The American legislators therefore agreed to create a federal judiciary power to apply the laws of the Union, and to determine certain questions affecting general interests, which were carefully determined beforehand. The entire judicial power of the Union was centred in one tribunal, which was denominated the supreme court of the United States. But, to facilitate the expedition of business, inferior courts were appended to it, which were empowered to decide causes of small importance without appeal, and with appeal causes of more magnitude. The members of the supreme court are named neither by the people nor the legislature, but by the president of the United States, acting with the advice of the senate. In order to render them independent of the other authorities, their office was made inalienable; and it was determined that their salary, when once fixed, should not be altered by the legislature.[144] It was easy to proclaim the principle of a federal judiciary, but difficulties multiplied when the extent of its jurisdiction was to be determined. * * * * * MEANS OF DETERMINING THE JURISDICTION OF THE FEDERAL COURTS. Difficulty of determining the Jurisdiction of separate courts of Justice in Confederation.--The Courts of the Union obtained the Right of fixing their own Jurisdiction.--In what Respect this Rule attacks the Portion of Sovereignty reserved to the several States.--The Sovereignty of these States restricted by the Laws, and the Interpretation of the Laws.--Consequently, the Danger of the several States is more apparent than real. As the constitution of the United States recognized two distinct powers, in presence of each other, represented in a judicial point of view by two distinct classes of courts of justice, the utmost care which could be taken in defining their separate jurisdictions would have been insufficient to prevent frequent collisions between those tribunals. The question then arose, to whom the right of deciding the competency of each court was to be referred.