The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-01-30

| tingulSned Republicans. This was more
than a mere question of rules. It
was constitutional right, right to
have the yeas and nays entered, and it
necessarily followed that when the consti-
tuition said yeas and nays should be SO en-
tered, they could not be added to or taken
| from. He quoted from Speaker Blaine's
ruling on the force bill to the effect that
the speaker had not power to cour t QUO
rum, and declared that the decision Just
foundation of the greatest legislative
frauds ever committed. The House was
invited here to pursue the course which
Blaine had declared revolutionary. Crisp
quoted Garfield as denonncing a similar
rule proposed in his time, and asking: sHow
DO we know but that the speaker may see
Qor his own purpose) forty members more
imam there are in the HOuseP
Cultivate here declared he had been
counted by the speaker while he was not
ON the floor. Great confusion resulted a
few minutes when Crisp continued: 1--WE
nave lived through great civil war, when
there was excitement unparalleled in the
history OF parliamentary action, yet during
ali those years no man, no party ever be-
lore thought it necessary to introduce a
rule which would give the power of declar-
ing the presence of members by the
single voice of one person. In COM
mon with every member on his
| SIDE he demanded that there should be
public expressions of the question whether
there should be tellers'' He quoted from
the remarks of Reed himself in a debate in
which Reed said: "The constitutional
idea OF quorum is not the physical pres
ence OF majority of the members of the
House, but majority of the members
present and participating in business
(lrlumphant cheers on the Democratic
side and in the gallery \
Referring to the New York decision of
Governor Hill, Springer said that his ac-
ton had been denounced by the Democrats
OF the New York legislature as reyolu-
tionary
Crisp was proceeding to read the press
report OF the last Republican caucus, but
was Immediately called to order bv Kerr
and the objection sustained by the speaker.
Crisp went on to appeal to the Republican
size TO hesitate before they endorse his
revolutionary and unconstitutional ruling
cannon said the gentleman on the other
side should consult the constitution. for
after all, in the constitution they had a
mode OF ascertaining what a quorum was,
ana IL by the constitution there was a QUO
rum present to-day, the country would
sustain the House of Representatives in
going on and legislating. The constitution
provides that each house shall be Judge of
election returns and the qualifications of
its own members and majority of each
mouse snail constitute quorum to do bust
ness. Did the constitution say that a ma
Jority should be required to vote for mea-
sure IN order to pass it! Not at all 1t
merely said that the majority of each house
should constitute quorum to do business.
In conclusion Cannon laid down the PROPOSE
ton that by general parliamentary law and
under the constitution when no quorum
was present. and that fact ascertained.
ana Wnen there is a majority voting in
FAVOR OF a measure, that measure is adopted
whether 1t be motion, resolution or a
law.
Carlisle said that no speaker ever sat in
the chair and undertook to hold that less
IMAM quorum can pass any bill or vote in
this House until now. All have held that
majority must not only be present to
constitute quorum, but that quorum
must participate in legislation. He quoted
from constitutional sections and said that
when the trainers of the constitution nro-
vlded that majority of the members
elected should constitute quo
rum to do business, they saw
that II it stopped there less
than quorum could do certain things, and
therefore they provided that less than
quorum could do certain things-adiourn
from day to day, compel the attendance of
absent members, etc. If the report made
this morning was correct, there was no
necessity for any provision of the consti-
tuition defining what less than majority
could do. He denied absolutely the right /
OF the presiding officer of the House to |
make the journal. Suppose the speaker of |
was right, then one man could pass a bill |
as well as one hundred, and surely the |
speaker was It's organ and not its master
he, Carlisle, was not here to deal in !
eplthets, but he did say that if this ruling |
stood it worked complete revolution in
the method of transacting the business of |
the Honse. It's use should be other and |
lolIoW the OLD rule and allow no legislation
unless participated in by the majority of !
all the members elect
Mckinley took the floor but made n mo- !
lion to adjourn, which was carried wi.ho..
division