Civil Government for Common Schools | Page 9

are absent at the organization, may be sworn by the Speaker, if they have not previously taken the oath.
Q. By whom are the other officers appointed?
A. By the Speaker, except those in the department of the Clerk; he having power to appoint his own deputies.
THE SENATE.
Q. Who is the presiding officer in the Senate?
A. The Lieutenant-Governor, and he is called the President of the Senate.
DUTIES.
Q. What are some of the duties of the State Senate?
I. To elect the remaining officers, whose names and duties are about the same as in the Assembly.
II. To have co-ordinate jurisdiction with the Assembly in enacting laws
III. To act as a court for the trial of impeachments, associated with the judges of the Court of Appeals, and the President of the Senate.
IV. To confirm or reject appointments made by the Governor.
V. To elect a temporary president when the Lieutenant-Governor shall not attend as president, or shall be called to act as Governor.
Q. How many members must be present in each house to do business?
A. A majority, which is called a quorum.
BILLS.
Q. Where may bills originate?
A. Any bill may originate in either house of the Legislature.
Q. What is the difference between the Legislature of this state and Congress in this respect?
A. In Congress all bills for raising revenues MUST originate in the House of Representatives.
Q. What may either house do with bills originating in the other house?
A. Amend them; but both houses must agree to the amendment or amendments, before they can become a law.
Q. What is required in order that a bill may become a law?
I. The assent of a majority of all the members elected to each branch of the Legislature, together with the approval of the Governor;
II. Or if he disapproves of it, that it be returned to the house in which it originated, with his objections; and, after reconsideration, if two-thirds of all the members elected to that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent to the other house by which it shall likewise be re-considered, and if two- thirds of all its members approve of it, it shall become a law notwithstanding the objections of the Governor.
III. If any bill shall not be returned by the Governor within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, it shall become a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Legislature, by adjourning, shall prevent its returning; in which case it shall not become a law without the signature of the Governor.
IV. No bill shall become a law after the final adjournment of the Legislature, unless approved by the Governor within thirty days after such adjournment.
IMPEACHMENT.
Q. What class of persons can be tried in the court of impeachment?
A. Public officers that have had charges preferred against them by the Assembly.
Q. Of whom is the court of impeachment composed?
A. Of the Senators, or a majority of them, the Judges of the Court of Appeals, or a majority of them, and the Lieutenant-Governor; and two-thirds of all present must concur in order to convict.
Q. When shall the Lieutenant-Governor not act as a member of this court?
A. When the Governor is being tried. He may be presumed to be an interested party, for if the Governor should be found guilty and be removed, the Lieutenant-Governor becomes Governor.
Q. What penalty can be inflicted by this court?
A. Removal from office, or removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit, under this state.
Q. Can such parties be further punished?
A. Yes; they may be indicted, tried and punished according to law, by fine or imprisonment, or both, according to the nature of the crime.
VOTING.
Q Who are entitled to vote upon all questions in the Legislature?
A. All the members in the Assembly and Senate; and this includes the Speaker of the Assembly.
Q, When is the President of the Senate entitled to vote?
A. Upon questions on which the Senate is equally divided or tied.
Q. Why should not the President of the Senate have a vote upon all questions?
A. Because he has not been elected a member of that body; but becomes its presiding officer by virtue of the constitutional provision which makes the Lieutenant-Governor its president.
KINDS OF VOTING.
Q. Name some of the kinds of voting practiced. I. By showing hands.
II. By Acclamation.
III. By dividing or separating the persons voting into two bodies.
IV. By Ballot.
V. By Ayes and Noes.
VI. By Viva Voce.
Q. Where are the first three kinds of voting usually practiced?
A. In conventions of different kinds, primary meetings,
Q. When and how is the sixth kind of voting used?
A. In the election of United States Senators, usually the Speaker of the Assembly and a few other officers, and in this way: as the names of those entitled to vote are called, they respond