78 others, praying for legislative action in promotion of the improvement of Common School education.

Which was referred to the Committee on Education.

On motion of Mr. Noyes,

The Senate adjourned.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11,

1845:

Prayer by the Chaplain.

On motion of Mr. J. Barrett,

The reading of the journal of yesterday was dispensed with.

Mr. J. Barrett, from the select Committee on Rules, reported the fol lowing resolution, which was read and passed:

Resolved, That the Rules of the Senate of the last, be adopted as the Rules of the present session, as follows:

1. The credentials of Senators shall be presented to the Secretary or Assistant Secretary, previous to nine o'clock in the morning of the second Thursday of October, at which time the Senate shall be called to order. The names of the Senators shall be called over, and when a quorum shall have taken their seats, they shall, having first taken the necessary oaths, on nomination of the President, appoint a canvassing committee, consisting of one Senator from each county, to join such committee as the House of Representatives may appoint, whose duty shall be to receive, sort, and count, the votes for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Treasurer, and make report thereof to the joint assembly of both houses.

2. The Senate shall meet every day (Sundays excepted) at nine o'clock in the morning, and two o'clock in the afternoon, unless otherwise specially ordered.

3. The President having taken the chair, and a quorum being present, the journal of the preceding day shall be read, and all errors therein corrected.

4. In case no quorum shall assemble within fifteen minutes after the time to which the Senate was adjourned, those present shall have power to send the Sergeant-at-Arms, or other officer, after the absentees, and compel their attendance.

5. Whenever the Senate shall assemble, according 10 adjournment, or at the commencement of a session, and the President shall be absent, it shall be the duty of the Secretary, if present, if not, of a Senator, to call to order; and the Senators present, if a quorum, shall, by ballot, elect a President pro tempore.

6. No Senator shall be absent without leave, unless he is sick, or otherwise necessarily detained.

7. No Senator shall audibly speak to another, or otherwise interrupt the business of the Senate, while the journals or other public papers are being read, or while a Senator is orderly speaking in debate.

8. Every Senator, when he speaks, shall, standing in his place, address the President, and when he has finished shall sit down.

9. No member shall speak more than twice on the same question, without leave of the Senate; and Senators who have once spoken shall not again be entitled to the floor (except for the purpose of explanation), to the exclusion of another who has not spoken.

10. In all cases, the Senator first rising and addressing the President (subject to the restriction of rule 9), shall be entitled to the floor, and when two or more arise at the same time, the President shall name the one who is to speak.

11. When a Senator shall be called to order, he shall sit down, and every question of order shall be decided by the President without debate, subject to an appeal to the Senate.

12. If a Senator be called to order for the words spoken, the exceptional words shall be immediately taken down in writing by the Senator calling to order, that the President may be better enabled to judge of the matter.

13. The first hour of each morning's sitting may be devoted to the reception and disposal of petitions, memorials, remonstrances, motions, resolutions, and the introduction of bills; after which, the orders of the day, or other proper business, shall be announced, always commencing with the unfinished business of the last sitting. The first hour of the afternoon's sitting may be occupied in the receiving and disposing of reports of committees, and in completing the business of the morning hour; at the expiration of which, the Senate will again take up the orders of the day.

14. Reports of committees may be signed by any member in behalf of the committee, and shall be by him presented to the State, when a call for reports is made. The signer of each report shall be held reponsible for the accuracy of its statements, and the propriety of its language, and when the same shall be under cousideration, he shall be further liable to give additional statements of facts, or other explanations, in answer to the call of any Senator.

15. The proceedings of the Senate, except when acting as in Committee of the Whole, embracing the titles of bills, and such parts thereof as may be affected by proposed amendments, and also the names of Senators, and the votes which they give on every question decided by yeas and nays, shall be by the Secretary accurately and concisely inserted in the journals.

16. The Senate shall, annually, within the first four days of actual sitting, elect by ballot, (and a majority of all present shall be necessary to a choice,) a Secretary, and an Assistant Secretary, who shall be ca officio Engrossing Clerk, who shall be severally sworn to the faithful discharge of their duties, and shall hold said offices until superseded by a new election. The Senate shall also, within the same time, elect the following Standing Committees, to consist of three members each, to wit: On Finance, on the Judiciary,—on Claims,-on Education,—on Agriculture,-on Manufactures,-on Elections,-on Military Affairs,-on Roads,-on Banks, and on Land Taxes.

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17. In the appointment of Standing Committees, (except the one

mentioned in rule 1,) the Senate will proceed by ballot, severally to appoint the chairman of each, and then by one ballot, the other members necessary to complete the same. In the election of a chairman, a majority of the votes given shall be necessary, but for the others a plurality shall be sufficient. All select committees shall be appointed by the President, unless otherwise ordered by the Senate.

18. All bills, after the second reading, and all petitions, memorials, remonstrances, resolutions, and other papers calling for legislative action (except such as have been reported by a committee), no objection being made, shall be referred by the President to appropriate committees.

19. Before any resolution, any petition, or other paper shall be read, whether the same shall be introduced by the President or a Senator, the title shall be fairly endorsed thereon; and a brief statement of its object or contents shall be made by the introducer.

20. Every motion shall be reduced to writing by the mover, if required thereto by the President or a Senator, and a motion to lay another motion, the latter not being in writing, on the table, or otherwise to dispose of it, shall not be in order.

21. Every bill shall receive three readings before it is passed: the President shall give notice at each reading whether it be the first, second, or third; the last of which readings of public bills shall be at least twenty-four hours after the first reading, unless the Senate unanimously direct otherwise. Provided, That private bills shall be read the second time by their title. Resolutions requiring the approbation and signature of the Governor, shall be treated in all respects as bills.

22. On the demand of a Senator, public bills, after a second reading, shall be considered by the Senate as in Committee of the Whole.

23. The final question, upon the second reading of every bill which originated in the Senate, shall be "Shall this bill be engrossed and read the third time?" No amendment shall be received at the third reading, but it may be committed for amendment at any time before its final passage.

24. Motions on bills and resolutions shall be sustained in the following order: 1. To postpone indefinitely. 2. To lay upon the table. 3. To commit. 4. To amend.

25. A call for the previous question shall not at any time be in order. A motion to adjourn shall always be in order, and shall be decided without debate.

26. If the question in debate contain several points, the same shall be divided on the demand of a Senator. A motion to strike out and insert shall not be divided, but the rejection of a motion to strike out and insert one proposition, shall not preclude a motion to strike out and insert a different one, or a motion simply to strike out; nor shall the rejection of a motion simply to strike out, prevent a subsequent one to strike out and insert.

27. In filling blanks the largest sum and the longest time shall be first in order.

28. When the reading of a paper is called for, and the same is objected to by a Senator, the question shall be determined by a vote of

the Senate.

29. The yeas and nays shall be taken, on the call of a Senator, and every Senator present shall vote, unless excused by the Senate; but no Senator shall be compelled to vote, who was absent when the ques

tion was stated by the President, nor shall any one be permitted to vote, who was absent when his name was called, nor after the decision of the question has been announced from the Chair.

30. No Senator in the minority, nor one who did not vote on the decision of a question, shall have a right to move a reconsideration thereof; nor shall any motion for reconsideration be in order, unless made before the close of the next day of actual sitting of the Senate after that in which the vote was taken, and before the bill, resolution, report, ameudment, address, or motion, upon which the vote was taken, shall in the regular progress of business, have gone out of the possession of the Senate.

31. On all questions, in the decision of which a simple majority is required, when the Senate is equally divided, the Secretary shall take the casting vote of the President. In all such cases, a motion for reconsideration, if made in time, shall be in order from any Senator who voted on the question.

32. The President shall have the right to call upon any Senator to discharge the duties of the Chair, whenever he shall find it necessary, temporarily, to retire; but such substitution shall not extend beyond more than one adjournment.

33. The Senate, having taken a final vote on any question, the same shall not again be in order during the same session, in any form whatever, except by way of reconsideration; and when a motion for reconsideration has been decided, that decision shall not be reconsidered.

34. No proposition to amend the rules of the Senate or the joint rules of both Houses, shall be acted on, until the same shall have been before the Senate at least twenty-four hours.

35. Messages shall be sent to the House of Representatives by the Secretary or Assistant Secretary.

36. Reporters may be placed on the floor of the Senate, under the direction of the Secretary, with the approbation of the President.

37. No person shall be admitted within the lobby of the Senate Chamber, except the Governor, Treasurer of the State, Auditor of Accounts, members of the other House, Judges of the Supreme Court, Senators and Representatives in Congress, Ex-Governors and Lieutenant Governors, Ex-Judges of the Supreme Court, Ex-Senators and Representatives in Congress, Ex-Senators of the State Senate, District Judge and Attorney of the United States, members of other State Legislatures, and such gentlemen and ladies as the President or a Senator may introduce.

38. When in session, the Senators shall sit with their heads uncovered.

39. Upon any disorderly conduct in the gallery, the President may order the same to be cleared.

40. Whenever a bill or resolution is laid on the table, by order of the Senate, and shall have remained on the table twenty-four hours, it shall be subject to be taken up by the chair, and presented for the consideration of the Senate, without a call or order on the subject.

41. There shall be one door-keeper and one assistant door-keeper of the Senate ;-and the President may employ a boy to attend in the Senate Chamber.

Mr. Chittenden presented the petition of Samuel H. Holman of Westou and 44 others, praying for legislation for the improvement of Common School education.

Mr. Morgan presented a like petition from J. Morgan of Stockbridge and 19 others.

Mr. Campbell presented a like petition from Thomas H. Palmer of Pittsford and 122 others, and the memorial of Thomas H. Palmer, asking legislative attention to the inefficiency of the existing Common School system of the State.

Mr. Simonds presented a like petition from A. L. Twilight of Brownington and 40 others.

Mr. Rich presented a like petition from Joseph W. Atwood of Shoreham and 75 others.

Mr. Bemis presented a like petition from J. H. Worcester of St. Johnsbury and 114 others; and from James Beattie of Ryegate and 25 others.

Mr. Howe presented a like petition from J. C. Foster of Brattleboro and 36 others.

And these petitions were respectively referred to the Committee on Education.

The memorial of Thomas H. Palmer was read and referred to the same Committee.

Mr. Page presented the petition of J. W. D. Parker and 39 others, praying for the revival of the Militia law of 1818.

And it was read and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

The President announced to the Senate his approval of the nomination of the Sergeant-at-Arms, of HENRY ISHAM as Doorkeeper, and C. M. RUBLEE as Assistant Doorkeeper, to the Senate; and they were severally sworn.

The President also announced that he had appointed CHARLES J. LOOMIS Messenger for the Senate, under the 41st Rule.

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. Merrill, their Clerk :

MR. PRESIDENT:-The House of Representatives have passed a resolution providing for a Joint Assembly, to elect a Secretary of State, and an Auditor of Accounts against the State, for the year ensuing, in which they request the concurrence of the Senate.

The Senate took up the resolution from the House providing for a Joint Assembly this morning at ten o'clock, to elect a Secretary of State, and an Auditor of Accounts against the State.

And the resolution, on motion of Mr. J. Barrett, was amended by inserting the words "and a Reporter of the Decisions of the Supreme Court."

And, thus amended, the resolution passed in concurrence.

The President announced the appointment of Mr. Billings and Mr. Smith, as the Committee on the part of the Senate to prepare and report Joint Rules of the two Houses, as provided by the resolution on the journal of yesterday.

(S. 2.) Mr. Hurd introduced a bill entitled "An act to incorporate the Bennington County Bank."

And it was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banks.