RULE XIV.

Of Amendments.

1. No motion, proposition or question, under the guise of amendment, foreign to the question under debate. shall be admitted.

2. When a question is under consideration, a motion to amend, and a motion to amend the first amendment may be made, which shall be debated and decided in the reverse order of presentation before the original question. Such amendments being decided, others may be presented, which shall be treated in like manner, provided that in order to accept or reject an amendment, a majority of the attending Delegates shall be sufficient. 3. Any amendment may be withdrawn before its consideration, amendment or decision.

4. Amendments presented to the title of a bill or resolution shall be decided without debate, and shall not be introduced until after the said bill or resolution has passed.

5. Motions to strike out the enacting words of a bill or resolution shall be received by the Chair, considered as an amendment, and decided without debate, and if carried the said bill or resolutions shall be considered as rejected.

RULE XV.

Of Committees of the Whole.

1. The House may, at any time, resolve itself into a "Committee of the Whole" when matters are to be considered which the House does not wish to refer to a Committes, or the text of which is not sufficiently clear, or has not been presented in due form to take definite action thereon; or, when, for any other reason, the House wishes to consider a question entirely independent from any regular Committee.

2. The Speaker of the House shall be Chairman of the Committee of the Whole.

3.

The form of motion for the House to resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole shall be that the House resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole to consider........ (here the matter) and shall be decided by the House without debate.

4. The only incidental motion, which is admissible, in a Committee of the Whole, shall be to amend, and the rules of the House shall govern as far as applicable, taking into consideration the fact that there shall be more time for debate.

5. No vote shall be taken by call of the roll when the House is in Committee of the Whole.

6. When a "Committee of the Whole" proceeds to consider a bill or resolution, it shall be read in its entirety, unless this formality is dispensed with by unanimous consent. In this state, the reading and debate of the bill or resolution shall be proceeded with by sections and clauses. The Committee shall not make any erasures or interlineations upon the body of the bill, but amendments shall be taken note of, designating pages and lines, by the Clerk, as the same may be approved by the Committee, and be so reported to the House.

7. When the deliberations of the Committee are finished, the Speaker shall so dec are it, and the House shall resume in the ordinary way. Immediately thereafter the bill or resolution, together with the amendments, if any, shall be presented to the House, and the question be newly subjected to amendment and debate, after which it shall be clearly written out and placed upon its passage.

8. When the Committee of the Whole is to consider a question, not a bill or resolution, it shall proceed in a similar way, and its report thereon shall be disposed of as the House deems proper.

RULE XVI.

Of the Calls of the Roll and Voting.

1. Any Delegate shall have the right to put the question of "No Quorum," before any voting is done, and upon such question being put, the Speaker shall direct a Call of the Roll of Delegates then present, and if there be no quorum the deliberations shall be suspended, and the Chair shall order a Call of the Roll of the House.

2. Upon every roll-call, the names of the Delegates shall be called in alphabetical order by surnames: when two or more have the same surname, there shall be added to the surname the name of the District each one represents, and if there be two having the same surname from the same District, the whole name will be called.

3. In case of roll-call for voting, after all the names have been called, the Clerk shall call again the names of those not voting, and thereafter the Speaker shall not permit to record a vote.

4. To make a "quorum" there shall be included such Delegates as are present and have not been able to vote for any reason provided for in the rules.

5.

When a roll-call of Delegates present discloses the fact that there is "no quorum” for voting, five Delegates, including the Speaker, shall have authority to compel the attendance of absentees, and for that purpose the majority will order that the Sergeantat-arms, or his officers, look for such absentees as have no sufficient excuse, wherever they may be found, and inform them that a voting is pending upon their presence in the Hall. Should they insist in not coming to their posts, they shall be reminded of their duty to be at their post, and if they still persist, they shall be arrested and brought to the House, forthwith.

6.

When a Delegate is brought to the House by the Sergeant-at-Arms, in accordance with the preceding rule, he shall be left at liberty to take his seat, and the House shall have the right to either excuse him, or impose a fine not to exceed fifty-dollars, ($50.00). 7. Whenever it becomes necessary to bring Delegates under arrest to vote upon a question, the voting shall be done by roll-call, that is by "Ayes" and "Nays," and those arrested shall be the last to vote.

8. If those voting upon a question, and Delegates not voting because of reasons provided for in the rules, constitute a majority of the House, the Speaker shall count a quorum, and the question decided by such a majority of votes as may result.

9. Any Delegate may ask before a vote is taken that it be done by roll-call, and the vote of every Delegate noted in the Journal.

10.

In all cases where a majority of votes is needed, and it is not obtained, the voting shall be repeated until the said majority has been obtained.

RULE XVII.

Of Messages.

All messages from the Governor making recommendations to the House shall be referred to the respective Committees without debate. Messages from the Executive Council, or from the Governor, informing the House of the approval or disapproval of Bills, shall be entered upon the minutes of the session.

RULE XVIII.

Of Bills Amended by the Council.

Whenever the Council returns any bill amended, the House shall first consider it in Committee of the Whole, upon petition of any Delegate.

RULE XIX.

Of Conference-Committees.

1. Conference Committees shall be special Committees appointed by the Speaker whenever there is a disagreement between the two Houses, in order that an agreement may be arrived at.

2. The Reports of such Committees may be presented at any time, and shall explain in detail the effects that the proposed amendments may have upon the bills to which said amendments refer.

RULE XX.
Priority of Questions.

All doubts as to the priority of questions shall be decided by a majority without debate.

RULE XXI.

Of Bills "by request."

When a bill, resolution or memorial is introduced "by request," these words shall be entered upon the Journal and upon the document.

RULE XXII.

Of Secret Sessions.

Whenever confidential communications are received from the Governor, or whenever the Speaker, or a Delegate, desires to submit to the House some question to which no publicity should be given, the place devoted to the public shall be cleared while the question is under consideration.

RULE XXIII.

Of the Author of a Bill.

The Author of a bill shall have the right to open the debate, availing himself of one of the two turns granted him by Paragraph 3, of Rule II, and the Speaker may grant him a third term of fifteen minutes for closing the debate.

RULE XXIV.

Of Minority of Committees.

Every minority shall have the right to record its detailed opinion in the report of the Committee, which shall be reported to the House.

RULE XXV.

Of Motions to Adjourn.

A motion to adjourn may be made at any time, except when a vote is being taken by roll-call, and until after the result is announced, and excepting also when a Delegate is speaking, or when the "previous question" is pending, but, if the motion to adjourn is lost, it shall not be made again until after another question is being considered.

1.

RULE XXVI.

Of Admission to the Floor.

The persons hereinafter named shall have the privilege of admission to the floor of the House.

2. The Speaker shall designate the place on the floor of the House that the representatives of the press shall occupy, taking care that such place shall be ample and commodious, and may extend the privilege of occupying said place to such persons as may in his judgment, have a right to same.

RULE XXVII.

Of the Drawing of Seats.

1. At the commencement of a Legislature, and after the Delegates are sworn in, the Clerk shall place in a box, prepared for the purpose, a number of ballots, numbered from one to thirty-five. After such ballots shall have been thoroughly intermingled inside of the box by the Sergeant-at-Arms he shall draw them one by one and announce the number of each ballot as it is drawn. The list of Delegates shall be numbered from one to thirtyfive, and each Delegate upon hearing his name called by the Clerk, shall choose his seat and occupy it for the term for which he is elected.

2. On commencing said drawing every seat shall be vacated, that Delegates may choose freely, and this drawing shall not be repeated during the same Legislature.

RULE XXVIII.

Of Witness Fees.

All witnesses subpoenaed to appear before the House, or either of its Committees. who do so appear, shall be paid two dollars ($2.00) per day, and in addition thereto said witnesses shall be paid such travelling expenses as may have been incurred to appear at the indicated place and to return to their homes, such expenses to be duly verified in accordance with law.

RULE XXIX.
Stationery.

The House shall decide as it may deem best, so that Delegates and Committees be provided with the necessary stationery and the Committee with the necessary personnel that they may discharge promptly and efficaciously their legislative duties.

RULE XXX.

Of the Mail.

It shall the duty of the Clerk to hire in the Post Office necessary boxes for the mail addressd to the House and Delegates.

1.

RULE XXXI.

Of Unfinished Questions.

All questions upon which no reports have been made at the end of the legislative period shall be taken up at the commencement of the next session of the same Legislature, as though no such interruption had occurred.

2. At the end of the Legislative period the Committees shall deliver to the Clerk all documents and stationery in their possession.

RULE XXXII.
Of Rules.

1.

These rules shall be translated and presented in both languages, and shall appear inform of double column on the same page, the original opposite its translation.

2 When any question arises not provided for in these rules, or in cases in which these rules, may not be applicable, the rules of Parliamentary practice comprised in Jefferson's Manual shall govern, and for that purpose the said Manual shall be translated into Spanish, and the original and translation thereof be kept in the Clerk's Office for the use of Delegates.

No rule shall be annulled, amended, altered or suspended, except by giving notice at least one day before, that a motion to that effect shall be made, which motion after being debated must be passed by a vote at least of two-thirds of the Delegates voting, a quorum being present.

RULE XXXIII.
Transitory Provision.

These rules, or any part of them, shall be applicable and in full force as soon as passed by the House.

OUTLINE OF GOVERNMENT IN PORTO RICO.

The Insular Government of Porto Rico was authorized and established by an Act of the Congress of the United States, approved April 12, 1900, and entitled "An Act temporarily to provide revenue and a civil government for Porto Rico, and for other purposes". This Act is in effect the organic law of Porto Rico, having practically the same relation to the governmental system and jurisprudence of the Island as the Constitution of the United States has to the mother country. By it all the laws and ordinances of Porto Rico in force at its date were continued in full force and effect, except as modified or repealed by military orders up to the date at which the act went into effect, and so far as they were not inconsistent with the statutory laws of the United States, not locally inapplicable. Under this act the Government of Porto Rico, corresponding to the Government of the United States, consists of three branches, the Executive, Legislative and Judicial.

THE EXECUTIVE.

The Governor of Porto Rico is appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, his term of office being four years. He has similar powers to those of a Governor of a Terri'tory, that is, he may grant pardons and reprieves, remit fines and forfeitures against the Government of Porto Rico; he can commission officers he is authorized to appoint; he may veto acts of the Legislature, and is specially clothed with all the powers of Governors of the Territories of the United States that are not locally inapplicable. In addition, he has the power to grant respites for offenses against the United States laws, until the decision of the President can be ascertained. He has also other duties of an executive nature, which are defined in the Organic Act.

The Governor's salary is $8,000 per annum, and in addition thereto he is entitled, under the law, to the occupancy of the buildings formerly occupied by the Spanish Governors, and popularly known as the "Fortaleza" or the Palace. The Governor is also, by authority of an act of the Legislature of Porto Rico, empowered to appoint a military staff, such staff to consist of six aides with the rank of Colonel and three aides with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. The Governor has no Cabinet, so called, but is assisted in the performance of his executive duties by the following heads of departments:

The Secretary,

The Attorney General,

The Treasurer,

The Auditor,

The Commissioner of the Interior,

The Commissioner of Education.

Each of these officers is ex-officio a member of the Executive Council.