§2. Meetings of the legislature are held at a place permanently fixed by the constitution; at which place the principal state officers keep their offices. Hence it is called the _seat of government_, or perhaps more frequently, the _capital_ of the state. _Capital_ is from the Latin _caput_, the head, and has come to mean chief, or the highest. A capital city is therefore the chief city of a state or kingdom. But the word _capital_, applied to a city, now generally indicates the seat of government. §3. When the two houses have assembled in their respective chambers, some person designated for that purpose administers to the members of each house the oath of office, in which they solemnly swear (or affirm,) that they will support the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the state, and faithfully discharge the duties of their office. §4. Each house then proceeds to _organize_ for business, by appointing proper officers, and determining the right of members to seats in the house. In organizing a legislative body, the first thing done is the election of a presiding officer, or chairman, who is usually called _speaker_. The lieutenant-governor, in states in which there is one, presides in the senate, and is called _president of the senate_. In the absence of the presiding officer, a temporary speaker or president is chosen, who is called speaker or president _pro tempore_, commonly abbreviated, _pro tem._, which is a Latin phrase, meaning _for the time_. §5. The duty of the person presiding is to keep order, and to see that the business of the house is conducted according to certain established rules. When a vote is to be taken, he puts the question, which is done by requesting all who are in favor of a proposed measure, to say _aye_, and those opposed to say _no_. And, when a vote has been taken, he declares the question to be carried or lost. This part of a speaker's business is similar to that of the chairman of an ordinary public meeting. §6. The other officers chosen by each house are, a _clerk_ to keep a record or journal of its proceedings; to take charge of papers, and to read such as are to be read to the house; and to do such other things as may be required of him; a _sergeant-at-arms_, to arrest members and other persons guilty of disorderly conduct, to compel the attendance of absent members, and to do other business of a like nature: also one or more _door-keepers_. The officers mentioned in this section are not chosen from the members of the house.