ASCERTAINING THE QUESTION. 62. If the question for decision include several distinct propositions, any member may have the same divided; but a motion to strike out and insert shall not be so divided, nor shall a motion to strike out, being lost, preclude either amendment or a motion to strike out and insert. In filling blanks the question shall be put first upon the largest sum and the longest time. No motion or proposition, or a subject different from that under consideration, shall be admitted under color of amendment. 63. When a question is before the House no motion shall be received, unless specially provided for, except to adjourn, to pass by, to lay upon the table, to postpone for a specified time or purpose, to commit or amend, to dismiss; which several motions shall have precedence in the order in which they are arranged. If the motion to pass by, or to lay upon the table, or to postpone, shall prevail, a motion to print shall be in order before proceeding to the consideration of another subject; but shall be decided without debate. 64. Upon the motion to pass by, the mover shall be allowed two minutes to state the reason for his motion, and one member opposed to the motion shall be allowed a like time to object. The motion to pass by, to lay upon the table, for the previous question, and for the pending question shall not be debated; nor shall debate be allowed on a motion to take up a subject from the table, or to reconsieer any question which was not debatable. When a question not debatable is before the House, all incidental questions arising after it is stated to the House shall be decided and settled, whether on appeal or otherwise, without debate; and the same rule shall apply to incidental questions arising after any question is put to the House. PENDING AND PREVIOUS QUESTIONS. 65. Pending a debate, any member who obtains the floor for that purpose only, and submits no other motion or remark, may move for "the previous question or "the pending question"; and in either case the motion shall be forthwith put to the House. Two-thirds of the members present shall be required to order the main question; but a majority may require an immediate vote upon the pending question, whatever it may be. 66. The previous question shall be in this form: "Shall the main question now be put?" If carried, its effect shall be to put an end to all debate and bring the House to a direct vote upon a motion to commit, if pending; then upon amendments reported by a committee, if any; then upon pending amendments, and then upon the main question. If upon the motion for the previous question the main question be not ordered, debate may continue as if the motion had not been made. TAKING THE Vote. 67. The Speaker shall rise to put a question, but may state it sitting. Questions shall be distinctly put in the following form-viz.: "As many as agree that, &c. (as the question may be), say AYE"; and after the affirmative vote is given, "Those opposed, say No." If the Speaker doubts, or a division is called for, the House shall divide-those in the affirmative of the question rising first from their seats, and afterwards those in the negative. If required, the Speaker shall cause the result to be ascertained by a count. 68. The yeas and nays on any question may be called for at any time before proceeding to another question or proposition, but being once refused, they shall not be again demanded on the same question; and any member shall have a right to vote at any time before the decision is announced by the Chair. 69. Upon a division of the House on any question, a member who is present and fails to vote shall, on the demand of any other member, be counted on the negative of the question; and when the yeas and nays are taken, shall, in addition, be entered upon the Journal as present and not voting. But no member who has an immediate and special personal interest in the result of the question shall either vote or be counted upon it. RECONSIDERATION. 70. When a question has been decided it may be reconsidered on the motion of any member who voted with the prevailing side: provided it be made on the same day or within the next two days of actual session. The motion may be entered as a matter of privilege, and shall take precedence of everything except special orders and other questions of privilege, and be disposed of in the morning hour or with the calendar, as the case may be. All motions to reconsider shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the members present. BILLS, &C. 71. Every bill shall receive three several readings in the House previous to its being passed, and it shall be distinctly announced at each reading whether it is the first, second or third time. 72. The first reading of a bill shall be for information merely, and it shall go to second reading without a question. 73. Upon the second reading of a bill it shall be open to amendment, or commitment, or to any of the motions provided for in Rule 63; and the final question shall be," Whether it shall be engrossed and read a third time?" 74. A bill ordered to be engrossed shall not have its third reading until the engrossment is actually and properly done; but, in the case of a Senate bill, the engrossment shall only apply to such amendments as may have been made in the House. 75. No amendment to a bill shall be received upon its third reading by way of rider or otherwise; and no amendment involving an additional appropriation shall be added to the general appropriation bill unless to carry into effect an existing law, or unless it receives the vote required to pass the bill itself. But a bill may, at any time before its passage, be committed or recommitted, and when reported back shall be placed on the calendar, and if amended shall, whether on its second or third reading, be engrossed, as may be necessary. 76. On the third reading of a bill the question shall be," Shall the bill pass?" 77. The title of a bill, and such parts thereof only as shall be affected by the proposed amendments, shall be entered upon the Journal. 78. Joint resolutions intended to have the force and effect of law, or to express the opinions, wishes or purposes of the General Assembly upon any matter not connected with the preparation, direction or conduct of its business, shall be introduced, considered and disposed of in all respects as provided in regard to bills. PETITIONS. 79. Petitions of private nature, once rejected, shall not be heard again unless upon new evidence, and not oftener than once under any circumstances. 80. If a petition or memorial relate to a subject of local interest, as the division of a county, the establishment of a ferry, or the like, it shall not be allowed until it shall appear that the intention to present such a petition or memorial has been duly and fairly made known to the community to be affected. 81. If it relate to a matter of private right or interest, it shall appear that the parties to be affected have had notice at least equal to that required by law in regard to matters to be transacted in a court of justice. 82. No petition shall be allowed claiming a sum of money or praying the settlement of unliquidated accounts alleged to be due from the State, unless it be accompanied by a certificate of the Executive or Auditor stating why the claim has not been allowed and paid. 83. The same objections shall apply to acting upon such matters by bill or resolution without petition or memorial; and the several committees of the House will be charged with the duty of reporting specially on these points in connection with any action proposed to be taken on such subjects. 84. Original papers filed as exhibits with any petition may be withdrawn by the petitioner, or upon his order, or his leaving attested copies, for which he shall pay the clerk at the rate provided by law for other copies made by him. MESSAGES. 85. It shall be the duty of the clerk, without any special order therefor, to communicate to the Senate any action of the House upon business coming from the Senate, or upon matters requiring the concurrence of that body; but no such communication shall be made in relation to any action of the House while it remains open for consideration. MANUAL AND RULES. 86. The rules of parliamentary practice comprised in Jefferson's Manual shall govern the House in all cases to which they are applicable, and in which they are not inconsistent with the rules of the House and such joint rules as are or may from time to time be established by the two houses of the General Assembly. 87. The rules of the House shall not be changed or suspended, except by a vote of two-thirds of the members present, to be ascertained by an actual division of the House; and upon a motion to suspend a rule of the House, the mover shall be allowed two minutes to state the reasons for his motion, and one member opposed to the motion shall be allowed a like time to object. HALL OF THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES. 88. During the session of the Legislature the hall of the House of Delegates shall be used for no other purpose than the regular sessions of the House, and for meetings of the committees and members of the Legislature on public affairs. R. A. RICKS, delegate-elect from Caroline, was sworn in by the clerk. The Speaker of the House of Delegates laid before the House a communication from the clerk of the Senate and the clerk of the House of Delegates transmitting to the general assembly, as required of them, a copy of a proposed amendment to the tenth clause of Article 1 of the Constitution of Virginia, together with certificates of publication by the publishers of the newspapers in which said proposed amendment has been published. The communication was referred to the Committee for Courts of Justice. The SPEAKER laid before the House a communication from the clerk of the House of Delegates submitting a condensed abstract of the reports of clerks of courts, which are required by law to be made to him. (Doc. No. 1.) Mr. GIBSON offered the following concurrent resolution: Resolved (the Senate concurring), That a joint committee consisting of five on the part of the House and three on the part of the Senate be appointed to wait on the governor and inform him that the general assembly is now organized and ready to receive any communication that he may desire to make. The resolution was agreed to. Ordered, That Mr. GIBSON carry the resolution to the Senate and request their concurrence. A message was received from the Senate by Mr. LOVENSTEIN, who informed the House that the Senate had agreed to the resolution. The SPEAKER appointed Messrs. GIBSON, COOKE, CABELL, ANDERSON and STOKES the committee on the part of the House. The chairman subsequently reported that the committee had waited on the governor and that he would communicate in writing. A message was received from the governor by his secretary as follows: GOVERNOR'S OFFICE, RICHMOND, VA., December 6, 1893. To the General Assembly of Virginia: The Constitution of the State requires the general assembly to meet once in two years, unless in the opinion of the governor, or two-thirds of the members of the legislature, the interests of the Commonwealth demand an extra session. I am glad to report that the condition of the Commonwealth has been such that, in my judgment, its interests did not require an extra session; that it was best to reserve the money necessary to defray the expenses of the legislature to meet the demands upon the State treasury, and give the people time to consider well the immense volume which had been enacted so recently, before we began again the work of amending, repealing, and enacting new laws. OUR FINANCIAL CONDITION. I am gratified to be able to say that our financial condition is better than it has been for many years, and it is steadily im-" proving. Our revenue is now ample to meet the regular expenses of the government, sustain the asylums, aid institutions of learning, and continue the present liberal appropriations to the public free schools, pay the interest on the public debt, and provide for our Confederate veterans. The assessment of taxes in 1889, the last year of the preceding administration, was And in 1893 it was An increase of $2,648,523 13 3,147,506 31 * 498,983 18 During the present administration we have been at great expense in increasing the capacity of the asylums for the insane; in building barracks at the Virginia Agricultural and Mechani cal College at Blacksburg; in enlarging the cells and workshops at the Virginia penitentiary, and in the settlement of arrearages due to the school fund. These necessary expenditures required large amounts of the public money, much of which is now converted into permanent improvements belonging to the State. By judicious management our revenue will be increased hereafter by receipts from the penitentiary, which has become a paying institution; by the oyster industry, and the rent of the oyster grounds, which have heretofore been sources of expense. Our cities are growing in population and wealth; our railroads are being extended and the revenues are annually increasing. Besides, there are various reforms by which our expenses could be reduced, which I will point out under the proper headings in this message. I feel, therefore, that I can congratulate the general assembly upon the condition of our finances, and the encouraging future which is before us, after the long years of financial distress through which we have passed. THE PUBLIC DEBT. The State debt has been settled to the satisfaction of our creditors. We have agreed to exchange $19,000,000 of new bonds, payable one hundred years after date, bearing 2 per cent. interest for the first ten years, and 3 per cent. thereafter, for $28,000,000 of old, the greater part of which bear 6 per cent. interest. Twenty-four million five hundred and forty-seven thousand three hundred and fifty-eight dollars and twenty-three cents of old bonds have been received in exchange for new bonds, and cancelled. There is still outstanding a small balance of bonds which have not been exchanged, because the limitation given the board of commissioners expired before this could be accomplished. Their powers should be promptly renewed, for a limited time, so that all of the debt may be settled upon the same conditions. Four times the semi-annual interest on the new indebtedness has become due, and at each recurring period the money was promptly paid to the bondholders, showing the ability of the State to meet the interest when due, without increasing the rate of taxation, or adding new burdens to the tax-payers, verifying my opinion as to our ability to do so, expressed at the time of the settlement. PURCHASE OF BONDS. I would advise that an act be passed authorizing the commissioners of the sinking fund to purchase so many of the bonds of the State as they can do with propriety, using such money as may be spared conveniently from the treasury, after all the liabilities |