gressional practice. The course now pursued, as laid down above, is a decided improvement over the old usage, and should certainly be adopted in Societies.

In the legislature of New York, as well as in that of Massachusetts, the effect of a negative, is to leave the main question and the pending amendments, under debate, as they were before the Previous Question was moved. On a motion for the Previous Question, no debate is allowable. All incidental questions of order, arising after the motion is made, must be decided without debate, whether on an appeal from the decision of the chair, or otherwise. The Previous Question having been moved and seconded, cannot be withdrawn, except by consent of the majority, nor can it be superseded by any other motion, excepting a motion to adjourn. By a decision in our State Legislature, (Journal H. R. 1840, page 948,) sustained by the House, a call for the Previous Question is in order, during the pendency of an appeal from the decision of the Speaker.

8*

OF POSTPONEMENT.

Motions to postpone are of two kinds; a motion to postpone, and a motion to postpone indefinitely.

A motion to postpone "for the present," may be amended, by fixing a definite time, or it may be amended so as to read indefinitely. Where different times are named, the Legislative rule is to put the question on the most distant day first.

The motion to postpone indefinitely, may also be amended, by making it to a day certain, but if several days are mentioned in connection with "indefinitely," the question must be taken on the indefinite postponement first, that being the most distant period.

The motion to postpone indefinitely, cannot be superseded by a motion to commit, or to amend the original proposition, but must first be decided. If decided affirmatively, the proposition is finally disposed of; if negatively, the motion to commit or amend may then be received.

In the Senate of the United States, when

a question is postponed indefinitely, it cannot be acted upon again during the session. The usual effect of this motion, in all Legislative bodies, is to make a final disposition of the subject to which it is applied.

OF MOTIONS TO RECONSIDER.

In Congress, motions to reconsider are in order on the same day, or the day after, the passage of a motion, proposition or bill. In our State Legislature the time is extended to the six following days, exclusive of Sabbath. In the U. S. Senate, one of the rules is, that "no motion for the reconsideration of any vote, shall be in order after a bill, resolution, message, report, amendment, or motion upon which the vote was taken, shall have gone out of the possession of the Senate."

In Societies it is not usual to extend the privilege of this motion beyond the next meeting, and this extension is, in some cases, too long. If the matter proposed to be reconsidered, has passed from the meeting, the motion to reconsider should not be

received. The Senate rule should be applied in all such cases. Where the subject is still in possession of the Society, it may be allowable to entertain the motion to reconsider at the next meeting after that at which the proposition proposed to be reconsidered was adopted. This matter should, however, be provided for in the by-laws.

In all cases the motion to reconsider must be made and seconded by gentlemen who voted in the majority; or, in case of equal division, by those who voted in the negative.

In Congress, it not unfrequently happens, that a member will vote for a proposition to which he is opposed, and which he finds is about to carry, merely for the purpose of making himself eligible to move a reconsideration, which, if carried, gives him another opportunity of making a thrust at the measure.

During the limitation, a motion to reconsider takes precedence in Congress of all motions, excepting the motion to adjourn. The motion to reconsider is sometimes made, and then postponed, and the only way to avoid this inconvenience is to force a vote, by calling and sustaining the previous question.

In our State Legislature, the motion to reconsider is among the regular orders of the .day.

In Parliament, the motion to reconsider is not allowable. There, a question once carried, cannot be questioned again, and stands as the judgment of the house, and a bill once rejected, cannot be brought in again, in the same shape, during the session. English authors remark that various expedients are resorted to, in order to correct the effects of this rule, such as passing an explanatory act, if any thing has been omitted or ill-expressed, or an act to enforce, and make more effectual an act, &c., or an act to rectify mistakes in an act, &c. Or, the session may be closed for one, two, three, or more days, and a new one commenced; or a part of a subject may be taken up by another bill, in a different manner, so as to change some of its prominent features.