 Resisted Must be First Decided. 
 When, in the course of a debate or other 
 proceeding, the reading of a paper is called 
 for, and a question is made upon it, this 
 question is incidental to the former, and must 
 be first decided. 
 
 WITHDRAWAL OF A MOTION. 
 
 161. Motion May be Withdrawn: 
 How. A motion, when regularly made, 
 seconded, and proposed from the chair, is 
 then in the possession of the assembly, and 
 cannot be withdrawn by the mover, or 
 directly disposed of in any manner, but by a 
 vote; hence, if the mover of a question 
 wishes to modify it, or to substitute a dif- 
 ferent one in its place, he must obtain the 
 leave of the assembly for that purpose; which 
 leave can only be had, if objection is made, 
 by a motion and question in the usual mode 
 of proceeding, [ 
 
94 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 162. Decision : Effect of. If this mo- 
 tion is decided in the affirmative, the motion 
 to which it relates is thereby removed from 
 before the assembly, as if it had never been 
 moved; if in the negative, the business pro- 
 ceeds as before. 
 
 SUSPENSION OF A RULE. 
 
 163. Rules Suspended : How, When, 
 and Purpose of. When any contemplated 
 motion or proceeding is rendered impracti- 
 cable, by reason of the existence of some 
 special rule by which it is prohibited, it has 
 become an established practice in this coun- 
 try, to suspend or dispense with the rule, for 
 the purpose of admitting the proceeding or 
 motion which is desired. This can only be 
 done by a motion and question; and, where 
 this course is taken in order to a motion 
 having reference to a proposition then under 
 consideration, a motion to suspend the rule 
 supersedes the original question for the time 
 being, and is first to be decided. 
 
 164. Provision for Suspension of 
 Rules on Occasion: Usual in Codes. 
 It is usual, in the code of rules adopted by 
 deliberative assemblies, and especially legis- 
 lative bodies, to provide that a certain mini- 
 
SUBSIDIARY MOTIONS. 95 
 
 ber exceeding a majority, as two thirds or 
 three fourths, shall be competent to the sus- 
 pension of a rule in a particular case; where 
 this is not provided, there seems to be no 
 other mode of suspending or dispensing with 
 a rule than by general consent. 
 
 AMENDMENT OF AMEND- 
 MENTS. 
 
 165. Question on Amendment to 
 Amendment Must be First Put. in 
 treating of amendments, it has already been 
 seen, that it is allowable to amend a pro- 
 posed amendment; and that the question on 
 such sub-amendment must necessarily be put 
 and decided before putting the question on 
 the amendment. The former is incidental 
 to the latter, and supersedes it for the time 
 being. 
 
 SEC. III. SUBSIDIARY QUES- 
 TIONS. 
 
 166. Subsidiary Motions : What Are 
 and Effect of. Subsidiary, or secondary, 
 questions or motions, as has already been 
 stated, are those which relate to a principal 
 motion, and are made use of to enable the 
 
96 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 assembly to dispose of it in the most appro- 
 priate manner. These motions have the 
 effect to supersede, and, in some cases, when 
 decided one way, to dispose of, the principal 
 question. They are also of different degrees 
 among themselves, and, according to their 
 several natures, supersede, and sometimes 
 dispose of, one another. 
 
 167. Subsidiary Motions Stated. 
 The subsidiary motions in common use are 
 the following, namely: lie on the table, 
 the previous question, postponement, either 
 indefinite or to a day certain, commitment, 
 and amendment. 
 
 168. Subsidiary Motions Can Gener- 
 ally be Applied Only to Main Question: 
 Not to Each Other. It is a general rule, 
 with certain exceptions which will be im- 
 mediately mentioned, that subsidiary motions 
 cannot be applied to one another; as, for 
 example, suppose a motion to postpone, 
 commit, or amend a principal question, it 
 cannot be moved to suppress the motion to 
 postpone, etc., by putting a previous question 
 on it; or, suppose the previous question is 
 moved, or a commitment, or amendment, of 
 a main question, it cannot be moved to post- 
 pone the previous question, or the motion 
 
EXCEPTIONS TO PREVIOUS RULE. 97 
 
 for commitment or amendment. The reasons 
 for this rule are: 1. It would be absurd to 
 separate the appendage from its principal;. 
 2. It would be a piling of questions one on 
 another, which, to avoid embarrassment, is 
 not allowed; and, 3. The same result maybe 
 reached more simply by voting against the* 
 motion which it is attempted to dispose of by 
 another secondary motion. 
 
 169. Exceptions to Previous Rule. 
 The exceptions to the rule above stated are, 
 that motions to postpone (either to a day 
 certain or indefinitely), to commit, or to 
 amend, a principal question, may be amended 
 for the reason, that " the useful character of 
 amendment gives it a privilege of attaching 
 itself to a secondary and privileged motion;" 
 that is, a subsidiary motion to carry out and 
 improve another may be applied to that other, 
 but a subsidiary motion to dispose of or sup- 
 press another is not admissible. Hence, the 
 subsidiary motions above mentioned may be 
 amended. 
 
 170. Previous Question Cannot be 
 Amended : Why. A previous question, 
 however, cannot be amended; the nature of 
 it not admitting of any change. Parlia- 
 
98 PARLIAMEJSTTAKY PRACTICE. 
 
 mentary usage* has fixed its form to be, 
 shall the main question be now put? that is, 
 at this instant; and, as the present instant is 
 but one, it cannot admit of any modification; 
 and to change it to the next day or any other 
 moment is without example or utility. For 
 the same reasons, also, that the form of it is 
 fixed by parliamentary usage, and is already 
 as simple as it can be, a motion to lie on the 
 table cannot be amended. 
 
 LIE ON THE TABLE. 
 
 171. Motion to Lay on the Table: 
 Object and Rank of. This motion is 
 usually resorted to, when the assembly hag 
 something else before it, which claims its 
 present attention, and therefore desires to lay 
 aside a proposition for a short but indefinite 
 time, reserving to itself the power to take it 
 up when convenient. This motion takes 
 precedence of and supersedes all the other 
 subsidiary motions. 
 
 * This is not the present usage. The customary formula is 
 u Shall the previous question be now ordered? 11 or an equiv- 
 alent expression. If the decision is affirmative, then the pre- 
 siding officer submits the pending questions in their order, 
 without further debate. The previous question remains 
 operative till the main question is reached and disposed of. 
 J. J. I. 
 
PREVIOUS QUESTION. 99 
 
 172. Affirmative Decision : Effect of. 
 
 If decided in the affirmative, the principal 
 motion, together with all the other motions, 
 subsidiary and incidental, connected with it, 
 is removed from before the assembly, until it 
 is again taken up; which it may be, by motion 
 and vote, at any time, when the assembly 
 pleases. 
 
 173. Negative Decision : Effect of. 
 If decided in the negative, the business pro- 
 ceeds in the same manner as if the motion 
 had never been made. 
 
 PREVIOUS QUESTION. 
 
 174. Previous Question : Relative 
 Standing of. This motion has already been 
 described (63), and the nature and effect of 
 it fully stated. It stands in an equal degree 
 with all the other subsidiary motions, except 
 the motion to lie on the table; and conse- 
 quently, if first moved, is not subject to be 
 superseded by a motion to postpone, commit, 
 or amend. 
 
 175. Previous Question : Effect of. 
 If the previous question is moved before the 
 others above mentioned, and put to the 
 question, it has the effect to prevent those 
 motions from being made at all; for, if de- 
 
100 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 cided affirmatively, to wit, that the main 
 question shall now be put, it would of course 
 be contrary to the decision of the assembly, 
 and therefore against order, to postpone^ 
 commit, or amend; and if decided nega- 
 tively, to wit, that the main question shall 
 not now be put, this takes the main ques- 
 tion out of the possession of the assem- 
 bly, for the day, so that there is then 
 nothing before, it to postpone, commit, or 
 amend.* 
 
 POSTPONEMENT. 
 
 176. Motion to Postpone : May be 
 Amended How. The motion to postpone 
 is either indefinite, or to a day certain; and, 
 in both these forms, may be amended;, in 
 the former, by making it to a day certain, 
 in the latter, by substituting one day for an- 
 other. But, in the latter case, propositions t 
 to substitute different days for that originally 
 named, bear more resemblance to proposi- 
 tions for filling blanks, than they do to 
 amendments, and should be considered and 
 treated accordingly. 
 
 * In the house of representatives of Massachusetts, as the 
 effect of a negative decision of the previous question is not to 
 remove the principal question from before the house, that 
 question is still open to postponement, commitment, or 
 amendment, notwithstanding such negative decision. 
 
RANK OF THIS MOTION. 101 
 
 177. IllustrationIf, therefore, a mo- 
 tion is made for an indefinite postponement, 
 it may be moved to amend ,tlu? uiotion, by 
 making it to a' day certain. * If any other day 
 is desired, it may be moved as an amendment 
 to the amendment; or it may be moved as an 
 independent motion, when the amendment 
 has been rejected. 
 
 178. Illustration. If a motion is made 
 for a postponement to a day certain, it may 
 be amended by the substitution of a dif- 
 ferent day; but in this case, a more simple 
 and effectual mode of proceeding is to 
 consider the day as a blank, to be filled in 
 the usual manner, beginning with the longest 
 time. 
 
 179. Rank of this Motion. This mo- 
 tion stands in the same degree with motions 
 for the previous question. to commit, and 
 to amend; and, if first made, is not suscep* 
 tible of being superseded by them. 
 
 180. Affirmative and Negative De> 
 cisions : Effect of. If a motion for post- 
 ponement is decided affirmatively, the pro- 
 position to which it is applied is removed 
 from before the assembly, with all its appen- 
 dages and incidents, and consequently there 
 is no ground for either of the other subsid- 
 
102 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 iary motions; if decided negatively, that 
 the proposition shall not be postponed, 
 that .question may then ,be suppressed by 
 the previous question, or committed, or 
 amended. 
 
 COMMITMENT. 
 
 181. Motion to Commit : May be 
 Amended How. A motion to commit, or 
 recommit (which is the term used when the 
 proposition has already been once commit- 
 ted), may be amended, by the substitution 
 of one kind of committee for another, or by 
 enlarging or diminishing the number of the 
 members of the committee, as originally 
 proposed, or by instructions to the com- 
 mittee. 
 
 182. Rank of Motion. This motion 
 stands in the same degree with the previous 
 question and postponement and, if first 
 made, is not superseded by them but it takes 
 precedence of a motion to amend. 
 
 183. Affirmative and Negative Deci- 
 sions : Effect of. If decided affirmatively, 
 the proposition is removed from before the 
 assembly; and, consequently, there is no 
 ground for the previous question, or for 
 postponement, or amendment; if negatively, 
 
MAY BE SUPERSEDED. 103 
 
 to wit, that the principal question shall not 
 be committed, that question may then be 
 suppressed by the previous question, or post- 
 poned, or amended. 
 
 AMENDMENT. 
 
 184. Motion to Amend May be 
 Amended : Rank of Motion. A motion 
 to amend, as has been seen, may be itself 
 amended. It stands in the same degree only 
 with the previous question and indefinite 
 postponement, and neither, if first moved, is 
 superseded by the other. 
 
 185. May be Superseded : How and 
 Why. But this motion is liable to be super- 
 seded by a motion to postpone to a day 
 certain; so that amendment and postpone- 
 ment competing the latter is to be first put. 
 The reason is, that a question for amend- 
 ment is not suppressed by postponing or ad- 
 journing the principal question, but remains 
 before the assembly, whenever the ::^ain 
 question is resumed; for otherwise, it might 
 happen, that the occasion for other urgent 
 business might go by and be lost by length 
 of debate on the amendment, if the assem- 
 bly had no power to postpone the whole 
 subject. 
 
104 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 186, A motion to amend may also De 
 superseded by a motion to commit; so that 
 the latter, though consequently moved, is to 
 be first put; because, "in truth, it facilitates 
 and befriends the motion to amend. 
 
 187. The effect of both a negative and an 
 affirmative decision of amendments has 
 already been considered (94 to 127). 
 
OEDER OF BUSINESS DESIRABLE. 105 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 OF THE ORDER OF PROCEED- 
 ING. 
 
 188. Order of Priority Without As- 
 signment : Subject to Discretion of 
 Presiding Officer Unless Assembly 
 Decides. When several subjects are before 
 the assembly, that is, on their table for con- 
 sideration (for there can be but a single sub- 
 ject under consideration at the same time), 
 and no priority has been given to any one 
 over another, the presiding officer is no* 
 precisely bound to any order, as to what 
 matters shall be first taken up; but is left to 
 his own discretion, unless the assembly on 
 a question xlccide to take up a particular 
 subject. 
 
 189. Calendar and Order of Business 
 Desirable : Why. A settled order of 
 business, however, where the proceedings of 
 an assembly are likely to last a considerable 
 time, and the matters before it are some- 
 
106 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 what numerous, is useful if not necessary for 
 the government of the presiding officer, and 
 to restrain individual members from calling 
 up favorite measures, or matters under their 
 special charge, out of their just time. It is 
 also desirable, for directing the discretion 
 of the assembly, when a motion is made 
 to take up a particular matter, to the prej- 
 udice of others, which are of right entitled 
 to be first attended to, in the general order 
 of business. 
 
 190. Order Established : How. The 
 order of business may be established in virtue 
 of some general rule, or by special orders 
 relating to each particular subject; and 
 must, of course, necessarily depend upon the 
 nature and amount of the matters before the 
 assembly. 
 
 191. Natural Order of Consideration : 
 "What. The natural order, in considering 
 and amending any paper, which consists of 
 several distinct propositions, io, to begin at 
 the beginning, and proceed through it by 
 paragraphs; and this order of proceeding, if 
 strictly adhered to, as it should always be in 
 numerous assemblies, would prevent any 
 amendment in a former part, from being 
 admissible, after a latter part had been 
 
EXCEPTION IN" CASE OF PREAMBLE. 107 
 
 amended; but this rule does not seem to 
 be so essential to be observed in smaller 
 bodies, in which it may often be advan- 
 tageous to allow of going from one part to a 
 paper to another, for the purpose of amend- 
 ments. 
 
 192. Exception in Case of Preamble. 
 To this natural order of beginning at the 
 beginning, there is one exeption according 
 to parliamentary usage, where a resolution 
 or series of resolutions, or other paper, has a 
 preamble or title; in which case, the pream- 
 ble or title is postponed, until the residue of 
 the paper is gone through with. 
 
 193. Proposition Containing Several 
 Paragraphs : How Considered. In con- 
 sidering a proposition consisting of several 
 paragraphs, the course is, for the whole 
 paper to be read entirely through, in the 
 first place, by the clerk; then, a second time, 
 by the presiding officer, by paragraphs; 
 pausing at the end of each, and putting ques- 
 tions for amending, if amendments are pro- 
 posed; and, when the whole paper has been 
 gone through with, in this manner, the pre- 
 siding officer puts the final question on agree- 
 ing to or adopting the whole paper, as 
 amended, or unamended. 
 
108 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 194. Reports from Committees : 
 Order of Consideration. When a paper, 
 which has been referred to a committee, and 
 reported back to the assembly, is taken up 
 for consideration, the amendments only are 
 first read, in course, by the clerk. The pre- 
 siding officer then reads the first, and puts it 
 to the question, and so on until the whole 
 are adopted or rejected, before any other 
 amendment is admitted, with the exception 
 of an amendment to an amendment. When 
 the amendments reported by the committee 
 have been thus disposed of, the presiding 
 officer pauses, and gives time for amend- 
 ments to be proposed in the assembly to the 
 body of the paper (which he also does, if the 
 paper has been reported without amendments, 
 putting no questions but on amendments 
 proposed); and when through the whole, he 
 puts the question on agreeing to or adopting 
 the paper, as the resolution, order, etc., of 
 the assembly. 
 
 195. Final Question : How Stated, 
 and Order Thereon. The final question 
 is sometimes stated merely on the acceptance 
 of the report, but a better form is on agree- 
 ing with the committee in the resolution, 
 order, or whatever else the conclusion of the 
 
KEPORTS FROM COMMITTEES. 109 
 
 report may be, as amended, or without amend- 
 ment; and the resolution or order is then to 
 be entered in the journal as the resolution, 
 etc., of the assembly, and not as the report 
 of the committee accepted. 
 
 196. Reports from Committees : En- 
 tirely New Proposition Treated as an 
 Amendment. When the paper referred to 
 a committee is reported back, as amended, 
 in a new draft (which may be and often is 
 done, where the amendments are numerous 
 and comparatively unimportant), the new 
 draft is to be considered as an amendment, 
 and is to be first amended, if necessary, 
 and then put to the question as an amend- 
 ment reported by the committee; or, the 
 course may be, first to accept the new draft, 
 as a substitute for the original paper, and 
 then to treat it as such. 
 
 197. Simultaneous Pending Ques- 
 tions : Order of Consideration. It often 
 happens, that, besides a principal question, 
 there are several others connected with it, 
 pending at the same time, which are to be 
 taken in their other; as, for example, sup- 
 pose, first 9 a principal motion; second, a mo- 
 tion to amend; third, a motion to commit; 
 fourth, the preceding motions being pending, 
 
110 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 a question of order arises in the debate, 
 which gives occasion, fifth, to a question of 
 privilege, and this leads, sixth, to a subsid- 
 iary motion, as, to lie on the table. The 
 regular course of proceeding requires the 
 motion to lie on the table to be first put; if 
 this is negatived, the question of privilege is 
 then settled; after that comes the question 
 of order; then the question of commitment; 
 if that is negatived, the question of amend- 
 ment is taken; and, lastly, the main question. 
 This example will sufficiently illustrate the 
 manner in which questions may grow out of 
 one another, and in what order they are to 
 be decided.* 
 
 198. No Action , Can be Taken Till 
 Question Stated. When a motion is made 
 and seconded, it is the duty of the presiding 
 officer to propose it to the assembly: until 
 this is done, it is not a question before the 
 assembly, to be acted upon or considered in 
 any manner; and consequently it is not then 
 in order for any member to rise either to de- 
 bate it, or to make any motion in relation to 
 it whatever. 
 
 * The order of motions, for the disposal of any question, is 
 usually fixed by a special rule in legislative assemblies. See 
 note to paragraph 61. 
 
RIGHT TO FLOOK. Ill 
 
 199. Contemporaneous Proposal of 
 Principal and Subsidiary Motions 
 Vicious and Intolerable. It is therefore 
 a most unparliamentary and abusive proceed- 
 ing to allow a principal motion and a sub- 
 sidiary one relating to it to be proposed and 
 stated together, and to be put to the question 
 in their order; as is done, when a member 
 moves a principal question, a resolution, for 
 example, and, at the same time, the previous 
 question, or that the resolution lie on the 
 table. In such a case, the presiding officer 
 should take no notice whatever of the sub- 
 sidiary motion, but should propose the prin- 
 cipal one by itself in the usual manner, be- 
 fore allowing any other to be made. Other 
 members, then, would not be deprived of 
 their rights of debate, etc., in relation in the 
 subject moved. 
 
 200. Right to Floor Cannot be Inter- 
 rupted. When a member has obtained the 
 floor, he cannot be cut off from addressing 
 the assembly, on the question before it; nor, 
 when speaking, can he be interrupted in his 
 speech, by any other member rising and 
 moving an adjournment, or for the orders of 
 the day, or by making any other privileged 
 motion of the same kind; it being a general 
 
112 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 rule, that a member in possession of the floor, 
 or proceeding with his speech, cannot be 
 taken down or interrupted, but by a call to 
 order; and the question of order being de- 
 cided, he is still to be heard through. A call 
 for an adjournment, or for the orders of the 
 clay, or for the question, by gentlemen in 
 their seats, is not a motion; as no motion 
 can be made, without rising and addressing 
 the chair, and being called to by the presid- 
 ing officer. Such calls for the question are 
 themselves breaches of order, which, though 
 the member who has risen may respect 
 them, as an expression of the impatience 
 of the assembly at further debate, do not 
 prevent him from going on if he pleases. 
 [1 328.] 
 
PRESIDING OFFICER. 
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 OF ORDER IN DEBATE. 
 
 201. Forensic and Parliamentary 
 Debate : Difference Between. Debate 
 in a deliberative assembly must be distin- 
 guished from forensic debate, or that which 
 takes place before a judicial tribunal; the 
 former being, in theory, at least, more the 
 expression of individual opinions among 
 the members of the same body; the latter 
 more a contest for victory, between the dis- 
 putants, before a distinct and independent 
 body; the former not admitting of replies; 
 the latter regarding reply as the right of one 
 of the parties.* 
 
 202. Presiding Officer : Function of. 
 It is a general rule, in all deliberative 
 assemblies, that the presiding officer shall 
 
 * An exception to this rule is sometimes made in favor of 
 the mover of a question, who is allowed, at the close of the 
 debate, to reply to the arguments brought against his mo- 
 tion; but this is a matter of favor and indulgence, and not of 
 right. 
 
Ill 
 
 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 not participate in the debate, or other pro- 
 ceedings, in any other capacity than as such 
 officer. He is only allowed, therefore, to 
 state matters of fact within his knowledge; 
 to inform the assembly on points of order or 
 the course of proceeding, when called upon 
 for that purpose, or when he finds it neces- 
 sary to do so; and, on appeals from his deci- 
 sion on questions of order, to address the 
 assembly in debate. 
 
 SEC. I. AS TO THE MANNER 
 OF SPEAKING. 
 
 203. Recognition : How Obtained. 
 
 When a member desires to address the as- 
 sembly, on any subject before it (as well as 
 to make a motion), he is to rise and stand up 
 in his place, uncovered, and to address him- 
 self not to the assembly, or any particular 
 member, but to the presiding officer, who, 
 on hearing him, calls to him by his name, 
 that the assembly may take notice who it is 
 that speaks, and give their attention accord- 
 ingly. If any question arises, as to who 
 shall be entitled to the floor, where several 
 members rise at or nearly at the same time, 
 it is decided in the manner already de- 
 scribed (46), as to obtaining the floor to make 
 a motion. 
 
RECOGNITION. 115 
 
 204. Recognition : Preference in. 
 
 It is customary, indeed, for the presiding 
 officer, after a motion has been made, sec- 
 onded, and proposed, to give the floor to 
 the mover,* in preference to others, if he 
 rises to speak; or, on resuming a debate, 
 after an adjournment, to give the floor, if he 
 desires it, to the mover of the adjournment, 
 in preference to other members; or, where 
 two or more members claim the floor, to prefer 
 him who is opposed to the measure in ques- 
 tion, but, in all these cases, the determination 
 of the presiding officer may be overruled by 
 the assembly. 
 
 205. Floor Cannot be Temporarily 
 Yielded. It is sometimes thought, that, 
 when a member, in the course of debate, 
 breaks off his speech, and gives up the floor 
 to another for a particular purpose, he is 
 entitled to it again, as of right, when that 
 purpose is accomplished; but, though this is 
 generally conceded, yet, when a member 
 gives up the floor for one purpose, he 
 does so for all; and it is not possible for 
 
 * Sometimes a member, instead of proposing his motion, at 
 first, proceeds with his speech; but, in such a case, he is liable 
 to be taken down to order, unless he states that he intends to 
 conclude with a motion, and informs the assembly what that 
 motion is, and then he may be allowed to proceed. 
 
116 PARLIAMENTAKY PRACTICE. 
 
 the presiding officer to take notice of and 
 enforce agreements of this nature between 
 members.* 
 
 206. Mention of Members by Name in 
 Debate Disorderly : Why. No person, 
 in speaking, is to mention a member then 
 present by his name; but to describe him by 
 his seat in the assembly, or as the member 
 who spoke last, or last but one, or on the 
 other side of the question, or by some other 
 equivalent expression. The purpose of this 
 rule is to guard as much as possible against 
 the excitement of all personal feeling, either 
 of favor or of hostility, by separating, as it 
 were, the official from the personal character 
 of each member, and having regard to the 
 former only in the debate. 
 
 207. Presiding Officer: Authority of 
 in Debate. If the presiding officer rises up 
 to speak, any other member, who may have 
 risen for the same purpose, ought to sit down, 
 in order that the former may be first heard; 
 but this rule does not authorize the presiding 
 officer to interrupt a member while speak- 
 
 * This is not the practice in the United States. A member 
 yielding for an interruption is entitled to resume, by general 
 usage, unless the obvious purpose is to encroach upon the 
 convenience of the house. J. J. I. 
 
DEMEANOR IN DEBATE. 11? 
 
 ing, or to cut off one to whom be has given 
 the floor; he must wait like other members, 
 until such member has done speaking. 
 [1 329.] 
 
 208. Demeanor in Debate. A mem- 
 ber, while speaking, must remain standing 
 in his place, uncovered; and, when he has 
 finished liis speech, he ought to resume his 
 seat; but if unable to stand without pain or 
 inconvenience, in consequence of age, sick- 
 ness, or other infirmity, he may be indulged 
 to speak sitting. 
 
 SEC. II. AS TO THE MATTER 
 IN SPEAKING. 
 
 209. Debate Must be Germane and 
 Pertinent and Should be Interesting. 
 
 Every question, that can be made in a 
 deliberative assembly, is susceptible of being 
 debated,* according to its nature; that is, t 
 every member has the right of expressing 
 his opinion upon it. Hence, it is a general 
 rule, and the principal one relating to this 
 matter, that, in debate, those who speak are 
 
 * In legislative bodies, it is usual to provide, that certain- 
 questions, as, for example, to adjourn, to lie on the table, for 
 the previous question, or, as to the order of business, shall be 
 decided without debate. 
 
118 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 to confine themselves to the question, and 
 not to speak impertinently, or beside the 
 subject. So long as a member has the floor, 
 and keeps within the rule, he may speak 
 for as long a time as he pleases; though, if 
 an uninteresting speaker trespasses too much 
 upon the time and patience of the assembly, 
 the members seldom fail to show their dis- 
 satisfaction, in some way or other, which in- 
 duces him to bring his remarks to a close. 
 [1 330.] 
 
 210. Indecent: Reflections Disorderly. 
 It is also a rulu ..hat no person, in speak- 
 ing, is to use indboent language against the 
 proceedings of the assembly, or to reflect 
 upon any of its prior determinations, unless 
 he means to conclude his remarks with a 
 motion to rescind such determination; but 
 while a proposition under consideration is 
 still pending, and not adopted, though it 
 may have been reported by a committee, 
 reflections on ife are no reflections on the 
 assembly. The rule applies equally to the 
 proceedings of committees; which are, in- 
 deed, the proceedings of the assembly. 
 
 211. Personalities in Debate Dis- 
 orderly. Another rule in speaking is, that 
 no member is at liberty to digress from the 
 
PRESUMPTIONS. 119 
 
 matter of the question, to fall upon the person 
 of another, and to speak reviling, nipping, or 
 unmannerly words of or to him. The nature 
 or consequences of a measure may be repro- 
 bated in strong terms; but to arraign the 
 motives of those who advocate it, is a person- 
 ality and against order. 
 
 212. Presumptions in Favor of Per- 
 tinency and Relevancy. It is very often 
 iin extremely difficult and delicate matter 
 to decide whether the remarks of a mem- 
 ber are pertinent or relevant to the question; 
 but it will, in general, be safe for the 
 presiding officer to consider them so, unless 
 they very clearly reflect, in an improper 
 manner, either upon the person or motives 
 of a member, or upon the proceeding of 
 the assembly; or the member speaking 
 digresses from or manifestly mistakes the 
 question. 
 
 213. Subordinate Supersede Main 
 Questions and Must be First Con- 
 sidered. It often happens in the consider- 
 ation of a subject, that, while the general 
 question remains the same, the particular 
 question before the assembly is constantly 
 changing; thus, while, for example, the 
 general question is on the adoption of a 
 
120 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 series of resolutions, the particular question 
 may, at one moment, be on an amendment; 
 at another on postponement; and, again, on 
 the previous question. In all these cases, 
 the particular question supersedes, for the 
 time, the main question; and those who 
 speak to it must confine their remarks ac- 
 cordingly. The enforcement of order, in 
 this respect, requires the closest attention on 
 the part of the presiding officer. [T 331.] 
 
 214. Right to Proceed When Called 
 to Order : How Decided. When a mem- 
 ber is interrupted by the presiding officer, or 
 called to order by a member, for irrelevancy 
 or departing from the question, a question 
 may be made as to whether he shall be 
 allowed to proceed in his remarks, in the 
 manner he was speaking when he was in- 
 terrupted; but, if no question is made, or 
 if one is made and decided in the negative, 
 he is still to be allowed to proceed in order, 
 that is, abandoning the objectionable course 
 of remark. 
 
 SEC. III. AS TO TIMES OF 
 SPEAKING. 
 
 215. Generally Member Allowed to 
 Speak but Once to Same Question. 
 
 The general rule, in all deliberative assem- 
 
EULE 215. 121 
 
 blies, unless it is otherwise specially provided, 
 is, that no member shall speak more than 
 once to the same question;* although the 
 debate on that question may be adjourned 
 and continued through several days; and, 
 although a member, who desires to speak a 
 second time, has, in the course of the debate, 
 changed his opinion. 
 
 216. Rule 215 : How Construed. 
 This rule refers to the same question, tech- 
 nically considered; for, if a resolution is 
 moved and debated, and then referred to a 
 committee, those who speak on the introduc- 
 tion of the motion may speak again on the 
 question presented by the report of the com- 
 mittee, though it is substantially the same 
 question with the former; and, so, members, 
 who have spoken on the principal or main 
 question, may speak again on all the subsid- 
 iary or incidental questions arising in the 
 course of the debate. [^] 332.] 
 
 217. Rule 215 : How Construed 
 The rule, as to speaking but once on a ques- 
 tion, if strictly enforced, will prevent a 
 member from speaking a second time, with- 
 
 * The mover and seconder, if they do not speak to the ques- 
 tion, at the time when the motion is made and seconded, have 
 the same right with other members to address the assembly. 
 
 [This rule is seldom enforced. J. J. I.] 
 
122 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 out the general consent of the assembly, so 
 long as there is any other member who 
 himself desires to speak; but, when all who 
 desire to speak have spoken, a member 
 may speak a second time by leave of the 
 assembly. x 
 
 218. Rule 215 : How Construed. 
 A member may also be permitted to speak a 
 second time, in the same debate, in order 
 to clear a matter of fact; or merely to ex- 
 plain himself in some material part of his 
 speech; or to the orders of the assembly, if 
 they be transgressed (although no question 
 may be made), but carefully keeping within 
 that line, and not falling into the matter 
 itself. [1 333.] 
 
 219. Interruption in Debate Disor- 
 derly. It is sometimes supposed, that, 
 because a member has a right to explain 
 himself, he therefore has a right to inter- I 
 rupt another member, while speaking, in 
 order to make the explanation: but this 
 is a mistake; he should wait until the 
 member speaking has finished; and if a 
 member, on being requested, yields the floor 
 for an explanation, he relinquishes it alto- 
 gether.* 
 
 * This is not the usage in the United States. J. J. I. 
 
AS TO STOPPING DEBATE. 
 
 SEC. IV. AS TO STOPPING 
 DEBATE. 
 
 220. Previous Question if Ordered 
 Ends Debate. The only mode in use, in 
 this country, until recently, for the purpose 
 of putting an end to an unprofitable or tire- 
 some debate, was by moving the previous 
 question; the effect of which motion, as 
 already explained, if decided in the affirma- 
 tive, is to require the main or principal 
 question to be immediately taken.* When 
 this question is moved, therefore, it neces- 
 sarily suspends all further consideration of 
 the main question, and precludes all further 
 debate or amendment of it; though, as has 
 been seen, it stands in the same degree with 
 postponement, amendment, and commit- 
 ment; and, unless in virtue of a special rule, 
 cannot be moved while either of those mo- 
 tions is pending. 
 
 221. Assembly May Agree that De- 
 bate Shall End at Specified Time. 
 The other mode of putting an end to debate, 
 which has recently been introduced into 
 use, is for the assembly to adopt beforehand 
 a special order in reference to a particular 
 subject, that, at such a time specified, all 
 
 * Not the effect now. See note to sec. 170. J. J. I. 
 
124 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 debate upon it shall cease, and all motions or 
 questions pending in relation to it shall be 
 decided. 
 
 222. Limitation of Debate by Limit- 
 ing Time of Speaking. Another rule, 
 which has lately been introduced for the 
 purpose of shortening rather than stopping 
 debate, is, that no member shall be permitted 
 to speak more than a certain specified time 
 on any question; so that, when the time 
 allotted has expired, the presiding officer an- 
 nounces the fact, and the member speaking 
 resumes his seat. 
 
 SEC. V. AS TO DECORUM IN 
 DEBATE. 
 
 223. Member Speaking Not to Be 
 Disturbed. Every member having the 
 right to be heard, every other member is 
 bound to conduct himself in such a manner, 
 that this right may be effectual. Hence, it 
 is a rule of order, as well as of decency, that 
 no member is to disturb another in his 
 speech by hissing, coughing, spitting; by 
 speaking, or whispering; by passing be- 
 tween the presiding officer and the member 
 speaking; by going across the assembly- 
 room, or walking up and down in it; or 
 
PKESIDIKG OFFICER. 125 
 
 by any other disorderly deportment, which 
 tends to disturb or disconcert a member who 
 is speaking. 
 
 224. Member Not Able to Secure 
 Respectful Attention Had Better Sit 
 Down. But, if a member speaking finds, 
 that he is not regarded with that respectful 
 attention, which his equal right demands, 
 that it is not the inclination of the assembly 
 to hear him, and that by conversation or 
 any other noise they endeavor to drown his 
 voice, it is his most prudent course to 
 submit himself to the pleasure of the as- 
 sembly, and to sit down; for it scarcely 
 ever happens, that the members of an 
 assembly are guilty of this piece of ill 
 manners, without some excuse or provoca- 
 tion, or that they are so wholly inattentive 
 to one, who says anything worth their 
 hearing. 
 
 225. Presiding Officer : Duty of, in 
 Maintaining Order. It is the duty of the 
 presiding officer, in such a case, to endeavor 
 to reduce the assembly to order and decorum; 
 but, if his repeated calls to order, and his 
 appeals to the good sense and decency of the 
 members, prove ineffectual, it then becomes 
 his duty to call by name any member who ob- 
 
126 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 stinately persists in irregularity; whereupon 
 the assembly may require such member to 
 withdraw; who is then to be heard, if he 
 desires it, in exculpation and to withdraw; 
 then the presiding officer states the offense 
 committed, and the assembly considers of 
 the kind and degree of punishment to be 
 inflicted. 
 
 226. Presiding Officer May Permit 
 Disorder : When. If, on repeated trials, 
 the presiding officer finds that the assembly 
 will not support him in the exercise of his 
 authority, he will then be justified, but not 
 till then, in permitting, without censure, 
 every kind of disorder.* 
 
 SEC. VI. AS TO DISORDERLY 
 WORDS. 
 
 227. If a member, in speaking, makes use 
 of language, which is personally offensive to 
 another, or insulting to the assembly, and 
 the member offended, or any other, thinks 
 proper to complain of it to the assembly, 
 the course of proceeding is as follows: 
 [T 334.] 
 
 228. Offensive Language in Debate : 
 How Treated. The member speaking is 
 immediately interrupted in the course of his 
 
 * This is a bad precept. J. J. I. 
 
OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE IK DEBATE. 127 
 
 speech, by another or several members rising 
 and calling to order; and, the member, who 
 objects or complains of the words, is then 
 called upon by the presiding officer to state 
 the words which he complains of, repeating 
 them exactly as he conceives them to have 
 been spoken, in order that they may be 
 reduced to writing by the clerk; or the 
 member complaining, without being so 
 called upon, may proceed at once to state 
 the words either verbally or in writing, and 
 desire that the clerk may take them down 
 at the table. The presiding officer may then 
 direct the clerk to take them down; but if 
 he sees the objection to be a trivial one, and 
 thinks there is no foundation for their being 
 thought disorderly, he will prudently delay 
 giving any such directions, in order not un- 
 necessarily to interrupt the proceedings; 
 though if the members generally seem to be 
 in favor of having the words taken down, by 
 calling out to that effect, or by a vote, which 
 the assembly may doubtless pass, the presid- 
 ing officer should certainly order the clerk to 
 take them down, in the form and manner in 
 which they are stated by the member who 
 objects.* 
 
 * All this has been changed by the modern practice of steno- 
 graphic reporting. J. J.I. 
 
128 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 229. Offensive Language in Debate 
 if Denied by Member to Be Passed 
 Upon by Assembly, The words objected 
 to being thus written down, and forming a 
 part of the minutes in the clerk's book, they 
 are next to be read to the member who was 
 speaking, who may deny that those are the 
 words which he spoke, in which case, the 
 assembly must decide by a question, whethei 
 they are the words or not.* If he does not 
 deny that he spoke those words, or when the 
 assembly has itself determined what the 
 words are, then the member may either 
 justify them, or explain the sense in which 
 he used them, so as to remove the objection 
 of their being disorderly; or he may make an 
 apology for them. 
 
 230. Offensive Language : Member 
 May Justify, Explain, or Apologize 
 for: Further Proceedings. If the justi- 
 fication, or explanation, or apology, of the 
 member, is thought sufficient by the assem- 
 bly, no further proceeding is necessary; the 
 member may resume and go on with his 
 speech, the assembly being presumed, unless 
 some further motion is made, to be satisfied; 
 
 * The words, as written down, may be amended, so as to 
 conform to what the assembly thinks to be the truth. 
 
OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE. 129 
 
 but, if any two members (one to make and 
 the other to second the motion) think it 
 necessary to state a question, so as to take 
 the sense of the assembly upon the words, 
 and whether the member in using them has 
 been guilty of any offense toward the assem- 
 bly, the member must withdraw before that 
 question is stated; and then the sense of the 
 assembly must be taken, and such further 
 proceedings had in relation to punishing the 
 member, as may be thought necessary and 
 proper. 
 
 231. Offensive Language Should Be 
 Written Down at Once : Why. The 
 above is the course of proceeding established 
 by the writers of greatest authority,* and 
 ought invariably to be pursued; it might 
 however be improved, by the member who 
 objects to words writing them down at once, 
 and thereupon moving that they be made a 
 part of the minutes; by which means, the 
 presiding officer would be relieved from the 
 responsibility of determining, in the first in- 
 stance, upon the character of the words. 
 
 232. Offensive Language Must Be 
 Noticed at Once. If offensive words are 
 
 * Mr. Hatsell, in England, and Mr. Jefferson, tn this country 
 
130 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 not taken notice of at the time they are 
 spoken,* but the member is allowed to finish 
 his speech, and then any other person speaks, 
 or any other matter of business intervenes, 
 before notice is taken of the words which 
 gave offense, the words are not to be written 
 down, or the member using them censured. 
 This rule is established for the common 
 security of all the members; and to prevent 
 the mistakes which must necessarily happen, 
 if words complained of are not immediately 
 reduced to writing. 
 
 * Mr. Jefferson ( 17) lays it down, that " disorderly words 
 are not to be noticed till the member has finished his speech." 
 But in this, he is contradicted by Hatsell, as well as by the 
 general practice of legislative bodies. 
 
FINAL VOTE. 
 
 CHAPTER XTTT, 
 OF THE QUESTION. 
 
 233. Motion, Question, Order, etc.: 
 Difference Between. When any proposi- 
 tion is made to a deliberative assembly, it is 
 called a motion; when it is stated or pro- 
 pounded to the assembly, for their acceptance 
 or rejection, it is denominated a question; 
 and, when adopted, it becomes the order, 
 resolution, or vote of the assembly. 
 
 234. Proceedings so far Considered: 
 Object of. All the proceedings, which have 
 thus far been considered, have only had for 
 their object to bring a proposition into a 
 form to be put to the question; that is, to be 
 adopted as the sense, will, or judgment, of 
 the assembly, or to be rejected; according as 
 such proposition maybe found to unite in its 
 favor, or to fail of uniting, a majority of the 
 members. 
 
 235. Final Vote: When Taken. 
 When any proposition, whether principal, 
 
132 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 subsidiary, or incidental, or of whatever 
 nature it may be, is made, seconded, and 
 stated, if no alteration is proposed, or if it 
 admits of none, or if it is amended, and the 
 debate upon it, if any, appears to be brought 
 to a close, the presiding officer then inquires, 
 whether the assembly is ready for the ques- 
 tion? and, if no person rises, the question is 
 then stated, and the votes of the assembly 
 taken upon it. [^ 335.] 
 
 236. Questions: How Stated. The 
 question is not always stated to the assembly, 
 in the precise form in which it arises or is 
 introduced; thus, for example, when a mem- 
 ber presents a petition, or the chairman of a- 
 committee offers a report, the question which 
 arises, if no motion is made, is, Shall the 
 petition or the report ~be received? and, so, 
 when the previous question is moved,* it is 
 stated in this form, Shall the main question 
 be now put? the question being stated, 
 in all cases, in the form in which it will 
 appear on the journal, if it passes in the 
 affirmative. 
 
 237. In Absence of Objection Con- 
 sent Assumed Informally : When. 
 In matters of trifling importance, or which 
 
 * Shall the previous question be now ordered. --J. J. I. 
 
FI^AL QUESTION. J3& 
 
 are generally of course, such as receiving 
 petitions and reports, withdrawing motions, 
 reading papers, etc., the presiding officer 
 most commonly supposes or takes for granted 
 the consent of the assembly, where no objec- 
 tion is expressed, and does not go through 
 the formality of taking the question by a vote. 
 [T 313.] But if, after a vote has been taken 
 in this informal way and declared, any mem- 
 ber rises to object, the presiding officer 
 should consider every thing that has passed 
 as nothing, and, at once, go back and pursue 
 the regular course of proceeding. Thus, if a 
 petition is received, without a question, and 
 the clerk is proceeding to read it, in the 
 usual order of business, if any one rises to 
 object, it will be the safest and most proper 
 course, for the presiding officer to require a \ 
 motion for receiving it to be regularly made 
 and seconded. 
 
 238. Final Question : How Put- 
 The question being stated by the presiding, 
 officer, he first puts it in the affirmative,, 
 namely: As many as are of opinion that 
 repeating the words of the question, f say 
 aye; and, immediately, all the members who 
 
 t ** Those in the affirmative, say aye. * *' Those in the nega,* 
 tive, say no." J. J. L 
 
134 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 are of that opinion answer aye; the presiding 
 officer then puts the question negatively: As 
 many as are of a different opinion, say no; 
 and, thereupon, all the members who are of 
 that opinion answer no. The presiding 
 officer judges by his ear which side has " the 
 more voices," and decides accordingly, that 
 the ayes have it, or the noes have it, as the 
 case may be. If the presiding officer is 
 doubtful as to the majority of voices, he may 
 put the question a second time, and if he is 
 still unable to decide, or, if, having decided 
 according to his judgment, any member 
 rises and declares, that he believes the ayes 
 or the noes (whichever it may be) have it, 
 contrary to the declaration of the presiding 
 officer,* then the presiding officer directs the 
 assembly to divide, in order that the mem- 
 bers on the one side and the other may be 
 counted. 
 
 239. Division : When to Be De- 
 manded. If, however, any new motion 
 should be made, after the presiding officer's 
 declaration, or, if a member, who was not in 
 the assembly-room when the question was 
 taken, should come in, it will then be too 
 
 *The most common expression is: " I doubt the vote," or, 
 " that vote is doubted." 
 
DIVISION BY COUNT. 135 
 
 late to contradict the presiding officer, and 
 have the assembly divided. 
 
 240. Vote ; By Showing of Hands. 
 The above is the parliamentary form of 
 taking a question, and is in general use in 
 this country; but, in some of our legislative 
 assemblies, and especially in those of the 
 New England states, the suffrages are given 
 by the members holding up their right 
 hands, first, those in the affirmative, and 
 then those in the negative, of the question. 
 If the presiding officer cannot determine, by 
 the show of hands, which side has the ma- 
 jority, he may call upon the members to vote 
 again, and if he is still in doubt, or if his dec- 
 laration is questioned, a division takes place. 
 When the question is taken in this manner, 
 the presiding officer directs the members, 
 first on the affirmative side, and then on the 
 negative, to manifest their opinion by hold- 
 ing up the right hand. 
 
 241. Division by Count. -When a di- 
 vision of the assembly takes place, the pre- 
 siding officer sometimes directs the members 
 to range themselves on different sides of the 
 assembly-room, and either counts them him- 
 self, or they are counted by tellers appointed 
 by him for the purpose, or by monitors per- 
 
PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 appointed for that and other pur- 
 poses; or the members rise in their seats, 
 first on the affirmative and then on the nega- 
 tive, and (standing uncovered) are counted 
 in the same manner. When the members 
 are counted by the presiding officer, he 
 announces the numbers and declares the 
 result. When they are counted by tellers or 
 monitors, the tellers must first agree among 
 themselves, and then the one who has told 
 for the majority reports the numbers to the 
 presiding officer who, thereupon, declares 
 the result. 
 
 242. Division : By Tellers the Best 
 Method. The best mode of dividing an 
 assemblv, that is at all numerous, is for the 
 presiding officer to appoint tellers for each 
 division or section of the assembly-room, 
 and then to require the members, first those 
 in the affirmative, and then those in the 
 negative, to rise, stand uncovered, and be 
 counted; this being done, on each side, the 
 tellers of the several divisions make their 
 returns, and the presiding officer declares 
 the result. 
 
 243. Presiding Officer : Right of to 
 Vote in Case of Tie. If the members are 
 equally divided, the presiding officer may, if 
 
VOTE BY YEAS AND NAYS. 13? 
 
 he pleases, give the casting vote;* or, if he 
 chooses, he may refrain from voting, in which 
 case, the motion does not prevail, and the 
 decision is in the negative. 
 
 244. Member Not in Room When 
 Question Stated Cannot Vote. It is a 
 general rule, that every member, who is in 
 the assembly-room, at the time when the 
 question is stated, has not only the right but 
 is bound to vote; and, on the other hand, 
 that no member can vote who was not in the 
 room at that time. 
 
 245. Vote by Yeas and Nays : How 
 Taken. The only other form of taking the 
 question, which requires to be described, is 
 one in general use in this country, by means 
 of which the names of the members voting 
 on the one side and on the other are ascer- 
 tained and entered in the journal of the 
 assembly. This mode, which is peculiar to 
 the legislative bodies of the United States, is 
 called taking the question by yeas and nays. 
 In order to take a question in this manner, 
 it is stated on both sides at once, namely: 
 As many as are of opinion, that, etc., will, 
 when their names are called, answer yes; and, 
 As many as are of a different opinion will, 
 
 * [See 1 336, for Explanation of t 243.] 
 
138 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 when their names are called, answer no; the 
 roll of the assembly is then called over by 
 the clerk, and each member, as his name is 
 called, rises in his place, and answers yes or 
 no, and the clerk notes the answer as the 
 roll is called. When the roll has been gone 
 through, the clerk reads over first the names 
 of those who have answered in the affirm- 
 ative, and then the names of those who have 
 answered in the negative, in order that if he 
 has made any mistake in noting the answer, 
 or if any member has made a mistake in his 
 answer, the mistake of either may be cor- 
 rected. The names having been thus read 
 over, and the mistakes, if any, corrected, the 
 clerk counts the numbers on each side, and 
 reports them to the presiding officer, who 
 declares the result to the assembly. 
 
 246. Vote by Yeas and Nays : How 
 Taken in Massachusetts. The following 
 is the mode practiced in the house of represen- 
 tatives of Massachusetts (which is by far the 
 most numerous of all the legislative bodies 
 in this country), of taking a question by 
 yeas and nays. The names of the members 
 being printed on a sheet, the clerk calls them 
 in their order; and, as each one answers, the 
 clerk (responding to the member, at the same 
 
RIGHT OF DEBATE CONTINUES. 139 
 
 time) places a figure in pencil, expressing 
 the number of the answer, at the left or right 
 of the name, according as the answer is yes 
 or no; so that the last figure or number, on 
 each side, shows the number of the answers 
 on that side; and the two last numbers or 
 figures represent the respective numbers of 
 the affirmatives and negatives on the division. 
 Thus, at the left hand of the name of the 
 member who first answers yes, the clerk 
 places a figure 1; at the right hand of the 
 first member who answers no, he also places 
 a figure 1; the second member that answers 
 yes is marked 2; and so on to the end of the 
 list; the side of the name, on which the 
 figure is placed, denoting whether the an- 
 swer is yes or no, and the figure denoting the 
 number of the answer on that side. The 
 affirmatives and negatives are then read 
 separately, if necessary, though this is usually 
 omitted, and the clerk is then prepared, by 
 means of the last figure on each side, to give 
 the numbers to the speaker to be announced 
 to the house. The names and answers are 
 afterward recorded on the journal. 
 
 247. Right of Debate Continues Till 
 Question Has Been Put on Both 
 Sides. In any of the modes of taking a 
 
140 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 question, in which it is first put on one side, 
 and then on the other, it is no full question, 
 until the negative as well as the affirmative 
 has been put. Consequently, until the nega- 
 tive has been put, it is in order for any mem- 
 ber, in the same manner as if the division 
 had not commenced, to rise and speak, make 
 motions for amendment, or otherwise, and 
 thus renew the debate; and, this, whether 
 such member was in the assembly-room or 
 not, when the question was put and partly 
 taken. In such a case, the question must be 
 put over again on the affirmative, as well as 
 the negative side; for the reason, that mem- 
 bers who were not in the assembly-room, 
 when the question was first put, may have 
 since come in, and also that some of those 
 who voted may have since changed their 
 minds. When a question is taken by yeas 
 and nays, and the negative as well as the 
 affirmative of the question is stated, and the 
 voting on each side begins and proceeds, at 
 the same time, the question cannot be opened 
 and the debate renewed after the voting has 
 commenced. 
 
 248. Questions Arising During Divi- 
 vision to Be Decided Summarily. If 
 any question arises, in a point of order, as, 
 
NO DECISION. 141 
 
 for example, as to the right or the duty of a 
 member to vote, during a division, the pre- 
 siding officer must decide it peremptorily, 
 subject to the revision and correction of the 
 assembly, after the division is over. In a 
 case of this kind, there can be no debate, 
 though the presiding officer may if he pleases 
 receive the assistance of members with their 
 advice, which they are to give sitting, in order 
 to avoid even the appearance of a debate; 
 but this can only be with the leave of the 
 presiding officer, as otherwise the division 
 might be prolonged to an inconvenient length; 
 nor can any question be taken, for otherwise 
 there might be division upon division with- 
 out end. 
 
 249. No Decision Unless Quorum 
 Present. When, from counting the as- 
 sembly on a division, it appears that there 
 is not a quorum present, there is no deci- 
 sion; but the matter in question continues 
 in the same state in which it was before 
 the division; and, when afterward resumed, 
 whether on the same or on some future 
 day, it must be taken up at that precise 
 point. 
 
PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 OF RECONSIDERATION. 
 
 250. Generally Decision Final. It is 
 
 a principle of parliamentary law, upon which 
 many of the rules and proceedings previously 
 stated are founded, that when a question 
 has been once put to a deliberative assembly, 
 and decided, whether in the affirmative or 
 negative, that decision is the judgment of the 
 assembly, and cannot be again brought into 
 question. 
 
 251. Alternative and Equivalent 
 Questions : Decision Final. This prin- 
 ciple holds equally, although the question 
 proposed is not the identical question which 
 has already been decided, but only its equiv- 
 alent; as, for example, where the negative of 
 one question amounts to the affirmative of 
 the other, and leaves no other alternative, 
 these questions are the equivalents of one 
 another, and a decision of ttn one necessarily 
 concludes the other. 
 
KECOKSIDERATIOST. 
 
 252. Illustration. A common applica- 
 tion of the rule as to equivalent questions 
 occurs in the case of an amendment proposed 
 by striking out words; in which it is the 
 invariable practice to consider the negative 
 of striking out as equivalent to the affirmative 
 of agreeing; so that to put a question on 
 agreeing, after a question on striking out is 
 negatived, would be, in effect, to put the 
 same question twice over. 
 
 253. Same Questions May Be Re- 
 peated at Different Parliamentary 
 Stages. The principle above stated does 
 not apply so as to prevent putting the same 
 question in the different stages of any pro- 
 ceeding, as, for example, in legislative bodies, 
 the different stages of a bill; so, in consider- 
 ing reports of committees, questions already 
 taken and decided, before the subject was 
 referred, may be again proposed; and, in like 
 manner, orders of the assembly, and instruc- 
 tions or references to committees, may be 
 discharged or rescinded. 
 
 254. Reconsideration : Reason for. 
 The inconvenience of this rule, which is still 
 maintained in all its strictness in the British 
 parliament (though divers expedients are 
 there resorted to, to counteract or evade 
 
144 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 it), has led to the introduction into the parlia- 
 mentary pi-actice of this country of the mo- 
 tion for reconsideration; which, while it 
 recognizes and upholds the rule in all its an- 
 cient strictness, yet allows a deliberative 
 assembly, for sufficient reasons, to relieve 
 itself from the embarrassment and incon- 
 venience, which would occasionally result 
 from a strict enforcement of the rule in a 
 particular case. 
 
 255. Reconsideration : The Common 
 Practice. It has now come to be a com- 
 mon practice in all our deliberative assem- 
 blies, and may consequently be considered as 
 a principle of the common parliamentary 
 law of this country, to reconsider a vote 
 already passed, whether affirmatively or 
 negatively. 
 
 256. Reconsideration : Form and Re- 
 sults of. For this purpose, a motion is made 
 and seconded, in the usual manner, that such 
 a vote be reconsidered; and, if this motion 
 prevails, the matter stands before the assem- 
 bly in precisely the same state and condi- 
 tion, and the same questions are to be put in 
 relation to it, as if the vote reconsidered 
 had never been passed. Thus, if an amend- 
 ment by inserting words is moved and re- 
 
RECONSIDERATION. 145 
 
 jected, the same amendment cannot be 
 moved aga % in; but, the assembly may recon- 
 sider the vote by which it was rejected, and 
 then the question will recur on the amend- 
 ment, precisely as if the former vote had 
 never been passed . 
 
 257. Reconsideration : When to Be 
 Moved. It is usual in legislative bodies, to 
 regulate by a special rule the time, manner, 
 and by whom, a motion to reconsider may be 
 made; thus, for example, that it shall be 
 made only on the same or a succeeding day, 
 by a member who voted with the majority, 
 or at a time when there are as many mem- 
 bers present as there were when the vote was 
 passed; but, where there is no special rule 
 on the subject, a motion to reconsider must 
 be considered in the same light as any other 
 motion, and as subject to no other rules. 
 
 [T 337.] 
 
146 PARLIAMEOTAKY PRACTICE. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 OF COMMITTEES. 
 
 SEC. I. THEIR NATURE AND 
 
 FUNCTIONS. 
 
 258. Committees: How Composed 
 and Appointed. It is usual in all deliber- 
 ative assemblies, to take the preliminary 
 (sometimes, also, the intermediate) measures, 
 and to prepare matters to be acted upon, 
 in the assembly, by means of committees, 
 composed either of members specially 
 selected for the particular occasion, or ap- 
 pointed beforehand for all matters of the 
 same nature. 
 
 259. Committees : How Designated. 
 Committees of the first kind are usually 
 called select) the others standing, though the 
 former appellation belongs with equal pro- 
 priety to both, in order to distinguish them 
 from another form of committee, constituted 
 either for a particular occasion, or for 
 all cases of a certain kind, which is com- 
 
COMMITTEES. 147 
 
 posed of all the members of the assembly, 
 aiid therefore denominated a committee of the 
 whole. 
 
 260. Committees : Advantages of. 
 The advantages of proceeding in this mode 
 are manifold. It enables a deliberative assem- 
 bly to do many things, which, from its num- 
 bers, it would otherwise be unable to do; to 
 accomplish a much greater quantity of busi- 
 ness, by dividing it among the members, than 
 could possibly be accomplished, if the whole 
 body were obliged to devote itself to each 
 particular subject; and to act in the pre- 
 liminary and preparatory steps, with a greater 
 degree of freedom, than is compatible with 
 the forms of proceeding usually observed in 
 full assembly. 
 
 261. Committees : Why Appointed. 
 Committees are appointed to consider a 
 particular subject, either at large or under 
 special instructions; to obtain information 
 in reference to a matter before the assembly, 
 either by personal inquiry and inspection, 
 or by the examination of witnesses; and 
 to digest and put into the proper form, for 
 the adoption of the assembly, all resolutions, 
 votes, orders, and other papers, with which 
 they may be charged. Committees are 
 
148 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 commonly said to be the " eyes and ears " 
 of the assembly; it is equally true, that, for 
 certain purposes, they are also its "head and 
 hands.* 1 
 
 262. Committees : Functions of. The 
 powers and functions of committees depend 
 chiefly upon the general authority and par- 
 ticular instructions given them by the as- 
 sembly, at the time of their appointment, 
 but they may also be, and very often are, 
 further instructed, while they are in the 
 exercise of their functions; and, sometimes, 
 it even happens, that these additional in- 
 structions wholly change the nature of a 
 committee, by charging it with inquiries 
 quite different from those for which it was 
 originally established. 
 
 SEC. II. THEIR APPOINTMENT. 
 
 263. Committees, Standing and Se- 
 lect : Mode of Selection. In the man- 
 ner of appointing committees, there is no 
 difference between standing and other select 
 committees, as to the mode of selecting the 
 members to compose them; and, in reference 
 to committees of the whole, as there is no 
 selection of members, they are appointed 
 simply by the order of the assembly. 
 
COMMITTEES. K 
 
 1 
 
 264. Appointment of Committees : 
 Order in. In the appointment of select 
 committees, the first thing to be done is to 
 fix upon ' the number. This is usually 
 effected in the same manner that blanks \ 
 are filled, namely, by members proposing, l 
 without the formality of a motion, such 
 numbers as they please, which are then 
 separately put to the question, beginning 
 with the largest and going regularly through 
 to the smallest, until the assembly comes to 
 a vote. 
 
 265. Committees : Membership of : 
 How Selected. The number being 
 settled, there are three modes of selecting 
 the members, to wit, by the appointment of 
 the presiding officer, by ballot, and by 
 nomination and vote of the assembly; the 
 first, sometimes in virtue of a standing 
 rule, sometimes in pursuance of a vote of 
 the assembly in a particular case; the 
 second always in pursuance of a vote; the 
 last is the usual course where no vote is 
 taken. 
 
 266. Committees : Usually Named by 
 Presiding Officer. In deliberative assem- 
 blies, whose sittings are of considerable 
 length, as legislative bodies, it is usual to> 
 
PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 by a standing rule, that, unless 
 ise ordered in a particular case, all 
 v,v___ ttees shall be named by the presiding 
 officer. Where this is the case, whenever a 
 committee is ordered, and the number 
 settled, the presiding officer at once names 
 the members to compose it. Sometimes, 
 also, the rule fixes the number, of which, 
 unless otherwise ordered, committees shall 
 consist. This mode of appointing a com- 
 mittee is frequently resorted to, where there 
 is no rule on the subject. 
 
 267. Selection by Ballot : Order in. 
 When a committee is ordered to be appointed 
 by ballot, the members are chosen by the 
 assembly, either singly or all together, as 
 may be ordered, in the same manner that 
 other elections are made; and, in such 
 elections, as in other cases of the election 
 of the officers of the assembly, a majority 
 of all the votes given in is necessary to a 
 choice. 
 
 268. Selection of Committees by 
 Vote : Order in. When a committee is 
 directed to be appointed by nomination and 
 vote, the names of the members proposed 
 are put to the question singly, and approved 
 or rejected by the assembly, by a vote taken 
 
COMMITTEES MAY BE REVIYEIX 151 
 
 in the usual manner. If the nomination is 
 directed to be made by the presiding officer, 
 he may propose the names in the same man- 
 ner, or all at once; the former mode being 
 the most direct and simple; the latter enabling 
 the assembly to vote more understandingly 
 upon the several names proposed. When 
 the nomination is directed to be made at 
 large, the presiding officer calls upon the as- 
 sembly to nominate, and names being men- 
 tioned accordingly, he puts to vote the first 
 name he hears. 
 
 269. Committees May Be Revived : 
 When. It is also a compendious mode of 
 appointing a committee, to revive one which 
 has already discharged itself by a report; or 
 by charging a committee appointed for one 
 purpose with some additional duty, of the 
 same or a different character. 
 
 270. Bill Should Be Referred to 
 Friendly Committee : Why. In regard 
 to the appointment of committees, so far as 
 the selection of the members is concerned, it 
 is a general rule in legislative bodies, when 
 a bill is to be referred, that none who speak 
 directly against the body of it are to be of 
 the committee, for the reason, that he who 
 would totally destroy will not amend; but, 
 
152 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 that, for the opposite reason, those who only 
 take exceptions to some particulars in the bill 
 are to be of the committee. This rule sup- 
 poses the purpose of the commitment to be, 
 not the consideration of the general merits 
 of the bill, but the amendment of it in its 
 particular provisions, so as to make it accept- 
 able to the assembly. 
 
 271. Majority Should Be Favorable 
 to Measure. This rule, of course, is only 
 for the guidance of the presiding officer, and 
 the members, in the exercise of their dis- 
 cretion; as the assembly may refuse to ex- 
 cuse from serving, or may itself appoint, on 
 a committee, persons who are opposed to the 
 subject referred. It is customary, however, 
 in all deliberative assemblies, to constitute 
 a committee of such persons (the mover 
 and seconder of a measure being of course 
 appointed), a majority of whom, at least, 
 are favorably inclined to the measure pro- 
 posed. 
 
 272. Committees : How Notified of 
 Appointment and* Reference. When a 
 committee has been appointed, in reference 
 to a particular subject, it is the duty of the 
 secretary of the assembly to make out a list 
 of the members, together with a certified 
 
TIME AKD PLACE OF MEETING. 153 
 
 copy of the authority or instructions under 
 which they are to act, and to give the papers 
 to the member first named on the list of the 
 committee, if convenient, but, otherwise, to 
 any other member of the committee. 
 
 SEC. III. THEIR ORGANIZA- 
 TION AND MANNER OF 
 PROCEEDING. 
 
 273. Person First Named Usually 
 Chairman : But by Courtesy, Not by 
 Right. The person first named on a com- 
 mittee acts as its chairman, or presiding 
 officer, so far as relates to the preliminary 
 steps to be taken, and is usually permitted 
 to do so, through the whole proceedings; but 
 this is a matter of courtesy; every committee 
 having aright to elect its own chairman, who 
 presides over it, and makes the report of its 
 proceedings to the assembly. 
 
 274. Time and Place of Meeting: 
 How Fixed. A committee is properly to 
 receive directions from the assembly, as to 
 the time and place of its meeting, and can- 
 not regularly sit at any other time or place; 
 and it may be ordered to sit immediately, 
 while the assembly is sitting, and make its 
 report forthwith. 
 
154 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 275. Committee Cannot Sit When 
 Body is in Session Without Leave. 
 
 When no directions are given, a committee 
 may select its own time and place of meeting; 
 but, without a special order to that effect, it 
 is not at liberty to sit while the assembly 
 sits; and, if a committee is sitting, when the 
 assembly comes to order after an adjourn- 
 ment, it is the duty of the chairman to rise, 
 instantly, on being certified of it, and, with 
 the other members, to attend the service of 
 the assembly. 
 
 276. Committee : Proceedings. In 
 regard to its forms of proceeding, a commit- 
 tee is essentially a miniature assembly; it 
 can only act when regularly assembled 
 together, as a committee, and not by separate 
 consultation and consent of the members; 
 nothing being the agreement or report of a 
 committee, but what is agreed to in that 
 manner; a vote taken in committee is as 
 binding as a vote of the assembly; a 
 majority of the members is necessary to con- 
 stitute a quorum for business, unless a larger 
 or smaller number has been fixed by the as- 
 sembly itself, and a committee has full 
 power over whatever may be committed to it, 
 
DISORDER IN COMMITTEE. 155 
 
 except s that it is not at liberty to change the 
 title or subject.* 
 
 277. Power of Committee as to Time 
 and Place of Meeting. A committee, 
 which is under no directions as to the time 
 and place of meeting, may meet when and 
 where it pleases, and adjourn itself from day 
 to day, or otherwise, until it has gone through 
 with the business committed to it; but, if it 
 is ordered to meet at a particular time, and 
 it fails of doing so, for any cause, the com- 
 mittee is closed, and cannot act without 
 being newly directed to sit. 
 
 278. Disorder in Committee: How 
 Treated. Disorderly words spoken in a 
 committee must be written down in the same 
 manner as in the assembly; but the commit- 
 tee, as such, can do nothing more than report 
 them to the assembly for its animadversion; 
 neither can a committee punish disorderly 
 conduct of any other kind, but must report 
 it to the assembly. 
 
 279. Proceedings in Committee. 
 When any paper is before a committee, 
 whether select or of the whole, it may either 
 have originated with the committee, or have 
 been referred to them; and, in either case, 
 
 *[1 338.] 
 
156 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 when the paper comes to be considered, the 
 course is for it to be first read entirely 
 through, by the clerk of the committee, if 
 there is one, otherwise by the chairman; and 
 then to be read through again by paragraphs, 
 by the chairman, pausing at the end of each 
 paragraph, and putting questions for amend- 
 ing, either by striking out or inserting, if 
 proposed. This is the natural order of pro- 
 ceeding in considering and amending any 
 paper, and is to be strictly adhered to in the 
 assembly; but the same strictness does not 
 seem necessary in a committee. 
 
 280. Original Paper in Committee : 
 How Treated. If the paper before a com- 
 mittee is one which has originated with the 
 committee, questions are put on amend- 
 
 , ments proposed, but not on agreeing to the 
 several paragraphs of which it is composed, 
 separately, as they are gone through with; 
 this being reserved for the close, when 
 a question is to be put on the whole, for 
 agreeing to the paper, as amended, or un- 
 amended. 
 
 281. Referred Papers : How Treated. 
 If the paper be one, which has been referred 
 to the committee, they proceed as in the 
 other case to put questions of amendment, if 
 
REFERRED PAPERS. lo? 
 
 proposed, but no final question on the whole; 
 because all parts of the paper, having been 
 passed upon if not adopted by the assembly 
 as the basis of its action, stand, of course, 
 unless altered or struck out by a vote of the 
 assembly. And even if the committee are 
 opposed to the whole paper, and are of 
 opinion, that it cannot be made good by 
 amendments, they have no authority to 
 reject it; they must report it back to the 
 assembly, without amendments (specially 
 stating their objections, if they think proper), 
 and there make their opposition as individual 
 members.* 
 
 282. Original Paper : How to Be 
 Reported. In the case of a paper originat- 
 ing with a committee, they may erase or in- 
 terline it as much as they please; though, 
 when finally agreed to, it ought to be reported 
 in a clear draft, fairly written, without 
 erasure or interlineation. 
 
 283. Referred Papers : How to Be 
 Treated. But, in the case of a paper 
 referred to a committee, they are not at 
 liberty to erase, interline, blot, disfigure, or 
 
 * This rule is not applicable, of course, to those cases in 
 which the subject, as well as the /arm or details of a paper, 
 is referred to the committee. 
 
158 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 tear it, in any manner; but they must, in a 
 separate paper, set down the amendments 
 they have agreed to report, stating the words 
 which are to be inserted or omitted, and the 
 places where the amendments are to be made, 
 by references to the paragraph or section, 
 line, and word. 
 
 284. Amendments in Committee : 
 How Reported. If the amendments 
 agreed to are very numerous and minute, the 
 committee may report them altogether, in 
 the form of a new and amended draft. 
 
 285. Subject Concluded in Commit- 
 tee : How Treated. When a committee 
 has gone through the paper, or agreed 
 upon a report on the subject, which has 
 been referred to them, it is then moved 
 by some member, and thereupon voted, that 
 the committee rise, and that the chairman, 
 or some other member, make their report tf 
 the assembly, 
 
 SEC. IV. THEIR REPORT. 
 
 286. Reports of Committees : How 
 Treated in House. When the report of a 
 committee is to be made, the chairman, or 
 member appointed to make the report, 
 standing in his place, informs the assembly, 
 
AMENDMENTS. 159 
 
 that the committee, to whom was referred 
 such a subject or paper, have, according to 
 order, had the same under consideration, and 
 have directed him to make a report thereon, 
 or to report the same with sundry amend- 
 ments, or without amendment as the case 
 may be, which he is ready to do when the 
 assembly shall please; and he or any other 
 member may then move that the report be 
 now received. On this motion being made, 
 the question is put whether the assembly will 
 receive the report at that time; and a vote 
 passes, accordingly, either to receive it then, 
 or fixing upon some future time for its recep- 
 tion, [f 339.] 
 
 287. Reports of Committees : Order 
 in. At the time, when, by the order of the 
 assembly, the report is to be received, the 
 chairman reads it in his place, and then de- 
 livers it, together with all the papers con- 
 nected with it, to the clerk at the table; 
 where it is again read, and then lies on the 
 table, until the time assigned, or until it suits 
 the convenience of the assembly, to take it 
 up for consideration. 
 
 288. Amendments : How Reported. 
 If the report of the committee is of a 
 paper with amendments, the chairman 
 
160 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 reads the amendments with the coherence 
 in the paper, whatever it may be, and 
 opens the alterations, and the reasons of 
 the committee for the amendments, until 
 he has gone through the whole; and, when 
 the report is read at the clerk's table, the 
 amendments only are read without the 
 coherence. 
 
 289. Report Generally Received as of 
 Course, Without Motion. In practice, 
 however, the formality of a motion and vote 
 on the reception of a report is usually dis- 
 pensed with; though, if any objection is 
 made, or if the presiding officer sees any in- 
 formality in the report, he should decline 
 receiving ifc without a motion and vote; and 
 a report, if of any considerable length, is 
 seldom read, either by the chairman in his 
 place, or by the clerk at the table, until 
 it is taken up for consideration. In legis- 
 lative assemblies, the printing of reports 
 generally renders the reading of them un- 
 necessary. 
 
 290. Committee Having Reported is 
 Functus Officio, But May be Revived 
 or Ordered to Sit Again. The report of 
 a committee being made and received, the 
 committee is dissolved, and can act no more 
 
BEPORTS OF COMMITTEES. 161 
 
 without a new power; but their authority 
 may be revived by a vote, and the same mat- 
 ter recommitted to them. If a report, when 
 offered to the assembly, is not received, the 
 committee is not thereby discharged, but 
 may be ordered to sit again, and a time and 
 place appointed accordingly. 
 
 291. Report May Be Recommitted : 
 Invalid Unless Agreed to. When a 
 subject or paper has been once committed, 
 and a report made upon it, it may be recom- 
 mitted either to the same or a different com- 
 mittee; and if a report is recommitted, 
 before it has been agreed to by the assembly, 
 what has heretofore passed in the committee 
 is of no validity; the whole question being 
 again before the committee, as if nothing 
 had passed there in relation to it. 
 
 292. Reports of Committees : Forms 
 of. The report of a committee may be made 
 in three different forms, namely: first, it 
 may contain merely a statement of facts, 
 reasoning, or opinion, in relation to the sub- 
 ject of it, without any specific conclusion; 
 or, second, a statement of facts, reasoning, 
 or opinion, concluding with a resolution, or 
 series of resolutions, or some other specific 
 proposition; or, third, it may consist merely 
 
162 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 of such resolutions, or propositions, without 
 any introductory part. 
 
 293. Reports of Committees : Ques- 
 tion on Receiving and Effect of. The 
 first question, on a report, is, in strictness, 
 on receiving it; though, in practice, the ques- 
 tion is seldom or never made; the consent of 
 the assembly, especially in respect to the 
 report of a committee of the whole, being 
 generally presumed, unless objection is made. 
 When a report is received, whether by 
 general consent, or upon a question and vote, 
 the committee is discharged, and the report 
 becomes the basis of the future proceedings 
 of the assembly, on the subject to which it 
 relates . 
 
 294. Reports of Committees : Treat- 
 ed Like Other Questions. At the time 
 assigned for the consideration of a report, 
 it may be treated and disposed of precisely 
 like any other proposition (59 to 77); and 
 may be amended, in the same manner (78 
 to 133), both in the preliminary statement, 
 reasoning, or opinion, if it contain any, and 
 in the resolutions, or other propositions with 
 which it concludes; so if it consist merely 
 of a statement, etc., without resolutions or 
 
REPORT. 163 
 
 of resolutions, etc., without any introductory 
 part. 
 
 295. Report : Final Question on. 
 Adoption : Effect of. The final question 
 on a report, whatever form it may have, is 
 usually stated on its acceptance; and, when 
 accepted, the whole report is adopted by the 
 assembly, and becomes the statement, reason- 
 ing, opinion, resolution, or other act, as the 
 case may be, of the assembly; the doings of 
 a committee, when agreed to, adopted, or 
 accepted, becoming the acts of the assembly, 
 in the same manner as if done originally by 
 the assembly itself, without the intervention 
 of a committee. 
 
 296. Report : Proper Question on 
 Agreement or Acceptance. It would be 
 better, however, and in stricter accordance 
 with parliamentary rules, to state the final 
 question on a report, according to the form 
 of it. If the report contain merely a state- 
 ment of facts, reasoning, or opinion, the 
 question should be on acceptance; if it also 
 conclude with resolutions, or other specific 
 propositions, of any kind, the introductory 
 part being consequently merged in the con- 
 clusion, the question should be on agree- 
 ing to the resolutions, or on adopting the 
 
IG-i PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 order, or other proposition, or on passing or 
 corning to the vote, recommended by the 
 committee; and the same should be the form 
 of the question, when the report consists 
 merely of resolutions, etc., without any in- 
 troductory part. 
 
 SEC. V. COMMITTEE OF THE 
 WHOLE. 
 
 297. Committee of the Whole : How 
 Formed. When a subject has been ordered 
 to be referred to a committee of the whole, 
 the form of going from the assembly into 
 committee, is, for the presiding officer, at 
 the time appointed for the committee to sit, 
 on motion made and seconded for the pur- 
 pose, to put the question that the assembly 
 do now resolve itself into a committee of the 
 whole, to take under consideration such a 
 matter, naming it. If this question is deter- ' 
 mined in the affirmative, the result is declared 
 by the presiding officer, who, naming some 
 member to act as chairman of the committee, 
 then leaves the chair, and takes a seat else- 
 where, like any other member; and the 
 person appointed chairman seats himself (not 
 in the chair of the assembly but) at the clerk's 
 table. 
 
QUORUM IN. 165 
 
 298. Chairman of Committee of the 
 Whole Usually Named by Presiding* 
 Officer : But May be Elected. The 
 
 chairman named by the presiding officer is 
 generally acquiesced in by the committee; 
 though, like all other committees, a com- 
 mittee of the whole have a right to elect 
 a chairman for themselves, some member, 
 by general consent, putting the question. 
 [1 340.] 
 
 299. Quorum in. The same number of 
 members is necessary to constitute a quorum 
 of a committee of the whole, as of the as- 
 sembly; and if the members present fall be- 
 low a quorum, at any time, in the course of 
 the proceedings, the chairman, on a motion 
 and question, rises, the presiding officer 
 thereupon resumes the chair, and the chair- 
 man informs the assembly (he can make no 
 other report) of the cause of the dissolution 
 of the committee. 
 
 300. Presiding Officer Should be 
 Present. When the assembly is in commit- 
 tee of the whole, it is the duty of the presid- 
 ing officer to remain in the assembly-room, 
 in order to be at hand to resume the chair, 
 in case the committee should be broken up 
 
166 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 by some disorder, or for want of a quorum, 
 or should rise, either to report progress, or to 
 make their final report upon a matter com- 
 mitted to them. 
 
 301. Duty of Clerk. The clerk of the 
 assembly does not act as clerk of the com- 
 mittee (this is the duty of the assistant clerk 
 in legislative bodies), or record in his journal 
 any of the proceedings or votes of the com- 
 mittee, but only then report as made to the 
 assembly. 
 
 302. Proceedings : Points of Differ- 
 ence in. The proceedings in a committee of 
 the whole, though, in general, similar to those 
 in the assembly itself, and in other commit- 
 tees, are yet different in some respects, the 
 principal of which are the following: 
 
 303. Previous Question Not in Order. 
 First. The previous question cannot be 
 moved in a committee of the whole. The 
 only means of avoiding an improper discus- 
 sion is, to move that the committee rise; 
 and, if it is apprehended, that the same 
 discussion will be attempted on returning 
 again into committee, the assembly can 
 discharge the committee, and proceed itself 
 with the business, keeping down any im- 
 
 I 
 
CANNOT ADJOURN. 167 
 
 proper discussion by means of the previous 
 question.* 
 
 304. Cannot Adjourn. Second. A com- 
 mittee of the whole cannot adjourn, like 
 other committees, to some other time or 
 place, for the purpose of going on with and 
 completing the consideration of the subject 
 referred to them; but, if their business is 
 unfinished, at the usual time for the assem- 
 bly to adjourn, or, for any other reason, they 
 wish to proceed no further at a particular 
 time, the form of proceeding is, for some 
 member to move that the committee rise, 
 report progress, and ask leave to sit again; 
 and, if this motion prevails, the chairman 
 rises, the presiding officer resumes the 
 chair of the assembly, and the chairman of 
 the committee informs him that the com- 
 mittee of the whole have, according to order, 
 had under their consideration such a matter, 
 and have made some progress therein;! but, 
 not having had time to go through with the 
 same, have directed him to ask leave for the 
 
 * If the object be to stop debate, that can only be effected, 
 in the same manner, unless there is a special rule, as to the 
 time of speaking, or to taking a subject out of committee. 
 
 t If it is a second time, the expression is, "some further 
 progress," etc. 
 
168 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 committee to sit again. The presiding 
 officer thereupon puts a question on giving 
 the committee leave to sit again, and also on 
 the time when the assembly will again resolve 
 itself into a committee. If leave to sit again 
 is not granted, the committee is of course 
 dissolved. 
 
 305. Unlimited Debate. Third. In a 
 committee of the whole, every member may 
 speak as often as he pleases, provided he 
 can obtain the floor; whereas, in the assem- 
 bly itself, no member can speak more than 
 once. 
 
 306. Cannot Refer Matters to Other 
 Committees. Fourth. A committee of the 
 whole cannot refer any matter to another 
 committee; but other committees may and 
 do frequently exercise their functions, and 
 expedite their business, by means of sub- 
 committees of their own members. 
 
 307. Presiding Officer May Debate. 
 Fifth. In a committee of the whole, the! 
 presiding officer of the assembly has aj 
 right to take a part in the debate and pro-j 
 ceedings, in the same manner as any other 
 member. 
 
 308. Cannot Punish for Disorderly 
 Conduct. Sixth. A committee of thd 
 
COMMITTEE RISES. 169 
 
 whole, like a select committee, has no 
 authority to punish a breach of order, 
 whether of a member, or stranger; but can 
 only rise and report the matter to the assem- 
 bly, who may proceed to punish the offender. 
 Disorderly words must be written down in 
 committee, in the same manner as in the as- 
 sembly, and reported to the assembly for 
 their animadversion. 
 
 309. Second to Motion Not Neces- 
 sary. The foregoing are the principal points 
 of difference between proceedings in the as- 
 sembly and in committees of the whole; in 
 most other respects they are precisely similar. 
 It is sometimes said, that in a committee of 
 the whole, it is not necessary that a motion 
 should be seconded.* There is no founda- 
 tion, however, either in reason or parliamen- 
 tary usage, for this opinion. 
 
 310. Committee Rises : When and 
 How, and Action Thereon. When a 
 committee of the whole have gone through 
 with the matter referred to them, a member 
 moves that the committee rise, and that the 
 chairman (or some other member) report 
 their proceedings to the assembly; which 
 
 *Not necessary anywhere. J. J. I. 
 
170 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 being resolved, the chairman rises and goes 
 to his place, the presiding officer resumes 
 the chair of the assembly, and the chair- 
 man informs him, that the committee have 
 gone through with the business referred 
 to them, and that he is ready to make their 
 report, when the assembly shall think proper 
 to receive it. The time for receiving the 
 report is then agreed upon; and, at the time 
 appointed, it is made and received in the 
 same manner as that of any other committee. 
 (286). 
 
 311. Time of Report Usually Fixed : 
 But Not Uniformly. It sometimes hap- 
 pens, that the formality of a motion and 
 question as to the time of receiving a report 
 is dispensed with. If the assembly are ready 
 to receive it, at the time, they cry out, " now, 
 now," whereupon the chairman proceeds; if 
 not then ready, some other time is mentioned, 
 as " to-morrow," or " Monday," and that 
 time is fixed by general consent. But, when 
 it is not the general sense of the assembly to 
 receive the report at the time, it is better to 
 agree upon and fix the time by a motion and 
 question. 
 
PRESIDING OFFICES. 171 
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 312. In bringing this treatise to a close, it 
 will not be deemed out of place, to make a 
 suggestion or two for the benefit of those 
 persons, who may be called upon to act as 
 presiding officers, for the first time. 
 
 313. Presiding Officer : Should be 
 Constantly Attentive : Why. One of 
 the most essential parts of the duty of 
 a presiding officer is, to give the closest 
 attention to the proceedings of the assem- 
 bly, and, especially, to what is said by 
 every member who speaks. Without the 
 first, confusion will be almost certain to 
 occur; wasting the time, perhaps disturbing 
 the harmony, of the assembly. The latter is 
 not merely a decent manifestation of respect 
 for those who have elevated him to an honor- 
 able station; but it tends greatly to en- 
 courage timid or diffident members, and to 
 secure them a patient and attentive hearing; 
 
172 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 and it often enables the presiding officer, by 
 a timely interference, to check offensive 
 language, in season to prevent scenes of 
 tumult and disorder, such as have sometimes 
 disgraced our legislative halls. 
 
 314. Presiding Officer: Should In- 
 sist Upon Observance of Rules. It 
 should be constantly kept in mind by a pre- 
 siding officer, that, in a deliberative assem- 
 bly, there can regularly be but one thing 
 done or doing, at the same time. This caution 
 he will find particularly useful 'to him, when- 
 ever a quarrel arises between two members, 
 in consequence of words spoken in debate. 
 In such a case he will do well to require 
 that the regular course of proceeding shall 
 be strictly pursued; and will take care to 
 restrain members from interfering in any 
 other manner. In general, the solemnity 
 and deliberation, with which this mode is 
 attended, will do much to allay heat and ex- 
 citement, and to restore harmony and order 
 to the assembly. 
 
 315. Object of Rules. A presiding 
 officer will often find himself embarrassed, 
 by the difficulty, as well as the delicacy, of 
 deciding points of order, or giving directions 
 as to the manner of proceeding. In such 
 
OBJECT OF RULES. 173 
 
 cases, it will be useful for him to recollect, 
 that, 
 
 THE GREAT PURPOSE OF ALL RULES AND 
 FORMS, IS TO SUBSERVE THE WILL OF THE 
 ASSEMBLY RATHER THAN TO RESTRAIN IT; 
 TO FACILITATE, AND NOT TO OBSTRUCT, THE 
 EXPRESSION OF THEIR DELIBERATE SENSE. 
 
174 PARLIAMENTAKY PRACTICE. 
 
 ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS, 
 
 21. GENERAL CONSENT. 
 
 [The sign , at the head of a note, refers to the paragraph 
 in the body of the work to which the note belongs.] 
 
 316. General Consejit : Meaning of. 
 
 The terms, "general consent," as used in 
 parliamentary practice, denote the unani- 
 mous opinion of the assembly, when their 
 opinion is expressed informally, and not by 
 means of a vote. Whenever, therefore, it is 
 said, that the general consent of the assem- 
 bly is necessary to the adoption of any 
 measure, it is to be understood, that if the 
 question is proposed informally, no objection 
 must be made to it, or that if proposed in a 
 formal manner, the vote in its favor must be 
 unanimous. 
 
 51. READING PETITION. 
 
 317. Petitions: Must Be Read. When 
 a petition has been received, the next step 
 
MOTIOXS. 175 
 
 in the proceedings is the reading of it by the 
 clerk, for the information of the assembly; 
 which, though in the usual course of business, 
 and not likely to be objected to, after the peti- 
 tion has been received, is nevertheless the 
 subject of a motion and question, to be 
 regularly submitted to the assembly and 
 voted upon; and, until a petition has been 
 read, no order can properly be made 
 respecting it, not even for its lying on the 
 table.* 
 
 55. SECONDARY MOTION. 
 
 318. Motions : When Need Not be 
 Seconded. An exception to the general 
 rule, requiring motions to be seconded, 
 occurs, when it is proposed to proceed with, 
 or to execute, or to enforce, an order of the 
 assembly; as, for example, when it is moved 
 to proceed with an order of the day, or when 
 a member suggests or calls for the enforce- 
 ment of some order relating to the observ- 
 ance of decorum, or the regularity of pro- 
 ceeding. Thus, in the English house of 
 commons, a single member may require the 
 
 * Petitions are no longer read . They are received, referred, 
 or otherwise disposed of, and noted in the journal by general 
 order. J. J. L 
 
176 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 enforcement of the standing order for the 
 exclusion of strangers; and, so, when the 
 second or other reading of a bill is made the 
 order for a particular day, a motion, on that 
 day, to read the bill according to the order, 
 need not be seconded. 
 
 56. BEFORE STATEMENT OF MOTION 
 FROM THE CHAIR. 
 
 319. Debate : When in Order. The 
 
 principle stated in this paragraph, must not 
 be understood to preclude all proceeding 
 with, or allusion to, a motion, until it has 
 been stated from the chair. On the con- 
 trary, after a motion has been made, or made 
 and seconded, but not yet proposed as ;i 
 question, it is competent for the mover to 
 withdraw or modify it, either of himself, or 
 fen the suggestion of some other member, or 
 of the presiding officer, and without any 
 motion or vote for the purpose. The rule 
 only requires, that, until a motion is regu- 
 larly seconded and stated, it should not be 
 spoken to as a question for the decision of 
 the assembly, or be made the subject of any 
 motion or proceeding as such. While, there- 
 fore, the presiding officer should permit 
 members to make remarks or suggestions, 
 
MOTION TO LAY OX TABLE. 1 77 
 
 for the purposes alluded to, with reference to 
 motions not yet stated, he should be careful 
 to check and prevent all observations which 
 may tend to excite debate; it being a general 
 rule, that no debate can be allowed to take 
 place on any subject, unless there is a ques- 
 tion pending at the time. 
 
 71. LIE ON THE TABLE. 
 
 320. Motion to Lay on Table : May 
 Be Limited. Proper Order in. When 
 any motion or proposition, report, resolution, 
 or other matter, has been ordered to lie on 
 the table, it is not in strictness allowable to 
 make any further order, with reference to the 
 same subject, on the same day. The order 
 may, however, be limited to a specific time; 
 as, for example, until some other topic or 
 subject is disposed of. 
 
 The proper motion, for proceeding with 
 a matter which has been ordered to lie on 
 the table, is, that the assembly do now 
 proceed to consider that matter or subject. 
 The motion sometimes made, is, that the 
 subject be taken up, or taken up for con- 
 sideration. 
 
 75. AUTHORITY OF COMMITTEE. 
 
 321. Power of Committee Strictly 
 
178 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 Limited. The authority of a committee, 
 in reference to the subject matter referred 
 to its consideration, as well as to the time 
 and manner of its proceeding, depends 
 w holly upon, and is derived from, the order 
 by which the committee is instituted. It 
 can only consider the matter referred to it; 
 and, consequently, is not at liberty, like the 
 assembly itself, to change the subject under 
 consideration by means of an amendment. 
 This rule is equally applicable to committees 
 of the whole. 
 
 g 92, 93. MODIFICATION OR AMEND- 
 MENT OF A MOTION BY THE 
 MOVER. 
 
 322. Power of Mover of an Amend- 
 ment to Amend. Before a motion has 
 been stated, the mover, as already remarked 
 (note to 56), may modify or withdraw it at 
 his pleasure; after it has been stated, he can 
 only withdraw or modify it by general con- 
 sent; he may, however, like any other mem- 
 ber, move to amend. The acceptance by the 
 mover, of an amendment moved or suggested 
 by some other member, stands upon the 
 same ground. 
 
MOTION TO STRIKE OUT. 179 
 
 112, 122. AMENDMENTS BY STRIKING 
 OUT. 
 
 323. Motion to Strike Out : How 
 Stated: Effect of Vote. Motion to 
 Strike Out and Insert Necessarily 
 Divided. When the parliamentary form 
 of putting the question, on a motion to 
 strike or leave out words, is adopted, the 
 question is first stated, that the words pro- 
 posed to be struck out stand as part of the 
 motion. If this question passes in the 
 negative, a question is then to be stated on 
 inserting the words proposed, which may be 
 amended like any other motion to insert or 
 add words. If the question on the standing 
 of the words passes in the affirmative, the 
 residue of the motion to strike out and insert 
 falls without a question. According to the 
 parliamentary form, therefore, a motion to 
 strike out and insert is necessarily divided.* 
 The remark of Mr. Jefferson, quoted in the 
 note to 122, that " the question, if desired, 
 is then to be divided," etc., may be ex- 
 plained by supposing, that when a motion 
 was made to strike out and insert, which 
 was 7iot objected to, the question was pro- 
 posed in the terms of the motion; but, that, 
 
 *According to modern practice it is indivisible. J. J. I. 
 
180 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 if objected to, it was then to be put, of 
 course, in the parliamentary form. In 
 the house of delegates of Virginia, of which 
 Mr. Jefferson had been a member, the 
 parliamentary form of stating the question 
 was in use. 
 
 128 to 133. AMENDMENT CHANGING 
 THE NATURE OF A QUESTION. 
 
 324. Amendment to Be Germane : 
 Rule in Massachusetts. In some legis- 
 lative assemblies, the house of representatives 
 of Massachusetts, for example, it is provided 
 by a special rule, that no motion or proposi- 
 tion, relative to a different subject from the 
 one under consideration, shall be admitted 
 under color of an amendment. When a rule 
 of this nature is in force, the assembly, by 
 proceeding to consider a given subject, places 
 tself in the situation of a committee, to whom 
 that subject is referred. 
 
 137. MOTION TO ADJOURN. 
 
 325. Why Motion to Adjourn Not 
 Amendable. The reason, why a motion to 
 adjourn, moved for the purpose of super- 
 seding or suppressing a pending question. 
 is not susceptible of amendment, is, that if 
 
QUESTIONS OF ORDER. 181 
 
 amended, it would at once become inadmis- 
 sible, in point of order, on the ground of its 
 being introductory to a second question, 
 having no privilege to take the place of a 
 question already pending and entitled to be 
 first disposed of. 
 
 143. ORDER OF THE DAY. 
 See note to 55. 
 
 154. QUESTIONS OF ORDER. 
 
 326. Questions of Order : Powers and 
 Duties of Presiding Officer in England 
 and United States. In the British parlia- 
 ment, the presiding officers do not appear ti 
 consider it their duty to decide points of order 
 unless appealed to by the house for that pur- 
 pose; which, in the commons, is usually effect- 
 ed by a general cry of chair from the members; 
 and, it is extremely rare, that an opinion, 
 given in answer to such a call, is not sub- 
 mitted to by the house. If not satisfactory, 
 the point of order may be separated from 
 the main question, by a motion and question 
 for the purpose, on which the presiding 
 officer's decision may be overruled; or, with- 
 out any distinct question being made, the 
 house may proceed to pass upon the point of 
 
182 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 order, as involved in the main question, and, 
 in deciding the latter, may go contrary to 
 the opinion of the presiding officer, upon 
 the matter of order. In the legislative as- 
 semblies of this country, it is generally, if 
 not universally, provided by a special rule, 
 4 that every question of order shall, in the first 
 instance, be decided by the presiding officer, 
 subject to an appeal to the assembly itself. 
 Such, also, appears to be the usage of delib- 
 erative assemblies, not legislative in their 
 character. And, it is on these grounds of 
 rule and usage, that the doctrine laid down 
 in this paragraph is founded. 
 
 The statement, that questions of order are 
 to be decided, in the first instance, by the 
 presiding officer, without any previous 
 debate, or discussion by the assembly, must 
 not be understood to mean, that the presid- 
 ing officer is precluded from allowing mem- 
 bers to express their opinions upon the point 
 of order, before himself deciding it; but, 
 merely, that the matter is not then to be de- 
 bated and discussed, as a question to be 
 decided by the assembly. The presiding 
 officer, before expressing his own opinion, 
 may, if he pleases, take the opinions of other 
 members. It is manifest, however, that when 
 
CALLS TO ORDER. 183 
 
 he is ready to give his own opinion, he may 
 proceed at once, and cannot be precluded 
 from doing so by any other member claiming 
 a right to be first heard. 
 
 161. WITHDRAWAL OF A MOTION. 
 
 327. Motion Stated Can Only be 
 Withdrawn by General Consent or 
 Leave. A. motion, when made, seconded, 
 and stated, cannot be withdrawn without 
 the general consent, or, if put formally to 
 the question, the unanimous vote of the 
 assembly. 
 
 198. See note to 36. 
 
 200. INTERRUPTION OF A MEMBER 
 SPEAKING BY A CALL TO ORDER. 
 
 328. Calls to Order : Duties of Pre- 
 'siding Officer in. The rule stated in this 
 paragraph, that a member speaking cannot 
 rightfully be interrupted in his speech, but 
 by a call to order, does not make it the duty 
 of the presiding officer to refuse to hear a 
 member, who rises and addresses the chair 
 while another is speaking; for, if this were 
 the case, the presiding officer could very 
 rarely know whether there might not be 
 
184 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 occasion for the interruption; and would 
 thus be in danger of keeping the assembly 
 in ignorance of matters, which it might be 
 of the highest concern for them to know. 
 When, therefore, a member rises while 
 another is speaking, and addresses the chair, 
 he should inform the presiding officer that 
 he rises to a point of order, or to the orders 
 of the assembly, or to a matter of privilege. 
 It will then be the duty of the presiding 
 officer to direct the member speaking to 
 suspend his remarks, or to resume his seat, 
 and the member rising to proceed with the 
 statement of his point or other matter of 
 order, or of privilege. If the latter, on 
 proceeding, discloses matter which shows 
 that the interruption was proper, the subject 
 so introduced must first be disposed of; and 
 then the member who was interrupted, is to 
 be directed to proceed with his speech. If 
 it appears that there was no sufficient ground 
 for the interruption, the member rising is to 
 be directed to resume his seat, and the mem- 
 ber interrupted to proceed with his speech. 
 Every member, therefore, possessing tire 
 right to interrupt another in his speech, on a 
 proper occasion, any wanton abuse of this 
 right, for the purpose of personal annoyance, 
 
CALLS TO ORDER. 185 
 
 is liable to censure and punishment; it being 
 itself a breach of order unnecessarily and 
 wantonly to call or interrupt another mem- 
 ber to order. 
 
 In reference to the occasions, on which 
 the interruption of a member speaking is 
 allowed, it is to be observed, that they are 
 not restricted, as the language of 200 might 
 seem to imply, to breaches of order in debate, 
 on the part of the member speaking. Any 
 matter of privilege, affecting the assembly 
 itself, or any of its members, of which the 
 assembly ought to'have instant information, 
 furnishes such an occasion; as, for example, 
 where access to the place of sitting of the 
 assembly is obstructed, or the person of a 
 member is attacked; or where something 
 connected with the proceeding of the assem- 
 bly requires instant attention, as where it 
 becomes necessary to have lights; or where 
 something occurs relative to the member 
 himself who is speaking, as where he is an- 
 noyed and disturbed by noise and disorder, 
 or where, in consequence of his strength 
 failing him, it becomes necessary that he 
 should finish his speech sitting. 
 
186 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 207. PRECEDENCE IN SPEAKING OF 
 THE PRESIDING OFFICER. 
 
 329. Presiding Officer: May Inter- 
 rupt Member When. The rule stated in 
 this paragraph does not, of course, preclude 
 the presiding officer from interrupting a 
 member while speaking, whenever a proper 
 occasion occurs for such an interruption; as, 
 for example, when the member himself is 
 guilty of a breach of order. 
 
 209. QUESTIONS NOT DEBATABLE. 
 
 330. In Absence of Special Rule All 
 Questions May Be Debated. In the 
 legislative assemblies of this country, it is 
 usual to provide by a special rule, that cer- 
 tain questions shall be decided without 
 debate. Among these, the most common is 
 the motion to adjourn. In the absence, 
 however, of a special rule, restricting the 
 right of debate in reference to some par- 
 ticular subject, every question, with the 
 exception perhaps of those which require 
 unanimity, that may be moved, may be 
 debated. In both houses of parliament, 
 important debates have frequently taken 
 place on motions, as, for example, to adjourn, 
 which, in the legislative assemblies of this 
 
SPEAKING BUT ONCE. 18? 
 
 country, would not generally be considered 
 debatable. 
 
 213. SEVERAL QUESTIONS INVOLVED 
 IN THE SAME DEBATE. 
 
 331. Debate May Embrace Several > 
 Questions : When. It sometimes hap- 
 pens, that a question under debate becomes 
 enlarged rather than narrowed, by the intro- 
 duction of a subsidiary motion; as, for ex- 
 ample, when an amendment is moved, which 
 involves in itself the merits of the original 
 proposition, in which case, the debate may 
 embrace both. 
 
 216. SPEAKING BUT ONCE TO THE 
 SAME QUESTION. 
 
 332. Construction of Rule Concern- 
 ing Right to Speak But Once. The 
 
 rule, stated in this and the preceding para- 
 graphs, refers solely to the question techni- 
 cally considered, and is wholly irrespective of 
 the subject matter. No member can speak 
 more than once to the same question; but 
 he may speak to the same subject, as often 
 as it is presented in the form of a different 
 question. 
 
188 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 218. 
 
 333- Definition of Ambiguous Ex- 
 pression. The expression in this para- 
 graph, " to clear a matter of fact/' denotes 
 merely a statement, by a member who has 
 already spoken, of facts which he considers 
 it important for the assembly to be possessed 
 of, before coming to a vote upon the question 
 pending. 
 
 227. DISORDERLY WORDS. 
 
 334. Disorderly Words Not Confined 
 to Debate. The offense of disorderly 
 words may be committed, not only by 
 language used in the course of debate, but 
 also by words used in making a motion, or 
 report. 
 
 235. STATEMENT OF MOTION. 
 
 335. Motion Not Always Formally 
 Stated. Strictly speaking, no question can 
 arise in a deliberative assembly, without a- 
 motion being first made and seconded; 
 though, sometimes, for the dispatch of busi- 
 ness, the presiding officer takes it for granted 
 that a proper and usual motion is made 
 (when in *act it is not), and proposes a ques- 
 tion accordingly. 
 
RIGHT AND DUTY. 
 
 243. RIGHT AND DUTY OF PRES 
 OFFICER AS TO VOTING. 
 
 336. Right and Duty of Presiding 
 Officer to Vote : English Practice. 
 
 The principle asserted in this paragraph 
 was laid down on the authority of the French 
 translation of a little work of the late Sir 
 Samuel Bomilly (never published in English), 
 on parliamentary practice, in which it is 
 stated, that the speaker of the house of 
 commons has his election to vote or not, 
 when the house is equally divided. It 
 appears quite certain, however, from an 
 examination of the published debates and 
 proceedings of the house of commons, that 
 the speaker has no such election; and, con- 
 sequently, either that the author was himseif 
 mistaken, or, which is more probable, that 
 the translator mistook his author. Taking 
 the practice of the house of commons as the 
 best evidence of the general parliamentary 
 law, and this seems to be indisputable, 
 the rule laid down in 243 should be modified 
 accordingly, and thus stated, namely: 
 
 "H the members are equally divided it 
 then becomes the duty of the presiding 
 officer to give the casting vote; in doing 
 which, he may, if he pleases, give his 
 reasons." 
 
190 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 250 to 257. RECONSIDERATION. 
 
 337. Reconsideration : Of American 
 Origin. Proceedings, analagous in prin- 
 ciple to the motion for reconsideration, ap- 
 pear occasionally, though very rarely, to 
 have been admitted in the British parlia- 
 ment; but, it is believed, the motion to re- 
 consider, as in use in this country, is of 
 American origin. The motion is, in form, 
 that such a vote be reconsidered; in sub- 
 stance, that the subject of that vote be again 
 considered, upon the original motion, as if 
 that motion had never been considered and 
 passed upon. On the motion to reconsider, 
 the whole subject is as much open for debate 
 as if it had not been discussed at all; and if 
 the motion prevail, the subject is again open 
 for debate on the original motion, in the 
 same manner as if that motion had never 
 been put to the question. 
 
 276. QUORUM OF COMMITTEE. 
 
 338. Quorum of Committee : In Case 
 of Doubt Should Be Fixed by Order of 
 Body. The statement, contained in this 
 paragraph, that a majority of the members 
 of a committee is sufficient to constitute a 
 quorum for proceeding with business, unless 
 
KEPOUT OF COMMITTEE. 191 
 
 the number should be otherwise fixed by the 
 assembly itself, was made upon the supposi- 
 tion, that, in this country, the rule had been 
 so settled by usage. It should also have 
 been stated, at the same time, as the parlia- 
 mentary rule, that the presence of every 
 member is essential, and that of a majority 
 is not sufficient, to constitute a committee. 
 In all places, therefore, where there is any 
 doubt as to the existence of the usage, it will 
 be proper that the number of the quorum 
 should be fixed by the assembly itself, either 
 by a general rule, or by the order for the 
 appointment of the committee. 
 
 286. REPORT OF COMMITTEE. 
 
 339. Committee : Report of Minority 
 
 of. In this and the succeeding paragraphs, 
 relating to the report of a committee, no 
 notice is taken of what is commonly known 
 in this country as a minority report; in 
 reference to which, it being now a proceed- 
 ing of frequent occurrence, though not 
 strictly parliamentary, some explanation 
 deems necessary and proper. 
 
 The report of a committee being the con- 
 clusion which is agreed to by a majority of 
 the members, the dissenting or not-agreeing 
 
192 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 members, according to strict parliamentary 
 practice, would have no other mode of bring- 
 ing their views before the assembly, than as 
 individual members. Inasmuch, however, 
 as such members may be supposed to have 
 given the subject equal consideration with 
 the other members of the committee, and 
 may, therefore, be in possession of views and 
 opinions equally worthy of the attention of 
 the assembly, the practice has become general 
 in the legislative assemblies of this country, 
 to allow members in the minority to present 
 their views and conclusions in the parlia- 
 mentary form of a report, which is accord- 
 ingly known by the somewhat incongruous 
 appellation of a minority report. Any two 
 or more of the members may unite in such a 
 report, or each one of them may express his 
 views in a separate document. 
 
 A minority report is not recognized as a 
 report of the committee, or acted upon as 
 such; it is received by courtesy, and allowed 
 to accompany the report, as representing the 
 opinions of the minority; and, in order, to 
 its being adopted by the assembly, it must be 
 moved as an amendment to the report, when 
 that comes to be considered. 
 
CHAIEMAN OF COMMITTEE. - 193 
 
 297. CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEE OF 
 THE WHOLE. 
 
 340. Chairman of Committee of the 
 Whole : Rule and Practice Concern- 
 Ing* The naming of the chairman of a 
 committee of the whole, by the presiding 
 officer, which is supposed to be the usual 
 practice in the legislative assemblies of this 
 country, ordinarily takes place in virtue of a 
 special rule. Where this is the case, the 
 member so named becomes the chairman of 
 the committee. But, where there is no such 
 rule, some member is called upon by one or 
 more of the members of the committee to 
 take the chair; and, if no objection is made, 
 or no other member called to the chair, the 
 member so designated becomes the chairman. 
 If objection is made, or any other member is 
 called to the chair, the chairman must be 
 regularly chosen. But, in order to do this, 
 the presiding officer should resume the chair, 
 and the choice be made by the assembly, 
 acting as such, and not in committee. The 
 statement in 298, that, where a chairman 
 is to be appointed by vote, the question 
 is to be put by some member in the com- 
 mittee, though laid down by Mr. Jefferson, 
 on the authority of an old writer on par- 
 
194 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE. 
 
 liamentary proceedings, is not sanctioned 
 by Hatsell, or borne out by the modern 
 practice in the British parliament, in both 
 houses of which the practice as above stated 
 prevails. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 *** The figures refer to the numbers of the paragraphs. 
 
 ACCEPTANCE by the maker of a motion, of an 
 
 amendment, 92, 93. 
 
 ADDITION of propositions, how affected, 88. 
 ADJOURNMENT, without day, equivalent to a dis- 
 solution, 139. 
 
 effect of, on business under consideration, 140. 
 motion for, takes precedence of all other motions, 
 137. 
 
 when it may be amended, 137. 
 form of, 138, 200. 
 
 AMENDMENT, purposes of motions for, 60, 78. 
 order of proceeding in, 95, 191. 
 acceptance of by mover of proposition, 92, 93. 
 of amendment by striking out and inserting, 
 
 107, 108. 
 of an amendment, to be put before the original 
 
 amendment, 110. 
 of an amendment to an amendment, not allowed, 
 
 96. 
 
 object of such motion, how attained, 96, 97. 
 cannot be made to what has been agreed to on a 
 
 question, 98, 99, 100, 101. 
 
 inconsistency of, with one already adopted, 102. 
 may show the absurdity of the original object 
 of the proposition, 132. 
 
 or may change the object, 128, 129, 133. 
 or may defeat the object, 130, 131 
 
196 INDEX. 
 
 AMENDMENT, by addition, 88. 
 by separation, 89. 
 by transposition, 90. 
 by striking out, 94, 103 to 112. 
 by inserting or adding, 94, 113 to 121. 
 by striking out and inserting, 94, 122 to 127. 
 Motion for y by striking out and inserting, 103, 
 104, 111/122. 
 
 may be divided, 122. 
 
 may be amended, 126. 
 
 manner of stating question on, 112, 
 
 121, 127. 
 
 precedence of question on, 123. 
 to strike out, decided in the negative, equiva- 
 lent to the affirmative of agreeing, 98, 100, 
 252. 
 
 if passed, may not be renewed, 103 to 
 
 106, 113 to 116, 119, 124, 125. 
 stands in the same degree with the previous 
 question, and indefinite postponement, 184. 
 superseded by a motion to postpone to a day 
 
 certain, or to commit, 185. 
 may be amended, 96, 107, 117, 126, 184. 
 effect of vote on, 94 to 127, 187. 
 to be put before the original motion, 110, 120. 
 APOLOGY, 42. 
 
 ASSEMBLY, DELIBERATIVE, purposes of, how 
 effected, 1. 
 
 how organized, 2, 3. 
 judgment of, how expressed, 13. 
 ASSEMBLING, time of, to be fixed beforehand, 23. 
 
 place of, in possession of assembly, 9. 
 AUTHENTICATION of acts, etc., of a deliberative as- 
 sembly. 27, 32. 
 BLANKS, filling of, 84. 
 
 with times or numbers, rule for, 85, 86, 87. 
 See Precedence. 
 CHAIRMAN, preliminary election of, 3. 
 
 See Presiding Officer. 
 CLERK, 5. 
 
 See Recording Officer. 
 
IXDEX. 197 
 
 COMMITTEES, objects and advantages of, 258, 260, 
 
 261. 
 
 who to compose, 258, 270. 
 usually those favorable to the proposed measure, 
 
 271. 
 
 mode of appointment of, 263, 267, 268, 269. 
 when by the presiding officer, under a standing 
 
 rule, 266. 
 
 how notified of their appointment, 32, 272. 
 when and where to sit, 274, 275, 277. 
 select, 259. 
 
 how appointed, 264 to 269. 
 standing, 259. 
 
 what to be referred to, 74. 
 instructions to, 75, 76, 77, 262. 
 list of, etc. , given by the clerk to the member 
 
 first appointed, 272. 
 person first appointed on, acts as chairman by 
 
 courtesy, 273. 
 
 proceed like other assemblies, 276, 279. 
 may proceed by sub-committees, 306. 
 mode of proceeding on a paper which has been 
 
 referred to them, 279, 281, 283. 
 mode of proceeding on a paper originating in th<* 
 
 committee, 279, 280, 282. 
 manner of closing session of, 285. 
 report of, how made, 282, 283, 284, 286, 287, 292. 
 form of report of, 286, 292. 
 mode of proceeding on report of, 292, 293, 294, 
 
 295, 296. 
 
 acceptance of report of, 295. 
 form of stating questions on report of, 295, 296. 
 
 See Report. 
 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE, of whom composed, 
 
 259. 
 
 how constituted, 297. 
 what a quorum of, 299. 
 who presides over, 297, 298, 
 who is clerk of, 301. 
 proceedings of, similar to those of the assembly 
 
 itself, 302. 309. 
 
198 INDEX. 
 
 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE, mode of proceeding if 
 one session does not complete the business. 
 304. 
 
 who may speak in, and how often, 305. 
 cannot refer any matter to another committee, 
 
 306. 
 
 cannot punish for breaches of order, 308, 
 disorderly words in, how noticed, 308. 
 differences between and other committees, 303 
 
 to 308. 
 presiding officer of the assembly to remain in 
 
 the room during the session of, 300. 
 See Reports, Disorderly Words. 
 COMMITMENT, definition and purposes of, 73 
 when a proper course, 60. 
 what may be committed, 75, 76, 77. 
 effect of a vote on a motion for, 183. 
 motion for, may be amended, 181. 
 
 supersedes a motion to amend, 185. 
 is of the same degree with motions for 
 the previous question and postpone 
 rnent, 182. 
 See Committees. 
 COMMUNICATIONS to the assembly, how made, 44, 
 
 46, 48, 49. 
 
 CONSENT of the assembly, in what cases, and how 
 far, to be presumed by the presiding officer, 
 i 35, 237, 293. 
 
 CONTESTED ELECTIONS, 7. 
 
 See Returns. 
 
 CREDENTIALS of members, 7. 
 DEBATE, proper character of, 201. 
 
 should be confined to the question, 209. 
 usual mode of putting an end to, 220, 221. 
 
 shortening, 222. 
 See Speaking. 
 
 DECORUM, Breaches of, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 223, 224. 
 how to be noticed, 40. 
 remedy for, 224, 225, 226. 
 how a member is to proceed to exculpate himself 
 
 from a charge of, 40. 
 See Disorderly Words, Order. 
 
IKDEX. 199 
 
 DISORDERLY WORDS, course of proceeding, when 
 
 spoken, 227 to 231. 
 to be written down by the clerk, as spoken, 228, 
 
 229. 
 
 members not to be censured for, unless com- 
 plained of at the time, 232. 
 spoken in a committee during its session, 278. 
 in committee of the whole to be written 
 down, and reported to the assembly. 308. 
 DISORDERLY CONDUCT, 9, 37 to 40, 313. 
 DIVISION of a question, 79 to 83, 122, 123. 
 effect of, 80. 
 
 motion for, how made, 80. 
 right to demand, 81, 82. 
 when it may take place, 83. 
 
 See Question. 
 
 ELECTIONS AND RETURNS, 6, 7, 8. 
 EXPULSION, 42. 
 FLOOR, how to obtain, 46. 
 
 who has a right to, 47, 203, 204, 205. 
 
 member in possession of, to be interrupted only 
 
 by a call to order, 200. 
 when usually allowed to the mover of a motion, 
 
 204. 
 when one relinquishes, for one purpose, he does 
 
 so for all purposes, 205, 219. 
 FORMS of proceeding, 10, 59, 315. 
 
 See Order, Rules. 
 
 INCIDENTAL QUESTIONS, 150 to 165. 
 questions of order, 151 to 154. 
 reading papers, 155 to 160. 
 withdrawal of a motion, 161, 162. 
 suspension of a rule, 163, 164. 
 amendment of amendments, 165. 
 
 See Question. 
 INTRODUCTION of business, how accomplished, 43. 
 
 See Rules. 
 JOURNAL of a deliberative assembly, what and how 
 
 kept, 32, 33. 
 JUDGMENT of an aggregate body, how evidenced, 14* 
 
200 INDEX. 
 
 LIE ON THE TABLE, purpose of motion for, 60, 71, 72 
 Motion for, cannot be amended, 170. 
 when to be resorted to, 171. 
 effect of vote on, 71, 72, 172, 173. 
 takes precedence of all other subsidiary 
 
 motions, 171. 
 LIST of members, 6. 
 MAIN QUESTION, 63, 64, 135, 213. 
 MAJORITY, decision by, on questions and elections, 24. 
 MEMBERS, rights and duties of, 36. 
 punishments of, 42. 
 
 not to be present at debates on matters concern- 
 ing themselves, 41, 225, 230. 
 proceedings on quarrels between, caution relat- 
 ing to, 314. 
 
 MEMBERSHIP, rights of, how decided, 8. 
 MODIFICATION of a motion by the mover, 92. 
 MOTION, definition of, 45, 59, 233. 
 to be in writing, 54. 
 to be seconded, 53 to 55. 
 how seconded, 55. 
 when in order, 247. 
 subsidiary, need not be in writing, 54. 
 
 but must be seconded, 55. 
 to suppress a proposition, 62. 
 to be stated or read for the information of any 
 
 member, 57. 
 
 can be withdrawn only by leave, 56, 92. 
 when before the assembly, none other can be re- 
 ceived, except privileged motions, 58. 
 is not before the assembly, until stated by its 
 
 presiding officer, 198. 
 not in order unless the maker be called to by the 
 
 presiding officer, 200. 
 by one seated, or not addressing the chair, not to 
 
 be received, 200. 
 
 principal and subsidiary, cannot be made to- 
 gether, 199. 
 
 NAMING a member, what, 40, 225. 
 NUMBERS prefixed to paragraphs of a proposition, 
 not a part of it, 91. 
 
INDEX. 201 
 
 OFFICERS of an assembly, titles of, 5. 
 who are, usually, 26. 
 how appointed, and removable, 26. 
 a majority, necessary to elect, 26. 
 when not members of the assembly, 5. 
 pro tempore, when to be chosen, 29. 
 
 See Presiding Officer, Recording Officer. 
 ORDER of a deliberative assembly, what, 13. 
 of business, 188 to 200. 
 
 how estimated, 190. 
 questions of, what, 152. 
 
 how decided, 154, 248. 
 
 form of, on appeal, 154. 
 
 no debate upon, allowed during division. 
 
 248. 
 
 rules of, to be enforced without delay, 151. 
 call to, effect of, 214. 
 
 who may make, 151. 
 interrupts the business under considera- 
 tion, 153. 
 
 See Disorderly Conduct, Disorderly Words. 
 ORDERS OF THE DAY, definition of, 142. 
 
 motion for, a privileged question for the day, 
 
 143 to 145, 146. 
 
 motion for, generally, supersedes other proposi- 
 tions, 143, 144. 
 being taken up, the business interrupted thereby 
 
 is suspended, 147. 
 fall, if not taken up on the day fixed, 149. 
 
 unless by special rule, 149. 
 ORGANIZATION, necessity for, 1. 
 usual mode of, 3. 
 on report of a committee, 4. 
 PAPERS AND DOCUMENTS, in whose custody, 33. 
 PARLIAMENTARY LAW common, what, 6, 10. 
 PARLIAMENTARY RULES, whence derived, 11. 
 in each State, how formed, 11. 
 
 See Eules. 
 PETITIONS, requisites to 49. 
 
 to be offered by members, 49, 50. 
 mode of offering, 51 . 
 
202 INDEX. 
 
 PETITIONS, to be read by the clerk, if received, 52. 
 regular and usual action on presenting, 51, 52. 
 contents of, to be known by member present- 
 ing, 50. 
 
 to be in respectful language, 50. 
 POSTPONEMENT, effect of vote on motion for, 180. 
 motion for, may be amended, 176. 
 how amended, 177, 178. 
 supersedes a motion to amend, 185. 
 is not suspended by a motion to commit 
 
 or to amend, 179. 
 is of the same degree with a motion for 
 
 the previous question, 179. 
 indefinite, purpose of motion for, 60, 67. 
 effect of vote on motion for, 67. 
 to a day certain, purpose of motion for, 68, 69. 
 
 an improper use of, 70. 
 POWER of assembly to eject strangers, 9. 
 PREAMBLE, or title, usually considered after the 
 
 paper is gone through with, 192. 
 PRECEDENCE of motions, 171, 174, 179, 182, 186, 197, 
 
 220. " 
 of questions, 123, 134, 135, 153. 
 
 as to reference to a committee, 74. 
 on motions to fill blanks, 85, 86, 87. 
 questions of privilege take precedence of all 
 
 motions but for adjournment, 141. 
 PRESIDENT, 5. 
 
 See Presiding Officer. 
 PRESIDING OFFICER, duties of, 27, 30, 40, 225, 313, 
 
 314. 
 
 to be first heard on questions of order, 207. 
 now far member of an assembly, 5. 
 not usually to take part in debate, 5, 202. 
 
 but in committees of the whole, 307. 
 or on point of order, 154. 
 to give a casting vote, 5, 243. 
 effect of not giving casting vote, 243. 
 may not interrupt one speaking, but to call to 
 order, 207. 
 
INDEX. 203 
 
 PRESIDING OFFICER, may not decide upon incon- 
 sistency of a proposed amendment with 
 one already adopted, 102. 
 PREVIOUS QUESTION, motion for, purpose of, 60. 
 
 form of, 64, 170. 
 
 original use of, 63, 64, 65. 
 
 present use of, 65, 66, 220. 
 
 use of in England, 66. 
 
 cannot be amended, 170. 
 
 effect of vote on, 64, 65, 175. 
 
 effect of negative decision of, 65. 
 
 cannot be made in committee of the whole, 303. 
 
 stands in same degree with other subsidiary 
 
 motions, except to lie on the table, 174. 
 PRIVILEGED QUESTIONS, 136 to 149. 
 
 adjournment, 137 to 140. 
 
 questions of privilege, 141. 
 
 orders of the day, 142 to 149. 
 
 take precedence* of all motions but for adjourn- 
 ment, 141. 
 
 when settled, business thereby interrupted, to 
 
 be resumed, 141. 
 
 PROCEEDINGS, how set in motion, 43. 
 PUNISHMENT of members, 41, 42. 
 
 a question of, pending, the member to withdraw, 
 
 230. 
 QUARREL between members, 38, 314. 
 
 See Disorderly Words. 
 QUESTION, definition of, 233. 
 
 forms of, in use, 15, 60, 61. 
 
 when to be put, 235. 
 
 mode of putting, 236. 
 
 on a series of propositions, 193. 
 
 on amendments reported by a committee, 194. 
 
 mode of taking, 238, 240, 241, 242, 245. 
 
 when and how decision of may be questioned, 
 238, 239. 
 
 all the members in the room when the question 
 is put are bound to vote upon it, 244. 
 
 members not in the room, cannot vote on, 244. 
 
 when taken by yeas and nays, 245. 
 
204 INDEX. 
 
 QUESTION, mode of taking, in Massachusetts, 246. 
 when and how to be divided, 79. 
 how taken when divided, 80. 
 motion to divide, may be amended, 80. 
 what may be divided, 83. 
 who may divide, 81, 122. 
 i usually regulated by rule, 82. 
 
 incidental, defined and enumerated, 150 to 165. 
 subsidiary, or secondary, defined and enumer- 
 ated, 166 to 170. 
 privileged, defined and enumerated, 136. 
 
 See Incidental Questions, Privileged Questions , 
 
 Subsidiary Questions. 
 QUORUM, necessity for, 17, 19. 
 what constitutes, 18. 
 
 effect of want of, on pending question, 249 
 necessary on a division of the assembly, 249. 
 want of, how ascertained, 19. 
 consequence of want of, 19, 249. 
 READING OF PAPERS, by the clerk, 155. 
 
 by members, not allowed, without leave obtained 
 
 by motion and vote, 157, 158. 
 when to be omitted, 159. 
 when necessary, if called for, 155. 
 question on, to be first decided, 160. 
 RECEPTION, question of, on petition, 51. 
 
 on report, 286, 293. 
 RECOMMITMENT, what, 73, 290, 291. 
 RECONSIDERATION, general principle relating to, 250 
 
 to 253. 
 
 motion for, allowed in this country, 254, 255. 
 effect of, 256. 
 
 usually regulated by rule, 257. 
 RECORDING OFFICER, duties of,* 31, 32, 33, 35. 
 how his absence is to be supplied, 34. 
 how elected, 3, 4. 
 precedence of, if more than one, 5. 
 papers and documents to be in his charge, 33. 
 RECURRENCE OF BUSINESS, when interrupted by 
 
 want of quorum, 249. 
 by motion for the previous question, 66 
 
INDEX. 205 
 
 RECURRENCE OP BUSINESS, by motion for indefinite 
 postponement, 67. 
 
 to lie on the table, 71, 72. 
 for adjournment, 140. 
 for the orders of the day, 147, 148. 
 by a question of privilege, 141. 
 
 of order, 153, 230. 
 
 by a call of member to order, 200, 214. 
 REPORTS OF COMMITTEES, how made and received, 
 286 to 389. 
 
 how treated and disposed of, 292 to 296. 
 of a paper with amendments, 288. 
 action upon, 194, 195, 292 to 296. 
 acceptance of, 295, 296. 
 when a new draft of a paper, 196. 
 of committees of the whole, 310. 
 when to be received, 311. 
 REPRIMAND, 42. 
 
 See Punishment. 
 RESOLUTION, what, 13, 233. 
 RETURNS, 6. 
 
 time for investigating, 7. 
 mode of investigating, 7. 
 who to be on the investigating committee, 8. 
 who to be heard on a question on, 8. 
 ROLL, calling of, 32, 35, 245. 
 
 RULES of debate and proceeding, subject of, 14, 15. 
 general purpose of, 315. 
 what are necessarily adopted bv an assembly, 
 
 10, 20. 
 
 the same in this country and in England, 11. 
 usage does not give them the character of general 
 
 laws, 12. 
 to be enforced without delay or debate, 22, 151, 
 
 152. 
 
 who may notice an infringement of, 22. 
 special, each assembly may adopt, 10, 20. 
 
 supersede ordinary parliamentary rules, 
 
 10. 
 
 usually provide for their own amend- 
 ment, 21. 
 
206 IXDEX. 
 
 RULES, special, may be suspended on motion, 21 , 
 163, 164. 
 
 motion to suspend, supersedes the orig- 
 inal question, 163. 
 suspended only by general consent, 21, 
 
 164. 
 
 usually provide for their own suspen- 
 sion, 164. 
 may determine the number necessary to; 
 
 express the will of the assembly, 25. 
 See Reading of Papers, Speaking. 
 SECONDARY QUESTIONS, 166. 
 
 See Subsidiary Questions 
 SECONDING of motions, 55, 309 
 SECRETARY, 5. 
 
 See Recording Officer. 
 
 SEPARATION of propositions, how effected, 89. 
 SPEAKING, rules as to manner of, 203 to 208. 
 as to matter in, 209 to 214. 
 as to times of, 215 to 219. 
 member, to stand uncovered, 203, 208. 
 not to make personal remarks, 211. 
 not to mention names of members, 206. 
 not to reflect on the assembly, or on its 
 
 prior determinations, 210. 
 confined to the subject, 209, 213. 
 not to be interrupted, 219. 
 to speak but once on the same question, 
 215, 216. 
 
 except by leave, 217. 
 or to explain himself in a matter-of-fact, 
 
 218. 
 
 See Debate, Presiding Officer. 
 SPEECH, reading of, by member, 157. 
 SUBSIDIARY QUESTIONS, 166 to 187. 
 nature and effect of, 166. 
 enumeration of, 167. 
 cannot be applied to one another, 168. 
 exceptions to this rule, 169. 
 lie on the table, 171, 172, 173. 
 amendment, 184 to 187. >, 
 
INDEX. 207 
 
 SUBSIDIARY QUESTIONS, previous question, 174, 175. 
 postponement, 176 to 180. 
 
 commitment, 181, 182, 183. 
 SUSPENSION of a rule, 21, 163, 164. 
 
 See Rules 
 
 TRANSPOSITION of propositions, how effected, 90. 
 VICE-PRESIDENT, duties of, 5, 28. 
 
 See Officers. 
 VOTE, what, 13, 233. 
 VOTING, right and duty of, 41, 244. 
 prohibition from. 42. 
 
 See Members. 
 
 WILL of an assembly, majority necessary to ex- 
 press, 24. 
 special rule may determine what pro- 
 
 portion may express, 25. 
 WITHDRAWAL of a motion, can be only by leave, 161. 
 
 effect of vote upon motion for leave for, 162. 
 YEAS AND NAYS, how taken, 32, 245. 
 
 in Massachusetts, 246. 
 what number of members may require, 25. 
 form of putting question, 245. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED 
 STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 PREAMBLE. 
 
 We, the people of the United States, in order to 
 form a more perfect union, establish justice, 
 insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the 
 common defence, promote the general wel- 
 fare, and secure the blessings of liberty to 
 ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and 
 establish this Constitution for the United 
 States of America. 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 All legislative powers herein granted shall be 
 vested in a Congress of the United States, which 
 shall consist of a Senate and House of Repre- 
 sentatives. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 First Clause. The House of Representatives 
 shall be composed of members chosen every sec- 
 ond year by the people of the several States, and 
 
210 APPEXUIX. 
 
 the electors in each State shall have the qualifica- 
 tions requisite for electors of the most numerous 
 branch of the State Legislature. 
 
 Second Clause. No person shall be a Repre- 
 sentative who shall not have attained to the age 
 of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citi- 
 zen of the United States, and wh shall not, when 
 elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which 
 he shall be chosen. 
 
 Third Clause. Representatives and direct 
 taxes shall be apportioned among the several 
 States which may be included within this Union, 
 according to their respective numbers, which shall 
 be determined by adding to the whole number of 
 free persons, including those bound to service for 
 a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed 
 three-fifths of all other persons. [Altered by the 
 Fourteenth Amendment, Section II.] The actual 
 enumeration shall be made within three years 
 after the first meeting of the Congress of the 
 United States, and within every subsequent term 
 of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law 
 direct. The number of Representatives shall not 
 exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each 
 State shall have at least one Representative; and 
 until such enumeration shall be made, the State 
 of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose 
 three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and 
 Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, 
 New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania 
 eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and 
 Georgia three. 
 
 Fourth Clause. When vacancies happen in the 
 representation from any State, the executive 
 authority thereof shall issue writs of election to 
 fill such vacancies. 
 
 Fifth Clause. The House of Representatives 
 shall choose their Speaker aud other officers, and 
 shall have the sole power of impeachment. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 First Clause. The Senate of the United States 
 shall be composed of two Senators from each 
 State, chosen by the Legislature thereof for six 
 years, and each Senator shall have one vote. 
 
 Second Clause. Immediately after they shall 
 be assembled in consequence of the first election, 
 they shall be divided as equally as may be into 
 three classes. The seats of the Senators of the 
 first class shall be vacated at the expiration of 
 the second year, of the second class at the expira- 
 tion of the fourth year, and of the third class at 
 the expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third 
 maybe chosen every second year; and if vacancies 
 happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the 
 recess of the Legislature of any State, the execu- 
 tive thereof may make temporary appointments 
 until the next meeting of the Legislature, which 
 shall then fill such vacancies. 
 
 Third Clause. No person shall be a Senator 
 who shall not have attained to the age of thirty 
 
212 APPENDIX. 
 
 years, and been nine years a citizen of the United 
 States, and who shall not, when elected, be an 
 inhabitant of that State for which he shall be 
 chosen. 
 
 Fourth Clause. The Vice-President of the 
 United States shall be President of the Senate, 
 but shall have no vote unless they be equally 
 divided. 
 
 Fifth Clause. The Senate shall choose their 
 other officers, and also a President pro tempore, 
 in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he 
 shall exercise the office of President of the United 
 States. 
 
 Sixth Clause. The Senate shall have the sole 
 power to try all impeachments. When sitting for 
 that purpose they shall be on oath or affirmation. 
 When the President of the United States is tried, 
 the Chief-Justice shall preside, and no person 
 shall be convicted without the concurrence of 
 two- thirds of the members present. 
 
 Seventh Clause. Judgment in cases of im- 
 peachment shall not extend further than to re- 
 moval from office and disqualification to hold and 
 enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under 
 the United States; but the party convicted shall 
 nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, 
 trial, judgment and punishment, according to 
 law. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 First Clause. The times, places and manner of 
 holding elections for Senators and Representatives 
 
APPEKDIX. 213 
 
 shall be prescribed in each State by the Legisla- 
 ture thereof; but the Congress may at any time 
 by law make or alter such regulations, except as 
 to the places of choosing Senators. 
 
 Second Clause. The Congress shall assemble 
 at least once in every year, and such meeting 
 shall be on the first Monday in December, unless 
 they shall by law appoint a different day. 
 
 SECTION v. 
 
 First Clause. Each House shall be the judge 
 of the elections, returns and qualifications of its 
 own members, and a majority of each shall con- 
 stitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller 
 number may adjourn from day to day, and may 
 be authorized to compel the attendance of absent 
 members in such manner and under such penalties 
 as each House may provide. 
 
 Second Clause. Each House may determine 
 the rules of its proceedings, punish its members 
 for disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence 
 of two-thirds, expel a member. 
 
 Third Clause. Each House shall keep a journal 
 of its proceedings, and from time to time publish 
 the same, excepting such parts as may in their 
 judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays 
 of the members of either House on any question 
 shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, 
 be entered on the journal. 
 
 Fourth Clause. Neither House during the ses- 
 sion of Congress shall, without the consent of the 
 
214: APPENDIX. 
 
 other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to 
 any other place than that in which the two 
 Houses shall be sitting. 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 First Clause. The Senators and Representa- 
 i ves shall receive a compensation for their serv- 
 ices, to be ascertained by law and paid out of the 
 treasury of the United States. They shall in all 
 cases, except treason, felony and breach of the 
 peace, be privileged from arrest during their at- , 
 tendance at the session of their respective Houses, j 
 and in going to and returning from the same; and 
 for any speech or debate in either House they 
 shall not be questioned in any other place. 
 
 Second Clause. No Senator or Representative j 
 shall, during the time for which he was elected, be | 
 appointed to any civil office under the authority I 
 of the United States which shall have been created 
 or the emoluments whereof shall have been in- 
 creased during such time; and no person holding j 
 any office under the United States shall be all 
 member of either House during his continuance 
 in office. 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 First Clause. All bills for raising revenue 
 shall originate in the House of Representatives, 
 but the Senate may propose or concur with amend- 
 ments as on other bills. 
 
 Second Clause. Every bill which shall have 
 passed the House of Representatives and the 
 
APPEKDIX. 215 
 
 Senate shall, before it become a law, be presented 
 to the President of the United States; if he ap- 
 prove he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, 
 with his objections, to that House in which it 
 shall have originated, who shall enter their objec- 
 tions at large on their journal and proceed to 
 reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two- 
 thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bill, it 
 shall be sent, together with the objections, to the 
 other House, by which it shall likewise be recon- 
 sidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that 
 House, it shall become a law. But in all such 
 cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined 
 by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons 
 voting for and against the bill shall be entered on 
 the journal of each House respectively. If any 
 bill shall not be returned by the President within 
 ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have 
 been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in 
 like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Con 
 gress by their adjournment prevent its return, in 
 which case it shall not be a law. 
 
 Third Clause. Every order, resolution or vote 
 to which the concurrence of the Senate and House 
 of Representatives may be necessary (except on a 
 question of adjournment) shall be presented to 
 the President of the United States, and before the 
 same shall take effect shall be approved by him, or 
 being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by 
 two-thirds of the Senate and House of Repre- 
 
216 APPENDIX. 
 
 sentatives, according to the rules and limitations 
 prescribed in the case of a bill. 
 
 SECTION VIII. 
 
 The Congress shall have power: 
 
 First Clause. To lay and collect taxes, duties, 
 imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide* 
 for the common defense and general welfare of 
 the United States; but all duties, imposts and 
 excises shall be uniform throughout the United 
 States. 
 
 Second Clause. To borrow money on the credit 
 of the United States. 
 
 Third Clause. To regulate commerce with for- 
 eign nations, and among the several States, and 
 with the Indian tribes. 
 
 Fourth Clause. To establish a uniform rule of 
 naturalization and uniform laws on the subject 
 of bankruptcies throughout the United States. 
 
 Fifth Clause. To coin money, regulate the 
 value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the 
 standard of weights and measures. 
 
 Sixth Clause. To provide for the punishment 
 of counterfeiting the securities and current coin 
 of the United States. 
 
 Seventh Clause. To establish post-offices and 
 post-roads. 
 
 Eighth Clause. To promote the progress of 
 science and useful arts, by securing for limited 
 times to authors and inventors the exclusive right 
 to their respective writings and discoveries. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Ninth Clause. To constitute tribunals inferior 
 to the Supreme Court. 
 
 Tenth Clause. To define and punish piracies 
 and felonies committed on the high seas, and 
 offenses against the law of nations. 
 
 Eleventh Clause. To declare war, grant letters 
 of marque and reprisal, and make rules concern- 
 ing captures on land and water. 
 
 Twelfth Clause. To raise and support armies; 
 but no appropriation of money to that use shall 
 be for a longer term than two years. 
 
 Thirteenth Clause. To provide and maintain a 
 navy. 
 
 Fourteenth Clause. To make rules for the 
 government and regulation of the land and naval 
 forces. 
 
 Fifteenth Clause. To provide for calling forth 
 the militia to execute the laws of the Union, sup- 
 press insurrections and repel invasions. 
 
 Sixteenth Clause. To provide for organizing, 
 arming and disciplining the militia, and for gov- 
 erning such part of them as may be employed in 
 the service of the United States, reserving to the 
 States respectively the appointment of the officers 
 and the authority of training the militia accord- 
 ing to the discipline prescribed by Congress. 
 
 Seventeenth Clause. To exercise exclusive leg- 
 islation in all cases whatsoever, over such district 
 (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession 
 of particular States, and the acceptance of Con- 
 gress, become the seat of the Government of the 
 
218 APPENDIX. 
 
 United States; and to exercise like authority over 
 all places purchased by the consent of the Legisla- 
 ture of the State in which the same shall be, for 
 the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock- 
 yards, and other needful buildings; and 
 
 Eighteenth Clause. To make all laws which 
 shall be necessary and proper for carrying into 
 execution the foregoing powers, and all other 
 powers vested by this Constitution in the Govern- 
 ment of the United States, or in any department 
 or officer thereof. 
 
 SECTION IX. 
 
 First Clause. The migration or importation of 
 such persons as any of the States now existing 
 shall think proper to admit shall not be prohibited 
 by the Congress prior to the year one thousand 
 eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may 
 be imposed on such importation, not exceeding 
 ten dollars for each person. 
 
 Second Clause. The privilege of the writ of 
 habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when 
 in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety 
 may require it. 
 
 Third Clause. No bill of attainder or ex post 
 facto law shall be passed. 
 
 Fourth Clause. No capitation or other direct 
 tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the 
 census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to 
 be taken. 
 
 Fifth Clause. No tax or duty shall be laid on 
 articles exported from any State. 
 
APPENDIX. 219 
 
 Sixth Clause. No preference shall be given by 
 any regulation of commerce or revenue to the 
 ports of one State over those of another, nor shall 
 vessels bound to or from one State be obliged to 
 enter, clear or pay duties in another. 
 
 Seventh Clause. No money shall be drawn 
 from the treasury, but in consequence of appro- 
 priations made by law; and a regular statement 
 and account of the receipts and expenditures of 
 all public moneys shall be published from time to 
 time. 
 
 Eighth Clause. No title of nobility shall be 
 granted by the United States; and no person 
 holding any office of profit or trust under them 
 shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept 
 of any present, emolument, office, or title of any 
 kind whatever, from any king, prince or foreign 
 state. 
 
 SECTION x. 
 
 First Clause. No State shall enter into any 
 treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of 
 marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of 
 credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a 
 tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of 
 attainder or ex post facto law, or law impairing 
 the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of 
 nobility. 
 
 Second Clause. No State shall, without the 
 consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or duties 
 on imports or exports, except what may be abso- 
 lutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; 
 
220 APPENDIX. 
 
 and the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid 
 by any State on imports and exports, shall be for 
 the use of the Treasury of the United States; and 
 all such laws shall be subject to the revision and 
 control of the Congress. 
 
 Third Clause. No State shall, without the 
 consent of the Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, 
 keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter 
 into any agreement or compact with another State, 
 or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless 
 actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as 
 will not admit of delay. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 First Clause. The executive power shall be 
 vested in a President of the United States of 
 America. He shall hold his office during the 
 term of four years, and, together with the Vice- 
 president, chosen for the same term, be elected as 
 follows: 
 
 Second Claiise. Each State shall appoint, in 
 such manner as the Legislature thereof may 
 direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole 
 number of Senators and Representatives to which 
 the State may be entitled in the Congress; but no 
 Senator or Representative, or person holding an 
 office of trust or profit under the United States, 
 shall be appointed an elector. 
 
APPENDIX. 221 
 
 * Third Clause. The electors shall meet in 
 their respective States, and vote by ballot for two 
 persons, one of whom, at least, shall not be an in- 
 habitant of the same State with themselves; and 
 they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, 
 and of the number of votes for each; which list 
 they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to 
 the seat of Government of the United States, 
 directed to the President of the Senate. The 
 President of the Senate shall, in the presence of 
 the Senate and House of Representatives, open 
 all the certificates; and the votes shall then be 
 counted. The person having the greatest number 
 of votes shall be the President, if such number be 
 a majority of the whole number of electors ap- 
 pointed; and if there be more than one who have 
 such majority, and have an equal number of 
 votes, then the House of Representatives shall im- 
 mediately choose, by ballot, one of them for Presi- 
 dent, and if no person have a majority, then, from 
 the five highest on the list, the said House shall, 
 in like manner, choose the President. But, in 
 choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by 
 States, the representation from each State having 
 one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist 
 of a member or members from two-thirds of the 
 States; and a majority of all the States shall be 
 necessary to a choice. In every case, after the 
 choice of a President, the person having the 
 
 *This clause has been superseded by the Twelfth Amend- 
 ment. 
 
222 APPENDIX. 
 
 greatest number of votes of the electors shall be 
 Yice-President. But, if there should remain two 
 or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall 
 choose from them, by ballot, the Vice-President. 
 
 Fourth Clause. The Congress may determine 
 the time of choosing the electors, and the day on 
 which they shall give their votes; which day shall 
 be the same throughout the United States. 
 
 Fifth Clause. No person except a natural-born 
 citizen, or a citizen of the United States at the 
 time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be 
 eligible to the office of President; neither shall 
 any person be eligible to that office who shall not 
 have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and 
 been fourteen years a resident within the United 
 States. 
 
 Sixth Clause. In case of the removal of the 
 President from office, or of his death, resignation, 
 or inability to discharge the powers and duties of 
 the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice- 
 President; and the Congress may by law provide 
 for the case of removal, death, resignation, or in- 
 ability, both of the President and Vice-President, 
 declaring what officer shall then act as President, 
 and such officer shall act accordingly, until the 
 disability be removed, or a President shall be 
 elected. 
 
 Seventh Clause. The President shall, at stated 
 times, receive for his services a compensation, 
 which shall neither be increased nor diminished 
 during the period for which he shall have been 
 
APPENDIX. 223 
 
 elected, and he shall not receive within that period 
 any other emolument from the United States, or 
 any of them. 
 
 Eighth Clause. Before he enter on the execu- 
 tion of his office, he shall take the following oath 
 or affirmation: 
 
 "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will 
 faithfully execute the office of President of the 
 United States, and will, to the best of my ability, 
 preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of 
 the United States." 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 First Clause. The President shall be Com- 
 mander-in-Chief of the army and navy of the 
 United States, and of the militia of the several 
 States, when called into the actual service of the 
 United States; he may require the opinion, in 
 writing, of the principal officer in each of the 
 executive departments, upon any subject relating 
 to the duties of their respective offices, and lie 
 shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons 
 for offenses against the United States, except in 
 cases of impeachment. 
 
 Second Clause. He shall have power, by and 
 with the advice and consent of the Senate, to 
 make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators 
 present concur; and he shall nominate, and by 
 and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
 shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers 
 and consuls, judges of the supreme court, and all 
 other officers of the United States, whose appoint- 
 
224 APPENDIX. 
 
 ments are not herein otherwise provided for, and 
 which shall be established by law; but the Con- 
 gress may by law vest the appointment of such 
 inferior officers, as they think proper, in the Presi- 
 dent alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of 
 departments. 
 
 Third Clause. The President shall have power 
 to fill up all vacancies that may happen during 
 the recess of the Senate, by granting commis- 
 sions, which shall expire at the end of their next 
 session. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 He shall from time to time give to the Congress 
 information of the state of the Union, and recom- 
 mend to their consideration such measures as he 
 shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on 
 extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or 
 either of them, and in case of disagreement be- 
 tween them, with respect to the time of adjourn- 
 ment, he may adjourn them to such time as he 
 shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors 
 and other public ministers; he shall take care that 
 the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commis- 
 sion all the officers of the United States. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 The President, Vice-President, and all civil 
 officers of the United States, shall be removed 
 from office on impeachment for, and on conviction 
 of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and 
 misdemeanors. 
 
APPENDIX. 225 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The judicial power of the United States shall be 
 vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior 
 courts as the Congress may from time to time 
 ordain and establish. The judges, both of the 
 Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their 
 offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated 
 times, receive for their services a compensation, 
 which shall not be diminished during their con- 
 tinuance in office. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 First Clause. The judicial power shall extend 
 to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this 
 Constitution, the laws of the United States, and 
 treaties made, or which shall be made under their 
 authority ; to all cases affecting ambassadors, 
 other public ministers and consuls; to all cases of 
 admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to contro- 
 versies to which the United States shall be a 
 party; to controversies between two or more 
 States; between a State and citizens of another 
 State ; between citizens of different States ; be- 
 tween citizens of the same State claiming lands 
 under grants of different States, and between a 
 State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign States, 
 citizens, or subjects. 
 
 Second Clause. In all cases affecting ambassa- 
 dors, other public ministers and consuls, and those 
 in which a State shall be a party, the Supremo 
 
226 APPENDIX. 
 
 Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the 
 other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court 
 shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law 
 and fact, with such exceptions and under such 
 regulations as the Congress shall make. 
 
 Third Clause. The trial of all crimes, except 
 in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; and 
 such trial shall be held in the State where the 
 said crimes shall have been committed; but when 
 not committed within any State, the trial shall be 
 at such place or places as the Congress may by 
 law have directed. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 First Clause. Treason against the United States 
 shall consist only in levying war against them, or 
 in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and 
 comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason 
 unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the 
 same overt act, or on confession in open court. 
 
 /Second Clause. The Congress shall have power 
 to declare the punishment of treason, but no at- 
 tainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, 
 or forfeiture, except during the life of the person 
 attainted. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Full faith and credit shall be given in each 
 State to the public acts, records, and judicial pro- 
 ceedings of every other State. And the Congress 
 
APPENDIX. 227 
 
 may by general laws prescribe the manner in 
 which such acts, records, and proceedings shall 
 be proved, and the effect thereof. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 First Clause. The citizens of each State shall 
 be entitled to all privileges and immunities of 
 citizens in the several States. 
 
 Second Clause. A person charged in any State 
 with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee 
 from justice, and be found in another State, shall, 
 on demand of the executive authority of the State 
 from which he fled, be delivered up, to be re- 
 moved to the State having jurisdiction of the 
 crime. 
 
 Third Clause. No person held to service or 
 labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escap- 
 ing into another, shall, in consequence of any law 
 or regulation therein, be discharged from such 
 service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim 
 of the party to whom such service or labor may be 
 due. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 First Clause. New States may be admitted by 
 the Congress into this Union; but no new State 
 shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction 
 of any other State; nor any State be formed by 
 the junction of two or more States, or parts of 
 States, without the consent of the Legislatures of 
 the States concerned as well as of the Congress. 
 
 Second Clause. The Congress shall have power 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 to dispose of and make all needful rules and regi 
 lations respecting the territory or other property 
 belonging to the United States; and nothing in 
 this Constitution shall be so construed as to preju- 
 dice any claims of the United States, or of any 
 j>cTi'ticular State. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 The United States shall guarantee to every State 
 in this Union a republican form of government, 
 and shall protect each of them against invasion; 
 and on application of the Legislature, or of the 
 Executive (when the Legislature cannot be con* 
 veued), against domestic violence. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both 
 Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose 
 amendments to this Constitution, or, on the appli- 
 cation of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the 
 several States, shall call a convention for propos- 
 ing amendments, which, in either case, shall be 
 valid, to all intents and purposes, as part of this 
 Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of 
 three-fourths of the several States, or by conven- 
 tions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the 
 other mode of ratification may be proposed by the 
 Congress: provided that no amendment which 
 may be made prior to the year one thousand eight 
 hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the 
 first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the 
 
APPENDIX. 229 
 
 rst article; and that no State, without its con- 
 sent, shall he deprived of its equal suffrage in the 
 
 Senate. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 First Clause. All debts contracted and engage- 
 ments entered into before the adoption of this 
 Constitution shall be as valid against the United 
 States under this Constitution as under the Con- 
 federation. 
 
 Second Clause. This Constitution, and the laws 
 of the United States which shall be made in pur- 
 suance thereof, and all treaties made, or which 
 shall be made, under the authority of the United 
 States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and 
 the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, 
 anything in the Constitution or laws of any State 
 to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 Third Clause. The Senators and Representa- 
 tives before mentioned, and the members of the 
 several State Legislatures, and all executive and 
 judicial officers, both of the United States and of the 
 several States, shall be bound by oath or affirma- 
 tion to support this Constitution; but no religious 
 test shall ever be required as a qualification to any 
 office or public trust under the United States. 
 
 ARTICLE VII. 
 
 The ratification of the conventions of nine 
 States shall be sufficient for the establishment of 
 this Constitution between the States so ratifying 
 the same. 
 
230 APPENDIX. 
 
 Done in convention by the unanimous consent 
 of the States present the seventeenth day of Sep- 
 tember in the year of our Lord one thousand seven 
 hundred and eighty-seven, and of the Independ- 
 ence of the United States of America the twelfth. 
 In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed 
 our names. Go: WASHINGTON 
 
 Presidt. and Deputy from Virginia. 
 
 New Hampshire. John Langdon, Nicholas 
 Gilman. 
 
 Massachusetts. Nathaniel Gorham, Ruf us King. 
 
 Connecticut. Wm. Saml. Johnson, Roger Sher- 
 man. 
 
 New York. Alexander Hamilton. 
 
 New Jersey. Wil: Livingston, David Brearley, 
 Wm. Patterson, Jona: Dayton. 
 
 Pennsylvania. B. Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, 
 Robt. Morris, Geo. Clymer, Thos. Fitzsimons, 
 Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouv Morris. 
 
 Delaware. Geo: Read, Gunning Bedford, Jun., 
 John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jaco. Broom. 
 
 Maryland. James McHenry, Dan of St. Thos 
 Jenifer, Danl. Carroll. 
 
 Virginia. John Blair, James Madison, Jr. 
 
 North Carolina. Wm. Blount, Richd. Dobbs 
 Spaight, Hu Williamson. 
 
 South Carolina. J. Rutledge, Charles Cotes- 
 worth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler. 
 
 Georgia. William Few, Abr Baldwin. 
 
 Attest : WILLIAM JACKSON. Secretary. 
 
APPENDIX. 231 
 
 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 
 
 PROPOSED BY CONGRESS AND RATIFIED BY THE 
 LEGISLATURES OF THE SEVERAL STATES. 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 Congress shall make no law respecting an estab- 
 lishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exer- 
 cise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, 
 or of the press; or the right of the people peace- 
 ably to assemble, and to petition the government 
 for a redress of grievances. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 A well-regulated militia being necessary to the 
 security of a free State, the right of the people to 
 keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered 
 in any house without the consent of the owner, 
 nor in time of war but in a manner to be pre- 
 scribed by law. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 The right of the people to be secure in their 
 persons, houses, papers, and effects, against un- 
 reasonable searches and seizures, shall not be vio- 
 
232 APPENDIX. 
 
 lated, and no warrant shall issue but upon prob- 
 able cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and 
 particularly describing the place to be searched r 
 and the persons or things to be seized. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 No person shall be held to answer for a capital. 
 or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a present- 
 ment or indictment of a grand jury, except in 
 cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the 
 militia, when in actual service in time of war or 
 public danger; nor shall any person be subject for 
 the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of 
 life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any crimi- 
 nal case to be a witness against himself, nor be 
 deprived of life, liberty, or property without due 
 process of law, nor shall private property be taken 
 for public use without just compensation. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall 
 enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an 
 impartial jury of the State and district wherein 
 the crime shall have been committed, which dis- 
 trict shall have been previously ascertained by 
 law, and to be informed of the nature and cause 
 of the accusation; to be confronted with the wit- 
 nesses against him; to have compulsory process 
 for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have 
 the assistance of counsel for his defense. 
 
APPENDIX. 233 
 
 ARTICLE VII. 
 
 In suits at common law, where the value in con- 
 troversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of 
 trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried 
 by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any 
 court of the United States than according to the 
 rules of the common law. 
 
 ARTICLE VIII. 
 
 Excessive bail shall not be required, nor exces- 
 sive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punish- 
 ments inflicted. 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 The enumeration in the Constitution of certain 
 rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage 
 others retained by the people. 
 
 ARTICLE X. 
 
 The powers not delegated to the United States 
 by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the 
 States, are reserved to the States respectively, or 
 to the people. 
 
 ARTICLE XL 
 
 The judicial powers of the United States shall 
 not be construed to extend to any suit, in law or 
 equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of 
 the United States by citizens of another State, or 
 by citizens or subjects of any foreign State. 
 
234 APPEXDIX. 
 
 ARTICLE XII. 
 
 The electors shall meet in their respective States, 
 and vote by ballot for President and Vice-Presi- 
 dent, one of whom, at least, shall not be an in- 
 habitant of the same State with themselves; they 
 shall name in their ballots the person voted for as 
 President, and in distinct ballots the person voted 
 for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct 
 lists of all persons voted for as President, and of 
 all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the 
 number of votes for each, which lists they shall 
 -sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of 
 tne Government of the United States, directed to 
 the President of the Senate. The President of 
 the Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and 
 House of Representatives, open all the certificates, 
 and the votes shall then be counted; the person 
 having the greatest number of votes for President, 
 shall be the President, if such number be a ma- 
 jority of the whole number of electors appointed; 
 and if no person have such majority, then from 
 the persons having the highest numbers, not ex- 
 ceeding three on the list of those voted for as 
 President, the House of Representatives shall 
 choose immediately, by ballot, the President. 
 But in choosing the President, the votes shall be 
 taken by States, the representation from each 
 State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose 
 shall consist of a member or members from two- 
 thirds of the States, and a majority of all the 
 States shall be necessary to a choice. And if 
 
APPENDIX. 235 
 
 the House of Representatives shall not choose a 
 President whenever the right of choice shall de- 
 volve upon them, before the fourth day of March 
 next following, then the Yice-President shall act 
 as President, as in the case of the death or other 
 constitutional disability of the President. The 
 person having the greatest number of votes as 
 Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such 
 number be a majority of the whole number of 
 electors appointed; and if no person have a ma- 
 jority, then from the two highest numbers on the 
 list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a 
 quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds 
 of the whole number of Senators, and a majority 
 of the whole number shall be necessary to a 
 choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible 
 to the office of President shall be eligible to that 
 of Vice-President of the United States. 
 
 ARTICLE XIII. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, ex- 
 cept as a punishment for crime, whereof the party 
 shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within 
 the United States, or any place subject to their 
 jurisdiction. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Congress shall have power to enforce this 
 article by appropriate legislation. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 ARTICLE XIV. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 All persons born or naturalized in the United 
 States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are 
 citizens of the United States and of the State 
 wherein they reside. No State shall make or 
 enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges 
 or immunities of citizens of the United States; 
 nor shall any State deprive any person of life, 
 liberty, or property, without due process of law, 
 nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the 
 equal protection of the laws. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Representatives shall be apportioned among the 
 several States according to their respective num- 
 bers, counting the whole number of persons in 
 each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But 
 when the right to vote at any election for the 
 choice of electors for President and Vice-Presi- 
 deut of the United States, representatives in Con- 
 gress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, 
 or the members of the Legislature thereof, is de- 
 nied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, 
 being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the 
 United States, or in any way abridged, except for 
 participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis 
 of representation therein shall be reduced in the 
 proportion which the number of such male citi* 
 zens shall bear to the whole number of male 
 citizens twenty -one years of age in such State. 
 
APPENDIX. 237 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 No person shall be a Senator or Representative 
 in Congress, or elector of President and Vice- 
 president, or hold any office, civil or military, 
 under the United States, or under any State, who, 
 having previously taken an oath, as a member of 
 Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or 
 as a member of any State Legislature, or as an 
 executive or judicial officer of any State, to sup- 
 port the Constitution of the United States, shall 
 have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against 
 the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies 
 thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two- 
 thirds of each House, remove such disability. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 The validity of the public debt of the United 
 States, authorized by law, including debts in- 
 curred for payment of pensions and bounties for 
 services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, 
 shall not be questioned. But neither the United 
 States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt 
 or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or 
 rebellion against the United States, or any claim 
 for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all 
 such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held 
 illegal and void. 
 
 SECTION v. 
 
 The Congress shall have power to enforce, by 
 appropriate legislation, the provisions of this 
 article. 
 
238 APPENDIX. 
 
 ARTICLE XV. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The right of citizens of the United States to 
 vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United 
 States, or by any State, on account of race, color, 
 or previous condition of servitude. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 The Congress shall have power to enforce this 
 article by appropriate legislation. 
 
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 A Declaration by the Representatives of the 
 
 United States of America in Congress 
 
 assembled, July 4, ^776. 
 
 When, in the course of human events, it be- 
 comes necessary for one people to dissolve the 
 political bands which have connected them with 
 another, and to assume, among the powers of the 
 earth, the separate and equal station to which the 
 laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them. 
 a decent respect to the opinions of mankind re- 
 quires that they should declare the causes which 
 impel them to the separation. 
 
 We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all 
 men are created equal ; that they are endowed by 
 'their Creator with certain unalienable rights ; that 
 among these, are life, liberty and the pursuit of 
 happiness. That, to secure these rights, govern- 
 ments are instituted among men, deriving their 
 gust powers from the consent of the governed ; 
 that whenever any form of government becomes 
 destructive of these ends, it is the right of the 
 people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute 
 a new government, laying its foundation on such 
 principles, and organizing its powers in such form, 
 as to them shall seem most likely to effect their 
 safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dic- 
 tate that governments long established should not 
 be changed for light and transient causes; and, 
 accordingly, all experience hath shown, that man- 
 kind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are 
 sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing 
 the forms to which they are accustomed. But 
 when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pur- 
 suing invariably the same object, evinces a design 
 239 
 
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their 
 right, it is their duty, to throw off such govern- 
 ment, and to provide new guards for their future 
 security. Such has been the patient sufferance of 
 these colonies, and such is now the necessity 
 which constrains them to alter their former sys- 
 tems of government. The history of the present 
 king of Great Britain is a history of repeated in- 
 juries and usurpations, all having, in direct object, 
 the establishment of an absolute tyranny over 
 these States. To prove this, let facts be sub- 
 mitted to a candid world: 
 
 He has refused to assent to laws the most 
 wholesome and necessary for the public good. 
 
 He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of 
 immediate and pressing importance, unless sus- 
 pended in their operation till his assent should be 
 obtained ; and, when so suspended, he has utterly 
 neglected to attend to them. 
 
 He has refused to pass other laws for the ac- 
 commodation of large districts of people, unless 
 those people would relinquish the right of repre- 
 sentation in the legislature ; a right inestimable to 
 them, and formidable to tyrants only. 
 
 He has called together legislative bodies at 
 places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from 
 the depository of their public records, for the sole 
 purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with 
 his measures. 
 
 He has dissolved representative houses repeated- 
 ly, for opposing, with manly firmness, his inva- 
 sions on the rights of the people. 
 
 He has refused, for a long time after such dis- 
 solutions, to cause others to be elected ; whereby 
 the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, 
 have returned to the people at large for their 
 exercise; the State remaining, in the meantime, 
 exposed to all the danger of invasion from with 
 out, and convulsions within. 
 240 
 
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 He has endeavored to prevent the population of 
 these States; for that purpose, obstructing the 
 laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to 
 pass others to encourage their migration hither; 
 and raising the conditions of new appropriations 
 of lands. 
 
 He has obstructed the administration of justice, 
 by refusing his assent to laws for establishing 
 judiciary powers. 
 
 He has made judges dependent on his will 
 alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the 
 amount and payment of their salaries. 
 
 He has erected a multitude of new offices, and 
 sent hither swarms of officers to harass our 
 people, and eat out their substance. 
 
 He has kept among us, in times of peace, stand- 
 ing armies without the consent of our legislatures. 
 
 He has affected to render the military inde- 
 pendent of, and superior to, the civil power. 
 
 He has combined, with others, to subject us to 
 a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and un- 
 acknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to 
 their acts of pretended legislation : 
 
 For quartering large bodies of armed troops 
 among us : 
 
 For protecting them by a mock trial, from pun- 
 ishment, for any murders which they should com- 
 mit on the inhabitants of these States : 
 
 For cutting off our trade with all parts of the 
 world : 
 
 For imposing taxes on us without our consent: 
 
 For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefit 
 of trial by jury: 
 
 For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for 
 pretended offenses : 
 
 For abolishing the free system of English laws 
 in a neighboring province, establishing therein an 
 arbitrary government, and enlarging its bound- 
 aries, so as to render it at once an example and 
 241 
 
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 lit instrument for introducing the same absolute 
 rule into these colonies: 
 
 For taking away our charters, abolishing our 
 most valuable laws, and altering, fundamentally, 
 the powers of our governments : 
 
 For suspending our own legislatures, and de- 
 claring themselves invested with power to legis- 
 late for us in all cases whatsoever. 
 
 He has abdicated government here, by declar- 
 ing us out of his protection, and waging war 
 against us. 
 
 He has plundered our seas, ravished our coasts, 
 burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our 
 people. 
 
 He is, at this time, transporting large armies 
 of foreign mercenaries to complete the works o: 
 death, desolation and tyranny, already begun, witl 
 circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcel) 
 paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totall; 
 unworthy the head of a civilized nation. 
 
 He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken 
 captive on the high seas, to bear arms agains 
 their county, to become the executioners of thei 
 friends and brethren, or to fall themselves b; 
 their hands. 
 
 He has excited domestic insurrections among us 
 and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants o 
 our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whosi 
 known rule of warfare is an undistinguished de 
 struction of all ages, sexes and conditions. 
 
 In every stage of these oppressions we have pe 
 titioned for redress, in the most humble terms 
 our repeated petitions have been answered on\ 
 by repeated injury. A prince, whose character i 
 thus marked by every act which may define 
 tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. 
 
 Nor have we been wanting in attention to ou 
 
 British brethren. We have warned them, froi 
 
 time to time, of attempts made by their legislator 
 
 243 
 
 
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. 
 We have reminded them of the circumstances of 
 our emigration and settlement here. We have ap- 
 pealed to their native justice and magnanimity, 
 and we have conjured them, by the ties of our 
 common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, 
 which would inevitably interrupt our connections 
 and correspondence. They, too, have been deaf 
 to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We 
 must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which 
 denounces our separation, and hold them, as we 
 hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace, 
 friends. 
 
 We, therefore, the representatives of the United 
 States of America, in general Congress assembled, 
 appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for 
 the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, 
 and by the authority of the good people of these 
 colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these 
 United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, 
 free and independent States ; that they are ab- 
 solved from all allegiance to the British crown, 
 and that all political connection between them and 
 the State of Great Britain, is, and ought to be, 
 totally dissolved; and that, as free and independ- 
 ent States, they have full power to levy war, con- 
 clude peace, contract alliances, establish com- 
 merce, and to do all other acts and things which 
 independent States may of right do. And, for the 
 support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on 
 the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually 
 pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes and 
 our sacred honor. 
 
 JOHN HANCOCK. 
 
 New Hampshire. Josiah Bartlett, Win. Whip- 
 pie, Matthew Thornton. 
 
 Massachusetts Bay. Saml. Adams, John 
 Adams, Robt. Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry. 
 343 
 
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 Rhode Island, etc. Steph. Hopkins, William 
 Ellery. 
 
 Connecticut. Roger Sherman, Sam'l Hunting- 
 ton, Wm. Williams, Oliver Wolcott. 
 
 New York. Wm. Floyd, Phil. Livingston, 
 Frans. Lewis, Lewis Morris. 
 
 New Jersey. Richd. Stockton, Jno. Wither- 
 spoon, Frans. Hopkinson, John Hart, Abra. Clark. 
 
 Pennsylvania. Robt. Morris, Benjamin Rush, 
 Benja. Franklin, John Morton, Geo. Clymer, Jas. 
 Smith, Geo. Taylor, James Wilson, Geo. Ross. 
 
 Delaware. Caesar Rodney, Geo. Read, Tho. 
 M'Kean. 
 
 Maryland. Samuel Chase, Wm. Paca, Thos, 
 Stone, Charles Carroll of Carollton. 
 
 Virginia. George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, 
 Thos. Jefferson. Benja. Harrison, Thos. Nelson, 
 Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton. 
 
 North Carolina. Wm. Hooper, Joseph Hewes, 
 John Penn. 
 
 South Carolina. Edward Rutledge, Thomas 
 Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middle- 
 ton. 
 
 Georgia. Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, Geo. 
 Walton. 
 
 244 
 
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