and no State would be admitted into the Union, whose Constitution contained any thing contrary to that of the United States. It extends its authority over every State and Territory, restraining them from making a Constitution or enacting any laws inconsistent with any of its provisions. It is the supreme law of the land. It binds the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial branches of the government as much as the humblest individual. It should be carefully read and understood by every one who lives under it, especially by every one who exercises the elective franchise. It teaches us our rights, our exalted privileges and our duties as citizens of the Republic.

10. Throughout our work we have so often alluded to it and its provisions, that we have thought it advisable to append the whole document to this work that the reader may at any time turn to its pages, and consult its provisions on any point upon which he may desire information.

Read, learn and digest its meaning-keeping in mind that it is the supreme law of the land. Its provisions are binding upon every officer and every citizen; upon Congress, upon every State Legislature, and upon every court, from the Supreme Court of the United States down to the lowest State tribunal. All are bound to act, legislate, and adjudicate in conformity with the principles of the Constitution.

CHAPTER III.

Congress.

1. THE Legislative branch of our government is styled Congress; in that of England it is denominated Parliament; and in that of France, the Corps Legislatif. Our Constitution places the power of enacting laws in Congress; no other branch of the government can do it. It is emphatically a representative body. Its members represent the people, and are supposed to do just what the entire mass of the people would do if it were practicable for them to assemble in one great body, and there to discuss, and then pass the laws by which they are willing to be governed.

2. It consists of two parts, or Houses, as these parts are called; the Senate and House of Representatives.* Both assemble at the same time, in Washington, on the first Monday of December in each year, for the transaction of business. The meeting at this time is called the regular session-regular, to distinguish it from extra sessions, which the President may call if he deems it necessary. This division of the National Legislature into two branches, was undoubtedly borrowed from the English government; for the law

The Legislatures of all the States and Territories are formed after the model of Congress; that is, all have a Senate and a lower House, called in some States by one name, and in others by another, but all meaning the lower branch of the legislative body.

making power in England is divided into two branches; the House of Lords, answering to our Senate, and the House of Commons, quite analagous to our House of Representatives. Indeed it was quite natural for the framers of our government to imitate that of England. Anterior to the Revolution which separated us from England, our fathers had lived under its institutions and laws, many of which were good, and were subsequently incorporated with the new fabric. Whatever was incompatible with a Republican form of government, and that equality of rights which they determined to bestow upon every citizen, was rejected.

THE SENATE.

3. This branch of the National Legislature is constituted very differently from the House of Representatives. It is composed of two members from each State, without regard to the size or population thereof. New York, now the most populous State in the Union, has but two Senators in Congress, while the least populous State has the same number. They are not elected like the members of the lower House, by the people, but by the Legislatures of the respective States which they represent. They are also elected for a longer term than the members of the House of Representatives; a Senator is chosen for six years, while a Representative in the other House is elected for only two.

4. The word Senate is derived from the Latin word senatus, which signifies old; and older men are generally selected for the Senate than for the House of Representatives. Indeed the Constitution declares that a Senator shall be thirty years of age at the time of his

election, and that he must have been a citizen of the United States for nine years; whereas a member of the House is eligible at the age of twenty-five, if he has been a citizen seven years.

5. The Senate, like the House of Lords in England, is often styled the upper House; while the House of Representatives, for the sake of brevity, is generally styled "the House." The Senate is considered the higher and more dignified of the two, because men of age, talent, wisdom and experience are generally selected for this exalted position. Again, the Senate has powers which the House does not possess. When acting in their legislative capacity, both have equal powers, but the Senate, in connection with the President, has the power to ratify treaties. It alone confirms or rejects the President's nominations to offices, and also acts as a high court to try cases of impeachment. These important duties and prerogatives belong exclusively to the Senate without the concurrence of the House. bills, (the draft of all laws when presented to a legislative body for its approval or disapproval, are called bills,) excepting those for raising revenue, may originate either in the Senate or the House; yet much the larger number of bills do originate in the House, because it has about three times the number of members which the Senate has, and because the members of the House are more immediate representatives of the people than the Senators. A greater number of the people know them, and usually send their petitions and make their wants known to them-and from these wants of the people, laws originate.

All

6. When the Senate convenes for the purpose of considering the nominations made by the President for the various offices to which he has the right of appointment by and with their consent, it is called an executive session. A vote of approval by a majority, gives the consent of this body; not so, however, when they vote upon the ratification of a treaty; for in this case the Constitution requires an affirmative vote of two-thirds of all present. A two-thirds vote is also necessary to give a judgment in case of the impeachment of any officer of the government who may be arraigned before them for trial.

The Vice President is the President of the Senate; but in case of a vacancy in this office, it then chooses a President from its own members. We next come to the

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

7. This is often styled "the lower House." It has equal power with the Senate in the enactment of all laws; for no bill can become a faw unless it receives a majority of the votes of both Houses, and in one particular it has a power which the Senate does not possess: it has the sole power of impeachment. We have stated that the Senate has the power to try impeachments, but this it never does until the House has first impeached some officer of the government for an alleged crime, after which the Senate resolving itself intó a court, tries the accused party, and determines his guilt or innocence. The part which the House takes in cases of impeachment is very analagous to the action of a grand jury, which does not try the accused party, but only says after examining the charges, upon what evidence