His duties are to see that the insurance laws are faithfully executed. His salary is $3,000 a year.

Besides these officers mentioned there are various other boards and commissions which have charge of special work.

CHAPTER XXV.

THE STATE JUDICIARY.

The Judicial power of the State is exercised by the Supreme Court, in some States called the Court of Appeals. Term of office, number of justices, compensation, etc., differ in different States. In Pennsylvania this court consists of seven justices, elected by the electors of the State at large: they hold office for twenty-one years, unless disqualified by misdemeanors; they are not eligible for re-election. The justice whose commission expires first is Chief Justice. The jurisdiction of this court extends over the State. These justices may preside over Courts of Oyer and Terminer in the various counties, and have original jurisdiction * in certain kinds of cases.

Appeals from the lower courts are carried to the Supreme Court, whose decisions are final, except in

*"Original jurisdiction is the right to hear and determine a cause in the first instance."

If a suit is begun in a certain court then that court has original jurisdiction.

In cases in which a suit is taken from a lower to a higher court, the higher court has appellate jurisdiction.

such cases as are designated in the Federal Constitution, which may be appealed to the United States Supreme Court.

Districts.-The State is divided for convenience into three districts: the eastern, for which court sits at Philadelphia; the middle, for which court sits at Harrisburg; and the western, for which court sits at Pittsburg,

The salary of the Chief Justice is $8,500 a year; that of each justice of the Supreme Court is $8,000 a year.

In one sense all the lower courts are State courts, the judges being commissioned by the governor, and paid from the State treasury, but they are here treated as belonging more especially to the limited territorial areas which elect them.

At present (June 1894) the Supreme Court consists of the following justices: Chief Justice-Hon. James P. Sterrett, Pittsburg; Justices-Hon. Henry Green, Easton, Northampton County; Hon. Henry W. Williams, Wellsboro, Tioga County; Hon. J. Brewster McCollum, Montrose, Susquehanna County; Hon. James T. Mitchell, Philadelphia; Hon. John Dean, Hollidaysburg, Blair County; Hon. D. Newlin Fell, Philadelphia.

PART V.

THE NATION.

CHAPTER XXVI.

HISTORICAL.

Federal Government.-Besides the State governments, there is another, to which all the people of all the States are subject. This is called the United States government, and in certain matters it has authority over State governments. The people of all the States adopted another constitution. This United States Constitution establishes a superior government for all the people, called the national government.

History tells how thirteen British colonies, after seven long years of war, became thirteen sovereign States. How for mutual help and protection a Confederation was formed which went into effect in 1781. It also tells that the plan of union thus outlined was soon found to be defective and imperfect. In this plan it was found that Congress had no power, except to recommend to the States things that should be done. Under menace of actual war, the States (or colonies) followed these recommendations, but as soon as peace was established the inherent weakness of the union began to manifest itself.

Some legislatures refused to raise money, some

levied high duties, some low, and innumerable jealousies arose, which threatened the fair fabric which our forefathers had formed in war, and cemented with their best blood.

National Government.-In 1787, Congress passed a a resolution providing for a convention of delegates from all the States. All except Rhode Island sent delegates as requested, and that body of statesmen formulated our present national Constitution, which has stood the test of more than a century of unprecedented growth and prosperity. The result in every emergency has proved the wisdom and far-seeing statesmanship of those noble men, who put aside all petty jealousies and local interests, and labored in the interest of posterity. It is one of the grandest documents ever made by man.

The government of the Confederation was a league, a federal government. That established by the Constitution is a national government with some federal features. This federal idea was allowed to remain, giving as much independence to the States as is consistent or compatible with strength in the central government.

The essential difference between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution is seen in the first sentence of each. The former says, “The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league,” etc., while the latter says, "We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union," etc., making the government depend upon

the people themselves for its stability and permanence. The Civil War finally settled this question, establishing beyond a doubt the fact that the people of the whole Union constitute the nation.

The Constitution establishes legislative, executive, and judicial departments, and this was the model for nearly all the State constitutions in this particular.

CHAPTER XXVII.

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT.

Congress.-This is the name given to the national legislative body. It is divided into a House of Representatives and a Senate. The members of the former body are elected by the people of the States every second year; those of the latter are elected by the State legislatures, and represent the States; and here we find a trace of the idea of the importance of the State, "State sovereignty."

Representatives.—The number of representatives, as fixed by the Constitution, was to be not more than one for every 30,000 inhabitants; but Congress increases the ratio of representation from time to time, to keep the House from becoming too large for comfort and control by the speaker; the ratio for the last census (1890) was one representative for every 173,901 inhabitants. Every State is entitled to at least one representative, even if its population falls below the constitutional limit of 30,000 inhabitants; the Constitution provides for this. The members of