upon that term, it was thought that the inconvenience of a too frequent election on the one hand, and a too long duration of power on the other, would be, in great measure, guarded against.

Qualifications for Electors.

43. It will be remarked that the electors of representatives in each state must possess the same qualifications as the electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature. Originally the qualifications for electors were different in the different states; and if the Constitution had disregarded these differences and established a uniform qualification for all, it would have been likely to cause great dissatisfaction. But, the states themselves have since made great changes in the qualifications of their electors, and they now approach to a nearly uniform standard: universal suffrage prevailing in all or most of the states. Moreover, by the fifteenth amendment, which was declared duly ratified by the requisite number of States on the 30th day of March, 1870, it is declared that the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. So that by the terms in effect of this amendment any restriction upon the elective franchise on these grounds is forbidden.

Qualifications for a Representative.

44. No person can be a Representative who has not attained the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States. He' must also, when elected, be an inhabitant of the state in which he is chosen.

45. Three qualifications are thus required on the part of a representative:

First, He must have attained the age of twentyfive.

Secondly, He must have been seven years a citizen of the United States. A foreigner is thus eligible to the House of Representatives after a citizenship of seven years; but he is not a citizen until he has been naturalized, and to be naturalized requires a previous residence of five years. So that twelve years must elapse before he is eligible as a Representative.

46. Thirdly, He must, when elected, be an inha-. bitant of the state in which he shall be chosen; that is, he must really be a member of the state, subject to all the requisitions of its laws, and entitled to all the privileges and advantages which they confer. By a political fiction, however, a representative of his country at a foreign court, though residing abroad, is still regarded, as it were, as being at home. He remains under the jurisdiction and laws of his own

country, like a sailor upon the high seas, and is not subject to the laws of the country in which he resides. Hence he is not deemed, by his foreign residence, to lose his character of inhabitant of the state of which he is a citizen, and may be elected to a seat in Congress. In addition to the qualifications thus specified, the fourteenth amendment, which was declared a part of the Constitution on the 28th day of July, 1868, provides that no person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and VicePresident, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. The disability, however, created by this amendment Congress may remove by a vote of two-thirds of each house.*

47. The Constitution having fixed the qualifications for a Representative, the states cannot require others. They can neither add to, nor in any manner vary the qualifications set forth in the Constitution itself.

They cannot, for example, require their

* Ohio and New Jersey withdrew their consent to this amendment before its proclamation.

representatives to be freeholders or professors of any particular religious belief, or inhabitants of the particular districts from which they are chosen, in addition to being inhabitants of the state, because in this instance the affirmation of certain qualifications obviously implies a negation of all others.

Apportionment of Representatives.

48. The apportionment of representatives among the several states was a subject of great difficulty. It was generally agreed that the apportionment should be made according to their respective numbers; but how should these numbers be determined? On the one hand it was contended that slaves were property, and as representation was to be based on persons, they ought to be excluded from the enumeration equally with all other property.

49. On the other hand it was urged that in the union of independent states, the population of each should constitute the basis of its representation in the common legislature, without reference to its condition. Slaves, it was said, were the laboring, producing population of many of the states, and constituted a large portion of their aggregate numbers. Hence, it was contended, that it would be unjust to these states to exclude the slaves from the census.

Slaves regarded in the Apportionment.

50. After an exciting controversy the subject was compromised as follows: The slaveholding states were allowed a representation for three-fifths of their slaves; but it was agreed at the same time that they should pay direct taxes in the same proportion. Thus the increase in the number of their representatives was accompanied by a corresponding increase in the amount of their direct taxes.

51. That is, representatives and direct taxes are apportioned among the several states, according to their respective numbers, which are determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons, meaning thereby slaves. As, however, slavery was abolished by the thirteenth amendment, which was declared a part of the Constitution of the United States on the 18th day of December, A. D. 1865, it became necessary to apportion representatives among the several states upon a basis different from that provided in the original Constitution. Accordingly, by the terms of the fourteenth amendment, it is declared as follows: Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. But when