International correspondence is exclusively in the hands of the President,, or his agent, the Secretary of State.3 Hence it is improper for any international documents to be addressed to, or sent directly to the Senate, or for any attempt to be made, in any way, by an agent of a foreign power to influence directly the action of the Senate upon a treaty that is pending before it or is later to be sent to it for its action thereupon. Upon the other band, It is, of course, improper for the Senate or any other organ of the Federal Government, by resolution or otherwise, to attempt to communicate with a foreign power except through the President. Thus, when in 1877 Congress passed two joint resolutions congratulating the Argentine Republic and the Republic of Pretoria upon their having established a republican form of government, and directing, in the one case, the Secretary of State to acknowledge the receipt of a despatch from Argentine, and in the other to communicate with Pretoria, the President vetoed both resolutions.4

By virtue of the power exclusively vested in him to conduct diplomatic negotiations between this and foreign countries, the President has,, since early years, entered into numerous agreements with foreign chancellaries for the settlement of claims made by private American, citizens against foreign governments.5 In a considerable number of cases, these claims have been settled by means of arbitration agreed upon between the foreign offices -concerned After describing the various instances of executive action under this head, Professor Moore says: "It thus appears that, if we include only the more formal settlements, there have been thirty-one cases in which claims against foreign governments have been settled by executive agreement, and that twenty-seven arbitrations have been held under such agreements as against nineteen under treaties, where the settlement embraced claims against the foreign government alone and not against the United States.6

3 Communications between the States of the Union and the Federal Government are made through the Secretary of State and not through the President. This rule was, however, several times disregarded by President Roosevelt.

4 Richardson's Messages and Papers of the President, VII, 430.

5An especially interesting case was that of the Mora claim. For an account of this by Professor J. B. Moore, see the Political Science Quarterly, XX, pp. 403 et seq.

In no case has the President attempted, without consulting the Senate, to adjust finally claims brought by foreigners against the United States.4 In no case, also, has the President, by executive action, attempted the settlement of claims set up by the United States in its own behalf.