第7章

Thetermofinsisting,mayberepeatedasoftenastheychoose,tokeepthequestionopen。Butthefirstadherencebyeither,rendersitnecessaryfortheothertorecedeoradherealso;whenthematterisusuallysufferedtofall。10Grey148。Latterlyhowever,thereareinstancesoftheirhavinggonetoasecondadherence。Theremustbeanabsoluteconclusionofthesubjectsomewhere,orotherwisetransactionsbetweentheHouseswouldbecomeendless。3Hats。268,270。Thetermofinsisting,wearetoldbySirJohnTrevor,wasthen(1679)newlyintroducedintoParliamentaryusage,bytheLords。7Grey94。Itwascertainlyahappyinnovation,asitmultipliestheopportunitiesoftryingmodificationswhichmaybringtheHousestoaconcurrence。EitherHousehoweverisfreetopassoverthetermofinsisting,andtoadhereinthefirstinstance。

10Grey146。Butitisnotrespectfultotheother。IntheordinaryParliamentarycourse,therearetwofreeconferencesatleastbeforeanadherence。10Grey147。

EitherHousemayrecedefromitsamendmentandagreetothebill;orrecedefromtheirdisagreementtotheamendment,andagreetothesameabsolutely,orwithanamendment。Forherethedisagreementandrecedingdestroyoneanother,andthesubjectstandsasbeforethedisagreement。Elsynge23,27。9Grey476。

ButtheHousecannotrecedefrom,orinsistonitsownamendment,withanamendment:forthesamereasonthatitcannotsendtotheotherHouseanamendmenttoitsownactafterithaspassedtheact。TheymaymodifyanamendmentfromtheotherHousebyingraftinganamendmentonit,becausetheyhaveneverassentedtoit;buttheycannotamendtheirownamendment,becausetheyhave,onthequestion,passeditinthatform。9Grey353。10Grey240。InSenate,March29,1798。NorwhereoneHousehasadheredtotheiramendment,andtheotheragreeswithanamendment,canthefirstHousedepartfromtheformwhichtheyhavefixedbyanadherence。

Inthecaseofamoneybill,theLordsproposedamendments,becomebydelay,confessedlynecessary。TheCommonshowever,refusedthem,asinfringingontheirprivilegeastomoneybills;buttheyofferedthemselvestoaddtothebillaprovisotothesameeffect,whichhadnocoherencewiththeLords\'amendments;andurgedthatitwasanexpedientwarrantedbyprecedent,andnotunparliamentary,inacasebecomeimpracticableandirremediableinanyotherway。3Hats。256,266,270,271。ButtheLordsrefused,andthebillwaslost。1Chand。288。Alikecase,1Chand。311。SotheCommonsresolvethatitisunparliamentarytostrikeoutataconferenceanythinginabillwhichhathbeenagreedandpassedbybothHouses。6Grey274。1Chand。312。

AmotiontoamendanamendmentfromtheotherHouse,takesprecedenceofamotiontoagreeordisagree。

AbilloriginatinginoneHouse,ispassedbytheotherwithanamendment。

TheoriginatingHouseagreestotheiramendmentwithanamendment。Theothermayagreetotheiramendmentwithanamendment;thatbeingonlyinthesecondandnotthethirddegree。ForastotheamendingHouse,thefirstamendmentwithwhichtheypassedthebill,isapartofitstext;

itistheonlytexttheyhaveagreedto。TheamendmenttothattextbytheoriginatingHouse,therefore,isonlyinthefirstdegree,andtheamendmenttothatagainbytheamendingHouseisonlyinthesecond,towit,anamendmenttoanamendment,andsoadmissible。Justsowhen,onabillfromtheoriginatingHouse,theother,atitssecondreading,makesanamendment;onthethirdreading,thisamendmentisbecomethetextofthebill,andifanamendmenttoitbemoved,anamendmenttothatamendmentmayalsobemoved,asbeingonlyintheseconddegree。SEC。XLVI。

CONFERENCESITisontheoccasionofamendmentsbyoneHousedisagreedtobytheother,thatconferencesareusuallyasked;

buttheymaybeasked4Hats。4,223,inallcasesofdifferenceofopinionbetweenthetwoHouses,onmattersdependingbetweenthem。4Hats。4,5,7。Therequestofaconference,however,mustalwaysbebytheHousewhichispossessedofthepapers。3Hats。31。1Grey425。4Hats。3,43。

Conferencesmaybeeithersimpleorfree。Ataconferencesimply,writtenreasonsarepreparedbytheHouseaskingit,andtheyarereadanddelivered,withoutdebate,tothemanagersoftheotherHouseattheconference;butarenotthentobeanswered。3Grey144。TheotherHousethen,ifsatisfied,votethereasonssatisfactory,orsaynothing;ifnotsatisfied,theyresolvethemnotsatisfactory,andaskaconferenceonthesubjectofthelastconference,wheretheyreadanddeliverinlikemannerwrittenanswerstothosereasons。3Grey183。Theyaremeant,chiefly,torecordthejustificationofeachHousetothenationatlarge,andtoposterity,andinproofthatthemiscarriageofanecessarymeasureisnotimputabletothem。3Grey255。Atfreeconferences,whichareaskedaftertwoconferences,4Hats。37,40。themanagersdiscussvivavoceandfreely,andinterchangepropositionsforsuchmodificationsasmaybemadeinaParliamentaryway,andmaybringthesenseofthetwoHousestogether。TheconfereesmayargueinsupportofwhatisdoneintheirHouse,butnotagainstit,norassenttoanynewthingtherepropounded,tilltheirHousebeinformedandagreetoit。4Hats。31,33。AndeachpartyreportsinwritingtotheirrespectiveHouses,thesubstanceofwhatissaidonbothsides,anditisenteredintheirjournals。9Grey220。3Hats。280。4Hats。48。Thisreportcannotbeamendedoraltered,asthatofacommitteemaybe。Journ。Sen。May24,1796。

AconferencemaybeaskedbeforetheHouseaskingithascometoaresolutionofdisagreement,insistingoradhering。3Hats。269,341。Inwhichcasethepapersarenotleftwiththeotherconferees,butarebroughtbacktobethefoundationofthevotetobegiven。Andthisisthemostreasonableandrespectfulproceeding。For,aswasurgedbytheLordsonaparticularoccasion,\"itisheldvainandbelowthewisdomofParliamenttoreasonorargueagainstfixedresolutions,andupontermsofimpossibilitytopersuade。”3Hats。226。SotheCommonssay\"anadherenceisneverdeliveredatafreeconference,whichimpliesdebate。”10Grey147。Andonanotheroccasion,theLordsmadeitanobjectionthattheCommonshadaskedafreeconferenceaftertheyhadmaderesolutionsofadhering。Itwasthenaffirmed,however,onthepartoftheCommns,thatnothingwasmoreParliamentarythantoproceedwithfreeconferencesafteradhering;

3Hats。269。andwedoinfactseeinstancesofconference,oroffreeconference,askedaftertheresolutionofdisagreeing,3Hats。

251,253,260,286,291,316,239;ofinsisting,ib。280,296,299,319,322,355;ofadhering,ib。269,270,283,300;andevenofasecondorfinaladherence,3Hats。270。Andinallcasesofconferenceaskedafteravoteofdisagreement,&;c。theconfereesoftheHouseaskingit,aretoleavethepaperswiththeconfereesoftheother:andinonecase,wheretheyrefusedtoreceivethem,theywereleftonthetableintheconferencechamber。Ib。271,317,323,354。10Grey146。

TheCommonsaffirmthatitisusualtohavetwofreeconferencesormore,beforeeitherHouseproceedstoadhere:because,beforethattime,theHouseshavenothadthefullopportunityofmakingrepliestooneanother\'sarguments;andtoadheresosuddenlyandunexpectedly,excludesallpossibilityofofferingexpedients。4Hats。330。

Afterafreeconference,theusageistoproceedwithfreeconferences,andnottoreturnagaintoaconference。3Hats。270。9Grey229。

Afteraconferencedenied,afreeconferencemaybeasked。1Grey45。

Whenaconferenceisasked,thesubjectofitmustbeexpressed,ortheconferencenotagreedto。Ord。H。Commons89。1Grey425。7Grey31。4Hats。20,46。Theyaresometimesaskedtoenquireconcerninganoffence,ordefaultofamemberoftheotherHouse。

6Grey181。1Chandler304。OrthefailureoftheotherHousetopresenttothekingabillpassedbybothHouses。8Grey302。

Oroninformationreceived,andrelatingtothesafetyofthenation。10Grey171。Or,whenthemethodsofParliamentarethoughtbytheoneHousetohavebeendepartedfrombytheother,aconferenceisaskedtocometoarightunderstandingthereon。10Grey148。Sowhenanunparliamentarymessagehasbeensent,insteadofansweringit,theyaskaconference。3Grey155。Formerly,anaddress,orarticlesofimpeachment,orabillwithamendments,oravoteoftheHouse,orconcurrenceinavote,oramessagefromtheking,weresometimescommunicatedbywayofconference。6Grey128,300,387。7Grey80。8Grey210,255。1Torbuck\'sDeb。278。10Grey293。1Chandler49,287。Butthisisnotthemodernpractice。8Grey255。

Aconferencehasbeenaskedafterthefirstreadingofabill。1Grey194。Thisisasingularinstance。

DuringthetimeofaconferencetheHousecandonobusiness。Assoonasthenamesofthemanagersarecalledover,andtheyaregonetotheconference,theSpeakerleavesthechair,withoutanyquestion,andresumesitonthereturnofthemanagers。ItisthesamewhilethemanagersofanimpeachmentareattheHouseofLords。4Hats。47,209,288。SEC。XLVII

MESSAGESMESSAGESbetweentheHousesaretobesentonlywhilebothHousesaresitting。3Hats。15。Theyarereceivedduringadebate,withoutadjourningthedebate。3Hats。

22。

InSenatethemessengersareintroducedinanystateofbusiness,except,1。Whileaquestionisputting。2。WhiletheTeasandNaysarecalling。3。Whiletheballotsarecalling。Thefirstcaseisshort:thesecondandthirdarecaseswhereanyinterruptionmightoccasionerrorsdifficulttobecorrected。SoarrangedJune15,1798。

IntheHouseofRepresentatives,asinParliament,iftheHousebeincommitteewhenamessengerattends,theSpeakertakesthechairtoreceivethemessage,andthenquitsittoreturnintocommittee,withoutanyquestionorinterruption。4Grey226。

Messengersarenotsalutedbythemembers,butbytheSpeakerfortheHouse。2Grey253,274。

Ifmessengerscommitanerrorindeliveringtheirmessage,theymaybeadmitted,orcalledin,tocorrecttheirmessage。4Grey41。

Accordingly,March13,1800,theSenatehavingmadetwoamendmentstoabillfromtheHouseofRepresentatives,theirsecretary,bymistake,deliveredoneonly;whichbeinginadmissiblebyitself,thatHousedisagreed,andnotifiedtheSenateoftheirdisagreement。Thisproducedadiscoveryofthemistake。ThesecretarywassenttotheotherHousetocorrecthismistake,thecorrectionwasreceived,andthetwoamendmentsactedondenovo。

AssoonasthemessengerwhohasbroughtbillsfromtheotherHouse,hasretired,theSpeakerholdsthebillinhishand,andacquaintstheHouse\"thattheotherHousehave,bytheirmessenger,sentcertainbills,\"

andthenreadstheirtitles,anddeliversthemtotheclerktobesafelykept,tilltheyshallbecalledfortoberead。Hak。178。

ItisnottheusageforoneHousetoinformtheotherbywhatnumbersabillhaspassed。10Grey150。Yettheyhavesometimesrecommendedabill,asofgreatimportancetotheconsiderationoftheHousetowhichitissent。3Hats。25。NorwhentheyhaverejectedabillfromtheotherHouse,dotheygivenoticeofit;butitpassessubsilentio,topreventunbecomingaltercations。1Blackst。183。

ButinCongress,therejectionisnotifiedbymessagetotheHouseinwhichthebilloriginated。

AquestionisneveraskedbytheoneHouseoftheotherbywayofmessage,butonlyataconference:forthisisaninterrogatory,notamessage。

3Grey151,181。

WhenabillissentbyoneHousetotheother,andisneglected,theymaysendamessagetoremindthemofit。3Hats。25。5Grey154。Butifitbemereinattention,itisbettertohaveitdoneinformally,bycommunicationsbetweentheSpeakers,ormembersofthetwoHouses。

WherethesubjectofamessageisofanaturethatitcanproperlybecommunicatedtobothHousesofParliament,itisexpectedthatthiscommunicationshouldbemadetobothonthesameday。Butwhereamessagewasaccompaniedwithanoriginaldeclaration,signedbythepartytowhichthemessagereferred,itsbeingsenttooneHousewasnotnoticedbytheother,becausethedeclaration,beingoriginal,couldnotpossiblybesenttobothHousesatthesametime。2Hats。260,261,262。

ThekinghavingsentoriginalletterstotheCommons,afterwardsdesirestheymaybereturned,thathemaycommunicatethemtotheLords。1Chandler303。SECXLVIII。

ASSENTTHEHousewhichhasreceivedabillandpassedit,maypresentitfortheking\'sassent,andoughttodoit,thoughtheyhavenotbymessagenotifiedtotheother,theirpassageofit。YetthenotifyingbymessageisaformwhichoughttobeobservedbetweenthetwoHousesfrommotivesofrespect,andgoodunderstanding。

2Hats。242。Werethebilltobewithheldfrombeingpresentedtotheking,itwouldbeaninfringementoftherulesofParliament。Ib。

WhenabillhaspassedbothHousesofCongress,theHouselastactingonit,notifiesitspassagetotheother,anddeliversthebilltothejointcommitteeofenrollment,whoseethatitistrulyenrolledinparchment。

Whenthebillisenrolled,itisnottobewritteninparagraphs,butsolidlyandallofapiece,thattheblanksbetweentheparagraphsmaynotgiveroomforforgery。9Grey143。ItisthenputintothehandsoftheclerkoftheHouseofRepresentativestohaveitsignedbytheSpeaker。

TheclerkthenbringsitbywayofmessagetotheSenatetobesignedbytheirPresident。ThesecretaryoftheSenatereturnsittothecommitteeofenrollment,whopresentittothePresidentoftheUnitedStates。Ifheapproves,hesignsanddepositsitamongtherollsintheofficeofthesecretaryofstate,andnotifiesbymessagetheHouseinwhichitoriginated,thathehasapprovedandsignedit;ofwhichthatHouseinformstheotherbymessage。IfthePresidentdisapproves,heistoreturnit,withhisobjections,tothatHouseinwhichitshallhaveoriginated;whoaretoentertheobjectionsatlargeontheirjournal,andproceedtoreconsiderit。Ifaftersuchreconsideration,twothirdsofthatHouseshallagreetopassthebill,itshallbesent,togetherwiththePresident\'sobjections,totheotherHouse,bywhichitshalllikewisebereconsidered;andifapprovedbytwothirdsofthatHouse,itshallbecomealaw。IfanybillshallnotbereturnedbythePresidentwithintendays(Sundayexcepted)

afteritshallhavebeenpresentedtohim,thesameshallbealaw,inlikemannerasifhehadsignedit,unlesstheCongress,bytheiradjournment,preventitsreturn;inwhichcaseitshallnotbealaw。ConstitutionUnitedStates,I。7。

Everyorder,resolution,orvote,towhichtheconcurrenceoftheSenateandHouseofRepresentativesmaybenecessary,(exceptonaquestionofadjournment,)shallbepresentedtothePresidentoftheUnitedStates,andbeforethesameshalltakeeffect,shallbeapprovedbyhim,orbeingdisapprovedbyhim,shallberepassedbytwothirdsoftheSenateandHouseofRepresentatives,accordingtotherulesandlimitationsprescribedinthecaseofabill。ConstitutionUnitedStates,I。7。SEC。XLIX。

JOURNALS。EACHHouseshallkeepajournalofitsproceedings,andfromtimetotimepublishthesame,exceptingsuchpartsasmay,intheirjudgment,requiresecrecy。ConstitutionI。5。

EveryvoteofSenateshallbeenteredonthejournals,andabriefstatementofthecontentsofeachpetition,memorialorpaper,presentedtotheSenate,bealsoinsertedonthejournals。Rule24。

TheproceedingsofSenate,whentheyshallactintheirExecutivecapacityshallbekeptinseparate&;distinctbooks。Rule25。

TheproceedingsoftheSenate,whennotactingasinacommitteeoftheHouse,shallbeenteredonthejournals,asconciselyaspossible,carebeingtakentodetailatrueaccountoftheproceedings。Rule26。

Thetitlesofbills,andsuchpartsthereofonlyasshallbeaffectedbyproposedamendments,shallbeinsertedonthejournals。Rule27。

Ifaquestionisinterruptedbyavotetoadjourn,ortoproceedtotheordersoftheday,theoriginalquestionisneverprintedinthejournal,itneverhavingbeenavote,norintroductorytoanyvote:butwhensuppressedbythepreviousquestion,thefirstquestionmustbestated,inordertointroduceandmakeintelligiblethesecond。2Hats。83。

Soalsowhenaquestionispostponed,adjourned,orlaidonthetable,theoriginalquestion,thoughnotyetavote,mustbeexpressedinthejournals;becauseitmakespartofthevoteofpostponement,adjourning,orlayingitonthetable。

Whereamendmentsaremadetoaquestion,thoseamendmentsarenotprintedinthejournalsseparatedfromthequestion;butonlythequestionasfinallyagreedtobytheHouse。TheruleofenteringinthejournalsonlywhattheHousehasagreedto,isfoundedingreatprudenceandgoodsense;astheremaybemanyquestionsproposedwhichitmaybeimpropertopublishtotheworld,intheforminwhichtheyaremade。2Hats。85。

InbothHousesofCongressallquestionswhereontheYeasandNaysaredesiredbyonefifthofthememberspresent,whetherdecidedaffirmativelyornegatively,mustbeenteredinthejournals。ConstitutionI。5。

ThefirstorderforprintingthevotesoftheHouseofCommons,wasOctober30,1685。1Chandler387。

Somejudgeshavebeenofopinion,thatthejournalsoftheHouseofCommonsarenorecords,butonlyremembrances。Butthisisnotlaw。Hob。110,111。Lex。Parl。114,115。Journ。H。C。Mar。17,1592。HaleParl。105。FortheLordsintheirHousehavepowerofjudicature,theCommonsintheirHousehavepowerofjudicature,andbothHousestogetherhavepowerofjudicature;andthebookoftheclerkoftheHouseofCommonsisarecord,asisaffirmedbyactofParliament;6H。8。c。16。4Inst。23,24。andeverymemberoftheHouseofCommonshathajudicialplace。4Inst。15。Asrecords,theyareopentoeveryperson,andaprintedvoteofeitherHouseissufficientgroundfortheothertonoticeit。Eithermayappointacommitteetoinspectthejournalsoftheother,andreportwhathasbeendonebytheotherinanyparticularcase。2Hats。261。3Hats。27,30。Everymemberhasarighttoseethejournals,andtotakeandpublishvotesfromthem。Beingarecord,everyonemayseeandpublishthem。6Grey118,119。

Oninformationofamisentryoromissionofanentryinthejournal,acommitteemaybeappointedtoexamineandrectifyit,andreportittotheHouse。2Hats。194,5。SEC。L。

ADJOURNMENT。THEtwoHousesofParliamenthavethesole,separate,andindependentpowerofadjourningeachtheirrespectiveHouses。Thekinghasnoauthoritytoadjournthem;hecanonlysignifyhisdesire,anditisinthewisdomandprudenceofeitherHousetocomplywithhisrequisition,ornot,astheyseefitting。2Hats。

232。1Blackstone186。5Grey122。

BytheConstitutionoftheUnitedStates,asmallernumberthanamajoritymayadjournfromdaytoday。I。5。But\"neitherHouse,duringthesessionofCongress,shall,withouttheconsentoftheother,adjournformorethanthreedays,nortoanyotherplacethanthatinwhichthetwoHousesshallbesitting。”I。5。Andincaseofdisagreementbetweenthemwithrespecttothetimeofadjournment,thePresidentmayadjournthemtosuchtimeasheshallthinkproper。ConstitutionII。3。

Amotiontoadjournsimply,cannotbeamendedasbyadding\"toaparticularday。”Butmustbeputsimply\"thatthisHousedonowadjourn?\"andifcarriedintheaffirmative,itisadjournedtothenextsittingday,unlessithascometoapreviousresolution\"thatatitsrisingitwilladjourntoaparticularday,\"andthentheHouseisadjournedtothatday。2Hats。

82。

WhereitisconvenientthatthebusinessoftheHousebesuspendedforashorttime,asforaconferencepresentlytobeheld,&;c。itadjournsduringpleasure。2Hats。305。Orforaquarterofanhour。5Grey331。

Ifaquestionbeputforadjournment,itisnoadjournmenttilltheSpeakerpronouncesit。5Grey137。Andfromcourtesyandrespect,nomemberleaveshisplacetilltheSpeakerhaspassedon。SEC。LI。

ASESSION。PARLIAMENThavethreemodesofseparation,towit,byadjournment,byprorogation,ordissolutionbytheking,orbytheeffluxofthetermforwhichtheywereelected。Prorogationordissolutionconstitutestherewhatiscalledasession,providedsomeacthaspassed。Inthiscase,allmattersdependingbeforethemarediscontinued,andattheirnextmeetingaretobetakenupdenovo,iftakenupatall。

1Blackst。186。Adjournment,whichisbythemselves,isnomorethanacontinuanceofthesessionfromonedaytoanother,orforafortnight,amonth,&;c。adlibitum。Allmattersdependingremaininstatuquo,andwhentheymeetagain,bethetermeversodistant,areresumedwithoutanyfreshcommencement,atthepointatwhichtheywereleft。1Lev。

165。Lex。Parl。c。2。1Ro。Rep。29。4Inst。7,27,28。Hutt。61。1Mod。252。Ruffh。Jac。L。Dict。Parliament。1Blackst。186。Theirwholesessionisconsideredinlawbutasoneday,andhasrelationtothefirstdaythereof。Bro。Abr。

Parliament86。

Committeesmaybeappointedtositduringarecessbyadjournment,butnotbyprorogation。5Grey374。9Grey350。1Chandler50。NeitherHousecancontinueanyportionofitselfinanyParliamentaryfunctionbeyondtheendofthesession,withouttheconsentoftheothertwobranches。Whendone,itisbyabillconstitutingthemcommissionersfortheparticularpurpose。

Congressseparateintwowaysonly,towit,byadjournment,ordissolutionbytheeffluxoftheirtime。Whatthenconstitutesasessionwiththem?

Adissolutioncertainlyclosesonesession,andthemeetingofthenewCongressbeginsanother。TheconstitutionauthorisesthePresident\"onextraordinaryoccasions,toconvenebothHousesoreitherofthem。”I。

3。IfconvenedbythePresident\'sproclamation,thismustbeginanewsession,andofcoursedeterminetheprecedingonetohavebeenasession。Soifitmeetsundertheclauseoftheconstitutionwhichsays,\"theCongressshallassembleatleastonceineveryyear,andsuchmeetingshallbeonthefirstMondayinDecember,unlesstheyshallbylawappointadifferentday,\"I。4。thismustbeginanewsession。Forevenifthelastadjournmentwastothisday,theactofadjournmentismergedinthehigherauthorityoftheconstitution,andthemeetingwillbeunderthat,andnotundertheiradjournment。Sofarwehavefixedlandmarksfordeterminingsessions。

Inothercases,itisdeclaredbythejointvoteauthorisingthePresidentoftheSenateandtheSpeakertoclosethesessiononafixedday,whichisusuallyinthefollowingform,\"ResolvedbytheSenateandHouseofRepresentatives,thatthePresidentoftheSenateandtheSpeakeroftheHouseofRepresentatives,beauthorisedtoclosethepresentsession,byadjourningtheirrespectiveHousesonthe棗棗dayof棗棗。”

Whenitwassaidabove,thatallmattersdependingbeforeParliamentwerediscontinuedbythedeterminationofthesession,itwasnotmeantforjudiciarycases,dependingbeforetheHouseofLords,suchasimpeachments,appeals,andwritsoferror。Thesestandcontinuedofcourse,tothenextsession。Raym。120,381,Ruffh。Jac。L。D。Parliament。

ImpeachmentsstandinlikemannercontinuedbeforetheSenateoftheUnitedStates。SEC。LII。

TREATIES。THEPresidentoftheUnitedStateshaspower,byandwiththeadviceandconsentoftheSenate,tomaketreaties,providedtwothirdsoftheSenatorspresentconcur。ConstitutionUnitedStatesII。2。

Resolvedthatallconfidentialcommunications,madebythePresidentoftheUnitedStatestotheSenate,shallbe,bythemembersthereof,keptinviolablysecret;andthatalltreaties,whichmayhereafterbelaidbeforetheSenateshallalsobekeptsecretuntiltheSenateshall,bytheirresolution,takeofftheinjunctionofsecrecy。December22,1800。

Treatiesarelegislativeacts。Atreatyisalawoftheland。Itdiffersfromotherlawsonlyasitmusthavetheconsentofaforeignnation,beingbutacontractwithrespecttothatnation。Inallcountries,Ibelieve,exceptEngland,treatiesaremadebythelegislativepower;andtherealso,iftheytouchthelawsoftheland,theymustbeapprovedbyParliament。Warev。Hylton。3DallasRep。273。Itisacknowledged,forinstance,thatthekingofGreatBritaincannotbyatreatymakeacitizenofanalien。Vattel。B。1。c。19。sec。214。AnactofParliamentwasnecessarytovalidatetheAmericantreatyof1783。Andabundantexamplesofsuchactscanbecited。InthecaseofthetreatyofUtrechtin1712,thecommercialarticlesrequiredtheconcurrenceofParliament。Butabillbroughtinforthatpurposewasrejected。France,theothercontractingparty,sufferedthesearticles,inpractice,tobenotinsistedon,andadheredtotherestofthetreaty。4Russel\'sHist。Mod。Europe457。2Smollet242,246。6

BytheConstitutionoftheUnitedStates,thisdepartmentoflegislationisconfidedtotwobranchesonlyoftheordinarylegislature;thePresidentoriginating,andtheSenatehavinganegative。Towhatsubjectsthispowerextends,hasnotbeendefinedindetailbytheconstitution;norareweentirelyagreedamongourselves。1。Itisadmittedthatitmustconcerntheforeignnationpartytothecontract,oritwouldbeamerenullity,resinteraliosacta。2。Bythegeneralpowertomaketreaties,theconstitutionmusthaveintendedtocomprehendonlythosesubjectswhichareusuallyregulatedbytreaty,andcannotbeotherwiseregulated。3。Itmusthavemeanttoexceptoutofthesetherightsreservedtothestates;forsurelythePresidentandSenatecannotdobytreatywhatthewholegovernmentisinterdictedfromdoinginanyway。4。AndalsotoexceptthosesubjectsoflegislationinwhichitgaveaparticipationtotheHouseofRepresentatives。

Thislastexceptionisdeniedbysome,onthegroundthatitwouldleaveverylittlematterforthetreatypowertoworkon。Thelessthebetter,sayothers。TheconstitutionthoughtitwisetorestraintheExecutiveandSenatefromentanglingandembroilingouraffairswiththoseofEurope。

Besides,asthenegotiationsarecarriedonbytheExecutivealone,thesubjectingtotheratificationoftheRepresentativessucharticlesasarewithintheirparticipationisnomoreinconvenientthantotheSenate。

Butthegroundofthisexceptionisdeniedasunfounded。Forexamine,e。g。

thetreatyofcommercewithFrance,anditwillbefoundthatoutofthirtyonearticles,therearenotmorethansmallportionsoftwoorthreeofthemwhichwouldnotstillremainassubjectsoftreaties,untouchedbytheseexceptions。

Treatiesbeingdeclared,equallywiththelawsoftheUnitedStates,tobethesupremelawoftheland,itisunderstoodthatanactofthelegislaturealonecandeclaretheminfringedandrescinded。ThiswasaccordinglytheprocessadoptedinthecaseofFrancein1798。

IthasbeentheusagefortheExecutive,whenitcommunicatesatreatytotheSenatefortheirratification,tocommunicatealsothecorrespondenceofthenegotiators。ThishavingbeenomittedinthecaseofthePrussiantreaty,wasaskedbyavoteoftheHouseofFebruary12,1800,andwasobtained。AndinDecember1800,theconventionofthatyearbetweentheUnitedStatesandFrance,withthereportofthenegotiationsbytheenvoys,butnottheirinstructions,beinglaidbeforetheSenate,theinstructionswereaskedforandcommunicatedbythePresident。

Themodeofvotingonquestionsofratificationsisbynominalcall。

Resolved,asastandingrule,thatwheneveratreatyshallbelaidbeforetheSenateforratification,itshallbereadafirsttimeforinformationonly;whennomotiontoreject,ratifyormodifythewholeoranypartshallbereceived。

Thatitssecondreadingshallbeforconsideration;andonasubsequentday,whenitshallbetakenupasinacommitteeofthewhole,andeveryoneshallbefreetomoveaquestiononanyparticulararticleinthisform,\"WilltheSenateadviseandconsenttotheratificationofthisarticle?

\"ortoproposeamendmentsthereto,eitherbyinsertingorbyleavingoutwords,inwhichlastcasethequestionshallbe,\"Shallthewordsstandpartofthearticle?\"Andineveryofthesaidcases,theconcurrenceoftwothirdsoftheSenatorspresentshallberequisitetodecideaffirmatively。

Andwhenthroughthewhole,theproceedingsshallbestatedtotheHouse,andquestionsbeagainseverallyputthereonforconfirmation,ornewonesproposed,requiringinlikemanneraconcurrenceoftwothirdsforwhateverisretainedorinserted。

Thatthevotessoconfirmedshall,bytheHouse,oracommitteethereof,bereducedintotheformofaratification,withorwithoutmodifications,asmayhavebeendecided,andshallbeproposedonasubsequentday,wheneveryoneshallagainbefreetomoveamendments,eitherbyinsertingorleavingoutwords;inwhichlastcasethequestionshallbe,\"Shallthewordsstandpartoftheresolution?\"Andinbothcasestheconcurrenceoftwothirdsshallberequisitetocarrytheaffirmative;aswellasonthefinalquestiontoadviseandconsenttotheratificationintheformagreedto。RuleofJanuary6,1801。