Index to Decisions of the Joint Assembly. ADJOURN, motion to, supersede motion to take a recess,.... ORDER of business fixed by Joint Assembly, only to be changed by....... reccived and read, President cannot exclude it, right of, when pertinent to the business before Joint Assembly. voting for Senator is not restricted to names of persons nominated, YEAS AND NAYS ordered by call of two members, PAGE. 531 530 530 531 530 530 530 531 530 529 529 530 Decisions on Points of Order Raised in Joint Assembly-Session of 1881. I. On the question, “Can votes cast for a person who has not been nominated in either House, and whose name has therefore not been communicated from one House to another not less than two days prior to the meeting of the joint Assembly, as required by the act of Congress, and of the General Assembly of this State, be received andcounted?” The President decided: That the provisions of the act of 1867, regulating the manner of electing Senators, provides among other things, that each House shall nominate at least one person-the restriction being at least one person-and that the name of the person or persons nominated, shall be communicated from each House to the other, at least two days before the time of electing. In the opinion of the Chair, the purpose of that requirement is that each House may, if possible, take concurrent action, that the Senate may know the name of the persons that the Heuse will probably vote for, and that the House may know the name of the persons for whom the Senate will probably vote, and if possible, as is contemplated by law, that the two Houses may take concurrent action in an election by each House separately. In the event of a failure to do that, the duty then devolves upon a joint Assembly of the two Houses. If the same person shall not have received a majority of all the votes cast in each House, or if either House shall have failed to take the steps required by this act, then the joint Assembly shall proceed to elect, and in so doing it is not restricted to the names of the persons nominated. In the opinion of the Chair, the failure to make any nomination-the provisions of the first section being directory-would not prevent the joint Assembly when assembled, from taking any action or electing any person that the majority thereof may agree upon. The second section evidently contemplates a possible failure to perform the duties required by the first section. These two bodies being now in joint Assembly, in the absence of any constitutional restriction or any more positive requirement of law fixing the qualifications of Senators, the Chair does not feel justified in refusing to receive a vote cast for any gentleman in this Commonwealth who answers the requirements provided for by H R the Constitution, consequently the Chair will direct such votes to be counted, unless the joint Assembly take different action.—Journal of Senate, 1881, p. 179. II. On the question, "That this joint Assembly, not being governed by any rules, except those governing conventions in general, the yeas and nays cannot be called for by any certain number of members, but must be ordered as any other order is made, by a majority vote of the convention:" The President decided: That the Chair is obliged to recognize the concurrent interpretation of parliamentary law, as evidenced by the custom of both Houses. Where a joint Assembly is formed of two bodies whose practice is concurrent respecting any particular question, the Chair is disposed to think it binding upon such assembly, and that in this case the fixed custom of bǝth Houses, based on constitutional requirements, to order the yeas and nays upon the call of two members, is binding, and the Chair will be bliged to recognize that custom in this instance.—Journal of Senate, 1881, p. 180. III. The President decided that until the provision of the law has been complied with, which prescribes "that the joint Assembly shall meet, and take at least one ballot each day," nothing else is in order. When that provision has been complied with, the Chair is disposed to hold, that anything strictly appertaining to the business of the joint Assembly is in order. The fixing of an afternoon session for the express purpose of balloting, in the opinion of the Chair, does strictly appertain to the proper business of this joint Assembly, and is in accordance with precedent in other States, under the same or similar laws, and the Chair cannot refuse to entertain the resolution offered. -Journal of Senate, 1881, p. 261. IV. The President ruled that the right of petition being a constitutional right, and one which is very carefully guarded, and the choice of United States Senator having passed beyond the control of either House, or of the two Houses concurrently, the petition being pertinent to the business before the joint Assembly, would be received and read.—Journal of Senate, 1881, p. 277. V. The President ruled that the petition having been received, read, and laid upon the table, it has passed beyond the power of the President to exclude it, and the point of order was raised to late.—Journal of Senate, 1881, p. 278. VI. The President decided the question of privilege should have been raised as a point of order at the time the petition was presented, and does not now involve any question of privilege, the paper being directed to the honorable members of the Senate and House of Representatives, embracing all and not any particular class.-Journal of Senate, 1881, p. 293. VII. The President decided that a motion to take a recess, being subject to amendment and debate, was, according to all parliamentary law, superseded by a motion to adjourn, otherwise the joint Assembly might be kept in session indefinitely, against its own wish.Journal of Senate, 1881, p. 361. VIII. The President ruled that the order of business being fixed by a majority of the joint Assembly, it is competent for the joint Assembly to change said order.—Journal of Senate, 1881, p. 424. SEN |