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be thorough and minute, and that public opinion be impartially represented.

34. The members of the House of Peers, whether they be hereditary, elected or appointed ones, are to represent the higher grades of society. If the House of Peers fulfils its functions, it will serve in a remarkable degree to preserve an equilibrium between political powers, to restrain the undue influence of political parties, to check the evil tendencies of irresponsible discussions, to secure the stability of the Constitution, to be an instrument for maintaining harmony between the governing and the governed, and to permanently sustain the prosperity of the country and the happiness of the people. The object of having a House of Peers is not merely admittance of the higher classes to some share in the deliberations upon legislative matters, but also representation of the prudence, experience, and perseverance of the people, by assembling together men who have rendered signal service to the State, men of erudition and men of great wealth. Provisions as to its composition being fixed by the Imperial ordinance concerning the House of Peers, they are not mentioned in the Constitution.

35. The members of the House of Representatives are to be elected by the people throughout the country, from among men having certain qualifications, and for a fixed length of time. The provisions relating to elections are, as stated in the previous article, passed over to those of a special law, so as to make it easy, when the necessity for it arises in the future, to make additions or alterations in the mode of carrying out elections. It is, therefore, undesirable that the Constitution should enter into minutiæ on the subject.

The members of the House of Representatives are all of them representatives of the people of the whole country. The object of establishing election districts for the election of members is to make the election general throughout the whole country, and also for the sake of convenience of election. Representatives, therefore, are to speak freely in the House, according to the dictates of their individual consciences, and are not to regard themselves as the delegates only of the people of their respective districts, commissioned to attend merely to matters entrusted to them by their constituents.

36. The two Houses, though forming the parts of the Diet, are different in the elements composing them, and occupy towards each other equalizing and opposing positions. Therefore the combination in one person of membership of both Houses at one and the same time is incompatible with the object of establishing two Houses.

37. The law is a rule of conduct emanating from the sovereign