The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1890-02-08
CARLISLE ON REED.
a statesman has a WORD to say ON
the UsurpatOTy AcLs OF
DemaRORue.

speaker arc 40 full OF uahkef 10 the
integrity of future l~egislatiun, that we
consider it our duty to submit a brief
statement of the tacts, i'll order that the
propriety OF the course we have taken
may be fairly determined.
The house met on the I'd day oi De
cember, 1889, and Immediately organ
lied by h election OF n speaker and
other officers. On the same day, by IA
resolution OF the house, the speaker
was authorized to appoint a committee
on rules, aud the rules OF the last pre-
ceding house were referred TO that
committee. The committee, consisting
of the speaker himself and four other
members, was appointed on the 9th day
| of December, and on the 9Th II made Il
report authorizing the speaker to APP
point all the other committees and
resigniug their jurisdiction. The CON-
mittee on elections, to which was
referred all cases involving the rights OF
members TO their seats, was appointed
on The 9th day of December. Although
nearly two months have elapsed since
the committee on rules was appointed
II has made no report upon the matters
referred to il, except the partial one
made on the 9th day of December end
consequently the house has been com,
PEELED I conduct the business without
any rule or system except the general
parliamentary law as construed by
the speaker. There has been no calen,
der, no order of business, no fixed time
10 receive reports from committees, or
Tor the consideration of bills or resOlu.
tons, aud in fact no regular methods
/ III "a I'm no Ia nVnnnnlssn nj tho hnnan
II HOUSE WITHOUT RULES.
The American house of representa-
tives has been during all this time. and
| still IS, so far as rules tor its govern.
nent are concerned, in precisely the
same condition as a popular meeting or
II political convention, In which he
chairman and his partlsans absolutely
| control all the proceedings. No meas.
ure can get before the house for con
sideration unless the speaker chooses to
allow 1t TO be presented, and members
have no means of knowing in advance
what they are to be called upon to
discuss or decide. This Is the first time
in u history that q legislative Assem-
blage, or even q public meeting, has
attempted TO transact business for any
Il COuoluCl NUN PCIiOA III q uioi
code OF rules prescribing the order OF
It's proceedings, and the Inconvenience
and iniustive resulting from such al
attempt have been torcibly illustrated
in the present instance. The speaker
has repeatedly during these extraordi.
nary proceedings refused to entertain
parliamentary motions that have been
recognized as legitimate ever since the
government was established, and hen
attempts have been made to appeal from
his decisions, he has refused to submit
the question to the house. BY his ar
bjtrsry rulings sustained in some
instances by less than a quorum, be has
subverted nearly every principle OF
constitutional and parliamentary law
heretofore recognized In the house.
This personal and partisan domiua-
ton of the house was submitted to,
though not without repeated protests,
until VIC became convinced that IL was
the deliberate purpose of the speaker
and his supporters to proceed without
rules to u the democratic members
whose seats are contested, and admit
their republican opponents. whether
elected OF not.
On Wednesday, January 20, the
committee on elections called up y con-
tested election case, and the democratic
members determined that Ia the absence
of rnles II should not be considered, If
they could prevent 1t by any proper
parliamentary proceedings. According
ly they raised the question OF consider.
alton demanded the yeas aud nays, and
on the call OF the roll refrained from
voting. The result was that less than
Il constitutional quorum voted, but the
speaker In violation of the uniform
practice of the house for more than q
century, proceeded to count members
| who were present, but not voting, aud
declared that the house had decided 10
take the case up. From this decision
all appeal was taken, and on a motion
10 lay this appeal on the table, the
| yeas and nays were taken, and less than
u quorum voted, but the speaker again
counted members not voting and decid
ed that the motion was agreed TO, and
his ruling thereby sustained.
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS.
The constitution of the United States
provides that a majority of each house
"shali constitute a quorum to do bust
Il bSoo sooto lolA ~ ulu1 duIutt II
from day TO day, and may be authorized
10 compel he attendance of absent
members in snch manner and under
such penalties as each house may
provide"
Another clause Of the constitution
requires each house to keep a Journal
Of the proceedings, and provides that
when one-fifth of the members present,
desire II the yeas and maya shall he
taken Oh any question and entered on
the Journal.
Since the beginning of the govern
ment under the constitution, more than
u hundred years ago, the house of rep
res~entatives and the senate have uni
formlv construed the first clause of the
constitution quoted above TO mean that
a majority OF all the members elect
must be present and actually participate
IN the transaction Of business, and thai.
whenever upon a call of the yeas and
nays IL appeared from the journal.
which is the only official record, that
less than the constitutional quorum has
voted on any proposition, the vote was
II nullity, and no further business should
be done until the requisite number mp.
peared and voted Every presiding I'll
Ger in the senate and every speaker of the
house, except the present one, has held
that when less than a quorum voted on
Il call OF the yeas and nays, no matter
how many might be actually present,
Ii was his duty TO take notice of the
fact and declare that the pending bill
or motion had not passed. When the
vote is not taken by yeas and nays, it
Ia not entered upon the journal, but ii
any member makes the point that 10
quorum has voted, the proceeding is u
utility, and the vote must he taken
over. The presumption OF the law is
that when nothing appears to the con
trary, the proceedings OF a legislative
body are regular and valid. And there
fore when the official record does not
show that less than a quorum voted,
or attention Is not called to the Tact in
such a way as to furnish legal evidence
Of II, The question cannot be made after,
ward. Many bills have been passed
when there was no quorum voting, a.
II L. equally true that many have passed
when there was no quorum actually
present. but this does not prove thai
he proceeding would have been valid
IN either case il the official record had
shown the fact.
RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.
In order TO secure certainty aud eta
bility in the administration of the law
it 10 a rule In our jurisprudence tina
when u particular construction or 1
statute has been for a long time aCQuIes
rpu in. moi only nv those whoSa dut,