8. Incidental Questions are such as arise out of other questions, and, consequently, take precedence of, and are to be decided before, the questions which give rise to them. They yield to Privileged Questions [§ 9], and cannot be amended. Excepting an Appeal, they are undebatable; an Appeal is debatable or not, according to circumstances, as shown in § 14. They are as follows:
Appeal (or Questions of Order) ……………………… See § 14.
Objection to the Consideration of a Question …………. ” § 15.
The Reading of Papers ……………………………… ” § 16.
Leave to Withdraw a Motion …………………………. ” § 17.
Suspension of the Rules ……………………………. ” § 18.
9. Privileged Questions are such as, on account of their importance, take precedence over all other questions whatever, and on account of this very privilege they are undebatable [§ 35], excepting when relating to the rights of the assembly or its members, as otherwise they could be made use of so as to seriously interrupt business. They are as follows (being arranged in their order of precedence among themselves):
To Fix the Time to which the Assembly shall Adjourn …… See § 10.
Adjourn ………………………………………….. ” § 11.
Questions relating to the Rights and
Privileges of the Assembly or any of
its Members …………………………………….. ” § 12.
Call for the Orders of the Day ……………………… ” § 13.
Art. III. Motions and their Order of Precedence.* [For a list of all the ordinary motions, arranged in their order of precedence, see § 64. All the Privileged and Subsidiary ones in this Article are so arranged.] [§§ 10-27.]
Privileged Motions.
[§§ 10-13. See § 9.]
10. To Fix the Time to which the Assembly shall Adjourn. This motion takes precedence of all others, and is in order even after the assembly has voted to adjourn, provided the Chairman has not announced the result of the vote. If made when another question is before the assembly, it is undebatable [§ 35]; it can be amended by altering the time. If made when no other question is before the asembly, it stands as any other principal motion, and is debatable.** [In ordinary societies it is better to follow the common parliamentary law, and permit this question to be introduced as a principal question, when it can be debated and suppressed [§ 58, 59] like other questions. In Congress, it is never debatable, and has entirely superseded the unprivileged and inferior motion to “adjourn to a particular time.”]
The Form of this motion is, “When this assembly adjourns, it adjourns to meet at such a time.”
11. To Adjourn. This motion (when unqualified) takes precedence of all others, except to “fix the time to which to adjourn,” to which it yields. It is not debatable, and cannot be amended, or have any other subsidiary motion [§ 7] applied to it. If qualified in any way it loses its privileged character, and stands as any other principal motion. The motion to adjourn can be repeated if there has been any intervening business, though it be simply progress in debate [§ 26]. When a committee is through with any business referred to it, and prepared to report, instead of adjourning, a motion should be made “to rise,” which motion, in committee, has the same privileges as to adjourn in the assembly [§ 32].
The effect upon Unfinished Business of an adjournment is as follows* [“After six days from the commencement of a second or subsequent session of any Congress, all bills, resolutions and reports which originated in the House, and at the close of the next preceding session remained undetermined, shall be resumed, and acted on in the same manner as if an adjournment had not taken place.” Rule 136, H. R. Any ordinary society that meets as seldom as once each year, is apt to be composed of as different membership at its successive meetings, as any two successive Congresses, and only trouble would result from allowing unfinished business to hold over to the next yearly meeting.] [see Session, § 42]: