ADAMS: IHE CONTROL OK IHE PURSE. 203 



For these reasons it is asserted that the Senate has the constitutional 

 right "first, to originate appropriation bills; second, to originate bills 

 for fixing the salaries of the officers of the government; and third, 

 that money may be drawn from the Treasury upon appropriations 

 which do not originate in the House of Representatives."* In sup- 

 port of these conclusions, history is appealed to and sixteen laws 

 originating in the Senate and passed by the House are enumerated, 

 which involve either an increase in revenue, a reduction of revenue, 

 or the expenditure of money. Writers recognized as authorities on 

 constitutional interpretation are cited as upholding the Senate's 

 position, and finally the committee maintained " that according to 

 the true intent and meaning of the seventh section of the first article 

 of the constitution, 'bills for raising revenue ' are those bills only the 

 direct purpose of which is to raise revenue by laying and collecting 

 taxes, duties, imposts, or excises, and that a bill may originate in the 

 Senate to repeal a law or a portion of a law which imposes taxes, 

 duties, imposts, or excises, "t 



The report of the committee was never debated in the Senate, nor 

 was there any definite motion of adherence, yet it undoubtedly 

 expressed the opinion of a majority of Senators, and is by far the 

 most important statement of the Senate position in the matter, though 

 it by no means follows that a majority of the Senate would ever 

 insist upon pressing this interpretation against the expressed will of 

 the House. In the House the report of the conference committee 

 came up for discussion 'I March 3, a day after the report made in the 

 Senate. The resolution of the House committee was "that this 

 House maintains that it is its sole and exclusive privilege to originate 

 all bills directly affecting the revenue, whether such bills be for the 

 imposition, reduction, or repeal of taxes; and in the exercise of this 

 privilege, in the first instance, to limit and appoint the ends, pur- 

 poses, considerations, and limitations of such bills, whether relating 

 to the matter, manner, measure, or time of their introduction, subject 

 to the right of the Senate to ' propose and concur with amendments 

 as on other bills.' " § This brief resolution was the most compre- 

 hensive presentation yet made of the position of the House, and 

 forms, together with the resolution on Senate amendments in the 

 succeeding Congress, the best statement of the determination of the 

 House to guard its privilege. There was no protracted debate upon 

 the resolution. Mr. Butler, referring to the bill which had aroused 

 the first discussion, voiced the sentiments of nearly the whole House 



*Cong. Globe, 1870-7r pt. III. p. 1874. 

 • Ibid., p. 1873 

 tibid., p. 1928. 

 ijlbld.. p. 1988. 



