The Pennsylvania citizen, by L. S. Shimmell ...

Front matter

Book AAAi

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Contents

CONTENTS.

Chapter. Page.

I. The Plan of the Government of Pennsylvania, 1

Appendix

The Constitution of Pennsylvania, VII

The Constitution of the United States, XLI

Index, LV

TO ILLUSTRATIONS.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

State Capitol Buildings, Frontispiece The Seal of the State.

The Coat of Arms of the State.

Independence Hall.

THE PENNSYLVANIA CITIZEN.

Chapter I. The Plan Of The Government Of Pennsylvania

An Illustration of the Plan. — The plan of the government of Pennsylvania, and this, in general, is the plan of the other States in the Union, may be illustrated thus, though it must be remembered that illustrations seldom apply in every particular : Take a plain surface and cut out of it a map of Pennsylvania ; lay it down and think of its whole surface as State. Then lay upon the State, the counties (two thicknesses will now exist), and think that the county is to exercise in a more localized and extensive way State functions within each county's limits. Go over the State again (three thicknesses now), this time with the patchwork of townships, and think that the township is for a like purpose as the county, but more extended in the home affairs of the people — more localized. On top of the layer of townships, lay the school districts, which have a special school function, more localized in the case of wards and independent districts than the function of the township. Lastly, put patches of cities and boroughs where they belong. Cities and boroughs, though they may be regarded simply as townships in which the people are massed together, must have certain local powers from the State that are not needed by the township.

In this illustration, the State places most of its functions in the layer next to it. Where a county is, there the county acts for the State — under the patch there is little active function, though a great deal of latent power. As the township is organized — a patch laid upon the county — the State function as exercised by the county is extended and transferred to township control within the limits of the laws and the constitution of the State. So it is with each patch upon the other. When a new one is put on, it is for a purpose, and the organ below no longer exercises for the State all the functions that it did before. It is in this way that the State accomplishes its work of a goverment by the people and for the people.

Degrees of Local Powers. — In New England the township (called t ' town ' ' there) has very large powers of local goverment. The county has little to do with the local affairs of a township. In the Middle and Western States, it is more under the rule of the county ; while in the Southern States it has few separate powers, being a mere geographic division — a voting precinct.

Origin of Local Government. — I^ocal government, with its various degrees of power in different parts of the Union, had its origin partly in the form of government under which the settlers had lived, and partly in the early conditions of life in America. The settlers of New England came from towns ; and the nature of New England soil made it necessary there for them to live in towns. Farming could not be carried on extensively, because the land was too poor. They built their houses close together and farmed the surrounding land in common. But whenever a number of people live close together, laws must be made to preserve personal rights and enforce personal duties. So every year the voters of such a town (remember town means the town proper and all the country round about) came together and made laws for its government. Thus originated the New England town government, with its large share of independence from the county

PLAN OF GOVERNMENT. 3

In the South, the settlers were country gentlemen, who in England had been accustomed to the county government. These likewise found the nature of their adopted country best suited to the form of local government ander which they had lived ; namely, that of the county. Agriculture being the main pursuit, they lived widely scattered on large plantations ; and the towns were few and at great distances apart. The county, therefore, became the unit of local government rather than the township, and to this day, as stated before, the township in the Southern States has fewer powers of local government than it has in any other part of the Union.

In the Middle States, the original population in its nationality was more mixed than either that of New England or of the South. The township here has neither the independence of the town in New England nor the dependence of the township in the South. Pennsylvania especially was settled by numerous nationalities. Several nations, the Swedes, the Hollanders, the English, the Germans, and soon after the Scotch-Irish, engaged in the first settlements. In religion the differences were still more numerous. The variety of people, religions, nations and languages was something wonderful.

There is no record of the formation of the first township. Penn had the right in his charter to erect towns and cities, and to lay out townships. The three original counties — Philadelphia, Chester and Bucks — were probably planned in England. The tow r nships were laid out after the settlement had been made ; and their extent and their rights had to be adapted to all this Babel of tongues. Philadelphia and its suburbs from 1701 to 1854, when all were consolidated, furnish a good example of the formation of local governments in Pennsylvania. "Districts," "boroughs" and "townships" arose and grew through those years, until there were twenty-eight of them, all separated from one another and all separated from Philadelphia ; some near, others far off; some thickly inhabited, others sparsely, consisting entirely of farms. At the time of Penn's return to England, 1684, the province of Pennsylvania included twenty -two townships — each possessing a liberal share of freedom in the management of its own affairs.

The Importance of the Township. — The township is small, just as a brick or a stone is small compared with the structure of which it is a part. But without the brick or the stone, the building could not stand. So without the township, without this little self-governing community, our Republic can not endure. It was in the management of the affairs of the township that Penn's settlers learned the art of self-government, and acquired that love for independence which helped to give birth to the immortal document of July 4, 1776. To this day our Presidents, Governors, Congressmen, Legislators, Judges, learn their first lessons of republican government in their own communities. Washington was a public surveyor ; Lincoln, a postmaster; Johnson, an alderman ; Cleveland, a sheriff.

The Character of Township Government.— Since the township is so important to the State and the Nation, its management should be of a high character. If its people elect men to office who are dishonest, inefficient and immoral, the whole government — State and National — will suffer with it. Half-baked bricks and disintegrated stones in the foundation will cause the entire superstructure sooner or later to fall to the ground. The treasurer of a school district should be as honest as the

PLAN OF GOVERNMENT. 5

State treasurer ; the justice of the peace should have as good common sense as the judge of the supreme court; the constable should be as fearless in the pursuit of lawbreakers as the adjutant-general. The best citizens in a community, irrespective of party, creed or rank, should govern it ; otherwise it w T ill be misgoverned.

Our Debt to the Township.— We owe the township a patriotic devotion — not a devotion simply to its ' ' rocks and rills, ' ' its * 'woods and templed hills, ' ' but to its laws, its property and its public benefits. The protection which it gives to our lives and homes should gain our affection. We should be so devoted to it that we never steal another man's horse or burn another man's barn. We should be so public -spirited that, when we see a big stone in the road or a banana peel on the sidewalk, we remove it for the safety of others. We should take a part in everything pertaining to the tow r nship's w r elfare ; for its welfare is our welfare. When a new school house is needed in a distant corner of the township we should advocate its erection as earnestly as we would if it were for our own children. In this way, by practicing the art ot government in a small sphere within our reach, we become true patriots. We learn to love order and fairness and to demand our rights from others and to recognize our duties toward them. To know all this and to practice it is patriotism in the highest sense.

A Township's Powers. — A township in Pennsylvania is a corporation, and it can therefore sue and be sued. It can buy and sell, and borrow money for schools, roads, and other public purposes. It lays two taxes, the road tax and the school tax ; and in counties with no county poor house, it also lays a tax for the support of the poor. New townships can be formed by a majority of the voters in the territory to be organized into a new township. Permission to take such a vote must be obtained from the court by the voters living in the proposed new township. Strictly speaking, it is the school district that lays the school tax and controls the public schools. Nearly everywhere in the State, the township and the school district are co-extensive, and therefore no distinction is commonly made between the two. But where an independent district exists, it is necessarily a part of a township or of more than one township. The only legislative body that a township has is the board of supervisors. In townships of the first class (300 or more people to the square mile) all corporate power is vested in a board of township commissioners.

The County. — The county is a division of the State, and is composed of a number of townships ; where boroughs and cities exist, these also are parts of the county. One county — Philadelphia — is composed entirely of the wards of a city. Everything that the county does through its officers must be authorized by the laws of the State. It may be termed the agent of the State to carry out the laws of the State in the territory which it covers. There are certain duties which are common to all the townships of a county ; such as, the care of the poor, the settlement of disputes, the punishment of criminals, the protection of life and property, and others. These duties are performed by the county as the agent or organ of the State.

The three departments of government — legislative, executive and judicial — are not distinct in the local institutions created within the State except in cities and boroughs, where we have the council, the mayor or burgess, and the magistrate, alderman or justice. In the county, the board of commissioners has a few legislative powers; the executive functions are not all vested in one person;

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the sheriff is the chief executive officer ; the courts are the judicial department.

The State. — The State is composed of counties; but this is only an artificial division. The State is a unit, which can not be divided into two or more States, or joined to another State, " without the consent of the legislatures of the States concerned, as well as of the Congress' ' of the United States. Certain interests are alike in every local division of the State. Laws for the safety of life and property are needed everywhere ; disturbances arise which require a trained soldiery to suppress ; business, banking, manufacturing, education, transportation, etc., must be regulated. All these general interests are directed by the State. The power which is required to direct these local affairs common to every community, is brought together in one place — at the State capital. It is centralized in the State govermment. This union of power is the State.

The United States. — The United States is a union of all the States into a nation. The States are held together by the Constitution, adopted in 1787, in Philadelphia. This instrument has its authority from the States which are united under it. But the people constitute the State. The Constitution of the United States is an agreement of the people in the Union that all the States shall be put under one government, which is called the National government. The preamble of the Constitution begins with— " We, the People of the United States/' not with, "We, the States of the United States." The Union, therefore, is something in which every man, woman and child in this country has an interest. The best way to protect our interest in it is to work for good government at home.

B PENNSYLVANIA CITIZEN.

The permanence of our great country depends on our home governments ; if we allow them to be mismanaged, the goverment at Washington will be affected by the misrule. Iyocal goverment is the fountain ; if this is polluted with corruption, the stream which finally flows into the National capital will be laden with corruption. It rests with the voter in the township precinct whether our beloved country shall endure.

The object of this union of States is strength. The single fiber of a rope has little power of resistance ; but when all its fibers are twisted together, they can withstand much. A single State could not defend itself against a foreign power; but as it is now, when one is attacked, all are; and they all combine to resist the attack. If every State had the right to regulate foreign commerce and to erect custom-houses on its borders for the collection of taxes from the commerce of other States, strife and dispute would result. No doubt, if the Constitution had not been adopted and the Union formed, the American States would long ago have been broken up into as many different nations. We can give the object of the Union in no better way than it is given in the preamble of the Constitution, which says :

WE, the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Anai^yticai, Review . — What is the plan of the government of Pennsylvania? How is the power of the State localized and extended? What is the unit in our government? How are the township, borough and city related? Define function. What is a "town" in New England? Are townships of the same relative importance in different parts of the Union? How did the

PLAN OF GOVERNMENT. 9

units originate in different parts of the Union ? What nationalities engaged in the first settlements? What effect would a mixture of nationalities naturally have on the formation of a government? Which were the three original counties? In what condition was Philadelphia before its consolidation ? What place has the township in the structure of our government? What lessons are learned in the government of a township ? What kind of men should rule a township ? What do we owe to a township ? Give illustrations of what we owe ? What powers has a township ? How are new ones formed ? What is the relation of a township to the State ? To the county ? Has a county a legislative body ? What are the artificial divisions of a State ? The divisions of a county ? Define the State ? What is agreed to in the Constitution of the United States ? On what does the permanence of our country depend ? What is the object of the Union ? Recite the preamble of the Constitution of the United States. Explain what "We," the first word of it, means.

Chapter II. The History Of The Government Of Penn- Sylvania

"The Frame of Government."— What is known as the "Frame of Government," under which the Province of Pennsylvania was organized, was drawn up by William Penn, in England. He drew it up before the first company of colonists under his young friend, Mr. William Markham, the deputy governor, sailed for America, in April, 1681 . This small party, which were to take possession of Penn's grant of land and prepare for his own coming the next year, all signed the "Frame of Government " before departing, and Penn himself signed it.

The Spirit of the "Frame."— The spirit of Penn's "Frame of Government" was thoroughly republican. "I will put the power with the people," he said. He had obtained his ideas of government from a man who was beheaded in England in the time of Charles II. on suspicion of planning the overthrow of monarchy and the establishment of a republic in its place. This man was Algernon Sidney. He was brave enough to say that the execution of Charles I. was "the most just and bravest action that was ever done in England or anywhere else." Fortunate it was for the Province of Pennsylvania that its founder had taken lessons from such a hero and patriot as the martyred Sidney !

In order to appreciate thoroughly the spirit which Penn breathed into the "Frame of Government," let us hear what he said in the preface : —

" I know some say, ' I,et us have good laws and no matter about the men that execute them.' But let them consider that, though good laws do well, good men do better ; for good laws may want [be in need of] good men ; but good men will never want good laws nor suffer [allow] ill ones. ' '

At another place in the ( ' Frame ' ' are found these words, — they have been inscribed on the walls of the corridor in old Independence Hall, side by side with the Declaration of Independence : —

"Any government is free to the people under it, whatever be the form, where the laws rule, and the people are a party to those laws ; and more than this is tyranny, oligarchy and confusion."

In speaking of the end of all government, he said it is : —

"To support power in reverence with the people, and to secure the people from the abuse of power ; that they may be free by their just obedience, and the magistrates honorable for their just administration ; for liberty without obedience is confusion, and obedience without liberty is slavery. To carry this evenness is partly owing to the constitution, and partly to the magistracy ;

HISTORY OP THE GOVERNMENT. H

where either of these fail, government will be subject to convulsion ; but where both are wanting, it must be totally subverted ; then where both meet, the government is like to endure. Which I humbly pray and hope God will please to make the lot of Pennsylvania. "

The Plan of the "Frame."— In 1682, Penn had the ' ( Frame of Government ' y published. It consisted of twenty-four articles and forty laws. The government was vested in the Governor and the Freemen of the Province. The Freemen were to elect a Provincial Council and a General Assembly ; the former was to consist of seventy-two members ; and the latter, of all the Freemen the first year, and the next of two hundred of them, the number to be increased as the population increased. The Governor or his Deputy was to be the perpetual President of the Provincial Council and was to have a treble vote.

The Provincial Council.— The duty of this body was (a) to originate bills, (b) to see that the laws were executed,

(c) to take care of the peace and safety of the Province,

(d) to settle the location of the ports, cities, market towns, roads, and other public places, (e) to inspect the public treasury, (f ) to erect courts of justice, (g) to institute schools, and (h) to reward the authors of useful discovery.

The General Assembly.— This body had no power to legislate and no privilege to debate. The bills originated and passed by the Provincial Council were presented to the General Assembly for approval or rejection ; and all that the members had power to do was to say a plain Yes or No. They could name persons for sheriffs and justices of the peace for the Governor to select from, being obliged to name twice as many as were to be appointed.

Amendments to the "Frame."— The " Frame of Government ' ' could not be amended without the consent of the Governor or his heirs or his assigns and six-sevenths of the Freemen in both the Provincial Council and the General Assembly.

The First Assembly.— The First General Assembly met at Chester, in 1682, shortly after Penn's arrival. They discussed, amended and accepted the " Frame of Government " and its accompanying laws. To the latter they added twenty-one others, so that there were then altogether sixty-one laws on the statute books of the Province of Pennsylvania. Though more than two hundred years have passed since, yet our great Commonwealth is still governed by the " Great Law " enacted at Chester, modified of course to some extent, but not greatly.

Under the Crown of England. — From 1693 to 1694, Pennsylvania was under the Crown of England. George Keith, a Scotch Quaker, caused a disturbance in Pennsylvania by asserting that the Friends' doctrine of nonresistance forbade its adherents from holding office. He was put out of church, and fined by the Quaker magistrates for insolence. He went to England, took orders in the Episcopal church, and charged the Quaker magistrates with disloyalty to the Church of England. Without good reason, Penn, too, was suspicioned of disloyalty ; and the Government of the Province was taken from him and given to Governor Fletcher, of New York. Penn's ' ' Frame of Government ' ' was disregarded and the Assembly was modeled after that of New York. In the course of a year Penn was restored to favor, and he again became Governor of Pennsylvania, administering its affairs through his friend, Deputy Markham.

Under Penn From 1694-1718.— The Assembly called by

HISTORY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 13

Markham, immediately after Perm's restoration, refused to act under the c< Frame of Government," which had been set aside by Fletcher. A second Assembly did likewise, and Markham was obliged to agree to the formation of a new frame of government ; but the one then drawn up did not meet with Penn's favor.

When Penn returned to America, in 1699, after an absence of fifteen years, he found his colonists rather unfriendly to him. Ruling them at so great a distance for so long a time had caused misunderstandings. He soon learned that he must give them a new form of government. The old " Frame" was abandoned and the " Charter of Privileges " given in its place. He signed it in 1 70 1. This new document provided for a General Assembly with much greater powers : it gave the people the power to elect some of the county officers, and it extended liberty of conscience to the Roman Catholics. The ' ' Charter of Privileges ' ' indeed was the envy of . neighboring colonies, so republican was it in its nature. Philadelphia, on the same day the "Charter" was signed, October 25, 1701, became an incorporated city, with the right to elect her officers ; before, they had been appointed by the Governor. Through the liberality of Penn, therefore, Philadelphia is the oldest incorporated city in the United States.

Under Penn's Heirs, 1718-1776.— Like the sons of a rich man, Penn's heirs did not manage his estate so well as he had done. They were more interested in the revenue of the Province than in its welfare. After his death, 17 18, they went to law among themselves about their inheritance. They also fought with the colonists about the taxes and rents ; and the Governors were in almost endless quarrels with the General Assembly over legislation.

Concerning the veto power of these Governors, Dr. Franklin said :

c< The negative of the Governor was constantly made use of to extort money. No law whatever could be passed without a private bargain with him. An increase of his salary or some donation was always made a condition ; till at last it became a regular practice to have orders in his favor on the treasury presented along with the bills to be signed, so that he might actually receive the former before he should sign the latter. When the Indians were scalping the Western people, the concurrence of the Governor in the means of self-defense could not be got till it was agreed that his estate should be exempted from taxation ; so that the people were to fight for the security of his property, whilst he was to bear no share of the burden."

Yet through all these years of strife, the people of Pennsylvania fared better than those of most of the other colonies, for their founder had given them a charter by which they could retain at least the form of their government intact. Unlike that of her sisters, Pennsylvania's history is not one of changes from one form of government to another. There are no chapters in it about a " Charter Oak," a " Royal Province," the "Duke of York," and "His Majesty's Town of New York." It is but due to say, however, that on one occasion, Franklin was sent to England to induce the King to take the Province of Pensylvania as his own, so put out had the colonists become with the proprietary governors. They preferred to be an " appenage of the Crown rather than a fief of the Penns."

Under Constitutional Government. — After the colonies of America had declared themselves independent, July 4, 1776, it became necessary to organize State Governments. Accordingly, on the 28th of September, of that same year, the first State constitution was adopted ; and it went into effedl at once without a ratification by the

HISTORY OF THE GOVERNMENT. 15

people. The old Assembly had met for the last time on the 23d of September, to make one more feeble protest against the new order of things, but it soon died, without a struggle. Penn's heirs were paid $524,000 for their claims against the State. Then his words in the preface to the " Frame of Government," — "I will put the power with the people," — became a complete reality and Pennsylvania became a "government of the people, by the people, and for the people," which, it is hoped, shall be said of our State to the end of time.

Provisions of the First Constitution. — The General Assembly consisted of only one branch. Its members were elected yearly. Its acts were called the "Acts of Assembly" — a name still applied to our laws. The executive power was vested in a President, chosen annually by the Assembly and the Supreme Executive Council. The latter body was composed of twelve members elected for a term of three years and was advisory to the President. Another body was provided for, — the Council of Censors, — whose duty it was, at the end of every seven years, to see whether the constitution had not been violated. The forms of township and county government remained as Penn had instituted them in the "Frame of Government." Indeed, few changes have been made in local government to this day — showing that William Penn is worthy of his great name in history.

Subsequent Constitutions. — The second constitution was adopted in 1790. This created an upper and lower house in the Legislature, and made the Governor elective directly by the people. In these respects it was framed more after the Constitution of the United States. A third and fourth constitution were adopted respectively in 1838 and 1873. New constitutions become necessary to keep up with the progress of the times. -Lord Macaulay once said that ' ' the cause of all revolutions is that while nations move onward, constitutions stand still." There are numerous interests in our State now that did not exist a century ago ; these all need the fostering care of the constitution. Nearly every year a new machine has to be connected with the main shaft, which propels the wheels of government. This year the agricultural bureau was established, a few years ago the banking department came into existence, and thus they multiply.

The Seat of Government. — Three cities have had the honor of being the seat of government, — Philadelphia, until 1799; Lancaster, from 1799 until 181 2; and Harrisburg, from 181 2 to the present time.

Anai,yTicai, Review. — What was the ' 'Frame of Government , ' ? Under whom did the first company of colonists come to Pennsylvania ? When ? What was it to do ? What was the spirit of the "Frame"? Give the quotations. From whom had Penn taken lessons ? What was the plan of the " Frame " ? What duties were put upon the Provincial Council? What do you think of the ground which they covered ? To what was the power of the General Assembly limited ? Why do you think that body was thus limited ? What is the difference between making amendments to the Constitution now and the way in which they were made to the " Frame?" Why should Penn's heirs, etc., have had anything to do with making amendments ? When did the first General Assembly meet? and what did it do? Is the "Great Law " still in force? What disturbance put Pennsylvania under the Crown of England ? What difficulties had Penn when he returned ? How did he settle them? What greater powers were given to the people in the ' * Charter of Privileges ' ' ? What is said of Philadelphia as a city ? How did the colonists fare under Penn's heirs? What did Franklin say of the Governors? Which colonies had more changes of government during the colonial times than Pennsylvania? What change was once proposed in Pennsylvania? What is a constitutional government? What is a constitution? What are " Acts of Assembly " ? What was the nature of the first Constitution ? When and how was the change from colonial to constitutional government made ? When were the subsequent constitutions adopted ? How did their adoption differ from that of the first ? What did Macaulay once say ? What cities have been the capital ?