Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1895-03-26
the HISTORY or a BILL ~ cos.
GRRgg.

Glasses, public and private. The
term private bill shall be con-
strued 10 mean all bills for the e
lief Of private parties, bills grant
ing pensions, and bills removing
political disabilities" All other
bills, therefore, are considered as
public bills because they affect
some measure which is of a gem
eral nature. Bills in both houses
bear a semblance to each other in
form and character, although they
differ in that they are marked
house or senate" etc. Each
house has a separate series of
numbers running through the en-
tire congress, the first bill intro
duced being No. l, etc, till the
end of the congress. No limit is
fixed as to the number Of bills or
resolutions representatives and
senators may introduce.
The title Of a bill is a summary
or statement of the purpose of the
bill. The enacting clause is pro-
vided by statute, in the following
words: "Be it enacted by the sem
ate and house of representatives
Of the United States of America,
in congress assembled" The IT,
tie of a bill may be changed at any
time during its consideration, but
the enacting words never change
under any conditions. If they
are stricken out, the bill ceases to
have an existence, and is thereby
finally disposed Of. Bills are pre-
pared upon blank forms, furnished
in each house of congress through
the stationery department, SO that
all bills introduced are uniform in
character. In the house of repre-
sentatives, public bills are intro
duced AMI considered as read a
first and second time by present
ing them to the speaker without
publicly presenting them in open
session. Private bills are intro
duced in the house by placing
them in the hands Of the clerk
when they are printed and consid.
cred as read a first and seconC
time and referred to appropriate
committees without any action il
open session; but in the senate
all bills are presented in open sen
ate, following the forms and Gus
toms established long ago. Wher
a bill is read a first and SECOND
time by title and referred to a com
mittee, it becomes the property o
the committee and it cannot b,
disposed of except by action Of tn,
house or senate, as the case ma,
be. There are many rules of pro
cedure that apply to the introduc.
ton of bills, which may be enforc
ed for various purposes, that mus
be passed over in this short paper
but any bill mag be read in ful
instead Of by title, when presente.
for the first or second reading, i
either house of congress, if deman.
is made for the same.
The treatment of a bill in any O
the committees of congress is gov
erned by established usages, b
which all bills are registered L
the committee to which they ar
referred, and so usually taken u.
in the order in which they ar
found on the docket of the com
mittee. There are four ways i
which a house committee may dis
pose of a bill: First, lay it asld
without action; second, propose
substitute for it; third, be dis
charged by the house from furthe
consideration Of the bill: fourth
report it with or without amend
ments, In the senate there al
but three ways in which the com
mittees dispose of a bill: Firs
lay it aside without action; secon,
be discharged from further consit
, GRAFTON of it; third, report it wit
or without amendment,
When bills are reported in bot
houses of congress from commi
tees, they are usually, though n,
always, accompanied by write
reports, which are ordered prinI
, ed. The report Of the commit,
: usually governs the action Of eitl
er house when considering a mea
IRE. At the time the bill is r,
> ported in either house, it is diI
/ posed Of by being placed upon Il
calendar or taken up immediate
for consideration. The calend.
may be described as a journal
1871 -. IN