But I can
illustrate it so that you will get the drift of my thought."
"I should be glad if you would," said Goodspeed.
"The township system," continued Le Moyne, "may, for the present
purpose, be denned to be the division of the entire territory of
the state into small municipalises, the inhabitants of which control
and manage for themselves, directly and immediately, their own
local affairs. Each township is in itself a miniature republic,
every citizen of which exercises in its affairs equal power with
every other citizen. Each of these miniature republics becomes a
constituent element of the higher representative republic--namely,
a county, which is itself a component of the still larger representative
republic, the State. It is patterned upon and no doubt grew out of
the less perfect borough systems of Europe, and those inchoate communes
of our Saxon forefathers which were denominated '_Hundreds_.'
It is the slow growth of centuries of political experience; the
ripe fruit of ages of liberty-seeking thought.
"The township is the shield and nursery of individual freedom of
thought and action. The young citizen who has never dreamed of a
political career becomes interested in some local question affecting
his individual interests. A bridge is out of repair; a roadmaster
has failed to perform his duty; a constable has been remiss in his
office; a justice of the peace has failed to hold the scales with
even balance between rich and poor; a school has not been properly
cared for; the funds of the township have been squandered; or the
assumption of a liability is proposed by the township trustees, the
policy of which he doubts.
Pages:
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590