members making them, believe that they ought to appear on record for their own justification. In general, however, the great body of amendments made in committee are not offered in the house, upon a second reading.

When

A quorum in committee is the same as a quorum in the house. It sometimes happens in evening sessions, towards the time of adjournment, that when a bill is in committee, a quorum of members is not present. the chairman is notified of this fact, or by counting discovers the deficiency, he stops further proceedings, observing, "there is not a quorum present ;" and if the absent members do not appear, the committee rises, and the chairman reports the fact to the house. The Speaker immediately sends the sergeantat-arms in search of the absentees, and a quorum is usually obtained; if not, the house adjourns. If, however, in the morning or afternoon a quorum should not be present at the hour of meeting, the Speaker takes the chair, and sends officers of the house for the members, who immediately attend, and the business proceeds.

The yeas and nays can only be called in the House. Sometimes the secretary of the

commonwealth or the clerk of the Senate arrives at the bar to present messages, when the house is sitting in committee. In that case

the Speaker resumes the chair for a short time, and receives the messages. He then retires, and the chairman takes the chair and proceeds with the business before the committee.

Rule 29. All bills shall be introduced, upon the report of committees: standing committees may report by bill: select committees may report by bill, on leave of the house. Members asking leave to bring in a bill, shall give one day's notice, stating the object of the bill, and upon leave granted, a committee shall be appointed to prepare and bring in a bill accordingly.

The old Rule of allowing any member to read in his place, and by permission of the house to present to the chair, a bill, which was then to be proceeded in as if reported by a committee, was a very good one, and well calculated, particularly on the eve of the session, to free legislative proceedings from useless embarrassment. The 29th rule has been copied from the rules of the House of Representatives of the United States; but I feel

well assured, that experience will prove that the former one was most convenient for a state legislature. The Senate rule permitting members to read bills in their places, and on leave given to present them to the chair, to be proceeded on as if reported by a committec, remains unchanged.

Rule 31. Communications from the Senate to the house shall be read, and information shall be given to the Senate whenever any proposition coming from that body shall be concurred in.

When a bill is negatived by either house, it is not the practice for the clerks to inform the house in which it originated, that it has been rejected. The copy of the journal, furnished by the sergeant-at-arms of one house to the sergeant-at-arms of the other, by whom it is placed on the tables of the members, is considered a sufficient notification upon the subject.

Rule 32. When the names of the members shall be called, it shall be done in alphabetical order, except Mr. Speaker, who shall be called last.

By the 9th rule of the House of Representatives, adopted during the session of 1792,

it was directed, that "The Speaker's vote should only be taken when the votes were equal."

The 9th rule of the House of Representatives of the United States directs, that "In all cases of ballot by the house, the Speaker shall vote: in other cases he shall not vote, unless the house be equally divided, or unless his vote, if given to the minority, will make the division equal; and in case of such equal division, the question shall be lost." During the late session of Congress, "The Previous Question" having been called, the Speaker rose to count the votes, agreeably to the 35th rule, which requires a majority to sustain it, and found that the house was equally divided. In this instance the Speaker gave his vote, to second the motion for the call.

By the fourth section of the first article of the constitution, it is provided, that the Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote unless equally divided.

The reason why he is precluded from voting, unless in the case mentioned, is because he is not a Senator, and it would give the state from which he came a preference, by allowing it three votes. The present rule of

the House of Representatives of this state, is the proper one. It directs the Speaker to vote last. Where a county, as in the case of Greene, has but one member, and that member should be elected Speaker, as in the case of the Hon. Reese Hill, it would be gross injustice to the people of that county to prevent their representative from voting, by electing him to preside over the deliberations of the house.

Rule 37. On the call of a member for a bill or other subject, on the table of the house, the question shall be decided without debate.

This is a very beneficial rule, if the Speaker sets his face against all evasions, and impartially administers it. If a member is very anxious to get a bill before the house, he should, when the house is not in session, give the members his reasons for wishing it to be taken up. A whole day, if the rule is not strictly adhered to, may be wasted in discussing the propriety of taking up a bill; and perhaps after all this loss of time, the house may refuse to proceed to the consideration of it. This rule was devised to interrupt prefatory remarks, for if a discussion must be heard, it is most convenient to hear it on the