tion, except to Adjourn and to
Suspend the Rules. It is debatable or not, just as the question to be
reconsidered is debatable or undebatable [Sec. 35]; when debatable, it
opens up for discussion the entire subject to be reconsidered, and can
have the Previous question [Sec. 20] applied to it without affecting any
thing but the motion to reconsider. It can be laid on the table [Sec. 19],
and in such cases the last motion cannot be reconsidered; it is quite
common and allowable to combine these two motions (though they must be
voted on separately); in this case, the reconsideration like any other
question, can be taken from the table, but possesses no privilege.** [In
Congress this is a common method used by the friends of a measure to
prevent its reconsideration.] The motion to reconsider being laid on the
table does not carry with it the pending measure. If an amendment to a
motion has been either adopted or rejected, and then a vote taken on the
motion as amended, it is not in order to reconsider the vote on the
amendment until

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after the vote on the original motion has been reconsidered. If
anything which the assembly cannot reverse, has been done as the result
a vote, then that vote cannot be reconsidered.

The Effect of making this motion is to suspend all action that the
original motion would have required until the reconsideration is acted
upon; but if it is not called up, its effect terminates with the session
[Sec. 42], provided,* [In Congress the effect always terminates with the
session, and it cannot be called up by any one but the mover, until the
expiration of the time during which it is in order to move a
reconsideration.] that in an assembly having regular meetings as often
as monthly, if no adjourned meeting upon another day is held of the one
at which the reconsideration was moved, its effect shall not terminate
till the close of the next succeeding session. [See note at end of this
section.] While this motion is so highly privileged as far as relates to
having it entered on the minutes, yet the reconsideration of another
question cannot be made to interfere with the discussion of a question
before the assembly, but as soon as that subject is disposed of, the
reconsideration, if called up, takes precedence of every thing except
the motions to adjourn, and to fix the time to which to adjourn. As
long as its effect lasts (a