368
CONSTITUTION OF THE U. STATES.
[BOOK III.
ing advantage of the accidental absence of a few members; and certainly the motive to punctuality in attendance will be greatly increased by making such ratification to depend upon the numbers present.[1]
§ 1515. The Federalist has taken notice of the difference between the treaty-making power in England, and that in America in the following terms:The president is to have power, with the advice and consent of the senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the members present concur. The king of Great Britain is the sole and absolute representative of the nation, in all foreign transactions. He can, of his own accord, make treaties of peace, commerce, alliance, and of every other description. It has been insinuated, that his authority, in this respect, is not conclusive; and that his conventions with foreign powers are subject to the revision, and stand in need of the ratification of parliament. But, I believe, this doctrine was never heard of, till it was broached upon the present occasion. Every jurist of that kingdom, and every other man acquainted with its constitution, knows, as an established fact, that the prerogative of making treaties exists in the crown in its utmost plenitude; and that the compacts entered into by the royal authority have the most complete legal validity and perfection, independ-
- ↑ The Federalist, No. 75, 22; 2 Elliot's Debates, 368.—In the convention a proposition to require the assent of two thirds of all the members of the senate was rejected by the vote of eight states against three. Another to require, that no treaty shall be made, unless two thirds of the whole number of senators were present, was also rejected by the vote of six states against five. Another, to require a majority of all the members of the senate to make a treaty, was also rejected by the vote of six states against five. Another, to require, that all the members should be summoned, and have time to attend, shared a like fate, by the vote of eight states against three. Journal of Convention, 343, 344.
