such notice must be published on two successive days of public worship, or license must be obtained from the clerk of the county court, who must previously ascertain whether there is any legal impediment to the marriage. In Virginia, Indiana, and Wisconsin, a similar license is required. Like regulations exist in several other states; and in case of non-compliance with them, marriages have, in some states, been adjudged to be void. In Massachusetts it is only necessary to have a notice of the intended marriage registered by the clerk of the town.

§ 6. In the following named states, the property, real and personal, of a wife owned by her before marriage, and lawfully conveyed to her by any other person than her husband after marriage, is declared to be her own, and not liable for the debts of her husband: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, and California. In Connecticut, the husband is entitled to the rents and profits of the wife's personal estate acquired by bequest or inheritance, but they are not liable for his debts. In Alabama, although the wife's property is not liable for the husband's debts, he has the control of it, as trustee of the wife, and is not liable to account to her for the proceeds. Also in California and Iowa, the control and management, and the rents and profits, remain with the husband. In several of the above named states, the husband must join with the wife in conveying real estate. In Florida and California, the wife's property must be inventoried and recorded. In Missouri, the property is not liable for debts of the husband contracted before marriage, or before the wife became possessed of the property. In Minnesota, the property of the wife acquired before marriage, is not liable during marriage for the husband's debts. In the states of Vermont, New Jersey, Delaware, South Carolina, Georgia, and Illinois, laws similar to the above have not, unless very recently, been passed.

§ 7. Some of those states which have abolished the common law right of the husband to the property of the wife acquired before marriage, have also abolished the common law obligation of the husband to pay the debts of the wife

contracted before marriage. The wife's property alone is liable for such debts. The states in which such laws have been enacted, are, Massachusetts, Florida, Louisiana, Kentucky, California, and perhaps some others. In Indiana, the wife's property is first liable.

§ 8. In Pennsylvania and Alabama, the wife and husband become jointly liable for necessaries for the use and support of the family. In the former state, execution issues first against the property of the husband, and if none is found, then against the property of the wife. In Kentucky the wife is liable for debts by her and her husband jointly created in writing, for necessaries furnished any member of the family.

CHAPTER XLVII.

§ 6. The laws of Rhode Island, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Alabama, are exceptions to the rule which gives equal shares to de scendants if they are all of equal degree of consanguinity to the ancestor. In these states, though the children of the intestate are all dead, the grandchildren do not take equal shares; but those of each stock, or family, take the portion which their parent would have taken, if living.

§ 7. The real estate of intestates dying without lawful descendants, descends in the different states, according to the following rules:

In Maine, to the father; but if the estate came to the intestate on the part of the mother, then to her and her kindred; otherwise the mother shares equally with the brothers and sisters. If there is no widow, father, or brother or sister, the mother takes the whole. In New Hampshire the law is nearly the same as in Maine.

In Vermont the estate goes to the father; but as the dower of the widow in this estate, if there are no children, is increased to one-half of the estate, the father takes but the other half. [It will be remembered, that a widow is, at common law, endowed of one-third part of all the real estate of her husband, of which she can not be deprived, even by his last will and testament. Hence, in speaking of the descent of an estate, only two-thirds are meant, except when a different portion is expressly mentioned.] In

been reported by a committee, are no reflections on the assembly.

§ 5. No member may digress from his subject, and fall upon another member, and speak reviling or unmanly words of or to him. He may reprobate the nature or consequences of a measure in strong terms; but to arraign the motives of those who propose or advocate it, is a personality, and against order.

§ 6. A person speaking must confine himself to the question, and not speak impertinently, or beside the subject. So closely is this rule to be observed, that if at any time a secondary or an incidental question arises, as on an amendment, or a postponement, the person speaking must confine his remarks to the particular question then before the assembly, and not speak to the main question.

§ 7. When a member speaks irrelevantly, or beside the question, he may be interrupted by the chairman, or called to order by a member; and the question may be made, whether he shall be allowed to proceed in the manner in which he was speaking when interrupted. If no question is made, or if one is made and decided in the negative, he is still to be allowed to proceed in order; that is, keeping to the particular subject before the assembly.

§ 8. No member may, without the general consent of the assembly, speak more than once to the same question, until all who desire to speak have spoken. He may then speak a second time by leave of the assembly. This is the gencral rule, and is to be observed where no special rule provides otherwise. But those who have spoken on the main question, may speak again on secondary or incidental questions arising in the course of debate. And if a subject upon which a member has spoken is referred to a committee, he may speak again on the question presented by the report of the committee. In meetings other than legislative assemblies, greater freedom is allowed.

§ 9. A member may also be permitted to speak a second time to clear a matter of fact; or merely to explain himself in some material part of his speech, or to the orders of the assembly; keeping himself to that matter only. But he can not interrupt another who is speaking, in order to make the explanation.

§ 10. No member is to disturb another in his speech, by hissing, coughing, speaking, or whispering: nor by passing

between the member speaking and the chair, or by walking across the room; nor by any other disorderly behavior. But if a member finds that the assembly are not inclined to hear him, and that by conversation or any other noise they endeavor to drown his voice, it is the most prudent way to submit to the pleasure of the house, and to sit down; for it seldom happens, that members are guilty of this piece of ill manners without some reason; or that they are so inattentive to one who says anything worth their hearing.

§ 11. If repeated calls do not produce order, the chairman may call by his name any member obstinately persisting in irregularity; whereupon the assembly may require him to withdraw. He is then to be heard in exculpation, and to withdraw. Then the chairman states the offense committed, and the assembly considers the kind and degree of punishment to be inflicted.

§ 12. If a member uses disorderly, off nsive, or insulting words, he is interrupted by another member or by several members rising and calling him to order. The member complaining of the words and desiring them to be taken down by the clerk, must repeat them; and the chairman may then direct the clerk to take them down in his minutes. But if he thinks them not disorderly, he delays the direction. If the call becomes pretty general, he orders the clerk to take them down as stated by the objecting member. They are then part of his minutes, and, when read to the offending member, he may deny that they were his words, and the assembly must then decide by a question whether they were his words or not: and the words, as written down, may be amended so as to conform to what the assembly thinks them to be.

§ 13. Then the member may either justify the words, or explain the sense in which he used them, or apologize. If the assembly is satisfied, no farther proceeding is necessary. But if two members still insist on taking the sense of the assembly, the member must withdraw before that question is stated, and then the sense of the assembly is to be taken If the offending member is allowed to conclude his speech, and any other member speaks, or other business intervenes, after offensive words are spoken, they can not be taken no tice of for censure. This is for the common security of all, and to prevent mistakes, which are likely to happen, if words are not taken down immediately.

CHAPTER LXXI.

TAKING THE QUESTION; MANNER OF VOTING; RECONSIDERATION.

§ 1. WHEN the debate upon a question is ended, and the final vote is to be taken, the presiding officer states the question, and puts it, always first in the affirmative, in words differing slightly in form in different bodies; but substantially as follows; Gentlemen, all of you who are in favor of repeating, as nearly as may be, the words of the question-say aye; and after the answer of ayes, All those who are opposed, say no.

§ 2. The presiding officer then, judging by the sound which voice is the greater, declares to the assembly that the ayes have it, or the noes have it, as the case may be; or, as in some assemblies, it is carried, or, it is lost. If he is doubtful as to the majority, he may put the question a second time before declaring the result. If he is still unable to decide, or, having decided, if any member is not satisfied with the decision, the presiding officer directs the assembly to divide, that the members on each side may be counted.

§3. In some places, the members vote by holding up their right hands. Such is said to be still the practice in legislative bodies in the New England states.

§ 4. The most convenient mode of dividing a house, is to direct the members to rise, first those in the affirmative, and then those in the negative, and be counted. Every member present when the question is stated, is, according to the general rule, required to vote; and, on the other hand, none can vote who was not then in the room.

§ 5. Another form of taking the question, is by taking the yeas and nays. This mode is practiced in legislative bodies in this country. The form of stating a question to be thus taken, is, All who are in favor of, &c., will, when their names are called, answer in the affirmative; and, All those who are opposed, will, when their names are called, answer in the negative. The roll is then called in alphabetical order, by the clerk, who notes the answer of each member, yes or no. The yeas and nays are then counted, and the result is declared.