ith them, _we_ have declared, and _they_ have believed, that when
ratified by the President with the advice and consent of the senate,
they became obligatory. In this construction of the constitution,
every house of representatives has heretofore acquiesced; and until
the present time, not a doubt or suspicion has appeared to my
knowledge, that this construction was not a true one. Nay, they have
more than acquiesced; for until now, without controverting the
obligation of such treaties, they have made all the requisite
provisions for carrying them into effect.

"There is also reason to believe that this construction agrees with
the opinions entertained by the state conventions when they were
deliberating on the constitution; especially by those who objected to
it, because there was not required in commercial treaties, the consent
of two-thirds of the whole number of the members of the senate,
instead of two-thirds of the senators present; and because in treaties
respecting territorial and certain other rights and claims, the
concurrence of three-fourths of the whole number of the members of
both houses respectively was not made necessary.

"It is a fact declared by the general convention and universally
understood, that the constitution of the United States was the result
of a spirit of amity and mutual concession. And it is well known, that
under this influence, the smaller states were admitted to an equal
representation in the senate with the larger states; and that this
branch of the government was invested with great powers; for on the
equal participation of those powers, the sovereignty and political
safety of the smaller states were deemed essentially to depend.

"If other proofs than these and the plain letter of the constitution
itself be necessary to ascertain the point under consideration, they
may be found in the journals of the general convention which I have
deposited in the office of the department of state. In these journals
it will appear, that a proposition was made 'that no treaty should be
binding on the United States which was not ratified by a law,' and
that the proposition was explicitly rejected.

[Sidenote: He declines sending them.]

"As therefore it is perfectly clear to my understanding that the
assent of the house of representatives is not necessary to the
validity of a treaty; as the treaty with Great Britain exhibits in
itself all the objects requiring legislative provision; and on the