instructions to report forthwith, might be reported immediately by the chairman without formal action by the committee (ibid., 1, p. 3508), and that when so reported it would not be subject to the point that it be first considered in Committee of the Whole, although if reported as an original proposition it would be subject to such point.—Ibid., p. 3509.

It has frequently been decided that it is not in order to move to recommit a bill with instructions to bring in a report which would not be in order if offered in the House. The House having voted to strike out what it is proposed to instruct the committee to report, it is not in order to move to recommit with instruction to report the original matter as a substitute for, or amendment to, the bill in its present status.-Speaker Carlisle, Congressional Record, 1, 49, p. 7613; Journal 1, 49, p. 2363. (See Commit; Refer.)

OF VETOED BILL.

RECONSIDERATION.

Upon the return of a vetoed bill by the President, the House shall "proceed to reconsider it."-Const., 1, 7, 2, 6.

On such reconsideration the House may at once finally dispose of the bill, or may refer it to a committee, or postpone its consideration, or take such other action as would have been in order on its first consideration. (See Veto.)

WHEN MOTION FOR IN ORDER, AND WHEN NOT.

When a motion has been made and carried or lost, it shall be in order for any Member of the majority, on the same or succeeding day, to move for the reconsideration thereof, and such, motion shall take precedence of all other questions, except the consideration of a conference report, a motion to fix the day to which the House shall adjourn, to adjourn, or to take a recess, and shall not be withdrawn after the said succeeding day without the consent of the House, and thereafter any Member may call it up for consideration: Provided, That such motion, if made during the last six days of a session, shall be disposed of when made.-Rule XVIII, clause 1.

The roll of the yeas and nays being the only official evidence of the vote of a Member, when the vote has not been taken by the yeas and nays it is the practice to recognize any Member to move to reconsider, regardless of his actual vote.

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On the same or succeeding day after a vote is taken, it is in order at any time to move its reconsideration and have the motion entered on the Journal, even when a Member is on the floor, or when a question of the highest privilege is pending, but it can not be taken up and considered while another question is before the House.-Journal, 1, 34, pp. 1476, 1477. Such has been the uniform practice of the House since that decision.

A bill having passed in the hour for the consideration of bills, sometimes termed the second morning hour, and a motion to reconsider being made, the consideration of such motion is cut off by the expiration of the hour, and goes over for dispo sition when the hour for such business recurs on a subsequent day. Journal, 2, 52, pp. 13, 14.

The consideration of a motion to reconsider is in order whenever called up for consideration, but is not the regular order of business unless so called up by a Member.-Journal, 2, 52, p. 43.

A motion to reconsider, if made in time, may be entertained, notwithstanding the papers connected with the original proposition have gone out of the possession of the House.-Journals, 1, 26, p. 1033; 1, 28, pp. 1125, 1131; 1, 29, p. 657; 1, 33, pp. 336, 1199. And pending a motion to reconsider the vote on the passage of a bill the Speaker should decline to sign such bill if reported by the Committee on Enrolled Bills.—Journal, 1, 26, p. 1033. When the papers have been sent to the Senate it is usual, in case of a motion to reconsider, to send a message to that body requesting their return. (See Recall of a Bill.)

It is not in order on a private-bill day to call up and consider a motion to reconsider a vote on a public bill if objected to, except after a postponement of the private business.

It is not in order to move a reconsideration of a vote sustaining a decision of the Chair after subsequent action, which it is impossible for the House to reverse, has resulted from such decision. Journal, 1, 31, pp. 860, 861.

It is in order, even pending the demand for the previous question on the passage of a bill, to move the reconsideration of the order of engrossment.-Journal, 2, 27, p. 1175. But, of course, if moved at such a time it is not debatable.

Where a motion to reconsider has been once put and decided,

it is not in order to repeat the motion.-Journal, 2, 27, p. 1022; 1, 52, p. 115. But it is otherwise where an amendment has been adopted since the first reconsideration.-Journal, 1, 31, pp. 1404, 1406, 1407.

EFFECT OF.

"Where a Congress expires without acting on the motion to reconsider, for the want of time or inclination, the motion, of course, fails and leaves the original proposition operative."(Opinion of Mr. Speaker Orr, and of Mr. Speaker Banks, in the case of resolutions directing the payment of money out of the contingent fund of the House, where Congress adjourned sine die pending motions to reconsider the vote by which they were adopted. These opinions were evidently given after the final adjournment of the House, and are not official.)

The effect of the pendency of a motion to reconsider, according to the universal usage, is to suspend the original proposition. When, however, a bill has, pending the motion to reconsider and before that motion is acted on, been presented to the President and receives his approval, the validity of the act, it would seem, could not be questioned on account of the pendency of such motion, the signing of the enrolled bill, by the Speaker and Vice-President, being complete and unimpeachable evidence of its passage. (See Field vs. Clark, 143 U. S. Sup. Repts., p. 650, Feb. 29, 1892.)

A similar question would be presented if the vote on the passage were actually reconsidered after the bill was approved.

Under the practice, if a motion to reconsider is pending when the previous question is ordered, such order applies to the motion to reconsider only.

The motion to reconsider can not be withdrawn after the House has voted down a motion to lay the same on the table, such action being held to be a decision on the motion.-Journal, 2, 46, p. 844.

It is a very common practice for the Member having charge of a measure, as soon as a vote is taken upon it, "to move to reconsider the vote last taken, and also to move that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table;" and if the latter motion prevails it is deemed a finality so far as the vote proposed to be reconsidered is concerned. A vote to lay the motion to

reconsider on the table does not carry with it the pending

measure.

According to the uniform practice, where a motion to reconsider has been passed in the affirmative, the question immediately recurs upon the question reconsidered.-Journal, 1, 31, p.

847.

When a vote, taken under the operation of the previous question, is reconsidered, the question is then divested of the previous question, and is open for debate and amendment.-Journals, 1, 27, p. 129; 1, 33, p. 127. These decisions apply only to cases where the previous question was fully exhausted by votes taken on all the questions covered by it before the motion to reconsider was made. In any other case the pendency of the previous question would preclude debate.

WHAT PROCEEDINGS MAY BE RECONSIDERED AND WHAT MAY NOT.

An order that the vote be taken by yeas and nays may be reconsidered, but the question on ordering the yeas and nays immediately recurs, and may again be decided affirmatively by one-fifth of the Members present.-Journals, 1, 19, p. 796; 1,30, p. 405.

But where a vote ordering the yeas and nays is reconsidered and the yeas and nays are again ordered, a further motion to reconsider that vote is not in order.-Journal, 1, 45, p. 290.

A negative vote on a motion to lay on the table may be reconsidered.-Journal, 2, 32, p. 234.

The House having already reconsidered a vote refusing to lay a bill on the table, and having again refused to lay the bill on the table, it is not in order to repeat the motion to reconsider the vote by which the House refused to lay on the table.— Journal, 1, 52, p. 115.

For the same reason a motion to reconsider a vote laying a motion to reconsider on the table is not in order.―Journals, 3, 27, p. 334; 1, 33, p. 357.

It is not in order to move to reconsider the vote by which the House refused to fix the day to which the House should adjourn (Congressional Record, 2, 50, p. 677); nor the vote by which the House refused to adjourn (Journal, 2, 45, p. 139); nor the vote by which the House refused to take a recess.Journal, 2, 52, p. 59. Upon appeal the latter decision was stained-yeas, 208; nays, 6.

After a bill has been ordered to be engrossed it is not in order to move a reconsideration of a vote on an amendment until the order of engrossment has been reconsidered; and if the motion to reconsider the engrossment is laid on the table, no reconsideration of the amendment can then be entertained. No bill, petition, memorial, or resolution referred to a committee, or reported therefrom for printing and recommitment, shall be brought back into the House on a motion to reconsider. Rule XVIII, clause 2.

The order for the previous question may be reconsidered, but not after it is partly executed.-Journal, 1, 35, pp. 1101, 1398.

A vote on the reconsideration of a vetoed bill can not be reconsidered.―Journal, 1, 28, pp. 1093, 1097. Nor can a vote on a motion to suspend the rules be reconsidered.-Journal, 2, 31, p. 134.

Held: not in order to move to reconsider the vote by which an appeal from the decision of the chair was laid on the table. Journal, 1, 44, p. 1492.

WHEN DEBATABLE AND WHEN NOT.

A motion to reconsider is not debatable, if the question proposed to be reconsidered was not debatable.-Journals, 2, 27, p. 331; 2, 30, pp. 135, 136. But the fact of a question having been decided under the operation of the previous question does not prevent debate on the motion to reconsider, if the original question was otherwise debatable.-Journal, 1, 33, p. 127.

A motion to reconsider the order of engrossment, if made pending the demand of the previous question on the passage of a bill, is not debatable.

A motion to reconsider an undebatable motion is not debatable.-Journal, 2, 45, p. 592.

(See Privileged Questions.)

RECORD, CONGRESSIONAL.

(See Congressional Record.)

REFER, MOTION TO; REFERENCE.

Refer and commit are practically synonymous terms. When a question is under debate, a motion to refer or to amend has precedence after the motion to postpone to a day