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OATHS OF SENATORS.

1. How and where taken and subscribed.

2. May be administered by oldest member present.

shall be

1. HOW AND WHERE TAKEN AND SUBSCRIBED. Clause 3, Article VI, of the Constitution: "The Senators bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution; but no religions test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

RULE II.-Oaths, etc.

The oaths or affirmations required by the Constitution and prescribed by law shall be taken and subscribed by each Senator, in open Senate, before entering upon his duties.

The Presiding Officer, for the time being, of the Senate of the United States, shall have power to administer all oaths and affirmations that are or may be required by the Constitution, or by law, to be taken by any Senator, officer of the Senate, witness, or other person in respect of any matter within the jurisdiction of the Senate.

SEC. 2. That the Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk thereof shall, respectively, have power to administer any oath or affirmation required by law or by the rules or orders of the Senate to be taken by any officer of the Senate, and to any witness produced before it. (19 Stats., p. 34.)

2. MAY BE ADMINISTERED BY OLDEST MEMBER PRESENT.

33d Cong., special session; J., p. 330.]

The Senate being called to order,

MARCH 4, 1853.

On motion of Mr. Bodger, and by unanimous consent, Resolved, That the oath prescribed by the Constitution be administered to the new Members of the Senate by the Hon. Lewis Cass, the oldest Member of the Senate.

NOTE. This session of the Senate is journalized in the volume of the Journal containing the proceedings of the second session of the Thirty-second Congress, and following them.

382

ORDER OF BUSINESS.

MAJORITY TO DETERMINE.

35th Cong., 2d sess.; J., p. 309.]

FEBRUARY 12, 1859.

A motion was made by Mr. Wilson that the Senate proceed to the consideration of bills to which no objection shall be made.

Mr. Green made a point of order, that the order of business, as prescribed by the rules of the Senate, should be observed.

The President (Mr. Fitzpatrick in the chair) decided that the Senate had power, by a majority vote, to decide its order of business. pp. 997, 998.)

(See Cong. Globe,

ORDER, EXISTING.

35th Cong., 1st sess.; J., p. 320.]

APRIL 6, 1858.

The call of a Senator for the execution of an existing order of the Senate held to be a privilege. (See Cong. Globe, p. 1480.)

PAIRS.

36th Cong., 1st sess.; J., p. 720.]

JUNE 20, 1860.

A Senator may refuse to answer to his name when called to vote when he is paired off with another Senator. (See Cong. Globe, pp. 3190, 3191.)

383

PAPERS.

1. Papers, Message of the President, not printed when received. 2. Secretary ordered to produce, in court.

1. PAPERS, MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT, NOT PRINTED WI CEIVED.

20th Cong., 2d sess.; J., pp. 182, 194.]

MARCH 3,

The Senate refused to print the message and documents received f President of the United States, relative to the instructions given to the n of the United States at the Congress at Panama, but referred them to mittee; but later in the day they were transferred to the executive (See Gilbert and Seatons' Debates, pp. 250–255.)

2. SECRETARY ORDERED TO PRODUCE, IN COURT. 27th Cong., 3d sess.; J., p. 60.]

DECEMBER 28, 18

The President pro tempore stated to the Senate that the Secretary Senate had been served with a summons to appear before the circuit co the District of Columbia, and to bring with him a paper on the files office, to be used as evidence in a cause pending before the court. A reso was agreed to giving the Secretary permission to take the paper in que from the files and to produce it in court.

384

PAPERS READING OF.

Confidential, in open session.

A second motion to suspend, in order.

Objection to reading conference report may be decided by the Senate. Addressed to the delegation, not to be read.

Reception of resolutions of a public meeting, objected to and refused. Telegraphic dispatch, question of reception laid on table.

Objection to the reception of a joint resolution sustained after being read. Decided in order, although subject matter is irrelevant.

When objected to, must be decided by the Senate.

A bill can not be read third time at call of a Senator without leave of the Senate.

Reading a petition at length not in order.

CONFIDENTIAL, IN OPEN SESSION.

1th Cong., 3d sess.; J., pp. 535, 536.]

DECEMBER 31, 1810.

JANUARY 2, 1811.

r. Henry Clay submitted the following resolution : Resolved, That the public perusal in the Senate of certain papers, with n galleries, by the gentleman from Massachusetts, Mr. Pickering, in his t, without a special order of the Senate removing the injunction of sey, which papers had been confidentially communicated to the Senate by President of the United States, was a palpable violation of the rules of s body." This resolution was later modified, declaring that "Timothy Pickg, a Senator from the State of Massachusetts, having, on this day, whilst the ate was in session with open doors, read from his place certain documents fidentially communicated by the President of the United States, * * * has so doing committed a violation of the rules of this body;" and, as modified, s agreed to by a vote of 20 to 7.

A SECOND MOTION TO SUSPEND, IN ORDER. 31st Cong., 2d sess.; J., pp. 248, 249.]

MARCH 3, 1851. After the reading of a paper has commenced, and a motion to suspend the ading had been disagreed to by a vote of the Senate, and the reading resumed, motion to suspend the further reading decided to be in order, on an appeal om the decision of the Chair. (See Cong. Globe, Appendix, pp. 365, 366, 369.) 52850-09-25 385

3. OBJECTION TO READING CONFERENCE REPORT MAY BE DECIDED BY THE SENATE.

35th Cong., 1st sess.; J., p. 378.]

APRIL 23, 1858.

Mr. Green, from the committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the bill (S. 161) for the admission of the State of Kansas into the Union, presented a report.

Mr. Stuart, having objected to receiving the report, the President pro tempore (Mr. Mason in the chair) submitted the question to the Senate, "Shall the report be received?" and it was determined in the affirmative.

The report was then presented (Journal, p. 379.) (See Cong. Globe, pp. 1758, 1762.)

Ib.; J., pp. 386, 387.]

APRIL 26, 1858.

On motion by Mr. Green, that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the report of the committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the bill (S. 161) for the admission of the State of Kansas into the Union, Mr. Stuart called for the reading of the amendment of the House of Representatives to the said bill. (See Cong. Globe, pp. 1786, 1787.)

Mr. Hunter objected to the reading of the said amendment.

The President pro tempore (Mr. Biggs in the chair) decided that, in conformity to the fourteenth rule of the Senate, 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 Senate, and without debate.

From this decision Mr. Stuart appealed.

On motion by Mr. Toombs, that the appeal lie on the table; yeas 25, nays 25. So motion was disagreed to, and the decision of the Chair was sustained; yeas 30, nays 14. (J., p. 387; see Cong. Globe, p. 1789.)

Mr. Stuart withdrew his call for the reading of the amendment.

Mr. Green's motion to consider the report was agreed to; yeas 32, nays 9. (J., p. 389; see Cong. Globe, p. 1805.)

Ib.; J., p. 403.]

APRIL 30, 1858.

Report agreed to; yeas 31, nays 22. (See Cong. Globe, p. 1899.)

4. ADDRESSED TO THE DELEGATION, NOT TO BE READ. 39th Cong., 1st sess.; J., p. 36.]

DECEMBER 13, 1865. Mr. Guthrie presented a telegraphic communication from J. Madison Wells, governor of the State of Louisiana, addressed to “Jacob Barker and other members of Congress from Louisiana," purporting to be a joint resolution passed by the general assembly of that State, and asked that it be read. The reading of the paper being objected to by Mr. Grimes,

The President pro tempore submitted the question to the decision of the Senate; and

On the question, Shall the paper be read?

It was determined in the negative. (See Cong. Globe, pp. 34, 35.)

40th Cong., 2d sess.; J., pp. 214, 215.]

FEBRUARY 25, 1868.

Mr. Chandler presented a paper and asked that it be read. Objected to; and upon a question of order, the Senate decided that a paper or letter addressed to the delegation upon a matter not before the Senate for legislation, if objected to, could not be received. (See Cong. Globe, p. 1403.)

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