offices, together with such other persons as they may elect honorary members-were constituted the establishment under the name of the Smithsonian Institution.

3. It is located at Washington, and is managed by a board of regents, composed of the Vice-President of the United States, the Chief Justice of the United States, the Mayor of Washington, three members of the Senate, and three members of the House of Representatives; together with six other persons. The board choose their own officers, and report their proceedings to Congress at each session thereof.

4. In order to carry out Mr. Smithson's noble design of founding this institution, rooms have been prepared for the reception of all objects of art, natural history, plants, and geological and mineralogical specimens which now or hereafter may belong to the United States, and such as may hereafter be obtained. These are classified and arranged so as to facilitate their examination and study. A vast collection has already been obtained and deposited in the institution, and it is constantly increasing by donations, by the researches and industry of its professors, and by exchanges made with kindred institutions at home and abroad. These are open to the examination of the public, and offer an opportunity to students and others to extend their scientific knowledge. This, together with the reports of its professors, of experiments and new discoveries, make it indeed an institution "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men."

CHAPTER LV.
REPORTS.

1. Congress being the law-making power of the government, it is evident that, to know precisely what laws it is important to enact, to change, or to repeal, they should be kept well informed of all that is done by government officials, and the precise condition of every branch of the public service.

The President's Messages are of the nature of reports made by the Chief Executive to the legislative body for its information and guidance. So it is enacted that the Secretaries of State, Treasury, War, Navy, Interior, and Postmaster General, together with the commissioners of the different bureaus, and boards attached to these departments, shall annually report to Congress. Heads of departments report directly to Congress. So do many of the commissioners who are at the head of bureaus. Boards report to the heads of departments to which they are attached.

2. In this way Congress is kept advised of whatever is done in every department, bureau, or board, to which any of the public business is entrusted. These reports not only furnish the law-making power with such information as it needs, but serve as a check to any official misconduct. The annual reports of the Secretaries of the Treasury, War, and Navy, together with that of the Postmaster General, are State papers which rank in importance next to the annual message of the President. To them the people look for a detailed account of the state and condition of those great departments over which these Secretaries preside, and which so materially affect the pecuniary and other great interests of the nation.

3. The foregoing remarks upon reports, throw light upon the movements of the machinery by which the government is operated, and show how officials are held responsible to the superior power.

In this connection we may notice another kind of reports, which come from another source. After each Congress has convened and organized, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House appoint what are denominated the stand.. ing committees of each of these bodies.

When bills are presented to be passed into laws, or petitions are sent in, they are always referred to the appropriate committee, which examines them and reports to the body (of the Senate or House) their conclusions upon the merits or demerits, propriety or impropriety, of granting the petition, or of passing the bill under consideration.

These reports generally govern the action of Congress when they come to vote upon the passage of the law. But that is not always the case; the body of either House may think differently from its committee, and act contrary to its recommendations.

CHAPTER LVI.

IMPEACHMENT.

1. In the second article, section four, of the Constitution, these words are found: "The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."

2. Impeachment is a procedure against office holders only, for the purpose of removing them from office. It inflicts no other punishment; but the guilty party may afterwards be prosecuted for his crime in a court of law, and punished in such manner as the law directs.

3. The House of Representatives alone can present charges looking to the trial of an officer of the government by impeachment. Its action, in such a case, is similar to that of a Grand Jury. It charges that the official has violated the law and should be tried, in order, if guilty, to be removed from office. It appoints a committee to conduct the prosecution before the Senate, to which these charges are presented.

4. The Senate alone has the power to try the accused party. When trying a case of impeachment it acts as a court, and from its decision there is no appeal. The President cannot pardon a criminal who has been impeached. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides, but in no other case. No person can be convicted in a trial of impeachment, unless two-thirds of the Senate concur in finding the accused guilty of the alleged offense.

THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT.

This is the third Branch of the government, as determined by the Constitution, and is of supreme importance and dignity. Its sphere is to interpret the Constitution, to decide controversies, to try offenders and to pronounce sentence on them, to enforce rights, and to keep the whole organism of the government in proper place and proportion. It is attached to the governmental machinery as a Regulator. Without it the other Departments must be the judges of the extent of their own powers; the Constitution would be practically inoperative to prevent inharmonious or mischievious legislation; and the executive would possess the authority to try as well as punish offenses.

The officers of this Department of the government are expected to be men of much weight and dignity of character, of wide legal culture, and are selected for, and continued in, office under such circumstances as to guarantee, to a fair extent, the requisite distinction and impartiality.

All this we shall see as we proceed to analyze its different branches. These consist of the United States Supreme Court, the Circuit Courts, the District Courts, and the Court of Claims. The local courts in the District of Columbia, and the Territorial Courts, though similar to the State Judiciaries, are connected, by their relations to the General Government, with this Department.

The importance of this branch of the government has become more evident as time has passed, and the conflict of parties has put the whole to test. The acrimonious party spirit of our early post revolutionary history, which continued into Monroe's administration, was, in great part, the result of a want of due confidence in, and respect for, the judiciary. Experience showed that our people were law abiding, and that the Legislative and Executive powers, equally with the people,

were willing to submit to the official interpretation of the Constitution, and all ready to join hands to maintain its authority.

CHAPTER LVII.

THE SUPREME COURT.

1. This is the highest tribunal in the United States. If the whole government be figuratively regarded as an arch this is the "Key Stone of the Arch" without which the whole structure would crumble and fall. In all cases of dispute as to the meaning of the Constitution and the range of powers it confers or implies, it has sovereign power to decide; and from that decision there is no appeal. Its declaration, as to the meaning and application of the Constitution and the body of statutes enacted under it, becomes the law of the land. It is the great bulwark against tyranical use of power, and conflicting enactments, whether by National or State Legislatures.

2. This court has one Chief Justice and nine Associate Justices, all appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. They are appointed for life, or during good behavior; they may be impeached for bribery or other high crimes, and then removed from office. They may also resign; but if they conduct themselves properly and choose to retain their offices, there is no power by which they can be removed, except the power of death. The Constitution itself makes this provision, in order that the judges may be removed as far as possible from the influence of party politics. It is therefore expected that their decisions will not be biased by party or political considerations; and it may not be amiss to say that the provisions for keeping the judges of the United States Courts in office for life, meets with almost universal approbation; and has caused many to hope that the States would alter their Constitutions and adopt the same plan; believing it to be the surest way of preserving a pure and