In the selection of presidential candidates, the plan is carried one step further, and the State convention selects delegates to the National convention. Sometimes delegates are instructed to vote for certain candidates; sometimes they are left free to use their own judgment.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

1. May a woman vote on selection of school directors in Iowa ?

2. Are there any states where this privilege is enjoyed by women?

3. In what states do women have full suffrage? (203).

4. In what states are aliens allowed to vote?

5. On what ground must a person reside ten days in a voting precinct before being allowed to vote?

6. Why was the word "white" struck out of Art. II., Sec. I?

CHAPTER XVII

ARTICLE III.-LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT

Distribution of Power,-Sec. 1.

217. The powers of the government of Iowa shall be divided into three separate departments, the Legislative, the Executive, and the Judicial; and no person charged with the exercise of powers properly belonging to one of these departments shall exercise any function appertaining to either of the others, except in cases hereinafter expressly directed or permitted.

The Legislature is the law-making power. The Executive is the law-enforcing power. The Judiciary is the law-interpreting power. The General Assembly possesses all legislative authority not delegated to the general (United States) government, or prohibited by the Constitution of the United States or of Iowa. other words, the General Assembly may do anything not prohibited by the State Constitution or by the Supreme law of the United States (128).

In

218. Legislative Department.-Sec. 1. The Legislative authority of this State shall be vested in a General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives; and the style of every law shall be:

"Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Iowa."

The purpose of two houses is to put a check upon hasty legislature. The clause, "Be it enacted, etc.," is also called the enacting clause of a law, and will be

found at the beginning of every chapter in the laws of any General Assembly.

219. Regular and Special Sessions.-Sec. 2. The sessions of the General Assembly shall be biennial, and shall commence on the second Monday in January next ensuing the election of its members, unless the Governor of the State shall, in the meantime, convene the General Assembly by proclamation.

Notice the difference in the time of the beginning of a regular session and the beginning of the term (Sec. 3). In extra sessions the assembly is not restricted to the business for which it was called together. (Code p. 91, note on Constitution, Art. IV., Sec. 11.)

220. House of Representatives.-Sec. 3. The members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen every second year by the qualified electors of their respective districts, on the second Tuesday in October, except the years of the Presidential election, when the election shall be on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November; and their term of office shall commence on the first day of January next after their election, and continue two years, and until their successors are elected and qualified.

(By an amendment adopted by the general election in 1884, elections now occur uniformly in November).

221. Qualifications of Representatives.-Sec. 4. No person shall be a member of the House of Repre sentatives who shall not have attained the age of twenty, one years, be a (free white) male citizen of the United States, and shall have been an inhabitant of this State one year next preceding his election, and at the time of his election shall have had an actual residence of sixty days in the county or district he may have been chosen to represent.

(Amended by striking out the words "free white," at the general election in 1880.)

Study these sections by the following outline:

Representatives,

Number (See Art. III., Sec. 35);

Election,

When,

By whom;

Term of service,

Beginning,
Length,

Regular,

Contingent;

Qualifications,

Age,

Sex,

Citizenship,

Residence.

What change has been made in the time of the election? Why, when, and how was the change made? Could the General Assembly have made the change?

222. Senators.-Sec. 5. Senators shall be chosen for the term of four years, at the same time and place as Representatives; they shall be twenty-five years of age, and possess the qualifications of Representatives as to residence and citizenship.

Sec. 6. The number of Senators shall not be less than one-third, nor more than one-half the Representative body; and shall be so classified by lot that one class, being as nearly one-half as possible, shall be elected every two years. When the number of Senators is increased, they shall be annexed by lot to one or the other of the two classes, so as to keep them as nearly equal in numbers as practicable.

Study this section by the following outline:

Senators,

Number,

Relative limits,

Absolute limit (Article III., Sec. 35);

Classes,

How many,

Changes, how made;

Election,

When,

By whom;

Term of service,

Beginning,

Length,

Regular,

Contingent;

Qualifications,

Age,

Sex,

Citizenship,

Residence.

What is the purpose in classifying the senators ?

223. Powers and Duties Belonging to Both Houses.-Sec. 7. Each house shall choose its own officers, and judge of the qualification, election, and return of its own members. A contested election shall be determined in such manner as shall be directed by law.

Sec. 8. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to transact business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as each house may provide.

Sec. 9. Each house shall sit upon its own adjournments, keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish the same; determine its rules of proceedings, punish members for disorderly behavior, and, with the consent of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same offense, and shall have all other power necessary for a branch of the General Assembly of a free and independent state.

Study these sections by the following analysis, and be able to fill out from memory.

Quorum, Sec. 8.

For business,

Two prerogatives of a smaller number;