57 To Defer Action. (a) Postpone to a Certain Time. If it is desired to defer action upon a question till a particular time, the proper motion to make is “to postpone it to that time.” This motion allows of but limited debate, which must be confined to the propriety of the postponement to that time; it can be amended by altering the time, and this amendment allows of the same debate. The time specified must not be beyond that session [§ 42] of the assembly, except it be the next session, in which case it comes up with the unfinished business at the next session. This motion can be made when a motion to amend, or to commit, or to postpone indefinitely, is pending.
(b) Lie on the Table. Instead of postponing a question to a particular time, it may be desired to lay it aside temporarily until some other question is disposed of, retaining the privilege of resuming its consideration at any time.[1] The only way to accomplish this is to
- ↑ In Congress this motion is commonly used to defeat a measure, though it does not prevent a majority from taking it up at any other time. Some societies prohibit a question from being taken from the table, except by a two-thirds vote. This rule deprives the society of the advantages of the motion ‘‘to lie on the table,’’ because it would not be safe to lay a question aside temporarily, if one-third of the assembly were opposed to the measure, as that one-third could prevent its ever being taken from
