been members of it during the year of the election nor during the two preceeding years.

ART. 57. Senators shall receive neither salary nor emolument.

ART. 58. The sons of the King, or if there are none, the Belgian princes of the branch of the royal family designated to succeed to the throne, are by right Senators at the age of eighteen years. They have no deliberative vote until twenty-five years of age.

ART. 59. Any assembly of the Senate which may be held at any other time than during the session of the Chamber of Representatives, is null and void.

Chapter II.

THE KING AND THE MINISTERS.

Section I.-THE KING.

ART. 60. The constitutional powers of the King are hereditary in the direct descendants, natural and legitimate, of His Majesty Leopold-George-Christian-Frederick of Saxe-Coburg, from male to male in the order of primogeniture, and to the perpetual exclusion of the females and of their descendants.

The prince who shall marry without the consent of the King, or of those, who in his absence exercise his authority as provided by the constitution, shall forfeit his rights to the crown.

Nevertheless, with the consent of the two Chambers, he can be relieved of this forfeiture by the King or by those who, in his absence, exercise his authority according to the constitution.1

'The clauses relating to the marriage of the heirs apparent were inserted at the last revision.

ART. 61. In default of male descendants of His Majesty Leopold-George-Christian-Frederick of Saxe-Coburg, the King may name his successor, with the consent of the Chambers expressed in the manner prescribed by the following article.

If no nomination has been made after the manner described below, the throne shall be vacant.

ART. 62. The King cannot be at the same time the head of another state without the consent of the two Chambers.

Neither of the Chambers can deliberate upon this point unless two-thirds, at least, of the members who compose it are present, and the resolution must be adopted by at least two-thirds of the votes cast.

ART. 63. The person of the King is inviolable; his ministers are responsible.

ART. 64. No decree of the King can take effect unless it is countersigned by a minister, who, by that act alone, renders himself responsible for it.

ART. 65. The King appoints and dismisses his ministers.1

1 Emile de Laveleye in his book on "Government in Democracies," calls attention to an interesting bit of political experience in Belgium. ("Gouvernement dans la Démocratie," Vol. I., p. 367.) Several times in the history of the country, ministries have been dismissed when there was still a majority in their favor in the legis lature. In 1857 Leopold I. did this because of the great popular outcry against the measures proposed by the cabinet in power. Leopold II. did the same thing in 1871 and again in 1884 because the people were very much excited and the downfall of the ministry was demanded by the large towns, especially the capital. The motive for the act was that the majority in parliament did not represent the majority in the country, and the result was that in every case the agitation of the public was calmed. Laveleye compares this to the conduct of Louis Philippe in 1848, when he insisted on maintaining too long the strict legal rights of the Guizot ministry in the face of popular outcry, until the masses became infuriated and deposed the monarchy itself. The advisability of bending before manifest popular desire is a problem well worth careful study.

ART. 66. He confers the grades in the army.

He appoints the officers of the general administration and for foreign relations, except as otherwise established by law.

He appoints other governmental officials only by virtue of an express provision of law.

ART. 67. He issues all regulations and decrees necessary for the execution of the laws, without power to suspend the laws themselves, or to dispense with their execution.

ART. 68. The King commands the forces both by land and sea, declares war, makes treaties of peace, of alliance and of commerce. He notifies the two Chambers of these acts as soon as the interest and safety of the state permit, adding thereto suitable comments.

Treaties of commerce, and treaties which might burden the state, or bind Belgian citizens individually, shall take effect only after having received the approval of the two Chambers.

No cession, no exchange and no addition of territory can take place except by law. In no case can the secret articles of a treaty be destructive of those openly expressed.

ART. 69. The King sanctions and promulgates the laws.

ART. 70. The Chambers shall assemble each year, the second Tuesday in November, unless they shall have been previously summoned by the King.

The Chambers shall remain in session at least forty days each year.

The King announces the closing of the session.

The King has the right to convoke the Chambers in extra session.

ART. 71. The King has the right to dissolve the Chambers either simultaneously or separately. The act of dissolution shall order a new election within forty days, and summon the Chambers within two months.

ART. 72. The King may adjourn the Chambers. In no case shall the adjournment exceed the term of one month, nor shall it be renewed in the same session, without the consent of the Chambers.

ART. 73. He has the right to remit or reduce the penalties pronounced by the judges of courts except such as are fixed by law in the case of ministers.

ART. 74. He has the right to coin money as regulated by law.

ART. 75. He has the right to confer titles of nobility, but without the power of attaching to them any privilege.

ART. 76. He may confer military orders in accordance with the provisions of the law.

ART. 77. The civil list is to be fixed by law for the duration of each reign.1

ART. 78. The King has no other powers than those which the constitution, and the special laws enacted under the constitution, formally confer upon him.

ART. 79. At the death of the King, the Chambers shall assemble without a summons, at the latest on the tenth day after his decease. If the Chambers shall have been previously dissolved, and if in the act of dissolution the reassembling had been fixed for a day later than the tenth day, the former members shall resume duties until the assembling of those who should replace them.

The civil list of the present king, Leopold II., was fixed by the law of 1865 at 3,300,000 francs.

If only one Chamber shall have been dissolved, the same rule shall be followed in regard to that Chamber.

From the date of the death of the King and until the taking of the oath by his successor to the throne, or by the regent, the constitutional powers of the King shall be exercised, in the name of the Belgian people, by the ministers united in council, and upon their responsibility. ART. 80. The King is of age when he shall have completed the age of eighteen years.

He shall not take possession of the throne until he shall have solemnly taken, before the united Chambers, the following oath:

"I swear to observe the constitution and the laws of the Belgian people, to maintain the national independence and the integrity of the territory."

ART. 81. If, at the death of the King, his successor is a minor, the two Chambers shall unite in one assembly, for the purpose of providing for the regency and guardianship.

ART. 82. If the King becomes incapacitated to reign, the ministers, after having ascertained this incapacity, shall immediately convoke the Chambers. The Chambers assembled together shall provide for the regency and guardianship.

ART. 83. The regency can be conferred upon only one person.

The regent can enter upon his duties only after having taken the oath prescribed by Article 80.

ART. 84. No change in the constitution can be made during a regency.

ART. 85. In case there is a vacancy of the throne, the Chambers deliberating together, shall arrange provisionally for the regency, until the first meeting of the