Politically Incorrect Guide To The Constitution (Politically Incorrect Guides) (38 page)

No State shall be represented in
Congress by less than two, nor more
than seven members; and no person
shall be capable of being a delegate for
more than three years in any term of
six years; nor shall any person, being
a delegate, be capable of holding any
office under the United States, for
which he, or another for his benefit,
receives any salary, fees or emolument
of any kind.

Each State shall maintain its own
delegates in a meeting of the States,
and while they act as members of the
committee of the States.

In determining questions in the
United States in Congress assembled,
each State shall have one vote.

Freedom of speech and debate in
Congress shall not be impeached or
questioned in any court or place out of
Congress, and the members of Congress shall be protected in their persons from arrests or imprisonments,
during the time of their going to and
from, and attendance on Congress,
except for treason, felony, or breach of
the peace.

Article VI. No State, without the
consent of the United States in Congress assembled, shall send any
embassy to, or receive any embassy
from, or enter into any conference,
agreement, alliance or treaty with any
King, Prince or State; nor shall any
person holding any office of profit or
trust under the United States, or any
of them, accept any present, emolument, office or title of any kind whatever from any King, Prince or foreign
State; nor shall the United States in
Congress assembled, or any of them,
grant any title of nobility.

No two or more States shall enter
into any treaty, confederation or
alliance whatever between them, without the consent of the United
States in Congress assembled, specifying accurately the purposes for which
the same is to be entered into, and
how long it shall continue.

No State shall lay any imposts or
duties, which may interfere with any
stipulations in treaties, entered into by
the United States in Congress assembled, with any King, Prince or State,
in pursuance of any treaties already
proposed by Congress, to the courts of
France and Spain.

No vessel of war shall be kept up
in time of peace by any State, except
such number only, as shall be deemed
necessary by the United States in Congress assembled, for the defense of
such State, or its trade; nor shall any
body of forces be kept up by any State
in time of peace, except such number
only, as in the judgement of the
United States in Congress assembled,
shall be deemed requisite to garrison
the forts necessary for the defense of
such State; but every State shall
always keep up a well-regulated and
disciplined militia, sufficiently armed
and accoutered, and shall provide and
constantly have ready for use, in public stores, a due number of filed pieces
and tents, and a proper quantity of
arms, ammunition and camp
equipage.

No State shall engage in any war
without the consent of the United
States in Congress assembled, unless
such State be actually invaded by enemies, or shall have received certain
advice of a resolution being formed by
some nation of Indians to invade such
State, and the danger is so imminent
as not to admit of a delay till the
United States in Congress assembled
can be consulted; nor shall any State
grant commissions to any ships or vessels of war, nor letters of marque or
reprisal, except it be after a declaration of war by the United States in
Congress assembled, and then only
against the Kingdom or State and the
subjects thereof, against which war

has been so declared, and under such
regulations as shall be established by
the United States in Congress assembled, unless such State be infested by
pirates, in which case vessels of war
may be fitted out for that occasion,
and kept so long as the danger shall
continue, or until the United States in
Congress assembled shall determine
otherwise.

Article VII. When land forces are
raised by any State for the common
defense, all officers of or under the
rank of colonel, shall be appointed by
the legislature of each State respectively, by whom such forces shall be
raised, or in such manner as such
State shall direct, and all vacancies
shall be filled up by the State which
first made the appointment.

Article VIII. All charges of war,
and all other expenses that shall be
incurred for the common defense or
general welfare, and allowed by the
United States in Congress assembled,
shall be defrayed out of a common
treasury, which shall be supplied by
the several States in proportion to the
value of all land within each State,
granted or surveyed for any person, as
such land and the buildings and
improvements thereon shall be estimated according to such mode as the
United States in Congress assembled,
shall from time to time direct and
appoint.

The taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied by the
authority and direction of the legislatures of the several States within the
time agreed upon by the United States
in Congress assembled.

Article IX. The United States in
Congress assembled, shall have the
sole and exclusive right and power of
determining on peace and war, except
in the cases mentioned in the sixth
article-of sending and receiving
ambassadors-entering into treaties

and alliances, provided that no treaty
of commerce shall be made whereby
the legislative power of the respective
States shall be restrained from imposing such imposts and duties on foreigners, as their own people are
subjected to, or from prohibiting the
exportation or importation of any
species of goods or commodities
whatsoever-of establishing rules for
deciding in all cases, what captures on
land or water shall be legal, and in
what manner prizes taken by land or
naval forces in the service of the
United States shall be divided or
appropriated-of granting letters of
marque and reprisal in times of
peace-appointing courts for the trial
of piracies and felonies committed on
the high seas and establishing courts
for receiving and determining finally
appeals in all cases of captures, provided that no member of Congress
shall be appointed a judge of any of
the said courts.

The United States in Congress
assembled shall also be the last resort
on appeal in all disputes and differences now subsisting or that hereafter
may arise between two or more States
concerning boundary, jurisdiction or
any other causes whatever; which
authority shall always be exercised in
the manner following. Whenever the
legislative or executive authority or
lawful agent of any State in controversy with another shall present a
petition to Congress stating the matter
in question and praying for a hearing,
notice thereof shall be given by order
of Congress to the legislative or executive authority of the other State in
controversy, and a day assigned for
the appearance of the parties by their
lawful agents, who shall then be
directed to appoint by joint consent,
commissioners or judges to constitute
a court for hearing and determining
the matter in question: but if they cannot agree, Congress shall name three
persons out of each of the United
States, and from the list of such per sons each party shall alternately strike
out one, the petitioners beginning,
until the number shall be reduced to
thirteen; and from that number not
less than seven, nor more than nine
names as Congress shall direct, shall
in the presence of Congress be drawn
out by lot, and the persons whose
names shall be so drawn or any five of
them, shall be commissioners or
judges, to hear and finally determine
the controversy, so always as a major
part of the judges who shall hear the
cause shall agree in the determination:
and if either party shall neglect to
attend at the day appointed, without
showing reasons, which Congress
shall judge sufficient, or being present
shall refuse to strike, the Congress
shall proceed to nominate three persons out of each State, and the secretary of Congress shall strike in behalf
of such party absent or refusing; and
the judgement and sentence of the
court to be appointed, in the manner
before prescribed, shall be final and
conclusive; and if any of the parties
shall refuse to submit to the authority
of such court, or to appear or defend
their claim or cause, the court shall
nevertheless proceed to pronounce
sentence, or judgement, which shall
in like manner be final and decisive,
the judgement or sentence and other
proceedings being in either case transmitted to Congress, and lodged among
the acts of Congress for the security of
the parties concerned: provided that
every commissioner, before he sits in
judgement, shall take an oath to be
administered by one of the judges of
the supreme or superior court of the
State, where the cause shall be tried,
`well and truly to hear and determine
the matter in question, according to
the best of his judgement, without
favor, affection or hope of reward':
provided also, that no State shall be
deprived of territory for the benefit of
the United States.

All controversies concerning the
private right of soil claimed under dif

ferent grants of two or more States,
whose jurisdictions as they may
respect such lands, and the States
which passed such grants are
adjusted, the said grants or either of
them being at the same time claimed
to have originated antecedent to such
settlement of jurisdiction, shall on the
petition of either party to the Congress
of the United States, be finally determined as near as may be in the same
manner as is before prescribed for
deciding disputes respecting territorial jurisdiction between different
States.

The United States in Congress
assembled shall also have the sole and
exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of coin struck
by their own authority, or by that of
the respective States-fixing the standards of weights and measures
throughout the United States-regulating the trade and managing all
affairs with the Indians, not members
of any of the States, provided that the
legislative right of any State within its
own limits be not infringed or violated-establishing or regulating post
offices from one State to another,
throughout all the United States, and
exacting such postage on the papers
passing through the same as may be
requisite to defray the expenses of the
said office-appointing all officers of
the land forces, in the service of the
United States, excepting regimental
officers-appointing all the officers of
the naval forces, and commissioning
all officers whatever in the service of
the United States-making rules for
the government and regulation of the
said land and naval forces, and directing their operations.

The United States in Congress
assembled shall have authority to
appoint a committee, to sit in the
recess of Congress, to be denominated
`A Committee of the States', and to
consist of one delegate from each
State; and to appoint such other committees and civil officers as may be

necessary for managing the general
affairs of the United States under their
direction-to appoint one of their
members to preside, provided that no
person be allowed to serve in the office
of president more than one year in any
term of three years; to ascertain the
necessary sums of money to be raised
for the service of the United States,
and to appropriate and apply the same
for defraying the public expenses-to
borrow money, or emit bills on the
credit of the United States, transmitting every half-year to the respective
States an account of the sums of
money so borrowed or emitted-to
build and equip a navy-to agree upon
the number of land forces, and to make
requisitions from each State for its
quota, in proportion to the number of
white inhabitants in such State; which
requisition shall be binding, and thereupon the legislature of each State shall
appoint the regimental officers, raise
the men and cloath, arm and equip
them in a solid-like manner, at the
expense of the United States; and the
officers and men so cloathed, armed
and equipped shall march to the place
appointed, and within the time agreed
on by the United States in Congress
assembled. But if the United States in
Congress assembled shall, on consideration of circumstances judge proper
that any State should not raise men, or
should raise a smaller number of men
than the quota thereof, such extra
number shall be raised, officered,
cloathed, armed and equipped in the
same manner as the quota of each
State, unless the legislature of such
State shall judge that such extra number cannot be safely spread out in the
same, in which case they shall raise,
officer, cloath, arm and equip as many
of such extra number as they judge can
be safely spared. And the officers and
men so cloathed, armed, and
equipped, shall march to the place
appointed, and within the time agreed
on by the United States in Congress
assembled.

The United States in Congress
assembled shall never engage in a war,
nor grant letters of marque or reprisal
in time of peace, nor enter into any
treaties or alliances, nor coin money,
nor regulate the value thereof, nor
ascertain the sums and expenses necessary for the defense and welfare of
the United States, or any of them, nor
emit bills, nor borrow money on the
credit of the United States, nor appropriate money, nor agree upon the
number of vessels of war, to be built or
purchased, or the number of land or
sea forces to be raised, nor appoint a
commander in chief of the army or
navy, unless nine States assent to the
same: nor shall a question on any
other point, except for adjourning
from day to day be determined, unless
by the votes of the majority of the
United States in Congress assembled.