332. In suits brought by Ambassadors, or other public Ministers, or in which a Consul or a Vice Consul is a party, and in suits by a State against one or more of its citizens, against citizens of other States, or against aliens, its jurisdiction remains concurrent either with the inferior National Courts, or with the Courts of the several States.

333. It has been made a question, however, whether the whole original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, was not intended to be exclusive, both of the inferior Courts of the United States, and of the State Courts. But if any portion of this original jurisdiction may, in the discretion of Congress, be shared with other Courts, it cannot be enlarged.

334. Congress can neither invest the Supreme Court with original jurisdiction in those cases in which the Constitution declares that its jurisdiction shall be appellate, nor invest it with appellate jurisdiction in those cases in which the Constitution declares that it shall be original.

335. The cases in which a State is a party, -towhich the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court extends, either exclusively or concurrently, must be cases in which a State is either nominally or substantially the party; and it is not sufficient that a State may be consequentially affected."

336. Although the Judicial Power of the Union extends to controversies between a State and foreign States, Citizens, or Subjects, and the Constitution gives to the Supreme Court original jurisdiction in all such cases; yet the "Indian Tribes" are not considered "foreign States," within the meaning of the Constitution.

337. The most usual modes of exercising appellate

jurisdiction are by Writ of Error, which is a Common Law process for the removal of a suit from an inferior Court, but which removes nothing for re-examination but the Law of the case; and by Appeal, which is a proceeding of Civil Law origin, and removes a cause entirely, and subjects the facts, as well as the Law, to a review and re-trial.

338. Writs of Error are applicable only to suits at Law tried by a Jury; whilst Appeals are adapted to cases of Equity and Admiralty jurisdiction; and it is declared, by an amendment to the Constitution, that "in suits at Common Law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by Jury shall be preserved: and no fact tried by a Jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the Common Law" which is a prohibition to the National Courts, to re-examine facts tried by a Jury, in any other manner.

339. Final Judgments and decrees in Civil actions, and suits in Equity, in the Circuit Courts of the United States, whether brought there by original process, or removed thither either from the State Courts, or from the District Courts of the United States, in the enumerated cases of Federal cognizance, of which the Supreme Court has not the exclusive original jurisdiction, and where the matter in dispute exceeds the sum of two thousand dollars, may be re-examined, and reversed or affirmed in the Superior Court.

340. Final Judgments and deerees of the Circuit Courts, in cases of Admiralty and Maritime jurisdiction, and in prize causes, where the matter in dispute exceeds the same amount, may be reviewed on Appeal in the Supreme Court; and in Admiralty and prize causes new evidence is admitted on Appeals, conform

ably with the general doctrines and usages of Appellate Courts of Admiralty.

341. A final Judgment or decree of the highest Court of Law or Equity in a State, may be brought up, on the allegation of error in point of Law, to the Supreme Court of the United States, in the following

cases, viz:

1. If the validity of a Treaty, of an Act of Con-
gress, or of an authority exercised under
the Government of the United States, was
drawn in question in the State Court, and
the decision was against that validity.
2. If the validity of any State Law or authority,"
was drawn in question on the ground of its
repugnancy to the Constitution, Treaties, or
Laws of the United States, and the decision
was in favour of its validity.

3. If the construction of any clause of the Con-
stitution, or of a Treaty, or of a Statute of
the United States, or of a commission held
under them, was drawn in question, and
. the decision was against the title, right, pri-
vilege, or exemption specially claimed un-
der the authority of the Union.

342. But upon Appeals from a decision of a State Court, no other error can be assigned or regarded in the Supreme Court, than such as appears on the face of the record, and immediately respects the question of the validity or construction of the Constitution, Treaty, Statute, commission, or authority in dispute.

343. In case of a reversal of the Judgment or decree of the highest State Court, the cause may either be remanded to that Court, or the Supreme Court of the United States may, if the cause has once before been remanded, proceed to a final disposition of it, and award Execution accordingly.

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344. If the highest Court in a State reverse the Judgment of a subordinate Court, and on Appeal the Judgment of the highest State Court be in its turn reversed in the Supreme Court of the United States, the latter Judgment so reversed, becomes a mere nullity, and the mandate for Execution may issue directly from the Supreme Court of the United States to the inferior State Court.

345. The validity of this proceeding depends on the constitutionality of the 25th section of the Judiciary Act of 1789, which provides for the prosecution of Appeals from decisions of the highest State Courts in the cases enumerated; which provision has been declared by the Supreme Court to be warranted by the Constitution.

346. The grant of the Judicial Power in the Constitution was declared, on that occasion, to be absolute; and it was held to be imperative upon Congress to provide for the appellate jurisdiction of the Federal Courts, in all cases in which Judicial Power was exclusively granted by the Constitution, and not already given, by way of original jurisdiction, to the Supreme Court.

347. The Constitution intended that the Judicial Power, either in an original or appellate form, should extend absolutely to all cases in Law or Equity, arising under the Constitution and Laws of the United States, and the Treaties made under its authority; to all cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers, and Consuls; and to all cases of Admiralty and Maritime jurisdiction,-because these cases were of vital importance to the sovereignty of the Union, entered into the national policy, and affected national rights.

348. But with respect to the other cases enumerat

ed, the Constitution seems designedly to have dropped the word "all," so as not absolutely to extend the jurisdiction of the Federal Judiciary to "all controversies," but merely to "controversies," in which the United States are a party, or between two or more States, or between citizens of different States, &c. and has left it to Congress to qualify the jurisdiction, whether original or appellate, in such manner as public policy may dictate.

349. Whatever weight is due to this distinction, it is manifest that the Judicial Power is, in some cases, unavoidably exclusive of all State authority, and in all others enumerated in the Constitution, may be made so at the election of Congress; and the Judiciary Act accordingly assumes that, in all the cases to "which the Judicial Power of the United States extends, Congress may rightfully vest exclusive jurisdiction in the national Courts.

350: The Criminal and the Admiralty jurisdiction, are necessarily exclusive; and it is only in those cases where, previously to the Constitution, the State tribunals possessed jurisdiction independently of national authority, that they can now exercise a concurrent jurisdiction.

351. The exercise of appellate jurisdiction is not limited by the Constitution to the Supreme Court. Congress may create a succession of inferior tribunals, in each of which it may vest appellate, as well as original, jurisdiction. But in all cases where a concurrent original jurisdiction is,vested in the Supreme Court by the Constitution, it must possess an appellate power over the decisions of those Courts upon which Congress confer, in the same cases, concurrent jurisdiction, whether in its original or appellate

form.