[Hinds' Precedents, Volume 1]
[Front Matter]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
of the
HOUSE OF REPREESENTATIVES
of the
UNITED STATES
INCLUDING REFERENCES TO PROVISIONS
OF THE CONSTITUTION, THE LAWS, AND DECISIONS
OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE
By
ASHER C. HINDS, LL.D.
Clerk at the Speaker's Table
VOLUME I
published by authority of the act of congress
approved march 4, 1907
washington
government printing office
1907
INTRODUCTION.
The value of precedents in guiding the action of a legislative body
has been demonstrated by the experience of the House of Representatives
for too many years to justify any arguments in their favor now. ``We
have no other means of building up parliamentary law, either in the
Mother Country or here,'' said a great lawyer, who was also an
experienced legislator,\1\ ``except by instances as they arise and
treatment of them and disposition of the law and of the good reasons
that should govern these considerations.'' And a great legislator, who
had served a lifetime in the House of Representatives and the Senate
\2\ concluded that ``the great body of the rules of all parliamentary
bodies are unwritten law; they spring up by precedent and custom; these
precedents and customs are this day the chief law of both Houses of
Congress.''
In the House of Representatives, as in other legislative bodies, the
memories of the older Members, as they might be corroborated by the
journals, have been the favorite and most readily accessible repository
of the precedents; but as the generations of statesmen come and go much
is lost, and many useful precedents cease to be available except as
from time to time the voluminous pages of the journals may be searched
hastily under the stress of some pressing question.
It is manifestly desirable, on a floor where high interests and great
passions strive daily, that the rules of action should be known
definitely, not only by the older members, but by all. Not only will
the Speaker be enabled to make his decisions with more confidence and
less fear that he may be swayed by the interests of the moment, but the
Members, understanding the rules of his action, will sustain with
commendation what they might have criticised with asperity. Thus, good
order and dignity will be preserved to the body.
Mr. Jefferson, quoting with approval the famous English Speaker
Onslow, has dwelt on the necessity of an adherence to the rules of
procedure in order that the minority, as the weaker party, may be
protected from the abuses ``which the wantonness of power is but too
apt often to suggest to large and successful majorities.'' The
protection of the minority in its proper functions of examining,
amending, and sometimes persuading the House to reject the propositions
of the majority is an essential requirement of any sound system of
procedure. Edmund Burke, when commiserated on his toilsome and
apparently fruitless years as an opposition statesman in the House of
Commons, explained that he found his reward in the fact that the
minority which he led had caused many wise modifications of ministerial
measures, and had also caused others to be abandoned in view of
----------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ William M. Evarts, in the United States Senate. First session
Forty-ninth Congress, Record, p. 7353.
\2\ John Sherman, in the Senate. First session Forty-fourth Congress,
Record, p. 433.
the honest and intelligent criticism which they would meet. When
Mr. Jefferson wrote no one had seriously conceived that a minority
might go further than this lofty and useful duty. But as the House
of Representatives grew in size the rules and practice put into
the hands of the minority the power of obstruction. This power
grew to such proportions during the portentous legislative
struggles preceding and following the civil war that at last it
amounted to the absolute power to stop legislation entirely. Not
only was the power justified because it was established, but it
attained a certain degree of respectability as it enwrapped itself
in the theory that on great questions the wisdom of the few should
be permitted to thwart the rashness of the many. The abundant
checks and balances devised by the framers of the Constitution to
save the Government from popular passions were considered by a
large school of statesmen inadequate without the added check of
obstruction. Mr. Speaker Reed, in 1890, destroyed this system by
the enunciation of the principle that the processes of a
legislative body might not be used to destroy its powers; and
since that day the minority has been remitted to its historic
functions. The rulings then made constitute the only important
reversal in the lines of precedent which as a whole have built up
for the minority a safeguard for its legitimate duties, and for
the majority a flexible and effective instrumentality for its
necessary achievements.
In another respect the value of precedent to the House of
Representatives should not be overlooked. The framers of the
Constitution experienced little uncertainty as to the functions and
powers of the House. In the Colonial Assemblies there was existing a
political institution, indigenous to America, and proven by the long
conflict arising from the attempts of the English Kings to establish
arbitrary power. The people of America had fought the first battle of
liberty in the Colonial Assemblies. Nowhere else, among the great
nations of the earth, did the people possess such a perfect means of
expressing their will. It was natural, therefore, that the framers of
the Constitution should at once have conceived of a National House of
Representatives, framed on the model of the Colonial Houses, and should
have guaranteed to it the powers and privileges necessary for its
preservation as the organ of the will of the whole people. It is a duty
and a national necessity that those powers and privileges be preserved
in their pristine vigor; and there is no surer way to this end than
perfect information on the part of every Member of the House as to what
they are. One of the chief ends proposed by this work has been the
collection and classification of the precedents relating to this
subject in such a way that they may always be clearly before the
membership of the House. If the prerogatives of the House are wen
understood, other branches of the Government are less likely to
encroach on them; and if there be encroachment, it is more likely to be
met with promptness, intelligence, and firmness.
It has been the habit of a certain school of statesmen to picture a
fancied decay of the importance of the House as a branch of the
Government. A critical examination of the present and past condition of
its powers and privileges affords no foundation for this theory, which
derives dignity only from the fact that it has been advanced from time
to time for nearly a century. Perhaps it is to be explained by a
confusion of ideas, resulting from the undoubted fact that
with the great increase of membership the individual Representative
has lost much of freedom and opportunity. This is a condition of all large
bodies, well understood as long ago as when Thackeray, in writing the
pages of Pendennis, caused his chief character to be informed that as a
young member of Parliament his only duty would be to do as he might be
directed by the leaders. From the ruling by which Mr. Speaker Clay
repressed the superabounding individuality of John Randolph to the
latest rulings by Mr. Speaker Cannon, the pages of these volumes show a
constant subordination of the individual to the necessities of the
whole House as the voice of the national will.
A hall of business, not always orderly and usually noisy, appeals to
the imagination less favorably than a quiet and dignified school of
debate. But if beneath the apparent confusion there can exist a system
of procedure, just to all the members and at the same time conducive to
an efficient performance of the duties of the body, the great objects
of the House will be attained, and its place in the confidence and
respect of the people will be unassailable. If the precedents which are
gathered in these volumes can contribute to the perfection and
maintenance of such a system, and cause it to be understood and
appreciated within the House and without, the labor of their
preparation will not have been in vain.
It can not, of course, be claimed that the system of the House's
procedure is perfect, or that changes will not result in the future as
in the past from the multiplied experiences of successive Congresses.
And it is of the highest importance that those changes proceed on a
basis of sound principles, having in view the maintenance of efficiency
as a legislative body, integrity in methods of determination, freedom
and fairness in deliberation, and as great privileges to the individual
as are consistent with the rights of all. This happy development WM be
promoted if from these precedents it shall be possible to understand
readily and accurately the fundamental theories of the House's law.
Abundant references have been made to precedents of the United States
Senate where they are of such a nature as to throw light on principles
related to the procedure of the House, but no attempt has been made to
make a complete collection of them. Some of those that are given are of
the highest value, representing conclusions formed after careful
examination.
In references to dates and volumes of debates and journals many
thousands of footnotes are given. It is not reasonable to hope that no
errors have crept in, but the system of double reference to dates and
paging is such that the text of the work may be corroborated without
difficulty from the pages of the journals and debates.
Asher C. Hinds
Portland, Me., September 3, 1907.
CONTENTS.
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VOLUME I.
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Chapter I.
the meeting of congress.
1. Provisions of Constitution and statutes. Sections 1 and 2.
2. Assembling of the First Congress as fixing, beginning of terms.
Section 3.
3. Time of assembling as governed by proclamation, law, and
Constitution. Sections 4-13.
Chapter II.
the clerk's roll of the members-elect.
1. The statutes governing the making of the roll. Sections 14, 15.
2. Early usage as to examination of credentials. Sections 16-18.
3. Corrections of the Clerk's roll by the House. Sections 19-25.
4. Enrolling names of Members deceased, resigned, or disqualified.
Sections 26-29.
5. Enrolling on the strength of irregular credentials. Sections 30-
39.
6. Enrolling on the strength of conflicting or imperfect
credentials. Sections 40-60.
7. Enrollment of Delegates. Sections 61, 62.
8. Withdrawal of credentials. Section 63.
Chapter III.
the presiding officer at organization.
1. Clerk calls House to order and presides. Sections 64, 65.
2. Election of a Chairman in place of Clerk. Sections 66, 67.
3. Early practice of Clerks to decide questions of order. Sections
68-72.
4. Later practice as to authority of Clerk. Sections 73-80.
Chapter IV.
procedure and powers of the members-elect in organization.
1. Forms of proceeding at organization. Section 81.
2. Status of House before organization. Section 82.
3. Call of the roll of Members-elect. Sections 83-86.
4. Sessions, adjournment, etc., during organization. Sections 87-92.
5. Adoption of rules. Sections 93-102.
6. Participation of contesting delegations in organization. Section
103.
7. Fixing the hour of daily meeting. Sections 104-117.
8. Illustration of a body called to order at organization by an old
Member. Section 118.
9. The drawing of seats. Sections 119-121.
10. As to action by one House before the other is organized. Sections
122-126.
Chapter V.
the oath.
1. Provisions of the Constitution and statutes. Sections 127, 128.
2. Form of organization of First Congress. Section 129.
3. Administration to the Speaker. Sections 130-133.
4. Limited discretion of the Speaker in administering. Sections 134-
139.
5. Challenging the right of a Member to be sworn. Sections 140-150.
6. Disposal of cases of challenge. Sections 151-159.
7. Delays in taking the oath. Sections 160-161.
8. Administration before arrival of credentials. Sections 162-168.
9. Administration to Members away from the House. Sections 169, 170.
10. Relations to the quorum, reading of the journal, etc. Sections
171-181.
11. Status of the Member-elect before taking. Sections 183-185.
Chapter VI.
the officers of the house and their election.
1. Provisions of Constitution and rule. Sections 186, 187.
2. General procedure of election. Sections 188-203.
3. The election of Speaker. Sections 204-230.
4. Resignation or death of Speaker. Sections 231-234.
5. The Clerk and his election. Sections 235-245.
6. Absence of the Clerk. Sections 246-248.
7. Authority and duties of the Clerk. Sections 249-253.
8. The Clerk custodian of the seal of the House. Sections 254-256.
9. The duties of the Sergeant-at-Arms. Sections 257-259.
10. The Doorkeeper and his duties. Sections 260-263.
11. Resignations and deaths of officers. Sections 264-268.
12. The Postmaster and his duties. Sections 269-271.
13. The Chaplain and his duties. Sections 272-282.
14. Defense of officers in actions. Section 283.
Chapter VII.
removal of officers of the house.
1. A proposition to remove an officer a question of privilege.
Sections 284-285.
2. Instances of removal, arraignment, and investigation. Sections
286-296.
Chapter VIII.
the electors and apportionment.
1. Constitution and laws relating to electors. Sections 297-300.
2. Constitution and laws relating to apportionment. Sections 301-
304.
3. Bills relating to census and apportionment, privileged. Sections
305-308.
4. Failure of States to apportion. Sections 309, 310.
5. Filling of vacancies in rearranged districts. Sections 311, 312.
6. Right of the State to change districts. Section 313.
7. Claims of States to representation in excess of apportionment.
Sections 314-319.
Chapter IX.
electorates incapacitated generally.
1. Effect of informalities in the election. Sections 320-323.
2. Intimidation and its effects. Sections 324-341.
3. Principles involved in Senate decisions as to competency of
legislatures. Sections 342-360.
Chapter X.
electorates distracted by civil war.
1. Joint rule excluding persons elected in insurrectionary States.
Section 361.
2. Informal elections in districts under military duress. Sections
362-381.
3. Principles deduced from Senate decisions as to States under
military duress. Sections 382-385.
Chapter XI.
electorates in reconstruction.
1. Members elect from insurrectionary States not admitted on prima
facie title. Sections 386-388.
2. Case of the Georgia Members in 1869. Section 388.
3. Principles deduced from Senate decisions. Sections 389-395.
Chapter XII.
electorates in new states and territories.
1. Admission of Members after passage of act admitting State.
Sections 396-399.
2. Delegates from portions of the Northwest Territory. Sections 400-
401.
3. Delegates admitted after portion of Territory becomes a State.
Sections 402-404.
4. Territory must be organized to justify admission of Delegates.
Sections 405-412.
Chapter XIII.
the qualifications of the member.
1. Provision of the Constitution. Section 414.
2. State may not prescribe. Sections 415-417.
3. Age. Section 418.
4. Citizenship in the United States. Sections 419-427.
5. Principles deduced from Senate decisions as to citizenship.
Sections 428-430.
6. Citizenship of Delegates. Section 431.
7. Inhabitancy. Sections 432-436.
8. Principles deduced from Senate decisions as to inhabitancy.
Sections 437-440.
Chapter XIV.
the oath as related to qualifications.
1. The question of sanity. Section 441.
2. Questions of loyalty arising before the adoption of the
Fourteenth Amendment. Sections 442-453.
3. Provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment. Sections 455-463.
Chapter XV.
POLYGAMY AND OTHER CRIMES AS DISQUALIFICATIONS.
1. Cases of Whittemore, Connor, and Acklen. Sections 464-466.
2. The polygamy cases of 1868, 1873, and 1882. Sections 467-473.
3. The case of Brigham H. Roberts. Sections 474-480.
4. The Senate case of Reed Smoot. Sections 481-483.
5. Incidental opinion of a House committee. Section 484.
Chapter XVI.
incompatible offices.
1. Provision of the Constitution. Section 485.
2. Cases of Van Ness, Hammond, Baker, and Yell. Sections 486-489.
3. Cases of Vandever, Lane, Schenck, and Blair. Sections 490-492.
4. General examination as to military officers, paid and unpaid
services, etc. Sections 493-496.
5. Cases of Mumford, Earle, Herrick, and Wheeler. Sections 497-500.
6. Questions as to vacancies, contestants, etc. Sections 501-506.
Chapter XVII.
time, places, and manner of election.
1. Provisions of Constitution and statutes. Sections 507-516.
2. Power of State executive to call elections to fill vacancies.
Sections 517, 518.
3. Time fixed by schedules of new State constitutions. Sections 619,
520.
4. Disputes as to legal day of election. Sections 521-525.
5. Failure of Territorial legislature to prescribe manner, etc.
Sections 526, 527.
Chapter XVIII.
credentials and prima facie title.
1. In due form from recognized constituency. Sections 528-537.
2. Questions as to validity of. Sections 538-543.
3. In relation to questions as to the fact of election. Sections
544-552.
4. Refusal of State executives to issue. Sections 553-564.
5. In relation to questions as to vacancy. Sections 565-570.
6. As related to contested elections. Sections 571-588.
Chapter XIX.
irregular credentials.
1. House exercises discretion in case of informality. Sections 589-
610.
2. Impeached by evidence in their own terms. Sections 599-611.
Chapter XX.
conflicting credentials.
1. Decisions of the House as to prima facie title. Sections 612-627.
2. Principles deduced from Senate decisions. Sections 628-633.
Chapter XXI.
the house the judge of contested elections.
1. Provision of the Constitution. Section 634.
2. Functions of Elections Committee. Sections 635, 636.
3. House not bound by returns of State authorities. Sections 637,
638.
4. Relations of House to acts of canvassing officers. Sections 639-
645.
5. House ascertains intent of voter when ballot is ambiguous.
Sections 646-650.
6. Discretion of House in investigating elections. Sections 651-653.
7. Practice in making decisions. Sections 653-656.
8. Privileges of contestant and returned Member in debate. Sections
657-672.
9. General practice. Sections 673-677.
Chapter XXII.
pleadings in contested elections.
1. Provision of statute as to notice and answer. Section 678.
2. Attitude of House as to informalities in. Sections 679-687.
3. Foundation required for Senate investigations as to bribery, etc.
Sections 688-696.
Chapter XXIII.
testimony in contested elections.
1. Provisions of the statutes. Sections 697-706.
2. Rules of Elections Committee. Section 707.
3. Early method of taking evidence. Sections 708, 709.
4. Special authorizations to take evidence. Sections 710-718.
5. Questions as to evidence improperly taken. Sections 719, 721.
6. Extension of time for taking. Sections 722-728.
7. Evidence taken ex parte. Sections 729, 730.
8. Production of ballots. Sections 731-733.
Chapter XXIV.
abatement of election contests.
1. House decides as to. Sections 734-738.
2. Various conditions of. Sections 739-755.
Chapter XXV.
general election cases, 1789 to 1940.
1. Cases in the First, Third, and Fourth Congresses. Sections 756-
764.
2. Cases in the Eighth, Eleventh, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth
Congresses. Sections 765-773.
3. Cases from the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Congresses. Sections
774-777.
4. Cases in the Twenty-first Twenty-second, and Twenty-fourth
Congresses. Sections 778-786.
5. The Senate cases of Smith, Winthrop, Phelps, and Cass. Sections
787-790.
Chapter XXVI.
general election cases, 1840 to 1850.
1. The ``Broad Seal'' case in the Twenty-sixth Congress. Sections
791-802.
2. Cases from the Twenty-sixth to the Thirty-first Congresses.
Sections 803-820.
Chapter XXVII.
general election cases, 1850 to 1860.
1. House cases from the Thirty-second to the Thirty-sixth
Congresses. Sections 821-843.
2. The Senate case of James Harlan. Section 944.
VOLUME II.
Chapter 28. General election cases, 1860 to 1870.
Chapter 29. General election cases, 1870 to 1875.
Chapter 30. General election cases, 1875 to 1880.
Chapter 31. General election cases, 1880 and 1881.
Chapter 32. General election cases, in 1882.
Chapter 33. General election cases, in 1883.
Chapter 34. General election cases, 1884 and 1885.
Chapter 35. General election cases, 1886 to 1888.
Chapter 36. General election cases, 1889 to 1891.
Chapter 37. General election cases, 1892 to 1894.
Chapter 38. General election cases, 1895 to 1897.
Chapter 39. General election cases, 1898 to 1901.
Chapter 40. General election cases, 1902 to 1906.
Chapter 41. The Members.
Chapter 42. Punishment and expulsion of Members.
Chapter 43. Delegates.
Chapter 44. The Speaker.
Chapter 45. The Speaker pro tempore.
Chapter 46. The Speaker's power of recognition.
Chapter 47. Prerogatives of the House as to revenue legislation.
Chapter 48. Prerogatives of the House as to treaties.
Chapter 49. Prerogatives of the House as to foreign relations.
Chapter 50. Prerogatives of the House as related to the Executive.
Chapter 51. Power to punish for contempt.
Chapter 52. Punishment of Members for contempt.
VOLUME III.
Chapter 53. Punishment of witnesses for contempt.
Chapter 54. The power of investigation.
Chapter 55. The conduct of investigations.
Chapter 56. Investigations of conduct of Members.
Chapter 57. Inquiries of the Executive.
Chapter 58. Procedure of the electoral count.
Chapter 59. The electoral counts, 1789 to 1873.
Chapter 60. The electoral counts, 1877 to 1905.
Chapter 61. Objections at the electoral count.
Chapter 62. Election and inauguration of President.
Chapter 63. Nature of impeachment.
Chapter 64. Function of the House in impeachment.
Chapter 65. Function of the Senate in impeachment.
Chapter 66. Procedure of the Senate in impeachment.
Chapter 67. Conduct of impeachment trials.
Chapter 68. Presentation of testimony in an impeachment trial.
Chapter 69. Rules of evidence in an impeachment trial.
Chapter 70. The impeachment and trial of William Blount.
Chapter 71. The impeachment and trial of John Pickering.
Chapter 72. The impeachment and trial of Samuel Chase.
Chapter 73. The impeachment and trial of James H. Peck.
Chapter 74. The impeachment and trial of West R. Humphreys.
Chapter 75. The first attempts to impeach the President.
Chapter 76. The impeachment and trial of the President.
Chapter 77. The impeachment and trial of William W. Belknap.
Chapter 78. The impeachment and trial of Charles Swayne.
Chapter 79. Impeachment proceedings not resulting in trial.
Chapter 80. Questions of privilege and their precedence.
Chapter 81. Privilege of the House.
Chapter 82. Privilege of the Member.
VOLUME IV.
Chapter 83. The Journal and its approval.
Chapter 84. The making of the Journal.
Chapter 85. The quorum.
Chapter 86. The call of the House.
Chapter 87. The order of business.
Chapter 88. Special orders.
Chapter 89. Private and District of Columbia business.
Chapter 90. Petitions and memorials.
Chapter 91. Bills, resolutions, and orders.
Chapter 92. Approval of bills by the President.
Chapter 93. Bills returned without the President's approval.
Chapter 94. General appropriation bills.
Chapter 95. Authorization of appropriations on general appropriation
bills.
Chapter 96. Appropriations in continuation of a public work.
Chapter 97. Legislation in general appropriation bills.
Chapter 98. Limitations in general appropriation bills.
Chapter 99. History and jurisdiction of the standing committees.
Chapter 100. History and jurisdiction of the standing committees.
(Continued.)
Chapter 101. History and jurisdiction of the standing committees.
(Continued.)
Chapter 102. General principles of jurisdiction of committees.
Chapter 103. Select and joint committees.
Chapter 104. Appointment of committees.
Chapter 105. Organization and procedure of committees.
Chapter 106. Reports of committees.
Chapter 107. The Committee of the Whole.
Chapter 108. Subjects requiring consideration in Committee of the
Whole.
Chapter 109. Reports from the Committee of the Whole.
Chapter 110. Consideration ``In the House as in Committee of the
Whole.''
VOLUME V.
Chapter 111. The question of consideration.
Chapter 112. Conduct of debate in the House.
Chapter 113. References in debate to committees, the President, or
the other House.
Chapter 114. Disorder in debate.
Chapter 115. Debate in Committee of the Whole.
Chapter 116. Reading of papers.
Chapter 117. Motions in general.
Chapter 118. The motion to adjourn.
Chapter 119. The motion to lay on the table.
Chapter 120. The previous question.
Chapter 121. The ordinary motion to refer.
Chapter 122. The motion to refer as related to the previous question.
Chapter 123. The motion to reconsider.
Chapter 124. Dilatory motions.
Chapter 125. Amendments.
Chapter 126. The House rule that amendments must be germane.
Chapter 127. General principles as to voting.
Chapter 128. Voting by tellers and by ballot.
Chapter 129. The vote by yeas and nays.
Chapter 130. Division of the question for voting.
Chapter 131. Amendments between the Houses.
Chapter 132. General principles of conferences.
Chapter 133. Appointment of managers of a conference.
Chapter 134. Instruction of managers of a conference.
Chapter 135. Managers to consider only matters in disagreement.
Chapter 136. Privilege and form of conference reports.
Chapter 137. Consideration of conference reports.
Chapter 138. Messages and communications.
Chapter 139. Recess.
Chapter 140. Sessions and adjournments.
Chapter 141. The rules.
Chapter 142. Suspension of the rules.
Chapter 143. Questions of order and appeals.
Chapter 144. The Congressional Record.
Chapter 145. Amendments to the Constitution.
Chapter 146. Ceremonies.
Chapter 147. Service of the House.
Chapter 148. Miscellaneous.
VOLUME VI.
index-digest.
[a to g.]
VOLUME VII.
index-digest.
[h to p.]
VOLUME VIII.
index-digest.
[q to z.]