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which it is approved by the President, unless the act itself appoint a different time.

The commencement of an act of Congress is as follows: "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of America in Congress assembled, That," &c.

[Clause 3.] "Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations pre scribed in the Case of a Bill."

§ 182. Were it not for the above clause, Congress might pass measures in the form of orders or resolutions instead of passing them by bills, and thus evade the President's veto. It is, therefore, provided that orders, resolutions, or votes to which the concurrence or joint assent both of the Senate and House of Representatives is necessary, shall be sent to the President for his signature, and be subject to the same regulations in that respect as if they were bills.

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CHAPTER VIII.

THE POWERS VESTED IN CONGRESS.

SECTION 8.

§ 183. THE object of this important section is to merate the various powers which have been expressly granted to Congress by the Constitution.

§ 184. The mere grant of a power to Congress by the Constitution does not of itself imply that the States are prohibited from exercising the same power. It is not alone the existence of the power in Congress, but its actual exercise by that body, which restricts the States in the exercise of the same power. For instance, Congress, as we shall see, is authorized to establish uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States; but it has been held that the States may pass bankrupt laws, provided there be no law on the subject enacted by Congress. It is when the language in which a power is granted to Congress, or the nature of the power, requires that it should be enjoyed by Congress exclusively, that the subject is taken from the legislatures of the States.

Powers which may be exercised both by Congress and the States are termed concurrent powers; those which are exercised by Congress alone are termed exclusive powers.

[Clause 1.] "The Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the

Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States."

§ 185. It has been a subject of frequent discussion whether the words "to pay the debts and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States," grant a separate and independent power to Congress, or whether they are used only to point out the purpose for which the taxes, duties, and imposts are to be collected. The latter opinion is generally received as correct. clause conveys the power of taxation, yet restrains the purpose to which it is to be exercised-to payment of the debts and provision for the common defence and general welfare of the United States.

The

§ 186. The constitutional power of Congress to lay taxes is thus limited to three purposes: (1.) To pay the public debt.

(2.) To provide for the common defence.

(3.) To provide for the general welfare.

These objects refer to the common interests of all the States, and exclude such purposes as are of a local or partial nature, the advantages of which are enjoyed only by one or a few of the individual States.

§ 187. Taxes have been defined in §78. Duties are charges upon goods and merchandise imported or exported, that is, brought into or taken out of the country. But they are almost wholly confined to charges upon imported goods; for those laid upon exported articles are designed rather to check the exportation of the articles than to raise a revenue. Imposts is a word used in a general sense as similar in meaning to tax or public burden. Excises are

inland charges upon articles produced or manufactured within a country, while in the hands of the producer or manufacturer.

§ 188. Under the Articles of Confederation, (Art. 8,) all expenses incurred for the common defence and general welfare were supplied by the several States in proportion to the value of all the land in the State granted to or surveyed for any person, with the buildings and improvements thereon. The taxes for paying the share or proportion of each State were levied and collected by the authority and under the direction of the respective State legislatures. The Continental Congress had no authority to lay a tax directly upon, and collect it from, the inhabitants of the States. It could only make a requisition upon the legis latures of the States for the amount of their contribution to the common treasury, and the States could, at their pleasure, either grant or refuse the sums thus required of them, or pay a less sum. This was one of the most serious evils of the Confederation.

§ 189. This clause, however, gives to Congress the general power of imposing taxes immediately upon the citizens of the States, and declares that duties, imposts, and excises (but not taxes) shall be uniform throughout the United States. Other parts of the Constitution provide for direct taxes.

Art. I. sec. 2, clause 3, requires that direct taxes snall be apportioned among the States, according to their respective numbers as determined by the census; and sec. 9, clause 4, of the same article, prohibits any capitation or other direct tax, unless in proportion to the census. A capitation, or, as it is sometimes called, a poll-tax, is a tax imposed upon each heal, or person, of the popu lation.

§ 190. There are two rules, therefore, for the government of Congress in imposing taxes:

(1.) The rule of apportionment. (2.) The rule of uniformity.

Capitation and other direct taxes, are to be laid by the first rule; duties, imposts, excises, and indirect taxes generally, are to be laid by the second rule.

§ 191. The difference between the operation of a direct tax laid according to the rule of apportionment, and an indirect tax laid according to the rule of uniformity, may be thus illustrated:

Suppose Congress were to impose a tax of ten dollars on each carriage, and the number of carriages in the United States were two hundred and thirty-four, which is the number of representatives at present in Congress. The sum derived from the tax would be $2,340., Now, if this were to be regarded as a direct tax, and therefore apportioned among the States according to the number of their representatives in Congress, Rhode Island, having two representatives, would have to pay of the tax, equal to twenty dollars; and Ohio, having twenty-one representatives, would have to pay of the tax, equal to two hundred and ten dollars.

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§ 192. If, then, there were in Rhode Island five persons owning a carriage, each would have to pay one-fifth of the tax payable by that State, which would be four dollars; and if in Ohio there were a hundred persons owning carriages, each would have to pay a hundredth part of the tax payable by that State, which would be two dollars and ten cents; so that in the former State the tax upon the owner of a carriage would be nearly twice as much as in the latter State.

§ 193. But if the tax which we have supposed is re

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