--- title: Times and Seasons description: Issues of 1841 to 1842. authors: - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints editors: - Ebenezer Robinson - Don Carlos Smith - Smith, Joseph, Jr. - Taylor, John collections: - periodicals tags: - newspaper - times-and-seasons - nauvoo - nineteenth-century periodical: Times and Seasons volume: 3 number: 7 published: 1842-02-01 publisher: E. Robinson and D. C. Smith; later John Taylor publisher_place: Commerce and Nauvoo, Illinois language: en type: article reference: "“Of Order and Debate,” *Times and Seasons* 3, no. 7 (February 1, 1842): 684–685." printed_title: Of Order and Debate. source: url: https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_times-and-seasons_1842-02-01_3_7 transcription: Text from the Centerplace.org transcription (https://www.centerplace.org/history/ts/v3n07.htm), with its page breaks; this Internet Archive scan is the reference copy (its OCR was used only as a witness for OCR repair) identifier: per_utah-and-the-mormons_times-and-seasons_1842-02-01_3_7 start_page: 684 end_page: 685 curator_note: A Mormon newspaper published by the church in Nauvoo; included for historical study. Inclusion does not imply endorsement. rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1842 (Nauvoo, Illinois); published before 1931, so public domain in the United States source: https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_times-and-seasons_1842-02-01_3_7 publication_year: 1842 --- # Of Order and Debate 17th. When any member is about to speak in debate, or offer any matter to the council, he shall rise from his seat, and address the Mayor as "Mr. President." and avoid personalities. 18th. When two members rise at the same time, the Mayor shall name the person to speak, but in all other cases, the member first rising shall speak first. No member shall speak more than three times to the same question without leave of the council, nor speak more than twice without leave, until every person, choosing to speak shall have spoken. 19th. Any member may call another to order, and when a member is so called to order, he shall immediately desist speaking, until the Mayor decide whether he is in order, or not; and every question of order shall be decided without debate; but any member may appeal from his decision, to the council; if the decision be in favor of the member called to order, he shall be at liberty to proceed; if otherwise, the council shall determine upon the propriety of his proceeding with his observations. 20th. When a question has been taken and carried in the affirmative, or negative, it shall be in order for any member of the majority to move for the re-consideration thereof; but no motion for the re-consideration of any vote shall be in order, after the paper upon which the same shall have been taken, shall have gone out of the possession of the council. 21st. No motion, or proposition, shall be received as an amendment which shall be a substitute for the proposition before the council; but nothing shall be considered a substitute which shall have relation to the subject matter under consideration. 22nd. When the yeas and nays are called, every member shall vote, unless specially excused; and in voting by yeas and nays, the Councillors [Councilors] shall be called first, the Aldermen next, and the Mayor last. 23rd. When a motion is made and seconded, it shall be reduced to writing, and shall be first read aloud before any order be taken thereon; but the question, "Will the council now consider it," shall not be put, unless called for by a member, or is deemed necessary by the Mayor: and on motions to amend, the question of consideration shall in no case be put. 24th. Any motion may be withdrawn or modified by the mover, at any time before a final decision or amendment. 25th. When a question is under debate, no motion shall be received but to adjourn, to lie on the table, for the previous question, to postpone indefinitely, to postpone to a day certain, to commit, or to amend; which several motions shall have precedence in the order they stand arranged. A motion to strike out the enacting words of a bill, shall have precedence of a motion to amend, and, if carried, shall be considered a rejection.-And a motion to refer to a Standing Committee, shall have precedence of one to refer to a Select Committee. A motion to adjourn shall always be in order; that, and a motion to lie on the table, shall be taken without debate. 26th. The previous question shall be in this form, "Shall the main question be now put?" It shall only be admitted when demanded by a majority of the members present; until it is decided, shall preclude all amendment and further debate of the main question, and upon said question there shall be no debate. 27th. Any member may call for the division of a question where the sense will admit of it, but a question to strike out and insert, shall be indivisible. 28th. When a question is carried in the affirmative by yeas and nays any member may enter on the journal, his reasons for dissenting. 29th. It shall not be in order to introduce a bill, unless by way of report from committee, or leave be previously asked and obtained. 30th. every bill or resolution requiring the signature of the Mayor and Recerder [Recorder], shall receive three several readings previous to its passage. 31st. The first reading of a bill shall be for information, and if opposition be made to it, the question shall be "Shall this bill be rejected?" If no opposition be made it shall go to the second reading without a question, when it shall be open for discussion and amendment, or such order as the council may think proper to take, except the question on the usage thereof, which can only be taken, on the day of the introduction of the bill, by the consent of two-thirds of the members present. 32nd. Before any bill or resolution requiring the signature of the Mayor and Recorder, shall be read a third time, the question shall be put, "Shall this bill be read a third time?" and if a majority of the members present shall not vote in the affirmative, the same shall be declared to be rejected. 33rd. On the third reading of a bill, the question shall be on its passage, but it may be committed at any time previous to its passage. 34th. When a blank is to be filled, and different sums or dates are proposed, the question shall be first taken on the highest sum or longest date, and thence downwards. 35th. The council, may at any time, suspend any of its rules by a majority of three-fourths of the members present. 36. After the arrival of the hour to which the council may stand adjourned, no member who may have appeared, shall absent himself without leave of those present, or of the council when formed.