Note Return to text — Chapter XII · OF ORDER IN DEBATE.
Reading edition
209. Every question, that can be made in a deliberative assembly, is susceptible of being debated,[Footnote 27] according to its nature; that is, every member has the right of expressing his opinion upon it. Hence, it is a general rule, and the principal one relating to this matter, that, in debate, those who speak are to confine themselves to the question, and not to speak impertinently, or beside the subject. So long as a member has the floor, and keeps within the rule, he may speak for as long a time as he pleases; though, if an uninteresting speaker trespasses too much upon the time and patience of the assembly, the members seldom fail to show their dissatisfaction in some way or other, which induces him to bring his remarks to a close.