division of the members into classes, the senators from each State were placed in separate classes, in order that their terms of service might expire at different periods, and that there might not be a vacancy at the same time in the seats of both senators from the same State. Senators from new States are placed in the classes by lot, but in such manner as shall keep the classes as nearly equal as may be.

§ 105. In order that a State shall not be unrepresented on account of the death or resignation of its senators, or otherwise, the governor of a State is authorized to fill, by his appointment, vacancies that occur when the legislature of the State is not in session. Such appointments are temporary, and continue only till the meeting of the legislature, when another senator is elected. If the vacancy occurs when the legislature is in session, it is to be filled by an election by that body.

§ 106. It appears to have been decided by the Senate of the United States in 1825, that the governor of a State cannot make an appointment in the recess of a State legislature to fill a vacancy which will happen, but has not happened at the time of the appointment. He must wait until the vacancy has actually occurred before he can constitutionally appoint.

[Clause 3.] "No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen."

§ 107. The qualifications of a senator consist of these three particulars:

(1.) He must have attained to the age of thirty years. (2.) He must have been nine years a citizen of the United States.

(3.) He must, when elected, be an inhabitant of the State for which he is chosen.

§ 108. A senator must be at least thirty years of age, because the knowledge and experience of mature life are necessary to qualify him for his duties. He need not be a native. born citizen of the United States; but, if an alien, he must have been a citizen for nine years. If sufficient time has not elapsed for him to lose his partiality for the land of his birth, he might be disposed to favour it in advising and consenting to treaties, and in otherwise managing the foreign affairs of our government and the business of legislation.

$109. He must, when elected, be an inhabitant of the State for which he is chosen, in order that he may know the wants of those whom he represents. It will be seen, upon comparison, that the qualifications of a senator, as to age and residence, are higher than those of a representative, and the reason is, that his duties are thought to be more honourable and responsible.

§ 110. No qualification as to property, and no profession of a particular form of religious belief, are required of a senator; nor is a previous residence in the State for a definite period of time necessary; nor does he forfeit his seat if he cease to be an inhabitant of the State for which he is chosen; nor can the legislature of his State recall him; nor is he, or a representative, incapable of being re-elected.

[Clause 4.] "The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided."

§ 111. The Speaker of the House of Representatives is a member of that body; but the presiding officer of the Senate is not himself a member of the Senate. If he were, the State he represented might, through him, actually obtain, or from the jealousy of the other States be supposed to obtain, more than its share of influence; and if he were not allowed to vote except when the Senate was equally divided, his vote would be lost to his State; and if he were allowed to vote on all occasions, then, in case of an equal division, there would be no casting vote, unless he were allowed to vote a second time, which would give his State an undue importance. Besides, it was thought the Vice-President would be more impartial, as presiding officer, than a senator would be, because he is not elected by a single State, but by the whole country.

[Clause 5.] "The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States."

§ 112. Although the Vice-President of the United States is, by virtue of his office, the President of the Senate, yet the Senate is authorized to choose its other officers. The Senate may also elect a president pro tempore (that is, for a time) in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise the office of President of the United States.

§ 113. It is customary for the Vice-President to vacate his chair in the Senate just before the close of each session, and the Senate then elect a President pro tempore, to preside in the Senate in case the Vice-President shall be called upon to exercise the office of President of the United States, in consequence of the death of the President, or otherwise.

[Clause 6.] "The Senate shall have the sole power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of

the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside : And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present."

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§ 114. Clause fifth of the preceding section declares that the House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment, that is, of bringing forward or proposing an impeachment; but the power to try all impeachments, after they have been brought forward by the House, is by the present clause vested exclusively in the Senate. The object of this provision is to prevent the same body from being both accusers and judges, which would clearly be unjust.

§ 115. An impeachment is a written accusation charging a civil officer of the United States with treason, bribery, or other high crime or misdemeanor.

In England, the House of Commons, like our House of Representatives, has the sole power of impeachment, and it is tried by the House of Lords, as it is here by the Senate.

§ 116. The convention that formed the Constitution, originally intended to give the trial of impeachments to the Supreme Court of the United States, but afterward adopted the present plan, chiefly because impeachments are applied not altogether to strictly legal offences, but to those of a political nature and extraordinary character, and to misdemeanors in office and violations of public trust, which can scarcely be provided for beforehand, or defined by positive law, or judged by technical rules. Besides, the judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President, and

if he, or any of his advisers or agents, were on trial, the judges might be biased in favour of the interests of him to whom they owed their elevation to office. A judge of the Supreme Court is himself liable to impeachment, and in such case the other judges would be likely to feel some partiality toward him.

§ 117. In England, when the House of Lords try an impeachment, the lords are not sworn, but give their verdict upon their honour. With us, the senators are required to act under oath or affirmation, just as jurymen are. An affirmation is a solemn declaration made by those who have scruples of conscience against taking an oath. The House of Lords decide the question of guilt or innocence by a simple majority. In the Senate, a majority of twothirds is requisite for conviction, so that the accused is in less danger of being sacrificed to the excitement usually attending an impeachment.

§ 118. Upon the removal of the President from office, his powers and duties devolve upon the Vice-President of the United States, who is the presiding officer in the Senate. If he presided in the Senate at the trial of an impeachment against the President, he might be inclined to favour his conviction, in order to succeed him in office. It is, therefore, provided that in such case the chief justice of the Supreme Court shall preside.

§ 119. Since the adoption of the Constitution, there have been four trials for impeachment, namely:

(1.) That of William Blount, commenced in 1799. He was then a senator of the United States, and was charged with conspiring, while a senator, to carry on a military expedition against the Spanish territories, and with other misdemeanors. But the Senate decided that he was not a "civil officer" within the meaning of a clause in the Con