Art. IX.—Organization and Meetings
§ 46. An Occasional or Mass Meeting
(a) Organization
(b) Adoption of resolutions
(c) Committee on resolutions
(d) Additional Officers
§ 47. A Convention or Assembly of Delegates
§ 48. A Permanent Society
(a) First meeting
(b) Second meeting
§ 49. Constitutions, By-Laws, Rules of Order and Standing Rules
Art. X.—Officers and Committees
§ 50. President or Chairman
§ 51. Secretary, or Clerk, and the Minutes
§ 52. Treasurer
§ 53. Committees
Art. XI—Introduction of Business
§ 54. Introduction of Business
Art. XII.—Motions
§ 55. Motions classified according to their object
§ 56. To Amend or modify
(a) Amend
(b) Commit
§ 57. To Defer action
(a) Postpone to a certain time
(b) Lie on the table
§ 58. To Suppress Debate
(a) Previous Question
(b) An Order limiting or closing debate
§ 59. To Suppress the question
(a) Objection to its consideration
(b) Postpone indefinitely
(c) Lie on the table
§ 60. To Consider a question the second time
(a) Reconsider
§ 61. Order and Rules
(a) Orders of the day
(b) Special orders
(c) Suspension of the rules
(d) Questions of order
(e) Appeal
§ 62. Miscellaneous
(a) Reading of papers
(b) Withdrawal of a motion
(c) Questions of privilege
§ 63. To close a meeting
(a) Fix the time to which to adjourn
(b) Adjourn
§ 64. Order of Precedence of motions
Art. XIII.—Debate
§ 65. Rules of speaking in debate
§ 66. Undebatable questions and those that open the main question to debate
Art. XIV.—Miscellaneous
§ 67. Forms of stating and putting questions
§ 68. Motions requiring a two-thirds vote for their adoption
§ 69. Unfinished business
§ 70. Session
§ 71. Quorum
§ 72. Order of Business
§ 73. Amendment of Constitutions, By-Laws and Rules of Order
Legal Rights of Deliberative Assemblies
Table of Rules Relating to Motions
Index
INTRODUCTION.
Parliamentary Law.
Parliamentary Law refers originally to the customs and rules of
conducting business in the English Parliament; and thence to the customs
and rules of our own legislative assemblies. In England these customs
and usages of Parliament form a part of the unwritten law of the land,
and in our own legislative bodies they are of authority in all cases
where they do not conflict with existing rules or precedents.
But as a people we have not the respect which the English have for customs and
precedents, and are always ready for innovations which we think are
improvements, and hence changes have been and are being constantly made in the
written rules which our legislative bodies have found best to adopt. As each
house adopts its own rules, it results that the two houses of the same
legislature do not always agree in their practice; even in Congress the order
of precedence of motions is not the same in both houses, and the Previous
Question is admitted in the House of Representatives, but not in the Senate. As
a consequence of this, the exact method of conducting business in any
particular legislative body is to be obtained only from the Legislative Manual
of that body.
The vast number of societies, political, literary, scientific,
benevolent and religious, formed all over the land, though not
legislative, are still deliberative in their character, and must have
some system of conducting business, and some rules to govern their
proceedings, and are necessarily subject to the common parliamentary law
where it does not conflict with their own special rules. But as their
knowledge of parliamentary law has been obtained from the usages in this
country, rather than from the customs of Parliament, it has resulted
that these societies have followed the customs of our own legislative
bodies, and our people have thus been educated under a system of
parliamentary law which is peculiar to this country, and yet so well
established as to supersede the English parliamentary law as the common
law of ordinary deliberative assemblies.
The practice of the National House of Representatives should have the
same force in this country as the usages of the House of Commons have in
England, in determining the general principles of the common
parliamentary law of the land; but it does not follow that in every
matter of detail the rules of Congress can be appealed to as the common
law governing every deliberative assembly. In these matters of detail,
the rules of each House of Congress are adapted to their own peculiar
wants, and are of no force whatever in other assemblies.
But upon all great parliamentary questions, such as what motions can be
made, what is their order of precedence, which can be debated, what is
their effect, etc., the common law of the land is settled by the
practice of the U. S. House of Representatives, and not by that of the
English Parliament, the U. S. Senate, or any other body.
While in extreme cases there is no difficulty in deciding the question
as to whether the practice of Congress determines the common
parliamentary law, yet between these extremes there must necessarily be
a large number of doubtful cases upon which there would be great
difference of opinion, and to avoid the serious difficulties always
arising from a lack of definiteness in the law, every deliberative
assembly should imitate our legislative bodies in adopting Rules of
Order for the conduct of their business.* [Where the practice of
Congress differs from that of Parliament upon a material point, the
common law of this country follows the practice of Congress. Thus in
every American deliberative assembly having no rules for conducting
business, the motion to adjourn would be decided to be undebatable, as
in Congress, the English parliamentary law to the contrary
notwithstanding; so if the Previous Question were negatived, the debate
upon the subject would continue as in Congress, whereas in Parliament
the subject would be immediately dismissed; so too the Previous Question
could be moved when there was before the assembly a motion either to
amend, to commit, or to postpone definitely or indefinitely, just as in
Congress, notwithstanding that, according to English parliamentary law,
the Previous Question could not be moved under such circumstances.
When the rules of the two Houses of Congress conflict, the H. R. rules
are of greater authority than those of the Senate in determining the
parliamentary law of the country, just as the practice of the House of
Commons, and not the House of Lords, determines the parliamentary law of
England. For instance, though the Senate rules do not allow the motion
for the Previous Question, and make the motion to postpone indefinitely
take precedence of every other subsidiary motion [§ 7] except to lie on
the table, yet the parliamentary law of the land follows the practice of
the House of Representatives, in recognizing the Previous Question as a
legitimate motion, and assigning to the very lowest rank the motion to
postpone indefinitely. But in matters of detail, the rules of the House
of Representatives are adapted to the peculiar wants of that body, and
are of no authority in any other assembly. No one for instance would
accept the following H. R. rules as common parliamentary law in this
country: That the chairman, in case of disorderly conduct, would have
the power to order the galleries to be cleared; that the ballot could
not be used in electing the officers of an assembly; that any fifteen
members would be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members
and make them pay the expenses of the messengers sent after them; that
all committees not appointed by the Chair would have to be appointed by
ballot, and if the required number were not elected by a majority vote,
then a second ballot must be taken in which a plurality of votes would
prevail; that each member would be limited in debate upon any question,
to one hour; that a day’s notice must be given of the introduction of a
bill, and that before its passage it must be read three times, and that
without the special order of the assembly it cannot be read twice the
same day. These examples are sufficient to show the absurdity of the
idea that the rules of Congress in all things determine the common
parliamentary law.]
Plan of the Work.
This Manual is prepared to partially meet this want in deliberative assemblies
that are not legislative in their character. It has been made sufficiently
complete to answer for the rules of an assembly, until they see fit to adopt
special rules conflicting with and superseding any of its rules of detail, such
as the Order of Business [§ 44], etc. Even in matters of detail the practice of
Congress is followed, wherever it is not manifestly unsuited to ordinary
assemblies, and in such cases, in Part I, there will be found, in a foot note,
the Congressional practice. In the important matters referred to above, in
which the practice of the House of Representatives settles the common
parliamentary law of the country, this Manual strictly conforms to such
practice.* [On account of the party lines being so strictly drawn in Congress,
no such thing as harmony of action is possible, and it has been found best to
give a bare majority in the House of Representatives (but not in the Senate)
the power to take final action upon a question without allowing of any
discussion. In ordinary societies more regard should be paid to the rights of
the minority, and a two-thirds vote be required, as in this Manual [§ 39], for
sustaining an objection to the introduction of a question, or for adopting a
motion for the Previous Question, or for adopting an order closing or limiting
debate. In this respect the policy of the Pocket Manual is a mean between those
of the House and Senate. But some societies will doubtless find it advantageous
to follow the practice of the H. R., and others will prefer that of the Senate.
It requires a majority, according to the Pocket Manual, to order the yeas and
nays, which is doubtless best in the majority of assemblies; but in all bodies
in which the members are responsible to their constituents, a much smaller
number should have this power. In Congress it requires but a one-fifth vote,
and in some bodies a single member can require a vote to be taken by yeas and
nays. Any society adopting this Manual, should make its rules govern them in
all cases to which they are applicable, and in which they are not inconsistent
with the By-Laws and Rules of Order of the society. Their own rules should
include all of the cases where it is desirable to vary from the rules in the
Manual, and especially should provide for a Quorum [§ 43], and an Order of
Business [§ 44], as suggested in these rules.]
The Manual is divided into two distinct parts, each complete in itself.
[The table at the end contains a large amount of information in a
tabular form, for easy reference in the midst of the business of a
meeting.]