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fore, not prejudice or alter anything in the social affairs and individual rights of the citizens, and in the public business of towns, counties, and states. And if, notwithstanding, Congress should transgress these limits, all it does would be unconstitutional, and null and void.

"Art. 10. The powers not delegated to the United States, by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people."

Is much like Art. 9, and entirely superfluous.

"Art. 11. The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state."

I have spoken on this subject elsewhere. It is plain and selfevident also, without an express proviso.

Art. 12. This amendment I have inserted in Letter XXI. It alters the forms of the presidential election somewhat, but not materially (because the influence of the political parties neutralizes or paralyzes the action of the electoral college), as will be seen by a comparison of it with the original clause of the constitution, which I insert here :

"3. The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each; which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the president of the senate. The president of the senate shall, in the presence of the senate and house of representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the president, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the house of representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for president; and if no person have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the said house shall in like manner choose the president. But in choosing the president, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the president, the persons having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the vice-president. But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the senate shall choose from them by ballot the vicepresident."

All pains have been taken, as you see, to always get the right man at the helm of the federal state-ship. We can not be but satisfied, thus far, with all our presidents. Impartial history will, when comparing them with the contemporary crowned heads of monarchies, readily yield the palm to them. Their activity is limited by the laws of Congress. No doubt, that the executive and judicial branches of the federal government are, by far, surpassing the legislative branch, in the prompt and thorough management of their affairs.

The wheel of time sets facts and circumstances in motion. They are eternally changing. The mind demands new rules for them, but nature remains the same. The sun of Solon illuminates our paths to-day. The seasons sung by Homer, are still inspiring our poets. The child, the youth, the old, follow each other in the same order, as when Moses made laws for them. Almost as permanent and stable as nature, is our federal constitution. There is no clause in it, which may require a modification a century hence. I, for one, do not understand, how it could be essentially improved by amending.

Thus we have discussed one of the best state-papers ever made by men. It has caused me infinite pleasure to go with you over these grounds. They are laid out with great care. The seeds planted there, have grown into large, shadowy trees. May it be my lot and yours to live long beneath them.

LETTER XXXVIII.

Washington's Letter to Congress with the Constitution. - Duties of Confederated States and Individuals. Consolidation of the Union. - Spirit of Amity and Mutual Deference. - Marriage. —No Industry secure without the Political Organization of Society.

AFTER the acute politicians of the different states, headed by those of Massachusetts, had exhausted their stock of genuine English legal lore and native acumen in attempting to improve, by amendments, a constitution which they did not know by practice, with what result you have seen, it was addressed to the president of Congress and accompanied by a letter from General Washing

ton, president of the convention which framed the constitution; from which the following extracts are taken. They show in a remarkably clear manner in what light the constitution was then viewed, and what were the objects of its formation :—

"It is obviously impracticable," so writes General Washington, "in the federal government of these states to secure all rights of independent sovereignty to each and yet provide for the interests and safety of all. Individuals entering into society must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest. The magnitude of the sacrifice must depend as well on situation and circumstance as on the object to be obtained.

"It is at all times difficult to draw with precision the line between those rights which must be surrendered and those which may be reserved; and on the present occasion this difficulty was increased by a difference among the several states as to their situation, extent, habits, and particular interests.

"In all our deliberations on this subject we kept steadily in our view that which appears to us the greatest interest of every true American, the consolidation of the Union, in which is involved our prosperity, felicity, safety — perhaps our national existence. This important consideration, seriously and deeply impressed upon our minds, led each state in the convention to be less rigid on points of inferior magnitude than might have been otherwise expected; a spirit of amity and of that mutual deference and concession which the peculiarity of our political situation rendered indispensable."

How true! These few lines alone delineate the clear, practical, sagacious mind of this great and good citizen. As a young woman never should enter into the matrimonial compact without having before made up her mind to dispense with girlish fancies and habits, and begin a life devoted to the duties of the family state, where the earnest spirit of mutual deference, concession, compromise, and amity must preside, if there shall be union, that is, prosperity, felicity, and comfort at home: so should no single person, no people organized as a state, think of entering into a confederation without dispensing with selfish, anarchical, capricious, arrogant, unsocial feelings and pretensions; for only in such feelings consists what General Washington, in his letter, politely calls independent sovereignty.

Man is created a rational social being: we all depend upon each other. The political organization of society secures order, safety, and compass for our activity. There is no certain plan, pursuit, or career practicable without it. Why, then, should not all men of intelligence cheerfully obey the laws of their country, especially when made by their own representatives?

Committees.

LETTER XXXIX.

Appointed in the House by the Speaker, in the Senate by Ballot. The Committee of Ways and Means. - Standing Committees. Select Committees. Committee of the Whole-Three times Reading of Bills. Massachusetts. - Twenty-nine Standing Committees. Accusations of Fraud, Corruption, Bribery. — Judiciary. — English Cus

tom.

A MOST important part of the machinery by which the public business is performed, is the committees.

In all legislative bodies, the chief business is usually done by their committees. To these, all matters of business requiring investigation and consideration, are first referred, and by whom a report is made upon the subject, which report is the topic of consideration with the legislature. Committees in the house are appointed by the speaker, in the senate by ballot. In the house they consist of seven members each, in the senate of five. System in legislative work requires such an arrangement. The business before Congress is thus divided into classes, with an appropriate title for each, and appointing to each a separate committee. These classes are, with little variation, the same in both houses. By the seventh section of the first article of the constitution, it is provided, that all bills for raising revenue shall originate in the house of representatives; hence the house have a committee which the senate have not, styled "The Committee of Ways and Means." This committee is one of thể most important parts of the machinery of legislation, and of the government itself; for in it are investigated all the moneyed affairs of the nation, and by it are digested and reported the

various plans of revenue and finance for the support and credit of the government.

The principal committees in either house are: the committees on Foreign Relations, on the Judiciary, on Military Affairs, on Commerce, etc. These committees are called "Standing Committees ;" while others appointed for particular occasion are called "Select Committees." Besides these, the whole house at times resolves itself into a committee, called the "Committee of the Whole." The object of this is to obtain greater freedom of debate, under a chairman appointed for the occasion. The rules of the house do not govern, but simply order is preserved as in common deliberative assemblages. When the Committee of the Whole have finished their discussions, they rise, and, like other committees, report to the house, the speaker resumes the chair, and the members vote in the house upon the acceptance or rejection of the report.

Every bill or proposition must be read three times previous to its passage, and each reading must receive the formal sanction of the house. Thus, before a proposition of a member may become a law, the bill has to pass three readings, a committee, the debate on the report of the committee, then it goes to the other house, where it passes through the same stations, and, finally, the scrutiny of the president. I should think those formalities sufficient for the purpose of getting good considerate laws; and still, how few are such.

This will suffice to give you an insight in the Congress and its working machinery to execute the powers of the constitution. A similar law-making machinery is at work in the several states and territories.

In Massachusetts there are generally twenty-nine standing committees appointed. They consist of two members on the part of the senate, and five on the part of the house. Each legislature has its own rules and orders on all such subjects.

The different legislative bodies are in the habit of examining accusations of frauds, corruption, bribery, etc., committed by, and referring to, members of such bodies, or by officials appointed by them-proceedings, however, which seldom produce the desired result. It seems that such investigations should be left to the judiciary, whose proper sphere it is to investigate illegal

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