case of the removal, death, etc., of both the President and Vice-President. Congress provided in 1792 that the President pro tempore of the Senate, or in case there were no President pro tempore, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, should act as President until the disability were removed or a President elected. This law also provided for a special election to fill out the term when the President pro tempore or the Speaker had succeeded to the office.

This act continued in force until 1886, when Congress passed an act regulating the Presidential succession. This act substitutes the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of War, the Attorney-General, the Postmaster-General, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Interior, in this order, for the President pro tempore and the Speaker of the House. It also repeals the provision of 1792 in regard to a new election, so that any Cabinet officer succeeding fills out the term the same as the Vice-President does. It also provides for calling a special session of Congress within twenty days of the time when any member of the Cabinet becomes President, unless Congress be in session at the time or is to meet within twenty days. It provides further that no Cabinet officer can succeed unless he has been confirmed by the Senate, and also has the qualifications for the Presidency named in clause 5 of this section of the Constitution.

480. Objections to the Old Rule.-The objections to the rule of 1792, and the arguments in favor of the new rule, as stated in 1886, are various. One point is that the new plan will be more likely than the old one to lead to continuity of executive policy; another is that the Senate is not certain to have a President pro tempore, or the House a Speaker, when he is wanted. For example, the Senate had no such President from March 4 to October 10, 1881, while the House of Representatives had no Speaker from March 4 to December 5, of the same year. Had Vice-President Arthur died, or in any way become disqualified to hold the office at any time after March 4, the Nation would have been without a Chief Magistrate after September 19, unless special action had been taken. It was also urged that the new rule of succession puts more lives between the Ex

ecutive office and anarchy, and that the new plan throws new safeguards around the President's life.

Section 1, Clause 7.-The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensation which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other emolument from the United States, or any of them.

481. Salaries.-If the President's compensation could be increased during the term that he is serving, he might enter into collusion with members of Congress to effect that object; if it could be diminished, Congress might reduce it and so make the President its creature. All changes therefore must be prospective. In 1789 the President's salary was fixed at $25,000, and such it remained until 1873 when it was raised to $50,000. He is also provided with a furnished house. In 1789 the salary of the Vice-President was made $5,000; in 1853 it was raised to $8,000, and in 1873 to $10,000, but was reduced to $8,000 the next year.

Section 1, Clause 8.-Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation :

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States; and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

482. President's Inauguration.- Beyond requiring him to take this oath, and fixing the day that he shall enter on the duties of his office, neither the Constitution nor the laws make any provision for the inauguration of the President. All the rest is custom. Before taking the oath, the President delivers an inaugural address, but this is not an official paper and is not required by law. The Chief Justice administers the oath, but any magistrate empowered to administer oaths would answer the same purpose. According to custom also, the Vice President delivers an address on taking the oath of office. VicePresident Tyler did not think it necessary to take the President's oath, as he had already taken the oath prescribed by law for the Vice-President, but he finally consented to do so.

CHAPTER XXXII.

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT.

ARTICLE II.

Section 2, Clause 1.-The President shall be Commander-in-Chief of the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States when called into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the Executive departments, upɔn any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.

I. THE ARMY AND THE NAVY.

483. The President Commander-in-Chief. The effective exercise of this power demands unity of judgment and promptness of decision; while Congress, being a body that consists of two houses which debate and settle questions by voting, lacks those essential qualities. Still, there was some hesitation in the Convention in giving it to the President, lest he use it against the liberties of the country. Such a contingency is, however, sufficiently guarded against by giving Congress the power to declare war, to raise and support the army, to provide and maintain the navy, to make all rules for the government of the military and naval forces, and to provide for calling out the militia. The President delegates his authority to command the army and navy, in actual service, to officers whom he selects for that purpose.

II. THE PARDONING POWER.

484. Reprieves and Pardons.-A reprieve is a temporary suspension of a sentence already pronounced by some court or tribunal; a pardon is a full release from such

sentence. The power to try and sentence criminals is vested in the courts; but all civilized governments give their executives power to grant reprieves and pardons. However, for reasons stated in another place, the President has no such power in impeachment cases, and the judgment entered in such a case cannot be changed or set aside.

III. TREATIES.

Section 2, Clause 2.-He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur.

485. The Treaty-making Power.- A treaty is a solemn compact or agreement between two or more sovereign states. In monarchies the power to make a treaty, like the power to declare war, is lodged in the Crown; the legislature controls either act only through its power over the supplies. The great objection to intrusting this power to the legislature is, that the requisite secrecy and decision cannot, as a rule, be thus secured. Still, in a republic it would be as dangerous to give it absolutely to the Executive as to give the war power to him. Hence the provision that the Senate must advise and consent to a treaty by a twothirds vote of the Senators present when the vote is taken.

486. Steps in Making a Treaty.-First, the treaty is negotiated. In this stage the Government is represented by the Secretary of State, by a minister residing at a foreign capital, or by a minister or commissioner, one or more, appointed for the purpose. But the President, acting through the Department of State, directs the general course of the negotiation. If the President positively disapproves of a treaty when negotiated, he commonly goes no farther; if he approves it, or is in doubt whether to approve it or not, he lays it before the Senate. The Senate may approve or disapprove a treaty as framed; it may propose amendments, or it may postpone action until the time for the treaty to go into effect has passed. If the Senate votes to amend, the treaty is practically a new document, and the President,

as well as the foreign power, must assent to it in its new form. Next comes the exchange of ratifications, a formal act by which the signatory powers declare that all the steps necessary to make the treaty binding have been taken. The time within which this may be done is commonly stipulated in the treaty itself. Finally, the President publishes the treaty, with a proclamation declaring it a part of the law of the land.

The Senate considers treaties in executive session. One of the rules governing such sessions is, that all confidential communications made by the President to the Senate, including treaties, and all remarks, votes, and proceedings thereon, shall be kept secret until the Senate shall by resolution remove the injunction of secrecy. Commonly the advice and consent of the Senate is consent merely. Sometimes, however, the President sends to the Senate the nomination of a special minister or commissioner to conduct a negotiation.

487. Congress and the Treaty Power.-Although the Constitution vests this power in the President and Senate alone, Congress has sometimes played an important part in making treaties. In 1803 it authorized the purchase of the Island of New Orleans, which was one of the steps leading to the Louisiana annexation. It also authorized the Florida and Mexican annexations of 1819 and 1848. In 1845 Congress, by joint resolution, declared that the Republic of Texas might enter the Union, either by a treaty or by accepting certain terms laid down in the resolution itself. The second was the course followed. It has been held that Congress should always be consulted in advance when an annexation of territory is contemplated, but this was not done in the case of Alaska. Again, the Constitution provides that "No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law." Hence arises the question, What shall be done when a treaty calls for an expenditure of money? Does this action of the President and the Senate bind Congress, or may it refuse to vote the appropriation? Chancellor Kent says a treaty is as much obligatory upon Congress as upon any branch of the government, or upon the people at large;