<DOC>
[Hinds Precedents -- Volume IV]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access]
[DOCID: f:hinds_cv.wais]

 
                              Chapter CV.

               ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURE OF COMMITTEES.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

    1. Rule as to chairman. Section 4513.
    2. Earlier and later usage as to chairmanship of select 
     committees. Sections 4514-4523.\1\
    3. Election of chairman by the committee. Sections 4524-4530.
    4. Resignation as chairman. Sections 4531, 4532.
    5. Clerks of committees. Sections 4533-4539.
    6. Sittings of committees, Sections 4540-4549.
    7. Special authorizations to committees. Sections 4550-
     4554.\2\
    8. Reference of Bills to committees. Sections 4555, 4556.
    9. Procedure of committees. Section 4557.\3\
   10. Secret sessions. Sections 4558-4565.\4\
   11. Hour of meeting, recess, voting, journal, etc. Sections 
     4566-4579.
   12. Oaths taken by committee clerks. Sections 4580-4582.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

  4513. The chairmanship of a committee is determined by seniority, by 
election by the committee, or, in case of the death of the chairman, by 
appointment by the Speaker.
  Form and history of section 3 of Rule X.
  Section 3 of Rule X provides:

  The first-named member of each committee shall be the chairman; and 
in his absence, or being excused by the House, the next-named member, 
and so on, as often as the case shall happen, unless the committee by a 
majority of its number elect a chairman; and in case of the death of a 
chairman, it shall be the duty of the Speaker to appoint another.

  This rule, with a few changes, dates from November 23, 1804. Previous 
to that time the first-named member had acted as chairman, but only by 
usage. A vacancy which occurred in the chairmanship of the Committee on 
Claims on November 6, 1804, and the refusal of another member of the 
committee to accept the vacant
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ See also sections 1827, 2342 of Vol. III.
  \2\ As to committees of investigation. Chapter LV, sections 1750-1826 
of Vol. III.
  When appointed merely to ascertain facts do not report 
recommendations. Section 1649 of Vol. II.
  \3\ Motion to lay on table in. Section 1737 of Vol. III.
  Subjects relating to, as questions of privilege. Sections 2603-2611 
of Vol. III.
  \4\ See also section 1732 of Vol. III.
                                                            Sec. 4514
chairmanship, caused the matter to be brought before the House,\1\ with 
the result that a rule was adopted as follows:\2\

  That the first-named member of any committee appointed by the Speaker 
or the House shall be the chairman, and in case of his absence, or 
being excused by the House, the next-named member, and so on, as often 
as the case shall happen, unless the committee shall, by a majority of 
their number, elect a chairman.\3\

  This rule was reported in a form modified as at present by the 
Committee on Rules who made the revision of 1880.\4\ The clause 
relating to filling a vacancy caused by the death of a chairman dates 
from the revision of 1890,\5\ and was retained in the Fifty-second 
Congress,\6\ but not in the Fifty-third. It was restored in the Fifty-
fourth Congress.
  4514. It was the earlier usage of the House that the Member moving a 
select committee should be appointed its chairman.--On January 11, 
1825,\7\ Mr. Samuel D. Ingham, of Pennsylvania, moved that a message of 
the President be referred to a select committee, but debate arising, he 
said:

  It could not be expected, from his situation, as having brought 
forward the present motion, that he should press for the appointment of 
a select committee.

  Here the editor of the debates appends this footnote:

  By custom of the House, the person moving such a committee is usually 
put at the head of it.

  4515. On January 16, 1833,\8\ in the debate on the message of 
President Jackson relating to the nullification controversy with South 
Carolina, Mr. William S. Archer, of Virgina, mentioned that had he 
moved reference to a select committee, he would, by the courtesy of the 
House, have been chairman.
  4516. On February 8, 1847,\9\ Mr. Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, 
who had moved that a select committee be appointed, said that by the 
courtesy of the House the mover of a select committee was usually 
appointed its chairman, but requesting in this instance to be excused. 
The Speaker appointed him chairman, however.
  4517. The inconvenience of the usage that the proposer of a committee 
should be its chairman has caused it to be disregarded in modern 
practice.--December 7, 1876,\10\ Mr. George W. McCrary, of Iowa, a 
member of the minority party of the House, offered a resolution 
providing for a special committee
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ See Constitution, Manual, and Rules, edition of 1859, p. 159.
  \2\ Journal, second session Eighth Congress, p. 22; Annals, pp. 698, 
699. On December 20, 1805, the rule was again adopted, with an 
additional clause relating to the calling of meetings. First session 
Ninth Congress, Journal, p. 209; Annals, p. 300.
  \3\ The Committee on Claims availed themselves of the authority 
conferred by the last clause to elect as chairman the member who had 
previously refused the chairmanship, Mr. Samuel W. Dana, of 
Connecticut. (See Constitution, Manual, and Rules, ed. 1859, p. 159.) 
According to present usage, the first-named member is always chairman.
  \4\ Second session Forty-sixth Congress, Record, p. 205.
  \5\ House Report No. 23, first session Fifty-first Congress.
  \6\ First session Fifty-second Congress, Record, p. 86.
  \7\ Second session Eighteenth Congress, Debates, p. 178.
  \8\ Second session Twenty-second Congress, Debates, p. 1086.
  \9\ Second session Twenty-ninth Congress, Globe, p. 352.
  \10\ ``Second session Forty-fourth Congress, Journal, pp. 44, 45.
Sec. 4518
of five Members to report a measure to provide for counting the 
electoral votes. This resolution was referred to the Committee on 
Judiciary, which reported December 14,\1\ two resolutions providing two 
committees to consider the subject. These committees were appointed 
December 22, 1876.\2\ Mr. McCrary was chairman of neither, but had 
fifth place on the second.\3\
  4518. On February 11, 1858,\4\ Mr. Speaker Orr appointed Mr. Thomas 
L. Harris, of Illinois, chairman of the committee to whom was referred 
the message of the President relating to the Lecompton constitution of 
Kansas. Mr. Harris, though a member of the majority party, acted with 
the minority party in defeating Mr. Alexander H. Stephens's motion to 
refer the message to the Committee on Territories, and it was his 
proposition to refer to a select committee with instructions that 
finally prevailed. He seems to have been appointed chairman because of 
the adoption of his proposition, but it is evident that Mr. Speaker Orr 
constituted the majority of the committee to be in sympathy with the 
supporters of the Administration, for eight of the fifteen members were 
men who are recorded against the resolution of reference, which passed 
the House by a vote of 115 to 111. Moreover, on March 11, we find Mr. 
Harris, on behalf of himself and the others of the minority, 
complaining to the House that the majority of the committee were 
failing to execute the order of the House, and had adjourned.
  4519. On December 1, 1856,\5\ Mr. James L. Orr, a Democrat, of South 
Carolina, made the motion that a committee be appointed on the part of 
the House to notify the President that the Congress is ready for 
business; and Mr. Speaker Banks, a Republican, made Mr. Orr chairman of 
the committee.
  4520. In appointing committees of investigation it is evidently 
necessary to disregard the former usage that the proposer of the 
committee should be its chairman.--On April 4, 1810,\6\ Mr. Joseph 
Pearson, of North Carolina, offered a resolution directing an 
investigation of the conduct of Brig. Gen. James Wilkinson, Commander 
in Chief of the Army. The resolution being agreed to, Mr. Pearson was 
not appointed chairman, but was the last-named Member.
  4521. On March 3, 1864,\7\ Mr. Frank P. Blair, Jr., of Missouri, 
proposed a resolution of investigation of certain charges which had 
been made against himself, and the resolution was agreed to by the 
House, and the Speaker\8\ proceeded to appoint the committee called for 
by the resolution. The Speaker said that under the practice of the 
House the Speaker would have to appoint Mr. Blair chairman of the 
committee unless he should decline to serve in that capacity. Mr. Blair 
asked that the formality be dispensed with, and the Speaker accordingly 
named another Member chairman, not naming Mr. Blair on the committee at 
all.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ Journal, p. 78.
  \2\ Journal, p. 137.
  \3\ Instances occurred in this Congress where the Member proposing 
committee was appointed its chairman. (Second session Forty-fourth 
Congress, Journal, pp. 174, 183, 285, 305.)
  \4\ First session Thirty-fifth Congress, Journal, pp. 345-349, 369, 
477; Globe, p. 1075.
  \5\ Third session Thirty-fourth Congress, Globe, p. 2; Journal, p. 8.
  \6\ Second session Eleventh Congress, Journal, p. 348 (Gales and 
Seaton ed.).
  \7\ First session Thirty-eighth Congress, Journal, p. 421; Globe, p. 
1253.
  \8\ Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, Speaker,
                                                            Sec. 4522
  4522. On January 23, 1865,\1\ Mr. Robert C. Schenck, of Ohio, offered 
a resolution providing for an investigation of an assault upon the Hon. 
William D. Kelley, of Pennsylvania. This resolution having been agreed 
to, the Speaker, on January 24, appointed on the committee Messrs. 
Beaman, Edward H. Rollins, Robinson, John D. Baldwin, and Townshend.\2\
  4523. On March 20, 1879,\3\ on motion of Mr. John A. McMahon, of 
Ohio, a Member of the majority of the House, a resolution was 
introduced for the investigation of the operation of the election law 
in Cincinnati. On March 29, Mr. Speaker Randall appointed the 
committee, making Mr. John G. Carlisle, of Kentucky, chairman, but 
explaining that Mr. McMahon had declined to serve as chairman.
  4524. A committee, having elected a chairman, has sometimes reported 
that fact to the House.--On December 1, 1806,\4\ it being ordered that 
a Committee on Ways and Means be appointed pursuant to the standing 
rules and orders of the House, a committee was appointed, Mr. Joseph 
Clay, of Pennsylvania, being chairman.
  On December 5, on motion, it was--

  Ordered, That Mr. Garnett be excused from serving on the Committee on 
Ways and Means, and that Mr. John Randolph be appointed on the said 
committee, in his place.

  On December 9,\5\ Mr. Clay reported to the House that under the 
existing rule \6\ the Member first named on a committee was chairman, 
unless another Member was chosen by the committee; and he was 
instructed to state that in virtue of the last provision the Committee, 
on Ways and Means had appointed Mr. J. Randolph, chairman.
  It does not appear that Mr. Clay had asked to be excused from the 
chairmanship.
  4525. On December 27, 1847,\7\ Mr. Meredith P. Gentry, of Tennessee, 
from the Committee on Indian Affairs, reported that at a meeting of the 
committee held at their committee room this day, on motion of Mr. 
Gentry, chairman of the committee, Daniel M. Barranger, of the State of 
North Carolina, was unanimously appointed chairman of said committee.
  This report was read and laid on the table.
  4526. It has been decided that it is not necessary for a committee to 
report to the House the election of a chairman.--On January 21, 
1835,\8\ Mr. John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts, offered the 
following:

  Ordered, That the name of the present chairman of the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs be entered upon the Journals of the House.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ Second session Thirty-eighth Congress, Journal, pp. 135, 138.
  \2\ On March 1 and 5, 1872 (second session Forty-second Congress, 
Record, pp. 1321, 1417), the Senate by ballot elected a committee to 
investigate the sale of arms to France, and chose of that number not a 
single Member who had prominently urged the investigation. It had been 
proposed to put Mr. Charles Sumner, of Massachusetts, at the head, as 
he had instigated the investigation, but his health prevented his 
serving. Mr. Sumner and others protested against the one-sided 
constitution of the committee, but without avail.
  \3\ First session Forty-sixth Congress, Journal, pp. 23, 34; Record, 
pp. 29, 126.
  \4\ Second session Ninth Congress, Journal, pp. 465, 473 (Gales and 
Seaton ed.).
  \5\ Annals, p. 130. The Journal does not mention this report by Mr. 
Clay.
  \6\ See section 4513 of this volume for form of rule then and now.
  \7\ First session Thirtieth Congress, Journal, p. 149; Globe, p. 64.
  \8\ Second session Twenty-third Congress, Journal, p. 252; Debates, 
p. 7825.
Sec. 4527
  The debate developed the following fact:
  When the Committee on Foreign Affairs was appointed on December 4 \1\ 
Mr. James M. Wayne, of Georgia, was named first, and Mr. Edward 
Everett, of Massachusetts, second. On January 13, Mr. Wayne resigned 
his seat in the House \2\ and Mr. Churchill C. Cambreleng, of New York, 
was ``appointed on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, in place of Mr. 
Wayne, resigned.''
  As appears from the debate, Mr. Everett assumed the position of 
chairman, the Speaker considering him the successor of Mr. Wayne in 
that position, although Mr. Everett expressed some doubts as to the 
propriety of his acting as chairman for the reason that he was not in 
sympathy with the Administration. Subsequently the committee, by a vote 
of four to three, Messrs. Everett and Cambreleng not voting, elected 
Mr. Cambreleng chairman over Mr. Everett.
  Mr. Adams, in presenting his order, referred to the fact that Mr. 
Cambreleng received the votes of only four of the committee, the total 
membership of nine being present. While it seemed to him that the 
minority in this case had assumed to elect a chairman, he was not 
disposed to question the validity of the election. But the election of 
Mr. Cambreleng had been in derogation of the ordinary usages of the 
House, according to which the person first named on a committee was ex 
officio chairman, and in the event of his absence or resignation the 
next named. It was true that Jefferson's Manual gave to the committee 
the power to elect their own chairman, but he did not believe that 
there was a single instance where this had been done. He thought that 
the name of the chairman ought to be placed in the Journal so that the 
House might know who was chairman in its dealings with the committee.
  Mr. William S. Archer, of Virginia, replying to Mr. Adams, said that 
the committee constituted one undivided organ of the House, and they 
were in the habit of making reports through other members as well as 
the chairman. In a parliamentary sense neither the individual members 
of a committee nor the chairman were known to the House. A committee 
could certainly elect a chairman for itself, and the House could take 
no cognizance of what passed in the committee in this respect unless 
the committee choose to inform them. A precedent was to be found in the 
case of Mr. John Randolph, of Virginia, who had been displaced as 
chairman of the Ways and Means Committee by Mr. Speaker Macon, and 
afterwards reelected chairman by the committee.
  The order proposed by Mr. Adams was laid on the table.
  4527. On December 19, 1861,\3\ in the committee appointed to 
investigate Government contracts, a select committee, Mr. E. B. 
Washburne, of Illinois, was chosen temporary chairman, and the 
Sergeant-at-Arms of the House (who was liable to be called on to summon 
witnesses) was informed. On February 26 the committee chose Mr. 
Washburne chairman, and directed that the action be entered on the 
journal of the committee. There is no record, however, that the 
committee informed the House of its action.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ Second session Thirty-seventh Congress, pt. 2 of House Report No. 
2, journal of the committee, pp. 2, 10.
  \2\ Journal, p. 34.
  \3\ Journal, p. 213.
                                                            Sec. 4528
  4528. The select committee created January 17, 1839,\1\ for the 
investigation of the defalcation in the New York custom-house, was 
chosen by ballot by the House. The committee, in turn, elected their 
own chairman by ballot. Notice of this election of a chairman does not 
appear to have been given to the House by the committee.
  4529. The chairman of a committee having resigned his seat in the 
House the committee elected a chairman and reported to the House.--On 
December 14, 1898,\2\ the Speaker submitted to the House the following 
communication:

                          Committee on Rivers and Harbors,        
                    House of Representatives United States,       
                             Washington, D. C., December 7, 1898. 
  At a meeting of the Committee on Rivers and Harbors this day held, at 
which the following members were present, to wit: Walter Reeves, R. P. 
Bishop, Ernest F. Acheson, Page Morris, William L. Ward, Thomas C. 
Catchings, Rufus E. Lester, John H. Bankhead, Philip D. McCulloch, 
Albert S. Berry, Stephen M. Sparkman, and Thomas H. Ball, by unanimous 
vote Mr. Theodore E. Burton, of Ohio, was elected chairman of said 
committee, to take the place of Mr. Warren B. Hooker, resigned, and, on 
motion, voted that the Speaker be notified of the action of this 
committee.
                                   Walter Reeves, Acting Chairman.
  Attest:
    L. L. Hanchett, Clerk.

  4530. The chairman of a committee having resigned his seat in the 
House, the Speaker, by consent of the House, appointed a chairman.--On 
March 28, 1904,\3\ the Speaker,\4\ by consent of the House, appointed 
Mr. Edward DeV. Morrell, of Pennsylvania, chairman of the Committee on 
Militia, in place of Mr. Charles Dick, of Ohio, who had resigned his 
seat as a Member. Mr. Morrell was not a member of the Committee on 
Militia previous to this appointment.
  4531. The chairman of a committee, with the permission of the House, 
may resign as chairman, still remaining a member of the committee.--On 
December 5, 1900,\5\ the Speaker announced that Mr. Charles A. 
Boutelle, of Maine, had resigned his place as chairman of the Committee 
on Naval Affairs. The House, without objection, allowed the resignation 
by unanimous consent.
  This was a resignation as chairman only, Mr. Boutelle still remaining 
a member of the committee.
  4532. On December 13, 1888,\6\ Mr. James B. McCreary, of Kentucky, 
asked to be relieved of the chairmanship of the Committee on Private 
Land Claims, and the House excused him.
  Thereupon Mr. James B. Weaver, of Iowa, stated that this action would 
cause the chairmanship to devolve on him, and he asked to be excused, 
as he was already chairman of the Committee on Patents. Whereupon Mr. 
Weaver was excused.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ Third session Twenty-fifth Congress, House Report No. 313, p. 
293.
  \2\ Third session Fifty-fifth Congress, Record, p. 195; Journal, p. 
30.
  \3\ Second session Fifty-eighth Congress, Journal, p. 502; Record, p. 
3824.
  \4\ Joseph G. Cannon, of Illinois, Speaker.
  \5\ Second session Fifty-sixth Congress, Journal, p. 25; Record, p. 
66.
  \6\ Second session Fiftieth Congress, Journal, p. 81; Record, p. 235.
Sec. 4533
Thereupon the Speaker \1\ appointed the member next in order, Mr. John 
M. Glover, of Missouri, as chairman.\2\
  Mr. McCreary had asked to be excused because the resignation of the 
chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs had left him as chairman 
of that committee. He did not resign from the committee, but only from 
the chairmanship.
  Mr. McCreary's request was journalized as a privileged matter.
  4533. Clerks of committees are appointed by the chairmen, with the 
approval of the committee, and are paid at the public expense.
  Present form and history of section 4 of Rule X.
  Section 4 of Rule X provides:

  The chairman shall appoint the clerk or clerks of his committee, 
subject to its approval, who shall be paid at the public expense, the 
House having first provided therefor.

  This rule dates from December 14, 1838,\3\ when Mr. Samuel Cushman, 
of New Hampshire, proposed that no committee should be permitted to 
employ a clerk at the public expense without first obtaining leave of 
the House for that purpose. This suggestion was adopted and became old 
rule No. 73. In the revision of 1880 \4\ the present form of the rule 
was adopted.\5\
  4534. An annual clerkship of a committee is authorized by a 
resolution reported by the Committee on Accounts and agreed to by the 
House.--On August 23, 1888,\6\ Mr. M. M. Boothman, of Ohio, from the 
Committee on Accounts, presented for the action of the House this 
resolution:

  Resolved, That the Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries be 
allowed an annual clerk, to be paid out of the contingent fund of the 
House, until March 3, 1889, at the rate of $2,000 per annum; and the 
Committee on Appropriations are hereby instructed to make provision for 
such clerk at the said rate of $2,000 per annum, from said March 3, 
1889.\7\

  4535. Session clerks are assigned to committees by resolution 
reported from the Committee on Accounts and agreed to by the House.
  Reference to statutes fixing the pay of session clerks of committees. 
(Footnote.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ John G. Carlisle, of Kentucky, Speaker.
  \2\ The power of the Speaker to make this appointment may be doubted 
in view of section 3 of Rule X.
  \3\ Third session Twenty-fifth Congress, Globe, p. 32; Journal, p. 
80.
  \4\ Second session Forty-sixth Congress, Record, p. 205.
  \5\ On January 28, 1803 (second session Seventh Congress, Journal, p. 
311), the House disagreed to a proposition to authorize ``two 
additional clerks to be denominated `committee clerks,' '' whose duties 
it should be to attend to the business of the several committees.
  \6\ First session Fiftieth Congress, Record, pp. 7884, 7885.
  \7\ The following committees have permanent or annual clerkships: 
Ways and Means (also an assistant clerk and stenographer), 
Appropriations (also an assistant clerk and an assistant clerk and 
stenographer), Accounts, Agriculture, Banking and Currency, Census, 
Claims, District of Columbia, Elections Numbers One, Two, and Three, 
Foreign Affairs, Interstate and Foreign Commerce (also an additional 
clerk), Immigration and Naturalization, Indian Affairs, lnsular 
Affairs, Invalid Pensions (also an assistant clerk), Irrigation of Arid 
Lands, Judiciary (also an assistant clerk), Labor, Library, Merchant 
Marine and Fisheries, Military Affairs, Naval Affairs, Patents, 
Pensions, Post-Office and Post-Roads (also an assistant clerk), 
Printing, Public Buildings and Grounds, Public Lands, Rivers and 
Harbors (also an assistant clerk), Revision of the Laws, Territories, 
War Claims (also an assistant clerk).
                                                            Sec. 4536
  On December 10, 1897,\1\ Mr. Benj. B. Odell, jr., of New York, 
obtained unanimous consent for the consideration of this resolution:

  Resolved, That the Committee on Accounts is hereby authorized and 
directed to designate the committee to which the clerks provided for by 
the legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation bill for the 
fiscal year ending June 30, 1898, should be allowed and assigned for 
the present Congress, and to report by resolution to the House for its 
action thereon.

  It having been explained that it was in accordance with the usual 
custom for the Committee on Accounts to assign these clerks, the 
resolution was adopted.\2\
  4536. A session clerk is entitled to compensation only from the date 
when he enters upon the discharge of his duties with the committee.--On 
June 23, 1896, the Comptroller of the Treasury decided \3\ that, under 
the joint resolution of June 28, 1886, providing that the pay of 
session clerks to committees of the House of Representatives should 
begin from the time such clerks entered upon the discharge of their 
duties, to be ascertained and evidenced by certificate of the chairmen 
of the several committees, such clerk was not entitled to compensation 
from the beginning of the session on the certificate of the chairman, 
but only from the date when he enters upon the discharge of his duties 
as clerk to the committee, which can in no event be prior to the 
appointment of the committee by the Speaker.
  4537. A clerk of a committee who ceased to hold office on December 21 
was held not to be entitled to the salary for the remainder of the 
month, under the terms of a resolution directing the payment of 
salaries of employees for that month on the 20th.--On January 22, 1896, 
the Comptroller of the Treasury decided \4\ that the clerk of a 
committee of the House of Representatives who ceased to hold the office 
on December 21, 1895, was not entitled, under the resolution directing 
payment of salaries of clerks and employees for the month of December 
on the 20th day of that month, to the salary for the whole month, 
payment not having been made to him until after he had vacated the 
office.
  4538. The clerk of a committee being appointed a postmaster, was held 
to be entitled to his salary as clerk until his successor was 
appointed, although his salary as postmaster had already begun.--Mr. A. 
H. Boyden, holding the position of clerk to the Committee on Post-
Office and Post-Roads, House of Representatives, in Washington, was 
commissioned and entered upon the discharge of his duties as postmaster 
at Salisbury, N. C., on July 1, 1893. His salary as postmaster was 
$1,800 a year. On August 29 his successor as clerk to the committee was 
appointed. The question arose whether or not he could
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ Second session Fifty fifth Congress, Record, p. 79.
  \2\ The pay of the clerks to committees of the House of 
Representatives, heretofore authorized by the House, who are paid 
during the session only, shall begin from the time such clerks entered 
upon the discharge of their duties as clerks to committees, which shall 
be ascertained and evidenced by the certificates of the chairmen of the 
several committees employing clerks for the session only. (22 Stat. L., 
p. 378.)
  Hereafter clerks of committees of either branch of Congress (except 
those whose salaries are fixed by specific appropriations) shall be 
paid not more than six dollars per day, and during the session only. 
(18 Stat. L., p. 345.)
  \3\ Decisions of the Comptroller of the Treasury (Bowler), Vol. II, 
p. 638.
  \4\ Decisions of the Comptroller of the Treasury (Bowler), Vol. II, 
p. 359.
Sec. 4539
be paid the salary of both offices for the period from July 1 to August 
29; and the First Comptroller decided,\1\ on September 29, 1893, that 
the two positions were compatible, and that Mr. Boyden was entitled to 
the compensation of both.
  4539. There is no legal power to fill a vacancy in the clerkship of a 
committee after one Congress has expired and before the next House has 
been organized.--Hon. James Kerr, Clerk of the House of 
Representatives, in 1893 requested the opinion of the Comptroller of 
the Currency on the following points: (1) Whether or not there was any 
legal power to fill a vacancy in the clerkship to the River and Harbor 
Committee where such vacancy occurred after the expiration of the 
Fifty-second Congress and before the organization of the Fifty-third 
Congress; (2) in whom was such power vested, if it existed; and (3) 
could the name of a certain individual be legally placed on the rolls 
of the House as clerk of that committee; could he be paid the salary 
belonging to the appointment; and if so, from what date would he be 
entitled to pay?
  The Comptroller, in reply, decided:

  There is no legal power to fill a vacancy in the clerkship to the 
Rivers and Harbors Committee where such vacancy occurred after the 
expiration of the Fifty-second Congress and before the organization of 
the Fifty-third Congress; and, therefore, the name of Mr. William P. 
Hickman, who was designated by the Hon. N. C. Blanchard, chairman of 
the Committee on Rivers and Harbors of the Fifty-second Congress, to 
take the place of James Hickman, deceased, can not legally be placed 
upon the rolls of the House of Representatives as the clerk of said 
committee.

  The reasons for this decision,\2\ summarized, are as follows:
  There appears to be no precedent for such appointment, but there are 
two precedents of places remaining vacant under similar circumstances; 
neither House can continue any portion of itself in any parliamentary 
function beyond the close of the session without the consent of the 
other two branches (Jefferson's Manual, Rules of House No. XLIV); the 
chairman may only appoint his clerk subject to the approval of the 
committee (House Rule X, see. 4); the clerk of a committee is not in 
general entitled to compensation unless he takes the oath of office 
under and by authority of the House.\3\
  4540. In absence of direction of the House committees meet when and 
where they please, but may only act when together.
  A majority of a committee is the quorum.
  Rule of parliamentary law as to right of a Member to attend on a 
committee to which he does not belong.
  Jefferson's Manual, in Section XXVI, provides:

  In some cases the House has ordered a committee to withdraw 
immediately into the committee chamber and act on and bring back the 
bill, sitting the House. (Scob., 48.) A committee meet when and where 
they please \4\ if the House has not ordered time and place for them (6 
Grey, 370); but they can only act when together, and not by separate 
consultation and consent--nothing being the report of the committee but 
what has been agreed to in committee actually assembled.
  A majority of the committee constitutes a quorum for business. 
(Elsynge's Method of Passing Bills, 11.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ Decisions of the First Comptroller (Bowler), 1893-94, p. 61.
  \2\ Decisions of the First Comptroller (Bowler), 1893-94, p. 2.
  \3\ 5 Lawrence, Comp. Dec., 400.
  \4\ A committee may not sit during sessions of the House without 
leave. (See see. 4545 of this volume.)
                                                            Sec. 4541
  Any Member of the House may be present at any select committee, but 
can not vote, and must give place to all of the committee and sit below 
them.\1\ (Elsynge, 12; Scob., 49.)

  4541. The House may empower a committee to sit during a recess which 
is within the constitutional session of the House.--On December 14, 
1877,\2\ Mr. Fernando Wood, of New York, from the Committee on Ways and 
Means, reported a resolution directing a general investigation by 
committees of the House into the conduct of the Executive Departments 
of the Government, the following being one of the provisions of the 
resolution: ``And said committees are authorized to send for persons 
and papers, and also to sit in any recess which may occur during the 
session.''
  Against this provision Mr. Horatio C. Burchard, of Illinois, made a 
point of order:

  This resolution is equivalent to a proposition to change or suspend 
the rules of the House. The jurisdiction of these various committees 
that are recited in the resolution reported from the Committee of Ways 
and Means is expressly defined in the rules of the House. This 
resolution proposes to change the rules of the House so as to enlarge 
the powers of those various committees and to give them leave to sit 
during the recess of the House. It is, in fact, a change of the rules 
of the House, and I hold that it can not be entertained at this time.

  The Speaker \3\ said, after debate:

  There is a rule that committees can not be permitted to sit during 
the sessions of the House, which would imply they could sit at any 
other time when Congress is in session under law. * * * The Chair sees 
no rule which prohibits a committee from sitting during the recess 
within the limits of the constitutional session of the House.

  4542. On May 22, 1872,\4\ Mr. Luke P. Poland, of Vermont, submitted 
the following resolution, which was agreed to:

  Resolved, That the Committee on the Revision of the Laws of the 
United States are hereby authorized to meet in committee on the 11th 
day of November next, and to continue in session to the beginning of 
the next session of Congress for the purpose of examining the revision 
of the statutes of the United States now being prepared by 
commissioners appointed for that purpose.

  4543. On May 23, 1900,\5\ Mr. Sereno E. Payne, of New York, 
presented, and the House, by unanimous consent, considered and agreed 
to this resolution:

  Resolved, That the Committee on Ways and Means have leave to sit 
during the recess to consider the subject of the revision and reduction 
of the war-revenue taxes.

  4544. The Senate, as a continuing body, may continue its committees 
through the recess following the expiration of a Congress.--On March 2, 
1907,\6\ Mr. William B. Allison, of Iowa, in the Senate, offered this 
resolution, which was agreed to:

  Resolved, That the standing and select committees of the Senate as 
constituted at the end of this session be, and they are hereby, 
continued until the next regular session of Congress, or until their 
successors are elected.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ Committees frequently exercise the right of making their sessions 
executive, excluding persons not members thereof.
  \2\ Second session Forty-fifth Congress, Journal, p. 132; Record, pp. 
228, 231.
  \3\ Samuel J. Randall, of Pennsylvania, Speaker.
  \4\ Second session Forty-second Congress, Journal, p. 928; Globe, p. 
3743.
  \5\ First session Fifty-sixth Congress, Record, p. 5923; Journal, p. 
614.
  \6\ Second session Fifty-ninth Congress, Record, p. 4453.
Sec. 4545
  The committees of each House, of course, cease with the expiration of 
the constitutional term of the House.
  4545. Committees may not sit during sessions of the House.
  Committees may by the House be empowered to sit during a recess that 
is within the term of the Congress, but not after the expiration of the 
term.
  Committees are created commissioners by law if their functions are to 
extend beyond the term of the Congress.
  Jefferson's Manual has the following provisions:

  Section XI. So soon as the House sits and a committee is notified of 
it, the chairman is in duty bound to rise instantly, and the Members to 
attend the service of the House. (2 Nals., 310.)
  Section LI. Committees may be appointed to sit during the recess by 
adjournment, but not by prorogation. Neither House can continue any 
portion of itself in any parliamentary function beyond the end of the 
session without the consent of the other branch.\1\ When done, it is by 
a bill constituting them commissioners for that particular purpose.\2\
  Commissions are sometimes created by joint or concurrent resolutions, 
which are independent of the life of the Congress creating them. (28 
Stat. L., p. 392, and App., p. 18.)

  4546. No committee, except the Committee on Rules, may, without 
leave, sit during the sitting of the House.
  Present form and history of section 62 of Rule XI.
  Section 62 of Rule XI provides:

  No committee, except the Committee on Rules, shall sit during the 
sitting of the House without special leave.

  The old rule of November 13, 1794,\3\ provided that ``No committee 
shall sit during the sitting of the House without special leave.'' When 
the Committee on Rules reported the revision of 1880, they omitted it, 
thinking that section 1 of Rule VIII requiring every Member to be 
present within the Hall during the sitting, was sufficient; but during 
the consideration of the report in the House the old rule was inserted 
on motion of Mr. George D. Robinson, of Massachusetts.\4\ The exception 
in regard to the Committee on Rules was made on September 6, 1893.\5\
  4547. A request that a committee have leave to sit during the 
sessions of the House has no privileged status in the order of business 
and may be prevented by a single objection.--On January 15, 1907,\6\ 
Mr. James E. Watson, of Indiana, asked unanimous consent that the 
Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries have authority to sit during 
sessions of the House.
  Mr. John S. Williams, of Mississippi, objecting, the privilege was 
not given.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ The Senate, however, being a continuing body, gives authority to 
its committees during the recess after the expiration of a Congress.
  \2\ This is the law of Parliament. It has been construed not to 
restrain a committee of the House, with the leave of the House, from 
sitting during a recess between the first and second session of 
Congress. On August 28, 1852, the House, without question as to its 
right so to do, gave to the committee appointed to investigate the 
conduct of Secretary Corwin leave ``to sit in the vacation.'' (See 
first session Thirty-second Congress, Journal, p. 1119 1 Globe, pp. 
2414, 2418.)
  \3\ Second session Third Congress, Journal, p. 228 (Gales and Seaton 
ed.).
  \4\ Second session Forty-sixth Congress, Record, p. 827.
  \5\ First session Fifty-third Congress, Vol. I of House Reports, No. 
2.
  \6\ Second session Fifty-ninth Congress, Record, p. 1168.
                                                            Sec. 4548
  4548. A subcommittee is sometimes authorized to sit during sessions 
of the House.--On March 11, 1876,\1\ Mr. Rezin A. De Bolt, of Missouri, 
by unanimous consent, submitted the following resolution, which was 
read, considered, and agreed to:

  Resolved, That a subcommittee of the Committee on Reform in the Civil 
Service be authorized to sit during the sessions of the House, and that 
its chairman be, and he is hereby, authorized to administer oaths.

  4549. In 1877 the House authorized its Members of the Electoral 
Commission to sit during sessions of the House.--On January 31, 
1877,\2\ Mr. Eppa Hunton, of Virginia, offered the following 
resolution, which was agreed to:

  Resolved, That the members of the commission on the part of the House 
of Representatives appointed under provisions of the bill entitled, 
``An act to provide for and regulate the counting of votes for 
President and Vice-President, and the decision of questions arising 
thereon, for the term commencing March 4, A. D. 1877,'' have permission 
to sit as members of said commission during the sessions of this House.

  4550. Instance wherein the House authorized two standing committees 
to sit as one committee for the consideration of a specified bill.--On 
January 23, 1907,\3\ Mr. Henry C. Loudenslager, of New Jersey, offered 
this resolution, which was agreed to by the House:

  Resolved, That the Committee on Invalid Pensions and the Committee on 
Pensions be, and hereby are, authorized to sit as one committee for the 
purpose of considering Senate bill No. 976, an act granting pensions to 
certain enlisted men, soldiers, and officers who served in the civil 
war and the war with Mexico, and that such committee have leave to sit 
during the sessions of the House.

  4551. In 1870 the Committee on Elections was divided into 
subcommittees, to each of which was given the power of reporting 
directly to the House.--On February 19, 1870,\4\ Mr. James A. Garfield, 
of Ohio, from the Committee on Rules, reported the following:

  Resolved, That the following be adopted as the rule of the House, 
namely:
  The Committee of Elections for the Forty-first Congress shall consist 
of fifteen members; and each contested case may be assigned by the 
chairman to a special committee of three members thereof for their 
exclusive consideration, and such special committee shall report their 
decision in the case directly to the House.

  Mr. Garfield explained that the Committee of Elections was confronted 
with an unusual amount of work and that this method of meeting the 
difficulty seemed the best. He said that each of the subcommittees, 
under the comity of committees, would consist of two Republicans and 
one Democrat. He and others of the House deplored the partisan method 
of settling election contests, but thought that no better system was 
practicable at that time.
  The resolution was agreed to.
  4552. A majority of a committee constitutes a quorum for business.--
On August 25, 1842,\5\ a question arose as to whether or not the 
Committee on Public
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ First session Forty-fourth Congress, Journal, p. 555.
  \2\ Second session Forty-fourth Congress, Journal, pp. 344, 345; 
Record, p. 1139.
  \3\ Second session Fifty-ninth Congress, Record, p. 1587.
  \4\ Second session Forty-first Congress, Journal, p. 350-1 Globe, p. 
1439.
  \5\ Second session Twenty-seventh Congress, Journal, pp. 1410, 1682., 
Globe, p. 940.
Sec. 4553
Lands had reported properly the bill to amend the act ``to appropriate, 
the proceeds of the sale of the public lands and to grant preemption 
rights.'' Mr. Henry A. Wise, of Virginia, stated that a quorum of the 
committee was not present, since actually only four members were 
present when the report was authorized. The committee under the rules 
consisted of nine members. Therefore the assumption underlying this 
question of order was that a majority of the committee was required to 
constitute a quorum, and nothing appears to controvert this assumption.
  On February 8, 1875,\1\ in the Senate, Mr. Oliver P. Morton, of 
Indiana, presented the report of the Committee on Privileges and 
Elections in the case of P. B. S. Pinchback. Mr. William T. Hamilton, 
of Maryland, made the point that the report was not authorized, since 
only seven of the nine members of the committee had been present, and 
only four of the seven voted for the report. Mr. George F. Edmunds, of 
Vermont, argued that as the whole membership of the committee was nine 
the seven present constituted a quorum and four was a majority of the 
seven. The Presiding Officer, Mr. Henry B. Anthony, of Rhode Island, 
sustained this contention of Mr. Edmunds. Here the fundamental 
assumption, not questioned, was that a majority of the committee is 
required for a quorum.
  In addition Jefferson's Manual, which is authority in the House when 
its own rules are silent, declares that ``a majority of the committee 
constitutes a quorum for business.'' \2\
  4553. The House sometimes authorizes less than a quorum of a 
committee (a quorum being a majority) to act.--On April 28, 1858,\3\ 
Mr. Benjamin Stanton, of Ohio, from the select committee of which he 
was chairman, offered the following, resolution:

  Resolved, That the select committee appointed to investigate the 
expenditure of money to procure the passage of the tariff of 1857 have 
power to authorize any two members of said committee to take the 
testimony of any witnesses who, by reason of sickness or any other 
cause, can not be brought before said committee at such time and place 
as the members so authorized may deem expedient, and that they shall 
have leave to sit during the sittings of the House.

  Mr. Stanton explained that this virtually made a quorum of two 
instead of three, as at present in the committee. Objections were urged 
on the ground that the procedure was unusual, but the resolution was 
agreed to without division.
  4554. On May 18, 1860,\4\ Mr. John Hickman, of Pennsylvania, by 
unanimous consent, reported from the Committee on the Judiciary, the 
following resolution:

  Resolved, That a minority of the Committee on the Judiciary be, and 
are hereby, authorized to take the testimony of all witnesses in the 
matter of the petitions heretofore referred to said committee praying 
the impeachment of Hon. John C. Watrous, a judge of the United States 
for the eastern district of Texas.

  Mr. Hickman explained that the authority was necessary because of the 
difficulty of keeping a quorum of the committee present.
  The resolution was agreed to.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ Second session Forty-third Congress, Record, p. 1063.
  \2\ Jefferson's Manual, Chapter XXVI.
  \3\ First session Thirty-fifth Congress, Journal, p. 722; Globe, p. 
1906.
  \4\ First session Thirty-sixth Congress, Journal, p. 856; Globe, p. 
2171.
                                                            Sec. 4555
  4555. It is in order to refer a matter to a committee before its 
members have been appointed.--On December 7, 1863,\1\ Mr. Thaddeus 
Stevens, of Pennsylvania, moved that the credentials of two Members 
from Louisiana be referred to the Committee, on Elections.
  Mr. S. S. Cox, of Ohio, made the point of order that the committee 
had not yet been appointed.
  The Speaker \2\ said:

  The Chair overrules the point of order. The uniform practice of the 
House has been to refer matters to committees before they were raised.

  4556. Rule for delivery of bills referred to a committee.--
Jefferson's Manual, in Section XXVI, provides:

  The clerk may deliver the bill to any member of the committee (Town., 
col. 138); but it is usual to deliver it to him who is first named.\3\

  4557. Committees may not change the title or subject of bills 
committed to them, and must set down on a separate paper the amendments 
which they recommend.
  When a report is recommitted, the committee must take up the subject 
anew, the former action being of no further account.
  The proceedings of a committee, having no force until confirmed by 
the House, are not to be published, according to the parliamentary law.
  A committee may receive a petition only through the House.
  When an inquiry by a committee involves a Member, the committee may 
only report to the House, whereupon the Member is heard or the 
committee is given authority to inquire concerning him.
  Jefferson's Manual, in Section XXVI, provides:

  The committee have full power over the bill or other paper committed 
to them, except that they can not change the title or subject. (8 Grey, 
228.)
  The committee may not erase, interline, or blot the bill itself; but 
must, in a paper by itself, set down the amendments, stating the words 
which are to be inserted or omitted, and where, by reference to page, 
line, and word of the bill.\4\ (Scob., 50.)

  And in Section XXVIII:

  If a report be recommitted before agreed to in the House, what has 
passed in committee is of no validity; the whole question is again 
before the committee, and a new resolution must again be moved, as if 
nothing had passed.

  In Section XI:

  Their proceedings are not to be published,\5\ as they are of no force 
till confirmed by the House (Rushw., part 3, vol. 2, 74; 3 Grey, 401; 
Scob., 39); nor can they receive a petition but through the House (9 
Grey, 412).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ First session Thirty-eighth Congress; Globe, pp. 7, 8.
  \2\ Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, Speaker.
  \3\ Where the committee has a clerk, the distributing clerk of the 
House delivers the bill to him at the committee room, taking a receipt 
therefor.
  \4\ It is the present practice for committees to set forth their 
amendments in the report, and also in italicized words in a reprint of 
the bill as reported.
  \5\ Committees frequently open their meetings to the public, which 
results in wide publicity before their recommendations are presented to 
the House, but in general the old practice of Parliament is followed 
and committee meetings are not public.
Sec. 4558
  When a committee is charged with an inquiry, if a Member prove to be 
involved, they can not proceed against him, but must make a special 
report to the House; whereupon the Member is heard in his place, or at 
the bar, or a special authority is given to the committee to inquire 
concerning him. (9 Grey, 523.)

  4558. It is entirely within rule and usage for a committee to conduct 
its proceedings in secret.--On January 23, 1858,\1\ in the select 
committee appointed to investigate the accounts of the late Clerk, 
William Cullom, the following was offered by Mr. Valentine B. Horton, 
of Ohio, and agreed to by the committee:

  Ordered, That the proceedings of this committee be kept secret until 
the committee are prepared to report.

  4559. On December 14, 1860,\2\ the select committee of thirty-three, 
to whom had been referred so much of the President's message as related 
to the perilous condition of the country, adopted the following order:

  That, in the opinion of this committee, its proceedings should not be 
disclosed to others, except when, in any particular case, it may permit 
such disclosure.

  On December 29, 1860, and at other dates, the committee removed the 
injunction of secrecy from various proceedings.
  4560. On January 19, 1861,\3\ in the select committee on the seizure 
of forts, arsenals, etc., Hon. Isaac Toucey, Secretary of the Navy, 
appeared in attendance in accordance with previous arrangement.
  The clerk of the committee retired from the committee room at the 
request of the chairman.
  After some time spent by the committee in consultation with the 
Secretary of the Navy, the clerk was recalled and the committee 
adjourned.
  Again, on January 26,\4\ the same proceeding took place.
  4561. In 1839,\5\ during the investigation made by the select 
committee appointed by the House to inquire into the defalcations in 
the New York customhouse, a resolution was moved by a member of the 
committee that all the proceedings of the committee should be open and 
public. This proposition was amended by a resolution declaring that the 
committee had in no wise departed from the long established and 
uniformly observed rules of conducting business by the standing and 
select committees, and that in respect to secrecy the committee ought 
to conform to the rules and usages which govern standing and select 
committees. Having thus amended the resolution, a majority of the 
committee laid it on the table.
  4562. In 1878,\6\ the committee appointed ``to inquire into the 
alleged fraudulent canvass and return of votes at the last Presidential 
election in the States of Louisiana and Florida,'' in the report said: 
``Since it was unavoidable in an investigation of this magnitude that 
much secondary testimony should be received, some of which might thus 
unjustly involve the fair fame of individuals, we thought
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ Second session Thirty-fifth Congress, journal of the select 
committee, Report No. 188, p. 209.
  \2\ Second session Thirty-sixth Congress, House Report No. 31, 
journal of the committee, pp. 8, 21.
  \3\ Second session Thirty-sixth Congress, House Report No. 91, p. 35.
  \4\ Report, p. 48.
  \5\ Third session Twenty-fifth Congress, House Report No. 313, pp. 
414, 415, 430.
  \6\ Third session Forty-fifth Congress, House Report No. 140, p. 3.
                                                            Sec. 4563
it proper that the Republican members of the committee should decide 
whether the sessions of the committee should be private or open, and on 
their determination at last, that the sessions of the committee should 
be open, it was so ordered.'' \1\
  4563. On May 1, 1876,\2\ on motion of Mr. William R. Morrison, of 
Illinois, and under suspension of the rules, the House agreed to the 
following:

  Resolved, That the several committees of this House charged with 
investigations be, and are hereby, directed to conduct such 
investigations with open doors, unless, in the opinion of such 
committees, the public interests will be prejudiced thereby; but any 
person accused before any committee shall have a right to be heard in 
his own defense in person or by counsel, or both.

  4564. On December 16, 1878,\3\ the Senate were considering a 
resolution proposed by Mr. James G. Blaine, of Maine, for the 
investigation of the conduct of the recent elections, when Mr. M. C. 
Butler, of South Carolina, moved as an amendment ``that said committee 
be instructed to sit with open doors.'' This amendment was rejected, 
yeas 30, nays 30. Then Mr. Henry G. Davis, of West Virginia, moved an 
amendment that the committee ``shall sit with open doors if any member 
of the committee desires.''
  Mr. Thomas F. Bayard, of Delaware, advocated this, saying that courts 
of justice were invariably open. Furthermore, the testimony often 
assailed men who were absent, and who should be permitted to appear and 
explain, but who would not know of it if the investigations were 
secret. Mr. Bayard said that he had been assigned to committees making 
such investigations since 1870, and the inquiries were made in secret, 
and he thought many men were unjustly assailed.
  Mr. George F. Hoar, of Massachusetts, said that in every instance of 
investigations in recent years, with the single exception of the Credit 
Mobilier investigation in the House, it had been left to the committee 
itself to determine whether or not the investigation should be secret 
or open. And in the Credit Mobilier investigation the publicity had 
been detrimental. It might be very important to keep secret testimony 
which gave clews to new evidence, since publicity gave opportunity to 
persons who might testify to important facts to put themselves beyond 
reach of the committee.
  After considerable debate, in which reference was made to the 
investigations into the New York custom-house, into affairs in 
Louisiana, in North Carolina, in Mississippi, and the investigation by 
the joint committee of the two Houses into affairs in all the Southern 
States, the Senate disagreed to the amendment proposed by Mr. Davis, 
yeas 28, nays 29.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ On June 27, 1906 (first session Fifty-ninth Congress, Record, p. 
9373), in the Senate, Mr. Joseph W. Bailey, of Texas, said:
  ``Every man who knows anything about tariff legislation knows 
perfectly well that for many years the practice has been that the 
majority members of the Committee on Ways and Means in the House of 
Representatives first make the tariff bill, and only submit it to the 
full committee after they have completed it. The minority is then 
permitted to read it and to criticise it, but they are not permitted to 
change it. The majority being responsible for the bill make it to suit 
themselves and take their responsibility before the country. The same 
course of procedure is followed in the Senate, and neither Senator 
Aldrich nor any other Republican Senator was permitted to even see the 
amendments to the Wilson tariff bill which were agreed upon by the 
Democratic majority until after they had finished their work.''
  \2\ First session Forty-fourth Congress, Journal, p. 898; Record, p. 
2862.
  \3\ Third session Forty-fifth Congress, Record, pp. 203-212.
Sec. 4565
  4565. The rules do not permit the House to abrogate the secrecy of a 
committee's proceedings; but it was done by suspension of the rules.--
On January 6, 1873,\1\ Mr. William P. Frye, of Maine, proposed the 
following:

  Resolved, That the committee of this House appointed to investigate 
charges of corruption in the matter of stock in the Credit Mobilier be, 
and they are hereby, instructed to continue such investigation without 
secrecy as to either their past or future proceedings.

  Mr. Luke P. Poland, of Vermont, having raised a question of order,
  The Speaker \2\ held that inasmuch as it is provided in Jefferson's 
Manual that ``the proceedings of a committee are not to be published, 
as they are of no force till confirmed by the House,'' and by rule 144 
that ``the rules of parliamentary practice comprised in Jefferson's 
Manual shall govern the House in all cases to which they are 
applicable, and in which they are not inconsistent with the standing 
rules and orders of the House,'' etc., and whereas the provision of the 
Manual was not contravened by any rule or practice of the House or 
joint rule of the two Houses, the said resolution was virtually a 
change of the rules, and could not be submitted under the present 
calls.
  The House acquiesced, but subsequently, at the suggestion of the 
Speaker, an appeal was taken and the decision of the Chair was 
sustained.
  The resolution was subsequently offered under suspension of the rules 
and agreed to.
  4566. A committee may fix its hour of meeting.--On January 21, 
1861,\3\ the Select Committee on the Seizure of Forts, Arsenals, etc., 
adopted an order fixing the daily hour of meeting at 10.30 a. m.
  4567. A committee takes a recess.--On January 25, 1861,\4\ the Select 
Committee on Seizure of Forts, Arsenals, etc., took a recess from 12 m. 
to 2 p. m.
  4568. In standing or select committees of the House the motions to 
lay on the table and to take from the table are admitted.--On January 
29, 1840,\5\ in the Committee on Elections during the consideration of 
the contested-election case of five New Jersey Members, a motion was 
made to lay on the table a pending resolution relating to the method of 
consideration of the case.
  The chairman \6\ ``decided the motion to lay on the table not to be 
in order.
  An appeal being taken the chairman was overruled by a vote of 3 to 4, 
and the motion to lay on the table was admitted.
  On January 31 \7\ Mr. Millard Fillmore, of New York, moved to take 
the resolution from the table, and the motion was agreed to.
  On February 11 \8\ the motion to lay on the table was used in the 
committee without question.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ Third session Forty-second Congress, Journal, pp. 121, 122; 
Globe, pp. 353, 354-357.
  \2\ James G. Blaine, of Maine, Speaker.
  \3\ Second session Thirty-eighth Congress, House Report No. 91, p. 
41.
  \4\ Second session Thirty-sixth Congress, House Report No. 91, p. 46.
  \5\ First session Twenty-sixth Congress, House Report No. 506, pp. 
38, 39, 40.
  \6\ John Campbell, of South Carolina, chairman.
  \7\ Page 47.
  \8\ Page 250.
                                                            Sec. 4569
  4569. On an appeal from a decision of the chairman in a committee the 
chair voted to sustain his ruling, thereby producing a tie, and so the 
decision was sustained.--On February 1, 1840,\1\ in the Committee on 
Elections during consideration of the New Jersey cases, an appeal was 
taken from a decision of the chairman \2\ on a question of order, and 
there appeared on the question of sustaining the decision, ayes 3, noes 
4. Thereupon the chairman was counted as adhering to his decision, the 
result thereby being ayes 4, noes 4, and the entry appears in the 
journal of the committee that the chair was sustained.
  So, also, in the same way on February 6 and 10, the decision of the 
chair was sustained.
  4570. The motion to reconsider is in order in a standing or select 
committee of the House.\3\--On January 29, 1840,\4\ in the Committee on 
Elections during the consideration of the election case of the five New 
Jersey Members, a motion was made to reconsider a vote taken at the 
sitting of the committee on the preceding day.
  Mr. John M. Botts, of Virginia, made the point of order that the 
motion to reconsider was not in order in a committee.
  The chairman \2\ overruled the point of order.
  Mr. Botts having appealed, the decision of the chair was sustained--
yeas 7, nays 1.
  4571. On April 6, 1860,\5\ in the select committee appointed to 
investigate the subject of Executive influence over legislation, 
corruption in elections, etc., a motion made to reconsider a vote was 
made and objected to for the reason that it was not in order to move 
reconsideration in a committee. The motion to reconsider was thereupon 
abandoned and the object was attained in another way.
  4572. The yeas and nays are taken in committees.--The journal of 
committees show that the yeas and nays are taken in committees 
frequently. A notable instance is afforded in the case of the committee 
of thirty-three to whom was referred so much of the message of the 
President in 1860 as related to the perilous condition of the country. 
The yeas and nays were taken on nearly all the votes, apparently, as a 
matter of course, the journal showing no record that they were demanded 
by one-fifth or any other number of members. On January 2, 1861, there 
occurs also an instance where a member, who was unable to be present 
when certain votes were taken, was allowed to record his vote.\6\
  In 1861,\7\ in the Select Committee on the Seizure of Forts, 
Arsenals, etc., the yeas and nays were taken frequently. There is no 
indication as to how they were ordered.\8\
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ First session Twenty-sixth Congress, House Report No. 506, pp. 
48, 226, 234, 246.
  \2\ John Campbell, of South Carolina, chairman.
  \3\ See section 4596 of this volume for a discussion of this 
question.
  \4\ First session Twenty-sixth Congress, House Report No. 506, pp. 
38, 39.
  \5\ First session Thirty-sixth Congress, House Report No. 648, p. 69.
  \6\ Second session Thirty-sixth Congress, House Report No. 31, 
journal of the committee, p. 25.
  \7\ Second session Thirty-sixth Congress, House Report No. 91, pp. 
32, 55, etc.
  \8\ Mr. James C. Courts, for many years clerk of the Committee on 
Appropriations, states that the yeas and nays in that committee are 
always taken on the demand of a single member.
  Reed's Parliamentary Rules, section 232, says ``that when there is no 
constitutional provision or special rule the assembly by majority can 
order a vote by yeas and nays.'' 
Sec. 4573
  4573. A committee may limit the time of debate in the committee.--On 
December 17, 1860,\1\ the select committee of thirty-three, appointed 
to take into consideration so much of the President's message as 
related to the perilous condition of the country, adopted the 
following:

  Ordered, That no member of the committee should occupy the floor in 
addressing the chair for a longer time than ten minutes on any one 
proposition.

  4674. Instructions or privileges given to a committee by the House 
are transmitted to the committee under the hand of the Clerk of the 
House.--Instructions given by the House to a committee or other action 
taken by the House affecting a committee or its procedure are 
transmitted to that committee under the hand of the Clerk of the House. 
Thus, on January 19, 1857,\2\ when the House gave the committee 
appointed to investigate certain alleged corrupt combinations among 
Members of the House leave to sit during the sessions of the House, an 
attested copy of the resolution was transmitted to the committee by the 
Clerk. So also was the action of the House, on January 12, 1857, in 
broadening the scope of the committee's authority, transmitted.
  4575. The journal of a committee shows those present at each 
meeting.--The journal of the select committee appointed to consider so 
much of the President's message as related to the perilous condition of 
the country (called the Committee of Thirty-three) records each day 
those present and absent. The journal begins with the certified copy of 
the resolution creating the committee and the list of the members.\3\
  And such is the usual practice.
  4576. It is not the right of a member to enter on the journal of a 
committee his reasons for objecting to certain procedure.--On January 
28, 1839,\4\ in the course of an examination before the select 
committee appointed to investigate the defalcations in the New York 
custom-house, Mr. Owens, a member of the committee, objected to a 
certain question put to a witness.
  Later Mr. Owens moved that a paper purporting to contain the grounds 
of his objection be entered on the journal.
  Mr. Wise raised the question whether it was in order to enter on the 
journal the paper stating the ground of objection to the interrogatory.
  The chairman \5\ decided it to be out of order to enter such a paper 
on the journal.
  Mr. Owens having appealed, the committee sustained the chairman.
  4577. Rights of a member of a committee in relation to papers 
referred to one of its subcommittees.--On July 21, 1866,\6\ Mr. Andrew 
J. Rogers, of New Jersey, rising to a question of privilege, asked for 
a definition of his rights, as a member of the Judiciary Committee, to 
examine in that committee
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ Second session Thirty-sixth Congress, House Report No. 31; 
journal of the committee, p. 9.
  \2\ Third session Thirty-fourth Congress, House Report No. 243, p. 
40.
  \3\ Second session Thirty-sixth Congress, House Report No. 31; 
journal of the committee, p. 1.
  \4\ Third session Twenty-fifth Congress, House Report No. 313, p. 
319.
  \5\ James Harlan, chairman.
  \6\ First session Thirty-ninth Congress, Globe, pp. 4018, 4019.
                                                            Sec. 4578
testimony taken by order of the House in relation to the alleged 
connection of Jefferson Davis and others with the assassination of 
President Lincoln.
  After debate, the Speaker \1\ held:

  Committees, in order to facilitate their business, often appoint 
subcommittees to examine into bills or other subject-matters which may 
be referred to them and to make report to the committee in full session 
before they report to the House. When they do, the papers pertinent to 
the subject are put in the hands of the subcommittee, and no member has 
a right to demand to see those papers until the subcommittee reports to 
the committee. When the subcommittee reports to the committee, the 
gentleman, in common with the other members, has a right to demand to 
see the papers for examination.

  4578. A committee sometimes makes its clerk custodian of its papers, 
allowing possession to members only by permission of the committee.--On 
April 9, 1860,\2\ the committee appointed to investigate Executive 
influence on legislation, corruption in elections, etc., voted that 
``the clerk of this committee be directed to retain in his own 
possession hereafter the records of this committee of every kind unless 
otherwise directed by this committee.''
  On April 27 \3\ the committee voted that a certain member be allowed 
possession of copies of certain testimony.
  4579. A committee controls its journal, and sometimes grants leave to 
members to incorporate in it signed statements of their views.--On 
January 11, 1861,\4\ the select committee of thirty-three, appointed to 
consider so much of the message of the President as related to the 
perilous condition of the country, granted leave to various members to 
record in the journal signed statements giving their reasons for a 
certain line of action.
  4580. Forms of oaths taken by clerks of committees.--On January 21, 
1837,\5\ the select committee appointed to inquire into the condition 
of the various Executive Departments of the Government met according to 
a notice from the chairman.\6\ The members present and absent having 
been noted, the committee proceeded to the election of a clerk, and B. 
F. Hallett was chosen, receiving a majority of the votes cast.
  The clerk-elect having appeared, took the following oath:

  You solemnly swear that, as clerk of the select committee of the 
House of Representatives, to which place you have been duly elected, 
you will faithfully record the proceedings of said committee and 
discharge all other duties which may be assigned you, according to the 
best of your abilities and understanding, and that you will not 
communicate or disclose the proceedings of said committee enjoined to 
be kept secret unless required to give evidence thereof as a witness in 
the course of legal proceedings. So help you God.

  4581. On January 16, 1861,\7\ in the select committee on seizure of 
forts, arsenals, etc., the reporter of the committee took the following 
affirmation:

  I, William Blair Lord, do solemnly affirm that I will support the 
Constitution of the United States, and to the best of my ability 
perform the duties of reporter and clerk to this committee and keep its 
secrets.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, Speaker.
  \2\ First session Thirty-sixth Congress, House Report No. 648, p. 73.
  \3\ Page 75.
  \4\ Second session Thirty-sixth Congress, House Report No. 31, 
journal of the committee, pp. 34, 35.
  \5\ House Report No. 194, second session Twenty-fourth Congress, 
journal of the committee, p. 4.
  \6\ Henry A. Wise, of Virginia, chairman.
  \7\ Second session Thirty-sixth Congress, House Report No. 91, p. 26.
Sec. 4582
  4582. On March 3, 1838,\1\ the following oath was administered to the 
clerk of the select committee appointed to investigate the 
circumstances of the death of Jonathan Cilley, of Maine:

  You do solemnly swear that, as clerk of a select committee of the 
House of Representatives, to which place you have been elected, you 
will faithfully record the proceedings of said committee and discharge 
all other duties which may be assigned you, according to the best of 
your abilities, and that you will not communicate or disclose the 
proceedings of said committee enjoined to be kept secret unless 
required to give evidence thereof as a witness in due course of legal 
proceedings. So help you God.\2\
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ Second session Twenty-fifth Congress, House Report No. 825, p. 
149.
  \2\ This also is the form of oath taken by the clerk of the committee 
which in 1839 investigated the defalcations in the New York custom-
house. (Third session Twenty-fifth Congress, House Report No. 313, p. 
293.)