Reed's Rules; A Manual of General Parliamentary Law, with Suggestions for Special Rules (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: the President that both houses are ready to proceed to business. CHAPTER IV. Necessary Officers and Their Duties. 32. Presiding Officer.?The first officer to be chosen is the presiding officer. In New England town meetings and in religious assemblies he is called the moderator. In the popular branches of legislatures he is usually called Speaker. In senatorial bodies, conventions, and the like, President; and in other assemblies, and in committees, Chairman. He is in this country invariably addressed by his title. In the House of Commons the chairman of Ways and Means is addressed by his name, " Mr. Courtney," " Mr. Mellor." 33. Qualifications.?The presiding officer, especially if any complicated business is to be transacted, should be a man of good presence, good voice, of much firmness, and good temper. He should have know Iedge of parliamentary law, and sufficient good sense to enable him to know when to press a rule and when to let common consent have its way. The conduct of an assembly depends much more upon the conduct of the chairman than upon any other condition, or perhaps all other conditions combined. The more intelligent the assembly the worse it may act under a bad presiding officer. 34. Duties.? It is needless to say that the duties herein enumerated do not all devolve upon every presiding officer, nor do those hereafter enumerated as the duties of a recording officer fall upon every clerk or secretary. How many devolve upon either depends on the nature of the assembly. It is the duty of the presiding officer: To call the assembly to order at the time appointed for the meeting. To ascertain the presence of a quorum. To cause the journal or minutes of the preceding meeting to be read and passed upon by the assembly. To lay before the asse...