The Footprints of Time / And a Complete Analysis of Our American System of Government, with a Concise History of the Original Colonies and of the United States, in Chronological Order

by Charles Bancroft

MISCELLANEOUS.

137. Whenever confidential communications are received from the President of the United States, the House shall be cleared of all persons, except the members, clerk, sergeant-at-arms, and doorkeeper, and so continue during the reading of such communications, and (unless otherwise directed by the House) during all debates and proceedings to be had thereon. And when the Speaker, or any other member, shall inform the House that he has communications to make which he conceives ought to be kept secret, the House shall, in like manner, be cleared till the communication be made; the House shall then determine whether the matter communicated requires secrecy or not, and take order accordingly.

138. The rule for paying witnesses summoned to appear before this House, or either of its committees, shall be as follows: for each day a witness shall attend, the sum of two dollars; for each mile he shall travel in coming to or going from the place of examination, the sum of ten cents each way; but nothing shall be paid for traveling home when the witness has been summoned at the place of trial.

139. Maps accompanying documents shall not be printed, under the general order to print, without the special direction of the House.

140. No extra compensation shall be allowed to any officer or messenger, page, laborer, or other person in the service of the House, or engaged in or about the public grounds or buildings; and no person shall be an officer of the House, or continue in its employment, who shall be an agent for the prosecution of any claim against the government, or be interested in such claim otherwise than an original claimant; and it shall be the duty of the Committee of Accounts to inquire into and report to the House any violation of this rule.

141. When the reading of a paper is called for, and the same is objected to by any member, it shall be determined by a vote of the House.

142. When a question is postponed indefinitely, the same shall not be acted upon again during the session.

143. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of the Senate shall be necessary, shall be read to the House, and laid on the table, on a day preceding that in which the same shall be moved, unless the House shall otherwise expressly allow.

144. 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, and joint rules of the Senate and House of Representatives.