The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-02-20
BEcKLEY AND RULINGS.

Putting aside every element OF paFtl
feeling which might enter into the dis
cussion. the exhibition Of bossing
house given yesterday afternoon BY
Speaker Beckley. and the taking it OF
the Republican majority. together con
etitute doing business under ctrcum-
stances perhaps never equaIled in the
United States The late Thomas
Bracket Reed. whose arbitrary rulings
earned for him the title of the Car,
never went so far, and perhaps it might
be well to say his rulings upon the
identical question raised by Represen-
tatfve Nakaleka in his motion to ad-
journ. and by Representative Harris
moment later, were dramatically op-
uosite to those of the local parliament
tartan.
The rules of the House in general are
those which govern parliamentary bod
les the world over. There are of course
exceptions, but as a whole the rules of
procedure are the same. They contain
this clause under the heading Motions
to adjourn" zone motion to adjourn
shall not follow another without in
tervening business" There is certainly
no equivocation in the language and
no chance to get around it, but the
question comes on the meaning of the
word business" And right there Mr..
Beckley has set up for himself stand
ard which is alone and unique, a thing
oF he
Mr.. Beckley yesterday, upon the re-
converting of the House after recess
of four hours, declared that no motion
to adjourn could be entertained until
the order of business had been COM
pleted. That order was the completion
of the organization of the house, and
not until every one of the officials I'M
der the rules had been chosen would
Mr. Beckley listen to a motion for adj
journrnent He held later that the selec- /
ton Of one official was not sufficient, |
but that it was the full complement !
that was meant by the rules as bust |
ness
It is interesting to note the difference
between the lengths to which Mr.. Beck
'iey went and the limits of the actions
presiding officers. During the extra
session of Congress- held in the spring
and summer of 1897, under call of Pres
ident Mckinley, known as the Dingley
Law congress, when after completing
the consideration of the Tariff Act, the
n.
other business was to be entertained
while the Senate was discussing the ,
the House spent its time meet \
ing twice a week, on Monday and
Thursday. All that was done at the
of. those sessions was to meet,
approve the journal, which recorded
the meeting previously, and adjourn for
three days This was fought bitterly ,
by Democrats, but nevertheless the ac-
ton of Speaker Reed was upheld, that :
the mere fact of meeting and approving y
the journal was in the highest sense \
business" ;
1t is impossible to conceive that Mr.. o
BeckIey understood that Mr.. Chilling 1
worth, in the morning, moved to adj
ourn. The recess taken was on direct G
notion, and between the motion to ad- q
ourn of Wednesday and that of Thurs =
lay afternoon, there had interviewed r
of Importance, for the house r
lad approved it's actions of the pre- n
rious day and made the record perfect is
The clause of the rules is clear and
is object is just as easily to be seen.
[ is safeguard against flibuster. II
sut for that clause, the motion to adj II
ourn being always in order, any one il
Eho would prevent business could con- II
ecutively rise and move to adjourn v
o as TO make one constant round of et
citing. That is it's object, but to use W
UGH safeguard as club is without il
recedent is