25. Penalty in Case of Conviction.-Since judgment, in case of conviction, shall not extend beyond removal from office and disqualification for office it would appear that the Senate may or may not punish to that extent. But by Article II, Section 4, the penalty must be removal at least. The Senate cannot mitigate that penalty; but it may or may not add the further penalty of disqualification to hold office under the United States. The Senate cannot punish by imprisonment or fine; but the convicted officer may be tried in the courts and made to suffer whatever penalty the law provides for his crime.

26. Cases of Impeachment and Conviction.-There have been nine cases of impeachment brought before the Senate by the House of Representatives: one, that of a United States Senator, was not tried by the Senate for want of jurisdiction, it being held that Senators and Representatives are not "civil officers "(see p. 96); five resulted in acquittal, the most noted of which being that of President Johnson; and three resulted in conviction, the penalty in one case being simply removal from office, in the others both removal from, and disqualification for, office.

Questions on the Section.-How many Senators are there now? Who elects Senators? How many votes has a State in the Senate? What classification of Senators was made in the first Congress? What was it for? How are vacancies filled? The qualifications of a Senator? What officer is President of the Senate? When may he vote? What provision is made for his absence? What officer presides in case the President is on trial before the Senate? What pledge must the Senators give for the performance of their duty when they try an impeachment case? How many votes are necessary to convict? What does "according to law" mean?

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SECTION 4.-BOTH HOUSES, OR THE CONGRESS

CLAUSE 1. The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators.

CL. 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.

27. The Election of Senators. The place of choosing Senators was left with the State Legislatures; otherwise, as long as the Senators were elected by the Legislatures, Congress would have had the power to say where the capital of a State should be. Since the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment, Senators are elected by a direct vote of the people at their polling places. The time of the election of Senators is regulated in the same way as that of Representatives (see par. 28). It used to be the second Tuesday after the meeting and organization of the Legislature. On that day each house voted separately. The next day a joint meeting was held and the person who had received a majority of the votes of each house was declared elected. If no one received such a majority, joint meetings were held every day until some one had a majority of the joint assembly.

Beginning in 1881, repeated efforts were made in Congress to secure an amendment to the Constitution, to provide for the election of Senators by popular vote. The House on several occasions favored the submission of such an amendment to the States; but the Senate, prior to 1912, stoutly opposed it.

28. The Election of Representatives.-By an act of

Congress Representatives are elected on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November of the even years; but Maine and Vermont have different days designated in their Constitutions for this purpose and do not come under the law of Congress as long as they make no new Constitution. The elections are held at the regular polling places in the Congressional districts. Nearly all the States elect also their State officers on this day. The power of making or altering the regulations governing the elections of Senators and Representatives was given to Congress to prevent the State legislatures from annihilating the Union by failing to choose persons to administer its affairs.

29. A Congress and its Sessions.-A Congress covers a period of two years, beginning on March 4th of the odd years. The Sixty-fourth Congress began March 4, 1915. A Congress has a long and a short session. Each begins on the first Monday in December. The long, or first, session usually lasts until midsummer following; while the short, or second, session must end at 12 o'clock noon, March 4, of the second year. A special session may be called by the President when he thinks it necessary (see p. 95).

Questions on the Section.-Could Congress forbid the use of the Australian ballot in the election of Representatives? On what day of each year does Congress convene? How long after the election of Representatives before their term begins? Before the first regular session begins?

SECTION 5.-THE HOUSES SEPARATELY

CLAUSE 1. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the at

tendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as each house may provide.

CL. 2. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior and, with the concurrence of two thirds, expel a member.

CL. 3. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal.

CL. 4. Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting.

30. Contested Seats.-If there is a contest about the election of a member to either house of Congress, such contest must be settled by that house, and not by the courts. A score or more of seats are sometimes contested in the House of Representatives. They are generally given to the claimants belonging to the majority party in the House. In the Senate a contest is usually confined to the question whether a Senator was lawfully elected, and not whether he or some one else was elected. In a contest between two claimants the one having a certificate of election is allowed to occupy the seat until the decision is made.

31. Returns and Qualifications.-"Returns" are the reports made by the election officers on the results of an election. "Qualifications" include the Constitutional qualifications of age, citizenship, and residence, as well as others that either house may require for admission. The House of Representatives, in 1900, refused admission to a polygamist; and more recently a member voluntarily gave up his seat because he had knowledge of corruption at his election.

32. The Rules of Proceedings. As the Senate is a continuous body its rules, with occasional modifications, remain in force from one Congress to another. In the House of Representatives a new code is made, or the old one is readopted, at the beginning of each Congress. The most radical change made in recent years in the rules of the House of Representatives was that of determining a quorum. Until the Fifty-first Congress a quorum was determined by counting the members present and voting. In that Congress it was determined by counting the members present, whether voting or not. That rule has been followed ever since. The Senate, however, has not adopted it.

A Representative may not speak longer than one hour on any question, without permission from the House; a Senator may speak as long as he pleases. There is no previous question to force a vote-no clôture of any kind-in the Senate. The consequence is that there is more filibustering in the Senate than in the House.

33. Disorderly Conduct.-This offense has its source mostly in heated discussion and rarely exceeds a war of words, for which a censure may be voted. Suspension and expulsion are rare, because thereby the constituents of the offender are deprived of representation.

34. Secrecy in Congress.-The sessions of the Continental Congress were secret, except that when French relations were under consideration the French Minister was allowed to be present. The sessions of the Senate were held in secret for a few years after the Constitution had gone into effect. Now all sessions of both houses are open, except the "executive sessions" of the Senate, at which treaties and Presidential appointments are