HOUSE OF COMMONS, Eng. law. The representatives of the people, in contradistinction to the nobles, taken collectively are called the house of commons.

2. This house must give its consent to all bills before they acquire the authority of law, and all laws for raising revenue must originate there.

HOUSE OF CORRECTIONS. A prison where offenders of a particular class are confined. The term is more common in England than in the United States.

HOUSE OF LORDS. Eng. law. The English lords, temporal and spiritual, when taken collectively and forming a branch of the parliament, are called the House of Lords.

2. Its assent is required to all laws. As a court of justice, it tries all impeachments.

HOUSE OF REFUGE, punishment. The name given to a prison for juvenile delinquents. These houses are regulated in the United Statees on the most humane principles, by special local laws.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, government. The popular branch of the legislature.

2. The Constitution of the United States, art. 1, s. 2, 1, provides, that "the house of representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of, the several states; and the electors of each state, shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature."

3. The general qualifications of electors of the assembly, or most numerous branch of the legislature, in the several state governments, are, that they be of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, and free resident citizens of the state in which they vote, and have paid taxes: several of the state constitutions have prescribed the same or higher qualifications, as to property, in the elected, than in the electors.

4. The constitution of the United States, however, requires no evidence of property in the representatives, nor any declarations as to his religious belief. He must be free from undue bias or dependence, by not holding any office under the United States. Art. 1, s. 6, 2.

5. By the constitutions of the several states, the most numerous branch of the legislature generally bears the name of the house of representatives. Vide Story on Constitution of the United States, chap. 9 1 Kent's Com. 228.

6. By the Act of June 22, 1842, c. 47, it is provided, §1. That from and after the third day of March, one thousand eight hundred and forty-three, the house of representatives shall be composed of members elected agreeably to a ratio of one representative for every seventy thousand six hundred and eighty persons in each state, and ofone additional representative for each state having a fraction greater than one moiety of the said ratio, computed according to the rule prescribed by the constitution of the United States; that is to say: within the state of Maine, seven; within the state of New Hampshire, four; within the state of Massachusetts, ten; within the state of Rhode Island, two within the state of Connecticut, four; within the state of Vermont, four; within the state of New York, thirty-four; within the state of New Jersey, five; within the state of Pennsylvania, twenty-four; within the state of Delaware, one; within the state of Maryland, six; within the state of Virginia, fifteen; within the state of North Carolina, nine; within the state of South Carolina, seven; within the state of Georgia, eight; within the state of Alabama, seven; within state of Louisiana, four; within the state of Mississippi, four; within the state of Tennessee, eleven; within the state of Kentucky, ten; within the state of Ohio, twenty-one; within the state of Indiana, ten; within the state of Illinois, seven; within the state of Missouri, five; within the state of Arkansas, one; within the State of Michigan, three.

7.- §2. That in every case where a state is entitled to more than one representative, the number to which each state shall be entitled under this apportionment shall be elected by districts. composed of contiguous territory, equal in number to the number of representatives to which said state may be entitled, no one district electing more than one representative.

8. For the constitutions of the houses of representatives in the several states, the reader is referred to the names of the states in this work. Vide Congress.