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the Post Office Department, and for mail transportation by ocean steamers; or, in failure thereof, the reasons of such failure. And said committee shall have leave to report said bills (for reference only) at any time. In all cases where appro-propriation bills to priations cannot be made specific in amount, the maximum to be stated. be expended shall be stated, and each appropriation bill, when reported from the committee, shall in the concluding clause state the sum total of all the items contained in said bill. Rule 77.

In reporting the reasons above referred to the report must Reasons to be be in writing. Congressional Globe, 1, 31, pp. 1207, 8.

AYES AND NOES.

(See YEAS AND NAYS.)

BALLOT.

"All committees shall be appointed by the Speaker unless otherwise specially directed by the House, in which case they shall be appointed by ballot; and if, upon such ballot, the number required shall not be elected by a majority of the votes given, the House shall proceed to a second ballot, in which a plurality shall prevail; and in case a greater number than is required to compose or complete a committee shall have an equal number of votes, the House shall proceed to a further ballot or ballots."-Rule 67. "In all other cases of ballot than for committees, a majority of the votes given shall be necessary to an election; and where there shall not be such a majority on the first ballot, the ballots shall be repeated until a majority be obtained; and in all ballotings blanks shall be rejected, and not taken into the count in enumeration of votes, or reported by the tellers."-Rule 12.

reported in writing.

When commitpointed by.

tees are to be ap

"In all cases of ballot by the House, the Speaker shall Speaker shall vote."-Rule 7.

vote in cases of.

person to visit Clerk's desk while counting.

No member or other person shall visit or remain by the No Clerk's table while ballots are counting."-Rule 65.

Vote of late years not taken

[There has been no instance for many years where a vote by ballot has been taken in the House, the Speaker and other by. officers having been elected by viva voce votes, and the committees appointed by the Speaker.]

(See ELECTIONS and COMMITTEES.)

18

BANKING AND CURRENCY, COM. ON-BAR OF THE HOUSE-BILLS.

Its number, and when appointed.

Its duty.

In order to vote, members must be

BANKING AND CURRENCY, COMMITTEE ON.

This committee, to consist of nine members, is directed to be appointed at the commencement of each Congress.—Rule 74. Its duty shall be to take into consideration all propositions relative to banking and the currency as shall be presented or shall come in question and be referred to them by the House, and to report thereon by bill or otherwise.

BAR OF THE HOUSE.

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"No member shall vote in any case where he was not "within the bar." within the bar of the House when the question was put. And when any member shall ask leave to vote, the Speaker shall propound to him the question: Were you within the bar before the last name on the roll was called?"-Rule 29. [And upon his answer in the affirmative, he is permitted to vote. He must, however, answer the question for himself, the Speaker always very properly refusing to decide for him whether or not he was within the bar.]

What is meant by within the bar."

No vote of a

member without the bar counted.

How bills are introduced.

Revenue bills.

Bills on leave

[At the 1st session 35th Congress, (see Journal, p. 337,) soon after the occupancy of the present hall, it was decided that, in order to be entitled to vote, a member must have been upon the floor of the hall, and not outside of any of the doors leading into it.]

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Upon a division and count of the House on any question, no member without the bar shall be counted."-Rule 30.

BILLS.

(See also PRIVATE Bills and PRIVATE BUSINESS.)

Every bill shall be introduced on the report of a committee, or by motion for leave-Rule 115-or upon the report of the Court of Claims.-(Stat. at Large, Vol. X, pp. 613, 614.)

"All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments, as on other bills."-Const., 1, 7, 10.

"In the case of a bill on leave, at least one day's notice shall be given of the motion in the House, or by filing a memorandum thereof with the Clerk, and having it entered on the Journal; and the motion shall be made and the bill introduced, if leave is given, when resolutions are called for; such motion, or the bill when introduced, may be committed." -Rule 115.

when and how in

"All the States and Territories shall be called for bills on Bills on leave, leave and resolutions on each alternate Monday during each troduced. session of Congress; and, if necessary to secure the object on said days, all resolutions which shall give rise to debate shall lie over for discussion, under the rules of the House already established; and the whole of said days shall be appropriated to bills on leave and resolutions, until all the States and Territories are called through.—February 6, 1838. And the Speaker shall first call the States and Territories for bills on leave; and all bills so introduced during the first hour after the Journal is read shall be referred, without debate, to their appropriate committees: Provided, however, That a bill so introduced and referred shall not be brought back into the House upon a motion to reconsider." motion to reconsider."-Rule 130. (See MORN

ING HOUR ON MONDAYS.)

gives notice Form of notice.

appear in news

for leave.

Objections to the

practice of intro

[The notice above referred to is rarely given in the House, (it being in order to give it there only when resolutions are in order,) but is usually given to the Clerk by sending to him a written memorandum in this form: "Mr. that to-morrow, or on some subsequent day, he will ask leave to introduce a bill (here insert its title.)" If the member To have notice desires his notice to appear in the newspaper report of the paper. proceedings of the House, he should furnish the reporter of such paper with a copy of the memorandum furnished the Clerk. Having given his notice, it is then in order, on any subsequent day, when bills on leave and resolutions are being When to move called for, and when his particular State is called, to move for leave to introduce his bill. The practice of introducing bills on leave, it may be remarked, however, does not facilitate business. If, instead of waiting for an opportunity to introduce his bill on leave, the member would file his petition, or whatever other matter he may have in favor of the proposed legislation, and have it referred to the appropriate committee, as he may do on any day under Rule 131, (see PETITIONS,) he will thus have the subject before them, and will get a bill reported as speedily as if it had been originally referred. Besides, the bill thus reported comes before the House unencumbered with amendments, as is not likely to be the case with a bill previously referred. These suggestions, of course, do not apply to cases where the immediate passage of a bill without the intervention of a committee

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ducing bills

leave.

on

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Every bill shall have three read

ings.

Objection after first reading.

is sought for, or where it is desirable to refer it to a select committee.]

For information in regard to bills reported from a committee, see COMMITTEES.

So in regard to bills reported from and to be referred to the Court of Claims.-See CLAIMS, Court of.

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Every bill shall receive three several readings in the House previous to its passage; and bills shall be despatched in order as they were introduced, unless where the House shall direct otherwise; but no bill shall be twice read on the same day without special order of the House."-Rule 116. [The "special order" here referred to is generally assumed to have been given, for, unless objection is made, immediately after the bill is read a first time, the Speaker announces "the second reading of the bill," and it thereupon receives its second reading.]

The first reading of a bill shall be for information, and, if opposition be made to it, the question shall be: "Shall this bill be rejected?"-Rule 117. And this question is debatable.---Journal, 2, 32, p. 152, But "if no opposition be made, or if the question to reject be negatived, the bill shall go to its Second reading. second reading without a question."-Rule 117.

Usually read by their title.

[The three readings of a bill are usually by the title, the reading throughout usually taking place in Committee of the Whole; but where there is no commitment, it then takes place Right of a mem- whenever it is proposed to put the bill on its passage. It is the undoubted right, however, of any member to have a bill read throughout at every stage of its progress through the House.-See READING OF PAPERS.]

ber to have read throughout.

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Upon the second reading of the bill, the Speaker shall state it as ready for commitment or engrossment; and, if committed, then a question shall be, whether to a select or standing committee, or to a Committee of the Whole House; if no motion be made to commit, the question shall be stated on its engrossment; and if it be not ordered to be engrossed on the day of its being reported, it shall be placed on the general file on the Speaker's table, to be taken up in order. But if the bill be ordered to be engrossed, the House shall appoint the day when it shall be read the third time.”—Rule 118.

[The settled practice of the House upon the second reading of a bill, unless it be an APPROPRIATION BILL, (which see,) is

to consider it as open to debate,] when, under the 42d Rule, it is

Amendment.

may be stricken

in a condition for a motion to lie on the table, for the previous Commitment. question, to postpone to a day certain, to commit or amend, to postpone indefinitely, which several motions take precedence in the order in which they are arranged. "But a motion to Enacting words strike out the enacting words of a bill shall have precedence out. of a motion to amend; and, if carried, shall be considered equivalent to its rejection."-Rule 123. (See all of said motions respectively.)

Engrossment and third reading.

Third reading of Senate bills.

[The question of engrossment is put in this form, viz : "Shall the bill be engrossed and read a third time?" If it be negatived, the bill is rejected; but if it be decided in the affirmative, and the bill is actually engrossed, or no question is made on its failure to be engrossed, the Speaker immediately directs the third reading of the bill." But if the question is made, and it be not actually engrossed, the bill goes to the In the case of a Senate bill, the engrossment Speaker's table. having already been made before it came to the House, the question which arises is, "Shall the bill be read a third time?” which being decided negatively the bill is rejected, but being decided affirmatively the bill is immediately read a third time.] [Where the bill has a preamble, although there is no rule, In case of a bill and indeed no settled practice, defining the stage at which it is to be considered, it would seem to be most appropriate that its consideration should take place after the bill has been ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and before the third reading takes place. By this course, the bill can be engrossed either with or without the preamble, as the House shall have determined.]

with a preamble.

After third reading.

Debate.

[After the third reading of a bill, the question which next arises in course is, "Shall the bill pass?" At this stage the bill is again open to debate, but is not amendable; it may, however, under the 124th Rule, be recommitted at any time Recommitment. before passage.-(See RECOMMIT, MOTION TO.)]

[The bill having passed, and the title having been read, After passage.

the Speaker states, "If there be no objection this will remain

the title of the bill" The title, however, is subject to amend- Title.

ment, and, unless the previous question is ordered on it, ist

also debatable.]

posed of.

[After the title is disposed of, it is usual for the member After title dishaving charge of the bill to move "that the vote last taken

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