STANDING ORDERS OF THE SENATE, NOT EMBRACED IN THE RULES, AND SUCH PARTS OF ACTS AS AFFECT THE BUSINESS OF THE SENATE.

THE LAST SESSION OF A CONGRESS EXPIRES AT 12 O'CLOCK MERIDIAN ON THE 4TH DAY OF MARCH.

On the 3d of March, 1851, on which day the Thirty-first Congress expired, and on which the terms of one-third of the members of the Senate would also expire, the Senate being in session at 12 o'clock midnight, a Senator (Mr. Mason, of Virginia) expressed a doubt, believing that his present term of service expired at that hour, whether he could continue to act as a Senator unless he were qualified under his credentials of re-election, and desired that the oath of office be administered to him by the President of the Senate under those credentials.

The Senate thereupon passed, by a vote of twenty-seven yeas to eleven nays, the following resolution :

Resolved, That inasmuch as the second session of the Thirty-first Congress does not expire under the Constitution until 12 o'clock on the 4th of March instant, the honorable James M. Mason, a Senator-elect from the State of Virginia, is not entitled to take the oath of office at this time, to wit, on the 4th of March, at I o'clock a. m.

[Sen. Jour., 31st Cong., 2d sess., p. 251.

LIMITATION AS TO LENGTH OF SERVICE AND AGE OF PAGES OF THE

SENATE

Resolved, That it shall be the duty of the Sergeant-at-arms to classify the pages of the Senate so that at the close of the present and each succeeding Congress one-half the number shall be removed,

SEC. 102. Every person who having been summoned as a witness by the authority of either house of Congress to give testimony or to produce papers upon any matter under inquiry before either house, or any committee of either house of Congress, wilfully makes default, or who, having appeared, refuses to answer any questions pertinent to the question under inquiry, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars nor less than one hundred dollars, and imprisonment in a common jail for not less than one month nor more than twelve months.

SEC. 103. No witness is privileged to refuse to testify to any fact, or to produce any paper, respecting which he shall be examined by either house of Congress, or by any committee of either house, upon the ground that his testimony to such fact or his production of such paper may tend to disgrace him or otherwise render him infamous.

SEC. 104. Whenever a witness, summoned as mentioned in section one hundred and two, fails to testify, and the facts are reported to either house, the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House, as the case may be, shall certify the fact, under the seal of the Senate or House, to the district attorney for the District of Columbia, whose duty it shall be to bring the matter before the grand jury for their action.

SEC. 859. No testimony given by a witness before either house or before any committee of either house of Congress shall be used as evidence in any criminal proceeding against him in any court, except in a prosecution for perjury committed in giving such testimony. But an official paper or record produced by him is not within the said privilege.

FURTHER PROVISION FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF OATHS IN THE

SENATE.

The Presiding Officer, for the time being, of the Senate of the United States, shall have power to administer all oaths and affirma

and in no case shall a page be appointed younger than 12 years, or remain in office after the age of 16 years, or for a longer time than two Congresses, or four years.

[Sen. Jour., 1st. sess. 33d Cong., p. 514; 3d sess. 41st Cong., p. 26.

PAYMENT OF WITNESSES.

Resolved, That the rule for paying witnesses summoned to appear before the Senate or any of its committees shall be as follows: For each day a witness shall attend, the sum of three dollars. For each mile he shall travel in coming to, or going from, the place of examination, the sum of five cents each way: Provided, That witnesses residing west of the one hundred and tenth meridian shall be paid. the sum of seven cents each way, for each mile they shall travel in coming to, or going from, the place of examination, when the place of examination shall be east of the Mississippi River; but nothing shall be paid for traveling when the witness has been summoned at the place of examination. [Sen. Jour., 2d sess. 44th Cong., p. 51.

SPECIAL DEPUTIES.

Resolved, That the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate is authorized and empowered from time to time to appoint such special deputies as he may think necessary to serve process or perform other duties devolved upon the Sergeant-at-Arms by law or the rules or orders of the Senate, or which may hereafter be devolved upon him, and in such case they shall be officers of the Senate, and any act done or return made by the deputies so appointed shall have like effect and be of the same validity as if performed or made by the Sergeant-at-Arms in person.

[Senate Resolution, December 17, 1889.

THE ADMINISTERING OF OATHS TO, AND THE EXAMINATION OF, WITNESSES BEFORE COMMITTEES OF EITHER HOUSE OF CONGRESS.

(Revised Statutes.)

SEC. 101. The President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or a chairman of a Committee of the Whole, or of any committee of either house of Congress, is empowered to administer oaths to witnesses in any case under their examination.

tions that are or may be required by the Constitution, or by law, to be taken by any Senator, officer of the Senate, witness, or other person, in respect of any matter within the jurisdiction of the Senate.

SEC. 2. That the Secretary of the Senate, and the chief clerk thereof, shall, respectively, have power to administer any oath or affirmation required by law, or by the rules or orders of the Senate, to be taken by any officer of the Senate, and to any witness produced before it. [April 18, 1876, 19 Stat., 34.

Any member of either house of Congress may administer oaths to witnesses in any matter depending in either house of Congress of which he is a member, or any committee thereof.

[June 26, 1884, 23 Stat., 60.

THREE SENATORS TO BE APPOINTED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE UPON THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE SMITHSONIAN

INSTITUTION.

By the act to establish the Smithsonian Institution, it is made the duty of the President of the Senate to appoint three Senators to serve upon the Board of Regents of the Institution. They shall serve during the terms for which they are chosen as Senators, and when vacancies occur, by reason of the expiration of the term of any Senator, the power to fill such vacancy is, by law, vested in the President of the Senate. [Sen. Jour., 2d sess. 30th Cong., 357-359.

VISITORS TO WEST POINT TO BE APPOINTED BY THE PRESIDENT OF

THE SENATE.

In addition to the other members of the Board of Visitors to be appointed by the President, according to existing law, to attend the annual examination of cadets at the United States Military Academy, there shall be on every such board two Senators, to be designated by the Vice-President, or the President of the Senate pro tempore, and three Members of the House of Representatives, to be designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; such designations re

spectively to be made at the session of Congress next preceding the time of such examinations; and the Senators and members so appointed shall make full report of their action as such Visitors, with their views and recommendations in regard to the said Military Academy, within twenty days after the meeting of Congress, at the session next succeeding the time of their appointment.*

[Stat. 16, 67.

VISITORS ΤΟ THE NAVAL ACADEMY TO BE APPOINTED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE.

There shall be appointed every year, in the following manner, a Board of Visitors, to attend the annual examination of the Naval Academy Seven persons shall be appointed by the President, and two Senators and three Members of the House of Representatives shall be designated as Visitors by the Vice-President, or President pro tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively, at the session of Congress next preceding such examination. Each member of said Board shall receive not exceeding eight cents per mile traveled by the most direct route from his residence to Annapolis, and eight cents per mile for each mile from said place to his residence on returning.t

DIRECTORS OF THE COLUMBIA INSTITUTION FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB TO BE APPOINTED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE.

In addition to the directors provided for by law, there shall be three other directors appointed, as follows: One Senator, by the President of the Senate, and two Representatives by the Speaker of

*Senators appointed Visitors to the Military Academy are allowed payment of their expenses for board and lodging while at the Academy, and a sum as mileage not to exceed eight cents per mile by the shortest mail route from their homes to the Academy and return. These allowances are paid to them at the Academy by

the disbursing officer.

†This mileage is paid by the disbursing officer at the Academy.