RULES AND ORDERS

TO BE OBSERVED IN THE

CONVENTION OF DELEGATES

FOR THE

Commonwealth of Massachusetts,

MET ON

WEDNESDAY, THE 4TH DAY OF MAY, 1853,

-19-36

RULES AND ORDERS.

Of the President.

1.

THE President shall take the Chair every day at the hour to which the Convention shall have adjourned; shall call the Members to order; and, on the appearance of a quorum, shall cause the Journal of the preceding day to be read, and proceed to business.

2.

He shall preserve decorum and order; may speak to points of order in preference to other Members; and shall decide all questions of order, subject to an appeal to the Convention on motion regularly secconded; and no other business shall be in order till the question on the appeal shall have been decided.

3.

He shall declare all votes; but, if any Member doubts a vote, the President shall order a return of the number voting in the affirmative, and in the negative, without any further debate upon the question. When a vote is doubted, the Members for or against the question, when called on by the President, shall rise and stand uncovered till they are counted.

4.

He shall rise to put a question, or to address the Convention, but may read sitting.

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5.

In all cases the President may vote.

6.

When the Convention shall determine to go into Committee of the whole, the President shall appoint the Member who shall take the Chair.

7.

On all questions and motions whatsoever, the President shall take the sense of the Convention by yeas and nays, provided one-fifth of the Members present shall so require. When the yeas and nays are taken, no Member shall be allowed to vote, who shall have entered the Convention after the calling of the roll is finished. The names of Members shall be called in alphabetical order.

8.

He shall propound all questions, in the order in which they are moved, unless the subsequent motion be previous in its nature: except that, in naming sums and fixing times, the largest sum and the longest time shall be put first.

9.

After a motion is stated or read by the President, it shall be deemed to be in possession of the Convention, and shall be disposed of by vote of the Convention; but the mover may withdraw it at any time before a decision or amendment, except a motion to reconsider, which shall not be withdrawn after the time has elapsed within which it could be originally made.

10.

When a question is under debate, the President shall receive no motion, but to adjourn, to lay on the table, for the previous question, to postpone to a day

certain, to commit, to amend, or to postpone indefinitely; which several motions shall have precedence in the order in which they stand arranged.

11.

He shall consider a motion to adjourn as always in order; and that motion, and the motions to lay on the table, to suspend any rule, to take up from the table, and for the yeas and nays, shall be decided without debate.

12.

He shall put the previous question in the following form: "Shall the main question be now put ?"— and all debate upon the main question shall be suspended, until the previous question shall be decided. After the adoption of the previous question, the sense of the Convention shall forthwith be taken upon amendments reported by a committee, upon pending amendments, and then upon the main question.

13.

On the previous question no Member shall speak more than once without leave; and all incidental questions of order, arising after a motion is made for the previous question, shall be decided without debate, excepting on appeal, and, on such appeal, no Member shall be allowed to speak more than once without leave of the Convention.

14.

When two or more Members happen to rise at once, the President shall name the Member who is first to speak.

15.

All Committees shall be appointed and announced by the President, unless otherwise specially directed by the Convention.