to positions in the province in which they may accidentally happen to be.

ART. 35. The names of "The United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata," "The Argentine Republic," "The Argentine Confederation," adopted in succession since 1810, may in future be used indiscriminately as the official designation of the government and the territory of the provinces; but the name of "The Argentine Nation" shall be used in the enactment and approval of the laws.

PART SECOND. AUTHORITIES OF THE NATION

TITLE I. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

SECTION I. THE LEGISLATIVE POWER

ART. 36. The legislative power of the nation shall be vested in a Congress composed of two houses, one called the House of Deputies of the nation, and the other the House of Senators of the provinces and of the capital.

CHAPTER I. THE HOUSE OF DEPUTIES

ART. 37. The House of Deputies shall consist of representatives elected directly and by simple plurality of votes, by the people of the provinces and of the capital, which shall be considered for this purpose as electoral districts of a unitary state. The number of representatives shall be one for every thirty-three thousand inhabitants or fraction thereof of not less than sixteen thousand, five hundred. After the taking of each census Congress, upon the basis of such census, shall fix the ratio of representation, which may increase but not diminish the number of inhabitants required for each deputy.*

ART. 38. The deputies to the first Congress shall be elected in the following proportion: For the Province of Buenos Aires, twelve; for the Province of Córdoba, six; for

As amended March 15, 1898. The original article established the proportion of one deputy for every twenty thousand inhabitants.

the Province of Catamarca, three; for the Province of Corrientes, four; for the Province of Entre Ríos, two; for the Province of Jujuy, two; for the Province of Mendoza, three; for the Province of La Rioja, two; for the Province of Salta, three; for the Province of Santiago, four; for the Province of San Juan, two; for the province of Santa Fé, two; for the Province of San Luis, two; for the Province of Tucumán, three.

ART. 39. A general census shall be taken before the meeting of the second Congress, and the apportionment of deputies shall then be made in accordance therewith. The census, however, shall not be taken more than once in every ten years.

ART. 40. No person shall be elected a deputy who has not attained the age of twenty-five, who has not been a citizen for four years, and who is not a native of the province electing him, or a resident thereof for the two preceding years.

ART. 41. The provincial legislatures shall regulate the manner of holding the first direct election of the deputies of the nation; Congress shall enact a general law for succeeding elections.

ART. 42. The deputies shall serve for four years, and are eligible for re-election. The House, however, shall be renewed by halves every two years, and for this purpose the deputies elected to the first Congress shall draw lots as soon as they meet, in order to determine those whose terms shall expire at the end of the first two years.

ART. 43. In case of vacancy, the government of the province or of the capital shall proceed to a legal election of a new member.

ART. 44. The initiative of laws relating to taxes and to the recruiting of troops shall belong exclusively to the House of Deputies.

ART. 45. The House of Deputies alone shall have the right to impeach before the Senate, the President, the Vice

President, the ministers of the executive power, the justices of the Supreme Court, and the judges of the other inferior tribunals of the nation, for malfeasance or crime in the exercise of their functions, or for ordinary offenses. Impeachment of such person shall be made after investigation and a resolution that a trial is in order passed by a vote of two-thirds of the deputies present.

CHAPTER II. THE SENATE

ART. 46. The Senate shall consist of two senators for each province elected by a plurality of votes of the respective provincial legislatures. There shall also be two senators for the capital, who shall be elected in the manner prescribed for the election of the President of the nation. Each senator shall have one vote.

ART. 47. The following qualifications shall be necessary for election as senator: the attainment of the age of thirty; citizenship in the nation for six years; the enjoyment of an annual income of two thousand pesos in coin, or an equivalent amount of capital; and nativity in the province which elects him or residence therein for the two years immediately preceding.

ART. 48. Senators shall serve for nine years, and are eligible for re-election indefinitely. But the Senate shall be renewed by thirds every three years. For this purpose the senators themselves, as soon as they all convene, shall decide by lot those who shall retire at the expiration of the first and second periods of three years.

ART. 49. The Vice-President of the nation shall be president of the Senate; but he shall have no vote except in case of a tie.

ART. 50. The Senate shall elect a president pro tempore to preside in case of the absence of the Vice-President or when the latter acts as President of the nation.

ART. 51. The Senate shall have the power to try in

public the persons impeached by the House of Deputies, and senators, when sitting for that purpose, shall act under oath. When the impeached official is the President of the nation, the president of the Supreme Court shall preside over the Senate. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present.

ART. 52. The sentence of the Senate shall not extend further than removal of the one impeached from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under the nation; but the convicted person shall nevertheless be subject to indictment, trial, and punishment, according to law, by the ordinary courts.

ART. 53. The Senate may also authorize the President of the nation to declare a state of siege in one or more places in the republic, in case of foreign invasion.

ART. 54.

When the seat of a senator becomes vacant on account of death, resignation, or for any other cause, the government of the province represented by such senator shall proceed immediately to the election of a new member.

CHAPTER III. PROVISIONS COMMON TO BOTH HOUSES

ART. 55. Both houses shall meet in regular session on the first day of May of each year and shall continue in session until the thirtieth of September. They may also be convened in extraordinary session or their sessions may be extended by the President of the nation.

ART. 56. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, rights, and titles of its own members, in so far as the question of their validity is concerned. Neither house shall transact business without the presence of a majority of all its members; but a smaller number shall have the power to compel the attendance of absent members by such means and under such penalties as each house may establish.

ART. 57. Both houses shall open and close their sessions simultaneously. Neither shall have the power, during

the session of Congress, to adjourn, without the consent of the other, for more than three days.

ART. 58. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, and, by a two-thirds vote, may punish any of its members for disorderly behavior in the discharge of his functions, remove him for physical or moral inability subsequent to his admission, or even expel him from the body. But a majority of one more than half of those present shall be sufficient to act upon the voluntary resignation of a member.

ART. 59. Senators and deputies, on taking their seats, shall take an oath to perform their duties properly and to act in all things in accordance with this constitution.

ART. 60. No member of Congress shall be indicted, judicially questioned, or molested for opinions expressed or speeches delivered by him in the discharge of his duties as a legislator.

ART. 61. Senators and deputies shall be, from the day of their election to the day of the expiration of their term, exempt from arrest, except when taken in the act of committing a crime that merits the death penalty or any other disgraceful or corporal punishment, in which case the matter shall be reported to the house to which the member belongs, with the record of the preliminary hearing.

ART. 62. Should any charge be made in writing, before the ordinary tribunals, against a senator or deputy, the house to which he belongs may, by a two-thirds vote, and upon examination in public of the merits of the case, suspend the accused from the exercise of his functions and surrender him to the proper court for trial.

ART. 63. Each house shall have power to summon to its presence the ministers of the executive power, in order that they may give orally the explanations and information which may be deemed proper.

ART. 64. No member of Congress shall receive from the executive any appointment or commission without first