CONGRESS. 



399 



this purpose, partly for supplying some deficiencies in the acts 

 of the congress of Vienna, relative to the internal organization 

 of Germany. 5 Soon alter thi< consress, another, composed of 

 ministers, assembled at Vienna, Nov. ^5, 1819, here Metter- 

 nich piesided. The doings of this congress had reference en- 

 tirely to the organization of the German confederation, and 

 the suppression o( the liberal spirit in Germany. Their final 

 act wa-- .-igued May 15, ISEO. 'Hie three following congresses, 

 at Troppau, Laybdch, and Verona, concerned tiie affairs oi 

 Europe in general, li. The congress at Troppau (q. v.) lusted 

 from October to December, 18UO. The congress was held on 

 account of the revolutions in Spain and Portugal, and was 

 transferred to I.aybach, when the revolution of Naples broke 

 out. 7. The right of interfering in the internal i. flairs of other 

 nations, agreed upon at Troppau, was, in 1821, diplomatically 

 admitted into the international code of the European conti- 

 nental powers at the congress of Laybach. The consequences 

 of the congress at Laybach, trotn whence the allied powers 

 issued a proclamation against Naples, were the occupation of 

 Naples, Sicily, and Piedmont, by Austrian armies; the aboli- 

 tion of the Spanish constitution in these countries, and the re- 

 storation of the old order of things. (See Naples, Sicily, and 

 Piedmont Revolutions of.) If Austria h.-d not succeeded, a 

 Russian army nf 80,000 men, which had already begun to march 

 towards Hungary, would have entered Italy. After the Ans- 

 trians had acquired their object in Naples and Piedmont, the 

 two emperors concluded the congress of Layhaoh by a procla- 

 mation, signed by the ministers ot Austria, Prussia, and 

 Russia, May 12, 1821, in which they declared that the justice 

 and disinterestedness which had guided tlie councils of the 

 monarchs, would always be the rule of their politics. This 

 congress is also famous for a speech of the emperor of Austria 

 to the professors of a public seminary at Laybach, in which he 

 directed them to be careful not to teach their pupils too much ; 

 he did not want learned or scientific, men, but obedient subjects. 

 8. The two emperors had determined, at Laybach, to hold a 

 new congress, in I8:S, at Florence. Verona was afterwards 

 substituted for Florence, and a congress held there from Oct. to 

 Dec., 1S22, on account of Spain and Portugal, and the political 

 state of Italy and Greece. I he war of France against Spain, in 

 1823, was a consequence of this congress, which was remark- 

 able for the spirit displayed by the duke ot Wellington ; the same 

 which prevailed in the British ministry from the appointment 

 of Canning to the secretaryship of foreign affairs (Sept 16, 18xy). 

 The duke, the British minister at Verona, opposed the under- 

 taking any measure against the Spaniards, as long as they 

 left their king unmolested, and did not labour to extend 

 their constitution beyond their borders. As respected Turkey 

 and Greece also, Britain wished for no interference of the 

 other powers, but to leave them to themselves. In America, 

 only one international congress has been held, and that of little 

 importance. It was culled the congress of Panama. '1 he pro- 

 ject of a general union of the new Spanish American republics 

 was early conceived by different leaders of the revolution. 

 The first attempt to carry this plan into execution was mnde 

 by Bolivar, in 1823. As president of the republic of Colombia, 

 he invited the governments of Mexico, Peru, Chile, and Bue- 

 nos Ayres, to send delegates to the isthmus of Panama, or 

 wherever they should think proper, to constitute a congress 

 with full powers to treat of matters of general interest to the 

 republics. Mexico and Peru immediately acceded to the pro- 

 posal, but Buenos Ayres and Chile showed no inclination to 

 take part in the congress. Jn Dec., I8i4, Bolivar sent a circu- 

 lar to each of the governments, recapitulating what had already 

 beec done, and proposing that the meeting should take place. 

 Accordingly, in June, 18.'6, the delegates from Colombia, 

 Mexico, Peru, and Guatemala assembled at Panama ; Chile 

 and Buenos Ayres still holding back, ic is said, in consequence 

 of suspicions of an ambitious scheme of Bolivar to incorporate 

 the four south American republics into an empire, of which he 

 was to occupy the throne. The declaration of the United 

 States of North America, in 1825, that they would permit no 

 ulterior colonization in any part of the continent by European 

 powers ; that they should consider any attempt on the part of 

 those powers toextend the system of national interference to any 

 portion of this hemisphere dangerous to their peace and safety; 

 and that any interposition, by any European power, for the 

 purpose of controlling, in any manner, the governments of 

 America, which had established their independence, would be 

 considered as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition to- 

 wards the United States, led the South A merican states to in- 

 vite this republic to join in the general confederation. Minis- 

 ters to the congress were, in fact, appointed ; but, before their 

 arrival, the congress had adjourned (after concluding a treaty 

 of friendship and perpetual confederation) to the succeeding 

 1'ebruary. The place appointed for the new session, which 

 has never taken place, was the village of Tacubaya, near Mexi- 

 <:. The three great poii ts held out by the originators of this 

 plan were, the independence, peace, and security of the Spa- 

 nish American republics. The congress was intended to form 

 a permanent council, to eerve as a bond of union against com- 

 mon dangers, to interpret the treaties between the states, and 

 mediate in all disputes ; it was further an object, particularly 

 with the United States, to settle, through this body, disputed 

 principles of international law, to abolish usages of war incon- 

 sistent with the spirit of the age, and to embody the principles 

 of American republicanism in an imposing form, in opposition 

 to the doctrines of the European alliance of kings. 



CONURESS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



The national legislature of the United States of 

 America is designated, in the constitution of the 



general government, by this title. It consists of a 

 senate and a house of representatives, each constitut- 

 ing a distinct and independent branch. The house 

 of representatives is composed of members chosen 

 every second year, by the people of the several 

 states ; and the voters or electors are required to 

 have the same qualifications as are requisite for 

 choosing the members of the most numerous branch 

 of the state legislature of the state in which they 

 vote. The representatives are apportioned among 

 the several states according to their respective popu- 

 lation ; and, in estimating the population, three- 

 fifths of the slaves are added to the whole number of 

 free persons. A census of the population is taken 

 once in every ten years, and an apportionment is 

 then made of the representatives for each state. 

 The representatives are then elected in each state, 

 either in districts, or by a general ticket, as the state 

 legislature directs. There cannot be more than one 

 representative for every 30,000 persons. The pre- 

 sent apportionment is one representative for every 

 40,000 persons. Each state, however small may be 

 its population, is entitled to at least one representa- 

 tive. No person can be a representative who shall 

 not have attained the age of twenty-five years, and 

 have been seven years a citizen of the United States, 

 and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of 

 that state in which he shall be chosen. No other 

 qualifications are required. When vacancies happen 

 in the representation of any state, by death, resigna- 

 tion, or otherwise, new writs of election are issued by 

 the executive thereof to fill the vacancy. The house 

 of representatives chooses its own speaker and other 

 officers, and possesses the sole power of impeach- 

 ment. Each representative has a single vote. 



The senate of the United States is composed of 

 two senators from each state ; and, there being 

 twenty-four states, the senate now consists of forty- 

 eight members. The senators of each state are 

 chosen by the legislature of the state for six years, 

 and each senator has one vote. They are divided 

 into three classes, so that one-third thereof is or may 

 be, changed by a new election every second year. 

 When vacancies happen, they are supplied by the 

 state legislature, if in session ; if not, the state exe- 

 cutive makes a temporary appointment until" the le- 

 gislature meets. No person can be a senator wl;o is 

 not thirty years of age, and has not been nine years 

 a citizen of the United States, and is not, when 

 elected, an inhabitant of the state for which he is 

 chosen. The vice-president is, ex officio, president 

 of the senate ; but he has no vote unless they be 

 equally divided. The senate chooses all its other 

 officers, and a president, pro tempore, in the absence 

 of the vice-president, or when he exercises the office 

 of president of the United States. The senate has 

 the sole power of trying all impeachments; and, 

 when sitting for this purpose, the senators take an 

 oath or affirmation. If the president of the United 

 States should be impeached, the chief-justice is to 

 preside. A conviction on impeachment cannot be 

 without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members 

 present. The judgment extends only to a removal 

 from office and future disqualification for ofiice. But 

 the party is, nevertheless, liable to punishment 

 on indictment, by the common trial and course or 

 law. 



The times, places, and manner of holding elections 

 for senators and representatives, are appointed by 

 Uie state legislatures ; but the congress may, by law, 

 fix and alter the time and manner of holding such 

 elections. Each of the two houses, viz., the senate 

 and representatives, is the judge of the elections, re- 

 turns, and qualifications of its own members. Each 

 house determines the rules of its own proceedings, 



