ment, said lands to be sold under the direction of the lature; and the Legislature shall pass suitable laws this section into effect.

SEC. 58. BOARD OF PRISON COMMISSIONERS; T OFFICE, ETC.-The Board of Prison Commissioners, by law with the controì and management of the State shall be composed of three members, appointed by t ernor, by and with the consent of the Senate, and who of office shall be six years or until their successors pointed and qualified; provided, that the terms of the Board of Prison Commissioners first appointed a adoption of this amendment shall begin on January the year following the adoption of this amendment, ar hold office as follows: One shall serve two years, of years and one six years, their terms to be decided by 1 they shall have qualified, and one Prison Commission be appointed every two years thereafter. In case of a in said office, the Governor of this State shall fill said by appointment for the unexpired term thereof.

SEC. 59. (a) The conservation and developmen the natural resources of this State, including the storing, preservation and distribution of its storm ar waters, the waters of its rivers and streams, for irr power and all other useful purposes, the reclamati irrigation of its arid, semi-arid and other lands need rigation, the reclamation and drainage of its ove lands, and other lands needing drainage, the cons and development of its forests, water and hydro power, the navigation of its inland and coastal wate the preservation and conservation of all such nati sources of the State are each and all hereby declared

rights and duties; and the Legislature shall pass all such laws as may be appropriate thereto.

(b) There may be created within the State of Texas, or the State may be divided into, such number of conservation and reclamation districts as may be determined to be essential to the accomplishment of the purposes of this amendment to the Constitution, which districts shall be governmental agencies and bodies politic and corporate with such powers of government and with the authority to exercise such rights, privileges and functions concerning the subject matter of this amendment as may be conferred by law.

(c) The Legislature shall authorize all such indebtedness as may be necessary to provide all improvements and the maintenance thereof requisite to the achievement of the purposes of this amendment, and all such indebtedness may be evidenced by bonds of such conservation and reclamation districts, to be issued under such regulations as may be prescribed by law and shall, also, authorize the levy and collection within such districts of all such taxes, equitably distributed, as may be necessary for the payment of the interest and the creation of a sinking fund for the payment of such bonds; and also for the maintenance of such districts and improvements, and such indebtedness shall be a lien upon the property assessed for the payment thereof; provided the Legislature shall not authorize the issuance of any bonds or provide for any indebtedness against any reclamation district unless such proposition shall first be submitted to the qualified property taxpaying voters of such district and the proposition adopted. (Adopted 1917.)

MODE OF AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE. SECTION 1. HOW THE CONSTITUTION IS TO BE AMENDED. -The Legislature, at any biennial session, by a vote of twothirds of all the members elected to each house, to be entered by yeas and nays on the Journals, may propose amendments to the Constitution, to be voted upon by the qualified electors for members of the Legislature, which proposed amendments shall be duly published once a week for four weeks, commencing at least three months before an election, the time of which shall be specified by the Legislature, in one weekly newspaper of each county in which such newspaper may be published;

and it shall be the duty of the several returning officers of said election to open a poll for and make returns to the Secretary of State of the number of legal votes cast at said election for and against said amendment; and if more than one be proposed, then the number of votes cast for and against each of them; and if it shall appear from said return that a majority of the votes cast have been cast in favor of any amendment the said amendment so receiving a majority of the votes cast shall become a part of this Constitution, and proclamation shall be made by the Governor thereof.

RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

WITH

NOTES AND ANNOTATIONS.

RULE I.

DUTIES AND RIGHTS OF THE SPEAKER.

1. The Speaker shall take the chair on every legislative day precisely at the hour to which the House shall have adjourned at its last sitting, but if no hour was fixed at such sitting, then at 1 o'clock p. m., and immediately call the members to order and ascertain the presence of a quorum by a roll call of the members of the House.

2. He shall preserve order and decorum, and in case of disturbance or disorderly conduct in the galleries or in the lobby, may cause the same to be cleared.

3. He shall have general control, except as provided by law, of the Hall of the House and its lobby and galleries and the corridors and passages and unappropriated rooms in that part of the Capitol assigned to the use of the House.

4. He shall lay before the House its business in the order indicated by the rules, and shall receive propositions made by members, and put them to the House, and shall enforce the rules of the House and the legislative rules prescribed in the Constitution.

5. He shall rise to put a question, but may state it sitting; and he shall put questions distinctly in this form, towit: "As many as are in favor (as the question may be) say 'aye,' "" and after the affirmative vote is expressed, "As many as are opposed say 'no.'" If the Speaker be in doubt as to the result, or if a division is called for, the House shall divide; those in the affirmative on the question shall rise from their seats and remain standing until the Clerk has numbered (counted) them and the number has been announced by the Speaker; those who vote in the negative are then requested to rise, and they are numbered (counted) and the number announced. The yeas and nays may be called for before the decision of the Speaker is announced.

6. He shall not be required to vote in ordinary legislative proceedings, except where his vote would be decisive, or where

the House is engaged in voting by ballot; and in all cases of a tie vote the question shall be lost.

In the National House of Representatives, the Speaker has exercised the duty of giving a decisive vote after the intervention of other business, and even on another day, when a correction in a roll made his vote decisive.

7. He shall decide all questions of order, subject to an appeal to the House made by any ten members, on which appeal no member shall speak more than once, unless by leave of the House. Pending an appeal, no motion shall be in order except to adjourn, to lay on the table, for the previous question, and the call of the House.

In the practice in Congress the Speaker may require that a question of order be presented in writing. He is not required to decide a question not directly presented by the proceedings. Debate being for his information, is within his discretion. Questions arising during a division are decided peremptorily, and, when they arise out of any other question, must be decided before that question. He does not decide on the legislative effect of propositions, or on the consistency of proposed action with other acts of the House, or on the constitutional powers of the House, or on the propriety or expediency of a proposed course of action.

The Speaker may submit a point of order relating to the constitutionality of a proposition, or any other point of order on which he does not wish to rule, direct to the House for its decision.

The right of appeal cannot be taken away from the House; but appeals may not be entertained from a response to parliamentary inquiries, on a question of recognition, or on decisions as to dilatory motions. Appeals on questions as to the priority of business must be decided without debate.

A member called to the chair pending an appeal cannot entertain or decide any other point of order until the appeal has first been determined by the House, and no business whatever shall be transacted pending the appeal except that which is named in the above rule, which is itself subsidiary to the decision of the appeal.

While an appeal is pending it is not in order to appeal from the ruling of a member called to the chair pending the decision of the appeal.

8. He shall examine, correct and approve the Journal of each day's proceedings before the same shall be printed.

9. All committees and the chairmen of the same shall be appointed by the Speaker, unless otherwise specifically directed by the House, in which case they shall be elected; and if, upon such vote, the number required shall not be elected by a majority of the votes given, the House shall proceed to a second vote in which a plurality shall prevail; and in case a greater number than that required to compose or complete a