To coin money, and regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin; and fix the standard of weights and measures. Congress provides post roads and post-offices; secures to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their productions for limited terms; constitutes tribunals inferior to the supreme courts; and punishes piracies and other crimes against the laws of nations. It has the power to declare war; to raise armies and fleets; make rules for their government; to call out the militia, in order to suppress insurrections, and execute the laws of the Union; and to provide for organising, arming, and disciplining the militia. It has the exclusive control and management of all forts, arsenals, and dock-yards belonging to the United States. It may make any law necessary for carrying all these various powers into execution.

Congress assembles at Washington, in the district of Columbia; a piece of land ten miles square, belonging not to any one of the States, but to the Union at large; and over this district congress, until very recently, exercised exclusive legislation.

VIII.

Limitations of the Powers of Congress.—Congress is not allowed to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, except in cases of rebellion or invasion. Direct taxes must be levied in proportion to the census or enumeration before directed to be taken. No direct tax is at present levied by congress. It is declared that no tax or duty shall be laid upon articles exported from any State. No preference shall be given to the ports of one State over those of another. No title of nobility is to be granted by congress.

IX.

Limitations of the Powers of the States.-No State can delare war, or make a separate treaty; coin money; grant any title of nobility; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts. No State is allowed to impose duties on imports or exports.

X.

The Judiciary.-The judicial power of the Union is vested in a supreme court, and such inferior courts as congress may from time to time establish. The judges of the supreme court are elected for life by the president and senate. The federal courts are established for the purpose of deciding all such cases as could not properly and fairly be left to the courts of the individual States, because of the general interests of some or all of the States, or their citizens, being involved in the matter in controversy. The constitution precisely defines the jurisdiction of the federal courts. It is to extend to all cases arising under the constitution, or the laws and treaties of the United States; to controversies to which

the United States shall be a party; to controversies between two or more States, or between citizens of different States, &c. But the jurisdiction is not to extend to suits against a State by citizens of any other State or foreigners.

XI.

Miscellaneous Provisions.-The citizens of each State are entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States. Provision is made to reclaim slaves who may escape from one State to another. Congress is empowered to dispose of and govern the territory of the United States. The United States guarantee to every State in the Union a republican form of government; and also undertake to protect each of them against invasion and domestic violence. No State would be permitted by the Union to establish a monarchy or aristocracy. Amendments to the constitution may be proposed by two-thirds of both houses of congress, or by a convention called for the purpose, on application of two-thirds of the States; and when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States, or by convention in three-fourths thereof, they become a part of the corrected constitution. Certain amendments were made in 1789 to prevent misconstruction or abuse of the powers of congress. These declare that congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, &c. It is also declared that a well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The amendments also contain many valuable provisions respecting the quartering of troops, unreasonable searches and seizures, and the form of trials in the federal courts.

XII.

Remarks on the Constitution of the United States.-This constitution is well adapted to embrace a vast extent of country and a great number of States. Each State makes its own laws, and manages its own affairs, deriving from the Union protection from foreign aggression, and enjoying all the advantages of free trade with wealthy and powerful neighbours. It is probable that the federal constitution will be amended so as to be placed upon a more popular basis. The great western States will, in the course of time, become dissatisfied with the disproportionate power of the small eastern States, and will insist on appropriate amendments.

It would have been better, in the first instance, if all the states could have been represented in both houses on one and the same principle, according to their respective populations. Much heart-burning and jealousy have arisen from the violation of this principle, and from the concessions made to the slave States in allowing the whites in those

States more representatives in proportion than their brethren in the free States. It is impossible to attach the same moral weight to the decision of the people of the little State of Delaware as to that which of right belongs to the decision of the great State of New York. That system which puts them both on the same footing is inexpedient, and will be altered.

When the Union was formed, abstract principle gave way to some extent to expediency; the Union would not have been effected, if the small States had been refused the same power as the large ones in the senate. But experience having established the advantages of the Union of the various States, they would all now gladly agree to it on the true democratic principle, if compelled to choose between a Union on such terms and isolation.

Under the present system, the slave States have controlled the senate, and through the vast influence of that body managed the affairs of the Union, although the great majority of the citizens are in the free States. This anomaly becomes more obvious every day, and the great departure from democratic principles just adverted to may soon cause serious dissatisfaction. The probability is, however, that in the course of a few years the small slave States of Delaware and Maryland will abolish slavery, and this may temporarily allay the rising spirit of complaint.

If a new constitution were formed, it would probably be better to have the president and the chief officers of the government elected by the two houses, from amongst the members; and that, after such election, they should continue to sit, speak, and vote in the chamber to which they have been elected. The government should, in that case, be bound to resign, when both houses pass a resolution of want of confidence. The powers of the president should be reduced, and the representative principle fully adopted in the election of both houses.

The experience derived from the working of the more modern State constitutions shows that there is no necessity for conferring great powers upon the governors. In England, the continuance of ministers in office depends upon their having a majority of supporters in the house of commons; and, although that house does not represent the people, the experience of England shows the practicability of a government being made responsible to the true representatives of the people, and removable at pleasure.

Perhaps it will be said that it would be undignified for the president to take part in the debates. It may be answered, that the prime minister of England, the virtual head of the government, does not think himself demeaned by taking his seat in the house of commons, and participating in its proceedings.

Great practical inconvenience may arise from the election of a president for a term certain: his policy and that of the representatives of

the people may be in direct contradiction to each other; the president may become partially deranged or affected in his intellect, yet may continue to exercise the powers of his office during the whole of the term of four years.

The judges of the federal court should be elected for a short term of years, instead of being chosen for life; and they should not have the power to pronounce acts of congress unconstitutional. It was the opinion of Jefferson, that the judges should be deprived of the latter power. They should, however, retain the power of pronouncing acts of the State legislatures to be null and void, as contravening the federal constitution and laws, otherwise each State might violate that constitution with impunity.

It does not clearly appear that any solid objection could be raised to conferring the power upon congress to legislate generally for all the States on any subject, when, in the opinion of a very large majority of both houses of congress—say three-fourths-the general welfare of the Union would be advanced by such legislation. At present, it is disputed whether a bare majority cannot enact any measure deemed absolutely necessary for the preservation of the Union. There is a power to levy taxes for the general welfare. But each State should have its separate legislature, so as to enjoy the benefits of local self-government; subject, however, to the exercise of a paramount power by congress in those matters over which congress now has jurisdiction, and in all the other matters in the extraordinary instances before mentioned.

CHAPTER IV.

THE CHARACTER OF AMERICAN LEGISLATION AND

GOVERNMENT.

I. The Statute Law of Congress and of the States: its brevity and clearnessGeneral acquaintance of the people with the Laws-Codification-Abolition of Entails and Primogeniture-Laws respecting Land tenures.

II. Laws for providing gratuitous Education-Equality at School-Public Libraries-Vast results of general Education in America-Contrasted with England. III. Laws for the simplification of the Transfer of Land-Register of Deeds-American system of Conveyancing contrasted with the English.

IV. Its adaptation to England-What would be its effects.

V. Judicial Sales of Land in America-Partitions-Sales of Lands by Guardians, Executors, &c.

VI. Advantages derived from the easy Transfer of Land-What would be its effects. in England.

I.

A great number of the men elected by universal suffrage have had a legal education. These men possess much more aptitude and ability for legislation than the landed aristocracy of England. In all the States the statute law is in a small compass, although more important matters are the subject of legislation, and fewer points are left to be determined by the common law than in England.

In Ohio, for example, all the statutes of a public general nature are periodically reviewed by the legislature, and published in a cheap form. A single volume comprises the whole. The various subjects are arranged alphabetically, and there are notes of all the decisions of the supreme court which give them a construction. The cost of this book, of 1,000 pages, is about six shillings, and it is found in the hands not only of professional and literary men, but also in those of farmers and mechanics, and is exposed to sale even in the market-places. The consequence is, that a tradesman or farmer in Ohio is commonly better acquainted with the laws of his country than the English gentleman is with the laws of England, even though he be in the commission of the peace. Nor is the citizen of Ohio distinguished from the citizens of the other free States in this respect. Compare this state of things with the confused and voluminous mass of acts of parliament in England; where even the lawyer, with a large practice, seldom pretends to be acquainted with the statute law, and hardly any one has the statutes at large.* The language, too, of

* Lord Brougham, in his speech on legislation and the law, in the house of lords,