LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA

CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF VIRGINIA

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Preparatory Work. Are men who live with neighbors about them free to do anything they like? What prevents one farmer from gathering the crops on all fields near him? Why are fences put up between farms? Why is it not right for a man who needs a horse to take any one he can find? Do neighbors always live together peacefully? When there are strong differences, who settles questions between them? Could neighbors live comfortably together if every one did exactly as he pleased, without regard to the rights and wishes of others? Then there is some limit to our freedom? What is that limit called? Why do we have laws? By whom are our laws made? Do you know any one who has helped to make laws for this state? What is his name? Who gave him the right to make laws for other people?

Society. A number of families living together in a community, where all have the same general interest, constitutes what is known as society. The aggregation of families needed to form society takes place in obedience to a natural impulse; for human beings are so constituted that they need help and sympathy, which they can obtain only by association with their fellows. Rights. In a family no member can be allowed to carry out his own wishes regardless of others. The

same is true in a larger sense of society. No individual can be permitted to do everything he may choose; for justice demands that the needs and the desires of all should be considered. Hence, in any organized society, there is need of some agreement as to rights belonging to all.

Different Kinds of Rights. — Rights may be classified as follows:

1. Civil Rights, which are those belonging to persons as citizens of a country, such as the rights of personal liberty, of personal security, and of private property.

2. Political Rights, such as the rights of voting, of holding office, and of taking part in matters that relate to the whole people.

3. Religious Rights, which consist of the rights of worshiping God according to the dictates of conscience and in any manner that may be preferred.

Duties. With rights originate duties, which are things men ought to do. Every right, whether it refers to an individual or to society, involves a duty; and there is no duty that does not have relation to a right. Duties are of many kinds; but, generally speaking, they may be classified as duties to ourselves, duties to others, and duties to God.

Origin of Government. — Government begins in the family, and civil government is but an extension of family government to meet the needs of society. The development of government takes place in a natural way. Rights are valued by men more highly than any other possessions; and, after they have been

recognized, it becomes necessary for society to insure the possibility of their exercise. Otherwise, the strong would impose on the weak, and the unscrupulous take advantage of the conscientious. So, to enforce the observance of rights, society provides what is called government, which may be defined as "the directing or managing of such affairs as concern all the people alike." Thus government is the agent of society, and is not needed, except in a limited way in the family, till society exists.

Forms of Government.

From very early times gov

ernment has been divided into three forms:

1. Monarchy, the form in which the supreme authority is vested in one person. Turkey is an example of an absolute monarchy, the sultan having unlimited power over both the property and the lives of his subjects.

2. Aristocracy, the form in which the governing power is intrusted to a select class supposed to be specially qualified for its exercise. During the Middle Ages, Venice was governed in this way, but at the present time no government is a pure aristocracy, although in some countries there are privileged classes that have a hereditary share in the government, as, for example, the nobility in England.

3. Democracy, the form in which the sovereign power is retained by the people.

A Republic. A republic is a representative democracy; that is, it is a government carried on by the people, not directly, but through representatives whom they elect. If the people select their representatives wisely, they can secure their liberties and promote their

general welfare better under a republican form of government than under any other kind.

A Nation. A body of people occupying a given territory, enjoying complete sovereignty, and guarding its rights and liberties is called a nation or a state. In our country, the word state has a peculiar meaning, signifying one of the commonwealths whose union forms the United States. Each of these states occupies a welldefined territory and has a government sanctioned by a constitution which was made by the people.

A Constitution. A constitution may be defined as a contract which expresses the terms by which the people of a state agree to be governed. After a constitution has been adopted, all laws subsequently enacted must conform to this constitution, which is for this reason called the fundamental law.

Laws. It is necessary for a government, in executing its functions, to lay down rules to regulate the social actions of men, and these rules are called laws. The laws found in a constitution, called constitutional laws, are the most permanent, while those passed by the legislature of a state, known as statute laws, are more easily changed.

Three Departments of Government. The powers of government can be exercised in three ways, in making laws, in construing them, and in executing them. The objects of government are best attained when these three functions of government are kept separate; that is, when one set of men makes the laws, when a second set decides controversies under them, and when a third set executes or carries them into effect.

TWO ALLEGIANCES

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The United States. — The United States is a republic made up of a number of states, each one of which is itself a republic. A republic of republics, then, the nation is. Each of the constituent states has delegated to the United States powers which belong to a nation in its relations with foreign countries, and also such as are necessary to make laws for the whole country. But all powers which the state has not surrendered, it has retained, and so exerts over its citizens an authority which is its own. Hence, as strictly national powers are wielded by the nation and local ones. by the states, the United States is dual in its government, and so is called a Federal Republic.

Two Allegiances. As Virginia is one of the states composing the Federal Union, her citizens owe two allegiances, one to Virginia and the other to the United States. Each government is supreme in its own sphere, and there is no conflict between the two. Generally speaking, the United States has jurisdiction in all matters that affect its relations with foreign nations, also coins money, issues patents, and makes laws in regard to commerce, which apply to the whole country, while Virginia has exclusive control over the actions of her own citizens as long as they are in her territory, and also over their rights of property.

QUESTIONS

1. What constitutes society, taken collectively?

2. Why is it necessary to have rights defined and respected?

3. Give the three kinds of rights, with their respective definitions.

4. What are duties, and how are they classified?