attendance to constitute a quorum, but if at the expiry of 15 minutes from the time specified in the summons there is not a quorum present, no business shall then be transacted by the Council.

2.—The minutes of any preceding meeting not previously confirmed, shall be read as the first business at all meetings of the Council in order to their confirmation, and no discussion shall be permitted thereupon except as to their accuracy as a record of the proceedings.

3.—At all meetings of the Council (unless otherwise provided for), the reading of correspondence, the presentation of petitions or memorials, which must be presented by members of the Council, and the bringing up of reports of committees, shall have precedence of other business.

4.—Whenever the Council shall be informed of the unavoidable absence of the Mayor, such Councillor as the members assembled shall choose to be Chairman, shall preside.

5.—If at any time after the commencement of the business of the day, notice be taken that there is not a quorum present, the Chairman shall by his own authority adjourn the Council until the next day of meeting.

6.—Whenever the Chairman is obliged to adjourn the Council for want of a quorum, the hour at which such adjournment is made, and the names of the Councillors then present shall be inserted in the minutes of the Council.

7.—The Orders of the Day shall include all matters arising out of the proceedings of former meetings of the Council, and any business which the Mayor may think fit to bring under consideration. Any member of the Council may, however, bring forward such business as he may consider advisable in the form of a notice of motion, such notice to be given in writing, at the meeting of the Council then assembled, and to be communicated by the Town Clerk to the members of the Council on the summons for such meeting, and all such notices of motion shall be considered in the order in which they were given.

8.—All notices of motion shall be left with the Town Clerk three clear days prior to the meeting at which the same are to be considered; and a copy of every such notice shall be sent to each Councillor, together with the summons to attend such meeting.

9.—Every Councillor shall address the Chair when speaking, designating the Mayor, his Worship, or Mr. Mayor, and the members as Councillors.

10.—No motion entered on the Notice Paper shall be proceeded with unless the member who has given such notice, or some member authorised by him, be present when the business is called in order.

11.—No Bye-Law shall be finally passed or adopted at the meeting at which it shall have been first proposed, nor until the next meeting of the Council regularly convened.

Order of Debate.

12.—Any member desirous of proposing a motion or amendment, or of discussing any matter under consideration, must rise and address the Mayor or Councillor presiding, and no member when speaking shall be interrupted unless called to order, in which case he shall sit down, and the member calling to order shall be heard thereupon, in preference to any other speaker, and the question of order shall be disposed of before the subject is resumed or any other subject entered upon.

13.—Any member desirous of proposing either an original motion or amendment, must state the nature of such motion or amendment before addressing the Council in support thereof.

14.—Any member making a motion or amendment shall put it in writing, and sign and deliver it to the Chairman after being seconded, and any member moving or seconding any motion or amendment shall be held to have spoken on that question.

15.—No motion or amendment shall be considered or received unless it be duly seconded.

16.—If two or more members rise to speak at the same time the Mayor shall decide which is entitled to pre-audience, and shall call to order any member proceeding to speak a second time on the same question, unless entitled to reply, or in explanation when he has been interrupted or misunderstood, and after the reply the amendment or the original motion, as the case may be, shall be immediately put to the vote. Any member, however, moving a suspension of the Standing Orders, or any of them, shall be entitled simply to state the grounds of such motion, and the nature and objects thereof, but no discussion shall take place upon such motion.

17.—No member shall digress from the subject matter of the question under discussion, and the Mayor when called upon to decide a point of order, shall state the rule or practice applicable to the case, without argument or comment, and his decision as to what is order, or explanation, shall be final in each case.

18.—One amendment only shall be discussed at one time; but, if lost, another may be moved before the original question is put to the vote, but upon any amendment being carried, it shall be competent for any member to move one other amendment thereon, but not more.

19.—Upon the adoption of any amendment by the Council, such amendment shall be held to have quashed the original motion, and for all purposes of subsequent discussion the amendments so carried shall be acted upon as an original motion.

20.—Upon all questions under discussion the Council shall vote by their voices, signifying aye and no, excepting in case of election of officers, which shall be conducted in such a manner as the Council may decide; any member may, however, call for a division upon any question, in which case the members voting in the affirmative shall stand up, and those in the negative shall retain their seats until the vote is recorded.

21.—No motion, the effect of which if carried would be to rescind any motion which has already passed the Council, shall be entertained for the space of three months, unless a call of the whole Council has been duly made for that purpose, and notice of such motion has at a previous meeting been given and entered on the book of proceedings in which the passed motion has been entered, and no motion for rescinding any resolution of the Council, which shall have been negatived by the Council, shall be again entertained for the space of three months, unless by consent of at least two-thirds of the Council assembled.

22.—Any member of the Council may at any stage of a debate, when the Speaker shall have finished, move that the Council do at once divide, and such motion, if seconded, shall be put from the chair without discussion, so soon as the member then in possession of the Council shall have concluded his address.

23.—If the motion for division be carried, the question previously under debate shall immediately be put from the chair without further discussion, but if the question for division be lost the debate on the previous motion shall be resumed where it was interrupted.

24.—It shall be competent for any Councillor during the discussion of a question to move that the debate be now adjourned, and such motion being seconded, shall be immediately put from the chair, and if carried, such debate shall be adjourned until next meeting of the Council, and the next business on the paper shall be proceeded with, and at the next meeting of the Council the mover of the aforesaid adjournment shall be entitled to resume the debate.

25.—A motion duly seconded, “That this Council do now adjourn,” shall be in order at any period of the meeting, unless while any member of Council be speaking, but no discussion shall be allowed upon it. If the motion for adjournment be carried, the business on the paper not disposed of shall stand for consideration and take precedence at the next meeting.

Committees.

26.—There shall be two permanent Committees of the