Statutes, including laws of the Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Congresses.

Under this resolution a supplement was published in 1881, designated Volume 1. It was then supposed that other volumes might follow as subsequent legislation should require. But the act of April 3, 1890 (26 Stat. L., p. 50), provided for a continuation of the publication to be issued in one volume, embracing the general laws passed after the Revised Statutes and including those of the Forty-seventh, Forty-eighth, Fortyninth, Fiftieth, and Fifty-first Congresses. By authority of that act the Supplement to the Revised Statutes, edition 1891, was published. It practically supersedes Volume 1, as the general laws now in force therein contained are embraced in the present publication, which contains all the permanent general laws in force November 2, 1891, passed subsequently to the Revised Statutes, from 1874 to 1891, inclusive.

LAY ON THE TABLE, MOTION TO.

(See Motions.)

When a question is under debate, motions have precedence in the following order:

To fix the day to which the

House shall adjourn,

To adjourn,

To take a recess,

To lay on the table,

For the previous question,

(See Rule XVI, clause 4.)

Which are not debatable.

When the House has under consideration a bill of the Senate it is not considered respectful to that body to lay the bill on the table. When adverse action on such bill is desired it is usual to postpone, recommit, or to postpone it indefinitely.

A motion to suspend the rules and agree to an undebatable motion-e. g., a motion to lay on the table-is, pursuant to Rule XXVIII, subject to debate for thirty minutes.-Journal, 2, 52, pp. 142, 143.

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

If a motion to reconsider be laid on the table, the latter vote can not be reconsidered.-Journals, 3, 27, p. 334; 1, 33, p. 357.

WHEN IN Order and WHEN NOT.

A motion to lay upon the table shall be in order on the second and third reading of a bill.-Rule XVII, clause 1.

The motion to lie on the table is in order pending the consideration of Senate amendments to a bill.-Journal, 1, 33, p. 1250.

An order for the main (previous) question to be put does not preclude the motion to lie on the table, but it may be made at any stage of the proceeding between the demand for the previous question and the final action of the House under it.Journals, 1, 26, p. 490; 1, 30, p. 175. But it was held by Mr. Speaker Randall that pending the vote on the demand for the previous question on agreeing to a resolution, the motion to lay the resolution on the table was not in order, on the ground that no question was under debate; the demand for the previous question not being debatable.-Journal, 2, 45, p. 1090. It was also, for the same reason, held that after the previous question is ordered the motion to lay on the table is not in order. Journal, 2, 53, pp. 139, 140.

Where a motion has already been made and negatived to lay a bill on the table, and no change or alteration has been made in the bill, or no proceeding directly touching its merits has since taken place, the motion to lay on the table can not be repeated.-Journal, 2, 27, p. 890. But under the invariable practice, the motion may be entertained at every new stage of the Lill or proposition, and upon any proceeding having been had touching its merits.

Motions to adjourn, to fix the day to which the House shall adjourn, for a recess, and for the previous question, can not be laid on the table. Nor is it the practice to move to lay on the table motions to postpone to a day certain, to postpone indefinitely, to refer, or to amend.

A motion to resolve into Committee of the Whole can not be laid on the table.

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, thus indefinitely piling up motion on motion.-Journal, 1, 52, p. 115.

It is not in order to move to lay on the table the motion to commit provided in clause 1, Rule XVII, the object of the rule being to permit a direct vote on the motion to commit.-Congressional Record, 1, 49, p. 694.

A bill being reported from a Committee of the Whole with the recommendation that the enacting clause be stricken out, a motion to lay the bill on the table was held not in order.— Journal, 1, 43, p. 629.

It was held not to be in order to move to reconsider the vote by which an appeal from a decision of the Chair has been laid on the table.-Journal, 1, 44, p. 1492.

EFFECT OF.

Under the parliamentary law, this motion is only made "when the House has something else which claims its present attention, but would be willing to reserve in their power to take up a proposition whenever it shall suit them."-Manual, p. 119. But in the House of Representatives it is usually made for the purpose of giving a proposition or bill its "death blow;" and when it prevails, the measure is rarely ever taken up again during the session.

In general, whatever adheres to the subject of this motion goes on the table with it; as, for example, where a motion to amend is ordered to lie on the table, the subject which it is proposed to amend goes there with it.-Cushing, p. 565. But it is not so with the Journal, where it is voted to lay upon the table a proposed amendment thereto (Journal, 1, 26, p. 28), nor with the subject out of which a question or order may arise, where the appeal is laid on the table, the decision of the Chair being thereby virtually sustained (Journal, 1, 26, p. 529), nor with the bill or other proposition, where the motion to reconsider a vote thereon is laid on the table.

Where a bill is laid on the table pending the motion to refer and print, the motion to print, as well as all other motions connected with it, accompanies it.-Journal, 2, 32, p. 195. But

where, as in case of a message, report, etc., it is moved to lay on the table and print, the said motion may be voted on as an entirety, or under clause 6, Rule XVI, it may be divided, and a separate vote taken on each branch of the motion.―Journal, 1, 32, p. 337.

LEAVE TO REPORT AT ANY TIME.

A committee having leave to report at all times may report in part at different times.-Journal 1, 27, p. 104.

The right to report at any time carries with it the right to consider the matter when reported.-Journal 1, 32, p. 195.

Bills or resolutions of a public character, except such as present questions of high privilege, can not, in order, be reported or considered on Friday, under the practice, until private business has been dispensed with or postponed.

A bill having been recommitted to a committee with leave to report at any time, and the same being immediately reported by its chairman, is subject to the point that the committee have not considered it.-Journal 2, 50, p. 536.

If a committee fails to report a resolution of inquiry within one week, the report is still privileged whenever reported.— Journal, 1, 52, pp. 296, 297.

The consideration of business reported from committees having leave at any time (except the Committee on Rules), is not in order on a day set apart for another class of business (Journal 1, 52, p. 239); at least, until the House has disposed of or refused to consider the business for which the day is assigned. Journal, 1, 52, p. 239.

Reports from committees having leave to report at any time, such as the Committee on Accounts and Committee on Printing, of propositions for the expenditure or appropriation of public money or property, are subject to the point that they be considered in Committee of the Whole.-Journal 2, 46, p. 217; 2, 52, p. 126.

When a committee privileged to report at any time reports a measure which must be first considered in Committee of the Whole, it is in order immediately after such report is made to move to resolve into Committee of the Whole to consider it.

Otherwise the right to immediately consider the privileged report would not be available.-Journal 1, 49, p. 2360.

For an enumeration of committees authorized to report certain measures at any time, see Reports, Privileged.

LEGISLATIVE DAY.

There must be an adjournment before the legislative day will terminate (Journal 1, 33, p. 804), and an adjournment does not take place by reason of the arrival of the time for the regular daily meeting of the House.-Ibid., pp. 803, 811. And an adjournment does not necessarily take place at 12 a. m. on Sunday, nor is it against order for a majority to continue in session after the said hour, it being a question which must be left to be decided by the judgment and discretion of the House itself.-Journal 1, 21, pp. 577, 582; Record 2, 44, p. 2242.

If by reason of an error the Speaker announces that the House decides to adjourn, and the House does in fact accordingly disperse and adjonrn, although the vote as actually recorded shows a refusal to adjourn, the session of the House when it next meets will be considered not a continuation of the preceding session but as of a new legislative day.-Congressional Record, 2, 49, p. 314.

A session of the House extending, by failure to adjourn, into the next calendar day, a special order for the latter day is pretermitted, the session being of the legislative not the calendar day.-Congressional Record, 1, 50, pp. 2749, 2755; Journal, 1, 50, pp. 1479, 1491.

The legislative day of March 3 of the final session of a Congress is held to terminate on March 4, at 12 o'clock m., unless a motion is made and carried for an adjournment previous to that hour.-Congressional Globe 2, 31, p. 781; Ibid., 818-820; Congressional Record, 3, 46, p. 2156. The Speaker, according to the later practice, when the hour of 12 arrives adjourns the House without motion, a roll call having been frequently interrupted for that purpose.-Congressional Globe, 2,35, p. 1684. And this has been the practice since the Thirtyfifth Congress.

(See also Adjournment sine die, ante, p. 244.)

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