The house transacts no business of substance by telephone, by electronic mail, or by any other instrument that does not bear, at its conclusion, a hand and a seal.
It is the standing rule of the house that all matters of substance — commitments of capital, instructions to officers, alterations to the trust instruments, and the giving and withdrawal of permissions — are conducted in the persons of those concerned, in the seat at Old Belgravia, in the presence of the Chamberlain, and recorded by his hand.
Matters not of substance — the receipt of correspondence, the issue of replies, the keeping of the registers — may be conducted as the Chamberlain finds appropriate.
The distinction between matters of substance and matters not of substance is determined, in the case of any doubt, by the Chamberlain. The determination is final.
Sigillum Servatur
The petitioner who proposes to attend at the seat shall, upon arriving in the City, present himself first at the door of the first reception room, and not at any other door. The seat has several doors; only one is open.
Conveyance is the petitioner's matter. The house provides no escort, no rooms, and no recommendation of either. The Marshal of the Seat will indicate, on request, the nearer of two acceptable houses.