Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-07-31
No QUORUM.

The circumstances under which failures
to make a House" occur are generally
these: 1t is a public night, which means
that motions of private members takes pre-
cedence-there is nothing important on the
paper on the contrary, there are several
notices of motions put there by members
of no standing in the House, which II l.
known Will lead to nothing but hours OF
dreary talk OF course, as the govern
ment is not interested, its agents will not
make a House." and when those who
have received notices have not sufficient
influence TO secure the attendance OF forty
members-and the members generally are
not disposed to waste a night watching
proceedings which they care nothing about,
and which they know will be perfectly
fruitless-it often happens that out of the
six hundred and fifty-eight members, it Is
impossible to get forty to attend. Indeed,
sometimes we have known an active can
vass to keep members away; and 1t Is no un-
common thing to see hundred members II!
the lobby. when it is found impossible to get
thirty in the House The failure to make d
House is often severe disappointment and
modification to those members who have
motions set down. Fancy man spending
weeks in pouring over blue-books, extract
ING their contents, celebrating his speech
and then hurrying down to the House Oh
the great important day. full of his sub
/ iect. he finds the doors shut, and learns
from the solitary policeman who PAGES the
lobby that there is 4" no House.
The count out" is another favorit,
and not uncommon mode of getting rid o.
dreary speaker and disagreeable sub
ject. 1t generally takes place between the
hours of seven and eight. and is managed
in this wise: The time we will suppose i
half-past seven The honorable member
for - has been up for an hour, and th'
wearisome tide of talk shows no signs o
exhaustion Most Of the members have
gone to dinner at their respective clubs, o.
at the dining-room OF the House; and nov
there are not more than forty-fve or fifty
members present There is a general dis
position to get rid of the speaker and hi
motion The government will be saveC
the trouble of reply, which, by the way. i
sometimes very convenient. The young
members want, perhaps, to go TO the cper;
the old members will be glad of night
rest, and all see that a holiday may be Sc
cured without any injury 10 the state.
The first symptoms of ''count" is th
congregation of dozen or twenty member
in the inner lobby, anxiously peerini
through the glass doors Some knowin
hand slides in and sliding up to differen
members in the House, tells them what
a-foot, and then glides out again. Pres
emily others are seen quietly leaving on
by one. without any apparent concert
: Some member then goes to the back of tn
Speakers chair and counts the member
present. There are just forty with MI
Speaker" There are too many for tn
count to be attempted as others may dro
: in. Another leaves, and then another an
so on, until there are only thirty-two o
thirty-thre left The member behind tn
, chair then comes forward and calls 60 Nj
} Speakers" attention to the fact that ther
are not forty members present. The oratc
, drops down in the midst of his harangue
: the clerk of the table turns three-minut
sand-glass, the doorkeeper rings his be
t and when the sand in the glass is run on
S s Mr.. Speaker" proceeds to connt th
t members, and then, if forty be not presen
D he declares the House adjourned.
> "wHo GOES HOME 2"
The cry of the doorkeeper, !" Who go
home ?" which he always shouts out whs
the House rises, is said to mean, WI
goes home with the Speaker to prote
him ?" and has descended down from tho
! troublous times when it was not safe f
C e +" Mr.. Speaker" to 60 home alone.
;, There is another curious ceremony whit
y is occasionally seen at the House. and.
ii once led 70 laughable scene, it