Parliamentary Law

PARLIAMENTARY LAW, as the term is ordinarily used in the United States, embodies the generally accepted rules, prece dents and practices commonly employed in the government of deliberative assemblies. Its function is to maintain decorum, ascertain the will of the majority, preserve the rights of the minority and facilitate the orderly and harmonious transaction of the business of the assembly. While it had its origin in the early British parliaments from which it derives its name the modern system of general parliamentary law is, in many respects, at wide variance with the current systems of procedure of both the Eng lish Parliament and the American Congress. These legislative sys tems are designed for bicameral bodies, generally with paid mem berships, meeting in continuous session, requiring a majority for a quorum and delegating their duties largely to committees. Their special requirements and the constantly increasing pressure of their business have produced highly complex and remarkably efficient systems peculiar to their respective bodies, but which are as a whole unsuited to the needs of the ordinary assembly. As a result there has been simultaneously developed through years of experiment and practice a simpler system of procedure adapted to the wants of deliberative assemblies generally which though variously interpreted in minor details by different writers is now in the main standardized and authoritatively established.

Organization.

Assemblies convene with the implied under standing that they will be conducted and governed in accordance with these fundamental principles. The routine ordinarily fol lowed in the preliminary organization of an assembly includes the call to order by any of those present with a request for nomina tions for temporary chairman. The temporary chairman having been elected and having taken the chair, a temporary secretary is chosen and those addressing the chairman are recognized to explain and discuss the purposes of the meeting. If the assembly has convened for a single session only or is in the nature of a mass-meeting a presiding officer and recording officer will suf fice. If permanent organization is contemplated a committee is usually appointed to draft a Constitution and by-laws and on the adoption of its report, with or without- amendments, the assem bly proceeds to the election of the permanent officers thus au thorized. In a permanent organization such officers commonly

consist of a presiding officer known as the president, chairman, speaker or moderator ; a vice-presiding officer ; a recording offi cer, known as the secretary or clerk, who keeps the records, at tends to the clerical work of the organization and in the absence of the presiding officers calls for the selection of a temporary president ; a treasurer or bursar, who receives and disburses its funds; and a sergeant-at-arms, who preserves order and carries out the wishes of the assembly through the presiding officer.

It is the duty of the presiding officer to call the assembly to order at the appointed time, cause the journal or minutes of the preceding meeting to be read, call up the business of the assembly in the order provided by its rules and conduct its proceedings in accordance with parliamentary law. He is especially charged with the responsibility of ascertaining the presence of a quorum, the minimum number of members prescribed by the rules of the assembly as competent to transact business. In legislative assem blies a quorum is presumed to be present unless the question is raised, but where the by-laws of an ordinary assembly require a quorum it devolves upon the presiding officer to ascertain that a quorum is present before proceeding with business.

Motions.

The will of an assembly is determined and ex pressed by its action on proposals submitted for its consideration in the form of motions or resolutions offered by members recog nized for that purpose. In order to make a motion a member must rise and address the chair and secure recognition. If the motion is in order and is seconded by another member it is "stated" by the presiding officer and is then subject to the action of the assembly. A second is not required in legislative assemblies but is requisite under general parliamentary law. Motions may be classified as main or principal motions, introducing a proposi tion; and secondary or ancillary motions, designed to affect the pending main motion or its consideration. A main motion is in order only when there is no other business before the assembly, and yields in precedence to all other questions. Secondary motions may be subdivided into subsidiary, incidental and privileged.