KIND OF CASES.

The word Maritime, designates that which relates to the sea. Yet, in the United States, cases which come within Admiralty and Maritime jurisdiction, are not restricted to the sea, or to transactions relating to business or crimes done on it, but are made to embrace those which occur on navigable lakes and rivers, and include seizures made for the violation of the laws of impost, navigation or trade, suits for the recovery of seamen's wages, contracts for building, repairing or fitting out vessels, and, briefly, all contracts where the subject-matter relates to the navigation of the sea. The district courts have Admiralty and Maritime jurisdiction in all these cases, without regard to the amount claimed, and in criminal as well as in civil suits.

The foregoing remarks show the workings of our judicial system, as it applies to business done, and crimes committed upon the high scas.

1. CONGRESSMEN, in the most comprehensive sense in which the term may be used, means any member in either branch of that body. But there is a more restricted sense in which it is most commonly used, and in this sense it is generally understood; that is, a member of the House of Representatives, the lower of the two houses. These are elected by the people, in each State, and in the Congressional districts of that State; and they are the only persons either in the legislative, executive or judiciary branches of the government, for whom the people vote directly. They are elected by single districts, that is, but one member is chosen in one district. They are elected for two years, that is, during the term of a Congress, which lasts two years, and always holds two sessions. The President may call an extra session, if in his judgment the exigencies of the country are such as to require its ac tion before the time of the regular meeting. This has been done on several occasions.

2. The Constitution prescribes the qualifications of members of the House of Representatives (which see). They are also stated in Chapter III, where much other matter relating to this subject may be found. The Constitution is silent as to the number of members of which

the House shall be composed, excepting that it specified how many each State should have, until the first enumeration of the people in 1790; and since that Congress has from time to time fixed the number, which is now 241,to which must be added one for Nevada, and one for Nebraska, which States were admitted since the last apportionment.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Congressional Districts.

WHENEVER the population of a State is so small that it is entitled to only one representative in Congress, the whole State forms but one Congressional District; but whenever it is entitled to two or more, then it is divided by its Legislature into as many districts as its population entitles it to return members; so that every member of Congress is chosen by single districts. The act thus districting the States was passed in 1962. In large cities, certain sections or wards are constituted a Congressional District. In the country, a county or several counties are formed into a district; but in all cases a district must consist of contiguous territory, not scattered, a piece here and a piece there, in different parts of the State, or country.

These districts must be re-arranged every ten years, and as soon as may be, after the census is taken (which is every ten years), and the population known and published. The reason for this re-arrangement becomes apparent from the fact that the number of the population is constantly changing. In some States and counties it is rapidly increasing; in others increasing very slowly, or not at all, or indeed may be decreasing. In new Western States, it has increased uniformly so rapidly that at the end of every

decade they have been entitled to an increase of representatives; while some of the older States, not increasing so fast, have actually lost, so that what we state as the number of representatives of each State now, may not be exactly correct after 1870, i. e., after the next census. Hence we see that Congressional districts are not permanent political divisions, but are liable to frequent changes. If they were permanent, they would probably be laid down in our common maps, as counties sometimes are. They are now generally designated by the ordinal numbers, as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, &c., Congressional districts of such a State.