CONGREGAT'L METHODIST 108 CONGREVE CONGBEGATIONAL METHODIST CHXTBCH, THE, a church founded in 1852 in Georgia by ministers and lay- men of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with the purpose of following Methodist beliefs, but giving the congregations of the respective churches the controlling voice in church government. The first general convention of the church was held in 1855. The growth of the move- ment has been slow, for in 1913 they re- ported but 333 churches with somewhat over 15,000 members. The Atlanta Bible School is conducted under the auspices cf this church. The official organ is "The Messenger," published at Ellisville, Miss. CONGREGATIONISTS, the Scotch re- formers. The whole body was called the Congregation; but from 1638, when they bound themselves by oath to adhere to the Solemn League and Covenant, the reformers were called Covenanters. Not unfrequently the Congregationists are called Covenanters. CONGRESS, an assembly either of sovereign princes, or of the delegated representatives of sovereign States, for the purpose of considering matters of in- ternational interest. Even in the United States, though the term has now a dif- ferent meaning, it had a similar origin, the first congress being that of the dele- gates from the various British colonies, who met on Oct. 7, 1765, for the pur- pose of considering their grievances. Previous to signing a treaty of peace, a meeting of plenipotentiaries usually takes place, to which the name of a con- gress is sometimes applied. It is more properly reserved for important meet- ings to decide great European ques- tions. To this class belonged the famous Congress of Vienna in 1815; that of Carlsbad in 1819, for regulating the af- fairs of Germany; that of Paris at the end of the Russian war of 1854-1856; and that at Berlin after the Russo- Turkish war of 1877-1878. CONGRESS, LIBRARY OF, an insti- tution in Washington, D. C, established in 1800. It was destroyed in 1814 at the time of the burning ox the Capitol by the British. It was again burned in 1851. It was housed in the Capitol until 1897, when it was removed to a building erected for it at a cost of nearly $6,- 500,000. It contains the largest col- lection of books in the Western Hemi- sphere. The library has grown constantly and in 1919 contained 2,710,556 books, 163,484 maps and charts, 848,292 vol- umes and pieces of music, and 409,029 prints. A copy of each book printed in the United States under the copyright laws is deposited in the Library of Con* gress. The library is supported by an- nual appropriations made by Congress, From 1899 Herbert Putnam has been librarian. CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, the legislative branch of the Federal Government, deriving its powers from the Constitution. It consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The powers of Congress are enumerated in Article 1, section 8, of the Constitu- tion, and all powers not granted to Con- gress, or prohibited to the States, are reserved to the States or to the people; but the power of Congress is absolute within the scope of its authority. The Senate is composed of two members from each State, regardless of size or popula- tion; the members of the House are ap- portioned on the basis of population. Thus, while in the House the influence of the people is felt directly, according to their numbers, the Senate provides the means of defending the smaller States from the possible encroachments of the larger; and to assure the safety of the smaller States, the Constitution, Article 5, provides that "no State without its consent shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate." Bills that have passed both Houses are sent to the Presi- dent, who may either sign or veto them, or do neither, in which case the bill be- comes a law after 10 days unless Con- gress has previously adjourned. The veto of the President is the only check upon the power of Congress to legislate within the scope of its authority. Legis- lation exceeding the constitutional power of Congress will be declared unconstitu- tional by the Supreme Court, if that body is appealed to by either party to any controversy arising in an attempt to enforce such laws. Each House is, by the Constitution, "the judge of the elec- tions, returns and qualifications of its own members." In 1910 the 48 States were represented by 96 Senators and the ratio of Repre- sentatives was fixed at 1 to every 212,407 population. The 17th Amendment to the Constitution provided for a direct vote for Senators by the people. CONGREVE, WILLIAM, an English dramatist; born near Leeds in 1670. He entered himself as a student at the Mid- dle Temple, but abandoned the law for literature. His first piece, written at the age of 17, was a romance, entitled, "Incognito, or Love and Duty Recon- ciled." In 1693, being then only 23 years old, he wrote his first comedy, "The Old Bachelor." This produced him not only great reputation, but a cpmmissionership
