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Concluding Remarks.

The harmony and success of a public meeting will depend very largely upon the order preserved by the presiding officer. If the assemblage be of a character where any trouble is to be apprehended, it is well for the projectors of the meeting to notify officers, having authority to preserve order, to be in attendance. The chairman, however, will greatly aid in the preservation of stillness, by requesting all persons in to room to come forward and be seated in his near presence see that every seat, if possible, is filled in front. A magnetic connection and sympathy exists between the presiding officer and the audience, when the congregation is placed closely around the chairman's desk, that is favorable for the president of a meeting. Seated near the chairman, the audience can more distinctly hear all that is said, they will take a greater interest in the meeting, and hence will observe better order.

HONORARY MEMBERS.

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Veteran members of the meeting, and persons who have won honorable distinction in the cause that the meeting assembles to consider, distinguished past presiding officers, and other notabilities whose presence will lend dignit to the rostrum, the chairman may appropriately call to the stand, to occupy a seat beside him, all of which, well managed by the presiding officer, tends to give dignity, respectability, and influence to the proceedings of the assemblage.

The Ladies.

In the preparation of this work on parliamentary usages, the author has, for convenience sake, made reference to, and spoken only of, the masculine gender. Realizing. however,

that the time is now at hand when the women of the country will take a much more active part in public affairs than they have done hitherto, this chapter is also prepared with special reference to the wants of conventions, and other assemblages, composed wholly, or in part, of ladies; the only change required in the wording being the personal pronouns, which make reference to the male sex.

Titles of Women who act as Officers. When a woman acts as presiding officer of a meeting, the person addressing her should say, "Mrs. President," or "Miss President," as the case may be.

The presiding officer will designate the speaker, if a lady, by name, by number; or as the lady, the number, the delegate, the representative, etc., as may be most convenient.

The titles of clerk, secretary, recording officer, treasurer, etc., are the same, whether applied to ladies or gentlemen.

Adjournment.

If the meeting be a regular session of a legislature, or council, and it is moved and voted to adjourn, such adjournment is understood to be until the next regular meeting. If it is desired to meet before that, the meeting will adjourn to reassemble at the time specified.

If the meeting be not in regular session, it is necessary, if the business be unfinished at the time of adjournment, to adjourn to a certain time. If, however, the business for which the assembly was called is completed, and no subsequent assemblage is necessary, it is moved and seconded to adjourn, which being put by the president, and carried, the meeting is dissolved.

N writing for the Press, while being explicit, the writer should make the statement as brief as possible. Though in ordinary conversation talk may be cheap, in the newspaper, words cost money. If sent by telegraph,

they cost for transmission; time is consumed in their examination by the editor and proofreader; money is expended in putting them in type; ink and paper must be furnished on which they make their impress; and time is to be occupied by the reader in their perusal; therefore, each word should convey as much significance as possible.

General Directions.

I. If, unavoidably, a long article is written relating to a variety of subjects, it is well to break the sameness of the appearance by sub-heads, scattered through the article, relating to different subjects considered in the composition.

2. Write very plainly, on white paper with black ink, taking care to write names of persons, dates and places, with the utmost distinctness.

3. Use sheets of paper about six by nine inches in size, numbered in their order if more than one sheet be used. Very large sheets, on the compositor's case, make it inconvenient for the type setter.

4. Write on but one side of the sheet. Thus the paper containing your communication may be, if necessary, cut into parts, and distributed among several compositors who will place your composition in type.

5. As a rule, in short news articles, never use the pronouns I or you. A plain, succinct record of the news is all that is required. If necessary for the writer to refer to himself, it is better to say "Our reporter" or "The writer."

6. Never waste time in complimenting the editor or his paper, when writing a letter for publication. Commence at once with the subject in hand, and close when you have done.

Local Reporting.

That kind of journalistic writing most easily taken up, and yet quite difficult to do well, is that of presenting in attractive form a judicious report of home news.

Much demand exists for more reportorial talent, especially on the country newspaper. Thousands of exciting incidents and events transpire, the details of which, written up for the press, would greatly edify the readers of the country journal, the editor of which, knowing nothing of the affair, is compelled to fill his paper with foreign news of less interest to his subscribers.

As a general rule, there is not sufficient local matter to be obtained, nor space to be filled, in the weekly country journal, to make it an object for the publisher to employ, at a weekly salary, a person whose exclusive business shall be collecting local news; and yet the editor is desirous of obtaining all the important home intelligence there is, and will willingly pay for such as he may publish, at the rate of from $1 to $5 per column, when an arrangement may be made for the correspondent to write regularly.

Of course no writer should expect compensation until it is clearly shown that his or her writings are of decided service to the paper in which they are published. When they become so, editors and publishers readily concede the fact, and are willing to pay what the articles are worth.

Important Reportorial Qualifications.

The reporter should be truthful. In writing of any event, great care should be taken to state the actual facts. To do this, the reporter should possess the energy to go to the scene of action, if possible, himself, and learn the exact condition of affairs. It is often unsafe to depend upon hearsay.

The reporter should carefully guard against allowing his own opinions to warp or bias his report of the sayings or doings of others, thus giving, almost without his being conscious of the fact, an untruthful representation. A plain, unvarnished report should be made, and nothing else.

Much discretion should be exercised in the personal mention of individuals. A dozen words, thoughtlessly written, may do irreparable injury to the reputation of an innocent person: a paragraph in praise may add to the life-long happiness and prosperity of the individual upon whom it is bestowed. As a general rule, while praise may be personally given, if wrongs exist, it is better to speak of them in general terms, rather than couple them with names of the individuals at fault; though, if the person be notoriously persistent in a course of wrong doing, justice demands newspaper exposure.

New Manufactures. In prospect, when, where, by whom established, kind, etc. New Buildings. for what purpose, cost, etc. Price of Staple Commodities. prospect for the future, etc.

To be or built, erected by whom,

In the market,

Parties Leaving Town. - Who, when, where going, business going into. Presentations. By whom, to whom, where given, what presented, why.

Railroads.- New roads in prospect, profits of present roads, etc.

Sales of Real Estate.-By whom, to whom, who will occupy, amount paid, etc.

Shows, Exhibitions, Fairs. — Where, when, who gives them, character of entertainment.

Schools. Facts and figures concerning them, change of teachers, improvements needed, etc.

Secret Societies. — Election of officers, prosperity and condition of the society.

Strange Phenomena. — In the heavens, in the elements, on or in the earth, where, when.

Suggestions of Improvements Needed. Where, when, by whom, cost, etc.

Surgical Operations. — By whom performed, of what character, condition of patient.

- Who sick, cause, by what physician attended, health of the community.

Telegraphs. - What new lines are to be established, present cost of telegraphing, etc.

type, before it is correct. Of course this loss of time must be borne by the compositor, and frequently, with those printers employed in

RESULTS OF BAD PENMANSHIP. Especial pains should be taken, when writing for the press, to write legibly. The error is very common with some authors and prominent men,

of writing in a manner such as to seriously trespass upon the time and patience of printers and correspondents upon whom they inflict their penmanship.

This fault is a very serious one, and causes much waste of time and pecuniary loss to printers. Lawyers frequently prepare their briefs, clergymen their sermons, and others their copy, in a penmanship so entirely illegible as to compel several re-settings of much of the same, in

entails a loss in their earnings of several dollars per week.

While to filch from the pocket of the printer, in this manner may not be deemed so dishonorable as to steal his purse, the result is, how

ever, all the same.

Again, business men who would regard it a great intrusion for another to trespass on their time for even a half hour, will show the discourtesy to write a letter to a correspondent which may consume hours and even days of his time in deciphering the same.

This evil would be less if it stopped here. Unfortunately, however, it goes beyond and afflicts the coming penmanship of our youth. The boy that will pick up the half consumed cigar and smoke out the balance of the stump, thinking that thereby he makes a man of himself, will look upon bad penmanship, when executed by distinguished men, as an evidence of genius, and is not unlikely to imagine himself a great man, because he imitates their pot-hooks and scrawls.

Eminent men are liable to have faults. If the error is an illegible penmanship, this defect is none the less a fault, because the man may have distinguished reputation and redeeming qualities in other directions.

Young writers should not therefore ape bad penmanship as an evidence of genius. Of two articles written for the newspaper, all things else

being equal, that one stands much the best

chance for publication which is most plain in penmanship. Let the young author see that the composition is not only correctly written, when prepared for the press, but that it is so perfectly legible that its merit may be readily seen upon

examination.