the expediency of modifying or abolishing the same; also to examine into the pay and emoluments of all officers under the laws of the United States; and to report from time to time such a reduction or increase thereof as a just economy and the public service may require.

OF COMMITTEES OF THE WHOLE.

104. The House may at any time, by a vote of a majority of the mem bers present, suspend the rules and orders for the purpose of going into the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union; and also for providing for the discharge of the Committee of the Whole House, and the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, from the further consideration of any bill referred to it, after acting without debate on all amendments pending and that may be offered.

105. In forming a Committee of the Whole House, the Speaker shall leave his chair, and a chairman to preside in committee shall be appointed by the Speaker.

106.

Whenever the Committee of the Whole on the State of the Union, or the Committee of the Whole House, finds itself without a quorum, the chairman shall cause the roll of the House to be called, and thereupon the committee shall rise, and the chairman shall report the names of the absentees to the House, which shall be entered on the journal.

107. Upon bills committed to a Committee of the Whole House, the bill shall be first read throughout by the clerk, and then again read and debated by clauses, leaving the preamble to be last considered; the body of the bill shall not be defaced or interlined; but all amendments, noting the page and line, shall be duly entered by the clerk on a separate paper, as the same shall be agreed to by the committee, and so reported to the House. After report, the bill shall again be subject to be debated and ☛nended by clauses, before a question to engross it be taken.

108. All amendments made to an original motion in committee shall be ncorporated with the motion, and so reported.

109. All amendments made to a report committed to a Committee of the Whole House shall be noted and reported, as in the case of bills.

110. No motion or proposition for a tax or charge upon the people shall be discussed the day on which it is made or offered, and every such proposition shall receive its first discussion in a Committee of the Whole House. 111. No sum or quantum of tax or duty, voted by a Committee of the Whole House, shall be increased in the House until the motion or proposition for such increase shall be first discussed and voted in a Committee of the Whole House; and so in respect to the time of its continuance

112. All proceedings touching appropriations of money shall be first discussed in a Committee of the Whole House.

113. The rules of proceedings in the House shall be observed in a Committee of the Whole House, so far as they may be applicable, except the rule limiting the times of speaking; but no member shall speak twice to any question until every member choosing to speak shall have spoken.

114. In Committee of the Whole on the State of the Union, the bills shall be taken up and disposed of in their order on the calendar; but when objection is made to the consideration of a bill, a majority of the committee shall decide, without debate, whether it shall be taken up and disposed of, or laid aside; provided, that general appropriation bills, and, in time of war, bills for raising men or money, and bills concerning a treaty of peace, shall be preferred to all other bills at the discretion of the commit. tee; and when demanded by any member, the question shall first be put in regard to them; and all debate on special orders shall be confined strictly to the measure under consideration.

OF BILLS.

115. Every bill shall be introduced on the report of a committee, or by motion for leave. In the latter case, at least one day's notice shall be given of the motion in the House, or by filing a memorandum thereof with the clerk, and having it entered on the journal; and the motion shall be made, and the bill introduced, if leave is given, when resolutions are called for; such motion, or the bill when introduced, may be committed.

116. Every bill shall receive three several readings in the House previous to its passage; and the bills shall be dispatched in order as they were introduced, unless where the House shall direct otherwise; but no bill shall be twice read on the same day, without special order of the House.

117. The first reading of a bill shall be for information, and if opposition be made to it, the question shall be, "Shall this bill be rejected?" If no opposition be made, or if the question to reject be negatived, the bill shall go to its second reading without a question.

118. Upon the second reading of a bill, the Speaker shall state it as ready for commitment or engrossment; and if committed, then a question shall be, whether to a select or standing committee, or to a Committee of the Whole House; if to a Committee of the Whole House, the House shall determine on what day; if no motion be made to commit, the question shall be stated on its engrossment; and if it be not ordered to be engrossed on the day of its being reported, it shall be placed on the general file on the Speaker's table, to be taken up in order. But if the bill be ordered to be engrossed, the House shall appoint the day when it shall be read the third time.

119. General appropriation bills shall be in order in preference to any other bill of a public nature unless otherwise ordered by a majority of the House.

And the House may, at any time, by a vote of the majority of the members present, make any of the general appropriation bills a special order.

120. No appropriation shall be reported in such general appropriation bills, or be in order as an amendment thereto, for any expenditure not previously authorized by law, unless in continuation of appropriations for

such public works and objects as are already in progress, and for the contingencies for carrying on the several departments of the government. 121. Upon the engrossment of any bill making appropriations of money for works of internal improvement of any kind or description, it shall be in the power of any member to call for a division of the question, so as to take a separate vote of the House upon each item of improvement or appropriation contained in said bill, or upon such items separately, and others collectively, as the members making the call may specify; and, if one-fifth of the members present second said call, it shall be the duty of the Speaker to make such divisions of the question, and put them to vote accordingly.

122. The bills from the Court of Claims shall, on being laid before the House, be read a first and second time, committed to a Committee of the Whole House, and, together with the accompanying reports, printed.

123. A motion to strike out the enacting words of a bill shall have precedence of a motion to amend; and, if carried, shall be considered equiv alent to its rejection. Whenever a bill is reported from a Committee of the Whole, with a recommendation to strike out the enacting words, and such recommendation is disagreed to by the House, the bill shall stand recommitted to the said committees without further action by the House.

124. After commitment and report thereof to the House, or at any time before its passage, a bill may be recommitted; and should such recommitment take place after its engrossment, and an amendment be reported and agreed to by the House, the question shall be again put on the engrossment of the bill.

125. All bills ordered to be engrossed shall be executed in a fair round hand.

126. No amendment by way of rider shall be received to any bill on its third reading.

127. When a bill shall pass, it shall be certified by the clerk, noting the day of its passage at the foot thereof.

LOCAL OR PRIVATE BUSINESS.

128. Friday and Saturday of 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.

129. On the first and fourth Friday and Saturday of each month the calendar of private bills shall be called over (the chairman of the Commitee of the Whole House commencing the call where he left off the previous day,) and the bills to the passage of which no objection shall then be made shall be first considered and disposed of. But when a bill is again reached, after having been once objected to, the committee shall con. sider and dispose of the same, unless it shall again be objected to by at least five members.

OF BILLS ON LEAVE AND RESOLUTIONS.

130. All the States and Territories shall be called for bills on leave and

resolutions on each alternate Monday during each session of Congress; and, if necessary to secure the 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 bills on leave and resolutions, until all the States and Territories are called through. And the Speaker shall first call the States and Territories for bills on leave; and all bills so introduced during the first hour after the journal is read shall be referred, without debate, to their appropriate committees; provided, however, that a bill so introduced and referred shall not be brought back into the House upon a motion to reconsider.

OF PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS.

131. Members having petitions and memorials to present, may hand them to the clerk, indorsing the same with their names, and the reference or disposition to be made thereof; and such petitions and memorials shall be entered on the journal, subject to the control and direction of the Speaker; and if any petition or memorial be so handed in, which, in the judgment of the Speaker, is excluded by the rules, the same shall be returned to the member from whom it was received.

OF THE PREVIOUS QUESTION.

132. The previous question shall be in this form: "Shall the main question be now put?" It shall only be admitted when demanded by a majority of the members present; and its effect shall be to put an end to all debate, and to bring the House to a direct vote upon a motion to commit if such motion shall have been made; and if this motion does not prevail, then upon amendments reported by a committee, if any; then upon pend. ing amendments, and then upon the main question. But its only effect, if a motion to postpone is pending, shall be to bring the House to a vote upon such motion. Whenever the House shall refuse to order the main question, the consideration of the subject shall be resumed as though no motion for the previous question had been made. The House may also, at any time, on motion seconded by a majority of the members present, close all debate upon a pending amendment, or an amendment thereto, and cause the question to be put thereon; and this shall not preclude any further amendment or debate upon the bill. A call of the House shall not be in order after the previous question is seconded, unless it shall appear, upon an actual count by the Speaker, that no quorum is present.

133. On a previous question there shall be no debate. All incidental questions of order arising after a motion is made for the previous question and pending such motion, shall be decided, whether on appeal or other. wise, without debate.

OF ADMISSION ON THE FLOOR.

134. No person except members of the Senate, their secretary, heads of departments, the President's private secretary, foreign ministers, the Gov

ernor for the time being of any State, Senators and Representatives elect and Judges of the Supreme Court of the United States and of the Court of Claims, shall be admitted within the hall of the House of Representatives, or any of the rooms upon the same floor or leading into the same.

OF REPORTERS.

135. Stenographers and reporters, other than the official reporters of the House, wishing to take down the debates, may be admitted by the Speaker to the reporters' gallery over the Speaker's chair, but not on the floor of the House; but no person shall be allowed the privilege of said gallery under the character of stenographer or reporter without a written permission of the Speaker, specifying the part of said gallery assigned to him; nor shall said stenographer or reporter be admitted to said gallery unless he shall state in writing for what paper or papers he is employed to report; nor shall he be so admitted, or, if admitted, be suffered to retain his seat, if he shall become an agent to prosecute any claim pending before Congress; and the Speaker shall give his written permission with this condition.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS OF THE SESSION.

136. After six days from the commencement of a second or subsequent session of any Congress, all bills, resolutions, and reports which originated in the House, and at the close of the next preceding session remained undetermined, shall be resumed and acted on in the same manner as if an adjournment had not taken place. And all business before committees of the House at the end of one session shall be resumed at the commencement of the next session of the same Congress as if no adjournment had taken place.

MISCELLANEOUS.

137. Whenever confidential communications are received from the President of the United States, the House shall be cleared of all persons, except the members, clerk, sergeant-at-arms, and doorkeeper, and so continue during the reading of such communications, and (unless otherwise directed by the House) during all debates and proceedings to be had thereon. And when the Speaker, or any other member, shall inform the House that he has communications to make which he conceives ought to be kept secret, the House shall, in like manner, be cleared till the communication be made; the House shall then determine whether the matter communicated requires secrecy or not, and take order accordingly.

138. The rule for paying witnesses summoned to appear before this House, or either of its committees, shall be as follows: for each day a witness shall attend, the sum of two dollars; for each mile he shall travel in coming to or going from the place of examination, the sum of ten cents each way; but nothing shall be paid for traveling home when the witness has been summoned at the place of trial.