he gentleman from Maine (Mr. Reed) must
be sustained to the extent of holding that the motion made by the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Randall), which is in effect a
dilatory motion, is not at this time in order.

"It has been, in debate, claimed that on January 11, 1882, the
present occupant of the chair made a different holding. The question
then made and decided arose on a matter of reference of a proposition
to amend the rules to an appropriate committee as provided for
under the rules, and not on the consideration of a report when
properly brought before the House for its action. The two things
are so plainly distinguishable as to require nothing further to be
said about them.

"Mr. Randall. From your decision, Mr. Speaker, just announced, I
appeal to the House, whose officer you are.

"Mr. Reed. I move to lay the appeal on the table.

"The Speaker. The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Randall) appeals
from the decision of the Chair, and the gentleman from Maine (Mr.
Reed) moves that the appeal be laid upon the table.

"The question was taken; and there were--yeas 150, nays 0, not
voting 141.

"So the appeal was laid on the table."(19)

There was much clamor and undue excitement over this decision of
the Speaker cutting off the, always to me, foolish and unjustifiable,
though time-honored, practice of allowing a turbulent minority to
stop business indefinitely, by purely dilatory, though in form,
privileged motions. This holding, however, received the commendation
of sober, learned men of this country, and in Europe it was quoted
approvingly by Gladstone in the House of Commons of England, and
was followed, in principle, by its Speaker in upholding the rule
of _cloture_ against violent filibustering of the Irish party.
Such dilatory methods have been little resorted to since.

At the end of this Congress a resolution was adopted, on the motion
of Mr. Randall, thanking "the Speaker for the ability and courtesy
with which he has presided over the deliberations of the House
during the Forty-seventh Congress."

My valedictory as Speaker was as follows:

"Gentlemen, the time has come when our official relations as
Representatives in the Forty-seventh Congress are to be dissolved.
In a moment more this House of Representatives will be known only
in history. Its acts will stand, many of them, it is believed,
through the future history of the Republic.

"On the opening day of this Congress, I vent