become inconvenient. This inconvenience appears to have been brought more particularly to the notice of the Senate by a proposition of Mr. Sanford of New York on the 4th of December, 1816, to raise 13 select committees for the consideration of various portions of the annual message of President Madison to Congress at that session: This proposition was laid over for consideration. On the next day (the 5th of December) Mr. James Barbour of Virginia submitted the following motion for consideration; which was twice read by unanimous consent: Resolved, That it shall be one of the rules of the Senate that the following standing committees be appointed at each session: A Committee on Foreign Relations. A Committee on Ways and Means. A Committee on Commerce and Manufactures. A Committee on Military Affairs. A Committee on the Militia. A Committee on Naval Affairs. A Committee on Public Lands. A Committee on Claims. A Committee on the Judiciary. A Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads. On the 9th of December, 1816, this resolution was, on motion of Mr. Barbour, amended by changing the "Committee on Ways and Means" to a Committee on Finance; and the resolution was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time. Mr. Sanford's proposition for the appointment of select committees was postponed. On the 10th of December, 1816, the resolution submitted by Mr. Barbour for the appointment of the 11 standing committees as amended, having been reported by the committee correctly engrossed, was read a third time, and passed. On the 13th of December, on motion of Mr. Barbour, the Senate proceeded to the appointment of the eleven standing committees, agreebly to the resolution of the 10th of December, consisting of five members on each committee. The number of members for each committee had not been previously fixed, but was then, no doubt, agreed to on motion, which, however, was not noticed on the Journal.) The Senate then resumed the consideration of the proposition of Mr. Sanford to refer the President's message to select committees, and it was amended so as to refer all the subjects appropriately belonging to the standing committees to those committees, respectively, and to refer the other subjects of the message, not so belonging to the standing committees, to a select committee for the consideration of each subject, which committees, consisting of five members each, were then appointed. On the 16th of December, 1816, Mr. Armistead T. Mason of Virginia submitted the following resolution: Resolved, That it shall be one of the rules of the Senate that there be appointed, at each session, a standing Committee for the District of Columbia. On the 17th of December this resolution was read a second time, and ordered to be engrossed for a third reading; and on the 18th of December it was read a third time, and passed, and the committee, consisting of Mr. Mason and four other members, were appointed. At the session of 1817-18, viz, on the 4th of December, 1817, Mr. Tait submitted the following motion for consideration: Resolved, That the Senate will, on standing committees of this house. next, proceed to the appointment of the December 5, considered and the blank filled with Tuesday. On Tuesday, December 9, postponed to Thursday next. On Thursday, the 11th of December Agreebly to order, the Senate proceeded to the appointment of the standing commit tees. On motion by Mr. Tait, Ordered, That they consist of five members each. (This order is the first noted on the Journal fixing the number of members of which the standing committees should consist.) The Senate then appointed the members of the 12 standing committees under the rules. The other standing committees under the rules, viz: On Engrossed Bills, Resolutions, etc.; To Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate; and the Joint Committees on Enrolled Bills, etc., and On the Library, having been previously appointed on special motions agreed to by the Senate. At the session of 1818-19 (it appearing that no permanent provision had yet been made fixing the number of members of which the standing committees should consist), On motion by Mr. Barbour, it was Resolved, That the standing committees to be appointed by the Senate consist of five members each, and that they have leave to report by bill or otherwise. Agreeably to order, the 12 committees were appointed under the rule on the 20th of November, 1818. At the session of 1819-20 the committees were appointed as at the preceding session of 1818-19. On the 14th of December, 1819, Mr. Burrill of Rhode Island submitted the following motion for consideration: Resolved, That a committee be appointed to arrange and report the rules for conducting business in the Senate and the rules hitherto practiced on by the two Houses of Congress. On the 16th of December, 1819, on motion by Mr. Sanford, Resolved, That the select committee appointed to revise and report the rules of the Senate be authorized to propose such amendments to those rules as they may think proper to be adopted. On the 27th of December, 1819, Mr. Burrill, from the committee appointed on the subject, reported the existing rules for conducting business in the Senate, with alterations and amendments which, were read. On the 3d of January, 1820, the Senate resumed the consideration of the report of the committee on the rules, and the same having been amended, were agreed to-there being 45 rules of the Senate and 15 joint rules of the two Houses, which were ordered to be printed with the Constitution, and 500 additional copies for the use of the Senate. Among the rules of the Senate thus agreed to were the following: 30. The following standing committees, to consist of five members each, shall be appointed at the commencement of each session, with leave to report by bill or otherwise. A Committee on Foreign Relations. A Committee on Finance. A Committee on Commerce and Manufactures. A Committee on Military Affairs. A Committee on the Militia. A Committee on Naval Affairs. A Committee on the Judiciary. A Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads. A Committee on Pensions. A Committee on the District of Columbia. A committee of three members, whose duty it shall be to audit and control the contingent expenses of the Senate. And a committee, consisting of three members, whose duty it shall be to examine all bills, amendments, resolutions, or motions, before they go out of possession of the Senate, and to make report that they are correctly engrossed; which report shall be entered on the Journal. 31. All committees shall be appointed by ballot, and a plurality of votes shall make a choice. But when any subject or matter shall have been referred to a committee, any other subject or matter of a similar nature may, on motion, be referred to such committee. At the session of 1820-21 the standing committees were appointed as before, by ballot, and on motion by Mr. Wilson of New Jersey it was Resolved, That a standing committee, to consist of five members, be appointed on roads and canals, with leave to report by bill or otherwise. And the committee was immediately appointed. At the session of 1821-22, on motion by Mr. Eaton, "that the rules of the Senate be referred to a select committee, with instructions to expunge so much thereof as relates to standing committees," "it was determined in the negative," and Resolved, That the Senate will, on Thursday next, at 12 o'clock, proceed to the appointment of the standing committees of this House. On the 17th of December, 1821, the standing committees were appointed, with the exception of the Committee on Roads and Canals. On the same day Mr. Johnson of Kentucky submitted the following motion for consideration: Resolved, That a select committee be appointed to inquire into the expediency of providing for the preservation and repairing the national turnpike road, beginning at Cumberland, on the Potomac, and terminating at Wheeling, on the Ohio River; and they have leave to report by bill or otherwise. On the 18th of December the Senate proceeded to consider the said motion, and having modified the same, it was Resolved, That a committee be appointed on roads and canals. And it was accordingly appointed. At the session of 1822-23 the standing committees were appointed as at the preceding session. (It will have been seen that the action of the Senate respecting the Committee on Roads and Canals, at the preceding session, was anomalous. It had been made a standing committee by the rules of the Senate, yet no appointment was made for it when the other standing committees were appointed. A proposition was made to raise a select committee to consider a particular kindred subject, which was so modified and passed as to authorize the appointment of a Committee on Roads and Canals, without designating it either as a select or special committee or as a standing committee. It appears, however, that the action of the Senate was regarded as having discontinued the standing Committee on Roads and Canals.) At this session, viz, on the 18th of December, 1822, Mr. Brown of Ohio submitted the following motion for consideration: Resolved, That a standing committee of five members be appointed on the subject of roads and canals. On the 19th of December this resolution was considered, modified, and agreed to, as follows: Resolved, That a select committee of five members be appointed on the subject of roads and canals. (This settled the question.) At the session of 1823-24, after several propositions to change the mode of appointing the standing and other committees, the following resolution was adopted on the 9th of December, 1823: Resolved, That the 31st rule for conducting business in the Senate be so amended as to read: All committees shall be appointed by the Presiding Officer of this House, unless specially ordered otherwise by the Senate. And the standing committees were then appointed accordingly; the power of the presiding officer to appoint extending to all the committees the rule requiring all committees to be appointed by ballot being thus changed. At the session of 1824-25, December 8, on motion by Mr. Barbour, Ordered, That the standing committees of the Senate be appointed on Monday next. Monday, December 13, agreeably to order, the President pro tempore announced the appointment of the standing committees. At the session of 1825-26, viz, on the 7th of December, 1825, the rule was amended, on motion by Mr. Dickerson of New Jersey, so as to create two standing committees, viz, a Committee on Commerce and a Committee on Manufactures, instead of one Committee on Commerce and Manufactures. On the 9th of December, 1825, the rule was amended, on motion by Mr. Findlay of Pennsylvania, so as to create a standing committee, viz, a Committee on Agriculture. Ón the 12th of December, 1825, agreeably to order, the standing committees of the Senate, including the above, were appointed by John C. Calhoun, Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate. These appointments by the Vice President probably being unacceptable to the Members of the Senate, John Randolph, Senator from Virginia, submitted a resolution to amend the rule, taking from the Presiding Officer the power to appoint the committees, and restoring the rule as it existed from the beginning (or from the 16th of April, 1789, to the 9th of December, 1823, being upward of 34 years), viz: All committees shall be appointed by ballot, and a plurality of votes shall make a choice. This was agreed to on the 15th of April, 1826, by a vote of 40 yeas to 2 nays. At the session of 1826-27, viz, on the 8th of December, 1826, on motion by Mr. Chambers of Maryland, Resolved, That the Senate will, on Monday next, proceed to the appointment of the standing committees of this House. Mr. Chambers then submitted the following resolution; which was agreed to by yeas 25, nays 19: Resolved, That in the appointment of the standing committees the Senate will proceed by severally appointing the chairman of each committee, and then, by one ballot, for the other members necessary to complete the same; and a majority of the whole number of votes given shall be necessary to the choice of a chairman. On the 11th of December, 1826, the standing committees were accordingly appointed. On the 18th of December, 1826, a select committee was appointed to revise the rules, who reported amendments to them on the 27th of December, which were considered from time to time, and adopted on the 14th of February, 1828. These rules contained the following: 33. The following standing committees, to consist of five members each, shall be appointed at the commencement of each session, with leave to report by bill or other wise: A Committee on Foreign Relations. A Committee on Finance. A Committee on Commerce. A Committee on Manufactures. A Committee on Naval Affairs. A Committee on Public Lands. A Committee on Private Land Claims. A Committee on Indian Affairs. A Committee on Claims. A Committee on the Judiciary. A Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads. A Committee on Pensions. A Committee on the District of Columbia. A committee of three members, whose duty it shall be to audit and control the contingent expenses of the Senate. And a committee, consisting of three members, whose duty it shall be to examine all bills, amendments, resolutions, or motions, before they go out of possession of the Senate, and to make report that they are correctly engrossed; which report shall be entered on the journal. 34. In the appointment of the standing committees the Senate will proceed, by ballot, severally, to appoint the chairman of each committee, and then, by one ballot, the other members necessary to complete the same; and a majority of the whole number of votes given shall be necessary to the choice of a chairman of a standing committee. All other committees shall be appointed by ballot, and a plurality of votes shall make a choice. When any subject or matter shall have been referred to a committee, any other subject or matter of a similar nature may, on motion, be referred to such committee. 35. When motions are made for reference of the same subject to a select committee and to a standing committee, the question on reference to the standing committee shall be first put. At the session of 1828-29 the standing committees were, on the 8th and 9th of December, 1828, appointed by ballot, agreeably to the rule. |