Слике страница
PDF
ePub

gress.

in

a special concession to South Carolina, which feared the effect of an export duty upon rice and Powers deindigo. Duties and excises must be uni- nied to Conform throughout the country, and no commercial preference can be shown to one state over another; absolute free trade is the rule between the states. A census must be taken every ten years order to adjust the representation, and no direct tax can be imposed except according to the census. No money can be drawn from the treasury except "in consequence of appropriations made by law," and accounts must be regularly kept and published. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus cannot be suspended except "when, in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it ;" and "no bill of atit; tainder, or ex post facto law," can be passed. A bill of attainder is a special legislative act by Bills of atwhich a person may be condemned to death, or to outlawry and banishment, without the opportunity of defending himself which he would have in a court of law. "No evidence is necessarily adduced to support it," and in former times, especially in the reign of Henry VIII., it was a formidable engine for perpetrating judicial murders. Bills of attainder long ago ceased to be employed in England, and the process was abolished by statute in 1870.

tainder.

No title of nobility can be granted by the United States, and no federal officer can accept a present, office, or title from a foreign state without the consent of Congress. "No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." Full faith and credit must be given in each state to the public acts and records, and to the judicial proceedings of every other

1 Taswell-Langmead, English Constitutional History, p. 385.

Intercitizenship.

state; and it is left for Congress to determine the manner in which such acts and proceedings shall be proved or certified. The citizens of each state are "entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states." There is mutual extradition of criminals, and, as a concession to the southern states it was provided that fugitive slaves should be surrendered to their masters. The United States guarantees to every state a republican form of government, it protects each state against invasion; and on application from the legislature of a state, or from the executive when the legislature cannot be convened, it lends a hand in suppressing insurrection.

Mode of making amend

ments.

Amendments to the Constitution may at any time be proposed in pursuance of a two thirds vote in both houses of Congress, or by a convention called at the request of the legislatures of two thirds of the states. The amendments are not in force until ratified by three fourths of the states, either through their legislatures or through special conventions, according to the preference of Congress. This makes it difficult to change the Constitution, as it ought to be; but it leaves it possible to introduce changes that are very obviously desirable. The Articles of Confederation could not be amended except by a unanimous vote of the states, and this made. their amendment almost impossible.

After assuming all debts contracted and engagements made by the United States before its adoption, the Constitution goes on to declare itself the supreme law of the land. By it, and by the laws and treaties made under it, the judges in every state are bound, in spite of anything contrary in the constitution or laws of any state.

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT.

1. In what two features of the Constitution does its strength largely lie?

2. Distinguish between the United States as a confederation and the United States as a federal union. How does the German language bring out the distinction?

3. What was the first important factor in transforming our country from a Band-of-States to a Banded-State?

4. The powers granted to Congress :

a. Over taxes, money, and commerce.

b. Over postal affairs, and the rights of inventors and authors.

c. Over certain crimes.

d. Over war and military matters.

e. Over naturalization and bankruptcy.

f. Over the District of Columbia and other places. g. The "elastic clause" and its interpretation.

5. The powers denied to the states:

a. An enumeration of these powers (p. 175).

b. The prohibition of bills of credit, in particular. c. The paper money craze of 1785 and 1786.

66

d. Paper money as a legal tender."

e. The depreciation of paper money during the Civil War. f. The depreciation of the Continental currency in 1780.

g. The demoralization caused by the states making paper

money.

h. The lesson of experience.

6. Prohibitions upon the national government :—

a. The imposition of duties and taxes.

b. The payment of money.

c. The writ of habeas corpus.

d. Ex post facto laws.

e. Bills of attainder.

f. Titles and presents.

7. Duties of the states to one another :

a. In respect to public acts and records, and judicial proceedings.

b. In respect to the privileges of citizens.

c. In respect to fugitives from justice.

8. What is the duty of the United States to every state in respect (1) to form of government, (2) invasion, and (3) insurrection?

9. Amendments to the Constitution:

a. Two methods of proposing amendments. b. Two methods of ratifying amendments. c. The difficulty of making amendments. d. Amendment of the Articles of Confederation. 10. What is meant by the Constitution's declaring itself the supreme law of the land?

§ 5. The Federal Judiciary.

The creation of a federal judiciary was the second principal feature in the Constitution, which transformed our country from a loose confederation into a federal nation, from a Band-of-States into a BandedState. We have seen that the American people were already somewhat familiar with the method of testing the constitutionality of a law by getting the federal judi- matter brought before the courts. In the case of a conflict between state law and federal law, the only practicable peaceful solution is that which is reached through a judicial decision. The federal authority also needs the machinery of courts in order to enforce its own decrees.

Need for a

ciary.

The federal judiciary consists of a supreme court, circuit courts, and district courts.2 At present the supreme court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices. It holds annual sessions in the city of Washington, beginning on the second Monday of

Federal

courts and judges.

October. Each of these nine judges is also presiding judge of a circuit court. The area of the United States, not including the territories, is divided into nine circuits, and in each circuit the presiding judge is assisted by special circuit judges. The circuits are divided into districts, fifty-six in all, and in each of these there is a special district judge. The districts never cross state lines. Sometimes a 2 See the second note on p. 278.

1 See above p. 194.

state is one district, but populous states with much business are divided into two or even three districts. "The circuit courts sit in the several districts of each circuit successively, and the law requires that each justice of the supreme court shall sit in each district of his circuit at least once every two years." 1 District judges are not confined to their own districts; they may upon occasion exchange districts as ministers exchange pulpits. A district judge may, if need be, act as a circuit judge, as a major may command a regiment. All federal judges are appointed by the president, with the consent of the Senate, to serve during good behaviour. Each district has its district attorney, whose business is to prosecute offenders against the federal laws and to conduct civil torneys and cases in which the national government is either plaintiff or defendant. Each district has also its marshal, who has the same functions under the federal court as the sheriff under the state court. The procedure of the federal court usually follows that of the courts of the state in which it is sitting.

District at

marshals.

The federal jurisdiction covers two classes of cases: (1) those which come before it "because of the nature of the questions involved: for instance, admiralty and maritime cases, navigable waters being within the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal author- The federal ities, and cases arising out of the Constitu- jurisdiction. tion, laws, or treaties of the United States or out of conflicting grants made by different states"; (2) those which come before it "because of the nature of the parties to the suit," such as cases affecting the ministers of foreign powers or suits between citizens of different states.

1 See Wilson, The State, p. 554. I have closely followed, though with much abridgment, the excellent description of our federal judiciary, pp. 555–561.

« ПретходнаНастави »