The New International Encyclopædia/Quorum

QUORUM (Lat., of whom, abbreviation of the ML. phrase quorum A. B. unum esse volumus, of whom we wish A. B. to be one). A legal and parliamentary term denoting the number of members of a public or private assembly whose presence is necessary for the transaction of business. In the case of private corporations the quorum necessary to enable the directors to transact business legally is fixed by the charter. In the case of private organizations it is fixed by their constitution or by-laws. In the case of legislative assemblies and constituent bodies it is generally fixed by the constitution, but is sometimes left to the determination of the assemblies themselves. The quorum is usually fixed at a majority of the legal number of members elected, although there are notable exceptions to this rule. In the Parliament of Great Britain the quorum is determined by each chamber for itself. In the House of Commons it is fixed at 40 members; in the House of Lords at three. In the German Empire the Constitution fixes the quorum of the Imperial Diet at a majority of the legal number of members. The Federal Council is left to fix its own quorum and the practice requires simply the presence of the chairman, the Lord Chancellor. In France the determination of the quorum in the case of the French Parliament is left to each Chamber separately. By a rule of procedure it is fixed at a majority of the legal number of members of each House. In the United States the Federal Constitution fixes the quorum of the Senate and the House of Representatives at a majority of the whole number of members elected to each House. Until the 51st Congress (1890) it was the practice in the House of Representatives, in ascertaining the presence of a quorum, not to count those present but not voting. This enabled the minority to obstruct the legislative procedure quite frequently and the practice became so annoying to the majority that Speaker Thomas B. Reed (q.v.) introduced the policy of counting, for the purpose of making a quorum, all members present and refusing to vote. His action created something of a furor in the House, and it was denounced by the opposition as arbitrary and revolutionary, but its continued use has commended itself to the members of Congress and bids fair to be a permanent feature of the rules of procedure irrespective of the political complexion of the House.