Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/128

 118 PARLIAMENTARY LAW AND PRIVILEGES was at once passed which established the privi- lege the house had insisted upon. The Eng- lish courts have also held that though a member was privileged in his utterances in the house, yet if his speech was libellous and he afterward published it for general distribution, this pub- lication was not privileged. Another privilege of each house is to protect itself against any- thing calculated to impede or disturb the regu- lar course of legislation. Disorder during one of the sessions might be such an impediment, and so might be the attempt to bribe a mem- ber, or to influence his action by threats. So also might be the refusal of a witness to give evidence before a committee, or the divulging by a member of any of the secrets of the house in violation of its injunctions, or an attempt to influence the action of the house by reporting the opinion or pretended opinion of the execu- tive on any measure or proceedings pending therein. To enumerate all the privileges of parliament is something it has never attempt- ed for itself. Blackstone says : " Privilege of parliament was principally established in order to protect its members not only from being molested by their fellow subjects, but also more especially from being oppressed by the power of the crown. If therefore all the privileges of parliament were once to be set down and ascertained, and no privilege to be allowed but what was so defined and determined, it were easy for the executive power to devise some new case, not within the line of privilege, and under pretence thereof to harass any refrac- tory member, and violate the freedom of par- liament." And these privileges can only be preserved intact by ample authority in parlia- ment to punish all breaches thereof under its own regulations and by the aid of officers sub- ject to its own exclusive control. The custom- ary law of parliament has been tacitly adopted in this country, and its leading rules and princi- ples were embodied and illustrated in a manual by Mr. Jefferson, prepared by him while pre- siding officer of the senate, and which has been a standard authority ever since, though in a measure superseded by the more elaborate work of Mr. L. S. Gushing on the " Law and Prac- tice of Legislative Assemblies." So much im- portance is attached to legislative privileges in this country, and so imperative the necessity to protect them against encroachments from any quarter, that the leading privileges are usually declared by constitution ; but without such declaration all customary privileges are covered by the constitutional principle which recognizes and protects the independence of each department of the government within the sphere of its proper action. Without ex- press adoption, the congressional rules of or- der and procedure are understood as in force for all deliberative bodies, except as changed by their own voluntary action or other com- petent legislation. Even political conventions and voluntary associations of every nature, when acting as organized bodies, are expected to recognize and obey the same rules, unless provided with a code of their own. Thus in an American assembly having no special rules for conducting business, the motion to adjourn would be undebatable as in congress, notwith- standing the English parliamentary law to the contrary ; so if the previous question were neg- atived, the debate upon the subject would continue as in congress, whereas in parliament the subject would be immediately dismissed. An assembly should be organized by the elec- tion of at least two officers: 1, a chairman or president, whose duty it is to preside, to an- nounce the business in its order, to state and put all questions properly brought before the assembly, and to preserve order and decorum and decide all questions of order (subject to an appeal), and who can vote in case of a ballot or where his vote would affect the result ; 2, a clerk or secretary, whose duty it is to keep the record of the proceedings and to have the custody of all papers in the possession of the assembly. It is a common practice in political meetings to organize temporarily, and then refer the subject of permanent organization, selection of officers, &c., to a committee, upon whose report the meeting organizes. It is not unusual to elect one or more vice presidents and several secretaries. In some legislative bodies, as the senate of the United States and some of the state senates, the presiding officer is not a member; in others, as the national house of representatives and the senate of Massachusetts, he is chosen by and from among the members. A quorum of members is neces- sary to the transaction of business. The num- ber requisite to a quorum is usually fixed by law ; if not, a majority of the members of the assembly is essential. Business is brought be- fore the assembly either by a communication to it or by a motion of a member. In order to make a motion, it is necessary for the member to rise and address the chairman by his title, and for the chairman to recognize him, which is usually done by announcing his name; if required by the chairman, the motion must be in writing. When made it must be seconded by another member to entitle it to any notice ; when it is seconded, the chairman states the question to the assembly, and it is then for- mally before the body to be disposed of as they see fit. In order to dispose of the question properly, various motions have come into use, which can be classified as follows : 1. To mod- ify. If it is desired to modify the question in any way, the proper motion to make is to amend either by adding words, by striking out, or by striking out certain words and inserting others, or by substituting a different motion on the same subject, or by dividing the ques- tion into two or more questions which the mover specifies, so as to get a separate vote on any particular point. When this motion to amend has been made, seconded, and stated by the chairman, it takes the place for the time being of the original question, and debate mu