The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-02-18

count quorum, except during the progres:
| of an aye and no call.
Mr. Dockery of Missouri said the rule
cited by Mr.. McMilli1 did not seem to pro.
vide for a count by the Speaker at all
The Speaker replied that the rule provided
| for count of those who voted, and the vote
| resulted, ia to 8; that seemed to be major.
| ty.
Mr.. McMillip insisted on the point that no
| quorum voted. Neither the Speaker nor any
other man could assume the men counted
| were in the House while the vote was being
taken. Ii they were not, then they had nc
| right to vote.
The Speaker replied he had announced, at
the time,- 172 members present by actual
count No one was counted who was moi
present at the time the vote was taken. II
the members did not desire to vote. the pre-
sumption was that they aequiesced in the
result of the vote.
Mr.. McMillin declared the Speaker would
not presume every man here when the tell
ers were in place.
The Speaker replied the vote had not been
announced.
Finally, MIR. Bland wished to know by
what right the tellers left their place before
the gentlemen voted
The Speaker said if the gentlemen desired
to vote the tellers would take theil place.
Mr.. Mills, of Texas, maintained that the
rules required decision by tellers. The
Speaker appealed from their decision and
from every rule of the House; He looked
over the House and determined quorum
presentiwhen the rule required that the tel
lers determine 1t, the Speaker simply to an
| nornce their decision. That rule was
necessary to the interest of fairness.
Mr.. Cannon. of Illinois, declared the chair
had done his duty in counting the members to
determine the presence of aQuOrum. That
was entirely different question from vote
by tellers. If there was a quorum, the
House could do business. One hundred and
fourteen votes were sufficient; they were q
majority as against eighty-two. In this
country and Great Britain the Speaker al
ways had power to count the House to de-
termine the presence of quorum.
Mr.. Carlisle challenged the gentleman to
cite an instance where it had been done in
this House before this Congress.
Mr.: Cannon was under the Impression
that Mr.. Carlisle. when speaker, had without
instructions ordered the House counted
Mr.. Carlisle denied this.
Mr.. Blount of Georgia, said the rules nev-
er contemplated the exercise of any such
power as exercised this morning Where
was the authority? Perhaps under general
parliamentary law, which he thought was
done away with. He de6ed anyone to pro-
duce an instance where Speaker had
overridden the decision of tellers.
Mr.. Lodge of Massachusetts argued in
favor of the Speakers position and quoted
at length from Adams diary to show that
John Randolph led the ilibustering move
ment in the early days Of Congress, when
the Speaker counted the House himself to
learn that no quorum was present. The gen.
tlemen on the other side argued that quo
rum could be determined by the yeas and
and nays, but, under the rule there could
then be no roll call. A necessary majority
had been ascertained by tellers. Nobody
denied that a quorum was here also.
Mr.. Carlisle maintained that the moment
the tellers were ordered by the House to
take their places, the power of the Chair to
count, except upon their report, ceased. The
very purpose in ordering tellers was to pre-
vent the Speaker fIom making count and
put 1t in the hands of the gentlemen chosen,
one from one side and one from the other
side. Whens their report was made to the
chair that vote was over If the tellers re-
sumed their seats there was no remedy, ex-
cept to take it over again. He was not MAX
ing his argument because he was opposed to
the seconding of the motion. He expected
to vote for the second. He believed that this
was most importans construction of the
rules, ,and the House should not surrender its
power to the Speaker.
The Speaker then explained his position,
and announced the yeas ia, nays s, and the
motion seconded.
Messrs. Gambler of Massachusetts, Flower
of New York. Hit of Illinois, Hatch of
Missouri, and Wilson of West Virginia called
for speed action on the report of the COM
mittee. The motion to suspend the rules
and make special order for the fair bills
resulted-yeas, 142; nays, 81; and the spe-
cial order was made.
The call of committees was concluded, aud
Mr.. Perkins of Kansas moved to suspend
the rules and pass the bill for the relief of
the Sioux Indians at the DEVILS Lake agen-
cy, N. d. The bill pa sed without division
Mr.. Banks of Massachusetts, called up the
bill to provide for the appointment of thirty
additional medical examiners in the pension
office. After discussion, the yeas and nays
were taken upon the passage of the bill, re-
sulting-yeas, 100; nays, 10; no quorum.
The House, at 6.35, adjourned.