The following account of the manner of speaking and voting by the Lords and Commons, is given in _A Key to both Houses of Parliament_: "In the House of Lords, the Peers give their votes or suffrages, by beginning with the lowest baron; and so on with the rest, _seriatim_, until all have expressed their opinions; each one answering apart, 'Content,' or 'Not Content.' If the affirmatives and negatives should happen to be equal in number, the question is invariably presumed to be in the negative, (semper praesumitur pro negante,) and the Not Contents have the effect of an absolute majority. In the House of Commons, the members vote by _Ayes_ and _Noes_, altogether: but if it be doubtful which is the greater number, the House _divides_. If the question be whether any bill, petition, &c. is to be brought into the House, then the _Ayes_, or approvers of the same, go out; but, if it be upon anything which the House is once possessed of, the _Noes_ go out. Upon all questions where the House divides, the Speaker appoints four _tellers_--two of each opinion; who, after they have told or numbered those within, place themselves in the passage between the Bar and the door, in order to tell those who went out; who, till then, are not permitted to re-enter the House. This being done, the two tellers who have the majority take the _right_ hand, and all four placing themselves within the bar, make three reverences as they advance towards the table, where they deliver the written numbers, saying, 'the _Ayes_ that went out are so many: the _Noes_ who remain are so many:' and _vice versa_ as it may happen. This the Speaker repeats, declaring the majority. "In a committee of the whole House, the way of dividing is by changing sides, the _Ayes_ taking the _right_, and the _Noes_ taking the _left_ hand of the Speaker's chair. On such occasions there are but two tellers.