American Institutions and Their Influence Part 8

The town, or t.i.thing, as the smallest division of a community, must necessarily exist in all nations, whatever their laws and customs may be: if man makes monarchies, and establishes republics, the first a.s.sociation of mankind seems const.i.tuted by the hand of G.o.d. But although the existence of the towns.h.i.+p is coeval with that of man, its liberties are not the less rarely respected and easily destroyed. A nation is always able to establish great political a.s.semblies, because it habitually contains a certain number of individuals fitted by their talents, if not by their habits, for the direction of affairs. The towns.h.i.+p is, on the contrary, composed of coa.r.s.er materials, which are less easily fas.h.i.+oned by the legislator. The difficulties which attend the consolidation of its independence rather augment than diminish with the increasing enlightenment of the people. A highly-civilized community spurns the attempts of a local independence, is disgusted at its numerous blunders, and is apt to despair of success before the experiment is completed. Again, no immunities are so ill-protected from the encroachments of the supreme power as those of munic.i.p.al bodies in general: they are unable to struggle, single-handed, against a strong or an enterprising government, and they cannot defend their cause with success unless it be identified with the customs of the nation and supported by public opinion. Thus, until the independence of towns.h.i.+ps is amalgamated with the manners of a people, it is easily destroyed; and it is only after a long existence in the laws that it can be thus amalgamated. Munic.i.p.al freedom eludes the exertions of man; it is rarely created; but it is, as it were, secretly and spontaneously engendered in the midst of a semi-barbarous state of society. The constant action of the laws and the national habits, peculiar circ.u.mstances, and above all, time, may consolidate it; but there is certainly no nation on the continent of Europe which has experienced its advantages. Nevertheless, local a.s.semblies of citizens const.i.tute the strength of free nations.

Munic.i.p.al inst.i.tutions are to liberty what primary schools are to science; they bring it within the people's reach, they teach men how to use and how to enjoy it. A nation may establish a system of free government, but without the spirit of munic.i.p.al inst.i.tutions it cannot have the spirit of liberty. The transient pa.s.sions, and the interests of an hour, or the chance of circ.u.mstances, may have created the external forms of independence; but the despotic tendency which has been repelled will, sooner or later, inevitably reappear on the surface.

In order to explain to the reader the general principles on which the political organisations of the counties and towns.h.i.+ps of the United States rest, I have thought it expedient to choose one of the states of New England as an example, to examine the mechanism of its const.i.tution, and then to cast a general glance over the country.

The towns.h.i.+p and the county are not organized in the same manner in every part of the Union; it is, however, easy to perceive that the same principles have guided the formation of both of them throughout the Union. I am inclined to believe that these principles have been carried farther in New England than elsewhere, and consequently that they offer greater facilities to the observations of a stranger.

The inst.i.tutions of New England form a complete and regular whole; they have received the sanction of time, they have the support of the laws, and the still stronger support of the manners of the community, over which they exercise the most prodigious influence; they consequently deserve our attention on every account.

LIMITS OF THE TOWNs.h.i.+P.

The towns.h.i.+p of New England is a division which stands between the commune and the canton of France, and which corresponds in general to the English t.i.thing, or town. Its average population is from two to three thousand;[64] so that, on the one hand, the interests of the inhabitants are not likely to conflict, and, on the other, men capable of conducting its affairs are always to be found among its citizens.

AUTHORITIES OF THE TOWNs.h.i.+P IN NEW ENGLAND.

The People the Source of all Power here as Elsewhere.--Manages its own Affairs. No Corporation.--The greater part of the Authority vested in the Hands of the Selectmen.--How the Selectmen act.--Town-meeting.--Enumeration of the public Officers of the Towns.h.i.+p Obligatory and remunerated Functions.

In the towns.h.i.+p, as well as everywhere else, the people is the only source of power; but in no stage of government does the body of citizens exercise a more immediate influence. In America, the people is a master whose exigences demand obedience to the utmost limits of possibility.

In New England the majority acts by representatives in the conduct of the public business of the state; but if such an arrangement be necessary in general affairs, in the towns.h.i.+p, where the legislative and administrative action of the government is in more immediate contact with the subject, the system of representation is not adopted. There is no corporation; but the body of electors, after having designated its magistrates, directs them in anything that exceeds the simple and ordinary executive business of the state.[65]

This state of things is so contrary to our ideas, and so different from our customs, that it is necessary for me to adduce some examples to explain it thoroughly.

The public duties in the towns.h.i.+p are extremely numerous and minutely divided, as we shall see farther on; but the large proportion of administrative power is vested in the hands of a small number of individuals called "the selectmen."[66]

The general laws of the state impose a certain number of obligations on the selectmen, which may they fulfil without the authorization of the body they govern, but which they can only neglect on their own responsibility. The law of the state obliges them, for instance, to draw up the list of electors in the towns.h.i.+ps; and if they omit this part of their functions, they are guilty of a misdemeanor. In all the affairs, however, which are determined by the town-meeting, the selectmen are the organs of the popular mandate, as in France the maire executes the decree of the munic.i.p.al council. They usually act upon their own responsibility, and merely put in practice principles which have been previously recognised by the majority. But if any change is to be introduced in the existing state of things, or if they wish to undertake any new enterprise, they are obliged to refer to the source of their power. If, for instance, a school is to be established, the selectmen convoke the whole body of electors on a certain day at an appointed place; they explain the urgency of the case; they give their opinion on the means of satisfying it, on the probable expense, and the site which seems to be most favorable. The meeting is consulted on these several points; it adopts the principle, marks out the site, votes the rate, and confides the execution of its resolution to the selectmen.

The selectmen alone have the right of calling a town-meeting; but they may be requested to do so: if the citizens are desirous of submitting a new project to the a.s.sent of the towns.h.i.+p, they may demand a general convocation of the inhabitants; the selectmen are obliged to comply, but they have only the right of presiding at the meeting.[67]

The selectmen are elected every year in the month of April or of May. The town-meeting chooses at the same time a number of munic.i.p.al magistrates, who are intrusted with important administrative functions.

The a.s.sessors rate the towns.h.i.+p; the collectors receive the rate. A constable is appointed to keep the peace, to watch the streets, and to forward the execution of the laws; the town-clerk records all the town votes, orders, grants, births, deaths, and marriages; the treasurer keeps the funds; the overseer of the poor performs the difficult task of superintending the action of the poor laws; committee-men are appointed to attend to the schools and to public instruction; and the road-surveyors, who take care of the greater and lesser thoroughfares of the towns.h.i.+p, complete the list of the princ.i.p.al functionaries. They are, however, still farther subdivided; and among the munic.i.p.al officers are to be found parish commissioners, who audit the expenses of public wors.h.i.+p; different cla.s.ses of inspectors, some of whom are to direct the citizens in case of fire; t.i.thing-men, listers, haywards, chimney-viewers, fence-viewers to maintain the bounds of property, timber-measurers, and sealers of weights and measures.[68]

There are nineteen princ.i.p.al offices in a towns.h.i.+p. Every inhabitant is constrained, on pain of being fined, to undertake these different functions; which, however, are almost all paid, in order that the poor citizens may be able to give up their time without loss. In general the American system is not to grant a fixed salary to its functionaries.

Every service has its price, and they are remunerated in proportion to what they have done.

EXISTENCE OF THE TOWNs.h.i.+P.

Every one the best Judge of his own Interest.--Corollary of the Principle of the Sovereignty of the People.--Application of these Doctrines in the Towns.h.i.+ps of America.--The Towns.h.i.+p of New England is Sovereign in that which concerns itself alone; subject to the State in all other matters.--Bond of Towns.h.i.+p and the State.--In France the Government lends its Agents to the _Commune_.--In America the Reverse occurs.

I have already observed, that the principle of the sovereignty of the people governs the whole political system of the Anglo-Americans. Every page of this book will afford new instances of the same doctrine. In the nations by which the sovereignty of the people is recognised, every individual possesses an equal share of power, and partic.i.p.ates alike in the government of the state. Every individual is therefore supposed to be as well informed, as virtuous, and as strong, as any of his fellow-citizens. He obeys the government, not because he is inferior to the authorities which conduct it, or that he is less capable than his neighbor of governing himself, but because he acknowledges the utility of an a.s.sociation with his fellow-men, and because he knows that no such a.s.sociation can exist without a regulating force. If he be a subject in all that concerns the mutual relations of citizens, he is free and responsible to G.o.d alone for all that concerns himself. Hence arises the maxim that every one is the best and the sole judge of his own private interest, and that society has no right to control a man's actions, unless they are prejudicial to the common weal, or unless the common weal demands his co-operation. This doctrine is universally admitted in the United States. I shall hereafter examine the general influence which it exercises on the ordinary actions of life: I am now speaking of the nature of munic.i.p.al bodies.

The towns.h.i.+p, taken as a whole, and in relation to the government of the country, may be looked upon as an individual to whom the theory I have just alluded to is applied. Munic.i.p.al independence is therefore a natural consequence of the principle of the sovereignty of the people in the United States, all the American republics recognise it more or less; but circ.u.mstances have peculiarly favored its growth in New England.

In this part of the Union the impulsion of political activity was given in the towns.h.i.+ps; and it may almost be said that each of them originally formed an independent nation. When the kings of England a.s.serted their supremacy, they were contented to a.s.sume the central power of the state.

The towns.h.i.+ps of New England remained as they were before; and although they are now subject to the state, they were at first scarcely dependent upon it. It is important to remember that they have not been invested with privileges, but that they seem, on the contrary, to have surrendered a portion of their independence to the state. The towns.h.i.+ps are only subordinate to the state in those interests which I shall term _social_, as they are common to all the citizens. They are independent in all that concerns themselves; and among the inhabitants of New England I believe that not a man is to be found who would acknowledge that the state has any right to interfere in their local interests. The towns of New England buy and sell, prosecute or are indicted, augment or diminish their rates, without the slightest opposition on the part of the administrative authority of the state.

They are bound, however, to comply with the demands of the community. If the state is in need of money, a town can neither give nor withhold the supplies. If the state projects a road, the towns.h.i.+p cannot refuse to let it cross its territory; if a police regulation is made by the state, it must be enforced by the town. A uniform system of instruction is organised all over the country, and every town is bound to establish the schools which the law ordains. In speaking of the administration of the United States, I shall have occasion to point out the means by which the towns.h.i.+ps are compelled to obey in these different cases: I here merely show the existence of the obligation. Strict as this obligation is, the government of the state imposes it in principle only, and in its performance the towns.h.i.+p resumes all its independent rights. Thus, taxes are voted by the state, but they are a.s.sessed and collected by the towns.h.i.+p; the existence of a school is obligatory, but the towns.h.i.+p builds, pays, and superintends it. In France the state collector receives the local imposts; in America the town collector receives the taxes of the state. Thus the French government lends its agents to the commune; in America, the towns.h.i.+p is the agent of the government. This fact alone shows the extent of the differences which exist between the two nations.

PUBLIC SPIRIT OF THE TOWNs.h.i.+PS OF NEW ENGLAND.

How the Towns.h.i.+p of New England wins the Affections of its Inhabitants.--Difficulty of creating local public Spirit in Europe.--The Rights and Duties of the American Towns.h.i.+p favorable to it.--Characteristics of Home in the United States.--Manifestations of public Spirit in New England.--Its happy Effects.

In America, not only do munic.i.p.al bodies exist, but they are kept alive and supported by public spirit. The towns.h.i.+p of New England possesses two advantages which infallibly secure the attentive interest of mankind, namely, independence and authority. Its sphere is indeed small and limited, but within that sphere its action is unrestrained; and its independence would give to it a real importance, even if its extent and population did not ensure it.

It is to be remembered that the affections of men are generally turned only where there is strength. Patriotism is not durable in a conquered nation. The New Englander is attached to his towns.h.i.+p, not only because he was born in it, but because it const.i.tutes a strong and free social body of which he is a member, and whose government claims and deserves the exercise of his sagacity. In Europe, the absence of local public spirit is a frequent subject of regret to those who are in power; every one agrees that there is no surer guarantee of order and tranquillity, and yet nothing is more difficult to create. If the munic.i.p.al bodies were made powerful and independent, the authorities of the nation might be disunited, and the peace of the country endangered. Yet, without power and independence, a town may contain good subjects, but it can have no active citizens. Another important fact is, that the towns.h.i.+p of New England is so const.i.tuted as to excite the warmest of human affections, without arousing the ambitious pa.s.sions of the heart of man.

The officers of the county are not elected, and their authority is very limited. Even the state is only a second-rate community, whose tranquil and obscure administration offers no inducement sufficient to draw men away from the circle of their interests into the turmoil of public affairs. The federal government confers power and honor on the men who conduct it; but these individuals can never be very numerous. The high station of the presidency can only be reached at an advanced period of life; and the other federal functionaries are generally men who have been favored by fortune, or distinguished in some other career. Such cannot be the permanent aim of the ambitious. But the towns.h.i.+p serves as a centre for the desire of public esteem, the want of exciting interests, and the taste for authority and popularity, in the midst of the ordinary relations of life: and the pa.s.sions which commonly embroil society, change their character when they find a vent so near the domestic hearth and the family circle.

In the American states power has been disseminated with admirable skill, for the purpose of interesting the greatest possible number of persons in the common weal. Independently of the electors who are from time to time called into action, the body politic is divided into innumerable functionaries and officers, who all, in their several spheres, represent the same powerful corporation in whose name they act. The local administration thus affords an unfailing source of profit and interest to a vast number of individuals.

The American system, which divides the local authority among so many citizens, does not scruple to multiply the functions of the town officers. For in the United States, it is believed, and with truth, that patriotism is a kind of devotion, which is strengthened by ritual observance. In this manner the activity of the towns.h.i.+p is continually perceptible; it is daily manifested in the fulfilment of a duty, or the exercise of a right; and a constant though gentle motion is thus kept up in society which animates without disturbing it.

The American attaches himself to his home, as the mountaineer clings to his hills, because the characteristic features of his country are there more distinctly marked than elsewhere. The existence of the towns.h.i.+ps of New England is in general a happy one. Their government is suited to their tastes, and chosen by themselves. In the midst of the profound peace and general comfort which reign in America, the commotions of munic.i.p.al discord are infrequent. The conduct of local business is easy.

The political education of the people has long been complete; say rather that it was complete when the people first set foot upon the soil. In New England no tradition exists of a distinction of ranks; no portion of the community is tempted to oppress the remainder; and the abuses which may injure isolated individuals are forgotten in the general contentment which prevails. If the government is defective (and it would no doubt be easy to point out its deficiencies), the fact that it really emanates from those it governs, and that it acts, either ill or well, casts the protecting spell of a parental pride over its faults. No term of comparison disturbs the satisfaction of the citizen: England formerly governed the ma.s.s of the colonies, but the people was always sovereign in the towns.h.i.+p, where its rule is not only an ancient, but a primitive state.

The native of New England is attached to his towns.h.i.+p because it is independent and free; his co-operation in its affairs ensures his attachment to its interest; the well-being it affords him secures his affection; and its welfare is the aim of his ambition and of his future exertions; he takes a part in every occurrence in the place; he practises the art of government in the small sphere within his reach; he accustoms himself to those forms which can alone ensure the steady progress of liberty; he imbibes their spirit; he acquires a taste for order, comprehends the union of the balance of powers, and collects clear practical notions on the nature of his duties and the extent of his rights.

THE COUNTIES OF NEW ENGLAND.

The division of the counties in America has considerable a.n.a.logy with that of the arrondiss.e.m.e.nts of France. The limits of the counties are arbitrarily laid down, and the various districts which they contain have no necessary connexion, no common traditional or natural sympathy; their object is simply to facilitate the administration of public affairs.

The extent of the towns.h.i.+p was too small to contain a system of judicial inst.i.tutions; each county has, however, a court of justice,[69] a sheriff to execute its decrees, and a prison for criminals. There are certain wants which are felt alike by all the towns.h.i.+ps of a county; it is therefore natural that they should be satisfied by a central authority. In the state of Ma.s.sachusetts this authority is vested in the hands of several magistrates who are appointed by the governor of the state, with the advice[70] of his council.[71] The officers of the county have only a limited and occasional authority, which is applicable to certain predetermined cases. The state and the towns.h.i.+ps possess all the power requisite to conduct public business. The budget of the county is only drawn up by its officers, and is voted by the legislature.[72]

There is no a.s.sembly which directly or indirectly represents the county; it has, therefore, properly speaking, no political existence.

A twofold tendency may be discerned in the American const.i.tutions, which impels the legislator to centralize the legislative, and to disperse the executive power. The towns.h.i.+p of New England has in itself an indestructible element of independence; but this distinct existence could only be fict.i.tiously introduced into the county, where its utility had not been felt. All the towns.h.i.+ps united have but one representation, which is the state, the centre of the national authority: beyond the action of the towns.h.i.+p and that of the nation, nothing can be said to exist but the influence of individual exertion.

ADMINISTRATION IN NEW ENGLAND.

Administration not perceived in America.--Why?--The Europeans believe that Liberty is promoted by depriving the social Authority of some of its Rights; the Americans, by dividing its Exercise.--Almost all the Administration confined to the Towns.h.i.+p, and divided among the town Officers.--No trace of an administrative Hierarchy to be perceived either in the Towns.h.i.+p, or above it.--The Reason of this.--How it happens that the Administration of the State is uniform.--Who is empowered to enforce the Obedience of the Towns.h.i.+p and the County to the Law.--The introduction of judicial Power into the Administration.--Consequence of the Extension of the elective Principle to all Functionaries.--The Justice of the Peace in New England.--By whom Appointed.--County Officer.--Ensures the Administration of the Towns.h.i.+ps.--Court of Sessions.--Its Action.--Right of Inspection and Indictment disseminated like the other administrative Functions.--Informers encouraged by the division of Fines.

Nothing is more striking to a European traveller in the United States than the absence of what we term government, or the administration.

Written laws exist in America, and one sees that they are daily executed; but although everything is in motion, the hand which gives the impulse to the social machine can nowhere be discovered. Nevertheless, as all people are obliged to have recourse to certain grammatical forms, which are the foundation of human language, in order to express their thoughts; so all communities are obliged to secure their existence by submitting to a certain portion of authority, without which they fall a prey to anarchy. This authority may be distributed in several ways, but it must always exist somewhere.

There are two methods of diminis.h.i.+ng the force of authority in a nation.

The first is to weaken the supreme power in its very principle, by forbidding or preventing society from acting in its own defence under certain circ.u.mstances. To weaken authority in this manner is what is generally termed in Europe to lay the foundations of freedom.

The second manner of diminis.h.i.+ng the influence of authority does not consist in stripping society of any of its rights, nor in paralysing its efforts, but in distributing the exercise of its privileges among various hands, and in multiplying functionaries, to each of whom the degree of power necessary for him to perform his duty is intrusted.