I. THE MAYFLOWER COMPACT. II. THE FIRST DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. III. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. IV. THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION APPENDIX THE AUSTRALIAN BALLOT SYSTEM. QUESTIONS DEVELOPING THE GOVERNMENT OF STATE, COUNTY, CITY, TOWNSHIP, TOWN, ETC. INDEX The fundamental law of rights is, be a person, and respect others as persons.-MULFORD. Society is marching with long strides toward democracy. Is it a good? Is it an evil? I know little enough; but it is, in my opinion, the inevitable future of humanity.-COUNT CAVOUR. The village, or township, is the only association which is so perfectly natural that wherever a number of men are collected it seems to constitute itself. -DE TOCQUEVILLE. To the people we come sooner or later; it is upon their wisdom and self-restraint that the stability of the most cunningly devised scheme of government will in the last resort depend.-BRYCE. CIVIL GOVERNMENT. CHAPTER I. THE FOUR STAGES OF SOCIETY. 1. CIVIL INSTITUTIONS.—The laws, customs and occupations of a people comprise their civil institutions. Human interests are not solitary. One interest is related to all others. If we were to journey over the earth, visiting its different peoples, we might at first think that the civil institutions of the many peoples we saw were too different for any kind of classification; by a closer examination we would discover four classes of human society— savages, herdsmen, husbandmen and manufacturers. 2. SAVAGES.-The peoples whose chief occupation is hunting comprise the savage tribes of the six continents. They have customs simple and rude, and laws few and cruel. The boundaries of the land over which they seek their supplies are in constant dispute between the tribes. Each tribe is a collection of kindred families, and is governed by a man famed both as hunter and as warrior. His will, so far as he can enforce it, is law. The symbol of his authority is a spear or a club. 3. Life and Language.-Hunting supplies savages with food and clothing. They suffer from many diseases which do not seriously endanger a civilized community. Their language is unwritten, usually abounds in guttural sounds, has few words, not usually more than three hundred, and these are not inflected so as to express shades of thought. Their language is composed of nouns and verbs, with few if any other parts of speech. The nouns rudely name the plain objects of the senses; their words do not express exact qualities or quantities. Taken singly, the words have little if any meaning. The people have few and crude ideas. 4. Superstitions.-Savages are extremely superstitious and easily terrified by the phenomena of nature. They people the world with demons, and their customs are demonic, and frequently degrading. They do not understand the causes and the nature of common things. 5. Character.-The habits, customs, superstitions and manner of life of savage tribes indicate their true character. Life among them is unsafe; morality too often unknown; physical strength, the sole basis of right; government, the uncertain and brutal exercise of physical power and the sullen and unwilling obedience of the jealous and the weak. 6. HERDSMEN.-A larger group of peoples keep flocks and herds, and by means of these provide for themselves food and clothing. The area and boundaries of the land required by their cattle vary. Herdsmen follow the grass; it is the source of their wealth. They are wanderers and dwell in tents, but their laws and customs are less rude than those found among hunting tribes. They practice simple arts and make many articles required by their manner of life. They have a greater variety of food than and savages, desires unknown to savage life. many Butter and cheese are made by means of simple tools. The art of curing leather begins among them. They have their wealth for exchange, and thus obtain many articles which they cannot make for themselves. 7. Government among Them.-Their ruler is the oldest living father of a family, and the symbol of his authority is a shepherd's staff. The laws among them grow out of their occupations. Their laws have reference chiefly to two objects-the protection of life and of prop |