ments as are in amity with the United States, shalt be admitted within the hall of the House of Representatives.

15. Stenographers, wishing to take down the debates, may be admitted by the Speaker, who shall assign such places to them on the floor, or elsewhere, to effect their object, as shall not interfere with the convenience of the House.

16. No person shall be allowed the privilege of the hall, under the character of stenographer, without a written permission from the Speaker, specifying the part of the hall assigned to him; and no reporter or stenographer shall be admitted under the rules of the House, unless such reporter or stenographer shall state, in writing, for what paper or papers he is employed to report.-(March 1, 1838.)

17. The Doorkeeper shall execute strictly the 14th and 15th rules, relative to the privilege of the hall.(March 1, 1838.)

18. The Clerk of the House shall take an oath for the true and faithful discharge of the duties of his office, to the best of his knowledge and abilities.-(Rule April 13, 1789, and act June 1st, 1789.) He shall be deemed to continue in office until another be appointed. (March 1, 1791.*)

ORDER OF BUSINESS OF THE SESSION.

19. After six days from the commencement of a second or subsequent session of any Congress, all

* There is no law, resolution, rule, or order, directing the appoint. ment of the Clerk of the House. On the 1st April, 1789, being the first day that a quorum of the House assembled under the new consti. tution, the House immediately elected a Clerk by ballot, without a pre. vious order having been passed for that purpose; although in the case of the Speaker, who was chosen on the same day, an order was pre viously adopted. A Clerk has been regularly chosen at the commence ment of every Congress since.

bills, resolutions, and reports, which originated in the House, and at the close of the next preceding session remair ed undetermined, shall be resumed and acted on in the same manner as if an adjournment had not taken place.

ORDER OF BUSINESS OF THE DAY.

20. As soon as the Journal is read, the Speaker shall call for petitions from the members of each State, and delegates from each Territory, beginning with Maine and the Territory of Wiskonsin, alternately; and if, on any day, the whole of the States and Territories shall not be called, the Speaker shall begin on the next day where he left off the previous day; provided that, after the first thirty days of the session petitions shall not be received, except on the first day of the meeting of the House in each week.

21. No petition, memorial, resolution, or other paper praying the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, or any State or Territory, or the slave trade between the States or Territories of the United States, in which it now exists, shall be received by this House, or entertained in any way whatever.

22. The petitions having been presented and disposed of, reports from committees shall be called for and disposed of; in doing which, the Speaker shall call upon each standing committee in the order they are named in the 70th and 98th rules; and when all the standing committees have been called on, then it shall be the duty of the Speaker to call for reports from select committees; if the Speaker shall not get through the call upon the committees before the House passes to other business, he shall resume the next call where he left off. Resolutions shall then be called for in the same order, and disposed of by the same rules which apply to petitions: provided that no member shall offer more than one resolution, or one

series of resolutions, all relating to the same subject, until all the States and Territories shall have been called.

23. All the States and Territories shall be called for resolutions on each alternate Monday during each session of Congress; and, if necessary to secure this object on said days, all resolutions which shall give rise to debate shall lie over for discussion, under the rules of the House already established; and the whole of said days shall be appropriated to resolutions, until all the States and Territories are called through.(February 6, 1838.)

24. After one hour shall have been devoted to reports from committees, and resolutions, it shall be in order, pending the consideration or discussion thereof, to entertain a motion that the House do now proceed to dispose of the business on the Speaker's table, and to the orders of the day; which being decided in the affirmative, the Speaker shall dispose of the business on his table in the following order, viz: 1st. Messages and other Executive communications. 2d. Messages from the Senate, and amendments proposed by the Senate to bills of the House.

3d. Bills and resolutions from the Senate on thei. first and second reading, that they be referred to committees, and put under way; but if, on being 1.ad a second time, no motion be made to commit, they are to be ordered to their third reading, unles objection be made; in which case, if not otherwise ordered by a majority of the House, they arc to be laid on the table in the general file of bills on the Speaker's table, to be taken up in their turn. 4th. Engrossed bills, and bills from the Ser te on their third reading.

5th. Bills of the House and from the Senate, on the Speaker's table, on their engrossment, or on being ordered to a third reading, to be taken up and con

sidered in the order of time in which they passed to a second reading. The messages, communications, and bills, on his table having been disposed of, the Speaker shall then proceed to call the orders of the day.

25. The business specified in the two preceding rules shall be done at no other part of the day, except by permission of the House.

LOCAL OR PRIVATE BUSINESS.

26. Friday and Saturday in every week shall be set apart for the consideration of private bills and private business, in preference to any other, unless otherwise determined by a majority of the House.

27. On the first and fourth Friday of each month the calendar of private bills shall be called over, and the bills, to the passage of which no objection shall then be made, shall be first considered and disposed of.-(January 25, 1839.)

OF DECORUM AND DEBATE.

28. When any member is about to speak in debate, or deliver any matter to the House, he shall rise from his seat, and respectfully address himself to "Mr. Speaker," and shall confine himself to the question under debate, and avoid personality.

29. If any member, in speaking or otherwise, transgress the rules of the House, the Speaker shall, or any member may, call to order; in which case, the member so called to order shall immediately sit down, unless permitted to explain; and the House shall, if appealed to, decide on the case, but without debate: if there be no appeal, the decision of the chair shall be submitted to. If the decision be in favour of the member called to order, he shall be at liberty to proceed; if otherwise, he shall not be permitted to pro

ceed, in case any member object, without leave of the House; and, if the case require it, he shall be liable to the censure of the House.

30. If a member be called to order for words spoken in debate, the person calling him to order shall repeat the words excepted to, and they shall be taken down in writing at the clerk's table; and no member shall be held to answer, or be subject to the censure of the House, for words spoken in debate, if any member has spoken, or other business has intervened, after the words spoken, and before exception to them shall have been taken.

31. When two or more members happen to rise at once, the Speaker shall name the member who is first to speak.

32. No member shall speak more than once to the same question, without leave of the House, unless he be the mover, proposer, or introducer, of the matter pending; in which case he shall be permitted to speak in reply, but not until every member choosing to speak shall have spoken.

33. If a question depending be lost by adjournment of the House, and revived on the succeeding day, no member, who shall have spoken on the preceding day, shall be permitted again to speak without leave.

34. While the Speaker is putting any question, or addressing the House, none shall walk out of or across the House; nor, in such case, or when a member is speaking, shall entertain private discourse; nor, while a member is speaking, shall pass between him and the chair. Every member shall remain uncovered during the session of the House. No member or other person shall visit or remain by the clerk's table while the ayes and noes are calling, or ballots are counting.

35. No member shall vote on any question in the event of which he is immediately and particularly interested,