CHAPTER XI.

THE SENATE.

ART. 1, § 3, 1. "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof for six years; and each senator shall have one vote."

The members of the convention were nearly unanimous in placing the legislative power in two houses. They were equally well agreed that two houses should be differently constituted. Some thought the senators should be chosen directly by the people of the States; some thought they should be chosen by the House of Representatives, and others that they should be chosen by the legislatures of the States. This last opinion prevailed.

It was thought that the choice would be more select, if made by a legislative body, than if made by the people. As the Senate has some very important duties to perform, besides that of uniting with the House in making laws, it was designed to adopt such

a mode of election as would secure for senators the ablest men in the land.

In forming the House of Representatives, we have seen that the small States yielded the equality they had hitherto enjoyed; in the Senate they were permitted to retain that equality. Each State, without regard to extent of territory or population, is entitled to two senators.

The Senate was designed to be a smaller body than the House of Representatives. Some duties are assigned it which could not well be performed by a large body. If only one senator had been assigned to each State, the State might often be without a voice in the Senate. Giving two senators to each State guards against this evil, and still does not render the Senate too numerous.

The term of service is for six years. The senators unite with the President in the management of the foreign relations of the country. Their duties require an amount of experience greater than is required by the representatives, who are simply clothed with legislative powers. The Senate shares with the President the treaty-making power, and advise and consent to his appointments to office. It is reasonable, therefore, that the term of office should be longer than that of the representatives.

The time finally fixed upon was the result of compromise between those who would have made the

term longer, and those who would have made n shorter.

Art. 1, § 3, 2. "Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year; of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year; and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen by resignation or otherwise, during the recess of the legislature of any State, the executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies."

The object of this provision was to satisfy those who feared that the senators would acquire an undue amount of power in consequence of the tenure of office for six years. This provision, while it now secures to each senator six years of service, renders the whole body less permanent, and, it was thought, less likely to accumulate power.

Art. 1. § 3, 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."

It was thought that the grave duties devolving

upon the senator required an experience of life and a maturity of judgment not usually found in those who are less than thirty years of age.

As the Senate, together with the President, has control of our foreign relations, and as foreign-born citizens are eligible to a seat in the Senate, it was deemed wise to require such a period of citizenship as would be likely to result in a strong affection to the adopted country.

Art. 1. §3, 4. "The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote unless they be equally divided."

If the Senate were to choose their Speaker from their own number, the State from which he was chosen would have more than its due share of power, for the presiding officer can, to a considerable extent, influence the course of legislation. On the other hand, it would in part deprive the State of one of her senators.

The provision that renders the Vice-President the presiding officer of the Senate, is a wise one. Giving him a vote in case the Senate is divided equally, is also wise; since the Senate must, when all the members are present, consist of an even number, and hence a tie can easily happen. This provision of the Constitution preserves the equality of the States in the Senate.

Art. 1. § 3, 5. "The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President pro tempore in the

absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exer cise the office of President of the United States."

It is customary for the Vice-President to retire a few days before the close of each session, that the Senate may elect a president pro tempore. Then if, during the recess, the Vice-President is called to act as President of the United States, the Senate will have a presiding officer, and be ready to proceed to business at the opening of the next session. Experience has shown the wisdom of this custom.

The House of Lords is composed of the peers of England, sixteen representative peers of Scotland, and twenty-eight representative peers of Ireland, and the archbishops and bishops of the Church of England. The peers consist of the nobility of England. The different orders of nobility are: dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons. The bishops are not hereditary peers; they have seats in the House of Lords only by virtue of their ecclesiastical offices.

The king can add to the number of the House of Lords whenever he pleases, by creating peers, that is, making commoners peers. The dignity he thus bestows he has no power to take away.

If the king wishes a measure to pass the House of Lords, and there is a majority against it, he can change that majority into a minority, by creating a sufficient number of new peers. In 1832 it was proposed to create a sufficient number of

peers to

carry

the Reform