Weldon Merritt Posted April 13, 2015 at 12:54 AM Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 at 12:54 AM I am trying to find a a quote that I think has been attributed to Thomas Jefferson (as President of the Senate) to the effect that "It is more improtant that there be a rule than what the rule actually is." Does anyone know the exact quote and its source? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstackpo Posted April 13, 2015 at 01:04 AM Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 at 01:04 AM How's this... And whether these forms be in all cases the most rational or not is not really of so great importance. It is much more material that there should be a rule to go by than what the rule is; that there may be a uniformity of proceeding in business not subject to the caprice of the Speaker or captiousness of the members. Lifted from Jefferson's Manual 1801, Section 1, second paragraph, and attributed therein to "2 Hats. 149" (I never could figure out how to use the reference to Hatsell, but RONR mentions that (English) book on p. xxxvii.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weldon Merritt Posted April 13, 2015 at 01:09 AM Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 at 01:09 AM Thanks, John. That's exactly what I was looking for. I am the Topic Master for my Toastmasters Club meeting tomorrow, and the theme (at my suggestion) is "Rules of Order" in honor of Thomas Jefferson's birthday. I am planning to use that quote as the basis for one of my topic questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted April 13, 2015 at 12:56 PM Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 at 12:56 PM And Happy Birthday to Mr. Jefferson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmuel Gerber Posted April 14, 2015 at 03:27 PM Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 at 03:27 PM How's this... And whether these forms be in all cases the most rational or not is not really of so great importance. It is much more material that there should be a rule to go by than what the rule is; that there may be a uniformity of proceeding in business not subject to the caprice of the Speaker or captiousness of the members. Lifted from Jefferson's Manual 1801, Section 1, second paragraph, and attributed therein to "2 Hats. 149" (I never could figure out how to use the reference to Hatsell, but RONR mentions that (English) book on p. xxxvii.) According to this site http://www.constitution.org/tj/tj-mpp.htm, the actual quote is: "And whether these forms be in all cases the most rational or not, is really not of so great importance. It is much more material that there should be a rule to go by, than what that rule is; that there may be an uniformity of proceeding in business, not subject to the caprice of the Speaker, or captiousness of the members." Edited to add: A slightly different version appears in the 1st edition of Robert's Rules of Order, and yet another slightly different version appears in the Rules of the House of Representatives. But I prefer the version with the quaint spelling "an uniform." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstackpo Posted April 14, 2015 at 04:25 PM Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 at 04:25 PM Thank you for the corrections; my eye jumped around a bit when copying it from my source: the reprint of the 2nd Ed. (1812) of J's Manual found in the Princeton U. Press Papers of T.J., "Jefferson's Parliamentary Writings", 1998. The 2nd. Ed. is what is linked to in Shmuel's citation. I presume the text is the same in the First (1801) edition. Here it is again, corrected, for those who want to do a copy/paste... And whether these forms be in all cases the most rational or not, is really not of so great importance. It is much more material that there should be a rule to go by, than what that rule is; that there may be an uniformity of proceeding in business, not subject to the caprice of the Speaker, or captiousness of the members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weldon Merritt Posted April 15, 2015 at 03:25 AM Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 at 03:25 AM Thanks, Shmuel and John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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