perfect remedy. If there were no great pressure of business in these Legislatures, the curtailment of their sittings would be an unmixed advantage; but an average State Legislature is probably just as much overburdened with legislative proposals as Congress itself. Most of them produce a goodly volume of statutes at the close of the session, and even in a minor State the bills presented in a forty days' session may equal the number of those submitted to the House of Commons in an ordinary year. * * The following statement shows the constitutional provisions regarding the time and duration of the session in different States and Territories. In Rhode Island the Legislature meets twice a year; in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, South Carolina, once a year; in Vermont, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, Arkansas, Oregon, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Maine, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, Delaware, West Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Texas, California, Nevada, Colorado, Florida, Washington Territory, Dakota, Montana, Arizona, once in two years. The session is limited to sixty-one days in Indiana; to forty days in Colorado and Georgia; to sixty days in Minnesota, Kentucky, Arkansas, Nevada, Florida, Louisiana, and the Territories; to ninety days in Maryland and Virginia; to fifty days in Alabama; to forty-five days in West Virginia. Payment of members stops, either wholly or partially, after seventy-five days in Tennessee, seventy days in Missouri, sixty days in Texas and California, and forty days in Oregon. Besides the regular sessions, extra sessions may be called by the Governor. For a more detailed statement, see Stimson's "Digest of American Statute Law." CHAPTER III. THE SYSTEM AS A HOME RULE settleMENT. LET us now look at the system as a political settlement on the basis of Home Rule. Its leading and essential features may be summed up as follows :— 1. The Federal Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, enumerates the subjects with which Congress may deal. This enumeration precludes the State Legislatures from dealing with these subjects, if Congress chooses to act, but not otherwise. All matters which are not expressly or by implication withdrawn from the States under this rule are reserved to the States. The matters expressly set aside as proper for Congressional action have been already set forth.* The enumeration is, or ought to be, founded on a discrimination between (to use our own phrase) imperial and local affairs. So far as appears, there is no complaint that the classification is other than a fair and proper one. 2. The Federal Constitution, besides withdrawing certain matters from the State Legislatures, imposes, even in respect of the matters reserved to them, certain important restrictions on their action. * See page 12. 3. All these exclusions and restrictions are enforced by the Federal judiciary, which, from the Home Rule point of view, is perhaps the most important part of the constitutional system. A portion of it-the Supreme Court-is directly created by the Constitution, and therefore irremovable by Congress; the rest of it -the Circuit and District Courts-are statutory and dependent on Congress. The judicial power of the United States, as defined by the Constitution, has jurisdiction in two main classes of cases: those which arise under the Constitution, laws or treaties of the United States, or which affect the international relations of the United States, and those in which there is a difference of citizenship between the parties.* The law applied by the Federal judiciary is that of the State when the subject-matter is within the competency of the State Legislature, and as a rule it will follow the decisions of the State tribunals as implicitly as the enactments of the State Legislature. 4. Behind the Federal courts of course stands the executive force of the United States Government. It is a power in reserve rather than in presence. A very few officers are attached to each Federal court. The ordinary police power is entirely in the hands of the State authorities. Yet the Federal court which may have occasion to issue decrees directly in the teeth of the enactments of the State Legislature and the public opinion of the State, is as certain of being obeyed as are the tribunals of the State itself. Practically the * See page 90. presence of a Federal judge is sufficient to compel obedience to Federal law. 5. The Constitutions of the several States, although open to revision under certain conditions by the people of the State, may be regarded as additional limitations of the Home Rule Governments. In the case of the newer States, they are the constitutional compacts under which those States have been admitted to the Union, and they sometimes contain provisions declared to be unalterable except with the assent of Congress. The amendment of those Constitutions is generally a matter of considerable difficulty, and even solemnity. They are all framed very much on the same model, and together embody the matured opinions of the whole country as to what State Governments should or should not be permitted to do. It would be taking an entirely false view of the American system to overlook the restrictions thus placed upon the Home Rule Governments, although these restrictions are not imposed ab extra, and may be taken away by the people themselves. The Federal limitations of State power, the State's limitations of its own Government, and the action of the Federal courts will bear to be examined in some detail. FEDERAL LIMITATIONS.-There are three ways in which the Federal Constitution limits the powers of State Legislatures. 1. Certain enumerated subjects are by that Constitution assigned to Congress, and being so assigned, cannot be dealt with by the State Legislatures if Congress chooses to exercise its powers. 2. The power of making treaties with foreign nations. is, by the Federal Constitution, conferred upon the President, acting by and with the consent of the Senate. Any treaty so made becomes, like the legislation of Congress, part of the supreme law of the land, and State legislation inconsistent therewith is void. 3. The Federal Constitution enumerates certain things which State Legislatures are forbidden to do. These are contained in Art. 1, sec. 10: 66 1. 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. "2. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and the net produce of all duties and imposts laid by any State on imports or exports shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty on tonnage; keep troops or ships of war in time of peace; enter into any agreement or compact with another State, or with a foreign power; or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay." The amendments to the Constitution contain other restrictions, of which the following only need be cited: |