his will. He makes laws without being himself subject to them. He is restrained only by the Koran and the fear of rebellion. The Koran is the bible of the Mahometans, containing the pretended revelations of their prophet. The people have no rights. Such is their ig norance, that they do not seem to know that they could be in a better condition.

42. (2.). An aristocracy; in which the supreme power is exercised by privileged classes, or in which they are allowed a disproportionate share. When tyranny is in the hands of a few, it is called an oligarchy, which is by some thought to be the worst of all governments.

43. (3.) A monarchy; which is a form of government in which the supreme power is lodged in the hands of a single person. Such a state is usually called a kingdom, or an empire. This name is generally given to a large state only. But it is sometimes applied to a state or kingdom in which the supreme magistrate is limited by a constitution or laws. Hence we speak of despotic or absolute monarchies, and of limited or mixed monarchies. Of the latter class are Great Britain and France.

44. In Great Britain, the power is lodged in the hands of a king, nobles, and a body representing in some degree the rights and interests of the great body of the people. The nobility are persons who enjoy a rank above the common people. They claim the highest civil honors and privileges, often by no other right than the right of birth; and, with the archbishops and bishops, they constitute the house of lords. The house of commons, the representative branch of the legislature, consists of the representatives of cities, boroughs and counties, and are chosen by men who possess the property or qualifications required by law. These two branches of the legislature are called the parliament.

the Koran? The condition of the people? 42. What is an aristocracy? 43. What is a monarchy? What different kinds of monarchies are there! 44. In what bodies are the powers of government lodged in Great Britain? How is the parliament constituted?

45. In France, the executive power belongs to the king. He is commander of the sea and land forces; he declares war, and makes all appointments. The legislative power rests in the king, the chamber of peers, and the chamber of deputies. The king proposes the laws. The peers are nominated by the king; and their dignity was formerly either granted for life, or made hereditary, at his pleasure. But since the revolution of 1830, the hereditary quality of the French peerage has been abolished. The deputies are elected by the electoral colleges; the ministers of state may be members of either chamber.

46. (4.) A republic, or commonwealth, the last form of government which shall be here noticed, is a state in which the sovereign power is lodged in representatives elected by the the people. Such is the government of the United States. The democracies of Greece are often called republics. A democracy, however, is a government in which the people meet in one assembly, and enact and execute the laws. But this can be done only in a very small community. Our government is therefore a representative republic, because the people, instead of enacting laws in person, elect a small number to represent them. But as political power is retained in the hands of the people, our government may with some propriety be called a democracy.

47. From the description here given of a mixed monarchy and a representative republic, these two forms of government may appear in a considerable degree similar. But though the king may have no greater power in making laws than the president of the United States, he obtains his power by hereditary right, or right by birth, independent of the suffrages of the people, and often contrary to their wishes. So also with regard to the higher branch of the legislature: its members hold their offices, either by right of birth, or by appointment of the

45. By what bodies in France? How is the legislature constituted! 46. What is a republic? A democracy? What kind of a government is that of the Uni States? 47. Wherein consists the dif

king. And although the lower branch is elective, such have been the qualifications required of the electors, as to throw the legislative power virtually into the hands of the more favored classes.

48. In France, in a population of 32,000,000, there were, in 1830, about 215,000 electors; no person being allowed to vote unless he possessed property on which he paid 200 francs of direct taxes; nor to be elected a representative, unless his property were subject to a tax of 500 francs.

49. Similar restrictions formerly existed in Great Britain, where the elective franchise was limited to the freeholders. The land being owned by a few, and cultivated by tenants, the election depended on the richest families. Besides the clergy, who, (in 1822,) possessed about six thousand estates, and the corporations, whose possessions might be reckoned at an equal number, there were in England but about 20,000 landholders, among a population of 13,000,000. The English law which gives to the eldest son all the real estate, is itself sufficient to keep together large masses of landed property. In 1786, there were 250,000 land proprietors.

50. But this unjust distinction between the rich and poor, has been in a great degree abolished in England. By an act of reform passed in 1832, the elective franchise was much extended; so that it is at present enjoyed to nearly the same extent as in the United States. Such has been the progress of republican principles among the governments of Europe, as to cause, in many of them, important changes in favor of the rights of the people.

51. Some writers do not allow more than three regular forms of government: the first, when the sovereign power is lodged in an aggregate assembly, consisting of all the members of a community, which is called a democracy; the second, when it is lodged in a council of select mem

ference between mixed governments and representative republics? 48. To what degree is the elective franchise restricted in France? 49. How was it formerly restricted in England? From what causes? 50. When was it extended? To what extent is it at present enjoyed? 51. To how many kinds may the different forms of gov

bers, and then it is styled an aristocracy; and third, when it is entrusted in the hands of a single person, and then it takes the name of a monarchy. All other kinds, they say, may be reduced to these three.

52. In limited or mixed monarchies, there is usually a charter or constitution. A constitution is the fundamental law of a state, whether it be a written instrument of a certain date, like that of the United States, or an aggregate of laws and usages which have been formed in the course of ages, like the English constitution. In France it is called a charter. In Great Britain it is called a

constitution; but it is not written.

53. The constitution of the United States was established by the people for their own regulation. It prescribes the duties and powers of officers who may be chosen to make and administer the laws. All laws enacted by the representatives of the people, must be in conformity to the constitution, which is the foundation of such laws, or they are not binding upon the people. The constitution restrains our rulers, and secures to every citizen his rights. It is also essential in assigning to each branch of the government its powers and limits. It is a representative constitution; and as it was formed and adopted by the people, they alone have the power to amend and alter it whenever it shall be found defective. This, however, can be done in such manner only as the constitution prescribes.

ernment be reduced? 52. In what governments is there a constitution? 53. By whom, and for what purpose, was the constitution of the United States established? Who have the power to amend it?

C

CHAPTER V.

Of Sovereignty-and of Political and Civil Powers in a Government.

54. By sovereignty is meant supremacy, or supreme, unlimited power. When applied to a state or nation, it means only independence. A sovereign state is a state or nation that possesses the right to make its own laws, and the right to make war and treaties with other nations. But the word sovereignty is also applied to the internal government of a state. The sovereign power of a state is that which is superior to all other power within the state. Thus, in a despotism, sovereignty is said to reside in the king, or supreme ruler, who is called the sovereign. In a democracy, where the people govern themselves, the people are called sovereign.

55. It was anciently believed, almost universally, that sovereignty was derived by kings immediately from God; and that, when a throne became vacant, the right of sovereignty returned to the original source, to be again conferred on the immediate successor. It was held that, by what means soever the throne was obtained, these were the occasions on which God bestowed the sovereignty on the prince. The more orthodox opinion now is, that the right is hereditary; and that, on the death of a prince, the right of sovereignty passes to his lawful heir. this opinion of the "divine right of kings," has given way, in a great measure, to the more rational doctrine, that the right of sovereignty is derived from the civil compact, the people being considered the legitimate source of all power.

But

56. Strictly speaking, however, it is in a state of absolute despotism only, where all the powers of government are united in a single person or aristocratic body, that

54. What is meant by sovereignty? 55. How was it anciently believed that the right of sovereignty was derived? To whom does political power properly belong? 56. In what form of gov