RULES AND ORDERS.

RULES OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN.

CHAIRMAN.

RULE 1. The chairman of the board shall take the chair at the hour to which the board shall have adjourned, and shall call the members to order, and, a quorum being present, shall cause the minutes of the preceding regular meeting to be read. In the absence of the chairman, the senior member present shall preside as chairman pro tempore. RULE 2. The chairman shall preserve decorum and order, may speak to points of order in preference to other members, and shall decide all questions of order, subject to an appeal to the board; and no other business shall be in order until the question on appeal shall have been decided. RULE 3. The chairman shall propound all motions in the order in which they are moved, unless the subsequent motion shall be previous in its nature, except that, in naming sums and fixing times, the largest sum and the longest time shall be put first. RULE 4. The chairman shall, at the request of any member, make a division of a question when the sense will admit. RULE 5. The chairman shall, without debate, decide all questions relating to priority of business to be acted upon. RULE 6. The chairman shall declare all votes; but if any member doubts a vote, the chairman shall cause a rising vote to be taken; and when any member so requests, shall cause the vote to be taken or verified by yeas and nays. RULE 7. The chairman shall appoint all committees, fill all vacancies therein, and designate the rank of the members thereof. RULE 8. When the chairman of the board or the chairman pro tempore shall desire to vacate the chair, he may call any member to it; but such substitution shall not continue beyond an adjournment.

MOTIONS.

RULE 9. Every motion shall be reduced to writing if the chairman shall so direct.

RULE 10. A motion to strike out and insert shall be deemed indivisible; but a motion to strike out being lost shall not preclude amendment, or a motion to strike out and insert.

RULE 11. No motion or proposition of a subject different from that under consideration shall be admitted under color of amendment.

RULE 12. When an order or resolution relates to a subject which may properly be examined and reported upon by an existing committee of the city council, such order or resolution shall, upon presentation, be referred to such committee. When a motion is made to refer any subject, and different committees are proposed, the motion shall be put in the following order:

1. To a standing committee of the board.
2. To a special committee of the board.
3. To a joint standing committee.
4. To a joint special committee.

RULE 13. After a motion has been put by the chairman, it shall not be withdrawn except by unanimous consent. te

RULE 1.4. When a question is under debate the following motions only shall be entertained, and in the order in which they stand arranged:

RULE 15. A motion to adjourn shall be in order at any time, except on an immediate repetition, or pending a verification of a vote; and that motion, the motion to lay on the table, and the motion to take from the table, shall be decided without debate.

BEA DIN G.S.

RULE 16. Every ordinance, order and resolution reported by a committee shall, unless rejected, have two several readings, both of which may take place at the same session, unless objection is made. Whenever the second reading immediately follows the first reading, the document may be read by its title only. Orders from the board of street commissioners changing the names of streets, and orders granting locations for poles or posts, shall, however, have one reading only at the same session.

CONFIRMATIONS.

RULE 17. The question of confirming a nomination made by the mayor shall be decided by a yea and nay ballot.

RECONSIDERATION.

RULE 18. When a vote has been passed, any member may move a reconsideration thereof at the same meeting; or he may give notice to the clerk, within twenty-four hours of the adjournment, of his intention to move a reconsideration at the next regular meeting; in which case the clerk shall retain possession of the papers until the next

regular meeting; and when a motion for reconsideration is decided that vote shall not be reconsidered.

CONDUCT OF MEMBERS.

RULE 19. Every member when about to speak shall rise, address the chair, and wait until he is recognized, and in speaking shall confine himself to the question, and avoid personalities.

RULE 20. No member speaking shall, without his consent, be interrupted by another, except upon a point of order.

RULE 21. No member shall be permitted to vote on any question, or serve on any committee, where his private right is immediately concerned, distinct from the public interest.

RULE 22. Every member who shall be present when a question is put, where he is not excluded by interest, shall give his vote, unless the board for special reasons shall excuse him. Application to be so excused on any question must be made before the board is divided, or before the calling of the yeas and nays; and such application shall be accompanied by a brief statement of the reasons, and shall be decided without debate.

STANDING COMMITTEES.

RULE 23. The following standing committees of the board, to consist of five members each, except where otherwise herein provided, and the members of the joint standing committees on the part of this board, named in the joint rules and orders of the city council, and all other committees, unless otherwise provided for, or specially directed by the board, shall be appointed by the chair:

Committee on Armories — County Accounts — Electric Wires — Faneuil Hall and County Buildings — Lamps — Licenses — Markets — Railroads — Public Improvements, to consist of all the members of the board, and to be divided by the chairman of the committee into the following sub-committees: namely, Paving Division, Sewer Division, Bridge Division, Sanitary Division, Street-Cleaning Division, StreetWatering Division and Ferry Division.

ORDER OF BUSINESS.

RULE 24. At every regular meeting of the board the order of business shall be as follows: Communications from his honor the mayor. Presentation of petitions, memorials, and remonstrances. Hearings. Papers from the common council. Unfinished business of preceding meetings. Orders of notice of hearings. Reports of city officers. Reports of committees. Motions, orders and resolutions.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES.

RULE 25. Committees of the board, to whom any matter is especially referred, shall report within four weeks, or ask for further time.

SPECTATOES.

RULE 26. No person, except a member of the board, shall be permitted to occupy the seat of any member while the board is in session.

RULE 27. No persons, excepting members of the city council, heads of departments, and reporters, shall be allowed in the anteroom of the aldermanic chamber while the board is in session. No person shall be allowed to enter the aldermanic chamber while the board is in session, after the seats furnished for spectators are occupied. The city messenger shall enforce this rule.

LICEN SES.

RULE 28. No licenses shall be granted for exhibitions of wrestling.

RULE 29. No permission for the construction of underground conduits shall be granted until a public hearing shall have been given by the board of aldermen on the application for such permission. No permission shall be granted for the erection of poles, piers, abutments or other fixtures for the support of electric wires unless the applicant for such permit shall bear the expense of the notification required by the provisions of chapter 237 of the Acts of 1903.

RULE 30. Every license or permit hereafter granted for the location of a street-railway track, the erection of a pole or post, the construction of an underground conduit, the laying of a pipe or wire, or for the doing of any other work which may involve the disturbance of a surface of a street, shall specify the time within which the contemplated work shall be done, and shall not confer authority to do any such work after the expiration of such specified time.

LAMPS.

RULE 31. Any person desiring a lamp to be erected in any way, shall make application therefor to the superintendent of lamps, who shall examine the place where it is proposed to locate the lamp and report thereon to the board; provided, however, that if the lamp is to be an electric lamp the superintendent shall obtain the opinion of the commissioner of wires on the location, and forward to the board the opinion with his report.

SUSPENSION OF RULES.

RULE 32. Any rule may be suspended by a vote of two-thirds of the members of the board present and voting.

RULES AND ORDERS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL.

RULE 1. Unless otherwise ordered from time to time, the regular meeting of the common council shall be held on every Thursday, at seven forty-five o'clock P.M., and, on the appearance of a quorum, the council shall be called to order. In the absence of the president the oldest senior member present shall take the chair, and a president pro tempore shall be chosen by ballot; and, if an election is not effected on the first trial, on subsequent trials a plurality vote shall elect.

The roll shall be called at each meeting of the council, at the discretion of the president, but not later than nine o'clock.

When the meeting of the common council is called to order, it shall be the duty of the city messenger to cause the electric bell in the antechamber to be rung for the purpose of notifying the members that the body is in session, and for the three minutes next following the ringing of the bell no business shall be transacted and no member recognized by the chair for any purpose.

PRESIDENT.

RULE 2. The president shall appoint and announce all committees, unless otherwise ordered, and shall communicate his appointments to the council at the meeting following such action, if not made during a session. All vacancies upon committees shall be filled in the manner of original appointment; and members so appointed shall take rank according to the date of their appointment, unless otherwise designated by the president. ..or

RULE 3. The president may at any time call another member to the chair; but such substitution shall not continue beyond an adjournment. In all cases the president may vote.

RULE 4. The president shall preserve order in the council chamber during sessions of the council, and in case any member, other than the one recognized by the chair, insists on occupying the floor for any purpose, except to rise to a point of order or question of personal privilege, he shall upon request of the president take his seat, and upon refusal to comply with such request, said member shall by a majority vote of the members present and voting be removed from the council chamber, such removal to remain in effect during the remainder of the session, unless otherwise ordered. The president shall forbid smoking in the council chamber.

RULE 5. The clerk shall keep a record of the acts, votes, and proceedings of the common council, and a separate record of all decisions