tell those in the negative, which being also reported, he shall rise and state the decision to the House.

The Speaker shall examine and correct the journal before it is ead. He shall have a general direction of the hall. He shall have the right to name any member, to perform the duties of the chair, but such substitution shall not extend beyond an adjournment.

All committees shall be appointed by the Speaker, unlessotherwise 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 of votes shall prevail; and in case a greater number than is required to compose or complete the committee shall have an equal number of votes, the House shall proceed to a further ballet or ballots.

In all other cases of ballot, than for committees, a majority of the votes given shall be necessary to an election; and when there shall not be such a majority on the first ballot, the ballot shall be repeated until a majority be obtained.

In all cases of ballot by the House, the Speaker shall vote; in other cases he shall not vote unless the House be equally divided, or unless his vote, if given to the minority, will make the division equal; and in case of such equal division, the question shall be lost.

In all cases where other than members of the House may be eligible to any office by the election of the House, there shall be a previous nomination.

All acts, addresses and joint resolutions, shall be signed by the Speaker; and all writs, warrants or subpoenas, issued by order of the House, shall be under his hand and seal, attested by the clerk.

In cases of any disturbance or disorderly conduct in the galleries or lobby, the Speaker (or chairman of the committee of the whole House) shall have power to order the same to be cleared.

No person, except members of the Senate, their secretary, heads of departments, the treasurer, comptroller, register, auditor, post master general, President's secretary, chaplains to Congress, judges of the United States, foreign

ministers and their secretaries, and such gentlemen as have been members of either branch of the legislature, shall be admitted within the hall of the House of Representatives.

Stenographers wishing to take down the debates, may be admitted by the Speaker, who shall assign such places to them on the floor or elsewhere, to effect their object, as shall not interfere with the convenience of the House.

ORDER OF BUSINESS OF THE DAY.

AS soon as the journal is read, the Speaker shall call for petitions from the members of each state, and delegates from each territory, beginning with New-Hampshire; and if, on any day, the whole of the states and territories shall not be called, the Speaker shall begin on the next day, where he left off the previous day.

The petitions having been presented and disposed of, reports, first from the standing, and then from the select committees, shall be called for and disposed of.

The above business shall be done at no other part of the day, except by permission of the House.

OF DECORUM AND DEBATE.

WHEN any member is about to speak in debate, or deliver any matter to the House, he shall rise from his seat and respectfully address himself to Mr. Speaker; and shall confine himself to the question under debate, and avoid personality.

If any member, in speaking, or otherwise, transgress the rules of the House, the Speaker shail, or any member may, call to order; in which case the member so called to order, shall immediately sit down, unless permitted to explain, and the House shall, if applied to, decide on the case, but without debate;, if there be no appeal, the decision of the chair shall be submitted to. If the decision be in favor of the member called to order, he shall be at liberty to proceed; if otherwise, and the case require it, he shall be liable to the censure of the House.

When two or more members happen to rise at once, the Speaker shall name the member who is first to speak.

No member shall speak more than twice to the same question, without leave of the House, nor more than once until every member choosing to speak shall have spoken.

Whilst the Speaker is putting any question, or addressing the House, none shall walk out of, or across the House; nor in such case, or when a member is speaking, shall entertain private discourse, nor whilst a member is speaking, shall pass between him and the chair.

No member shall vote on any question in the event of which he is immediately and particularly interested; or in any case where he was not present when the question was put. Upon a division and count of the House on any question, no member without the bar shall be counted.

Every member who shall be in the House when the question is put, shall give his vote, unless the House for special reasons shall excuse him.

When a motion is made and seconded, it shall be stated by the Speaker, or being in writing, it shall be handed to the chair, and read aloud by the clerk before debated.

Every motion shall be reduced to writing if the Speaker or any member desire it.

After a motion is stated by the Speaker, or read by the clerk, it shall be deemed to be in possession of the House, but may be withdrawn at any time before a decision or amendment.

When a question is under debate, no motion shall be received but to adjourn, to lie on the table, for the previous question, to postpone indefinitely, to postpone to a day certain, to commit or amend, which several motions shall have precedence in the order they stand arranged.

A motion to adjourn shall be always in order, and shall be decided without debate.

The previous question shall be in this form: "Shall the main question be now put ?" It shall only be admitted when demanded by one fifth of the members present:*

The following amendment has been made to this rule: "Resolved, That the standing rules and orders be so amended, that a majority of those present shall be required to admit the previous question."

and until it is decided, shall preclude all amendment and further debate of the main question.

On a previous question there shall be no debate.

When a question is postponed indefinitely, the same shall not be acted upon again, during the session.

Any member may call for the division of a question, where the sense will admit of it; but a question to staike out and insert, shall be deemnd indivisible.

Motions and reports may be committed at the pleasure of the House.

No new motion or proposition shall be admitted, under color of amendment, as a substitute for the motion or proposition under debate.

When a motion has been once made and carried in the affirmative or negative, it shall be in order for any member of the majority to move for the reconsideration thereof on the same or the succeeding day.

When the reading of a paper is called for, and the same is objected to by any member, it shall be determined by a vote of the House.

The unfinished business in which the House was engaged at the last preceding adjournment, shall have the preference in the orders of the day; and no motion on any other business shall be received, without special leave of the House, until the former is disposed of.

If a question depending is lost by adjournment of the House, and revived on the succeeding day, no member who shall have spoken twice on the preceding day, shall be permitted again to speak without leave.

Every order, resolution or vote, to which the concur rence of the Senate shall be necessary, shall be read to the House, and laid on the table, on a day preceding that in which the same shall be moved, unless the House shall otherwise expressly allow.

Petitions, memorials and other papers, addressed to the House, shall be presented by the Speaker, or by a member in his place; a brief stetement of the contents thereof shall verbally be made by the introducer, and shall not be debated or decided on the day of their being first read, unR

less where the House shall direct otherwise; but shall lie on the table, to be taken up in the order they were read. Any fifteen members (including the Speaker if there be one) shall be authorised to compel the attendance of absent members.

Upon calls of the House, or in taking the yeas and nays on any question, the names of the members shall be called alphabetically.

Any member may excuse himself from serving on any committee at the time of his appointment, if he is then a member of two other committees.

No member shall absent himself from the service of the House, unless he have leave, or be sick and unable to attend.

Upon a call of the House, the names of the members shall be called over by the clerk, and the absentees noted; after which, the names of the absentees shall again be called over, the doors shall then be shut, and those for whom no excuse, or insufficient excuses are made, may, by order of those present, if fifteen in number, be taken into custody as they appear, or may be sent for and taken into custody, wherever to be found, by special messengers to be appointed for that purpose.

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When a member shall be discharged from custody, and admitted to his seat, the House shall determine whether such discharge shall be with, or without paying fees and in like manner, whether a delinquent member, taken into custody by a special messenger, shall, or shall not, be liable to defray the expense of snch special messenger.

A sergeant at arms shall be appointed, to hold his office during the pleasure of the House, whose duty it shall be to attend the House during its sitting; to execute the com. mands of the House, from time to time, together with all such process issued by authority thereof, as shall be directed to him by the Speaker.

The fees of the sergeant at arms shall be, for every arrest, the sum of two dollars; for each day's custody and releasement, one dollar; and for travelling expenses of himself or a special messenger, going and returning, one tenth of a dollar per mile.