Session of Parliament, (note.) Signing Bills. May 28, 1798, Mr. Dent, speaker pro tem. signed a bill, (note.) Speaker votes in all cases of ballot, when the House is equally divided, or if his vote being given to the minor- elected for a congress, oath of, to support the constitution, Speaker's table, business on the, Speaker to dispose of the business on the table. Page. 9 52 50 52 ib 11, 13 12 28 30 50 preserved, Vote. No member to vote unless within the bar of 39 40 CONGRESSIONAL MANUAL. OPENING OF THE SESSION OF CONGRESS. The two houses of Congress are directed to convene by the Constitution of the United States on the first Monday in December. It usually happens, that a quorum of the members attend and enter upon their duties on that day. The members meet in their respective chambers at 12 o'clock, meridian. Those who arrive first at the opening of any first session of Congress, are entitled to select their seats in any part of the house, which is done by the member's taking the * * In parliament, members who wish to sit in any particular part of the house on a given evening, must go down at the time of prayers, and label the particular place with their name, If they neglect to do this, they cannot claim any particular seat as a right, though it may be conceded to them by the courtesy of other members, if it be the place they usually filled. The seats occupied by members of the government are, however, understood to be exceptions to this rule. Minis ters, and those holding important government offices, are not key and writing his name on the desk. This right of selecting urges the gentlemen to the seat of government at an early day. The selection will stand for the congress, or two years. In the senate, the seats are taken usually for the full term. Yet the old senators may change to places left vacant by gentlemen whose term of service expired, and who are not re-elected. The new senators can take their choice of such seats as are vacant, in the same manner as in the house of representatives, the first who come having the advantage of the choice. In the senate, however, it is not very important, where a gentleman may be seated, as it is a small chamber, where he can hear and be heard without difficulty. In the house it is a subject of much interest with some to get into the interior of the chamber, and not be cast upon the frontier seats of a body composed of two hundred and forty-two representatives. The members in Washington at twelve o'clock, therefore, repair to their respective seats; and the clerk at his desk in front of the speaker's chair, at the hour of twelve rises, and asks if it is the pleasure of the house that he should proceed to open the session, which being agreed to, he calls over the names of the members by states and territories, and announces the number present. put to the trouble of placarding their names on the backs of their seats, as no other member, however crowded the house, would think of occupying their places. When an important debate is expected, almost all the seats, with the exception of those occupied by the members of the government, are thus labelled the moment that prayers are over.-Recollections of the House of Commons. He then, (a quorum having answered to their names,) propounds another question to the house, viz. Is it the pleasure of the house to proceed to the election of speaker? which question being decided in the affirmative, he names three or four members to count the votes, and asks if they shall act as tellers; which being agreed to, the sergeant-at-arms and door-keeper of the late house carry the boxes provided for the reception of the ballots to the members; and having received them all, deposit them at the clerk's desk, where the tellers are seated. The ballots are then taken from the boxes and counted. The choice of speaker is always made by ballot; and the tellers read aloud the names of the persons voted for, so that the members may all, if they desire, distinctly hear and count the tickets deposited for the respective candidates. It usually happens that the speaker is elected on the first ballot; but if not, the boxes are again carried round, and the count continued by the tellers till a majority of the whole number of the votes polled have been received by some one of the candidates, or the house adjourns over till some other day. The majority of the votes of the members present having been cast for some one of the candidates, and the tellers having reported that fact, the clerk announces that is elected speaker for the congress.* He is conducted by two of the senior * In Parliament, the speaker is elected, not at the commencement of each session, but at the meeting of every new parliament. The title Speaker is given to him because he alone has the right to speak to or address the king in the name and on behalf the house. In the chair, he sits chiefly members of the house to the chair, when he delivers an appropriate address; and the clerk invites one of the gentlemen who conducted him thither, to administer to the speaker, the oath to support the constitution of the United States, as prescribed by the constitution and the act entitled "An act to regulate the time and manner of administering certain oaths, passed the first day of June, 1789." The following is the form of the oath : I A. B. do solemnly swear, or affirm, [as the case may be,] that I will support the constitution of the United States. After the speaker has taken the preceding oath, the clerk calls over the names of the gentlemen alphabetically, who come up to the chair as called, when the speaker administers to them the requisite qualification.* This is done in compliance with the following article of the constitution of the United States: "The senators and representatives (of the congress of the United States,) and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support the constitution of the United States." It will be observed that this is the practice at in the capacity of a moderator of the assembly, never taking any part in the proceedings, or expressing any opinion on the subject-matter of discussion. * In some of the state legislatures the speaker and members, after having been duly qualified, sign their names to a copy of the oath or affirmation, in a book kept by the clerk for that purpose. |