Withdrawal of a motion ................................... 146
(c) Questions of privilege ................................... 146
63. To close a meeting.
(a) Fix the time to which to adjourn ......................... 147
(b) Adjourn .................................................. 147
64. Order of Precedence of motions ............................... 149

Art. XIII.--Debate.
Sec. 65. Rules of speaking in debate .................................. 150
66. Undebatable questions and those that
open the main question to debate ............................. 151

Art. XIV.--Miscellaneous.
Sec. 67. Forms of stating and putting questions ....................... 154
68. Motions requiring a two-thirds vote
for their adoption ........................................... 154
69. Unfinished business .......................................... 154
70. Session ...................................................... 155
71. Quorum ....................................................... 156
72. Order of Business ............................................ 156
73. Amendment of Constitutions, By-Laws
and Rules of Order ........................................... 157

Legal Rights of Deliberative Assemblies ............................ 158
Table of Rules Relating to Motions ................................. 166
Index .............................................................. 169

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INTRODUCTION.

Parliamentary Law.

Parliamentary Law refers originally to the customs and rules of
conducting business in the English Parliament; and thence to the customs
and rules of our own legislative assemblies. In England these customs
and usages of Parliament form a part of the unwritten law of the land,
and in our own legislative bodies they are of authority in all cases
where they do not conflict with existing rules or precedents.

But as a people we have not the respect which the English have for
customs and precedents, and are always ready for innovations which we
think are improvements, and hence changes have been and are being
constantly made in the written rules which our legislative bodies have
found best to adopt. As each house adopts its own rules, it results
that the two houses of the same legislature do not always agree in their
practice; even in Congress the order of precedence of motions is not
the same