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QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR SUFFRAGE IN EACH OF THE 38 STATES.

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REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTERS IN THE SEVERAL STATES.

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Note. All the 38 states limit suffrage to male citizens, but in Colorado, Massachusetts, and some other states, women may vote at school district elections.

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constitution. Required by law Required by law

The ratio of representation in the House of Representatives was by the Constitution one to every 30,000, and has been changed after each census thus-in 1792, to one in 33,000; in 1803, one in 33,000; in 1813, one in 35,000; in 1823, one in 40,000; in 1833, one in 47,700; in 1843, one in 70,680; in 1853, one in 93,423; in 1863, one in 127,381; in 1873, one in 131,425; and in 1883, one in 151,912.

Each Congress lasts two years, and has two regular sessions-each beginning upon the first Monday in December. Extra sessions may be held should the President so determine. Although there may be a great deal of unnecessary talk, the amount of business, of one kind or another, done is enormous, and it is yearly on the increase. The 49th Congress, which commenced its first session on 4th December 1885, sat until 5th August 1886; and its second session began 6th December, and lasted until noon of 4th March 1887. The total number of days the Senate sat in session was 224, and the House of Representatives 251 days. During this time 11,238 bills and 263 joint resolutions were introduced in the House, and over 5000 reports thereon were made; 3357 bills and 118 joint resolutions were introduced into the Senate, on which 1988 written reports were made. This record of work was greatly in excess of the record of any previous year. About 1431 laws were passed, of which 338 originated in the Senate and 1093 in the House. Of these, 264 became law by the expiration of the constitutional ten days' limitation. Fifty bills did not become law, owing to the adjournment of Congress; 132 bills were vetoed by the President; and it is noteworthy that the whole number of previous vetoes, from the beginning of the first Congress to the beginning of this 49th Congress, was 111-an

indication of the change in the people of the United States. Ninety-three vetoed bills originated in the House, and 39 in the Senate. Two billsone private and the other publicwere passed by a two-thirds vote over the President's veto, and became law; while several others passed the Senate by a two-thirds vote, but failed in the House.

In treating of the Federal Government in the first part of this work, the United States Statutes have been consulted to the end of the session of 1886; while in treating specially of the State of New York in the second part, the laws appearing in the last (1882) revision of the state laws and the code of Civil Procedure as in force in 1886 have been consulted. The Report of the Board of Education in the city of New York for the year 1885 contained the laws to that date affecting this board, and these and other later sources of information have been tapped.

During the last session of Congress some measures of general importance have been passed. The free delivery system of the Post Office Department was extended to every incorporated city or village having a population of 10,000, or in which the gross postal receipts amount to $10,000 a-year.

An Act was passed to provide for the performance of the duties of the office of President in case of removal, death, resignation, or inability both of the President and Vice-President. By this Act the Secretary of State, or if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation, or inability, then the Secretary of the Treasury, failing whom likewise, then the Secretary of War, failing whom likewise, then the Attorney-General, failing whom likewise, then the Postmaster-General, failing whom likewise, then the Secretary of the Navy, failing whom likewise, then the Sec

retary of the Interior, shall act as President until the disability of the President or Vice-President is removed, or a President shall be elected. Provided that whenever the said powers and duties so devolve, if Congress is not then in session, or is not to meet in accordance with law within twenty days thereafter, it is the duty of the person upon whom the same devolve to issue a proclamation convening Congress in extraordinary session, giving twenty days' notice of the time of meeting. Only officers appointed by the advice and consent of the Senate to said offices, and such as are eligible to the office of President under the Constitution, and not then under impeachment by the House of Representatives, are eligible to act under the above provision. This alters the 146th, 147th, 148th, 149th, and 150th sections of the Revised Statutes, referred to in the body of this work.

Owing to the outcry against aliens acquiring large tracts of public lands in the territories, an Act was passed making it unlawful for persons not citizens in the United States, or who have not lawfully declared their intention to become such citizens, or for any corporation not created by or under the laws of the United States, or of some state or territory of the United States, to hold or own real estate acquired after the date of the Act in any territory or in the District of Columbia, except such as might be acquired by inheritance or in good faith in the ordinary course of justice in the collection of debts theretofore created. Rights under existing treaties are not affected while the treaties are in force, but no longer. No corporation or association can acquire or hold or own such real estate, if more than 20 per cent of its stock is owned by persons or corporations or associa

tions not citizens of the United States. No corporation, other than railway,

canal, or turnpike, can acquire, &c., more than 5000 acres of land in any territory, or any not required for proper operation purposes, except by Act of Congress.

Another very important Act was passed, which applies to any common carrier or carriers engaged in the transportation of passengers or property wholly by railroad, or partly by railroad and partly by water when both are used, under a common control, management, or arrangement, for a continuous carriage or shipment from one state or territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, to any other state or territory or said district, or from any place in the United States to an adjacent foreign country, or from any place in the United States through a foreign country to any other place in the United States, and also to the transportation in like manner of property shipped from any place in the United States to a foreign country, and carried from such place to a port of trans-shipment, or shipped from a foreign country to any place in the United States, and carried to such place from a port of entry either in the United States or an adjacent foreign country. Provided, however, that the provisions of this Act shall not apply to the transportation of passengers or property, or to the receiving, delivering, storage, or handling of property, wholly within one state, and not shipped to or from a foreign country from or to any state or territory as aforesaid. The pur

poses of this Act are-(1) the charges for transportation of passengers or property, and for receiving, delivering, storage, or handling of property, shall be reasonable and just; (2) prohibiting and declaring unlawful special rates, rebates, drawbacks, &c.; (3) making it unlawful to make or give any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any particu

lar person, company, corporation, or locality, &c., and there shall be no discriminating rates and charges between connecting lines, and equal facilities shall be given for the interchange of traffic, &c.; (4) making it unlawful to charge or receive greater compensation in the aggregate for the transportation of passengers or of the like kind of property for a shorter than for a longer distance, not authorising as great compensation for a shorter as for a longer distance, &c.; (5) making it unlawful for common carriers to pool freights of different and competing railroads, or to divide between them the aggregate or net proceeds of the earnings of such railroads, &c.; (6) making it unlawful to charge, demand, collect, or receive a greater or less compensation for the transportation of passengers or property, or for services in connection therewith, than is specified in the published schedule as at the time in force, &c.; (7) making it unlawful to prevent, by change of time schedule, carriage in different cars, or by other means or devices, the carriage of freights from being continuous from the place of shipment to the place of destination, &c., &c. A Commission was also created, to be known as the Inter State Commerce Commission, composed of five commissioners appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Not more than three of the commissioners shall be appointed from the same political party. person in the employ of or holding any official relation to any common carrier subject to the provisions of this Act, or owning stock or bonds thereof, or who is in any manner pecuniarily interested therein, shall enter upon the duties or hold such office; and the commissioners shall not engage in any other business, vocation, or employment; salary,

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$7500 per annum. This Commission has authority to inquire into the management of the business of all common carriers, subject to the provisions of the Act, and shall keep itself informed as to the manner and method in which the same is conducted, and has the right to obtain from such common carriers full and complete information necessary to enable the Commission to perform the duties and carry out the purposes for which it was created; with power to require the attendance and testimony of witnesses, and the production of all books, papers, tariffs, contracts, agreements, and documents relating to any matter under investigation, and to that end to invoke the aid of any court of the United States in requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books, &c. A person claiming damages from any common carrier, subject to the provisions of this Act, may either make complaint to the commission as provided for, or bring suit in any district or circuit court of the United States of competent jurisdiction, but has not the right to both remedies, and must elect which he will adopt.

When Congress adjourned upon 4th March 1887, a bill was nearly perfected to enlarge the powers of the Department of Agriculture and to create an executive department, to be known as the Department of Agriculture and Labour. The chief of this new department should be a Cabinet officer. The Bureau of Labour would be transferred to this department, also the United States Signal Service Bureau.

It is necessary to examine the individual states, and as illustrative of all the states of the Union, the State of New York has been selected, because it is one of the thirteen original states, is the most widely and most deservedly known, is the wealthiest

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