Elements of Civil Government Part 15

FORBIDDEN POWERS.--The following powers are expressly denied to the national government:

(1) "The privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ shall not be suspended unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it."

_Habeas corpus_ means "Thou mayst have the body." A person in prison, claiming to be unlawfully detained, or the friend of such a person, applies to the judge of a court for a writ of _habeas corpus_. The judge issues the writ, which directs the officer to bring the body of the prisoner into court at a certain time and place, in order that the legality of the imprisonment may be tested.

The case against the prisoner is not tried under the writ of _habeas corpus_, but the judge inquires whether any crime is charged, or whether there is a legal cause for the arrest. If the imprisonment is illegal, the judge orders the prisoner released; if the prisoner is lawfully held, the judge remands him to prison. This writ secures the freedom of every person unless detained upon legal charges. Therefore, there is no power in this wide country that can arrest and imprison even the humblest citizen except upon legal grounds. The writ of _habeas corpus_ is the most famous writ known to the law, the strongest safeguard of the personal liberty of the citizens, and is regarded with almost a sacred reverence by the people.

(2) "No bill of attainder or _ex post facto_ law shall be pa.s.sed" by Congress.

A _bill of attainder_ is an act of a legislative body inflicting the penalty of death without a regular trial. An _ex post facto_ law is a law which fixes a penalty for acts done before the law was pa.s.sed, or which increases the penalty of a crime after it is committed. Laws for punis.h.i.+ng crime more severely can take effect only after their pa.s.sage; they can not affect a crime committed before they were pa.s.sed.

(3) "No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State.

No preference shall be given, by any regulation of commerce or revenue, to the ports of one State over those of another; nor shall vessels bound to or from one State be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another."

(4) "No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law, and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time."

(5) "No t.i.tle of n.o.bility shall be granted by the United States, and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the consent of Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or t.i.tle of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign State."

(6) "Congress shall make no law respecting establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to a.s.semble, and to pet.i.tion the government for a redress of grievances."

(7) "The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall a.s.sume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emanc.i.p.ation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void."

The Const.i.tution of the United States forbids the national government from exercising certain other powers, relating princ.i.p.ally to slavery; but such denials are rendered useless by the freedom of the slaves.

THE UNITED STATES SENATE.

The Senate is composed of two senators from each State, elected by direct vote of the people;[1] and therefore each State has an equal representation, without regard to its area or the number of its people.

The term of a United States senator is six years, and one third of the Senate is elected every two years.

A senator must be thirty years old, for nine years a citizen of the United States, and must be an inhabitant of the State for which he shall be chosen.

A vacancy which occurs in any State's representation in the United States Senate is filled by an election for the unexpired term; but the legislature of any State may empower the governor to make temporary appointments until such election is held.

The Vice President of the United States is _ex officio_ president of the Senate, but has no vote except when the Senate is equally divided upon a question. The Senate elects its other officers, including a president _pro tempore_, or temporary president, who presides when the Vice President is absent.

The Senate is a continuous body; that is, it is always organized, and when it meets it may proceed at once to business.

When the House of Representatives impeaches an officer of the United States, the impeachment is tried before the Senate sitting as a court.

The Senate has the sole power to try impeachments, and it requires two thirds of the senators present to convict. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States; but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment according to law.

All treaties made by the President of the United States with foreign countries must be laid before the Senate for ratification. If two thirds of the Senate vote for the treaty, it is ratified; otherwise, it is rejected.

Treaties are compacts or contracts between two or more nations made with a view to the public welfare of each, and are usually formed by agents or commissioners appointed by the respective governments of the countries concerned.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

The House of Representatives, often called the lower House of Congress, is a much larger body than the Senate. The last apportionment of representatives, made in 1911, gave the House four hundred and thirty-five members, and this went into effect with the Sixty-third Congress, beginning on the 4th of March, 1913.

A census of the people is made every ten years, and upon this as a basis Congress fixes the number of representatives for the entire country, and the number to which each State shall be ent.i.tled for the next ten years thereafter. Each legislature divides the State into as many Congress districts as the State is ent.i.tled to representatives, and each district elects a representative by direct vote of the people.

The term of office is two years, and the terms of all representatives begin and end at the same time.

A representative must be twenty-five years old, must have been a citizen of the United States seven years, and must be an inhabitant of the State in which he is elected.

A vacancy in a State's representation in the lower house of Congress is filled by special election called by the governor for that purpose.

"All bills for raising revenue"--that is, all bills providing for taxation--"must originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments, as in other bills."

Taxation is called the strongest function of government, and therefore the Const.i.tution provides that the first step must be taken by the House of Representatives, because all its members are elected every two years by the people, and are supposed to represent the people's views.

The Const.i.tution provides that "the House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment;" that is, the House of Representatives must formulate and present the charges to the Senate, and prosecute the accused at its bar. An impeachment by the House of Representatives corresponds to an indictment by a grand jury; specific charges must be made before a trial can be held in any court.

THE SPEAKER.--The speaker is elected by the representatives. He is a member of the House, and is nominated for the speakers.h.i.+p by a convention, or _caucus_, of the representatives who are of his political party. In rank he is the third officer of the government.

He presides over the House, preserves decorum, decides points of order, and directs the business of legislation. He is the organ of the House, and because he speaks and declares its will is called the _Speaker_.

He formerly appointed the standing committees of the House, and thus largely shaped legislation; but this power was taken from him in 1911.

As almost all laws are matured by the committees, and are pa.s.sed as the result of their work, the power to appoint the committees was considered too important to leave in the hands of one man. The speaker's salary is $12,000 annually.

The clerk of the preceding House presides during the election of the speaker. Immediately after his election, the speaker is sworn into office by the representative of the longest service in the House. He then a.s.sumes the direction of business, and administers the oath to the members as they present themselves by States. The House of Representatives is reorganized every two years at the opening of the first session of each Congress.

OTHER OFFICERS.--The other officers of the House are the clerk, the sergeant-at-arms, the doorkeeper, the postmaster, and the chaplain.

They are not members of the House. The sergeant-at-arms and the doorkeeper appoint numerous subordinates.

The sergeant-at-arms is the ministerial and police officer of the House. He preserves order, under the direction of the speaker, and executes all processes issued by the House or its committees. The symbol of authority of the House is the mace, consisting of a bundle of ebony rods surmounted by a globe, upon which is a silver eagle with outstretched wings. In scenes of disturbance, when the sergeant-at-arms bears the mace through the hall of the House at the speaker's command, the members immediately become quiet and order is restored.

The doorkeeper has charge of the hall of the House and its entrances.

The postmaster receives and distributes the mail matter of the members.

The chaplain opens the daily sessions of the House with prayer.

[1]After 1913. Before 1913 the senators of each State were elected by the legislature.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

1. Why do not the people of the United States make their laws in person, instead of delegating this power to Congress?

2. Is it right that the President should hold the veto power?

3. Why is each House "judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members"?

4. Why are the yeas and nays entered on the Journal?

5. Why are senators and representatives privileged from arrest during the session, except for certain specified offenses?

6. Is it right to grant copyrights and patents?