rules of order: see parliamentary law.

gag rules, in parliamentary procedure, rules limiting or prohibiting free debate on a particular issue. In U.S. history, the term is applied especially to procedural rules in force in the House of Representatives from 1836 to 1844. With the growth of antislavery feeling after the founding of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833, the House was deluged with thousands of antislavery petitions, most of which requested the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. Southerners, with the aid of Northern Democrats, secured passage of the gag rules, which prevented the discussion of antislavery proposals in the House. The fight to secure the right of petition, waged virtually singlehandedly, and brilliantly, by John Quincy Adams, aroused the North, and the gag rules were repealed. They had the effect of strengthening the cause of the abolitionists.

Robert's Rules of Order: see parliamentary law; Robert, Henry Martyn.

Queensberry rules: see Queensberry, John Sholto Douglas, 8th marquess of.

or rules of order

Generally accepted rules, precedents, and practices used in the governance of deliberative assemblies. They are intended to maintain decorum, ascertain the will of the majority, preserve the rights of the minority, and facilitate the orderly transaction of business. Rules of parliamentary procedure originated in Britain in the 16th and 17th centuries and were subsequently adopted by legislatures around the world. Robert's Rules of Order, codified in 1876 by U.S. Gen. Henry M. Robert (1837–1923) and regularly refined and enlarged, is the standard set of rules used by legislatures in the U.S.

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Code of boxing rules. It was written by John Graham Chambers (1843–1883) and published in 1867 under the sponsorship of John Sholto Douglas, marquess of Queensberry (1844–1900), who was known also for precipitating the downfall of Oscar Wilde. Besides calling for the wearing of gloves, the rules forbade wrestling holds, required a fallen man to be given a free count of 10 to recover, established the three-minute round with a one-minute rest period, and disallowed seconds from entering the ring during the round.

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Variety of football played between two teams of 18 players. The field is oval, 145–200 yd (135–185 m) long, with four goalposts at each end. A six-point goal is scored when the oval ball is kicked through the two central goalposts. A one-point “behind” is scored when the ball is kicked over the behind line extending between the central and outer goalposts. The game's finest spectacle is the “mark” in which competing players leap, sometimes riding on the back of an opponent, in order to catch the ball directly from the kick of another player. The player making such a catch is awarded a mark, an unhindered kick from behind the spot of the catch. The sport was developed in Melbourne. The Victorian Football League was established in 1896 as the first professional league. It was renamed the Australian Football League in 1990 to reflect the addition of franchises outside of Victoria state.

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