against possible foes is needed, and there are works of public utility, such as parks, sewers, and lighthouses, which it would be unwise to entrust to private individuals, or which individuals would not find it to their advantage to construct.

Civil Government and Civics. Civil Government is the authority which regulates the conduct of citizens among themselves and toward the government. The science which treats of civil government is usually known as Civics. Civics is chiefly concerned with: (1) the history of political development; (2) the organization of government; (3) the rights and duties of citizenship.

The State. A State is an independent body of politically organized persons occupying a definite territory. The State must be the supreme power within its land; the possession of such power is called sovereignty. If one person exercises supreme power the State is a monarchy; if sovereignty is possessed by the people the State is a democracy or a republic. The commonwealths, or "states," of our American Union are not real states. They do not possess complete sovereignty; there is only one sovereign State in America and that is the United States.

Functions of Government. In showing the necessity of government, we have mentioned a few of the things which are done for the people by a government. The objects, or functions, of government may be divided into necessary and optional. This division cannot be very definite because among some nations certain functions are regarded as optional which, among other nations, are con

sidered necessary, and what to-day is regarded as optional may in a few years become necessary.

The following classification by President Woodrow Wilson ("The State," 613-615), not represented as complete, gives a fair idea of what governments do for the people:

I. The Necessary Functions:

I. To keep order and provide for the protection of persons and property from violence and robbery.

2. To fix the legal relations between man and wife and between parents and children.

3. To regulate the holding, the interchange, and the transmission of property, and to arrange its liabilities for debt or for crime.

4. To arrange contract rights between individuals.

5. To define and punish crime.

6. To administer justice in civil cases.

7. To arrange the political duties, privileges, and relations of citizens.

8. To deal with foreign powers; to preserve the State from foreign danger; and to advance international interests. These will all be seen to be duties which must be performed by some agency under every government.

II. The Optional Functions. It is hardly possible to give a complete list of these functions, so various are they under different systems of government, but President Wilson gives a partial list, which is sufficient for general purposes:

I.

1. The regulation of trade and industry. Under this head are included the coinage of money and the establishment of standard weights and measures, the licensing of trades, etc., as well as great matters of tariffs, navigation laws, and the like.

2. The regulation of labor. This includes hours of labor, labor of children and women, etc.

3. The maintenance of roads and bridges — including State management of railways and that great group of undertakings which we embrace within the term "Internal Improvements," or "Development of the Country."

4. The maintenance of postal and telegraph systems, which is very similar to 3.

5. The manufacture and distribution of gas, the maintenance of water works, etc.

6. Sanitation, including the regulation of trades for sanitary purposes.

7. Education.

8. Care of the poor and incapable.

9. Care and cultivation of forests and like matters, such as the stocking of rivers with fish.

IO.

Laws intended to regulate wages, prices of goods, etc., and to forbid the use of certain articles.

The extent to which it is wise for a government to undertake these functions is one of the most debated questions of the day. Some governments engage in many more lines of activity than those mentioned above; the tendency is to extend the activity of governments along these lines.

A policy opposed to governmental activity in industry and interference with the liberty of the individual in his industrial activity is called a laisser-faire (let-alone) policy.

Kinds of Government

Monarchy. A monarchy is a form of government which has at its head a personal ruler. Monarchies are of two

kinds, absolute and limited.

I. The ruler of an absolute monarchy is not subject to any definite control; the people are compelled to obey his commands. Even absolute monarchs, if they are wise, are certain to defer more or less to the wishes of their subjects, either through a sense of duty or through fear of causing rebellion. The absolute form of monarchy exists among no civilized nations to-day.

2. A limited monarchy is one in which the power of the ruler is limited either by a written document, which defines the powers of the sovereign, or by laws and customs. Limited monarchies are often called constitutional monarchies. A monarchy may be limited to such an extent as to make it practically a republic. England is an example of such a monarchy. As Bagehot1 has said, the king of England would be obliged to sign his own death warrant, if Parliament so decreed. The elective House of Commons governs England, and England is, therefore, a republic, although it appears to be a monarchy.

Democracy. — Democracy is government by the people. Democracies are of two kinds, pure democracies and republics.

I. In a pure democracy the people express their will by means of a popular assembly, which is a meeting of all the citizens who have qualified to vote. Many of the ancient Greek city-states so ruled themselves. The New England town meeting is an example of a pure democracy, in this case dealing only with local affairs. A pure democracy is, by its nature, possible only in small communities.

2. The people of a republic govern themselves through representatives of their own selection. In a republic, just "The "English Constitution," p. 125.