Principles of Statutory Construction
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of the Constitution. Article I, Section 3, for example, states that ‘‘The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each
State.’’ This seems clear enough. Each State is entitled to two Senators, no
more, no less.
In some instances, however, ‘‘the words admit of two senses, each of
which is conformable to common usage.’’ In this situation, said Story,
‘‘that sense is to be adopted which, without departing from the literal import of the words, best harmonizes with the nature and objects, the scope
and the design, of ѡ