A Manual of General Parliamentary Law with suggestions for special rules
Thomas B. Reed
Speaker of the House of
Representatives
1889-1891 and 1895-1899
It should be understood at once that this Manual has nothing to do with the
political differences which have existed as to the rules of the House of
Representatives, except so far as any treatise would incidentally refer to them.
The object of this book is to present the rules of general parliamentary law in such a way that the system can be comprehended by persons who may be called upon to preside over meetings of deliberative bodies, and by those who may desire to participate in the proceedings. The aim has been to so explain each motion that it may be understood by itself and also in its relations to other motions. Paragraphs also have been inserted to show the changes made in general parliamentary law by the rules and usages of the United States House of Representatives. This, it was thought, would be useful to enable those who desired so to do to comprehend, in a general way, the practice of that body.
Forms and suggestions have been added. If it should seem to anyone versed in parliamentary law that many of the forms are too simple to need printing, the author ventures to suggest that a beginner does not know the simpler things, and needs them the most.
If the student has once fixed in his mind the idea that parliamentary law is not a series of arbitrary rules, but a plain, consistent system, founded on common sense, and sanctioned by the experience of mankind, he will have gone far toward understanding it. That this little volume will complete his education is too much to expect, but that it will aid and assist the learner is the hope of the author.
THOMAS B. REED
Origins and Precedents.-- Parliamentary law, as it now exists, had its origin as a system in the Parliament of England. Undoubtedly in every country and in every age where assemblies of people were held, some form of procedure became established and was followed. But these forms of procedure have in many, perhaps most instances, perished, and would probably be of little use to us now if fully known. The English system itself has been so changed within human memory in every other country where the parliamentary system of government has been adopted, that English precedents afford us little help as to actual procedure. Nevertheless, they are still of much use in determining and illustrating fundamental principles. Before the time when Jefferson wrote his little treatise, which is known as Jefferson’s Manual, American parliamentary law was, for the most part, an agglomeration of English precedents which were reverenced because they were precedents, and not because they were examples of proper methods of expediting business. Before that time but little effort had been made to reconcile precedents with principles, and parliamentary law was not a system founded on principle and settled by the dictates of reason. It can not be said now to be a perfect method easily adjusted to all cases, but it has been changed for the better, and the change has been brought about in a natural way. Whatever concerns large bodies of men, and is thought over by large numbers of intelligent people, gets infiltrated with the common sense of the many and becomes adapted to their wants and needs. Under a popular government like our own much of the work of government is carried on by bodies and assemblages outside of the regularly constituted legislatures, councils, and legal boards. As a preliminary to the regular government of the country, conventions are necessary for the nomination of candidates and for the conduct of campaigns. As a means of utilizing wealth by union of limited sums, corporations are formed to enable large enterprises to be conducted. The members of these corporations have to meet to transact business, and the directors chosen by them have also to act together as a body. Many movements in connection with education and with other forms of human progress, including all the movements which have gone on and are going on for enfranchisement of women, require assemblages for very many purposes. Wherever there is an assembly there is need of parliamentary law, so that the assembly may proceed in orderly fashion with as little jar and discord as possible, and accomplish the work to be performed, which work in all instances is to obtain the sense of the assembly and shape its action in accord therewith. This increase of assemblies, the extent of which has been but hinted at, has necessarily brought the law which governs them more and more into discussion until today a tolerable system can be stated which will appeal at once to the good sense of all, and also to the experience of those who have had occasion to be versed in the practice.
Of course, there are disputed points, many questions on which authorities seem to differ, and the practice to be varied. In such cases that rule has been adopted in this Manual which seemed the most practical and sensible, not always in itself, but as a part of a working system.
As has already been intimated, we can have but scant recourse to English precedents, for the difference between English and American parliamentary law is so wide that it would hardly be possible for a parliamentarian, practiced in our law only, to understand the proceedings of the House of Commons. There the previous question kills the bill, with us it only kills the debate. There a motion to adjourn, at least of a certain kind, is debatable, and a motion to adjourn debate can be debated to exhaustion. With us the body must say yes or no to the question of adjournment, and the motion to adjourn debate, at least in that form, is unknown. There they do not “strike out.” They prefer to decide whether or not the words “shall stand part of the question.” A motion to reconsider is not allowed. With us it is altogether too common.
Nor, on the other hand, have we much help from our own popular parliamentary body, the House of Representatives. There a variety of causes have conspired to make the forms of procedure peculiar to itself. Perhaps on the whole it would not be suitable in a treatise like this to specify these causes, but every one recognizes the fact that whether the causes for the slow procedure of the House are proper causes, the fact remains that the procedure of the House is not adapted to the ordinary assembly, and, so far as my knowledge extends, has never been adopted in its entirety by any legislature.
The parliamentary law, then, which we have to describe has grown up among the people for their own uses, and is on the whole well-adapted to the ends they have in view.
1. Understanding Under Which Assemblies Meet.— Every assembly meets with the implied understanding that it will be governed and controlled by the general custom applicable to assemblies, which custom is called general parliamentary law. This is implied from its very existence, since no action can be taken without some rules, and special rules can not be had without parliamentary action. In a word, a lawful assembly met to express an opinion or do an act must have some order of proceeding, and the system which we call parliamentary law, having grown out of the necessities of the case and having been universally acquiesced in, has become the governing law of such assemblies, confidently appealed to by each member. Where special exigencies require it these unwritten rules are supplemented by Special Rules just as the common law is supplemented by statutes. Where the special rules do not modify, change, or obliterate any rule of general parliamentary law, that rule still governs just as the common law controls where the statute has not modified it.
2. Nature of Assemblies.— Assemblies differ, not only in their character as legal or voluntary, but also in the nature of the right of membership. Some require an elaborate organization. Others are best served by the simplest methods.
3. Voluntary Assemblies.— An assembly may be a voluntary one, called together by those interested, and of which any one who comes and who answers to the description of those called, can be a member. Political mass meetings, meetings to express the opinions of citizens, and meetings to form associations, are of this class.
4. Legislative and Constituent Assemblies.— An assembly may be one constituted by law, and those only can be members who are chosen or appointed by law, or who by virtue of credentials seem to be so chosen or appointed. Constitutional conventions, legislatures, and municipal councils are examples of this kind of assembly.
Other assemblies are constituted under a call by competent authority without special warrant of law, though under its sanction, in such a way that each member of them, though chosen by a voluntary assembly, must present credentials in order to prove himself a member. Political conventions to make nominations are examples of this sort of assembly.
5. Adaptation of Organization to the Assembly.— It is evident from the nature of the case that these different kinds of assemblies require different kinds of organization, not different in character, but in extent. Those assemblies the membership of which can not be in dispute, and the purposes of which are neither numerous nor complicated, can organize permanently at once, and need only a very simple system.
6. Membership of Assemblies—Credentials.— Those assemblies the membership of which may be in dispute, and in which individuals have no right to participate without credentials, can not, it is obvious, fully organize until the preliminary question of membership is settled. Such a question is too vital to be postponed, and the results of a convention or a legislature are too deeply affected by the organization for that to take final shape until the question of membership is settled.
In bodies constituted by law, that chaotic moment when the assembly meets and does not yet know its membership has been fraught with so much disorder, confusion, and discord that there is usually some method pointed out by statute for the preliminary examination of credentials.
7. Permanent Organization of Assemblies.— In the House of Representatives the Clerk of the preceding House makes up the list of members, which list is regarded as conclusive for the time being, and at once the House called to order by him proceeds to permanent organization. Until the Speaker is chosen this Clerk presides.
So important is the initiative of organization, and so dangerous is the situation considered, that various expedients have been adopted for legislative bodies in various countries. We have already stated that adopted in this country in regard to the House of Representatives. In France the Chamber of Deputies is organized by the oldest member taking the chair, with the six youngest members as secretaries. The secretaries act until the permanent organization, but the presiding officer, who takes the chair by virtue of his age, retains it only so long as is necessary to choose a temporary president and two temporary vice-presidents. The temporary president is then installed, and the assembly proceeds to ascertain who are members. When the membership is ascertained, then the permanent organization is made.
In Italy the chair is taken by the earliest named vice-president of the preceding session, or, if there be none of that session present, then by the one present of the session least remote. If there are none of any session then the oldest member acts.
By the provisions of the constitution of Rhode Island, “the senior member from the town of Newport” is temporary president of the popular branch.
8. Temporary Organizations.— Where no provision of constitution or statute exists, and in bodies voluntary in their origin, but requiring credentials to entitle those proposing to act to membership, a preliminary or temporary organization is first had, and immediately the credentials are examined, usually by the aid of a committee, whose judgment is submitted to the assembly and passed upon by it. The permanent organization is then made.
9. Definition.— The quorum of an assembly is that number which must be present to constitute the assembly a body competent to transact business legally.
10. Number Necessary.— There is no definite rule applicable to all cases. It is commonly stated that in the absence of special regulations, either constitutional, legal, or by order of the assembly itself, a majority of the members is necessary to make a quorum. This statement is inaccurate. In some assemblies whoever comes is authorized to act and bind all the others. In other assemblies the quorum is a majority, and in still other cases all must be present.
11. Assemblies Which Do Not Require a Quorum.— Assemblies which act on their own responsibilities, and which are not representative or judicial, do not require any quorum. Town meetings in New England, stockholders’ meetings, and voluntary meetings generally are of this class.
12. Assemblies Which Require a Majority.— Where the body is a representative one, performing the functions of government for a constituency, or a financial one, managing the business of the corporation which selected it, the quorum is a majority, and can neither be increased nor diminished by the vote of the body. City councils and boards of directors are of this class.
13. Cases Where All Must Be Present.— Where the body is appointed by law, or by virtue of law, to perform a single act, or a series of acts relating to a single subject, which requires the exercise of judgment and discretion, the whole board constitutes the quorum. All must be present and deliberate, but the majority is competent to act. Referees are of this class.
14. Fixed Quorums.— In most public bodies the number necessary to make a quorum is fixed by the constitution or by statute. In voluntary bodies it may be fixed by the body itself.
15. The Presence Only of a Quorum Required.— The quorum required to constitute an assembly and render it competent to transact business is a present quorum and not a voting quorum. In all cases, if the number necessary to make a quorum is present, it makes no difference how many or how few actually participate in the decision. Those who sit silent are regarded as consenting to the result. Such was the recent decision of the United States Supreme Court, which decision was in accord with every decision of every State Supreme Court which has ever passed upon the question.
In strictness a chairman ought not to take the chair until after the appearance of a quorum, but in practice in this country he always does; and until a member from the floor or the presiding officer raises the question of quorum a quorum is always supposed to be present.
16. Practice in the House of Representatives.— Under the rules of the United States House of Representatives the Speaker takes the chair at the hour indicated by the rules or by the special order of the House, and, “upon the appearance of a quorum,” proceeds to lay before the House the business in order. In practice, notwithstanding this rule, the business begins as soon as the Speaker takes the chair, a quorum being presumed to be present, and continues until the suggestion of no quorum is made.
Notwithstanding the decision of the United States Supreme Court already mentioned, the Fifty-second Congress continued to require a voting quorum. No one who refused to vote was regarded as present, however visible or vociferous he might be. In the Fifty-first Congress a constitutional quorum, that is, a “present quorum,” was required, which practice was pronounced legal by the Supreme Court.
On April 17th, 1894, the Fifty-third Congress adopted the doctrine of a present quorum by a vote of 213 to 47, and that question seems to be settled.
In the French Chamber, where a majority is a quorum, it was decided in 1878 by President Grévy that the presence and not the participation in the vote of 267 members is necessary for the validity of the votes of the Chamber of Deputies.
17. Is a Quorum Required During Debate?— While it is settled that no conclusion can be arrived at, no decision made by a parliamentary body unless the quorum be present, it has not yet been authoritatively and definitely decided in the House of Representatives that the presence of a quorum is absolutely necessary during a debate. In the House of Commons, where forty constitutes a quorum, a member speaking may be taken off his feet on a suggestion to the Speaker that there is no quorum. The Speaker then, after a short interval, and after causing bells to be sounded in the lobby, counts the members in sight, even those whom he can see approaching through the open doors, and if forty can be counted the speech may go on; if not, the House is adjourned and the member speaking is said to be “counted out,” which “counting out” is not regarded as flattering.
Reason and analogy would seem to be on the side of the English practice, which is also the practice of the Senate, but where so large a quorum as a majority is required, and where the body is numerous, there would be much inconvenience caused by insisting on the requirement. In the French Chamber a quorum is not necessary for debate.
18. Quorum in Committee of the Whole.— The quorum of the Committee of the Whole is a majority, unless the assembly should otherwise determine. As the Committee of the Whole is the creature of the assembly, its instrument and means of work, and is merely advisory in its action, any number may constitute a quorum at the pleasure of the assembly.
19. Practical Application of the Doctrine of Quorum.— A quorum is presumed to be present, even if the vote does not indicate it, if no member raises the question. In practice, in large continuous assemblies, the majority of members a great part of the time neither audibly nor visibly vote, being content to assent passively to the result.
20. Adjournment, a Quorum Not Being Present.— If a quorum be not present, and that fact is ascertained by a count by the Chair, or in any other way previously determined by the assembly, the assembly must adjourn, unless it remains in session to compel attendance. If no time has been fixed for the next meeting, the assembly, even if there be no quorum, may fix the time. Otherwise an adjournment would be a dissolution.
21. Effect of No Quorum in the House of Representatives.— In the House of Representatives the lack of a quorum does not itself adjourn the House, because under the Constitution a smaller number may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members. Under the ordinary rules fifteen members, including the Speaker, if there be one, may determine to compel the attendance of absent members. Moreover, the Constitution expressly provides that a smaller number than a quorum may adjourn from day to day, which takes from the Speaker the power which the English Speaker has to declare the House adjourned on his own count. For the same reason, probably, the rules of the House provide that the Speaker shall take the chair irrespective of the question of the presence of the quorum.
22. A Practical Suggestion.— All bodies which have the power to determine their own quorum after organization, and after the time and place of subsequent meetings have been fixed, or the method of calling other meetings has been determined upon, so as to avoid double meetings, should reduce the quorum, at least for ordinary business, below the majority. Such a course will be found much more convenient and just as safe.
23. Rule of the Majority.— Unless by organic law or by virtue of rules adopted by an assembly, the number required for an affirmative decision is increased above a majority, the majority rules. The general principle of decision is the natural one that the majority shall govern. Any increase in the requirement is of course in the interest of conservatism.
24. Unanimous Consent.— By unanimous consent an assembly may do anything which it is competent to do, and that notwithstanding any rule or regulation, or any provision of parliamentary law, to the contrary.
25. Election of Officers by Plurality.— Officers are sometimes, under a Special resolution, elected by a plurality of votes, as in the case of the election of N.P. Banks as Speaker of the Thirty-fourth Congress. But in this case the action of the minority had the antecedent sanction of the majority; that is, the majority had voted that whenever any member had a plurality of votes he should be Speaker, whoever he might be.
26. The Object of Organization.— The object which a body of men assembled together has in view when it organizes is to provide itself with means whereby it may express its opinions, facilitate and control its actions, and thereby accomplish the purpose of the meeting. The organization therefore should be adapted to the nature of the work to be done.
27. Simple Organization.— Assemblies called together for a single purpose, and intending to have but a single session, may be organized in a very simple way. Indeed, in practice, such assemblies are organized at the will of those who called them. Some one of those who signed the call, or some one designated by them, at the appointed time rises in his place and asks those present to please be in order. Thereupon he himself proposes that Mr. A. shall act as chairman, or he asks for nominations for the position. Usually there is no question made, but if there is, and other nominations are made, the question is put to the assembly by the person who has called the assembly to order upon the first nomination, and if that be rejected, then upon the second, and so on until a presiding officer is chosen. The second and third and other nominations are not in the nature of amendments, and are not entitled to be put first. After the presiding officer has been chosen, he takes his place facing the assembly and suggests the nomination of a secretary who is chosen in the same manner as the chairman. This is all the organization absolutely necessary. It is the custom to add lists of vice-presidents and to choose additional secretaries. Such an organization is all that is needed for ordinary voluntary meetings, like mass meetings and meetings preliminary to the formation of societies.
28. Double Organization.— The simple organization described above is proper for assemblies where there is no question about membership, but assemblies which are composed of members who have credentials and certificates of election, and whose membership may be contested, usually have a double organization, the first being merely preliminary in order to ascertain the membership, and the second a permanent one made by the members for the purpose of conducting the business intrusted to their care.
29. Double Organization, continued. Temporary.— This first or temporary organization may be made substantially as described in the paragraph on simple organizations. Usually, however, there is either some officer holding over for that purpose in legislative or in religious assemblies, or some chairman of the district, county, or State committee who calls the meeting to order and thus commences the organization. The first duty of the temporary organization is to ascertain the membership, and that is the first and only business in order. This is usually done throughout a committee, who examine the credentials and certificates of election and report to the assembly, and when that report is adopted the assembly is ready for its permanent organization.
30. Double Organization, continued. Permanent.— The permanent organization may be made by a vote of the assembly declaring the temporary organization permanent, or the assembly may proceed to the selection of other officers. This selection may be made by nomination and election, by resolution, or, which is the most usual course, on the report of a committee on permanent organization.
31. Legislative Bodies: United States House of Representatives.— It would be impossible within the limits of this book to describe the different methods of organization of legislative bodies which prevail in the different States, since the methods are various. A description, however, of the organization of the United States House of Representatives will give a very good idea of the general plan adopted.
The Clerk of the preceding House is required by statute to make up a list of the members-elect of the new House, and the certificate of election of each member is sent by the member to him. He then makes up the list of members, deciding the question of membership according to his judgment of the law and the evidence in each case where there is a dispute. On the first Monday in December, if no special session is called, he presents himself in the hall of the House, at the Clerk’s desk, and at 12 o’clock, noon, calls the members to order. He then causes to be read the list prepared, and each member present answers as his name is called. After the roll-call is finished, if a quorum is present, the Clerk announces that the first business is the election of a Speaker, and asks for nominations. Each party then, by one of its members, nominates its candidate, and the Clerk requests four members to act as tellers. The roll is then called, each member announcing viva voce, as his name is called, his preference. The tellers then announce the result to the Clerk, and the Clerk to the House. If no candidate has received a majority, the roll is again called. If a Speaker has been chosen, the Clerk announces that fact and requests two members, one of each party, to conduct the Speaker to the chair.
Upon taking the chair the Speaker, after a short address of thanks, announces that he is ready to take the oath. Thereupon he has the oath administered to him by the member oldest in consecutive service. The Speaker then administers to the members the oath of office. The oath is administered to as many at a time as can conveniently stand in the open space in front of the Speaker’s desk. After the members have taken the oath the Clerk and other officers are elected, usually by resolution, which can be amended. After the organization has been completed by the choice of all the officers, the House, by vote, notifies the Senate of its organization by message delivered by the Clerk. When the Senate has been organized the House and Senate, by a joint committee, notify the President that both houses are ready to proceed to business.
32. Presiding Officer.— The first officer to be chosen is the presiding officer. In New England town meetings and in religious assemblies he is called the moderator. In the popular branches of legislatures he is usually called Speaker. In senatorial bodies, conventions, and the like, President; and in other assemblies, and in committees, Chairman. He is in this country invariably addressed by his title. In the House of Commons the chairman of Ways and Means is addressed by his name, “Mr. Courtney,” “Mr. Mellor.”
33. Qualifications.— The presiding officer, especially if any complicated business is to be transacted, should be a man of good presence, good voice, of much firmness, and good temper. He should have knowledge of parliamentary law, and sufficient good sense to enable him to know when to press a rule and when to let common consent have its way. The conduct of an assembly depends much more upon the conduct of the chairman than upon any other condition, or perhaps all other conditions combined. The more intelligent the assembly the worse it may act under a bad presiding officer.
34. Duties.— It is needless to say that the duties herein enumerated do not all devolve upon every presiding officer, nor do those hereafter enumerated as the duties of a recording officer fall upon every clerk or secretary. How many devolve upon either depends on the nature of the assembly.
It is the duty of the presiding officer:
To call the assembly to order at the time appointed for the meeting.
To ascertain the presence of a quorum.
To cause the journal or minutes of the preceding meeting to be read and passed upon by the assembly.
To lay before the assembly its business in the order indicated by the rules.
To receive any propositions made by members and put them to the assembly.
To divide the assembly on questions submitted by him and to announce the result.
To decide all questions of order, subject to an appeal to the assembly.*
To preserve order and decorum in debate and at all other times.
To enforce such of the rules of the assembly as are not placed in charge of other officers, or of which the enforcement is not reserved by the assembly.
To answer all parliamentary inquiries and give information as to the parliamentary effect of proposed acts of the assembly*
To present to the assembly all messages from coordinate branches, and all proper communications.
To sign and authenticate all the acts of the assembly, all its resolves and votes.
To name a member to take his place until adjournment of the meeting.
And in general
To act as the organ of the assembly, and as its representative, subject always to its will.
(*There is no appeal from the decision of the Speaker in the House of Commons.)
(* Parliamentary inquiries occupy a peculiar position. They are of the nature of privileged motions, and are indulged in at the pleasure of the presiding officer to enable the assembly to understand the effect of the proposed action. The presiding officer always answers them, unless the answer would anticipate the decision of a point of order which he may prefer to have discussed before deciding.)
35. Points of Behavior.— The presiding officer should treat all members as equals of each other and of himself, and should decline all personal disputes.
He should rise when putting a question to the assembly, and also when addressing the assembly.
He may, while sitting, recognize a member for the purpose of giving him the floor.
He may also sit while reading to the assembly any communication.>
36. Power of Assembly Over Presiding Officer.— A presiding officer elected by an assembly may be removed by the assembly whenever such a course seems suitable to the body.
37. Substitute Officers.— It very frequently happens that the assembly itself designates the members whom it desires to take the chair whenever the chairman for any reason is obliged to leave it. Such substitute officers, whether called President pro tempore as in the United States Senate, Deputy Speaker as in the House of Commons, or Deputy Chairman, take the chair whenever the circumstances require it.
38. Appointed by the Chair.— The appointment of a member by the Chair to act in his place is always limited in point of time by the adjournment of the meeting at which the appointment is made, and is always subject to the action of the assembly. The assembly can at all times control the occupancy of the chair. When the presiding officer is absent, and no appointment has been made, the clerk calls to order, and then, on nomination from the floor, a temporary presiding officer is chosen.
39. Temporary Speaker Appointments.— In the House of Representatives the Speaker has the right to name any member to perform the duties of the chair, but such substitution can not extend beyond an adjournment; but in case of his illness he may appoint for not more than ten days, with the approval of the House at the time the appointment is made. Under the practice of the House these appointments may be made in writing.
40. Right to Debate.— Where the presiding officer is a member of the assembly, his right to participate like other members in the debates and in the action of the body admits of no question. That he should not participate in the debates, except on very extraordinary occasions, is equally beyond question. A presiding officer, to be efficient, must not only be impartial as between individuals, but must appear so. His influence and control of the assembly largely depends upon this. While he occupies the chair all its influences tend to keep him in the judicial frame of mind. Few men are so one-sided that a short season on the bench does not convert them to impartiality. It is so with the chair of an assembly. Participation in the rough and tumble of debate has just the opposite tendency. Debate very often produces harsh feelings, gives rise to sharp expressions, and even to personal enmities. None of these things add to individual respect or esteem. In addition, the position of the presiding officer is one of great power. He can not, when he descends to the floor, divest himself of his power and influence as representative of the whole body. It seems hardly fair that this should be thrown into the debate.
These considerations have in the course of time proved so potent that a presiding officer rarely takes the floor, and seldom votes except to take his share of responsibility on great occasions, and to give the casting vote. Nevertheless, there are occasions when the occupant of the chair may properly take the floor, and of these occasions he must be the sole judge, having in view all the considerations.
41. Clerk.— The next officer needed is the clerk, sometimes also called the secretary, and sometimes the recorder. He may be chosen after nomination by viva voce vote, or by resolution, or by ballot. If but one clerk is chosen, and he is at any time absent, his place must at once be filled, since the assembly can not be said to be organized without a Clerk and a Speaker, and an assembly must not only be organized, but must stay organized.
42. Qualifications.— The Clerk should have some knowledge of parliamentary law, should be careful, observant, and attentive to his duties. Either he or his assistant should be a good reader, with a clear voice, capable of being heard in all parts of the place of meeting, even where there is considerable confusion. Too much stress can not be laid upon this qualification, since bad reading, ill understood, breeds confusion, disorder, and misunderstanding. He should also be able to express himself accurately in writing.
43. Duties.— It is the duty of the recording officer:
To read all papers the reading of which is demanded by the presiding officer, the assembly, or its rules.To prepare and keep an accurate list of members.
To call the roll whenever the yeas and nays are ordered, or when the presence of members is to be determined by that method, to note the responses, and to communicate the result to the presiding officer.
These duties are to be performed standing.
To take down motions as fast as presented to the Chair, and, in general, keep such a temporary record of what is taking place as will enable the chairman to keep the business in orderly condition.
To preserve on file all documents and papers which belong to the assembly, or which are made part of the proceedings.
To authenticate by his signature, either alone or jointly with the presiding officer, all acts, resolves, and proceedings of the assembly, except where by law other authentication is required.
To note and furnish to the chairman of each committee a correct list of its members.
To notify committees of all business referred to them, and to send them all papers laid before the assembly relating to such business.
To keep a journal, or minutes, of each meeting.
44. Substitute Clerk.— Where several clerks, or secretaries, are chosen, the first selected, or the first on the list when they are chosen altogether, is considered the chief. In his absence the next in order acts in his place. Where only one is chosen, and he is absent, his place must be filled at once by a clerk chosen to replace him temporarily or permanently as may be needed.
45. Right to Debate and Vote.— Where the recording officer is a member of the assembly he has the right to debate and to vote and to participate in the proceedings in all ways not inconsistent with the duties of his office, which he must perform or resign.
46. The Journal, or Minutes.— The journal of a representative body should ordinarily confine itself to what has been done. What has been proposed but not regularly presented or acted upon, and what has been said which has not resulted in any act, either of indorsement or rejection, has no place in the journal of a deliberative body. Such is the strict rule, and should always be followed where the object is to furnish a legal record.
The minutes, however, of an assembly not legislative in its character may have an object beyond the mere record of things done. To the constituency to which they are addressed, as in the case of religious convocations and political assemblies, what was said may be as important as what was done. In that case the minutes very properly become more full and extensive partaking of the nature of a report and recording expressions of opinion and remarks, as well as the mere action of the assembly.
This difference, however, regulates itself by adaptation to the needs of each assembly. With the extended newspaper reports of modern times, very full minutes are not as much needed as formerly for purposes of information.
47. Other Officers.— A presiding and a recording officer are all that are strictly needed for a parliamentary organization as such, but as the comfort of the assembly is of importance, other officers are usually selected, such as a sergeant-at-arms to assist the chairman in maintaining order, and in the United States House of Representatives to act as a paymaster, a treasurer to receive and pay out money, a postmaster to have charge of the mails, and a door-keeper to prevent intrusions upon the assembly. All these officers are chosen by the assembly in the various ways already described, or may be appointed by the chairman at the will of the body. Their duties are not fixed by parliamentary law, but by the regulations of the assembly.
The rights and duties of members are easy to state, but most difficult to enforce.
48. Rights of Members.— The rights of each member are based upon the doctrine of his equality with every other member. He has therefore the right to present his propositions and to debate them fully. But as the right of each member leaves off where the rights of others begin there must be much mutual forbearance between each member and the assembly. Each member has a right to demand that the assembly be in order, and may rise to demand the same. He may also interrupt a member not in order, but he must exercise his rights in such a manner as not to increase the disorder.
49. Duties of Members.— The duties of each member are based upon the considerations which arise from his being a component part of the assembly, which desires to act together and which, in order to act together, must come to some agreement.
The member must maintain order and refrain from conversation.
He should not engage in any other business than that before the meeting. He should not walk between the member who has the floor and the presiding officer. He should not interrupt the member speaking except by his consent. It seems superfluous to say that he should not wear his hat, or put his feet on the desk, or smoke, for in all ways the member of an assembly should act properly.
He should not use injurious expressions.
He should not make use of even proper parliamentary motions to create discord or impede unreasonably the action of the assembly.
In short, as the object and purpose of an assembly is to enable men to act together as a body, each member ought to so conduct himself as to facilitate the result, or at least so as not to hinder it.
50. Decorum.— It will be seen that the rights and duties of members are somewhat difficult of enforcement, except by general comity.
Yet they should always be borne in mind and insisted on; for the creation of healthy public sentiment in an assembly is as important for its success as the observance of the laws of politeness is necessary to the comfort and well-being of a community. Decorum is usually treated of in connection with debate, but is as necessary and as much required at other times as when discussion is going on.
51. Why Special Rules Are Needed.— From what has already been said it will be seen that parliamentary bodies differ so much in their nature, in the number of their members, and in the functions which they are to perform that it would be impossible that they could all be governed with equal advantage by a common system of parliamentary law. The only system which could establish itself by common consent would be one which, while it was not perfectly adapted to any one assembly, yet could be used by all, and would be that system which could be the easiest modified so as to be adapted to all.
Hence, while the rules of general parliamentary law are perfectly adapted to simple ordinary assemblies, especially those which are to be convened for but a short time and have but a limited amount of business to transact (and such assemblies need not trouble themselves about special rules), assemblies which are to be sometime in session and which have much business to do, adopt, as soon as possible after organization, rules specially adapted to their needs.
52. Alterations of Rules.— While it concerns certain kinds of assemblies to adopt a set of rules at once, yet it is not possible to make such a set of rules complete and perfect at once. After experience modifications are almost always found to be necessary. Such modifications the assembly is always competent to make. Such changes can be made by a majority. This is true even if the rules already adopted provide that two-thirds or any larger number alone shall make changes. The assembly can not deprive itself of power to direct its method of doing business. It is like a man promising himself that he will not change his own mind.
53. Suspension of Rules.— Unless the rules themselves provide for their own suspension they can be suspended by unanimous consent only. It is usual to provide that under certain circumstances and at certain times two-thirds may suspend the rules.
54. Suspension of Rules, House of Representatives.— In the United States House of Representatives the rules can be suspended by two-thirds on the first and third Mondays of each month and during the last six days of a session. On the first Monday preference is to be given to individuals and on the third Monday to committees. As the power of recognition to take the floor rests with the Speaker, all motions to suspend the rules are very much under his control. The motion to suspend the rules is not a privileged motion, but depends upon the recognition of the Speaker. In all sessions except the last, which expires March 4th, the six days do not begin until House and Senate have agreed upon a day for final adjournment.
55. Practical Suggestion.— If the assembly desiring to adopt a special set of rules is a legislative body or a religious convocation, its committee to prepare rules will undoubtedly adopt, with or without modification, the rules of its predecessors, or at least make them the basis of its recommendations. If no such guide for the assembly exists then the rules of the popular branch of the State Legislature will afford the best basis, since they are likely to be best known and to accord best with the wishes of the members. (See, however, Chap. XVII.)
56. Government of Assemblies in the Absence of Rules.— Where no special rules are adopted the assembly is governed by general parliamentary law, and where rules are adopted general parliamentary law governs, except where its provisions are changed by the rules themselves.
57. General Parliamentary Law.— It is usual to say that general parliamentary law is derived from the practice of the British Parliament as modified by the parliamentary customs of this country; but the difference between the system in use here and the English system is so great and so radical that it would perhaps be more accurate to say that American general parliamentary law, while it acknowledges its English origin, rests upon the practice of American assemblies.
58. Nature and Need.— The committee is the eye, and ear, and hand, and very often the brain, of the assembly. Freed from the very great inconvenience of numbers, it can study a question, obtain full information, and put the proposed action into proper shape for final decision. The appointment of a committee also insures to the assembly the presence during the debate of members who have made some examination of the question, and tends to preserve the assembly from its greatest danger, that of being carried away by some plausible harangue which excites feeling, appeals to sentiment only, and obscures reason.
59. Kinds of Committees.— Ordinary committees are divided into two kinds, standing and select, and rank in the order named. Standing committees are permanent; select committees are temporary. There are also joint committees, conference committees, and committees of the whole.
60. Standing Committees.— Standing committees can be appointed at any time, but are usually selected at the beginning of the session, and to them are referred all matters relating to the subjects of which they are in control. Generally the rules prescribe the jurisdiction of each committee, but the reference of each matter is always under the control of the assembly, the members of which, however, in case of a vote on a reference, ought not, any more than in any other case, to transgress their own rules.
61. Select Committees.— A select committee is one chosen to take charge of a special subject. Investigations are usually conducted by special committees, though the standing committees frequently do this kind of work. Committees of conference are select committees, but are usually made up of members of the standing committee having charge of the subject.
62. Joint Committees.— These are committees made up of members of both branches of a legislature, and may be either standing or select. In some legislatures the committees are joint, and the preliminary work of legislation is substantially done by joint committees. Such a committee system has much to commend it, since one hearing does for both branches, and each knows the arguments and testimony presented to the other.
63. Conference Committees.— A conference committee is a committee appointed by one branch to meet a similar committee appointed by the other branch of the legislature where the two bodies have come to a disagreement as to legislation. At the conference there is an examination and discussion of the points of difference, and an effort at agreement by adopting the action of one house or the other, either as it stands or with amendments. Each conference committee is composed of an odd number, and the majority should represent the majority of the body appointing, and be in accord with the action of the body. To constitute such an agreement as will authorize a report to the two bodies a majority of each committee must assent. The report when made is privileged; that is, is always in order, because of the courtesy due between the two houses, which are on that subject nearer an agreement than on any new subject, and for the furtherance of the necessary joint action. (See Sec. 246.)
64. Selection of Committees.— Committees of all kinds may be appointed in several different ways:
By the presiding officer.
By resolution.
By nomination and vote.
By ballot.
The member who makes the motion for the appointment of the committee is not by parliamentary law entitled any more than any other member to be the chairman, or even a member of the committee. The assembly can not be restricted in its choice.
65. Appointment by the Presiding Officer.— The method of selection of committees most in use in this country is by appointment by the presiding officer. This is because of the greater convenience of this method, and because, being chosen to represent the assembly generally, he is supposed to best understand its will. In assemblies which have a presiding officer not chosen by itself, and not a member of the body, there are no reasons why the appointment should be made by him. In the United States Senate, where the permanent presiding officer is not chosen by the Senate, the committees are selected by the Senate itself. In practice the dominant party announces to the minority the number of places they can have on the committees, and each party selects its own members by the aid of a nominating committee.
66. Selection by Resolution.— A committee may also be selected by a resolution which creates the committee and contains the names of those of whom the mover desires to have it composed. Such a resolution is subject to amendment.
67. Selection by Vote.— After it has been decided that the committee shall be created, any member may move that any other member, mentioning him by name, be of the committee, and after all of the nominations are made, the presiding officer puts the question on each in the order in which each was nominated.
68. Selection by Ballot.— Selection by ballot is rarely resorted to, because so much time is thereby consumed; but when resorted to, the committee may be chosen on one ballot, or each may be separately balloted for, as the assembly may direct.
69.
Principle of Selection.— It has been said to be the rule that no one should be on the committee who is not favorable to the principle of the bill or action sought for. This proceeds upon the idea that the sole duty of a committee is to get into proper shape, by proper modifications, what has been committed to it. In some cases this would be so, and the committee should be selected with this in view; but as a general rule the committee, as a whole, should represent the assembly, and its views as far as they have been developed. At the same time the committee in its membership should represent, as far as practicable, the different views of the members of the assembly. This insures in the discussion which follows the report such a full presentation of all views as will enable the assembly to decide wisely and with full knowledge.
70. Place and Time of Sitting.— The place and time of sitting may be regulated by the committee itself, unless the assembly gives directions, but the committee can not sit without leave during the session of the assembly. If the committee is sitting without such leave when the main body resumes its session, the committee is thereby adjourned. If the assembly has directed the time and place of meeting and the meeting is not had for any cause, new directions must be obtained from the assembly before any further action; otherwise the committee can not act.
71. Organization.— The committee usually has its chairman named for it by the assembly, but if no chairman is designated the committee may elect. Usually the member first named acts as chairman, but the committee in the absence of direction by the assembly has control of the question. Where a clerk is not provided the committee must complete its organization by the choice of a secretary.
72. Quorum.— The quorum of a committee is a majority unless the assembly otherwise directs.
A committee can of course act by a majority of those present, a quorum being present, but except in cases where the main purpose is to give the assembly a chance to act it would be unwise to be too technical in important cases. The report of a committee being merely advisory, the fact that a majority of all the members of the committee, had they been present, would not have been in favor of the course reported would naturally deprive it of much of its advisory force.
73. Duties of the Officers.— The duty of the chairman is to call all meetings, to preside over them when the committee is assembled, to make all reports to the assembly when the committee does not otherwise order. The duty of the clerk, under direction of the chairman, is to notify members of meetings, and to keep minutes of each meeting. It is his duty also to have custody of all papers sent to the committee, and to transmit them to the clerk of the assembly, when the committee shall cease to have them in charge.
74. Method of Procedure.—The method of procedure in committee is very much the same as in the assembly itself, making allowance for the difference in numbers. It would naturally be less formal. When a paper, either a bill, resolution, or proposed legislation of any kind, is referred to it, the natural course is to have the whole paper read, so that the project in its entirety may be comprehended; then each paragraph is read separately for observation or amendment, and then the committee directs a report to be made by some member, who presents his report to the committee, who approve of it, and thereupon it is by him presented to the assembly. If no other member be designated the duty to report falls upon the chairman.
75. Views of the Minority.— The majority of members determine the report of the committee, and their views constitute the report. Other members sometimes desire to present their views in opposition. This they have no right to do except by consent of the assembly. Such consent is, however, rarely refused.
76. Proceedings Continued.— It is not usual, at the present time at least, in legislative bodies, to send original papers to committees to be acted upon, but if they are so sent the committee has no right to alter or amend by erasure or addition such papers. All alterations must be proposed on a separate paper, designating clearly the changes to be made, and the report of the committee should in all cases make such explanation as will enable the assembly to clearly comprehend the changes proposed by the committee.
77. Substitute Bill.— Where changes are numerous and otherwise not easy to be understood, the best way for a committee to do is to report the bill or paper in a new draft as a substitute for the paper committed. This substitute could then be regarded as an amendment or be acted on as an original bill, as the committee may determine.
In the House of Representatives the bill reported as a substitute is treated in the House as an original bill, and not as an amendment of the bill referred.
78. Secret Meetings.— Unless the committee otherwise directs, its meetings are open to other members of the assembly, but the committee may, if they so direct, exclude all persons from their meetings.
79. Procedure in Committee Must Be Had at a Meeting.— All action of a committee must be taken at a regular meeting duly called, or where all are present. No action can be taken by members not in meeting assembled. The consent of all, individually, without a meeting will not render valid any action. It is conference, and after that consent, and not consent alone which is required.
80. Presentation of Report.— When the member of a committee charged with the duty presents the report of a committee to the assembly it is for immediate action, unless the rules otherwise provide. If, however, anyone desires to raise the question of immediate consideration, he does so by demanding that the question be put upon the reception of the report. If this motion be decided in the negative, the committee must wait a more favorable season. If in the affirmative, then the clerk reads it to the assembly, and it becomes the subject of action like any other business.
In the House of Representatives a right given to a committee to report at any time implies the right to ask immediate consideration, notwithstanding the rules.
81. Consideration of Reports.— A committee report may be adopted as a whole, and in that event becomes the action of the assembly, but the reception of a report does not adopt it. It only brings it before the body for adoption, or rejection or modification. Where not much formality is needed, and the assembly is in accord, a simple motion to adopt the report disposes of the question. These remarks and those in the next paragraph of course apply only to reports which are themselves intended to express the opinions of the assembly, and not to those reports which are but explanation of action advised. (See Sec. 82.)
82. Consideration of Reports, continued.— But where the members of an assembly desire modifications, and amendments are offered, the report, if the form and the language of the report constitute the real question, is to be treated like any other question and subject to the same rules. It can be amended and modified and is subject to all proper motions.
83. Consideration of Reports Involving Action by Bill or Similar Proceeding.— Where the report of a committee is merely explanatory of the bill or action recommended, it is merely advisory, and is read solely for the information of the assembly, and action is had on the bill or order which is alone the subject of the procedure. Such a report when printed for the assembly is not read.
84. Committee Amendments.— The amendments proposed by the committee, which are usually explained by the report, are first to be voted on, because they are the first proposed to the assembly, and are in fact offered by the assembly itself, which clothed the committee with power to examine the question.
85. Relation of the Committee to the Report After It Has Been Received.— After the reception by the assembly of the full report of a select committee on the subject referred to it the committee ceases to exist. This is not true where the report is only a partial one. A standing committee after a full report, while it continues to exist, has no further control of the matter reported on without a new reference.
While such is the case the members of the committee are usually regarded by the presiding officer as specially suited, from their examination in committee of the question, to inform the assembly, and therefore, other things being equal, have preference in debate. The member reporting is also regarded as having the measure in charge. In the House of Representatives this preference is carried so far that the Speaker usually gives complete charge of the bill to the reporter of it, and the members of the committee have absolute preference in the debate. In ordinary assemblies this is rather the natural but by no means the necessary course.
86. Committee of the Whole—Origin.— This is but the assembly itself in another form, since the membership is identical. It had its origin in a condition of affairs which has now no parallel. In former times the Speaker was selected by the House of Commons, but must be acceptable to the King. Hence it came to pass that the Speaker began to consider himself the servant of the crown rather than of the Commons, and betrayed their secrets, and was often but the king’s spy. For that reason the Commons, when they desired to discuss questions of supply, resolved themselves into a Committee of the Whole, had a chairman of their own, and shut the Speaker out. Thereupon they deliberated and spoke their real sentiments.
87. Committee of the Whole—Methods of Procedure—Organization—Chairman.— In modern times the presiding officer of the assembly when the assembly resolves itself into the Committee of the Whole names the chairman, and his choice is almost invariably acquiesced in. It is sometimes said that the Committee of the Whole, like other committees, has the right to select its own chairman. Although this statement has the help of distinguished authority, it is contrary to the English precedents and to sound parliamentary sense. If there be any question about the chairman, the assembly should settle it, and if the question is raised after the committee is in session the committee should rise, report to the assembly, and take its direction. The appointment of the chairman being made before the assembly goes into committee, the proper time to raise any question of that sort is then.
88. Committee of the Whole—Clerk.— The clerk of the assembly acts as clerk of the Committee of the Whole, but keeps no record of its proceedings except such temporary record as will enable him to aid the chairman in the orderly conduct of the business. The report which the committee makes to the assembly is its record, and becomes part of the proceedings of the assembly.
89. Committee of the Whole—Quorum.— The same number constitutes a quorum in the Committee of the Whole which is necessary in the assembly itself, but the assembly may fix the number to suit itself, the committee being but the creature of the assembly like any other committee. Whenever it appears that a quorum is not present the committee rises and reports the fact to the House, whereupon the roll is called, and if a number equal to the quorum designated for the committee responds, the committee resumes its session at once.
90. Committee of the Whole—Yeas and Nays.— In the Committee of the Whole the yeas and nays can not be called, whereby the original purpose of the committee is in a measure subserved and the doings of the members and parties sometimes escape the notice of the modern sovereign, the people.
91. Committee of the Whole—Debate.— Debate in Committee of the Whole tends more to informality than in the assembly. Each member may speak as often as he can get the floor, and there is no limit to be placed on debate by the committee. Debate can not be adjourned; for a motion to postpone either indefinitely or to a day certain is not in order, nor can the previous question be called or the subject be laid on the table. The only way in which debate can be limited is by order of the assembly.
92. Committee of the Whole—Adjournment.— The Committee of the Whole can not adjourn. The motion which, when carried, terminates its session is a motion that the committee do now rise. Thereupon the committee rises, the presiding officer takes the chair, and the chairman of the Committee of the Whole makes his report.
93. Committee of the Whole—Report.— If the Committee of the Whole has not finished its consideration of the question submitted to it, the chairman reports that the Committee of the Whole has had under consideration the question (describing it), and has come to no resolution thereon. If a conclusion has been reached the chairman reports that the committee has had under consideration the question (designating it), and recommends that the bill do pass or that the report be adopted, with or without amendment or other action, as the case may have been.
94. Committee of the Whole—Preservation of Order.— The Committee of the Whole has no power to punish for disorder. Any disorderly behavior should be reported to the assembly for its action. Whenever the disorder is very great the presiding officer of the assembly should take the chair and restore order. This has several times been done by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and by the Speaker of the House of Commons. When order is restored the Speaker leaves the chair and the committee resumes.
95. Committee of the Whole—Subjects Usually Intrusted to.— In assemblies not legislative it is rarely worth while to go into the Committee of the Whole, since this form of procedure is a complication unnecessary except in a certain class of cases. The Committee of the Whole is useful where the subject to be considered contains many items and relates to divers subjects, or needs to be settled minutely as to the language.
In legislatures bills making general appropriations and those containing items of governmental expense are those most frequently considered in Committee of the Whole.
96. Committee of the Whole—House of Representatives.— By the usual rules of the House of Representatives there are two Committees of the Whole. “The Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union” and “The Committee of the Whole House.”
The first-named committee may sit on any day, and has charge of all public bills which appropriate money or property or require appropriation thereafter of the money or property of the United States. The second can sit on Friday only, and concerns itself with private bills alone. In both committees there are two kinds of debate, general and under the five-minute rule. The general debate confines each member to one hour, the five-minute debate to five minutes each. The general debate is on the whole bill, the five-minute debate on amendments to each item. In the Committee of the Whole on the State of the Union almost anything is liable to be debated. It has been frequently held that the member is not, in Committee of the Whole on the State of the Union, in general debate, confined to the subject directly before the committee unless the proposition is a special order.
97. Committee of the Whole—Subcommittees.— While all other committees, special or standing, except, perhaps, conference committees, can have subcommittees as instruments for work, the Committee of the Whole can not from its very nature have such adjuncts, and a motion to refer to a subcommittee would be entirely out of order.
98. Committee of the Whole—Future Sittings.— An assembly may determine upon the future sitting of the Committee of the Whole, and in some assemblies it is in order, when the committee rises without finishing its work, to report progress and ask for leave to sit again and to have the time then appointed, but this is not customary in this country. Whenever the assembly sees fit it resolves itself at once into a Committee of the Whole after having directed the committee what subject to take up. If no subject be specified, then the unfinished business of the former meeting becomes the subject first to be considered, and then the first subject on the calendar of things previously committed, if there are any.
99. Practical Suggestions.— In order to make the debate in Committee of the Whole valuable, and to give each member a chance to debate the question in all its particulars, there should be by rule a limitation of time, and the five-minute rule of the House of Representatives is a very good one for practical purposes, either with or without general debate. General debate, if permitted, could most advantageously be limited to ten or fifteen minutes for each member. While the United States House allows an hour for each, it is in practice very frequently divided into much shorter periods.
100. Forms of Action by an Assembly.— All the proceedings of an assembly which ripen into a result do so by a vote, and hence we can say of all action that it was the vote of the assembly and that the action was by vote. There are, however, different forms in which different kinds of actions are put. If an assembly desires to direct something to be done by its committees or its officers, or by any subordinate body, its will is expressed by means of an order. If it desires to express its opinion or purpose, or make a statement of facts, a resolution is the usual method. If a legislative body it enacts laws by means of a bill which when passed by all those entitled to act on it becomes “an act.”
101. Introduction of Business.— After an organization has been had the assembly is then ready to proceed to business. The beginning of business is its introduction by a member. Only members have a right to present business to the assembly. The presiding officer may lay before the assembly certain kinds of business, but this is always by virtue of law. The presiding officer is under no obligation to present any communication sent him by persons outside the body over which he presides. That would be to confer upon outsiders one of the attributes of membership. The only way in which a person not a member can reach the assembly is through a member.
102. How Business May Be Introduced.— Whenever a member desires to introduce business he rises in his place and addresses the presiding officer by his title as “Mr. Chairman,” “Mr. Moderator.” The Chair thereupon recognizes the member, and says, “Mr. A. has the floor,” or simply, “Mr. A.” The member then has the floor, and states his proposition, which must be reduced to writing at the request of the Chair or any member. Thereupon the chairman states or puts the question to the assembly, and after the question has been thus proposed the assembly is said to be in possession of the question.
It will be seen by the proceedings just described that the member in order to introduce business must first obtain the floor, and in order to obtain the floor must first be recognized by the Chair. Until the member has the floor the proposal of business is not in order, but the member may state his purpose in rising if he demands the floor to introduce a privileged motion or any motion which has prior right, such as a motion to adjourn or a point of order.
103. Motion Must Be in Writing.— The motion should always be in writing or reduced to writing at the clerk’s desk. If required by the presiding officer or any member the member must present it in writing. This applies only to the main question and to such motions as are variable. The common motions, which are always in the same form, may be presented orally.
104. The Second.— After the motion has been made it must have the support of another member, who rises in his place and says, “I second the motion.” This requirement of a second is based on the idea that if the motion has no other friend than the mover it is hardly worth the while of the assembly to spend time on it.
105. Second in the House of Representatives.— No second is required in the House of Representatives to an ordinary motion. The motion to suspend the rules requires a second if demanded, which must consist of a majority of the members present, ascertained by tellers.
106. Petitions.— A petition should be signed by the petitioner and must be presented by a member, who rises in his place, states the contents, and moves that it be received. When this motion is seconded it is proposed to the assembly, and the assembly decides to receive it or not. Usually, however, a petition is received without even the formality of a motion, but the question of reception may be raised by any member. When received it is to be acted on like any other kind of business. It may be the subject of a resolution, or order, or bill, or may be referred to a committee, or laid on the table, or postponed.
107. Petitions in the House of Representatives.— Petitions in the House of Representatives are indorsed by the member presenting them with his name and the reference or disposition to be made of it, and presented to the Clerk by being placed in a box affixed to the Clerk’s desk; and these petitions, except such as in the judgment of the Speaker are of obscene or insulting character, are disposed of by reference as requested by the member, in accordance with the rules, and entered on the Journal and published in the Record.
108. Motion When in Possession of the Assembly.— The motion is not in possession of the assembly until it has been seconded and stated to the assembly by the presiding officer. Until that time no member has a right to make any motion in relation to it, or debate it, or to ask the floor for either purpose. On the other hand, until the presiding officer has so stated it to the assembly, the member offering it, either at his own suggestion or that of another, may modify his proposition. After it has been stated he can not modify it except by consent of the assembly or in the regular way of amendment.
109. Main Question.— The business thus in possession of the House is called the “main question.” It is subject to many motions, which are particularly enumerated in their relations with each other in Chapter X. In this chapter and the next only the subsidiary motions, so called, are treated. In this chapter the subsidiary motions which dispose temporarily or finally of the “main question” are described, and in the next those which modify and change it. (See Sec. 163.)
After introduction two courses are open to the assembly, refusal to consider or consideration.
110. The Question of Consideration.— The assembly, upon hearing the proposition or question stated by the Chair, may conclude that it does not desire to consider it at all. In order to determine this any member has a right to raise the question of consideration, which he does usually in this form: “Mr. Chairman, on that I raise the question of consideration.” Thereupon, without debate, the assembly divides upon the question of consideration. If decided in the negative, the main question remains as if it had not been brought up; if decided in the affirmative, the business then proceeds. The question of consideration applies only to the main question, and not to any other motion. The question of consideration may be raised even against a bill ordered by the assembly to be proceeded with at a fixed time, or against an order of the day, or even against a conference report.*
(*In some treatises it is said that the question of consideration can not be raised except by special rule. The question of consideration is like the question of the reception of a report. In both cases the question used always to be put as a matter of course, whether the business should be considered or whether the report should be received. In both cases, also, it has come to be the custom for the Chair not to put the question, but to require it to be raised from the floor. If the question is not raised, then consideration and reception are both matters of course.
The rules of the House of Representatives that the question, "Will the House now consider it?" shall not be put unless demanded by a member, is plainly not a creation of the question of consideration, but a limitation of a custom already esstablished, and implies that without that limitation by rules the Speaker would have to put the question of consideration, even if it had not been raised.)
111. Point of Order.— Another method of preventing consideration is to raise a point of order, which is in substance an objection that the question can not be considered because it conflicts with rules and orders already established, or with proceedings already determined upon by the assembly. The point of order is more fully described in Sec. 182 et seq*
(*The point of order is, of course, not to be classed with the subsidiary motions. It is an incidental motion, and mentioned here out of its logical place because it is one of the direct methods of changing the position of the question. As between it and the question of consideration it should be decided first; because if the question can not be considered it is not worth while to vote that it should be.)
112. Time for Making These Objections.— Both these objections to present action must be presented before consideration has been entered upon. After debate has begun or other action has been taken it is too late.
113. Other Methods of Putting the Question Aside.— The motions to lay on the table, postpone to a day certain and to postpone indefinitely, to commit, and even the motion to adjourn, are also methods of stopping present consideration. While they are usually employed later in the proceedings, they will now be described. (For motion to adjourn see Sec. 177.)
114. To Lay on the Table.— This motion is practically a motion to suspend the consideration of a question during the pleasure of the House. It carries with it all questions connected with the special question on which it is moved. If it be moved on the main question, then all amendments go with it; if moved on the amendment, then the main question goes on the table also. This is upon the very solid ground that you can not go on with an amendment when the main subject is no longer before the House, and can not go on with the main question when there exists amendments liable to be called up at the pleasure of the House. When a question laid upon the table is again called up, it comes up before the assembly precisely as it was prior to the motion to lay it on the table, with all the amendments and motions then pending; but the motion to take from the table is not a privileged motion.
115. Effect of Motion in the House of Representatives.— The motion to lay upon the table in the United States House of Representatives defeats the proposition. It is never taken up again. This differs from the custom of all other assemblies and leads to other modifications. For instance, laying on the table a motion to reconsider does not carry with it the original question, but is equivalent to a refusal to reconsider. Hence, also, in the House a conference report can not be laid on the table, otherwise a conference report might be put beyond the reach of either house.
116. To Lay On the Table—Renewal.— If the motion to lay on the table be decided in the negative, the original question proceeds as if the motion had not been made, and the motion may be renewed when there has been such progress as to make the motion substantially a new one.
117. To Lay On the Table—Debate, Precedence, and Amendment.— A motion to lay on the table is not debatable. It takes precedence of all other subsidiary motions except the question of consideration, but yields to privileged questions. This motion can not be amended.
118. To Postpone to a Day Certain.— The title describes the motion. Whenever the assembly thinks it would prefer to have time given members to inform themselves as to a question, or when it desires to take up some other question, then the motion to postpone to a day certain, naming the day, is a proper one to make. This motion is debatable, but the debate does not involve the merits of the main question. It is also amendable, and is inferior to a motion to lay upon the table. It is superior to a motion to amend, and of equal rank with the motions to commit, to indefinitely postpone, and for the previous question.
119. Motion to Commit.— Whenever an assembly finds that a question before it can be more satisfactorily proceeded with by means of a committee, the motion to commit will accomplish that object. This motion can be made at once upon the stating of the question, or later, after discussion and efforts to amend have shown the need of more careful investigation than the assembly itself can give it. Where the assembly has much business to perform and standing committees have been appointed, the committal is usually as of course to a committee on first presentation, and the assembly acts on the report of the committee. The fact, however, that a committee has reported on the question does not preclude the motion to commit. In default of other regulation in the rules, the motion to commit may name the committee or create one.
120. Motion to Commit—Debate and Amendment.— The motion to commit is debatable, but the merits of the main question are not open to discussion on this motion, since that discussion will be in order when the committee reports. If, however, the proposition be to commit with instructions as to the main question, then debate can be had on the merits. The motion to commit is amendable, and ranks with postponement to a day certain, indefinite postponement, and the previous question.
121. Motion for Indefinite Postponement.— This motion is designed to avoid a direct vote on the question itself, and to give the opponents of the bill an opportunity to try their strength at any stage of the bill. If decided in the affirmative, the bill is defeated; if in the negative, the bill proceeds as if the motion had not been made. It serves the original purpose of the English previous question, as it was under the early practice.
122. Motion for Indefinite Postponement— Debate and Amendment.— The motion for indefinite postponement is not only debatable itself, but throws open the whole question for debate. Inasmuch as an affirmative vote on this motion may decide the main question, the merits of the question must be open for discussion. The motion can not be amended. It ranks with the motion to postpone to a day certain, to commit, and for the previous question.
123. Previous Question.— The previous question in England was also originally a motion intended to avoid a direct vote on the subject before the assembly. It was first employed in what were then considered “delicate matters,” which involved high personages, and was a very ingenious method of avoidance. It still prevails in the House of Commons. There, when the previous question is moved, it is moved by the enemies of the proposition, and is moved for the purpose of putting the measure aside, and not for the purpose of suppressing debate and bringing the subject to a final decision. There the proposers of the motion desire to have a negative decision; there the motion for the previous question can be debated. Hence it can not be used for the purpose of closure. The manner of putting it is, “Shall the main question be now put?” If decided in the negative, since the main question can not be put, the House having voted not to have it done, it must necessarily be laid aside; if it be decided in the affirmative, then the main question, without amendment, and without even permitting a motion to adjourn, must be at once put and decided.
124. The Previous Question in America— Gradual Evolution.— The previous question in the United States has come to be quite a different motion from the one just described, both in purpose and in result. It was originally moved by the friends of the measure to cut off debate and amendment, and cause a final decision on the main question. It has reached its present condition by slow growth, and answers a very great need in a large assembly. Without it debate might have no end, especially where written speeches are permitted. At first we were contented with the English motion, simply reversed in its intentions and purposes. They used it to defeat the measure and we used it to forward it. But it was soon seen that there was grave inconvenience in going back to the main question, overthrowing all intervening motions, including amendments, and at the same time leaving the whole subject practically open to debate. It was also no longer sensible, when the previous question was moved in the interest of progress, that a negative result should throw the measure aside for the day.
Hence, in view of these things, experience has established in America the previous question as follows:
125. Previous Question Now in Use.— Instead of the formula previously employed, “Shall the main question be now put?” the presiding officer should say, “Mr. ‘A.’ demands the previous question. As many as are in favor of ordering the previous question will say aye; as many as are opposed will say no.” This question is not debatable and can not be amended. The results of the motion are as follows: If determined in the negative, the consideration goes on as if the motion had never been made; if decided in the affirmative, then the presiding officer at once, without debate, proceeds to put, first, the amendments pending, and then the main question as amended. If an adjournment is had after the previous question is ordered, the subject comes up the first thing after the reading of the Minutes or Journal the next day, and the previous question still operates, making the main question privileged over all other business, whether new or unfinished.
126. The Previous Question—Rank.— The previous question is of equal rank with the motion to postpone to a day certain, to postpone indefinitely, and to commit. It can not be moved while either of the others is pending.
The Previous Question in the United States House.— The previous question can not be moved in the United States Senate. In the House “the previous question may be asked and ordered upon a single motion, a series of motions allowable under the rules, or an amendment or amendments; or may be made to embrace all authorized motions or amendments, and include the bill to its engrossment and third reading, and then, on renewal and second of said motion, to its passage or rejection.” It is there, however, in order, pending the motion for the previous question, and even after its adoption, to commit, either with or without instructions.
It will be seen that this rule extends the previous question to all debatable and amendable motions. This is a very great addition to the previous question of general parliamentary law, which is not applicable to any question except the main question.
127. The Previous Question—Practical Suggestions.— In small assemblies there is but little use for the previous question; and the prejudice is so strong against shutting off debate that it is often rather a dangerous motion to make, and should be made only after the assembly has plainly exhausted the subject.
In large assemblies, especially of the legislative kind, there should be a special rule giving the previous question a higher place than it has under general parliamentary law. It should follow the motion to lay upon the table and precede all the rest; it should also be made applicable to all debatable amendments and motions. In large assemblies everywhere, especially where there are permanent party divisions, it is impossible to accomplish public business without the power of closing debate.
128. Closure of Debate in the House of Commons and Chamber of Deputies.— In England, as we have seen, the previous question does not close debate, and until quite recently there was apparently no power even in the majority to cause discussion to cease. But most evils discover their own remedies, and in 1881, after the scenes described in Sec. 223, the House of Commons carefully considered the question at different times, and the result is that, with the approval of the Speaker, the House can close the debate in a way which seems substantially like our own, by a major vote, provided not less than a hundred members have voted in the affirmative. It should be added that in the House of Commons the quorum is forty, the usual total six hundred and seventy-five. In France the closure (clôture) has been for a long time in use, and requires in the Chamber of Deputies the vote of a majority only. In that body a majority must be present to constitute a quorum.
Having thus described the method by which an assembly may dispose of the main question in various stages of its progress, and lay it aside permanently or temporarily, it remains to show how the assembly can modify and discuss the question.
129. Method of Procedure in Ordinary Cases.— In the assembly the proposition, or main question, should be first read, in order that the members may understand the question as a whole. It is then read a second time, when it is open to amendment and debate in all its parts. Unless otherwise ordered, an amendment can be offered to any part of the proposition, and after that is disposed of, to any other part, whether previous or subsequent. (But see Sec. 130.)
130. Method of Procedure by Paragraphs or Sections.— When the main question is in paragraphs or sections, the second reading is by paragraphs or sections for amendment, and each paragraph is amended in its turn; and it is not permissible, except by general consent, to recur to a paragraph already passed. The main question may be debated on the first reading as a whole, and then the second reading can be had for amendments.
Where the main question is prefaced by a preamble, the preamble is passed upon last, because, giving as it does the motives of action, it can not be properly worded until the action is determined upon.
131. Amendment—Object.— The object of an amendment is to so change the main proposition that it may more nearly conform to the judgment of the assembly. Were it not for the right to amend, the assembly would be obliged to take one of two courses, either of which might not express its convictions. To accept a proposition which was not wholly satisfactory, or to reject one which in many respects was suitable, was a hard alternative; yet this alternative was the one presented to the Corps Legislatif of France under the first Consulate. With no right to originate a proposition, and no right to amend it, the Corps Legislatif hardly seemed a deliberative body.
In all modern assemblies the right to originate and the right to amend are undisputed.
132. Amendment, Method of.— Amendment can be made in three ways: First, by inserting words; second, by striking out words; third, by striking out words and inserting others. (See Sec. 140, last paragraph.)
133. Amendment to the Amendment.— In case the amendment offered, while satisfactory in its design does not in the opinion of a member exactly meet the case, he is at liberty to propose an amendment to the amendment. Here, however, the process must end, for there must somewhere be a limit or confusion would ensue. The general judgment of assemblies has settled upon the limitation of amendments to the second degree. If the amendment to the amendment is not satisfactory to the assembly it can be voted down, and then a new amendment to the amendment will be in order, which in its turn can be rejected, and so on until the assembly is satisfied. (See Sec. 149.)
134. Amendment—One only at a Time.— When an amendment is pending all other amendments must be confined to that. Two amendments to different parts of the proposition can not be pending at the same time. The one originally pending must be disposed of before another can be entertained. It would not be in order, for instance, pending an amendment to one part of the proposition to entertain another relating to another part. One thing at a time is a most rigorous necessity for all successful parliamentary procedure.
135. Amendment by Insertion of Words.— This is the simplest form of amendment, and presents no difficulties. The motion should state the words to be inserted and the place of insertion. The description of the place where they are to be inserted should be definite, describing the words in the original proposition after which are to be placed the amendatory words. If no amendment to the amendment is offered, and no one rises to debate, the question is then put by the Chair in this way: “It is moved to insert the following words (reading them) in this place (describing it), and the question is, Will the assembly agree to the amendment?"
136. Amendment by Inserting—Effect of Action.— If the amendment is decided in the negative, it can not be repeated, although it may be again proposed to insert the same words with others, or a part of the same words with others, provided a substantially new proposition be thereby presented. Part of the same words can not be again proposed to be inserted, not only because the assembly has decided against it, but because that object might have been attained by an amendment to the amendment, and since it was not so attained the assembly is presumed to have decided against it specifically. If the amendment is decided in the affirmative, then the words inserted can not any of them be stricken out, except with other words, and then only when, with other words, they constitute a new proposition. These limitations rest upon the idea that when an assembly has come to a conclusion, that conclusion is not to be questioned. Otherwise nothing would stay done.
137. Amendment by Striking Out.— This amendment also is simple. The motion should state the words proposed to be stricken out, and their position in the original proposition. If no amendment to the amendment be offered, and no debate proposed, the question is then put by the Chair: “It is moved that the following words (stating them) in such a place (describing it) be stricken out, and the question is, Will the assembly agree to the amendment?"
138. Amendment by Striking Out, Continued—Effect of Action.— If the amendment to strike out be decided in the negative, it can not be renewed as to the whole or a part of the words. A negative vote is a decision on the part of the assembly that the words proposed to be stricken out shall stand part of the main question. It may, however, be proposed that these words with others, or a part of these words with others, be stricken out, provided the words newly proposed to be stricken out constitute substantially a new proposition different from the one already decided. In like manner if a motion to strike out a paragraph be lost, the paragraph can not be amended. Hence all motions to amend a paragraph should be put before the motion to strike out is put.
139. Amendment by Striking Out—Effect of Action—Continued.— If the amendment to strike out be decided in the affirmative, then the words stricken out definitely cease to be a part of the main question and can not be reinstated in whole or in part; but the same words with others, or a part of the same words with others, may be inserted, provided they constitute substantially a new proposition. In the United States House of Representatives, by Rule XVI, a motion to strike out being lost does not preclude amendment of words proposed to be stricken out. Under that rule it is as if no such motion had been made.
140. Amendment by Striking Out and Inserting.— The amendment by striking out and inserting is a combination of both the forms of amendment already described. It consists of a proposition to strike out certain words in the main question or pending question and to insert certain other words. It is in most cases the substitution of one set of words for another. It therefore embodies in itself all the results of both the first two forms of amendment combined. The words proposed to be inserted need not be inserted in the same place as the words stricken out; they may be inserted in different parts of the paragraph.
Amendment by way of substitute is a short and informal method of striking out and inserting usually applied to whole paragraphs or bills, and is made by offering a new paragraph or bill as a substitute for the old, and upon adoption the old paragraph or bill is stricken out and the new one inserted.
141. Motion to Strike Out and Insert Indivisible.— The earlier authorities left it in doubt whether this double motion could be divided or not; but the modern practice is to regard the motion as indivisible. The rules of the House of Representatives declare the motion to be indivisible, and the practice of the country has conformed to this rule. The practical results have justified the change. A division of the question leads in many cases to great confusion.
142. Motion to Strike Out and Insert—Effect of Negative Action.— If the motion to strike out and insert be decided in the negative it can not be renewed in the same terms; but inasmuch as it is a combination of the motion to strike out and the motion to insert, the negative result does not prevent a great variety of subsequent motions to strike out and insert, or to strike out or to insert, some of which are as follows:
1st. To strike out the same words and insert nothing.
2d. To strike out the same words and insert other words.
3d. To strike out the same words and insert part of the proposed words.
4th. To strike out the same words with others and insert the proposed words.
5th.To strike out the same words with others and insert part of the proposed words.
6th. To strike out part of the same words and insert the proposed words or part of them.
7th. To strike out part of the same words and insert other words.
8th. To strike out nothing, but insert the same words proposed.
Still other varieties may be suggested, but those named may give an idea of the others. Of course each one of these motions must involve a substantially new proposition.
143. Motion to Strike Out and Insert—Effect of Affirmative Action.— If the motion to strike out and insert prevails, then the words inserted, or any of them, can not be stricken out.
This, however, does not preclude the insertion of the same with other words, or a part of the same words with others, or to strike out the same words with others, or part of the same words with others. To state this in another form, the prevalence of the motion to strike out and insert does not prevent further use of the motion to strike out and the motion to insert, but the decision of the assembly already made must not be overthrown, though it may be modified.
144. Motion to Strike Out and Insert, etc., Which Relates to Whole Paragraphs.— What has been said above applies only to a motion to strike out certain words of a paragraph and substitute others therefor. Sometimes a motion is made to strike out a paragraph, or to insert a paragraph, or to strike out one paragraph and substitute another. As these motions apply to the whole paragraph, leaving no words remaining on which any remedial amendment could be ingrafted, it is evident that in such cases a new principle must come in. Otherwise the following would be the result: A motion to strike out being carried, the paragraph and every part of it would be definitively out; being defeated, the paragraph would be unalterably in. So if a motion to strike out a paragraph and insert another were made, and carried, the one would be out irrevocably and the other would be in unchangeable. In this case the assembly would have a choice between two paragraphs neither of which would be fully acceptable. It is true that by the use of the amendment to the amendment the result desired by the assembly might possibly be arrived at, but the process would be too complicated for an assembly, and hence the rules hitherto laid down are modified as to amendments striking out and inserting whole paragraphs. The modification is that where a motion is made to strike out a paragraph the friends of the paragraph have a right to perfect it by amendment before the motion to strike out is put. Whenever a motion to strike out a paragraph and insert another is made, the friends of each paragraph have a right to amend so as to make it acceptable, beginning with the paragraph proposed to be stricken out. It will be seen that this renders the motion to strike out and insert the equivalent of the amendment called a substitute. After the friends of both paragraphs have had an opportunity, with the assistance of the whole assembly, to perfect them, then the vote is taken as between the two in their perfected form.
145. Methods of Striking Out and Inserting in the United States House of Representatives.— Under the rules of the United States House of Representatives an amendment and an amendment to the amendment may be pending, and also a further amendment by way of a substitute, to which one amendment may be offered, but which shall not be voted on until the original matter is perfected. Accordingly in the House the custom is not to move to strike out a paragraph, section, or bill and insert another, but to offer a substitute. The original is then perfected, and after that the substitute, and then the House decides which it will have. If it desires neither, it votes against the substitute, and then on a motion to strike out it decides against the original paragraph.
146. Practical Suggestion.— If the assembly before which is pending a substitute or a motion to strike out and insert desires to decide against both propositions, against both the paragraph as it stands and the proposed amendment, it should decide in the negative as to the substitute or in the negative as to the motion to strike out and insert, and then on a new motion strike out the paragraph.
147. Amendment by Striking Out a Paragraph or Inserting a Paragraph.— Whenever a motion to strike out a paragraph is pending, it is in order for the assembly to amend the paragraph, its friends being entitled to perfect it before the vote on striking it out is taken. This is because if the motion to strike out is negatived, it is equivalent to an adoption of the words of the paragraph by the assembly, and it can not then be modified. Hence it must be amended before the vote on striking out, if at all.
For a similar reason the assembly may modify a paragraph proposed to be inserted pending the motion to insert, because when the motion to insert has prevailed the paragraph inserted becomes the decision of the assembly. Hence it must be modified before the insertion, as it can not be amended after.
148. The English System of Putting Questions of Amendment.— Although some books of rules give the English form of putting the question on amendments, it really had very little prevalence here at any time. Our habit in most things is to go directly to the point, and hence our presiding officers put the question that the words be inserted or stricken out, or that certain words be stricken out and other words inserted, that being the direct question to be acted on. Or they say what is equivalent, the amendment having been repeated, “The question is on agreeing to the amendment.”
The English method of putting the two motions to strike out and to strike out and insert is worth knowing, from the light it throws on the effect of action on the motions. In England the question is not put that the words be stricken out, but that the words proposed to be stricken out “do stand part of the question.” This reverses the motion, and an affirmative decision fixes the words in their place, while a negative decision strikes them out. The motion to strike out and insert is put in still more cumbersome fashion. It is first put, “Shall the words proposed to be stricken out stand part of the question?” If decided in the affirmative, then of course the rest of the question is not put. If in the negative, then the rest of the amendment may be put, or amended and then put. With this way of putting the question one may see a little more clearly that our vote not to strike out, being the same as the English vote that the words proposed shall “stand,” precludes any change in the words thus adopted by the assembly, for by not striking them out we have ordered them to “stand.”
149. Amendment to Amendments. (See Sec. 133.)— Amendments to amendments are the same in character and classification as original amendments, and are divided into the same three classes and governed by the same rules. After it has been voted on, an amendment ceases to exist as a pending amendment, and another may be presented until the assembly is satisfied that all needed modifications have been made.
150. Amendment—Modification by the Mover.— After the proposition has once been stated to the assembly by the presiding officer it is in the possession of the assembly, and can not be withdrawn except by the consent of the assembly. Hence it follows that the mover has no further control over its terms. He can not modify it himself or assent in any way that will bind the assembly to its modification by any other member.
Nevertheless, nothing is more common than a modification made by the mover or the acceptance by him of an amendment made by another, but all this must be understood to be done with the consent of the assembly, and can be prevented by the objection of any member. Thereupon the change can be made by the orderly process of amendment, as already described.
151. Amendment—Division of the Question.— When the main question is composed of more than one distinct proposition, it may be divided so as to enable the assembly to vote on each proposition separately, but each proposition into which it is proposed to separate the question must be distinct and capable of standing by itself as a substantive proposition, so that either can be adopted alone without the other or others and still be an intelligible expression of the opinion of the assembly. A division between a clause and its proviso could not be had, for instance, because the proviso standing alone would mean nothing.
152. Division, continued—Who May Demand It.— A division can not be demanded as of right by any member. It must be made pursuant to a motion stating precisely the division asked for, which motion can be amended. The presiding officer can decide, subject to an appeal to the assembly, that the division proposed can not be made. Otherwise it is submitted to the assembly and decided by it. In the House of Representatives under the rules any member may demand a division of the question.
153. Division of Question Refused—Method of Reaching the Same Result.— If the assembly refuses to divide the question, then the question may be amended by propositions to strike out or by a substitute, so as to accomplish the same purpose. For example, if the main question consists of two distinct propositions, and is divided, and one adopted and the other rejected, it is the same as if a motion to strike out the rejected proposition had been carried and then the main question thus amended had been adopted.
154. Amendment—Filling of Blanks.— Sometimes a measure is presented to an assembly with blanks for dates and amounts. In that case, when it is proposed to fill the blanks, the propositions, if there be more than one, are not treated as amendments, but are marshaled in such order that the largest sum or the longest time is put first, and then if this proposal be rejected, the next largest sum or longest time is put, and so on until the blank is filled. If the proposition to fill a blank were treated as an amendment, the first come would be the first served, but the assembly would in many cases by deprived of the proper opportunity to express its real sentiments. If, for example, it were proposed to put in various sums ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, and an amendment for $3,000 were put first, those who desired to have $5,000 appropriated might not dare to vote against $3,000 for fear that they might get less. But by putting the question first on the largest sum and then on the others, the assembly stops where a majority of the voices agree.
See, however, Jefferson’s Manual, Sec. 29, for a distinction which does not seem now in use. In the House of Representatives a motion to fill a blank is treated like any other amendment.
155. Other Methods of Amendment.— It often happens that the main question, in the form of a bill with sections or a report with paragraphs, is presented in crude shape, so as to require transposition, consolidation, or revision. The most satisfactory way to dispose of such a main question is to refer it to a committee, with or without instructions, but if that be inconvenient, various expedients may be resorted to. Two sections which ought to be one may be consolidated by striking out one and then inserting it in the other, or adding it thereto, by separate motions. If a paragraph or section is misplaced it can be stricken out, and when the proper place for it is reached it may be inserted. So if a section or paragraph would be better if divided, part may be stricken out and inserted as a new paragraph or section. Such changes as these, however, are generally made by common consent on suggestion. Where such alterations are made involving alterations of the numbering of sections, the changes of the numbers are made by the Clerk, and need no motion.
156. Amendment by Striking Out All after Enacting Clause and Substituting a New Bill.— This form of amendment is much in use in legislative assemblies. After the bill has been perfected by amendments, either by the assembly or by the Committee of the Whole, then the member in charge of the bill, or some other member having the floor for that purpose, moves to strike out all after the enacting clause and substitute another bill on the same subject. This is the motion to strike out and insert applied to the whole bill.
157. Amendment by Striking Out the Enacting Clause.— This amendment, also in use in legislative assemblies, being one which would leave the bill without the words which give it life and make it a law, has for its result when adopted the complete defeat of the bill. The Morrison Tariff Bill in the Forty-ninth Congress was defeated by striking out the enacting clause, first in Committee of the Whole and afterward in the House. This amendment is not in order until the bill has been gone through by sections. In other words, pending the motion to strike out the enacting clause, motions to amend so as to perfect the text have preference. By special rule in the House of Representatives, however, striking out the enacting clause takes precedence of amendments.
158. Method of Stating Amendments to the Assembly.— In ordinary cases the presiding officer states the question as it is written out by the mover, but at the request of any member, or on his own suggestion, if he deems it needful to enable the assembly to comprehend the action proposed, he reads, or causes to be read, first, the paragraph or section proposed to be amended as it stands; second the motion to amend, and finally the paragraph or sentence as it will stand if amended.
159. Limitation as to Amendments.— In theory, amendments are made to perfect the main question, and to enable it to obtain the vote of the assembly, but if the assembly is opposed to the question it is not confined to a direct negative. It may oppose it in various ways. Hence the enemies of the proposition may present such amendments as will render it obnoxious to the assembly and cause its rejection. They may also change and reverse its purpose, make praise out of censure, condemn instead of approve, or otherwise alter the meaning. Hence it often happens that the proposer of a measure does not get off with a simple defeat. Sometimes his own weapon is turned on him, and he has to vote against his own motion, which has been so changed as no longer to express his will. These amendments, however, are often made so as to relieve the assembly from awkwardness of voting either for or against a proposition. As an example of the kind of amendments permitted, May (page 285, eighth edition) gives a proceeding in the House of Commons, in 1802, where the minority moved an address of thanks to the king for having removed Mr. Pitt. Whereupon the majority struck out all the words after the first, and substituted an eulogium of Mr. Pitt’s policy. In another case, given by Professor Mell in his excellent book on Parliamentary Law, it was proposed by a religious convention to indorse a newspaper in a State. A very malapropos amendment, adding the name of a newspaper in another State, was offered. The assembly did not desire to be offensive to the newspaper in the other State, and so, instead of voting it down, added “all other religious newspapers,” and the amendment thus amended was negatived unanimously, and the disagreeable incident closed.
But while an amendment can not be ruled out because it changes the object of the proposition, yet it is not admissible when it merely changes the affirmative. The insertion of the word “not” or the striking it out is not a proper amendment, since it does not change the question, but merely reverses the vote. It would require two votes where one would accomplish the object.
160. Amendments Must Be Germane.— Notwithstanding what has been said as to the wide range which amendments may take, yet there is a limitation. They must be germane or relevant to the subject matter of the original proposition. It is impossible to lay down any precise rule upon this subject, and much depends on the good sense of the presiding officer. A rule of the House of Representatives is declaratory of the general parliamentary law, and expresses it in these words, “No motion or proposition on a subject different from that under consideration shall be admitted under color of amendment.”
161. Incompatibility or Inconsistency.— An amendment may be inconsistent or incompatible with the words left in the bill, or with other amendments already adopted, but that is for the assembly to decide, and not for the presiding officer. For him to pass upon such a question would be very embarrassing to the assembly, and still more so to him. So, also, the question of constitutionality is not for him to decide. Incompatibility, inconsistency, and unconstitutionality are matters of argument.
162. Privileged and Incidental Motions.— All the motions already enumerated and described except the main question are called subsidiary, because they tend to modify the position of the main question or the main question itself. They tend to the disposal of the main question by obtaining in various ways the opinion of the assembly. To refuse to consider the main question at all, to discontinue consideration until some other particular time, or to decline finally to continue its consideration, disposes of it indirectly. It is a rejection sometimes temporary, sometimes final. Although nominally these motions only change the position of the question, yet they are often equivalent to a direct adverse vote.
163.
Review of Motions.— Before considering the other motions possible, it is well to pass in review those already described, and to submit a few suggestions generally. Let us first restate them in their order of precedence.
First Rank.— Question of consideration.
Second Rank.— To lay on the table.
Third Rank.— To postpone to a day certain.