第4章

类别:其他 作者:Thomas Jefferson字数:10715更新时间:18/12/13 16:39:01
BILLS,FIRSTREADING。WHENabillisfirstpresented,theclerkreadsitatthetable,andhandsittotheSpeaker,whorising,statestotheHousethetitleofthebill,thatthisisthefirsttimeofreadingit,andthequestionwillbewhetheritshallbereadasecondtime?Thensittingdowntogiveanopeningforobjections,ifnonebemade,herisesagainandputsthequestionwhetheritshallbereadasecondtime?Hakew。137,141。Abillcannotbeamendedatthefirstreading。 6Grey286。norisitusualforittobeopposedthen:butitmaybedoneandrejected。D\'Ewes335,col。1。3Hats。198。SEC。XXV。 BILLS,SECONDREADING。THEsecondreadingmustregularlybeonanotherday。Hakew。143。Itisdonebytheclerkatthetable,whothenhandsittotheSpeaker。TheSpeaker,rising,statestotheHousethetitleofthebill,thatthisisthesecondtimeofreadingit,andthatthequestionwillbewhetheritshallbecommitted,orengrossedandreadathirdtime?ButifthebillcamefromtheotherHouse,asitalwayscomesengrossed,hestatesthatthequestionwillbewhetheritshallbereadathirdtime?andbeforehehassoreportedthestateofthebill,nooneistospeaktoit。Hakew。143,146。 IntheSenateoftheUnitedStates,thePresidentreportsthetitleofthebill,thatthisisthesecondtimeofreadingit,thatitisnowtobeconsideredasinaCommitteeoftheWhole,andthequestionwillbe,whetheritshallbereadathirdtime?or,thatitmaybereferredtoaspecialcommittee。SEC。XXVI。 BILLS,COMMITMENT。IFonmotionandquestionitbedecidedthatthebillshallbecommitted,itmaythenbemovedtobereferredtoacommitteeofthewholeHouse,ortoaspecialcommittee。 Ifthelatter,theSpeakerproceedstonamethecommittee。Anymemberalsomaynameasingleperson,andtheclerkistowritehimdownasofthecommittee。ButtheHousehaveacontroulingpoweroverthenamesandnumber,ifaquestionbemovedagainstanyone,andmayinanycaseputinandputoutwhomtheyplease。 Thosewhotakeexceptionstosomeparticularsinthebillaretobeofthecommittee。Butnonewhospeakdirectlyagainstthebodyofthebill。 Forhethatwouldtotallydestroy,willnotamendit。Hakew。146。Town。coll。208。D\'Ewes。623。col。2Scob47。 orasissaid,5Grey145。thechildisnottobeputtoanursethatcaresnotforit。6Grey373。Itisthereforeaconstantrule\"thatnomanistobeemployedinanymatterwhohasdeclaredhimselfagainstit。”Andwhenanymemberwhoisagainstthebillhearshimselfnamedofitscommittee,heoughttoasktobeexcused。ThusMarch7,1606,Mr。Hadleywas,onthequestion\'sbeingput,excusedfrombeingofacommittee,declaringhimselftobeagainstthematteritself。Scob。46。 Nobillshallbecommittedoramendeduntilitshallhavebeentwiceread,afterwhichitmaybereferredtoacommittee。Rule14。 Allcommitteesshallbeappointedbyballot,andapluralityofvoicesshallmakeachoice。Rule15。 Theclerkmaydeliverthebilltoanymemberofthecommittee。Town。 col。138。Butitisusualtodeliverittohimwhoisfirstnamed。 Insomecases,theHousehasorderedacommitteetowithdrawimmediatelyintothecommitteechamber,andacton,andbringbackthebill,sittingtheHouse。Scob。48。 Acommitteemeetswhen,andwheretheyplease,iftheHousehasnotorderedtimeandplaceforthem。6Grey370。Buttheycanonlyactwhentogether,andnotbyseparateconsultationandconsent;nothingbeingthereportofthecommitteebutwhathasbeenagreedtoincommitteeactuallyassembled。 Amajorityofthecommitteeconstitutesaquorumforbusiness。Elsynge\'sMethodofpassingBills。11。 AnymemberoftheHousemaybepresentatanyselectcommittee,butcannotvote,andmustgiveplacetoallofthecommittee,andsitbelowthem。Elsynge12。Scob。49。 Butin1626,April24,theHouseofCommonsresolved,thatthoughanymembersmaybepresentattheexaminationofwitnesses,theymaynotbeatthedebate,dispositionorpenningofthebusinessbytheselectcommittee。 4Hats。124。 Thecommitteehavefullpoweroverthebill,orotherpapercommittedtothem,exceptthattheycannotchangethetitleorsubject。8Grey228。 Thepaperbeforeacommittee,whetherselect,orofthewhole,maybeabill,resolutions,draughtofanaddress,&;c。anditmayeitheroriginatewiththem,orbereferredtothem。Ineverycase,thewholepaperisreadfirstbytheclerk,andthenbythechairman,byparagraphs,Scob。49。pausingattheendofeachparagraph,andputtingquestionsforamending,ifproposed。Inthecaseofresolutionsondistinctsubjects,originatingwiththemselves,aquestionisputoneachseparately,asamended,orunamended,andnofinalquestiononthewhole:3Hats。276。butiftheyrelatetothesamesubject,aquestionisputonthewhole。Ifitbeabill,draughtofanaddress,orotherpaperoriginatingwiththem,theyproceedbyparagraphs,puttingquestionsforamending,eitherbyinsertionorstrikingout,ifproposed:butnoquestiononagreeingtotheparagraphsseparately。Thisisreservedtotheclose,whenaquestionisputonthewhole,foragreeingtoitasamended,orunamended。Butifitbeapaperreferredtothem,theyproceedtoputquestionsofamendment,ifproposed,butnofinalquestiononthewhole:becauseallpartsofthepaperhavingbeenadoptedbytheHouse,standofcourse,unlessaltered,orstruckoutbyavote。Eveniftheyareopposedtothewholepaper,andthinkitcannotbemadegoodbyamendments,theycannotrejectit,butmustreportitbacktotheHousewithoutamendments,andtheremaketheiropposition。 Thenaturalorderinconsideringandamendinganypaperis,tobeginatthebeginning,andproceedthroughitbyparagraphs;andthisorderissostrictlyadheredtoinParliament,thatwhenalatterparthasbeenamended,youcannotrecurbackandmakeanyalterationinaformerpart。 2Hats。90。Innumerousassembliesthisrestraintisdoubtlessimportant。ButinSenateoftheUnitedStates,thoughinthemainweconsiderandamendtheparagraphsintheirnaturalorder,yetrecurrencesareindulged: andtheyseemonthewhole,inthatsmallbody,toproduceadvantagesoverweighingtheirinconveniences。 Tothisnaturalorderofbeginningatthebeginning,thereisasingleexceptionfoundinParliamentaryusage。Whenabillistakenupincommittee,oronitssecondreading,theypostponethepreamble,tilltheotherpartsofthebillaregonethrough。Thereasonis,thatonconsiderationofthebodyofthebill,suchalterationsmaythereinbemadeasmayalsooccasionthealterationofthepreamble。Scob。50。7Grey431。 OnthisheadthefollowingcaseoccurredinSenate,March6,1800。A resolution,whichhadnopreamble,havingbeenalreadyamendedbytheHouse,sothatafewwordsonlyoftheoriginalremainedinit,amotionwasmadetoprefixapreamble,whichhavinganaspectverydifferentfromtheresolution,themoverintimatedthatheshouldafterwardsproposeacorrespondentamendmentinthebodyoftheresolution。Itwasobjectedthatapreamblecouldnotbetakenuptillthebodyoftheresolutionisdonewith。Butthepreamblewasreceived:becauseweareinfactthroughthebodyoftheresolution,wehaveamendedthatasfarasamendmentshavebeenoffered,andindeedtilllittleoftheoriginalisleft。Itisthepropertime,therefore,toconsiderapreamble:andwhethertheoneofferedbeconsistentwiththeresolution,isfortheHousetodetermine。Themoverindeed,hasintimated,thatheshallofferasubsequentpropositionforthebodyoftheresolution; buttheHouseisnotinpossessionofit;itremainsinhisbreast,andmaybewithheld。TherulesoftheHousecanonlyoperateonwhatisbeforethem。ThepracticeoftheSenatetoo,allowsrecurrencesbackwardsandforwards,forthepurposesofamendment,notpermittingamendmentsinasubsequent,toprecludethoseinapriorpart,oreconverso。 Whenthecommitteeisthroughthewhole,amembermovesthatthecommitteemayrise,andthechairmanreportthepapertotheHouse,with,orwithoutamendments,asthecasemaybe。2Hats。289,292。Scob。53。 2Hats。290。8Scob。50。 Whenavoteisoncepassedinacommittee,itcannotbealteredbutbytheHouse,theirvotesbeingbindingonthemselves。1607,June4。 Thecommitteemaynoterase,interline,orblotthebillitself;butmustinapaperbyitself,setdowntheamendments,statingthewordswhicharetobeinsertedoromitted;Scob。50。andwhere,byreferencestothepage,lineandwordofthebill。Scob。50。SEC。XXVII。 REPORTOFCOMMITTEE。THEchairmanofthecommittee,standinginhisplace,informstheHouse,thatthecommittee,towhomwasreferredsuchabill,have,accordingtoorder,hadthesameunderconsideration,andhavedirectedhimtoreportthesamewithoutanyamendment,orwithsundryamendments,(asthecasemaybe,)whichheisreadytodo,whentheHousepleasestoreceiveit。Andhe,oranyother,maymovethatitbenowreceived。Butthecryof\"now,now,\"fromtheHouse,generallydispenseswiththeformalityofamotionandquestion。Hethenreadstheamendmentswiththecoherenceinthebill,andopensthealterations,andthereasonsofthecommitteeforsuchamendments,untilhehasgonethroughthewhole。 Hethendeliversitattheclerk\'stable,wheretheamendmentsreportedarereadbytheclerk,withoutthecoherence,whereuponthepaperslieonthetable,tilltheHouseatitsconvenience,shalltakeupthereport。Scob。52。Hakew。148。 Thereportbeingmade,thecommitteeisdissolved,andcanactnomorewithoutanewpower。Scob。51。Butitmayberevivedbyavote,andthesamematterrecommittedtothem。4Grey361。SEC。XXVIII。 BILL,RECOMMITMENT。AFTERabillhasbeencommittedandreported,itoughtnot,inanordinarycourse,toberecommitted。Butincasesofimportance,andforspecialreasons,itissometimesrecommitted,andusuallytothesamecommittee。Hakew。151。IfareportberecommittedbeforeagreedtointheHouse,whathaspassedincommitteeisofnovalidity; thewholequestionisagainbeforethecommittee,andanewresolutionmustbeagainmoved,asifnothinghadpassed。3Hats。131。note。 InSenate,January1800,thesalvagebillwasrecommittedthreetimesafterthecommitment。 Aparticularclauseofabillmaybecommittedwithoutthewholebill; 3Hats。131。orsomuchofapapertoone,andsomuchtoanothercommittee。SEC。XXIX。 BILL,REPORTTAKENUP。WHENthereportofapaperoriginatingwithacommittee,istakenupbytheHouse,theyproceedexactlyasincommittee。Here,asincommittee,whentheparagraphshave,ondistinctquestions,beenagreedtoseriatim,5Grey366。6Grey368。 8Grey47,104,360。1Torbuck\'sDeb。125。3Hats。348。noquestionneedsbeputonthewholereport。5Grey381。 Ontakingupabillreportedwithamendments,theamendmentsonlyarereadbytheclerk。TheSpeakerthenreadsthefirst,andputsittothequestion,andsoon,tillthewholeareadoptedorrejected,beforeanyotheramendmentbeadmitted,exceptitbeanamendmenttoanamendment。Elsynge\'sMem。53。Whenthroughtheamendmentsofthecommittee,theSpeakerpauses,andgivestimeforamendmentstobeproposedintheHousetothebodyofthebill:ashedoesalsoifithasbeenreportedwithoutamendments;puttingnoquestionsbutonamendmentsproposed:andwhenthroughthewhole,heputsthequestionwhetherthebillshallbereadathirdtime?SEC。XXX。 QUASI-COMMITTEE。IFonthemotionandquestion,thebillbenotcommitted,orifnopropositionforcommitmentbemade,thentheproceedingsintheSenateoftheUnitedStates,andinParliament,aretotallydifferent。Theformershallbefirststated。 The20thruleoftheSenatesays,\"Allbills,onasecondreading,shallfirstbeconsideredbytheSenateinthesamemannerasiftheSenatewereinacommitteeofthewhole,beforetheyshallbetakenupandproceededonbytheSenateagreeablytothestandingrules,unlessotherwiseordered:\" thatistosay,unlessorderedtobereferredtoaspecialcommittee。 TheproceedingoftheSenateasinacommitteeofthewhole,orinquasi-committee,ispreciselyasinarealcommitteeofthewhole,takingnoquestionsbutonamendments。Whenthroughthewhole,theyconsiderthequasi-committeeasrisen,theHouseresumed,withoutanymotion,question,orresolutiontothateffect,andthePresidentreportsthat\"theHouseactingasinacommitteeofthewhole,havehadundertheirconsiderationthebillintituled,&;c。andhavemadesundryamendments,whichhewillnowreporttotheHouse。”Thebillisthenbeforethemasitwouldhavebeenifreportedfromacommittee,andquestionsareregularlytobeputagainoneveryamendment:whichbeinggonethrough,thePresidentpausestogivetimetotheHousetoproposeamendmentstothebodyofthebill,andwhenthrough,putsthequestionwhetheritshallbereadathirdtime? Afterprogressinamendingabillinquasi-committee,amotionmaybemadetoreferittoaspecialcommittee。Ifthemotionprevails,itisequivalentineffecttotheseveralvotesthatthecommitteerise,theHouseresumeitself,dischargethecommitteeofthewhole,andreferthebilltoaspecialcommittee。Inthatcasetheamendmentsalreadymadefall。 Butifthemotionfails,thequasi-committeestandsinstatuquo。 Howfardoesthis20thrulesubjecttheHousewheninquasi-committee,tothelawswhichregulatetheproceedingsofcommitteesofthewhole? TheparticularsinwhichthesedifferfromproceedingsintheHouse,arethefollowing。 1。Inacommittee,everymembermayspeakasoftenashepleases。2。 ThevotesofacommitteemayberejectedoralteredwhenreportedtotheHouse。3。Acommittee,evenofthewhole,cannotreferanymattertoanothercommittee。4。Inacommittee,nopreviousquestioncanbetaken。Theonlymeanstoavoidanimproperdiscussionis,tomovethatthecommitteerise: andifitbeapprehendedthatthesamediscussionwillbeattemptedonreturningintocommittee,theHousecandischargethem,andproceeditselfonthebusiness,keepingdowntheimproperdiscussionbythepreviousquestion。 5。Acommitteecannotpunishabreachoforder,intheHouse,orinthegallery。9Grey113。ItcanonlyriseandreportittotheHouse,whomayproceedtopunish。 The1stand2dofthesepeculiaritiesattachtothequasi-committeeoftheSenate,aseveryday\'spracticeproves;andseemtobetheonlyonestowhichthe20thrulemeanttosubjectthem。ForitcontinuestobeaHouse,andtherefore,thoughitactsinsomerespectsasacommittee,inothersitpreservesitscharacterasaHouse。Thus3。Itisinthedailyhabitofreferringitsbusinesstoaspecialcommittee。4。Itadmitsthepreviousquestion。Ifitdidnot,itwouldhavenomeansofpreventinganimproperdiscussion;notbeingableasacommitteeis,toavoiditbyreturningintotheHouse:forthemomentitwouldresumethesamesubjectthere,the20thruledeclaresitagainaquasi-committee。5。ItwoulddoubtlessexerciseitspowersasaHouseonanybreachoforder。6。Ittakesaquestionbyyeaandnay,astheHousedoes。7。ItreceivesmessagesfromthePresidentandtheotherHouse。8。Inthemidstofadebateitreceivesamotiontoadjourn,andadjournsasaHouse,notasacommittee。SEC。XXXI。 BILL,SECONDREADINGINTHEHOUSE。INParliament,afterthebillhasbeenreadasecondtime,if,onthemotionandquestion,itbenotcommitted,orifnopropositionforcommitmentbemade,theSpeakerreadsitbyparagraphs,pausingbetweeneach,butputtingnoquestionbutonamendmentsproposed;andwhenthroughthewhole,heputsthequestionwhetheritshallbereadathirdtime?ifitcamefromtheotherHouse;or,iforiginatingwiththemselves,whetheritshallbeengrossedandreadathirdtime?TheSpeakerreadssitting,butrisestoputquestions。Theclerkstandswhilehereads。 ButtheSenateoftheUnitedStatesissomuchinthehabitofmakingmanyandmaterialamendmentsatthethirdreading,thatithasbecomethepracticenottoengrossabilltillithaspassed。Anirregularanddangerouspractice;because,inthisway,thepaperwhichpassestheSenateisnotthatwhichgoestotheotherHouse;andthatwhichgoestotheotherHouseastheactoftheSenate,hasneverbeenseeninSenate。Inreducingnumerous,difficult,andillegibleamendmentsintothetext,theSecretarymay,withthemostinnocentintentions,commiterrors,whichcanneveragainbecorrected。 Thebillbeingnowasperfectasitsfriendscanmakeit,thisistheproperstageforthosefundamentallyopposed,tomaketheirfirstattack。 Allattemptsatearlierperiodsarewithdisjointedefforts;becausemanywhodonotexpecttobeinfavorofthebillultimately,arewillingtoletitgoontoitsperfectstate,totaketimetoexamineitthemselves,andtohearwhatcanbesaidforit;knowingthat,afterall,theywillhavesufficientopportunitiesofgivingittheirveto。Itstwolaststagesthereforearereservedforthis,thatistosay,onthequestionwhetheritshallbereadathirdtime?Andlastly,whetheritshallpass?Thefirstoftheseisusuallythemostinterestingcontest;becausethenthewholesubjectisnewandengaging,andthemindsofthemembershavingnotyetbeendeclaredbyanytryingvote,theissueisthemoredoubtful。Inthisstage,therefore,isthemaintrialofstrengthbetweenitsfriendsandopponents:anditbehoveseveryonetomakeuphisminddecisivelyforthisquestion,orhelosesthemainbattle;andaccidentandmanagementmay,andoftendo,preventasuccessfulrallyingonthenextandlastquestionwhetheritshallpass? Whenthebillisengrossed,thetitleistobeendorsedontheback,andnotwithinthebill。Hakew。250。SEC。XXXII。 READINGPAPERS。WHEREpapersarelaidbeforetheHouse,orreferredtoacommittee,everymemberhasarighttohavethemoncereadatthetable,beforehecanbecompelledtovoteonthem。 Butitisagreat,thoughcommonerror,tosupposethathehasaright,totiesquoties,tohaveacts,journals,accounts,orpapersonthetablereadindependentlyofthewilloftheHouse。Thedelayandinterruptionwhichthismightbemadetoproduce,evincetheimpossibilityoftheexistenceofsucharight。Thereisindeedsomanifestaproprietyofpermittingeverymembertohaveasmuchinformationaspossibleoneveryquestiononwhichheistovote,thatwhenhedesiresthereading,ifitbeseenthatitisreallyforinformation,andnotfordelay,theSpeakerdirectsittobereadwithoutputtingaquestion,ifnooneobjects。Butifobjectedto,aquestionmustbeput。2Hats。117,118。 Itisequallyanerror,tosupposethatanymemberhasaright,withoutaquestionput,tolayabookorpaperonthetable,andhaveitread,onsuggestingthatitcontainsmatterinfringingontheprivilegesoftheHouse。Ib。 Forthesamereason,amemberhasnotarighttoreadapaperinhisplace,ifitbeobjectedto,withoutleaveoftheHouse。Butthisrigourisneverexercised,butwherethereisanintentionalorgrossabuseofthetimeandpatienceoftheHouse。 Amemberhasnotarighteventoreadhisownspeech,committedtowriting,withoutleave。Thisalsoistopreventanabuseoftime;andthereforeisnotrefused,butwherethatisintended。2Grey227。 AreportofacommitteeoftheSenateonabillfromtheHouseofRepresentatives,beingunderconsideration,onmotionthatthereportofthecommitteeoftheHouseofRepresentativesonthesamebillbereadinSenate,itpassedinthenegative;February28,1793。 Formerlywhenpaperswerereferredtoacommittee,theyusedtobefirstread:butoflate,onlythetitles:unlessamemberinsiststheyshallberead,andthennobodycanopposeit。2Hats。117。SEC。XXXIII。 PRIVILEGEDQUESTIONS。WHILEaquestionisbeforetheSenate,nomotionshallbereceivedunlessforanamendment,forthepreviousquestion,orforpostponingthemainquestion,ortocommitit,ortoadjourn。Rule8。 Itisnopossessionofabill,unlessitbedeliveredtotheclerktoberead,ortheSpeakerreadsthetitle。Lex。Parl。274。ElsyngeMem。95。Ord。HouseofCommons64。 Itisageneralrule,thatthequestionfirstmovedandseconded,shallbefirstput。Scob。28,22。2Hats。81。Butthisrulegiveswaytowhatmaybecalledprivilegedquestions;andtheprivilegedquestionsareofdifferentgradesamongthemselves。 Amotiontoadjournsimplytakesplaceofallothers;forotherwise,theHousemightbekeptsittingagainstitswill,andindefinitely。Yetthismotioncannotbereceivedafteranotherquestionisactuallyput,andwhiletheHouseisengagedinvoting。 Ordersofthedaytakeplaceofallotherquestions,exceptforadjournment。 Thatistosay,thequestionwhichisthesubjectofanorder,ismadeaprivilegedoneprohacvoce。Theorderisarepealofthegeneralruleastothisspecialcase。Whenanymembermovesthereforefortheordersofthedaytoberead,nofurtherdebateispermittedonthequestionwhichwasbeforetheHouse;forifthedebatemightproceed,itmightcontinuethroughtheday,anddefeattheorder。Thismotion,toentitleittoprecedence,mustbefortheordersgenerally,andnotforanyparticularone;andifitbecarriedonthequestion,\"WhethertheHousewillnowproceedtotheordersoftheday,\"theymustbereadandproceededoninthecourseinwhichtheystand。2Hats。83。Forpriorityofordergivespriorityofright,whichcannotbetakenawaybutbyanotherspecialorder。 Afterthese,thereareotherprivilegedquestionswhichwillrequireconsiderableexplanation。 ItisproperthateveryParliamentaryassemblyshouldhavecertainformsofquestionsoadapted,astoenablethemfitlytodisposeofeverypropositionwhichcanbemadetothem。Suchare1。Thepreviousquestion。2。Topostponeindefinitely。3。Toadjournaquestiontoadefiniteday。4。Tolieonthetable。5。Tocommit。6。Toamend。Theproperoccasionforeachofthesequestionsshouldbeunderstood。 1。Whenapropositionismoved,whichitisuselessorinexpedientnowtoexpressordiscuss,thepreviousquestionhasbeenintroducedforsuppressingforthattimethemotionanditsdiscussion。3Hats。188,189。 2。Butasthepreviousquestiongetsridofitonlyforthatday,andthesamepropositionmayrecurthenextday,iftheywishtosuppressitforthewholeofthatsession,theypostponeitindefinitely。3Hats。 183。Thisquashesthepropositionforthatsession,asanindefiniteadjournmentisadissolution,orthecontinuanceofasuitsinedieisadiscontinanceofit。 3。Whenamotionismadewhichitwillbepropertoacton,butinformationiswanted,orsomethingmorepressingclaimsthepresenttime,thequestionordebateisadjournedtosuchdaywithinthesessionaswillanswertheviewsoftheHouse。2Hats。81。Andthosewhohavespokenbeforemaynotspeakagainwhentheadjourneddebateisresumed。2Hats。 73。Sometimes,however,thishasbeenabusivelyused,byadjourningittoadaybeyondthesession,togetridofitaltogether,aswouldbedonebyanindefinitepostponement。 4。WhentheHousehassomethingelsewhichclaimsitspresentattention,butwouldbewillingtoreserveintheirpowertotakeupapropositionwheneveritshallsuitthem,theyorderittolieontheirtable。Itmaythenbecalledforatanytime。 5。IfthepropositionwillwantmoreamendmentanddigestionthantheformalitiesoftheHousewillconvenientlyadmit,theyreferittoacommittee。 6。Butifthepropositionbewelldigestedandmayneedbutfewandsimpleamendments,andespeciallyifthesebeofleadingconsequence,theythenproceedtoconsiderandamenditthemselves。 TheSenate,intheirpractice,varyfromthisregulargradationofforms。 Theirpractice,comparativelywiththatofParliamentstandsthus:FortheParliamentary,Postpmt。indefinite- Adjournment- LyingontheTable- TheSenateuses,Postp。toadaybeyondthesession。 Postp。toadaywithinthesession。 Postpmt。indefinite。 Lyingonthetable。Intheir8thruletherefore,whichdeclaresthatwhileaquestionisbeforetheSenate,nomotionshallbereceivedunlessitbeforthepreviousquestion,ortopostpone,commit,oramendthemainquestion,thetermpostponementmustbeunderstoodaccordingtotheirbroaduseofit,andnotinitsParliamentarysense。Theirrulethenestablishesasprivilegedquestions,thepreviousquestion,postponement,commitmentandamendment。 Butitmaybeasked,havethesequestionsanyprivilegeamongthemselves? Or,aretheysoequal,thatthecommonprincipleofthe\"firstmoved,firstput\"takesplaceamongthem?Thiswillneedexplanation。Theircompetitionsmaybeasfollow:Commit,AmendPrev。Qu。