having charge of the affairs of his nation.

Consuls reside in foreign seaports, as much of their business relates to the commercial intercourse between nations, and is done with masters of vessels and with merchants.

§14. Ministers of the United States receive a salary of $9,000 a year; chargès d'affaires, $4,500: and both receive, besides, on going out of the United States, an outfit, equal to a year's salary.

CHAPTER L.

Powers prohibited to Congress and the States.

1. While the constitution gives many important powers to the general government, there are many things which it expressly declares shall not be done. (See Art. 1, § 9.)

2. "No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed." A bill of attainder is an act of the legislature, inflicting the punishment of death upon a person pronounced guilty of some crime, without trial. If it inflicts a milder punishment, it is called a bill of pains and penalties.

§3. An ex post facto law is, literally, a law which has ef

fect upon an act after it is done. But the phrase here means a law to punish, as a crime, an act that was lawful when it was done. Thus, if a law should be passed, by which a man should suffer death for an act of justifiable homicide, committed before the law was made, such would be an ex post facto law. A law is also an ex post facto law that inflicts a more severe penalty for an unlawful act, than was imposed for such offence when committed. Thus, if a law were passed to-day, requiring that men now awaiting trial for petit larceny heretofore committed, should, on conviction, suffer death, or imprisonment in state prison, the law would be ex post facto.

§4. "No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, un

their duties differ? What is a chargé d'affaires? Why do consuls reside in sea-ports? 14. What is the compensation of ministers, &c.

2. What laws shall congress not pass? Define bill of attainder. 3. What is an ex post facto law? 4. What is a capitation tax? $5. Wha

"less in proportion to the census or enumeration herein be"fore directed to be taken." (Cons. Art. 1, § 9.) The word capitation is derived from the same Latin word as cap. ital, which has been defined. It is a tax of so much upon every head, or poll, without respect to property; hence it is usually called a poll-tax. Taxes of this kind are not laid in this country. A portion of the highway labor, as we have seen, is thus assessed.

§ 5. "No attainder of treason shall work corruption of "blood, or forfeiture, except during the life of the person at"tainted." (Cons. Art. 3, § 3, cl. 2.) To the young reader this sentence may need explanation. Literally, attainder means a taint, or staining, or corruption; but it here signi fies the same as judgment, or conviction. By the common law, the stain of treason was made to affect the blood of the traitor, so that he could neither inherit property himself, nor could his heirs inherit from him; but his whole estate was forfeited. The constitution properly abolishes a law by which the innocent were made to suffer for the crimes of others.

§ 6. Besides corruption of blood and forfeiture, the manner of inflicting the punishment was most disgraceful and inhuman. The offender was drawn to the gallows on a hur dle; hanged by the neck, and cut down alive; his entrails taken out and burned while he was yet alive; his head cut off; and his body quartered. Power being given to congress, in the clause above referred to, "to declare the punishment of treason," congress has abolished this barbarous practice. Hanging, simply, is the punishment.

§7. Not congress only, but the states also, are properly prohibited from doing certain acts. (See Art. 1, § 10.) One of the things there forbidden is, to "make any thing but gold "and silver coin a tender in payment of debts." Thi means that no person shall be compelled to take, in payment of a debt owing to him, any thing tendered or offered to him, but gold and silver coin.

§8. Both during and after the war, a large amount of

is here meant by attainder of treason? Corruption of blood? 6. How was punishment for treason formerly inflicted? 7. The states shall not make any thing but coin a tender in payment of debts: what does this mean? 8. What is here meant by bills of credit? What in particular

paper money, almost worthless, was put in circulation; and by some of the states, this money was declared to be a tender. Hence the propriety of this prohibition. But the constitution goes farther, and says, (in the same clause,) that no state shall "emit bills of credit;"that is, issue paper money on the credit of the state. Bank bills, it will be remembered, are not issued by the state, but by banking companies.

§ 9. Most of the other things here forbidden to the states, congress has the power to do; and it would be improper to give these powers to both. Indeed, they were given to the general government, for the very reason that it was not expedient that they should be exercised by the states.

§ 10. Constitutions properly contain some provision for amending them, in case it may become necessary. The mode of amending the constitution of the United States, is prescribed in the 5th article. (Examine the article.) To get a majority of two-thirds of congress or of the states to propose amendments, and then to get the proposed amendments ratified, either by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states, or by conventions in three-fourths of them, is very dif. =ficult. This is right. If the constitution could be altered by a bare majority, there would be danger of its being too frequently altered-sometimes, perhaps, for the worse.

§ 11. By the 2d clause of the 6th article, the constitution, and the laws and treaties made under it, are declared to be binding above all state constitutions and laws. If it were not so if all state authorities were not bound by the constitution of the United States, it would be good for nothing; there might as well be no general government at all. Any law, therefore, which is decided by a competent court to be =contrary to the constitution, is void.

12. By the last article, the constitution was to go into 2 effect, when ratified by conventions of delegates of nine states, which was then a majority of three-fourths of the states. As it was hardly to be expected that every state would immediately adopt it, it was not thought proper to risk the good of all upon an event so doubtful.

induced the framers to forbid their being issued? 9. What are some of the other things forbidden to the states? (See Constitution.) 10. How are amendments to be made to the constitution? 11. What is provided in the 2d clause of the 6th article of the constitution? Why should the acts of

13. The framers closed their labors in September, 1787 and in July 1788, New Hampshire, the ninth state, sent its ratification to congress; and congress appointed the first Wednesday of January, 1789, for choosing electors of president in the several states, and the first Wednesday of Feb. ruary for the electors to meet in their respective states to elect the president. Gen. Washington was unanimously chosen, and on the 30th of April, was inaugurated presi dent. Proceedings, however, commenced under the consti tution on the 4th of March, preceding.

14. In the foregoing sketch of the government of the United States, many provisions of the constitution have been passed over without remark. A note on every clause could not be given. The student who wishes to obtain a better knowledge of our national jurisprudence, is referred to the larger work of the author, entitled Science of Government."

CHAPTER LI.

Review and Conclusion.

1. FROM the view which has been given of the state and national governments, it must be seen how well they are adapted to promote the general welfare of the people, and to secure to them the blessings of liberty. Let us, by way of review, again advert to some of the leading features of our political system.

§2. One of the excellencies of this system is the extent to which political rights and privileges are enjoyed. In the ancient democracies of Greece, where every freeman was a member of the legislature, political rights were enjoyed and exercised only by about one twentieth part of the male citizens of full age. In England and France, where one

the general government be binding upon the state authorities? 12. How was the constitution ratified? 13. When was it finally ratified? and when was the government commenced under it? Who was the first presi dent? and when elected?

$2 To what extent was political power exercised in ancient Greece!

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branch of the legislature is elective, a large portion of the people have no right to vote for their representatives. In the latter country, containing a population of nearly 35 millions, there are only about half as many voters as in the state of New-York.

§ 3. But in the greater portion of the United States, nearly all the white male citizens exercise the rights of freemen. They have a voice in choosing their constitution, and in electing the officers of the government. This is the fundamental principle of republicanism, the highest privilege of freemen.

§ 4. Another excellency of our government, and one that gives security to liberty, is the division of the civil power into legislative, executive, and judicial. If the persons who make the laws, should also have power to execute them and to judge of and apply them, the government, whatever it might be called, would be little better than a despotism. There would be too many different powers in the same hands. It has been found better to keep these several kinds of power separate.

§ 5. Additional security is given to liberty by the peculiar nature of the union. This has been described. It differs from the unions that have heretofore existed. These were simple confederacies or leagues between sovereign states. The old American confederation was of this kind. By a sovereign state, we mean a state that makes all its own laws, and is controlled by no superior power.

§6. The Swiss cantons are at present united in such a confederacy. They are sovereign states; and as in all mere confederations, each canton has an equal vote in the congress. The principal German states are similarly united; some of which are republican, and others monarchical.

§ 7. But the states of the American union are not wholly Sovereign. They have, for the good of the whole, given up a portion of their sovereignty to the general government, which, in some cases, controls the state governments. If the states were entirely sovereign, they could establish any

What is said of the right of suffrage in England and France? 3. What is said of the same in the United States? 4. What division of civil power gives security to liberty? 5. What else increases this security? What is a sovereign state? 6. What is said of the Swiss and German confede