Civil Government in the United States Considered with Some Reference to Its Origins

d. The relation of the governor to other elected executive

Chapter 26682 wordsPublic domain

officers.

5. The ordinary functions of the governor:--

a. Advising the legislature. b. Commanding the militia. c. Pardoning criminals or commuting their sentences. d. Vetoing acts of the legislature.

6. Why is the power to veto particular items in a bill appropriating public money an important safeguard against corruption?

7. Local self-government in the United States left unimpaired:--

a. The extent of state supervision of towns and counties. b. The spirit thus developed in American citizens.

8. A lesson from the symmetry of the French government:--

a. The departments and their administration. b. The prefect and his duties. c. The department council and its sphere of action. d. The commune. e. The French system contrasted with the American. f. A common view of the political intelligence of the French. g. The probable effect of excessive state control upon the political intelligence of Americans.

9. The greatness of the functions retained by the states under the federal government:--

a. Powers granted to the government of the United States. b. The reason for granting such powers, c. The powers denied to the states. d. The reason for such prohibitions. e. The vast range of powers exercised by the states. f. The most important subjects of legislation in England for the past eighty years. g. The governments, state or national, to which these twelve subjects would have fallen in the United States.

10. Speak of the independence of the state courts.

11. In what cases only may matters be transferred from them to a federal court?

12. The constitution of the state courts:--

a. Justices of the peace; the mayor's court. b. County and municipal courts. c. The superior courts. d. The supreme court. e. Still higher courts in certain states.

13. The selection of judges and their terms of service:--

a. In the thirteen colonies. b. In most of the states since the Revolution. c. The reasons for a life tenure. d. The tendency since 1869.

14. Mention a conspicuous advantage of our system of government over the French.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS.

1. Was there ever a charter government in your state? If so, where is the charter at the present time? What is its present value? Try to see it, if possible. Pupils of Boston and vicinity, for example, may examine in the office of the secretary of state, at the state house, the charter of King Charles (1629) and that of William and Mary (1692).

2. When was your state organized under its present government? If it is not one of the original thirteen, what was its history previous to organization; that is, who owned it and controlled it, and how came it to become a state?

3. What are the qualifications for voting in your state?

4. What are the arguments in favour of an educational qualification for voters (as, for example, the ability to read the Constitution of the United States)? What reasons might be urged against such qualifications?

5. Who is the governor of your state? What political party supported him for the position? For what ability or eminent service was he selected?

6. Give illustrations of the governor's exercise of the four functions of advising, vetoing, pardoning, and commanding (consult the newspapers while the legislature is in session).

7. Mention some things done by the governor that are not included in the enumeration of his functions in the text.

8. Visit, if practicable, the State House. Observe the various offices, and consider the general nature of the business done there. Attend a session of the Senate or the House of Representatives. Obtain some "orders of the day."

9. If the legislature is in session, follow its proceedings in the newspapers. What important measures are under discussion? On what sort of questions are party lines pretty sharply drawn? On what sort of questions are party distinctions ignored?

10. Consult the book of general or public statutes, and report on the following points:--

a. The magnitude of the volume. b. Does it contain all the laws? If not, what are omitted? c. Give some of the topics dealt with.