a proceeding both simple and inexpensive. Indeed, in some of the new states, even this formality has once been dispensed with, for, in framing their constitutions, they have allowed every bona fide resident to participate, and given to all an equal voice in the government.

One of the most noticeable changes in the law of America has been in the direction of imposing restraints upon the legislative power in the enactment of laws. The American people, from the first, have shown great solicitude, lest fundamental individual rights should be trampled upon, and they have made each of their constitutions a magna carta, by means of which barriers are erected against the encroachments of government. The promise extorted from King John, that no freeman should be taken, or imprisoned, or disseised, or outlawed, or banished, or any way destroyed, except by the judg ment of his peers, or the law of the land, is repeated in substance in them all; and, lest this comprehensive declaration should prove insufficient, there is a careful enumeration of rights which are guarded from the encroachments of power, and of securities for the protection of liberty, where government is exercising its acknowledged authority. Religious liberty shall not be invaded; freedom of speech shall be inviolate; soldiers shall not be quartered upon citizens in time of peace, unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be allowed; the press shall be free; and a jury shall pass upon the criminality of any of its alleged excesses. Taxes shall only be levied in accordance with law, and when voted by the people's representatives; the military shall be subordinate to the civil authority; the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall be inviolate; no accused party shall be compelled to give evidence against himself, and none shall be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb for the same offense. But the disposition of late is to go far beyond this specification of individual rights, to inhibit class legislation, as well as the omnibus system of making laws, and to restrain within reasonable bounds the private legislation of which all our law-making bodies are apt to be so prolific. Forms of proceeding are also prescribed in some cases, the purpose of which is to insure care and deliberation in the enactment of laws, and to prevent the legislature being taken by surprise by designing and unscrupulous men. And a strong inclination has been developed to forbid private and special acts in all cases where public and general laws can reasonably accomplish the end designed.

The proceedings in courts of justice have been greatly simplified within a few years. In this direction, however, there was not the same room for improvement as in England. Many of the states had no distinct equity system, and those which had established one had, at the same time, established regulations to render its remedies speedy and reasonably inexpensive. At this time equitable and legal remedies are generally administered by the same courts, and under forms which are very simple, and with such ample power in the court to amend the pleadings and proceedings for the advancement of justice, that it is not easy for the forms of law to be employed for the furtherance of unjust and oppressive schemes. In some states statutes have been passed, the purpose of which was to sweep away at a single blow all legal subtleties and technicalities in the forms of pleadings and proceedings; and where changes so radical have been avoided, the old forms have been greatly simplified, and

the lawyer may now safely give more attention to the merits of his cause, and less to the forms provided by law, by means of which his client's rights are to be protected or his wrongs redressed.

Many of the modern changes in the English law enumerated in this note have been simultaneously made in America, and with the like good results. Among them may be mentioned the remedy given to the family of any deceased person whose death has been caused by the wrongful act, neglect or default of another, and the doing away with objections to the competency of witnesses based upon their interest in or connection with the cause. The latter innovation has been followed in some states by statutes permitting accused parties in criminal cases to give their own account of the transaction to the jury; and the result has been generally satisfactory. America preceded England in abolishing imprisonment for debt, and she has also exhibited a greater readiness to modify the law of nations for the protection of the rights and interests of neutrals in time of war. But as, in this respect, the interest of each is identical, and the voice of religion and humanity pleads earnestly for such changes as will limit and circumscribe the calamities of war so as to make them affect the least possible number of persons, we may confidently expect the efforts in this direction to be hereafter made by these two nations conjointly, and with a reasonable degree of success.

Great as have been the changes in the law here chronicled, we may still look forward, with reasonable confidence, to others of the like gratifying character, to be introduced by the Anglo-Saxon nations, upon the basis of the common law of England, by the like gradual but sure and safe steps, and as speedily as the public sentiment may be prepared to receive and perpetuate them.

553

LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN.

As the local institutions of Great Britain have very largely been remodeled in our day, it seems desirable to give some brief account of them, as they exist at the present time. England was always celebrated for the freedom of its local government, and though this was probably more complete during the Saxon period than at any time afterwards, it is made very apparent by the account which is given of the local magistracy in the preceding pages, that the power to regulate their local affairs through the agency of local officers, has been left at all times in the hands of municipal corporations and districts. The following summary will give the means of comparison between the old system and the new, and will serve to show that while some reforms have been introduced, changes have also been made, which have become necessary in consequence of the great increase in population, and the wonderful growth of modern towns.

The primary division of the realm for local purposes is into parishes. The parish is called by Prof. Stubbs, the ancient township in its ecclesiastical form. When the parish is spoken of the civil parish is commonly intended, and this is defined by Stat. 29 and 30 Vic. c. 113, as "a place for which a separate poor rate is or can be made, or for which a separate overseer is or can be appointed." The civil parish is therefore the Poor Law parish, though there are also by custom some highway parishes, which are not identical with the others. There are about 15,000 civil parishes in England and Wales. The corporate organization consists of the vestry and overseers. The vestry "is the ratepayers of the parish in vestry assembled," the minister of the parish presiding, if present. By custom, there are special vestries in some parishes, consisting of a select number of ratepayers, and by statute parishes having more than 800 ratepayers may have select vestries. The powers of the vestry are small, and are limited in the main to managing the parish property and charities. The overseers are nominally overseers of the poor. They are appointed by the justices, but the churchwardens are also ex officio overseers, when the civil is an ecclesiastical parish as well. They make and levy the poor rate, and they also prepare the jury list, and the lists of voters for parliamentary and municipal elections.

Of ecclesiastical parishes there are 13,000 in England and Wales. Since compulsory church rates were abolished, ecclesiastical parishes have been of little importance in local government. Their affairs are controlled by the vestry, which is composed of the minister, churchwardens, and parishioners. The minister has custody of the church, and makes records of baptisms, marriages, and burials. The freehold of the church-yard is also in him, but he can no longer as formerly control the burials in it; the act of 1880 authorizing

burials there without the intervention of the minister, and with or without religious services, as the friends may direct. The churchwardens are two in number, and are chosen annually by the minister and parishioners. Their duties have become nominal, and so have those of the parish clerk, who once was an important officer.

A more important division for poor-law purposes is the union. This commonly consists of several poor-law parishes, though in some cases a single parish constitutes a union. The whole number of unions is between six and seven hundred. The governing board is a board of guardians, of which the justices within the union are ex officio members, and others are chosen annually by the ratepayers and landowners. The number to be chosen is determined by the local government board. The chief function of the guardians is the administration of the poor relief fund, and the appointment of local officers connected therewith. In rural districts they are also the sanitary authority, and in some cases the highway authority also.

The boundaries of unions and of parishes may intersect those of counties and of boroughs, and in many cases do so.

Of counties there are forty in England, and twelve in Wales. The officers are the lord-lieutenant, who is appointed by the crown, and is commonly custos rotulorum, or keeper of the records, and as such the chief magistrate of the county. Next to him is the sheriff, also appointed by the crown. As presiding officer of the county court, his functions were once of high importance, but that court has now little more than a nominal existence. The chief duties of the sheriff now are to summon juries, to act as executive officer of the courts, and to enforce their judgments. He appoints an under sheriff, for whose acts he is responsible. The custody of prisons was taken from the sheriff in 1877, and transferred to the central government. Each county has its coroner, and some counties have several. For the most part they are elertive by the freeholders, but by custom in some districts they are appointed by the lord of the manor, or some other authority. The chief duty of the coroner is to hold inquests over the bodies of persons who have been killed, or have died in prison, or suddenly from unknown causes. In this he calls a jury to his assistance. Justices for the county are appointed by the crown on the recommendation of the lord-lieutenant, and the number is indefinite. They have police powers for the county, and appoint the chief constable. The chief constable appoints the subordinate police force. The justices have the duty of maintaining county bridges and pauper lunatic asylums, and they appoint. inspectors of weights and measures, and an analyst of food and drugs. County expenses are paid by an assessment upon the parishes, called a county rate. The treasury refunds to the county one-half the cost of the police force.

The subdivision of the realm into sanitary districts is now exceedingly important. Of these there are two classes, the urban and the rural. The rural are identical in territory with the poor-law unions, except as the urban may be carved out of them, and the guardians are the rural sanitary board. The sanitary authority in the urban districts is the town council, or some other local board. The sanitary organization begins with the public health act, 1848, which created a general board of health, whose members were to be

appointed by the crown, and who had power to create local boards of health. The name indicates the duties. The duty of general supervision was transferred to the local government board in 1871. The local boards are corporations, with power to make by-laws, and besides the ordinary functions of sanitary bodies, they are given authority to construct sewers and gas works when necessary, and the urban boards may open, construct and repair streets. In the seaports there are local sanitary authorities constituted by the local government board.

The division of England into school districts dates from the passage of Mr. Forster's elementary education act of 1870. Prior to that act voluntary schools received occasional aid from public moneys, but the duty of educating the people was now assumed as a public duty. The prominent features of the act as since amended are these: It is declared to be the duty of every one standing in loco parentis to a child to see that he receives efficient elementary instruction in reading, writing and arithmetic. In every school district adequate public school accommodations must be supplied for this purpose, and if there is neglect by the local authorities, the education department of the government must see that the duty is performed. In general every borough or city constitutes a school district, and so does every parish and part of a parish not within a borough or city. The whole of the metropolis is one district. The local authority in a district is either a school board or a school attendance committee. A school board is created by the education department on the application of the local authorities, and the department prescribes the number of members. The term of office is three years. They are chosen by the ratepayers, and each voter has as many votes as there are persons to be chosen, and may distribute them as he pleases, and give two or more to one candidate, if such is his choice. The school board appoints the teachers, and has certain powers to compel attendance of children upon the schools. A child who refuses may be sent to an industrial school. Certain fees are paid for attendance by such of the parents and guardians as are able, and to the extent that the fees fail to meet the expenditure, the deficiency is made up by a rate levied as a part of the borough rate, or, outside of the boroughs, as a part of the poor-rate. On an average the rates exceed the aggregate of fees as three to one. Where there is no school board, a school attendance committee is appointed by the borough council, or some other local authority. The highways in the main are kept in repair by the parishes. For this purpose, however, the parish may not be the same as the poor-law parish, as a particular hamlet, which is a part of a poor-law parish, may by custom be a separate parish for highway purposes. The quarter sessions have authority to combine two or more parishes into one or more high way districts. In rural districts the highway authority is either a parish surveyor, a parish board, a district board, or the guardians. In urban districts the sanitary authority is also the highway authority. Formerly there were many turnpikes in the hands of trustees, who kept them in repair, and collected tolls for their use. Nearly all of these have now become free highways, and the cost of keeping the main roads in repair is shared by the county and the parish or district.