Shirking

“ Every man that belongs to these quorums should be on hand at the time appointed, and not say, "I will work to the last minute, before I start for the meeting." Take time, prepare yourselves, be at the place of gathering promptly, to the minute, that you may hear the first word, then you will hear every word that is spoken and every counsel that is given. ”

“ To these universal gatherings, which put all France in motion, we must add the local gatherings by which a commune approves or gainsays its municipal officers, makes claims on the department, on the King, or on the Assembly, demands the maintenance of its parish priest, the provisioning of its market, the arrival or dispatch of a military detachment,—and think of all that these meetings, petitions, and nominations presuppose in the way of preparatory committees and preliminary meetings and debates! Every public representation begins with rehearsals in secret session. ”

“ In the first performance of each of the earlier drills it is advisable for the chairman to have an abstract of the drill. With advanced classes it is better for him to have nothing, unless there is an order of business, in which case he should have a memorandum showing the business in the order in which he should announce it. In actual meetings of ordinary societies the chairman has nothing to guide him except the order of business. ”

“ A vice president in the chair is addressed as Mr., or Madam, President. The chairman "recognizes" a member by announcing his name, or in small assemblies where the members are all acquainted, by bowing to him. If two or more rise at about the same time, the chair generally recognizes and thus assigns the floor to the one who rose first and addressed the chair. The member having "obtained the floor" presents the subject to the assembly in the form of what is called a "motion." A motion is a proposal that the assembly take certain action, or that it express itself as holding certain views. ”

“ When I had got the pledge from him I told the people that Thursday’s meeting would only be a prayer meeting. But after this some of the people went to him and he turned round again, and said it was a business meeting. I know that he said no business should be done at that meeting, and afterwards said it should be a business meeting. I then saw that this was a deep and cunning plan laid to divide the best people that ever lived. ”

“ Nothing but necessity can justify our putting any obstacles in the way of the saints in this city, who, feeling the obligation of separating from every sectarian bond of union, would desire to meet with us.
I. 1. There seems no sufficient reason for holding our Lords day morning meetings, for the breaking of bread, in two different places. See 1 Cor. xi. 20. The number is not too large to assemble in one place, and the extent of locality is not so great as to prevent it, except in the ease of invalids or of very aged persons: and the disadvantages of two meeting places are very serious. ”

“ After a society is properly organized, its regular business meetings are conducted as follows : When the hour fixed for the meeting to begin arrives, the presiding officer takes the chair and calls the meeting to order and directs the secretary to read the minutes of the last meeting. ”

“ When the trading and planting occupations of the people are terminated, and provisions begin to fail them, which occurs generally in June, the chiefs assemble a council for the purpose of deliberating upon the further arrangements necessary to be made. This assembly decrees a feast to be prepared on a certain day, to which all the distinguished [pg290] men of the nation are to be invited, and one of their number is appointed to have it prepared in his own lodge. ”

“ Whenever a conference, or a talk as they term it, is about to be held with any neighbouring tribe, or whenever any treaty or national compact is about to be made, one of these belts, differing in some respect from every other that has been made before, is immediately constructed; each person in the assembly holds this belt in his band whilst he delivers his speech, and when he has ended, he presents it to the next person that rises, by which ceremony each individual is reminded, that it behoves him to be cautious in his discourse, as all he says will be faithfully recorded by the belt. ”

“ The Era, it will be understood, has no other agents except those appointed by the Young Men's Association in the respective wards and branches of the Church, and now, of course, those who will be appointed by our quorums. The service is to be given without remuneration—soliciting subscriptions within our quorums is to be a work of love and interest. ”

“ Any meeting which is not an adjournment of another meeting commences a new session. In the case of a permanent society, having regular meetings every week, month or year, for example, each meeting constitutes a separate session of the society, which session, however, can be prolonged by adjourning to another day. ”

“ Even at the start he must stick in his chapter heading about a conclave.
Hanged if I know what a conclave is. It’s some kind of a meeting I guess. He said it was something like a peace conference, but believe me, the meeting I’m going to tell you about wasn’t much like a peace conference. I told him I’d use my own heading and his too, just to keep him quiet. I think he’s got his pockets stuffed full of chapter headings and that he’ll be shooting them at me all the way through—like a machine-gun. ”

“ I said before, and I trust I may say again, that this assembly was one in which any man might well be proud to sit—prouder I that I have not some of your traditions and am not of your families, but am of the people, the people that sent me here to speak for them. ”

“ Each of the orders, after becoming well organized, made it a practice to hold periodic national meetings attended with public parades and other features tending to bring attention to the order and to advance its extension. And, aside from such activities, each publicly engaged in commendable charitable work. ”

“ ASSEMBLY MEETINGS “The Spiritual Assembly must decide how often it should meet in order to properly handle the affairs of the Cause under its jurisdiction. Twice a week or twice a month is not the point, the point is that it should be alert and carry on the work adequately.” ”

“ A protracted meeting, conducted by enthusiastic, proud, extravagant, and ranting leaders, is a curse to any well-organized congregation. [Pg 377] Some men think it is no matter what means are employed if an effect is produced; the end will justify the means. But this is a dangerous sentiment. Let a meeting be conducted for days or weeks, with prudence, candor and solemnity, let an appeal be made to the understanding of rational men, let their judgment be informed; then the experience will be sound, the effect lasting, and the revival will be a blessing and an honor to any congregation. ”

“ A meeting is the coming together or assembling of the members of a society, or body, and covers only the time between the calling to order and an adjournment. If the adjournment is to a fixed time before the next regular session, the second meeting will be another meeting of the same session: since any meeting which is not an adjournment of another meeting begins a new session. ”

“ In the same way, a meeting arranged ad hoc between delegates of an employers’ association and a trade union, for the purpose of arranging differences as to the terms on which the members of the association shall employ members of the union is not usually classed as “conciliation,” unless the meeting is held in the presence of an independent chairman or conciliator, or in pursuance of a permanent agreement between the associations laying down the procedure for the settlement of disputes. ”

“ If a minister were to invite some of his neighbouring brethren to join for some special requests along with the printed subjects for supplication, or a number of the more earnest members of his congregation to unite in prayer for revival, some might be trained to take their place in the great work of intercession, who now stand idle because no man hath hired them. ”

“ A;” he should not interrupt a speaker as long as he is in order, but should listen to his speech, which should be addressed to him and not to the assembly. The Chairman should be careful to abstain from the appearance of partisanship, but he has the right to call another member to the chair while he addresses the assembly on a question; when speaking to a question of order he does not leave the chair.
51. The Clerk, Secretary or Recording Secretary, as he is variously called, should keep a record of the proceedings, the character of which depends upon the kind of meeting. ”

“ It gives him, indeed, much pleasure and encouragement to realize that your Assembly meetings are conducted with such a good deal of order and efficiency, and above all, in such a perfect spirit of unity and fellowship—the few other obstacles and difficulties left, he feels confident, will in due time disappear. ”

“ The members of the assembly should act in concert, both in times of distress as well as in times of prosperity, and it is also the duty of these citizens to show hospitality to strangers who may have come to the assembly. ”

“ The place of meeting, and rules of the society, shall be established, revoked or altered, and new members admitted, at any of the stated meetings, by a majority of the attending members, if they be a majority of those present, not being less than one-fourth of the whole. ”

“ This is dangerous, however, in large meetings, where an incompetent person may be nominated and elected chairman. In large assemblies, the member who nominates, with one other member, frequently conducts the presiding officer to the chair, and the chairman makes a short speech, thanking the assembly for the honor conferred on him. ”

“ For instance, when half of the males in a Branch are Seventies, the President of the Mass Quorum notifies that they are to have a meeting at 10 or 11 o'clock, the very hour that the President of the Branch has his meeting. ”

“ When feudal princes see one another at a place and time not agreed on beforehand, the interview is called "a meeting." When they do so in some open place agreed on beforehand, it is called "an assembly." When one prince sends a great officer to ask about another, it is called "a message of friendly inquiry." ”

“ A combined meeting of the Executives must be held once in every twelve months, to discuss and decide on the policy to be pursued on points both labour and political, and members of both Societies shall be at liberty, on production of Branch Cards, to enter either Branch-room in any town, and to take part in any discussion appertaining to labour or politics. ”

“ In meetings consisting of a half dozen or more people, it has been found advisable to have, in addition to a chairman and a secretary, more rules and more formality than in a meeting of three or four persons. ”

“ For the purpose of illustrating by practice some of the questions that may arise in any assembly, let us suppose a meeting has been called to discuss some of the current topics or political questions of the day. Shortly after the time for which the meeting was called some member will rise, face the assembly, and say: “The meeting will please come to order.” ”

“ A Conciliation Committee, having the confidence of the community, and composed of men possessing practical knowledge of industrial affairs, can therefore aid in mitigating this antagonism, in preventing avoidable conflicts, in bringing about a truce ”

“ It is amusing for the visitor from a free country to attend a political meeting where the chairman, speaker and policeman file up on the stage to occupy the three chairs reserved for them. The policeman may be heard by those in the front rows continually cautioning the speaker. ”

“ Without entering into a history of the assemblies that were customary among the ancients, or those held by the moderns, for deliberating upon political, ecclesiastical, or civil affairs, we shall, in this place, only observe, that all public meetings, when conducted with a spirit of order and decorum, are highly conducive to polish the manners of a people. ”

“ If there be any urgent business for the consideration of which it might be impossible to await the day of the meeting of the Assembly, or even to convoke an extraordinary meeting, the Patriarch may do what is necessary, taking the responsibility upon himself. ”

“ He explained that they would need a group of men to stand back of the committee; such a group would have to be organised, to hold meetings in secret--it would be practically the same thing as a union, would be so regarded by the bosses and their spotters. ”

“ A conference has been asked after the first reading of a bill.—1 Grey, 194. This is a singular instance. During the time of a conference, the House can do no business. As soon as the names of the managers are called over, and they are gone to the conference, the Speaker leaves the chair, without any question, and resumes it in the return of the managers. It is the same while the managers of an impeachment are at the House of Lords.—4 Hats. ”

“ In a discussion, when any member wishes to speak, he must stand up in his place, and address himself not to the lodge, nor to any particular Brother, but to the presiding officer, styling him "Worshipful." ”

“ We had a very interesting and solemn meeting; truth appeared to gain the victory, and reigned over all. On first day I attended Friends’ meetings for the Western District, both in the forenoon and afternoon. They were very large; and I had a full opportunity in the morning of clearing myself among them. We had a precious, powerful meeting; and among the divers states addressed, the slave-holders were peculiarly the objects of my exercise and concern. ”