RULES OF LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL HONGKONG
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and the result shall be declared by the President or Chairman, but any member y claim a division when the votes shall be taken by the Clerk asking each member parately how he desires to vote and recording the votes accordingly.
(3) In taking the division the names of all the unofficial members shall be called fore the names or official titles of any of the official members. In both cases the mes, or official titles as the case may be, shall be called in order, beginning with the nior member, provided that the President, or in any committee the Chairman, shall te last.
(4) When a division is claimed either in Council or in any committee every ember present shall, unless he expressly state that he declines to vote, record his te either for the ayes or noes.
The Clerk shall enter on the minutes the record each member's vote and shall add a statement of the names of members who clined to vote.
(5) As soon as the Clerk has collected the votes the President, or in any com- ittee the Chairman, shall state the numbers voting for the ayes and the noes. spectively and shall then declare the result of the division or give his casting vote
the case may be.
(6) If a member state that he voted in error or that his vote has been counted rongly, he may claim to have his vote altered, provided that such request is made soon as the President has announced the numbers and before he shall have eclared the result of the division.
(7) A member shall not vote on any subject in which he has a direct personal ecuniary interest, but a motion to disallow a member's vote on this ground shall made only as soon as the numbers of the members voting on the question shall ave been declared. If the motion for the disallowance of a member's vote shall agreed to, the President, or in committee the Chairman, shall direct the Clerk to orrect the numbers voting in the division accordingly. In deciding whether a otion for the disallowance of a member's vote shall be proposed from the chair, he President, or, in any committee the Chairman, shall have regard to the haracter of the question upon which the division was taken and to the onsideration whether the interest therein of the member whose vote is challenged direct and pecuniary and not an interest in common with the rest of His Majesty's ubjects and whether his vote was given on a matter of state policy.
25.-FIRST READING OF A BILL
(1) The mover of a bill, on moving the first reading thereof, shall state the bject and intention of the measure and the reasons on which it is founded.
(2) After such motion has been seconded by another member, and has been dopted, the bill shall be read a first time. The President may address the Council n the first reading of a bill should he desire to do so, but no further discussion hall be permitted.
(3) Except as provided for in paragraph (2) of Standing Order 29, every bill hall be published in the Gazette after having been read a first time and before it is ead a second time.
26.-SECOND READING OF A BILL
When a motion for a second reading of a bill shall have been made and econded, a debate may be taken only upon the general merits and principles of the Bill.
27.-COMMITTEE STAGE OF A BILL
(1) When a bill has been read the second time the Council may, at the same r any subsequent meeting, upon motion made and seconded, resolve itself into a