JEFFERSON'S MANUAL,

THE RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF
THE FIFTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS,

AND

A DIGEST AND MANUAL

OF THE

RULES AND PRACTICE

OF THE

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OF

THE UNITED STATES.

FIRST SESSION, FIFTY.SEVENTH CONGRESS.

PREPARED BY

ASHER C. HINDS,

Pursuant to a resolution of the House passed December 2, 1901.

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

1901.

PUBLIC

The authority for the ordinary procedure of the House of Representatives is derived from four sources: First, the Constitution; second, the Rules adopted by the House under authority given by the Constitution; third, those principles of Jefferson's Manual which do not conflict with the Rules; and fourth, the precedents of the House itself, comprising chiefly the decisions of the Chair. In certain cases, also, the House is governed by provisions of the statutes, but these are few and do not affect the ordinary procedure. Before the House has adopted rules the general parliamentary law of the land is recognized as the authority for procedure, and even after the adoption of rules it has been invoked in rare instances where the law of the House has been silent.

This edition contains the Constitution, the Manual, and the Rules, with the special indexes to each. In addition the Digest of Precedents contains references to the other three sources of authority and to the statutes, making it in effect an index as well as a digest of the whole field of the House's procedure. In preparing this Digest an effort has been made to have each topic as complete as possible, cross references being generally avoided. Each citation is accompanied by references to the sources of authority, generally the Journal and Congressional Record, and in addition there has been included in parentheses the number indicating the section of the "Parliamentary Precedents of the House of Representatives" which treats of the subject. References to statutes and other authorities, which are used rarely, are brief, and the larger portion of the Digest is devoted to those topics which the Member needs to consult often and with expedition during the proceedings of the House.

A. C. H.