Civil government in theory and practice

Front matter

iGTICE.

Shell 1/

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Preface

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary to preface a book with a statement of its purpose, and the motives which led to its composition, first by the author and afterwards by the printer, the author should not, I think, be put too strictly upon his honor to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. That an author writes for his own pecuniary profit, no one in this age is disposed to deny, but the reasons which induced him to treat of this rather than that — to choose (with Mr. Wopsle) pork, rather than pickles as the text of his discourse, are manifold. Perhaps as plausible a statement as any would, in eight cases out of ten, be this: " The following facts were brought my attention. I found them interesting to me, and fancied they might be of interest to others. Hence I accumulated them."

As to the utility of the book, I hope it may be studied by every class in civil government, and believe that enlarging the scope of the study will not only not interfere with the consideration of our state

PREFACE.

and federal constitutions, but will add to the pupil's understanding and appreciation of the methods and purpose of our government of the people, by the people and for the people.

W. I. CHASE.

Office School Herald, Chica^^o, III.

THE POWERS THAT BE

A. Comparative Gtudy of the Theory and Practice of Civil Government.

Part I. Introductory

I. Definition. — The word government, as commor.ly u^ed, has several shades of meaning. As the substantive of the verb to govern, it means the act of governing, as the government of a people by a ruler. In considering the way in which the act of governing is habitually performed, we use the word government to signify themode of governing, as when we speak of forms of government, a republican government, etc. By metonomy, also, we use the word to denote (i) the person or persons authorized to govern, and (2) the nation itself, including both rulers and ruled. Thus we speak (i) of persons rebelling against the government or of the government and the opposition, and (2) of the European governments, /. e. the powers, — the nations themselves, including their rulers.

Before speaking of the existing forms of government, we will consider (i) the origin, and (2) purpose of gov-

I. Define the word government Give example of the use of the word in each of its senses.

ernment, and (3) the causes which create differences in its form.

2. Origin or Basis. — The origin of government was, undoubtedly, the power of the ruler to maintain authority, and this may be considered the basis of government at the present time; but since mankind do not differ widely in strength, no ruler can long maintain himself in power without the consent of at least a portion of his sul jects, The will of the people may be reckoned a necessary element of their ruler's power to govern, but it is not accurate to say that the right to govern depends on the consent of the governed. For if the people are careless or indolent, not knowing what they want, or lacking in energy to enforce their demands, the force of the ruler will overpower their feeble resistance, and they will be practically slaves by what we call their passive consent, however they may murmur against their enslaveirient.

3. Object or Purpose. — The object of government, apart from the glorification of the ruler, is, first, the establishment and administration of law. The maintenance of the various personal and property rights of individuals demands that each disputed case shall be adjusted according to fixed principles, which apply to all cases alike. These principles are formulated into laws. To enatt these laws and see to their execution is the first recognized object of government. But beside the maintenance of social order, a government is necessary to a nation to attend to its relations with other countries, and to provide for its defense in case of war.

4. Cause of Variations in Form. — The two forces which directly shape the form of government

2. Upon what is all government based ? How far is the consent of the governed essential ?

3. What are the recognized purposes of a system of government?

IN THEORY AND PRACTICE. ii

are the wisdom or caprice of the governing power and the consent of the governed. Indirectly so many elements enter into the formation of a system of government that it has been questioned whether forms of government were really a matter of choice, — whether the " powers that be" were not really ''ordained of God" in the sense that all growths are ordered by Him. Whether, indeed, systems of governmeat do not grow up, ada[)ting themselves to the natures, wants, and circumstances of a people, so that changes of the form of government are not merely dangerous experiments, but self-evident blunders.

To a certain extent it is, of course, true that the form of government is adapted to the people, but when by enlightenment or deterioration the wishes of the people with regard to their form of government change, an alteration of that form becomes practicable. Thus when the Jews wearied of the government of judges they demanded a king, to go before them to battle, and Samuel, warning them of the probable consequence ot the change, anointed Saul. I'he Romans banished their royal family and established a government by consuls-. France has three times banished her monarch and established a republic. The difficulty with which this was done shows the desirability of adapting the government to the customs and traditions of the people, but the success of the third French republic proves that it is possible to m.ake a radical change in the government of a nation, if the new one is tried long enough to engage the allegiance of the people.

Political institutions are t. e work of men, and are altered or amended by men, and hence, are well or ill made according as judgment and skill have, or have not, been used in their production. But, on the other hand, political institutions are not only made but they must be conducted and sustained by men. The people may be averse to a form of government or they maybe simply unwilling to take the trouble to maintain it after they have chosen it.

"Thus," remarks John Stuart Mill, "a people may prefer a free government, but, if, from indolence, or carelessness, or cowardice, or want of public spirit, they are unequal to the exertions necesssry for preserving it; if they will not fight for it when it is directly attacked ; if they can be deluded by the artifices used to cheat them out of it ; if by momentary discouragement or a fit oi enthusiasm for an individual, they can be induced tD lay their liberties at the feet even of a great man, or trust him with powers which enable him to subvert their institutions; in all these cases they are more or less unfit for liberty ; and though it may be for their good io have had it, even for a short time, they are unlikely to long enjoy it."

Further, he notes, that when the people are too impulsive or self-willed to endure the restraints and await the action of the laws, or when they side with the criminal as against the authorities, they are in a measure unfit for free government; or when being entrusted with the suffrage, they sell their votes or cast them from corrupt or partisan motives, they are in danger of being cheated out of their liberties.

But though the general character of the government depends much upon the temper of the people, its details are usually invented by the rulers,or adapted from the institutions of other nations.

5. Forms of Civil Government. — Civil government — civil from cim's, a state — means the government of a state in its normal peaceful condition, as opposed to the more desp. tic mode in which an army is ruled.

4. What two forces directly shape the -^rm of government? What is said ol the growth of political systems? How far are these systems a matter of choice ? Why must these be adapted to the nature and habits of the people I What dangers threaten the liberties of a people 1

Forms of government are usually classified as monarchical, aristocratic, or democratic. Two other forms are sometimes given, namely, patriarchal and theocratic, but these are now obsolete, if, indeed, they ever existed as forms of state government. We should, however, remember that this classification of governments is highly arbitrary, and we must expect to find as distinct differences between members of a class as between'the chisses themselves. It is much as if we classified animals by their colors. We might better use the terms monarchy, aristocracy and democracy to signify qualities rather than generic distmctions, and so doing we shall find use for a fourth class — bureaucracy.

6. Definition of Terms. — Monarchy, pure and simple, means government by a single ruler, whether he be styled king, prince, emperor, pope, sultan, pasha, or bey, or simply dictator pro tempore ; whether he obtained his place by inheritance, election or appointment; whether his government professes to be legal or arbitrary, so long as he singly discharges the functions of government, he is a monarch. An aristocracy signifies a government by a class neither elected nor appointed; it is usually understood to imply a titled or hereditary nobility, but a high educational or property qualification for the suffrage would create an aristocracy fully entitled to the term. Democracy implies a government by the people — not necessarily directly, which is possible only in small colonies or towns. An absolute democracy means a government by the untrammeled will of the majority. A bureaucracy denotes a government by an appointed class. It is found in its purest

5. What is civil government? What is the usual classification of forms ol civil government ? Do these terms denote different kinds of government, or different features of similar forms ?

6. What is a monarchy? Define aristocracy, democracy, bureaucracy.

state in the government of colonies and provinces, and forms an important element in all governments.

7. Purity and Extent. — The kinds (or qualities) of government are monarchy, aristocracy, democracy, and bureaucracy. These are to be reckoned pure or impure according as they exist separately or intermingled one with another, and absolute or limited according to the degrees of power they wield.

8. Limitations of Power. — Governmental powers are limited in one or both of two ways : by the establishment of a fundamental or organic law; i,e.^ a constitution, or by the division ot powers. As to constitutions, there are various modes of framing, establishing, and altering or amending them, but, however framed, they are checks upon the discretionary power of the government, and are usually the result of compromise between governor and governed. Divisions of power are made (i) horizontally ( as we may say) in forming local and general governments, and (2) vertically, by the classification of co-ordinate powers,

9. Co-ordinate Powers. — Theoretically, three divisions are made of the powers of government, though in practice the distinctions are by no means always observed. These are the lawmaking,or legislative, the law interpreting and applying, or judicial, and the law executing, or executive, powers of government. Under free governments, these powers are usually entrusted to different departments, and this division of power is often insisted upon as necessary to liberty and good government. The Massachusetts bill of rights expressly forbids the wielding of powers belonging to one department by persons in charge of another department, and gives, as a reason, " that this may be

7. As applied to political forms, what does purity signify? What extent?

8. How are the powers of government usually limited? How may the powers of government be limited by division t a government of laws and not of men." But, in practice, it is found necessary to leave a large share of the law applying power in the hands of the executive, to make the executive officers who enforce the decision of the courts, answerable to the courts themselves, and to k. the legislature share a portion of the responsibility. This inconsistency to the letter is really consistent with Vhe spirit of the theory of separate responsibiUties, for by it each department is made, in a measure, independent of the others, and is, at the same time, debarred from controlling them. The only powers of interference granted, are the power of impeachment usually wielded by the legislative body, and the veto power pertaining to the chief magistracy. In some cases, too, the legislature has a share in electing the chief magistrate, and it nearly always has the power to make or or refuse appropriations. Both of these powers imply a measure of control. A still further degree of control is exercised by the legislature in those states in which the cabinet, or council, of the executive is, by law or custom, "responsible "to a majority of the house of representatives.

All independent states have autonomous (or selfgoverning) powers, and sovereign (or treaty-making) powers. Dependent states have autonomous powers (more or less complete) but have no power to make treaties. These powers are properly co-ordinate, but may be wielded by the same branches of government.

10. Supreme and Subordinate Powers. — In dividing the duties of government between local, provincial and national systems, many cases arise in which laws conflict and one side or the other must give way. The degree of concession to be made on each side, and

^ What is said of Po-ordinate powers? What of the theory and practice of this mode of division ? What of the classification into autonomous and sovereign powers ?

the points on which each system shall remain supreme, is usually fixed by mutual agreement in the shape of a constitution or organic law. Thus, in the United States, the federal constitution, and the laws made in pursuance thereof, are accepted as the supreme law of the land, because they expressly confine themselves to questions of national interest, on which point it is agreed that merely local judgment or feeling shall give way. In like manner, nearly every country has a national and local system of government, the national government being supreme in some respects, and being debarred from interference in matters of local importance.

II. The Constitution. — The purpose of a constitution is to restrict the will of the party in power, and in the interest of consistency, justice and dignity, to prevent violent changes in the government. It also serves to fix the limits of authority in the co-ordinate branches of the government, and to prevent conflicts of jurisdiction between the local and the general government systems.

The basis of the constitution, like the basis of all government, is power, and it may be said to rest on the will of the strongest party in the state, whether that party be the people or the crown. As to origin it is sometimes framed by the people for themselves, and sometimes granted by an autocratic monarch, either in response to a popular demand, or of his own free will ; or again, it may be like the Enghsh constitution, established by precedent in a long continued series of struggles and agreements between crown and people.

The constitution, if written provides for its own

lo. Describe the division of government into supreme and subordinate branches ? By w^hat is the joint action of these systems regulated ?

,J}- ^^^' is a constitution, and what is its purpose ? What is said of its ba^is? Of Its origin ? Of its amendment ? Of its dissolution ?

amendment, and it may be wholly set aside, either by general consent in adopting a new one, or by revolution.

12. The Legislative Power. — If there be no constitution, laws are established by a decree of the sovereign, but in constitutional countr.es, there is always a legislative body, consisting of one or more chambers, whose duty it is to prepare and adopt laws. Even under despotisms a legislature is formed, usually by appointment, to frame and discuss the measures to by afiervvard promulgated by autocratic decree. Generally speaking, legislatures consist of deputies elected by the people, though the upper house often contains members by hereditary right, or by appointment of the crown.

13. The Judicial Power. — The essence of law is that it should be general in its application, and that it should not be framed to meet a particular case. The interpretation and application of laws are, therefore, usually entrusted, not to those who make and amend them, but to an entirely different class, bound by custom and precedent to give consistent and impartial judgment as to the effect of new laws on the great body 01 laws already existing. Hence, a judicial department ot government is established, in order th it when local courts do not interpret the law satisfactorily, appeal can be made, not to the law-making body, but to a separate department, a supreme court, trained to take all laws and interest into consideration, and L,ive a just and final decision of the point in question.

14. The Executive Power. — The courts interpret and apply laws only in those cases which are brought

12. How arc laws established under despotism ? Under conslitiuio:ial gov:-.;iments.

13. What is the puvposa of a judicial branch of the government ? Why is it usually distinguished from the legislature ?

before them by disputes between citizens, or between citizens and the government. By far the greater part of the administration of government consists in carrying out laws whose meaning is not a subject of dispute. These are the executive oi administrative duties of government, and are entrusted to a department entirely distinct from the legislature or the supreme court.

15. The Chief Magistrate. — Over all three departments, but most intimately connected with the executive, is the head of the government, the chief magistrate. In him are vested numerous powers that pertain to sovereignty, either in his own right or as representative of his people. Over the law-making body he has usually the right of veto, or the right to dissolve the legislature and call for a new election. Over the judiciary he exercises the power of appointment of judges, and the pardoning power. Over the executive department he has supreme control, both in the matter of appointment and administration. Outside of the autonomy of the State, he has the power to negotiate treaties and superintend his country's relations with foreign nations, and the right generally to appear and speak as the representative of his government.

So much for the general principles to be observed in the study of civil governments. We will now proceed to examine the governments as they actually exist.

14. What are the duties of the executive department of government?

15. What is said of the chief m^-gistraie as connected with the executive department? As distinguished from it?