WRIGHT— POWER TO MAKE AGREEMENTS. 349 



the United States are both declared to be the supreme law of the land, and 

 no paramount authority is given to one over the other. ... It can be deemed 

 only the equivalent of a legislative act, to be repealed or modified at the 

 pleasure of Congress. In either case the last expression of the sovereign 

 will must control. . . . The question whether our government was justified 

 in disregarding its engagements with another nation is not one for the de- 

 termination of the courts. . . . The court is not the censor of the morals 

 of the other departments of the Government." 



However, as the court noticed, such legislation does not afifect the 

 international obligation of the treaty. President Arthur in veto- 

 ing the Chinese exclusion bill of 1882 said: ""^ 



"A nation is justified in repudiating its treaty obligations only when 

 they are in conflict with great paramount interests. Even then all possible 

 reasonable means for modifying or changing these obligations by mutual 

 agreement should be exhausted before resorting to the supreme right of 

 refusal to comply with them." 



President Hayes's veto of a similar bill in 1879 though based partly on 

 constitutional grounds referred to " the more general considerations 

 of interest and duty which sacredly guard the faith of the nation, 

 in whatever form of obligation it may have been given." ^^' To 

 make " a scrap of paper " of a treaty by legislation will at once give 

 basis for international demands. Thus France refused to recog- 

 nize the legitimacy of American abrogation of her treaties in 1798 

 and compensation was made by sacrifice of the spoliation claims by 

 the treaty of 1800.^^^ China has consistently protested against the 

 disregard of her treaties by various exclusion acts.^^^ 



188. Conclusion. 



We conclude that the power of making international agreements 

 is largely vested in the President. The states' power in this respect 

 is practically nil. Though the Senate has an absolute veto on 

 treaties, and Congress may suggest the opening of negotiations, may 

 authorize executive agreements. and may refuse to execute treaties, 

 yet the real initiative, the negotiation and the final decision to ratify 



1^" Richardson, Messages, 8: 112. 



ii'/fciJ., 7: 520. See also Message of Pres. Harrison, Dec, 1890, in re- 

 ferring to violation of Hawaiian Reciprocity Treaty by the tariff act, Richard- 

 son, 9: no; Moore, Digest, 5: 368, and supra, sec. loi. 



118 Moore. Digest, 5: 357, 609-612. 



ii^See references to U. S. Foreign Relations, Moore, Digest, 4: 198, 202. 



