changes are often followed by a new policy in home, foreign, and colonial matters. Before the new ministers have made themselves acquainted with their business, they have to give place to others. The utter ignorance so frequently displayed at the British Colonial-office is usually attributed to this state of things. If the elections were unfrequent in Ohio, undue importance would be attached to them when they took place. The people would be expecting something extraordinary to be done in the way of legislation, and the consequence would be a much greater amount of uncertainty in the affairs of the State than is felt now. Under the present system, the business of legislation is looked upon as of an ordinary character, and the chief business of the legislature is the election of judges and other officials, and the making of appropriations.

VI.

The Executive.-The Governor of Ohio is elected directly by the people every two years. He must be thirty years of age, and must have been a citizen twelve years. His duties are few and simple, and his salary £200 a year. He exercises the pardoning power; he is commander of the militia, except when it is called into the service of the confederation. It is his duty to see that the laws are executed, to give all necessary information to the legislature, and to recommend such measures as he may deem advisable. It is the practice for the governor to present a written address to the legislature on its assembling, in which the fiscal affairs of the State are explained, and everything of importance is duly noticed. The governor, moreover, convenes the general assembly on extraordinary occasions. In case of the death or retirement of any officer appointed by the general assembly, the governor commissions his successor to act until the end of the next session of the legislature.

In case of the death, impeachment, resignation, or removal of the governor, the speaker of the senate exercises the office of governor pro tem. The speaker is a member of the senate, who has been elected to preside over that body by the majority.

A Secretary of State is elected by the assembly for three years, by a majority, upon joint ballot of both houses.

VII.

The Judiciary of the State.-There is a supreme court, consisting of four judges; a court of universal jurisdiction in each county, consisting of a president judge and three associates; and there are justices of the peace in each township. The latter are elected by the people every three years, but the judges of the supreme court and county courts (called courts of common pleas) are elected by the legislature every seven years. The various courts have their jurisdiction defined by acts of the legislature.

The justices of the peace have power to try cases of debt and damage, in which no more than one hundred dollars is claimed, which is rather above £20. Either party may require the trial to be by a jury. An appeal lies from the decision of the justice to the court of common pleas, and the appeal is tried by a jury. Cases are sometimes brought up from the justices by certiorari to the common pleas. Under this system, the suitor is protected from the wilfulness and arrogance displayed by judges from whom there is no appeal.

The court of common pleas in each county has jurisdiction in all cases at common law and in chancery. The English distinction between law and equity is preserved, and the proceedings are more simple, but similar to those of the English courts. The law of pleading and evidence is like that which prevails in England; but various improvements have been effected in Ohio, and there is abundant room for many more.

The county court is also a probate court; wills are proved before it, and it grants letters of administration, and divorces. It also appoints guardians for minors, and directs sales of intestates' lands for the payment of all kinds of claims and debts. Executors, administrators, and guardians have to account before this court, and report all their acts and deeds, which are duly recorded, and open for public examination.

The court of common pleas is also a court of criminal jurisdiction. It may grant a new trial in criminal as well as in civil cases. A writ of error lies from its decision to the supreme court, so that any one convicted of crime may, if the court has erred on the trial, apply to a superior court for a correction of the error. A bill of exceptions shows the charge or ruling complained of by the party. The State, on the other hand, cannot have any writ of error.

In England, on the contrary, so little are life and liberty regarded, in comparison with property, that although in a civil case involving a question of pounds, shillings, and pence, the litigants may appeal to a superior court, there is no such remedy where a man is sentenced to be hanged or transported. The only remedy for a wrongful conviction is a private application to an irresponsible arbitrary officer of the government at the home-office. In England, nearly all the landed aristocracy are made judges; they sit in quarter-sessions, and sentence the persons convicted to be imprisoned or transported. The tenants, tradesmen, and humble neighbours of these same landowners are the jurymen in most cases, Again, the same aristocrats sit alone, or in couples, to decide by far the most numerous cases affecting the liberty of the people.

Contrast this with the American system. In America the people, in England the aristocracy, are the source of all power. In Ohio, for example, the people elect the magistrates to serve for a short term; and the representatives of the people elect the judges, also to serve for a limited period.

There is, it may be well supposed, a vast difference in the bearing of judges, juries, and witnesses, in England and America. In England, the judges are stiff and haughty in their demeanour, the juries are often ill-educated, humble, and submissive, and the counsel bully the witnesses. The latter are perched up in a box, and subjected to gross insults in the course of cross-examination. All this is very different in America.

In Ohio, the people of each county elect a public prosecutor every two years. He manages all prosecutions, and the party aggrieved is put to no expense.

The administration of justice in Ohio is infinitely superior to that of England, although there are some peculiar and very serious defects in the judiciary system of that Republic. Very few persons are deterred in Ohio from seeking their rights through the medium of the courts of law by the expense attending the proceedings; whereas in England the administration of justice is so enormously expensive, except in the lowest courts, that there is a practical denial of it in three cases out of four. The fees are very trifling in Ohio, and are for the most part paid at the end of a suit. A decree in Chancery can be had, and a sale and conveyance of land under it effected, at a cost of about £10, attorney's fees included. A stoutly-contested action at law in the superior courts, or a suit in chancery, frequently cost sonly £4 or £5. The examination of the case on the trial is more full, minute, and careful than is usual in England. Great and important property cases are much better tried in England than in Ohio, but not so the smaller and more numerous cases. The Supreme Court of Ohio consists of four judges, elected for seven years, with salaries of about £250 each. Two of them sit only once per year in each county to try appeals, and decide writs of error from the courts of common pleas; and also to try a few original cases. Here is a great defect in the system; there should be an appellate court sitting the greater part of the year. For the want of this tribunal an unreasonable delay occurs in the disposal of cases appealed, and when they do come on there is no time for argument and deliberation. Unseemly practices and crude decisions are the fruits of this system. The gravest questions of law are taken up to the court in banc, where the four judges sit together once per year. Most of the other States have a better judiciary system than that of Ohio. The judges are over-worked and underpaid; and the justices of the peace are remunerated by fees collected from the suitors-a vicious practice.

VIII.

The Militia.—The laws of each State respecting the militia differ from each other. Generally, all white male persons, between certain ages, are liable to serve in the militia; but usually only a few volunteers are regularly drilled. Many young men take great delight in turning out in

uniform. The constitution of Ohio provides that captains and subalterns in the militia shall be elected by those persons in their respective company districts subject to military duty. Majors are to be elected by the captains and subalterns of the battalion. Colonels are elected by the majors, captains, and subalterns of the regiment. Brigadiers-general are elected by the commissioned officers of their respective brigades. Majors-general and quartermasters-general are appointed by a joint vote of both houses of the legislature. The governor appoints the adjutantgeneral. The captains appoint the non-commissioned officers, &c.

This is very different from the English system, under which the militia (a small and insignificant body) is under the entire control of the

crown.

Local self-government.-The people of each county elect a sheriff and a coroner every two years, and a recorder of deeds every three years. The township officers are elected annually. All officers are paid for their services. In cities and corporate towns the government is regulated by special acts. The mayors, councilmen, magistrates, and city officers are elected by the people periodically.

In England the sheriff is a government officer, and most of the township officers in rural districts, although nominated by the rate-payers, must be approved of by the local judges. The justices of the peace, or landed aristocracy, are appointed by the government, and may be removed at pleasure. The county affairs are managed by these justices of the peace, and the people are taxed by them without being represented.

IX.

The fundamental Rights reserved and guaranteed by the Constitution of Ohio. In the constitution of Ohio certain rights of the citizen are set forth, which are to be in nowise affected by the acts of the general assembly; and it is declared that all powers not expressly delegated by the constitution to the legislature, are reserved by the people. The constitution proclaims that all men are born equally free and independent, and it prohibits slavery.

It affirms that all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of conscience; that no human authority can in any case whatever control or interfere with the rights of conscience; that no man shall be compelled to attend, erect, or support any place of worship, or to maintain any ministry, against his consent; and that no preference shall be given by law to any religious society, or mode of worship; and no religious test shall be required as a qualification to any office of trust or profit. But religlon, morality, and knowledge, being essentially necessary to good government, and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of instruction shall for ever be encouraged by legislative provision, not inconsistent with the rights of conscience."

Compare this with the English laws and the established church of

England and Ireland. Before a man can take his seat in the British parliament he must declare that he is a Christian. Within the last six or seven years county justices of the peace have frequently committed men to prison for neglecting to attend places of worship. The people are compelled to maintain the established church; that is to say, the property of the nation, which might be appropriated in reduction of the taxes, is given to a favoured sect, and all people are liable to pay church rates to support its consequence and disseminate its doctrines.

The natural rights declared by the constitution of Ohio are thus violated by the aristocratic government and legislature of England; whilst, on the other hand, so far from knowledge being deemed " essentially necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind," the aristocracy and their nominees, the clergy of the established church, have until recently resisted general education, believing that it would make the people dissatisfied with the existing order of things.

In Ohio the people are well educated at the expense of the State. In England great masses of the people are in a state of ignorance and brutality, the means of instruction not being encouraged by legislative provision.

The constitution of Ohio further provides that private property shall ever be held inviolate; but always subservient to the public welfare, provided a compensation in money be made to the owner. It prohibits general search warrants. It provides that no law shall restrain the citizen from criticising the proceedings of the government. It affirms that the people have at all times a complete power to alter, reform, or abolish their government. So that in Ohio it is no offence to excite dissatisfaction with the existing order of things; whereas in England it is highly criminal to do so; for it has often been held to be sedition, and in serious cases it has been declared to be treason.

It is true, however, that in England the government has, during a portion of the present century, permitted the people to discuss political matters somewhat freely, it being believed that the institutions of the country have not been put in peril thereby. But the people have no right either to speak or write against the government, or attend political meetings at which speeches are made calculated to excite dissatisfaction. The laws of England restraining freedom of discussion and association for political purposes, could hardly be made more rigid; and these laws are often put in force. It was declared by Lord Campbell, in a speech in the House of Lords in support of the new treason bill, in April 1848, that people had been transported for delivering milder speeches in favour of parliamentary reform than those which Lord Brougham had delivered just previous to the passage of the Reform Act. The truth is, that the laws have in each successive reign been made more severe for the purpose of restraining what is called sedition.