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Show WHEN A CONGRESS ENDS. It is a curious thing that' there has never been a 113' definite officinl construction con-struction as to when a Congress ends or tho term of tho Senators or Reprc sentativos, who are members of a given Congress, is done. It has boon quite common for members to consider that their term ouded on March 3rd, but, on tho contrary, others have contended that the term ends on March '4th at noon, and that tho new Congress begins its term immediately thereafter. For the most part this might be a mor academic question, of no practical importance; but this year it happens to bo of immense aud intenso importance, because a pumber of the appropriation bills were passod on tho forenoon of March -1th. And -ot some of the Senators, Sena-tors, as Senator Hale of Maine, who wrote in his Congressional directory biography 'that his term ended on March 3rd, agree that the3 aro not members on March 4th. But Senator Halo was present pres-ent on the forenoon of March 4th, voting vot-ing on questions before tho Senate. B3-his B3-his own shqwing, thereforo, ho was there and was voting illegal, because if Iub term ended on March 3rd, as he sot down in his official biograpl)3', then he was not a member of Congress on March 4th. It is even suggested in Washington Washing-ton that some sort of test may be made against those appropriations, on the ground that they wore passed b3" Congress Con-gress after the official term of the Sixt3'-first Congress had ended. In repl- to the suggestion that the session of the forenoon of March 4th might be hold to be a recess session, tho fact is cited that no recess could encroach upon a new form, nor extend an expired one. But the Congressional Record explicitly dates- the final session of the Senate of tho Sixt3'-first Congress Con-gress on Saturda3r, March 4th, slating that the Senate met at S o'clock in the morning of that dn3"; and for both Houses tho Record date is Saturda3', March 4th, although the House on that da3r began its session with the statement state-ment that it was a continuation of the legislative da3' of March 2nd, this, under un-der the superior date of " Fridaj, March 3rd," and the proceedings of the House show an oxecutivc communication commu-nication received March 4. 1911. So that officially and on record both Houses of Congress were in session on March 4th. The main fact that no official time has .been fixed as between March 3rd and March 4th for the cud of the Congressional Con-gressional term, and that some Senators, while official' stating that their term ended on March 3rd, continued their service on March 4th, show a curious inconsistency and uncertainty- on this whole question. Usualh' it would not bo a question worth much attention, save 011I3 that matters of this kind oii'rhl to be definitely and officials-fixed. officials-fixed. When, however, the suggestion is made that appropriations may perhaps per-haps be attacked on tho ground that they were passed by men who were, at tho time of this passage, no longer members of CongTcss, this raises a vcr3 serious question. Tho natural order would be as intimated above, that the Congressional torm would end at noon on March -1th, and that the new torm would begin without lapse of time thereafter. And certain' it is about time that this matter were, official' fixed 1)3' law. |