ceive silver in less quantity than two hundred ounces, nor gold less than twenty ounces, when less than the standard value. When it is less than the standard value, it is coined at the expense of the owner.1

2. OF THE LEGISLATURE.

§ 660. The operation of the Legislative branch of the government consists in the exercise of the lawmaking power. Congress, as we have seen in the 1st Article of the Constitution, consists of two branches, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The organization of these bodies respect, 1st, their officers; 2d, their committees; and 3d, their rules.

§ 661. 1st. Of their officers; these are, the presiding officer (in the House, the Speaker, and in the Senate, the Vice-President), the Clerk,-Sergeant-at-Arms, and Doorkeeper. When the House meet at the seat of government, they usually appoint the oldest member present Chairman; after that, they proceed to the election of a Speaker, a majority of all the votes present being necessary to a choice; after this they elect a Clerk, Sergeant-at-Arms, and Doorkeeper. When these officers are elected, and the members sworn, which they are by the Clerk, the House is said to be organized and ready to do business. In the Senate, the Vice-l 'resident takes the chair; or, if not present, a president pro tem, is chosen: then the Clerk and other officers are chosen, as in the House.

§ 662. The power and duties of the Speaker are to preside and keep order in the House; to appoint committees, unless otherwise specially directed by the House; to sign all acts, addresses, and joint resolutions of, and all writs, warrants, and subpoenas, issued

1 Congress have, by an act passed at the session of 1834-5, created branches of the Mint in the southern states, where the gold is chiefly found.

? Jefferson's Manual, 157.

by order of the House, shall be under his hand and seal, attested by the Clerk; he has power to clear the galleries when there is disturbance; he puts all questions to the House, and in case of ballot, is entitled to vote; in other cases he is not, unless the House is equally divided, or his vote given in the minority would make it equal.

§ 663. The duty of the Clerk' to make, print, and deliver to each member, at the commencement of every session of Congress, a list of the reports which it is the duty of any officer to make to Congress, referring to the page of the journals in which it is contained; it is his duty to keep the journals of the House, and at the end of each session to send a printed copy thereof to the Executive, and to each branch of the Legislature of every state; he must note all questions of order, and place them at the end of the journal of each session.

§ 664. The duty of the Sergeant-at-Arms is to attend the House during its session, to execute its commands, and all such process as shall be directed to him by the Speaker.

§ 665. The duty of Doorkeeper is explained by his

title.

§ 666. The chief business of legislative bodies is dore by their committees, to whom all matters of business, requiring investigation and consideration, are first referred; and by whom a report is made upon the subject, which report is the topic of consideration with the House. Committees in the House are appointed by the Speaker, in the Senate by ballot. In the House they consist of seven members each; in the Senate of five.

§ 667. The committees are formed by arranging all the chief subjects of importance into classes, with an appropriate title, and to each appointing a separate committee. These subjects and classes are enumerated in the rules and orders of the House, and, with little varia1 Jefferson's Manual, 173.

2 Idem. 165.

tion, are the same in both. By the 7th Sect. of the 1st Art. of the Constitution, it is provided, that all bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; hence the House have a committee which the Senate have not, styled The Committee of Ways and Means. This committee is one of the most important parts of the machinery of legislation, and of the government itself; for in it are investigated all the moneyed affairs of the nation, and by it are digested and reported the various plans of revenue and finance for the support and credit of the government.

§ 668. The principal committees in either House are, the committees on Foreign Relations, on Commerce, on the Judiciary, on Military Affairs, &c.

669. These committees, with several others, not enumerated, are called standing committees: besides these there are select committees, appointed for specific objects, and only for the particular occasion; these are appointed, either from the great importance of the topic under consideration, or the particular desire of members having them in charge. Besides these, the whole House, at times, resolves itself into a committee, called the committee of the whole. The object of this is to obtain greater freedom of debate: when in committee of the whole, the speaker does not preside, but a chairman appointed for the occasion; nor do the rules of the House govern, but simply order is preserved, as in common deliberative assemblies. When the committee of the whole have finished their discussions, they rise, and like other committees, report to the House, the speaker resumes the chair, and the members vote in the House upon the acceptance or rejection of the report. In this manner important subjects are more freely discussed, and more deliberately decided upon than if they passed merely through the House.

§ 670. The regular and constant business of the House is concocted first in the standing committees,

for example, the appropriation bills for support of gov. ernment are drawn up in them; bills for claims, for the sale and grant of lands, &c.

§ 671. The order of business is as follows; after Congress is organized, the President's Message is received and read, with the accompanying documents; then such part of it as relates to our intercourse with foreign nations, is referred to the committee on foreign affairs: so much as relates to the army, military academy, &c. &c. to the committee on military affairs, and so on of each subject: these committees examine the recommendations made by the President and the respective departments, and report such bills as they think necessary and proper: on these Congress decide by accepting or rejecting them.

§ 672. If any member wish to obtain the action of the House upon a particular subject, he must do it in one of the following modes:-1st, by resolution; thus, if it is desired to obtain the opinion of the House upon a particular point, a member introduces a resolution, "Resolved so and so;" upon this resolution the House act, and its sentiment upon that subject is immediately obtained; again, if it is desired to obtain the report of a committee, or a bill upon a given subject, a resolution is introduced, directing the committee to report, or otherwise, and the House at once pass it or not, at its discretion; calls for information upon the departments are likewise made in this manner. 2d. Another mode is that of obtaining leave to bring in a bill; when a subject does not regularly come before the committee, or the instant action of the House is required, this is sometimes adopted. Regular bills are brought in by the committees, and for a member to bring in a bill, the House must grant leave.

§ 673. The order of daily business is, 1st. As soon as the journal of the preceding day is read,' the Speaker 1 Jefferson's Manual, Rule 16, of the House.

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calls for petitions from the members of each state and territory; when these petitions are presented and disposed of, reports from the standing and select committees are called for and disposed of; to these subjects, and to that of resolutions, only one hour a day is allowed. After this is done, and the Speaker has disposed of communications on his table, he proceeds to call the order of the day, which consists of unfinished business, in regular order, and subjects particularly set apart for that day.

§ 674. In carrying a bill through the House, there are certain steps which must be taken before the final decision is made; and there are certain rules which must always be observed while a subject is under discussion:-Thus, every bill must be read three times previous to its passage; and each reading must receive the formal sanction of the House. No bill can be twice read on the same day, without special leave of the House.

§ 675. The first reading of a bill is for information, and if opposition be made to it, the question is put by the Speaker, "Shall this bill be rejected?" If no opposition be made, or this question is rejected, the bill goes to its second reading without a question. On the second reading of the bill, it may be either engrossed or committed; if committed, the House determines whether it shall be a select committee, or a standing committee, or a committee of the whole: if to a committee of the whole, the House determine on the day. If the bill be engrossed, then the House appoint a day upon which it shall be read a third time: after the bill is read a third time, the question is upon its final passage.

§ 676. When a bill shall pass, the Clerk must certify it, noting the day of its passage at the foot. There are various rules to be observed during the discussion, but we shall notice only those which have a direct effect in facilitating or retarding the business of the House.