The importance of this question springs from the possibility that some one or more of the States might desire changes in her form of government not compatible with republicanism. For example, it might disfranchise certain classes, giving the elective franchise only where a large pecuniary qualification existed, or making eligible to office only the members of a narrow class, always retaining the name of a republic. It is plain that every State might complain of this, and say to Congress, The constitution gives this guarantee of republicanism not to that State only, which may waive it if it will, but to all of us, and to every one of us; and we do not waive it.

If there is ever an attempted violation of the rule implied under this guaranty, it will undoubtedly be concealed and disguised by false pretences. That is to say, the State will claim still to be a republic, as Holland did when it became virtually a monarchy; and as Venice did, when its government became a close and despotic oligarchy. The difficulty will be in the exact definition of a republic. If the time ever comes when this difficulty shall present itself, well may we or our children or our children's children remember that Lincoln has left for us, under circumstances which made it immortal, the definition we have already spoken of. A government of the people, by the people, and for the people, is a republic, and cannot fail to be a republic. And a government which does not come within this definition, whatever it may call itself, is not a republic.

SECTION XIX.

OF AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.

Some persons in our own country, and many more in the old countries of Europe, have regarded the respect which the people of this country pay to their constitution as excessive. They represent the constitution as a fetter upon us; as more than a fetter, -as an iron framework with which we have chosen to invest ourselves, and which, however we outgrow it, we cannot improve. This reproof would be just, were it not that the constitution provides for its own growth, development, and improvement.

It is the supreme law of the land, and expresses the will of the people. But every law is made by the servants of the people, and expresses their will. Why should not the constitution be as easily changed and made to conform as promptly to any change in the will of the people as the law itself? Look, however, at the law, and see how that can be changed, and, on the other hand, how it cannot be

changed. A mass meeting of the citizens of Ohio, for example, even were that physically possible, could not change the law. And why? Because the people have seen fit to guard themselves against hasty and unwise legislation, by surrounding it with a certain measure of difficulty and delay. First, the servants of the people must be formally chosen by the people, to do for them this very work of legislation. Then they assemble in two bodies, each of which is a check upon the other, and the executive is entrusted with a limited veto upon the two Houses. Then every bill proposed, before it can become a law, must in each House pass through several appointed steps, at any one of which it may be arrested, and all of which taken together tend to secure to every proposed measure a sufficient consideration.

The question may now be repeated, Why are not these checks sufficient in the case of the constitution? The answer is easy. The constitution contains what the people believe to be essential and fundamental principles of all law, together with a machinery of government carefully devised to secure wise legislation and faithful execution of the laws; and to this machinery it is desirable to give a large measure of permanence and stability. Therefore the constitution may be changed at any time and to any effect which the will of the people requires; but only by a method well devised to make it certain that this change is desired not by the passionate, impulsive, and temporary will of the people, but by its careful, instructed, and deliberate will.

AMENDMENTS, HOW MADE.

Congress may propose amendments, or may call a convention to propose amendments, if the legislatures of two-thirds of the several States ask for it; and amendments made by Congress or by that convention are valid as parts of the constitution, when they are ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the States, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as either mode may be proposed by Congress.

Experience thus far has justified the framers of the constitution in believing this method would render it sufficiently easy for the people to change the constitution whenever they did certainly and unmistakably desire it, and sufficiently guarded to protect the constitution from any change which was not so desired.

By the Congress which met in New York, in 1789, the first ten articles of amendment were proposed and ratified in that year, in 1790, and 1791. They were all founded upon wishes or recommendations presented by different States, when adopting the constitu

tion.

In 1793 was proposed the eleventh article of amendment, which was ratified. In 1803, the twelfth article; in 1865, the thirteenth article; in 1868, the fourteenth article; in 1870, the fifteenth article. These articles are published in preceding pages, in connection with the constitution.

SECTION XX.

OF THE CENSUS.

This is a Roman, that is to say, a Latin word. By the ancient constitution of Rome, the people were divided into six classes, according to their wealth; those few only who possessed a very large sum being in the first class, and the required sum diminishing in the others, down to the sixth class, which was composed of those who had nothing, or too little to entitle them to admission in any higher class. That this classification might be made, every Roman citizen was required to come on a certain day to an open place in the city, and there declare, under oath, his name, dwelling, children, and the value of his property, under penalty of being scourged and losing all his goods. This enumeration took place every five years, and was called a census. I have described it briefly, to show that this periodical enumeration was made for political purposes, being required by the classification of the citizens, who then voted in the classes thus formed. Of the censuses taken among different nations in different ages, all have been for some political purpose, from the time when a decree went forth from Cæsar Augustus "that all the world should be taxed, and all went to be taxed (or to be registered for the purpose of taxation), every one unto his own city," to our own day.

As by our constitution political power was given mainly in proportion to numbers, it was essential that an enumeration should be made from time to time; and the constitution provided that the requisite enumeration should be made within three years after the first meeting of Congress, and within every ten years afterwards.

The first Congress ordered the first census, which was taken in 1800, and a census has been taken every ten years since. It was apparent that at first there was little thought of learning more by the census than what was requisite to distribute political power among the people, in accordance with the requirement of the constitution; for the first census only contained and enumerated the free white males of sixteen years and upwards, the same under that age, the number of females, and the number of slaves, and the number of heads of families.

Since then, however, the science of Statistics has received immense development. It is the object of this science to ascertain, collect, and arrange all facts which have an important bearing upon the resources, the growth, the political, financial, intellectual, industrial, social, physical, and moral condition of a nation. Societies have been formed, journals published, and meetings held of men interested in such facts, from various countries, all intended to promote this science. It was seen at once that our census afforded a most important and serviceable instrument for that purpose. Every succeeding census has been made more instructive, by increasing the subjects of inquiry and improving their classification. At present, among the topics concerning which inquiry is made and information recorded, may be enumerated the number of families, of houses, the sex, age, color, birthplace, occupation, profession, or trade, of every person, the married and the widowed, the deaf and dumb, blind, idiotic or insane, with the age and sex of each; the age, sex, color, occupation, and birthplace of every one who had died within the year of enumeration and before the day thereof, with the cause thereof. Also the value of property; the number of acres improved or unimproved; their value, their productions, with the number, kinds, and value of the live-stock owned, and of agricultural implements and machinery; the number and kinds of educational institutions, with the number of scholars and of teachers, and their revenue; and the number of those who cannot read and write; also inquiries concerning mines, manufactures, and fisheries are included, so as to ascertain the amount of capital invested, the motive power employed, the number of persons of each sex employed and the wages paid, the quantity, kind, and value of raw materials used, and the quantity, kind, and value of the products.

Already has the information thus acquired been of great use in the national and State legislation, and also in regulating or suggesting private enterprises. And as time goes on, and experience shows how to make the census more useful, its beneficial results will be greater, more clearly seen, and more widely acknowledged. Many of the States have provided by law for a census within each State, at periods intermediate between those of the national census.

We annex to this chapter some instructive tables, giving to the reader the means of comparing this country with other countries in Europe, Asia, and Australia, and then with each other, upon interesting points.1

For example, by Table I. he will find that the United States

1 We take these tables, by permission, from a valuable and instructive work, entitled "The Statesman's Manual," published by Macmillan & Co., London and New York.

ranks the fifth in population among all the States in the world, while it is the fourth in territorial extent. In this table the British empire stands second only to the Chinese empire in population, while we hold the fifth place. But the population of the British Islands is much less than of this country; and to give the British empire the place it holds in this table, the enormous population of India must be added to that of the British Islands and colonies. By Table II. we learn that this country is only the twenty-third, if the countries of the world are ranked according to the density of population, or the number of inhabitants to the square mile of surface. Belgium stands at the head. This little State, which is smaller in extent than any but 7 of our 37 States, has 451 persons on each square mile; while we have but 11. That is to say, this country is 3,421 times as large in extent as Belgium, while that coun. try has 41 times as many living on each square mile as this country. The British Islands have 24 times as many, France 15 times as many, and Germany 17 times as many persons to the square mile as we have. Many ages must elapse before our population can press upon our means of subsistence, all which are derived primarily from land, so as to make it as difficult for the masses to live here in comfort as it now is there. No wonder that their crowded population is pouring into our vacant lands at such a rapid rate.

Table III. relates to railroads. Here we lead the world in the number of miles open to traffic, having more than four times as many as the British Islands, which come next to us. And yet we rank but the eleventh in the number of miles of railroad to each square mile of surface.

Table IV. relates to telegraphs. Here, too, we lead the world in the miles of telegraph; but not so widely as in railroads, Russia, which comes next to us, having nearly half as many. We hold a still lower place, only the seventeenth,-if the nations are ranked by the miles of telegraph to the square miles of surface.

Table V. relates to the mercantile navies of the world. It shows us that we rank second, Great Britain alone exceeding us, having more than twice as many in tonnage, and three times as many in number as we have.

Table VI. gives the debts and revenue of the various nations, in pounds sterling, to which all of them are reduced; this sum multiplied by five gives the amount in dollars. Here Great Britain takes the lead, France coming next, and we holding the third place. The debts are also compared with the revenues. The debt of Great Britain is equal to the revenue of 10 years; that of France to its revenue of 71⁄2 years; while our debt equals the revenue of 63

years.