第6章

Wherequestionsareperfectlyequivalent,sothatthenegativeoftheoneamountstotheaffirmativeoftheother,andleavesnootheralternative,thedecisionoftheoneconcludesnecessarilytheother。4Grey157。Thusthenegativeofstrikingoutamountstotheaffirmativeofagreeing;

andtherefore,toputaquestiononagreeingafterthatonstrikingout,wouldbetoputthesamequestionineffecttwiceover。NotsoinquestionsofamendmentsbetweenthetwoHouses。Amotiontorecedebeingnegatived,doesnotamounttoapositivevotetoinsist,becausethereisanotheralternative,towit,toadhere。

AbilloriginatinginoneHouse,ispassedbytheotherwithanamendment。

AmotionintheoriginatingHousetoagreetotheamendmentisnegatived。

Doesthereresultfromthisavoteofdisagreement,ormustthequestionondisagreementbeexpresslyvoted?ThequestionsrespectingamendmentsfromanotherHouseare,1。Toagree。2。Disagree。3。Recede。4。Insist。

5。Adhere。1st。Toagree。

2nd。Todisagree。Eitheroftheseconcludestheothernecessarily:forthepositiveofeitherisexactlytheequivalentofthenegativeoftheother,andnootheralternativeremains。Oneithermotionamendmentstotheamendmentmaybeproposed,e。g。ifitbemovedtodisagree,thosewhoarefortheamendmenthavearighttoproposeamendments,andtomakeitasperfectastheycan,beforethequestionofdisagreeingisput。

3d。Torecede。Youmaytheneitherinsistoradhere。

4th。Toinsist。Youmaytheneitherrecedeoradhere。

5th。Toadhere。Youmaytheneitherrecedeorinsist。Consequentlythenegativeoftheseisnotequivalenttoapositivevotetheotherway。Itdoesnotraisesonecessaryanimplicationasmayauthorisethesecretarybyinferencetoenteranothervote:fortwoalternativesstillremain,eitherofwhichmaybeadoptedbytheHouse。SEC。XXXIX。

THEQUESTION。THEquestionistobeputfirstontheaffirmative,andthenonthenegativeside。

AftertheSpeakerhasputtheaffirmativepartofthequestion,anymemberwhohasnotspokenbeforetothequestion,mayriseandspeakbeforethenegativebeput。Becauseitisnofullquestiontillthenegativepartbeput。Scob。23。2Hats。73。

Butinsmallmatters,andwhichareofcourse,suchasreceivingpetitions,reports,withdrawingmotions,readingpapers,&;c。theSpeakermostcommonlysupposestheconsentoftheHouse,wherenoobjectionisexpressed,anddoesnotgivethemthetroubleofputtingthequestionformally。Scob。

22。2Hats。79,2,87。5Grey129。9Grey301。SEC。XL。

BILLS,THIRDREADING。TOpreventbillsfrombeingpassedbysurprise,theHouse,byastandingorder,directsthattheyshallnotbeputontheirpassagebeforeafixedhour,namingoneatwhichtheHouseiscommonlyfull。Hakew。153。

TheusageoftheSenateisnottoputbillsontheirpassagetillnoon。Abillreportedandpassedtothethirdreadingcannotonthatdaybereadthethirdtimeandpassed。Becausethiswouldbetopassontworeadingsinthesameday。

Atthethirdreading,theclerkreadsthebillanddeliversittotheSpeaker,whostatesthetitle,thatitisthethirdtimeofreadingthebill,andthatthequestionwillbewhetheritshallpass?Formerly,theSpeaker,orthosewhopreparedabill,preparedalsoabreviateorsummarystatementofitscontents,whichtheSpeakerreadwhenhedeclaredthestateofthebill,attheseveralreadings。Sometimeshowever,hereadthebillitself,especiallyonitspassage。Hakew。136,137,153。

Coke22,115。Latterly,insteadofthis,he,atthethirdreading,statesthewholecontentsofthebillverbatim,onlyinsteadofreadingtheformalparts,\"Beitenacted,&;c。”hestatesthat\"thepreamblerecitessoandso……the1stsectionenactsthat,&;c。the2dsectionenacts,&;c。”

ButintheSenateoftheUnitedStates,bothoftheseformalitiesaredispensedwith;thebreviatepresentingbutanimperfectviewofthebill,andbeingcapableofbeingmadetopresentafalseone:andthefullstatementbeinganuselesswasteoftime,immediatelyafterafullreadingbytheclerk;andespeciallyaseverymemberhasaprintedcopyinhishand。

Abillonthethirdreading,isnottobecommittedforthematterorbodythereof;buttoreceivesomeparticularclauseorproviso,ithathbeensometimessuffered,butasathingveryunusual。Hakew。156。

thus27El。1584。abillwascommittedonthethirdreading,havingbeenformerlycommittedonthesecond,butisdeclarednotusual。D\'Ewes337。col。2,414,col。2。

Whenanessentialprovisionhasbeenomitted,ratherthanerasethebill,andrenderitsuspicious,theyaddaclauseonaseparatepaper,engrossedandcalledaryder,whichisreadandputtothequestionthreetimes。Elsynge\'sMemorials59。6Grey335。1Blackst。183。Forexamplesofryderssee3Hats。121,122,124,126。Everyoneisatlibertytobringinaryderwithoutaskingleave。10Grey52。

Itislaiddownasageneralrule,thatamendmentsproposedatthesecondreadingshallbetwiceread,andthoseproposedatthethirdreadingthriceread;asalsoallamendmentsfromtheotherHouse。Town。col。19,23,24,25,26,27,28。

Itiswithgreat,andalmostinvinciblereluctance,thatamendmentsareadmittedatthisreading,whichoccasionerasuresorinterlineations。

Sometimesaprovisohasbeencutofffromabill;sometimeserased。9Grey513。

Thisistheproperstageforfillingupblanks;foriffilledupbefore,andnowalteredbyerasure,itwouldbepeculiarlyunsafe。

Athisreadingthebillisdebatedafresh,andforthemostpartismorespokento,atthistime,thanonanyoftheformerreadings。Hakew。

153。

Thedebateonthequestionwhetheritshouldbereadathirdtime?hasdiscoveredtoitsfriendsandopponentstheargumentsonwhicheachsiderelies,andwhichoftheseappeartohaveinfluencewiththeHouse;theyhavehadtimetomeetthemwithnewarguments,andtoputtheiroldonesintonewshapes。Theformervotehastriedthestrengthofthefirstopinionandfurnishedgroundstoestimatetheissue;andthequestionnowofferedforitspassage,isthelastoccasionwhichisevertobeofferedforcarryingorrejectingit。

Whenthedebateisended,theSpeaker,holdingthebillinhishand,putsthequestionforitspassage,bysaying,\"Gentlemen,allyouwhoareofopinionthatthisbillshallpass,sayaye,\"andaftertheansweroftheayes,\"Allthoseofthecontraryopinionsayno。”Hakew。154。

Afterthebillispassed,therecanbenofurtheralterationofitinanypoint。Hakew。159。SEC。XLI。

DIVISIONOFTHEHOUSE。THEaffirmativeandnegativeofthequestionhavingbeenbothputandanswered,theSpeakerdeclareswhethertheyeasornayshaveitbythesound,ifhebehimselfsatisfied,anditstandsasthejudgmentoftheHouse。Butifhebenothimselfsatisfiedwhichvoiceisthegreater,orif,beforeanyothermembercomesintotheHouse,orbeforeanynewmotionmade(foritistoolateafterthat)anymembershallriseanddeclarehimselfdissatisfiedwiththeSpeaker\'sdecision,thentheSpeakeristodividetheHouse。Scob。24。2Hats。140。

WhentheHouseofCommonsisdivided,theonepartygoesforth,andtheotherremainsintheHouse。Thishasmadeitimportantwhichgoforth,andwhichremain;becausethelattergainalltheindolent,theindifferentandinattentive。Theirgeneralrulethereforeis,thatthosewhogivetheirvotesforthepreservationoftheordersoftheHouse,shallstayin,andthosewhoareforintroducinganynewmatteroralteration,orproceedingcontrarytotheestablishedcourse,aretogoout。Butthisruleissubjecttomanyexceptionsandmodifications。2Hats。134。1Rush。p。3,fol。92。Scob。43,52。Co。12,116。D\'Ewes。

505。col。1。Mem。inHakew。25,29。aswillappearbythefollowingstatementofwhogoforth。

Petitionthatitbereceived,5Ayes。

Read。

Lieonthetable,Noes。

Rejectedafterrefusaltolieontable,Referredtoacommittee,orfartherproceeding,Ayes。

Bill,thatitbebroughtin,Ayes。

Read1stor2dtime,Engrossed,orread3dtime,Proceedingoneveryotherstage,Committed,Tocommitteeofthewhole,Noes。

Toaselectcommittee,Ayes。

Reportofbilltolieontable,Noes。

Benowread,Ayes。

Betakenintoconsideration3monthshence,30P。J。251。

Amendmentsbereada2dtime,Noes。

Clauseofferedonreportofbillberead2dtime,Ayes。

Forreceivingaclause,334。

Withamendmentsbeengrossed,395。

Thatabillbenowreada3dtime,Noes。398。

Receivearyder,Ayes。260。

Pass,259。

Beprinted,Committees。ThatAtakethechair,Noes。

Toagreetothewholeoranypartofreport,ThattheH。donowresolveintocommittee,291。

Speaker。Thathenowleavethechair,afterordertogointocommittee,Thatheissuewarrantforanewwrit,Member。Thatnonebeabsentwithoutleave,Witness。Thathebefurtherexamined,Ayes。344。

Previousquestion,Noes。

Blanks。Thattheybefilledwiththelargestsum,Ayes。

Amendments。ThatwordsstandpartofLords。

Thattheiramendmentbereada2dtime,Noes。

Messengerbereceived,Ordersofdaytobenowread,Ayes。

ifbefore2o\'clock,Ifafter2o\'clock,Noes。

Adjournment,tillthenextsittingday,ifAyes。

before4o\'clock,ifafter4o\'clock,Noes。

Overasittingday(unlessapreviousresolution,)Ayes。

Overthe30thofJanuary,Noes。

ForsittingonSundayoranyotherday,notbeingasittingday,Ayes。Theonepartybeinggoneforth,theSpeakernamestwotellersfromtheaffirmative,andtwofromthenegativeside,whofirstcountthosesittingintheHouse,andreportthenumbertotheSpeaker。Thentheyplacethemselveswithinthedoor,twooneachside,andcountthosewhowentforth,astheycomein,andreportthenumbertotheSpeaker。Mem。inHakew。26。

Amistakeinthereportofthetellersmayberectifiedafterthereportmade。2Hats。145。note。

ButinbothHousesofCongress,alltheseintricaciesareavoided。

TheAyesfirstriseandarecounted,standingintheirplaces,bythePresidentorSpeaker。Thentheysit,andtheNoesriseandarecountedinlikemanner。

InSenate,iftheybeequallydivided,theVice-Presidentannounceshisopinion,whichdecides。

Theconstitutionhoweverhasdirectedthat\"theYeasandNaysofthemembersofeitherHouseonanyquestionshall,atthedesireofonefifthofthosepresent,beenteredonthejournal。”Andagain,thatinallcasesofreconsideringabill,disapprovedbythePresident,andreturnedwithhisobjections,\"thevotesofbothHousesshallbedeterminedbyTeasandNays,andthenamesofthepersonsvotingforandagainstthebill,shallbeenteredonthejournalsofeachHouserespectively。”

Bythe11thruleoftheSenate,whentheTeasandNaysshallbecalledforbyonefifthofthememberspresent,eachmembercalledupon,shall,unlessforspecialreasonshebeexcusedbytheSenate,declareopenlyandwithoutdebate,hisassentordissenttothequestion。IntakingtheTeasandNays,anduponthecalloftheHouse,thenamesofthemembersshallbetakenalphabetically。

WhenitisproposedtotakethevotebyTeasandNays,thePresidentorSpeakerstates,that\"thequestionis,whethere。g。thebillshallpass?

thatitisproposedthattheTeasandNaysshallbeenteredonthejournal。

Thosethereforewhodesireitwillrise。”Ifhefindsanddeclaresthatonefifthhaverisen,hethenstatesthat\"thosewhoareofopinionthatthebillshallpassaretoanswerintheaffirmative,thoseofthecontraryopinioninthenegative。”Theclerkthencallsoverthenamesalphabetically,notestheTeaorNayofeach,andgivesthelisttothePresidentorSpeaker,whodeclarestheresult。InSenate,iftherebeanequaldivision,thesecretarycallsontheVice-President,andnoteshisaffirmativeornegative,whichbecomesthedecisionoftheHouse。

IntheHouseofCommons,everymembermustgivehisvotetheonewayortheother。Scob。24。AsitisnotpermittedtoanyonetowithdrawwhoisintheHousewhenthequestionisput,norisanyonetobetoldinthedivisionwhowasnotinwhenthequestionwasput。2Hats。

140。

ThislastpositionisalwaystruewhenthevoteisbyYeasandNays;

wherethenegativeaswellasaffirmativeofthequestionisstatedbythePresidentathesametime,andthevoteofbothsidesbeginsandproceedsparipassu。Itistruealsowhenthequestionisputintheusualway,ifthenegativehasalsobeenput。Butifithasnot,thememberentering,oranyothermember,mayspeak,andevenproposeamendments,bywhichthedebatemaybeopenedagain,andthequestionbegreatlydeferred。Andassomewhohaveansweredaye,mayhavebeenchangedbythenewarguments,theaffirmativemustbeputoveragain。Ifthenthememberenteringmay,byspeakingafewwords,occasionarepetitionofthequestion,itwouldbeuselesstodenyitonhissimplecallforit。

WhiletheHouseistelling,nomembermayspeak,ormoveoutofhisplace;foritanymistakebesuspected,itmustbetoldagain。Mem。inHakew。26。2Hats。143。

Ifanydifficultyarisesinpointoforderduringthedivision,theSpeakeristodecideperemptorily,subjecttothefuturecensureoftheHouseifirregular。Hesometimespermitsoldexperiencedmemberstoassisthimwiththeiradvice,whichtheydo,sittingintheirseats,covered,toavoidtheappearanceofdebate;butthiscanonlybewiththeSpeaker\'sleave,elsethedivisionmightlastseveralhours。2Hats。143。

Thevoiceofthemajoritydecides。Forthelexmajorispartisisthelawofallcouncils,elections,&;c。wherenototherwiseexpresslyprovided。Hakew。93。ButiftheHousebeequallydivided,\"semperpresumaturpronegante;\"thatis,theformerlawisnottobechangedbutbyamajority。Town。col。134。

ButintheSenateoftheUnitedStates,theVice-Presidentdecides,whentheHouseisdivided。ConstitutionUnitedStatesI。3。

WhenfromcountingtheHouseonadivision,itappearsthatthereisnotaquorum,themattercontinuesexactlyinthestateinwhichitwasbeforethedivision,andmustberesumedatthatpointonanyfutureday。

2Hats。126。

1606,May1,Onaquestionwhetheramemberhavingsaidyea,mayafterwardssitandchangehisopinion?aprecedentwasrememberedbytheSpeaker,ofMr。Morris,attorneyofthewardsin39Eliz。whoinlikecasechangedhisopinion。Mem。inHakew。27。SEC。XLII。

TITLE。AFTERthebillhaspassed,andnotbeforethetitlemaybeamended,andistobefixedbyaquestion;

andthebillisthensenttotheotherHouse。SEC。XLIII。

RECONSIDERATION。WHENaquestionhasbeenoncemadeandcarriedintheaffirmative,ornegative,itshallbeinorderforanymemberofthemajority,tomoveforthereconsiderationthereof。Rule22。

1798,January。Abillonitssecondreading,beingamended,andonthequestionwhetheritshallbereadathirdtimenegatived,wasrestoredbyadecisiontoreconsiderthatquestion。Herethevotesofnegativeandreconsideration,likepositiveandnegativequantitiesinequation,destroyoneanother,andareasiftheywereexpungedfromthejournals。Consequentlythebillisopenforamendment,justsofarasitwasthemomentprecedingthequestionforthethirdreading。Thatistosay,allpartsofthebillareopenforamendment,exceptthoseonwhichvoteshavebeenalreadytakeninitspresentstage。Soalsoitmayberecommitted。

Therulepermittingareconsiderationofaquestionaffixingtoitnolimitationoftimeorcircumstance,itmaybeaskedwhetherthereisnolimitation?If,afterthevote,thepaperonwhichitispassedhasbeenpartedwith,therecanbenoreconsideration:asifavotehasbeenforthepassageofabill,andthebillhasbeensenttotheotherHouse。

Butwherethepaperremains,asonabillrejected;when,orunderwhatcircumstancesdoesitceasetobesusceptibleofreconsideration?Thisremainstobesettled;unlessasensethattherightofreconsiderationisarighttowastethetimeoftheHouseinrepeatedagitationsofthesamequestion,sothatitshallneverknowwhenaquestionisdonewith,shouldinducethemtoreformthisanomalousproceeding。

InParliament,aquestiononcecarried,cannotbequestionedagainatthesamesession;butmuststandasthejudgmentoftheHouse。Town。

col。67。Mem。inHakew。33。Andabilloncerejected,anotherofthesamesubstancecannotbebroughtinagainthesamesession。Hakew。158。6Grey392。Butthisdoesnotextendtopreventputtingthesamequestionindifferentstagesofabill;becauseeverystageofabillsubmitsthewholeandeverypartofittotheopinionoftheHouse,asopenforamendment,eitherbyinsertionoromission,thoughthesameamendmenthasbeenacceptedorrejectedinaformerstage。Soinreportsofcommittees,e。g。reportofanaddress,thesamequestionisbeforetheHouse,andopenforfreediscussion。Town。col。26。2Hats。98,100,101。

SoordersoftheHouse,orinstructionstocommitteesmaybedischarged。

Soabill,beguninoneHouse,senttotheother,andthererejected,mayberenewedagaininthatother,passedandsentback。Ib。92。3Hats。161。Orif,insteadofbeingrejected,theyreaditonceandlayitaside,oramendit,andputitoffamonth,theymayorderinanothertothesameeffect,withthesameoradifferenttitle。Hakew。97,98。

Diversexpedientsareusedtocorrecttheeffectsofthisrule;asbypassinganexplanatoryact,ifanythinghasbeenomittedorillexpressed,3Hats。278。oranacttoenforce,andmakemoreeffectualanact,&;c。ortorectifymistakesinanact,&;c。oracommitteeononebillmaybeinstructedtoreceiveaclausetorectifythemistakesofanother。

Thus,June24,1685,aclausewasinsertedinabillforrectifyingamistakecommittedbyaclerkinengrossingabillofsupply。2Hats。194,6。Orthesessionmaybeclosedforone,two,threeormoredays,andanewonecommenced。Butthenallmattersdependingmustbefinished,ortheyfall,andaretobegindenovo。2Hats。94,to98。Orapartofthesubjectmaybetakenupbyanotherbill,ortakenupinadifferentway。6Grey304,316。

Andincasesofthelastmagnitude,thisrulehasnotbeensostrictlyandverballyobservedastostopindispensableproceedingsaltogether。

2Hats。92,98。Thuswhentheaddressonthepreliminariesofpeacein1782hadbeenlostbyamajorityofone,onaccountoftheimportanceofthequestion,andsmallnessofthemajority,thesamequestioninsubstance,thoughwithsomewordsnotinthefirst,andwhichmightchangetheopinionofsomemembers,wasbroughtonagainandcarried;asthemotivesforitwerethoughttooutweightheobjectionofform。2Hats。99,100。

Asecondbillmaybepassedtocontinueanactofthesamesession;

ortoenlargethetimelimitedforitsexecution。2Hats。95,98。

Thisisnotincontradictiontothefirstact。SEC。XLIV。

BILLSSENTTOTHEOTHERHOUSE。ALLbillspassedinSenateshall,beforetheyaresenttotheHouseofRepresentatives,beexaminedbythecommitteesrespectively,whobroughtinsuchbills,ortowhomthesamehavebeenlastcommittedinSenate。Rule23。

AbillfromtheotherHouseissometimesorderedtolieonthetable。

2Hats。97。

WhenbillspassedinoneHouseandsenttotheother,aregroundedonspecialfactsrequiringproof,itisusualeitherbymessage,orataconference,toaskthegroundsandevidence;andthisevidence,whetherarisingoutofpapers,orfromtheexaminationofwitnesses,isimmediatelycommunicated。

3Hats。48。SEC。XLV。

AMENDMENTSBETWEENTHEHOUSES。WHENeitherHouse,e。g。theHouseofCommons,sendsabilltotheother,theothermaypassitwithamendments。

Theregularprogressioninthiscaseis,thattheCommonsdisagreetotheamendment;theLordsinsistonit;theCommonsinsistontheirdisagreement;

theLordsadheretotheiramendment;theCommonsadheretotheirdisagreement。