OF THE QUESTION.
233. When any proposition is made to a deliberative assembly, it is
called a _motion_; when it is stated or propounded to the assembly,
for their acceptance or rejection, it is denominated a _question_;
and, when adopted, it becomes the _order_, _resolution_, or _vote_, of
the assembly.
234. All the proceedings, which have thus far been considered, have
only had for their object to bring a proposition into a form to be put
to the question; that is, to be adopted as the sense, will, or
judgment, of the assembly, or to be rejected; according as such
proposition may be found to unite in its favor, or to fail of uniting
a majority of the members.
235. When any proposition, whether principal, subsidiary, or
incidental, or of whatever nature it may be, is made, seconded, and
stated, if no alteration is proposed,—or if it admits of none, or if
it is amended,—and the debate upon it, if any, appears to be brought
to a close, the presiding officer then inquires, whether the assembly
is ready for the question? and, if no person rises, the question is
then stated, and the votes of the assembly taken upon it.
236. The question is not always stated to the assembly, in the precise
form in which it arises or is introduced; thus, for example, when a
member presents a petition, or the chairman of a committee offers a
report, the question which arises, if no motion is made, is, _Shall
the petition or the report be received?_ and, so, when the previous
question is moved, it is stated in this form, _Shall the main question
be now put?_—the question being stated, in all cases, in the form in
which it will appear on the journal, if it passes in the affirmative.
237. In matters of trifling importance, or which are generally of
course, such as receiving petitions and reports, withdrawing motions,
reading papers, etc., the presiding officer most commonly supposes or
takes for granted the consent of the assembly, where no objection is
expressed, and does not go through the formality of taking the
question by a vote. But if, after a vote has been taken in this
informal way and declared, any member rises to object, the presiding
officer should consider every thing that has passed as nothing, and,
at once, go back and pursue the regular course of proceeding. Thus, if
a petition is received, without a question, and the clerk is
proceeding to read it, in the usual order of business, if any one
rises to object, it will be the safest and most proper course, for the
presiding officer to require a motion for receiving it to be regularly
made and seconded.
238. The question being stated by the presiding officer, he first puts
it in the affirmative, namely: _As many as are of opinion
that_—repeating the words of the question,—_say aye_; and,
immediately, all the members who are of that opinion answer _aye_; the
presiding officer then puts the question negatively: _As many as are
of a different opinion say no_; and, thereupon, all the members who
are of that opinion answer _no_. The presiding officer judges by his
ear which side has “the more voices,” and decides accordingly, that
_the ayes have it_, or _the noes have it_, as the case may be. If the
presiding officer is doubtful as to the majority of voices, he may put
the question a second time, and if he is still unable to decide, or,
if, having decided according to his judgment, any member rises and
declares that he believes the _ayes_ or the _noes_ (whichever it may
be) _have it_, contrary to the declaration of the presiding
officer,[34] then the presiding officer directs the assembly to
divide, in order that the members on the one side and the other may be
counted.
239. If, however, any new motion should be made, after the presiding
officer’s declaration, or, if a member, who was not in the
assembly-room when the question was taken, should come in, it will
then be too late to contradict the presiding officer, and have the
assembly divided.
240. The above is the parliamentary form of taking a question, and is
in general use in this country; but, in some of our legislative
assemblies, and especially in those of the New England states, the
suffrages are given by the members holding up their right hands, first
those in the affirmative, and then those in the negative, of the
question. If the presiding officer cannot determine, by the show of
hands, which side has the majority, he may call upon the members to
vote again, and if he is still in doubt, or if his declaration is
questioned, a division takes place. When the question is taken in this
manner, the presiding officer directs the members, first on the
affirmative side, and then on the negative, to manifest their opinion
by holding up the right hand.
241. When a division of the assembly takes place, the presiding
officer sometimes directs the members to range themselves on different
sides of the assembly-room, and either counts them himself, or they
are counted by tellers appointed by him for the purpose, or by
monitors permanently appointed for that and other purposes; or the
members rise in their seats, first on the affirmative and then on the
negative, and (standing uncovered) are counted in the same manner.
When the members are counted by the presiding officer, he announces
the numbers and declares the result. When they are counted by tellers
or monitors, the tellers must first agree among themselves, and then
the one who has told for the majority reports the numbers to the
presiding officer, who, thereupon, declares the result.
242. The best mode of dividing an assembly, that is at all numerous,
is for the presiding officer to appoint tellers for each division or
section of the assembly-room, and then to require the members, first
those in the affirmative, and then those in the negative, to rise,
stand uncovered, and be counted; this being done, on each side, the
tellers of the several divisions make their returns, and the presiding
officer declares the result.
243. If the members are equally divided, the presiding officer may, if
he pleases, give the casting vote; or, if he chooses, he may refrain
from voting, in which case, the motion does not prevail, and the
decision is in the negative.
244. It is a general rule, that every member, who is in the
assembly-room at the time when the question is stated, has not only
the right but is bound to vote; and, on the other hand, that no member
can vote, who was not in the room at that time.
245. The only other form of taking the question, which requires to be
described, is one in general use in this country, by means of which
the names of the members voting on the one side and on the other are
ascertained and entered in the journal of the assembly. This mode,
which is peculiar to the legislative bodies of the United States, is
called taking the questions by yeas and nays. In order to take a
question in this manner, it is stated on both sides at once, namely:
_As many as are or opinion, that, etc., will when their names are
called, answer yes_; and _As many as are of a different opinion will,
when their names are called, answer no_; the roll of the assembly is
then called over by the clerk, and each member, as his name is called,
rises in his place, and answers _yes_ or _no_, and the clerk notes the
answer as the roll is called. When the roll has been gone through the
clerk reads over first the names of those who have answered in the
affirmative and then the names of those who have answered in the
negative, in order that if he has made any mistake in noting the
answer, or if any member has made a mistake in his answer, the mistake
of either may be corrected. The names having been thus read over, and
the mistakes, if any, corrected, the clerk counts the numbers on each
side, and reports them to the presiding officer, who declares the
result to the assembly.
246. The following is the mode practised in the house of
representatives of Massachusetts, (which is by far the most numerous
of all the legislative bodies in this country,) of taking a question
by yeas and nays. The names of the members being printed on a sheet,
the clerk calls them in their order; and as each one answers, the
clerk (responding to the member, at the same time) places a figure in
pencil, expressing the number of the answer, at the left or right of
the name, according as the answer is yes or no; so that the last
figure or number, on each side, shows the number of the answers on
that side; and the two last numbers or figures represent the
respective numbers of the affirmatives and negatives on the division.
Thus, at the left hand of the name of the member who first answers
_yes_, the clerk places a figure 1; at the right hand of the first
member who answers _no_, he also places a figure 1; the second member
that answers _yes_ is marked 2; and so on to the end of the list; the
side of the name, on which the figure is placed, denoting whether the
answer is _yes_ or _no_, and the figure denoting the number of the
answer on that side. The affirmatives and negatives are then read
separately, if necessary, though this is usually omitted, and the
clerk is then prepared, by means of the last figure on each side, to
give the numbers to the speaker to be announced to the house. The
names and answers are afterwards recorded on the journal.
247. In any of the modes of taking a question, in which it is first
put on one side, and then on the other, it is no full question, until
the negative as well as the affirmative has been put. Consequently,
until the negative has been put, it is in order for any member, in the
same manner as if the division had not commenced, to rise and speak,
make motions for amendment, or otherwise, and thus renew the debate;
and this, whether such member was in the assembly-room or not, when
the question was put and partly taken. In such a case, the question
must be put over again on the affirmative as well as the negative
side; for the reason, that members who were not in the assembly-room,
when the question was first put, may have since come in, and also that
some of those who voted, may have since changed their minds. When a
question is taken by yeas and nays, and the negative as well as the
affirmative of the question is stated, and the voting on each side
begins and proceeds at the same time, the question cannot be opened
and the debate renewed, after the voting has commenced.
248. If any question arises, in a point of order, as, for example, as
to the right or the duty of a member to vote, during a division, the
presiding officer must decide it peremptorily, subject to the revision
and correction of the assembly, after the division is over. In a case
of this kind, there can be no debate, though the presiding officer may
if he pleases receive the assistance of members with their advice,
which they are to give sitting, in order to avoid even the appearance
of a debate; but this can only be with the leave of the presiding
officer, as otherwise the division might be prolonged to an
inconvenient length; nor can any question be taken, for otherwise
there might be division upon division without end.
249. When, from counting the assembly on a division, it appears that
there is not a quorum present, there is no decision; but the matter in
question continues in the same state, in which it was before the
division; and, when afterwards resumed, whether on the same or on some
future day, it must be taken up at that precise point.
34. The most common expression is: “I doubt the vote,” or, “that vote
is doubted.”