HOW LIMITED.

Debate on a proposition pending in the House can regularly be closed only by ordering the previons question.-Journal, 2, 47, p. 564.

A motion to close debate in the House on a particular section of a bill was by a vote of the House decided to be in order.— Journal, 2, 48, p. 127. [This decision is an exception to the established practice under which the only method of closing debate in the House is by ordering the previous question, by a special order of the House, or by unanimous consent.]

General debate on a proposition pending in Committee of the Whole may, pursuant to Rule XXIII, clause 5, be closed by order of the House, the motion therefor being made pending the motion to resolve into committee. (See Committee of the Whole, proceedings in.)

When general debate is closed by order of the House, any Member shall be allowed five minutes to explain any amendment he may offer, after which the Member who shall first obtain the floor'shall be allowed to speak five minutes in opposition to it, and there shall be no further debate thereon; but the same privilege of debate shall be allowed in favor of and against any amendment that may be offered to an amendment; and neither an amendment nor an amendment to an amendment shall be withdrawn by the mover thereof unless by the unanimous consent of the committee.-Rule XXIII, clause 5.

The House or the Committee (of the Whole) may, by the vote of a majoirty of the Members present, at any time after the five minutes' debate has begun upon proposed amendments to any section or paragraph to a bill, close all debate upon such section or paragraph, or, at its election, upon the pending amendments only (which motion shall be decided without debate); but this shall not preclude further amendment to be decided without debate.-Rule XXIII, clause 6.

Bills other than general appropriation bills are usually considered by sections, and a motion to close debate on a whole section, which contained numerous paragraphs relating to dif ferent subjects, has been held to be in order. (See decision respecting River and Harbor bili, Congressional Record, 2, 48, p.

It is not in order for the House to limit general debate on part of a bill pending in Committee of the Whole.-Journal, 1, 50, p. 2507.

DELEGATES.

Every Territory shall have the right to send a Delegate to the House of Representatives of the United States, to serve during each Congress, who shall be elected by the voters in the Territory, qualified to elect members of the legislative assembly thereof. The person having the greatest number of votes shall be declared by the governor duly elected, and a certifi cate shall be given accordingly. Every such Delegate shall have a seat in the House of Representatives, with the right of debating, but not of voting.-R. S., sec. 1862.

The first election of a Delegate in any Territory for which a temporary government is hereafter provided by Congress shall be held at the time and places and in the manner the governor of such Territory may direct, after at least sixty days' notice, to be given by proclamation; but at all subsequent elections therein, as well as at all elections for a Delegate in organized. Territories, such time, places, and manner of holding the election shall be prescribed by the law of each Territory.-R. S., sec. 1863.

The Speaker shall appoint from among the Delegates one additional member on each of the following committees, viz: Coinage, Weights, and Measures; Agriculture; Military Affairs; Post-Office and Post-Roads; Public Lands; Indian Affairs; Private Land Claims; and Mines and Mining; and two on the Committee on the Territories; and they shall possess in their respective committees the same powers and privileges as in the House, and may make any motion except to reconsider.— Rule XII.

In the organization of the House, the names of Delegates are called over after those of Members, and before taking their seats the same oath or affirmation is administered as in the case of Members. (See Members.)

The right of a Delegate to submit a resolution is recognized by Rule XII, and it is also competent for him to submit any motion which a Member may make, except the motion to reconsider, which is dependent upon the right to vote.-Journals, 2, 30, p. 503; 1, 31, p. 1280.

Not having the right to vote, a Delegate has no right to object to the consideration of a measure, such objection being equivalent to a vote. (See decision of Speaker Colfax, Globe, 1, 39, p. 3007, and decisions of Speaker Carlisle to the same effect.)

DILATORY MOTIONS.

Pending a motion to suspend the rules, the Speaker may entertain one motion that the House do now adjourn; but after the result thereon is announced he shall not entertain any other dilatory motion till the vote is taken on suspension.— Rule XVI, clause 8.

It shall always be in order to call up for consideration a report from the Committee on Rules, and pending the consideration the Speaker may entertain one motion that the House adjourn; but after the result is announced, he shall not entertain any other dilatory motion until the said report shall have been fully disposed of.-Rule XI, clause 57.

Motions which might be designated as dilatory under Rule XVI, clause 8, and Rule XI, clause 57, are: to fix the day to which the House shall adjourn; to adjourn; for a recess; to postpone to a day certain; and, perhaps, the motion to postpone indefinitely. Whether other parliamentary motions, indirectly tending to delay, should be considered dilatory and inhibited by these rules, may be regarded as an open question.

In the Forty-seventh Congress, pending the consideration of a proposition to amend the rules so as to cut off dilatory motions during the consideration of election cases, the Speaker refused to entertain motious to fix the day to which the House should adjourn and other motions of a dilatory character, and thus brought the House to a vote on the proposed new rule.Journal, 1, 47, p. 1362; Congressional Record, 1, 47, pp. 4305–

4325.

When a special order provides that at a certain hour and day the previous question shall be ordered and the vote shall then be taken on amendments and on the passage of the bill, one motion to adjourn and one motion for a recess may nevertheless be entertained consistently with the special order.— Journal, 2, 50, pp. 321, 394.

The right to move that a Member be excused from voting does not apply to votes on motions to adjourn, to fix the day, or for

a call of the House, since the exercise of the power of the House might be absolutely defeated by repetitions of the motion to excuse.--Congressional Record, 1, 50, pp. 2710, 2711.

In the Fifty-first Congress, before the adoption of rules, and pending the consideration of a contested election case, the Speaker refused to entertain a motion to adjourn. An appeal from this decision was laid on the table by a vote of yeas 163, nays 0, the names of members present and not voting being entered in the Journal to complete the quorum.-Journal, 1, 51, p. 181. A rule afterwards adopted by the House in the Fiftyfirst Congress provided that no dilatory motion should be entertained by the Speaker.

In the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses it was held that a motion for a recess was not in order pending the consideration of a report from the Committee on Rules.-Journal, 1, 52, p. 126; 1, 53, p. 96; also that a motion to lay such report on the table was not in order.-Journal, 1, 53, p. 96.

DISCRDER.

(See Order.)

Each House may punish its Members for disorderly behavior.-Const., 1, 5, 5.

The Speaker (or chairman of the Committee of the Whole House) shall preserve order and decorum, and in case of any disturbance or disorderly conduct in the galleries or lobby, shall have power to order the same to be cleared.-Rule I, clause 2, and Rule XXIII, clause 1.

Pending the election of a Speaker the Clerk shall preserve order and decorum, and shall decide all questions of order that may arise, subject to appeal by any Member.-Rule III,

clause 1.

The Sergeant-at-Arms shall aid in the enforcement of order under the direction of the Speaker and chairman of the Committee of the Whole, and pending the election of a Speaker, or Speaker pro tempore, under the direction of the Clerk.-Rule IV, clause 1.

If any Member, in speaking or otherwise, transgress the rules of the House, the Speaker shall, or any Member may, call

him to order; in which case he shall immediately sit down, unless permitted, on motion of another Member, to explain, and the House shall, if appealed to, decide on the case, without debate; if the decision is in favor of the Member called to order, he shall be at liberty to proceed, but not otherwise; and, if the case require it, he shall be liable to censure or such punishment as the House may deem proper.-Rule XIV, clause 4.

When in the course of debate words are taken down as being in violation of the rules, the motion first in order is— that the Member who has spoken them be permitted to explain; after which explanation a motion is in order that he be permitted to proceed in the debate.-Journal, 2, 53, p. 132.

A Member being called to order, in Committee of the Whole, for transgressing the rules as to debate, and refusing to take his seat when directed so to do by the Chair, the chairman announced that the committee would rise that the House might enforce its rules. The Member then taking his seat the committee continued in session. The committee thereupon the question being put, refused to permit him to proceed.-Congressional Record, 1, 52, p. 4690.

While the Speaker is putting a question or addressing the House no Member shall walk out of or across the hall, nor, when a Member is speaking, pass between him and the Chair; and during the session of the House no Member shall wear his hat, or remain by the Clerk's desk during the call of the roll or the counting of ballots, or smoke upon the floor of the House; neither shall any other person be allowed to smoke on the floor of the House at any time, and the Sergeant-at-Arms and Doorkeeper are charged with the strict enforcement of this clause.-Clause 7, Rule XIV.

Disorderly words spoken in a committee must be written down as in the House, but the committee can only report them to the House for animadversion.-Manual, p. 132.

A committee can not punish a breach of order in committee. It can only rise and report it to the House, who may proceed to punish.-Manual, p. 132; Journal, 1, 28, p. 816.

In case of great heat and confusion arising in committee, the Speaker may take the chair and bring the House to order.