CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES.

CHAPTER I.

DEFINITION OF TERMS.

Government.

THE word "govern" is derived from the Latin gubernare, meaning to steer, to pilot, and then to guide, direct, control. To govern, therefore, is to control, and government is control. Thus the divine government is the control exercised by the Creator over his creatures. Family government is the control exercised by the head of a family over its members. School government is the control exercised by the teacher over the members of the school. When a pilot would guide his vessel from one port to another, he must know what courses he may take, he must choose one of these, and he must have the means of compelling the ship to take this course. These three things intelligence, will, and power-are necessary to all control, and therefore to all government.

When the controlling will expresses its choice, says what it would have done, this expression becomes a rule of action for the governed,

Law.

to be followed until there is a new and different choice

expressed. This expression of the controlling will is a law; and government is control exercised by means of the establishment and enforcement of laws. Thus a father chooses to have his children rise at a certain hour in the morning, and retire at a certain hour in the evening. He tells them plainly what he would have them do; and this expression of his will becomes a law of the family, and remains so, without a new expression, until he chooses to set aside the rule.

But the mere expression of the will may not insure control. The child needs to feel that he Penalty. must obey. This feeling can come only when a penalty is connected with disobedience. This penalty consists in the infliction of pain in one form or another. Thus the father says that the child who disobeys the rule shall lose a part of his play-hour. But saying this will do no good, unless the child is sure that the father will do as he says. There must be a certainty that the penalty will be inflicted.

State.

The difference between civil government and the others mentioned above is indicated in the meaning of the, word "civil." This is derived from the Latin civilis, - pertaining to citizens; and a citizen is a member of a state or nation. The following definition of a state is nearly complete : * "A state is a community of persons living within certain limits of territory, under a permanent organization, which aims to secure the prevalence of justice by self-imposed laws." Some would insert after "justice," "and otherwise promote the common weal."

If we examine this definition, we see that the state does not consist of those who directly exercise power,

* Woolsey's International Law.

not the king, not Congress, not those who vote, - but all the people, a community. The definition excludes wandering tribes of men, and all corporations, which have no limits of territory, and whose object is not justice.

If all the laws of the state are self-imposed, that is, if there is no power outside its body of peo

Sovereignty.

ple which dictates to it in any way, the state is said to be sovereign. This word does not admit of comparison: one state cannot be more sovereign. than another; and a small state, in this respect, stands on an equality with a large one. The sovereignty of a state consists in the absolute right to control its own members, and in the absolute right to resist any interference in its affairs by any other state. The first of these rights constitutes its internal sovereignty; the second, its external sovereignty. From these statements it will be seen that Boston is not a state, that Massachusetts is not a sovereign state. The United States is a sovereign state or nation. Great Britain and Russia are both sovereign states.

Having now defined a state, we are prepared to define civil government as control by law exercised by the state over its members as such.

SUMMARY.

1. Government is control.

2. Intelligence, will, and power are necessary to gov

ernment.

3. Laws are expressions of the controlling will, which become rules of action for the governed.

4. A law, to secure control, must be accompanied by a penalty, and a certainty that the penalty will be inflicted.

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5. A state is a community of persons living within certain limits of territory, under a permanent organization, which aims to secure the prevalence of justice by self-imposed laws.

6. A sovereign state is one in which all the laws are self-imposed.

7. Civil government is control by law, exercised by a state over its members.

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CHAPTER II.

SOURCE OF AUTHORITY IN THE STATE.

THE question naturally arises, What right has the state to control me? Why may not I do as I please? To answer this question, we must learn how the state comes to exist.

Necessity of

Society

The members of the state are human beings, and they are, therefore, social beings. They are created with a nature which only the society of fellow-beings can satisfy. They are made to love and hate and fear; and they must have those near them upon whom to exercise these feelings. They have thoughts, and language to express them; and they must be with those who can understand their language, and respond to their thoughts.

If a man lives alone, all these human faculties become dwarfed and stunted for want of exercise; and he is not so much of a man as he might have been. All experience shows that the highest degree of manhood can be attained only in society, and that out of it man grows brutish. A life of solitude, like that of a hermit, always seems unnatural and undesirable. There are stories of human beings who have been exposed in infancy, and have grown up among the brutes; and they are found to have lost the human likeness. They walk