ber is speaking, shall pass between him and the chair. Every member shall remain uncovered while the body is in session. No member, or other person, shall visit or remain near the secretary's table while the ayes and noes are being called, or the ballots counted.

15. No one is to disturb another in his speech by hissing, coughing, spitting, or rude exclamations; nor stand up to interrupt him; nor pass between the chair and the speaking member, nor go across the house while he is speaking; nor walk up and down the floor; nor take books or papers from the table, or write there. Nevertheless, if no attention is paid to what the member says, it is a piece of prudence for him to sit down, as the illmanners of his colleagues are prima facie evidence that he is saying nothing worth the hearing.

16. If repeated calls do not produce order, the chair may call any member by name who obstinately persists in irregularity, whereupon the main body may require the member to sit down. He must be heard in exculpation, if it is intended to proceed further, and then withdraw to await the further action of his colleagues, who may pass a vote of censure upon him; or, if he persist, may act in his case in the manner prescribed in the bylaws of the body.

17. Disorderly words are not to be noted until the member finishes his speech, unless they are manifestly personal, indecent, blasphemous, or reflecting upon the house. The offensive words are to be taken down by the member who objects, or by the secretary, at his request. If the chair thinks they are not disorderly, he directs them not to be taken down by the secretary, unless there be a general cry to the contrary. They are to be read, when taken down, to the member, who may deny them ;

RULES OF ORDER.

in which case the body shall decide by vote whether they are his or not. If they are voted to be his, or if he acknowledge them, he must justify them satisfactorily, explain the use of them, or apologize. If the offended member still persists, and is not satisfied, the sense of the body may be taken, during which both members must withdraw. But when business has intervened, or any member spoken after the offensive words, they cannot be taken down.

18. Disorderly words spoken in committee must be written down, as in the main body; but the committee can only report them to the latter for its action.

19. Blasphemous or seditious words, or words reflecting on the religious belief of members, or on religion generally, are not in order.

20. No member can be present when any thing which concerns himself is debating, much less to vote upon it; nor is any member to speak to the merit of it until he withdraws. Nevertheless, he may be heard upon it, before he withdraws.

21. No member is to come into the place of meeting, or remain there with his head covered, nor put on his hat while there.

22. A question of order may be adjourned for a time, to look into precedents.

23. When a member is called to order, he shall sit down at once, unless permitted to explain. If the body be appealed to, it shall decide the question 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, he shall be allowed to proceed; if against him, he shall not proceed without the leave of the body; and the body may, if it think proper, proceed to censure him.

24. All decisions of the presiding officer are liable to be reversed, altered, or amended by the body.

XXX. Adjourninents and Recesses.

An adjournment is the closing of a session for the day, to be resumed on another day; on which day the regular routine of business is commenced anew, except when superseded by a special order.

A recess is a suspension of business from one hour of a day to another hour of the same day; at which hour business is taken up at the point where it was left, unless a special order takes its place.

A motion to adjourn cannot be amended, by adding the day and hour. It must be put simply that this body do now adjourn; and, if carried in the affirmative, it is adjourned to the next sitting day, or without day, as the case may be. But any special time of adjournment may be fixed by a previous resolution.

If a question be put for adjournment, it is no adjournment till so pronounced by the chair. And it is a breach of courtesy for a member to leave his place until the chair has pronounced on the question of adjourn

ment.

XXXI. Suspension of Rules.

By unanimous consent any rule of order may be suspended in part or whole; but the object of suspending the rule must be stated in the motion, and when that object has failed or been attained, the rule regains its former force.

XXXII. Force of Words.

Throughout these rules, whenever the word "body" or "main body" has been used, it means the society, club, association, or other organized body to which the rules are made to apply.

XXXIII. Tie-Vote.

When, after a call of the roll, the votes result in a tie, the presiding officer has the privilege of giving the casting-vote, if he sees fit to do so; and he is also permitted to explain his reasons for so voting.

This is equivalent, in questions which are to be decided by a mere plurality, to giving the chairman the power to decide the question according to his own judgment.

According to some authorities, the casting-vote is not a matter of option, but a duty on the part of the chairman. This, however, does not appear to make any practical difference; for, if the presiding officer desires the motion to prevail, his affirmative vote carries it; if he is not personally in favor of the motion, the effect is the same whether he votes in the negative or does not vote at all, it is in either case lost for want of a plurality.

Excepting in the case of a tie, the presiding officer is debarred from voting under any circumstances.

PART V I.

OF WRITTEN BUSINESS.

BESIDES the usual records of deliberative or organized bodies, there are other matters of public business which require to be written. And as these are chiefly the formal opinions of parties, or the results of specific investigation, a particular attention to form is necessary. The principal matters to be committed to writing are resolutions and reports.

I. Of Resolutions.

A written resolution is the formal record of opinion upon one or more subjects, expressed by a body of men. As in almost every species of written composition, the language should be simple, terse, and forcible. A very frequent fault of resolutions is their wordings.

A resolution may or may not be prefaced by a preamble. If it be so constructed, the preamble should set forth briefly the cause of the resolution which is to folThis preamble is usually commenced with the word 66 Whereas."

low.

After this comes the resolution, or resolutions-which commence with the word "Resolved."

A good resolution-one that is pithy and forcible-requires some care in its composition. Unless the writer be a very experienced one, he had better avoid all figures