punishment than was imposed when the crime was committed, would be an ex post facto law. An ex post facto law applies only to crimes, and not to civil proceedings, which affect private pecuniary matters only. The latter would be a "law impairing the obligation of contracts."

The next clause provides that direct taxes, levied by the national government, shall be in proportion to the population.

CLAUSE 5. "No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state. No preferance shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one state over those of another; nor shall vessels bound to or from one state be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another."

The result of this clause has been the prohibition of duties on exports from any part of our country, and this clause is a restriction upon the several states, as well as upon the national government.

CLAUSE 6. "No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time."

Congress votes an appropriation bill annually, and the fiscal year begins on the first day of July. These appropriations are made with great care and with much detail. The appropriation acts sometimes fill one hundred pages of the United States statutes.

By this clause the officers of the United States treasury are prohibited from paying out any money, except in accordance with acts of congress providing for the same.

CLAUSE 7. "No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States; and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state."

It would seem to be the fundamental principle of a republican government, that there should be no titles of nobility. The people must be considered equal before the law. The second part of this clause is designed to prevent any foreign influence being exercised to bribe in any way an officer of our nation.

CHAPTER VIII.

RESTRICTIONS UPON THE STATES.

SECTION IO. "No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts; or grant any title of nobility.

The framers of the constitution intended to make a national government with sovereign powers, leaving to the states the control of such matters of local or sectional government as would best be left in their hands. It is clear from this section and others, that the framers of the constitution proposed to retain all needful and sovereign powers in the hands of the nation, and to restrict to subordinate limits the power of the state as such. There is no element of sovereignty in the states. They were British colonies until July 4, 1776. Through representative power delegated by the several colonies to the members of the continental congress, that congress threw off allegiance to the mother country, and the united colonies became a nation, and at the same time the several colonies became states.

From that day onward no state has exercised sovereign powers, except in the attempted acts of secession. These were settled by the arbitrament of war.

The

effect of that war has been to increase the national power. No further discussion of the several points of this clause seems needful.

The second clause of this section prohibits the states. from laying imposts or duties on imports and exports, and from keeping troops and ships of war in time of peace, without the consent of congress. All questions relating to peace and war, treaties, alliances, armies, duties on imports and coinage of money, are under the control of the general government.

Judge Story says: "No state can control or abridge, or interfere with, the exercise of any authority under the national government; and it may be added, that state laws, as, for instance, state statutes of limitations, and state insolvent laws, have no operation upon the rights or the contracts of the United States."

We have now completed the consideration of the legislative department of the United States government, and this forms an excellent basis for a proper understanding of the details of the several state legislatures.

The state legislatures are in nearly all instances formed upon the model of the national legislature. There are in every state two houses, called a senate and a house of representatives. The presiding officer of the senate is termed the president of the senate, and the presiding officer of the house the speaker of the house. Bills passed by one house are sent to the other, and being passed by that in most cases are sent to the governor of the state for his approval. In nearly all the states the governor has the veto power similar to that exercised by the president.

In nearly all the states the membership of the senate

is determined by sections of territory; while the members of the house are in proportion to the population. A singular exception to this rule exists in the state of Vermont. In that state the house is composed of one member from every town or city in the state, while the senators are chosen from the several counties, with reference to their population, the smaller counties having but one senator each, while the more populous counties have several.

A good knowledge, therefore, of the national legislature, enables one to understand very readily the composition and working of the state legislature.