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printed copies of the reports should have been mailed to the members of the Association at least fifteen days before this meeting.

The President:

Do I understand the gentleman from Indiana to make an amendment?

John Morris, Jr.:

I make the point of order that as the minority report contains a "recommendation for action on the part of the Association" and must be considered with the majority report, and as the reports were not printed and distributed to the members fifteen days before this meeting, they cannot now be acted upon.

The President:

The Chair must rule that the majority report, together with the views of the minority, is before the Association for disposition.

John Morris, Jr.:

I move, then, that the consideration of these reports be postponed until the next annual meeting of the Association. The motion was seconded.

Walter B. Douglas, of Missouri :

Will the Chair state the question before the house?

The President:

The question before the house is this: The gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Judson) moves that the report of the committee be received and filed, together with the report of the member constituting the minority of the committee. To that motion. the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Morris) offers an amendment that the consideration of the report of the committee be postponed until the next meeting of the Association. Therefore, the question will be put upon the amendment.

John Morris, Jr.:

Mr. President, I have put my amendment in writing and it is as follows: That the consideration of the report of the

Committee on Commercial Law be postponed until the next annual meeting of the Association, with leave to the committee to amend or supplement the report, provided that any amended or supplemental report shall be printed and distributed to members as required by the by-laws.

Edward Q. Keasbey, of New Jersey:

I would ask the gentleman to qualify his proposition-
Charles F. Manderson, of Nebraska:

May I interrupt the gentleman from New Jersey to ask that there be read from the desk that part of our by-laws or Constitution that is referred to by the gentleman from Indiana?

Edward Q. Keasbey:

I was only going to suggest that the gentleman from Indiana qualify his proposition by putting in the words "inasmuch as the report has not been printed and distributed" it be deferred until the next meeting.

John Morris, Jr.:

I accept that.

Charles F. Manderson :

I ask that the provision with reference to the printing of reports at some time before the annual meeting of the Association be read.

The President:

The Secretary will read it.

The Secretary (reading):

"All committees may have their reports printed by the Secretary before the annual meeting of the Association; and any such report containing any recommendation for action on the part of the Association shall be printed, together with a draft of bill embodying the views of the committee whenever legislation shall be proposed. Such report shall be distributed by mail by the Secretary to all the members of the Association at least fifteen days before the annual meeting at which such report is proposed to be submitted. No legislation shall be recommended or approved except upon the report of a committee."

The President:

The question is upon the amendment offered by the gentleman from Indiana.

William A. Ketcham, of Indiana:

I would suggest that in lieu of the amendment the word "resolved" be left out and the word "and" be substituted. It will then appear in the motion of Mr. Judson that the report be received and placed on file and that the consideration of it be postponed.

John Morris, Jr.:

I will accept that.

The President:

That will practically be a substitute.

William A. Ketcham :

It is an addition to the motion of the gentleman from Missouri. He moved that the reports be received and placed on file, and the amendment, if adopted, would add "and that the consideration thereof be postponed until next year."

Edward Q. Keasbey:

I understand that the gentleman from Indiana accepted my suggestion?

John Morris, Jr. :

Yes, and I accept this last one also.

Edward Q. Keasbey:

I do not want it to appear that we are not ready to discuss this question now.

The President:

The Secretary will read the resolution as it stands in its amended and substituted form.

Frederick N. Judson:

I would like to have a ruling of the Chair upon the effect of the motion.

The President:

The Chair will not rule upon that at present. It is the custom of the Chair not to cross a bridge until he comes to it. The Secretary will proceed.

The Secretary:

The resolution originally offered was:

Resolved, That the majority and minority reports of the Committee on Commercial Law be received and filed.

Then Mr. Morris moved to add:

And that, inasmuch as the reports were not printed and distributed fifteen days before the meeting, consideration of the reports be postponed until the next annual meeting of the Association with leave to the committee to amend or supplement the report, provided any such amended or supplemental report be printed and distributed to members as required by the by-laws.

The resolution was adopted.

The President:

In the judgment of the Chair, this vote carries with it the whole matter.

Next in order is the report of the Committee on International Law, of which Mr. Wheeler, of New York, is Chairman. The report of the Committee on International Law was then. presented by Everett P., Wheeler, of New York.

(See the Report in the Appendix.)

Everett P. Wheeler, of New York:

The committee instructs me to move the adoption by the Association of the following resolutions:

Resolved, That the American Bar Association concurs in the resolutions adopted by the National Arbitration Conference at Washington, D. C., January 12, 1904.

Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the Secretary of State of the United States.

The resolutions were seconded and adopted.

The President:

The Committee on Grievances is next in order.

Cortlandt Parker, of New Jersey:

I feel like apologizing to you for coming with a report which will occupy, perhaps, two or three minutes of your time after the very interesting report to which we have just listened. I am Chairman of the Committee on Grievances, which committee is composed of five former Presidents of this Association, and this is our first appearance with a report.

The report of the Committee on Grievances was then read. (See the Report in the Appendix.)

Cortlandt Parker:

I move the adoption of the report.
The motion was seconded.

Sigmund Zeisler, of Illinois:

Before the question is put, Mr. President, on the motion to approve this report, I should like to occupy the attention of the Association for a few minutes. In spite of the fact that the Committee on Grievances is composed of perhaps as illustrious gentlemen as the Association boasts, I beg to express a doubt as to the propriety of adopting this report. The committee does not state clearly what the grievance was of which Mr. Davis complained. It might have taken us into its confidence a little bit. However, from the fact that they say that if certain criticisms should be made by the Association upon the action of the Hawaiian Court this Association itself might be guilty of contempt of court, I infer that the case of Mr. Davis was one of contempt of court. But wherein that contempt consisted and what his grievance was, what the injustice was to which Mr. Davis was subjected, we are not told. However, my objection is not so much to the conclusion arrived at by the committee that no action should be taken by this Association as it is to the reasons given by the committee for its failure to make any recommendations. The committee say that it is very hard to answer the question as to what grievances the Committee on Grievances of this Association should consider, and they proceed to enlighten us negatively as to what it is not within their province to consider. They

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