as the reader will afterwards notice, hold very important functions in connection with town and incorporated village government, &c., besides judicial-civil and criminal-functions. Being for the most part unlearned in the law, they are in the habit of being friendly with some lawyer, who gives them the advice required; and as a quid pro quo, the justice of the peace, naturally enough, when one thinks of it, takes it for granted that the litigant or other party represented by such lawyer must be in the right. They are also apt to look favourably on litigants or offenders belonging to their own district, in cases where the other party belongs to another town or village; or favour the voter where the other party is not a voter, both belonging to the same district; or where both belong to his district, favour the litigant who belongs to his political party. Mr Bancroft, in his History of the Constitution of the United States,' gives the reasons which led to the appointment of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, and other United States judges, for life or during good behaviour. The United States justices are not elected by ballot. The judges of the several state courts are elected in various ways and for various terms; but their tenure of office is dependent either upon retention of popularity, or their usefulness as tools to the political machine or dominant political party, or even to their obedience or subserviency to corporation dictates. But there are many upright and able judges. The more one knows of the intricacies of society in the United States, the more apparent is the need of Law and Order and suchlike Societies or Associations, which are not necessarily incorporated, formed to insist upon the enforcement of the laws, and get proper laws passed by the Legislature, &c.

It is a sad commentary upon the state of affairs, but it is true that the members of many such societies are in fear and trembling, and are only secret supporters of the movement. They may help with money, but dare not avow the connection, lest their popularity should suffer or they should meet with harm. Individuals count for little, if anything, in such a battle. It requires money, patience, tact, perseverance, and united efforts of many to avail much. A single individual may raise a momentary sensation; but the wicked wave soon drowns him past redemption, or covers him, however pure, and he emerges filthy-looking, and is shunned or pitied and left alone. It is curious, but the case, that a law may be enforced in one county and not in the adjoining county; that what is held perfectly comme il faut in one part of the state, is in another part punished as a misdemeanour or crime. "The un

alienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" of one citizen, according to his interpretation of them, entitle him to encroach upon the similar rights of another citizen; and there is no doubt the law favours the aggressor, or is permitted to favour the aggressor, and the victim, as a rule, can get little satisfaction by an appeal to the law for protection or for redress. The victim may reason that it would be a waste of time, trouble, and good money to seek redress; and that, supposing he did get judgment, he should not be able to collect anything. It is so easy for a man to leave the state or put his property safe where it cannot be levied on. Lawyers are never wanting; but they are always wanting-they are ravenous as wolves and sly as foxes. And yet they are not all so. But it is a melancholy look-out, usually, for a man involved in litigation. The law

is for the rich, and permits the rich to exhaust the poor man and to swindle him, because he is poor or without friends, or has no political influence. A crime is committed, and an appeal to the law may actually bring worse evil. For example, a stranger is robbed. The culprit is apprehended, indicted, gives bail, and is released. The stranger has to give security that he will appear to prosecute; cannot give it, and is locked up in the house of detention. Months, possibly years, elapse; and all this while the stranger lingers in confinement. The culprit enjoys his freedom, and the matter is forgotten until the culprit dies. This event entitles the stranger to his freedom, and he gets his liberty,-possibly the culprit might have been dead or have left the state for years before the stranger gets his freedom. Through being kept in confinement, the stranger cannot attend to his business, and his prospects may be ruined. Such was the fate of an immigrant not very long ago. The friends of the culprit often resort to strange methods to spirit away, pacify, or bulldoze the private prosecutor; and witnesses are tampered with, and jurors are apt to be weak as water, and judges and prosecutors of the pleas may be politically fettered. Sometimes private prosecutors and witnesses need police protection, and even to be kept beyond any one's reach. It has been stated that there are in New York city 6000 indictments which might and ought to be tried, but from one cause or another are hopelessly pigeon-holed. Whatever the state of the country was before the civil war, after the civil war, and during ten or fifteen years following the disbandment of the armies, there was a kind of moral chaos surging over the sound heart of the nation. Slowly but gradually the good elements of the community

have been getting again into subjection the baser, and the sediment has settled somewhat to the bottom, and the festering moral sores are not so visible and not so offensive. Much has still to be done; but the Christian men and women and the faithful pastors have worked hard and constantly, and their struggles for righteousness' sake are yielding much fruit. The heart of the people is sound, but the surface shows many ulcers. Within the last few years the worst sort of socialism, anarchism, communism, and other monstrosities of man's evil nature have been imported from Europe, and have taken root and thriven. But the people will in time crush the evil out of them. The usefulness of trades-unions is acknowledged, but the evils have not yet been pruned off them; so that the unions are at present very apt to be instruments of tyranny, wielded by self-serving or evil-designing demagogues. The Knights of Labour organisation is an ambitious attempt to overthrow natural laws, and place the centre of gravity in the head.

As the reader will discover, there are town and village elections held in each year at a different time from the general elections held in November. Every fourth year are the Presidential elections, which are more or less kept in thought during the whole interval; and from year's end to year's end there is more or less electioneering work done. Without discussing whether such a course of political diet is conducive to the pursuit of happiness or other unalienable rights, it is in place to quote such a leading article as the following, viz. :—

"One day's news of corruption. The general subject of political corruption has become very tiresome, but the variety of its manifestations just at the present is rather interesting, and it is instructive to note how

many instances can be found reported in the single issue of a daily newspaper. After the reader has ascertained the stage of progress in the trial of ex-Alderman Cleary in this city, he will find in another column an account of the advance made by the prosecuting attorneys upon the works of the Chicago corruptionists.

"He may then cast his eye on an item from Arizona, noting the sale and delivery of the work of the territorial legislature to the railroad corporations. This body was elected on a reform ticket for the suppression of transportation abuses, and then sold out to the parties its business was to oppose. In yet another part of the paper he may find the offer of a responsible party to prove to the Nebraska House of Representatives that its Judiciary Committee, or the majority of it, is under contract for $5000, more or less, with Omaha gamblers to defeat a bill interfering with their business. He also will supply the House with the facts relating to other corruption. An investigation committee has been appointed to sit in secret session and learn the names of the bribed members.

"In another column of the same issue the reader will be entertained by the testimony of a Cincinnati contractor's book-keeper, with reference to the manner in which he made out his employer's accounts against the city. This is really unique. The young man constructed the bills entirely out of his imagination, the only restriction being that no one bill should be over $500, and that none of them should be dated on Sunday. He appears to have exercised his ingenuity altogether on the cents, as the dollars were at once fixed at $499. Bills of this character, representing no work done whatever, were allowed and paid by the authorities to the amount

of $6000. And this is only a part of the whole, of course. The newspaper will further present the proceedings of the Brooklyn investigators.

"Honest people will shake their heads at all this, and wonder what the country is coming to. Having done this, they will serenely go about their business and leave politics to the pot-house. It is very funny that none but pure men are in office, isn't it?" (New York World,' 16th March 1887.)

The path of the reformer is in the United States peculiarly difficult. Very few care to face the storm single-handed. Even the Law and Order Societies are often semi-secret, and members do not particularly like their names to be openly disclosed. They feel themselves to be in the minority. In the country, it is often said by excellent men, "Oh, that is a perfect disgrace,-it is against the law; but it does not interfere with me. I think I can stand it." And he does, because he does not like to antagonise the majority and make himself unpopular. But woe betide an unpopular man if he does aught not congenial to the ideas of any set which chooses to judge him. He may be "railridden" or "tarred and feathered," "whipped," "shot in the legs," "forced to leave the neighbourhood on a few hours' notice," perhaps mutilated," assassinated," perhaps "lynched." The easy-going consciences of the citizens permit them to smile and say "Served him right." Many inexcusable outrages are thus committed with impunity, as the victim can get neither civil nor criminal redress. Such doings would not occur if the laws were respected. The perpetrators surely ignore the unalienable rights of the American citizen! Newspapers are business enterprises and dependent upon popular favour, and it does not always pay to de

nounce such occurrences too much or give things their right names. But there are some noble exceptions, which are guided by a higher wisdom than the low or average tone. Scandal and evil reports fly fast and far, and, like rolling snowballs, gather as they go. The telegraph and the printing-press are common instruments for belittling and defaming good men and women. It is a well-practised policy to sow the seeds of discord or to blacken a good character with calumny. There is a man you want to ruin? Well, spread some falsehoods, and employ private detectives; start some story in a newspaper; get your friends to boycott him, and give the police a hint to watch him; and, a further refinement, get him made the object of private ridicule, and afterwards of caricature or ridicule in newspapers. A good wife is to be got rid of? Well, adopt the same tactics. In litigation, the sworn stenographer of the court can manipulate, and the party is at his mercy, as he has not heard the notes read or signed a written-out

copy of them. The weight given to unrevised stenographer's notes can be a source of injustice. There is always a tendency on the part of counsel not to expose an incompetent stenographer. There is no difficulty in finding tools in the United States for any purpose, good or bad, but there is often much difficulty in selecting good tools for a good purpose. In this connection, it may not be out of place to give certain parts of the reports in the New York World' of 17th, 18th, and 19th March 1887, of the proceedings in the House of Assembly at Albany. C- objected to the bill, and let loose a floodgate of indignation, while the House laughed. "I see nothing ridiculous in the bill," he said. wish you would characterise in proper terms the conduct of those men who

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come here with bills to extort money from corporations. This is what many of the Democrats seem to be here for. The bills are silly, and are offered for no other purpose than to extort money." The next bill was brought up, and in the course of the discussion Mr M'K- replied in a manner that won the sympathy of the house. "I have served for twenty years with such houses as A. T. Stewart and H. B. Claflin & Co.," he said, "and this is the first time my motives have been impugned. I will not allow the chairman of the Railway Committee to cast a stone against an honourable record." other bill was reported on adversely. Mr A-declared that he championed the bill because it was just. He had heard from the press of the state, however, that nothing good could be expected to come from the Railroad Committee, because its chairman was a corporation lawyer. Later, young J- took the floor. He had listened patiently, he said, to the attacks which the Republicans, particularly Mr C, had made upon the Democrats. There was one thing, however, that Mr Chad not said,

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and that was that a combination of six influential Republicans, whom corporations had employed to protect their interest, were not Democrats. "I thank the gentleman," he continued, "that the gentleman from New Orleans, Mr C, has not said there were Democratic committees made up by a Democratic Speaker, that were controlled by corporations. I do not impugn the motives of any person or committee, or even censure the judgment of the committee, but I would call attention to the striking coincidence that every bill affecting railroad corporations which will grant an additional franchise, or which begins with the word 'authorise,' or which shuts up the commerce of the Harlem River six hours every day

in the interest of the Harlem Railroad, or which resurrects defunct franchises, comes out of that committee invariably with a prompt and favourable report; while every measure which restricts the limits of corporations is promptly strangled, or declared a strike. The committee seem to think a favourable report is necessary for every favourable bill, and that an adverse report is necessary on every adverse bill. That course has been pursued with unvarying monotony." St Patrick's Day was celebrated in the assembly by a shindy that would have done credit to Donnybrook Fair in its palmiest days. Every one, from Speaker H down, was adorned with emblems of the day,-some with strips of green ribbons, others with green rosettes attached to their buttonholes, while the more favoured ones disported the genuine shamrock, distributed by the generosity of Senator M

Continuing, Mr S said, "But it has been my experience that men who pose as reformers, as models of the community, are the men whose motives should be watched, and who will not bear watching. If the geatleman is such a paragon of virtue, why did he introduce the bill which permits the Baltimore and Ohio Railway to confiscate one of the piers of New York city?" (Here Mr C— smiled, while the Democrats laughed derisively.) Resuming, Mr Ssaid, "His (C--'s) motives should be watched. I say this deliberately and unreservedly. The men referred to by him are as honest and pure, and just as respectable, as the young reformer from New York. The time has come when the House should either reprimand the young but very indiscreet member or force him to retract."

Subsequent to much excited talk, a special committee of three was appointed to report the stenographer's notes to the House on Mr C- -'s speech of yesterday and to-day, with that of Mr J- -'s of yesterday. It was discovered that the regular sten

he said, had seen the efforts of a young and ill-tempered young gentleman from New York, who, under the mask of great respectability, attacked the bills and impugned the motives of colleagues from New York. Because he dwells under the cloak of being the son of a noted minister, he believes he is entitled to greater privileges than other members of the House. He had unjustly assailed his fellow-members, men who were as pure and just as respected as the member from New York.

"Does the gentleman really mean that?" said Mr C, who had twice before interrupted the speaker. "Certainly he does," chipped in a Democrat.

and is appointed by the House, had been very neglectful of his duties. This year he had substituted his partner, who became sick the other day, and since then the work had been performed by a boy. The latter, the committee discovered, had not only failed to take down Mr C's speech, but had actually failed in reporting Mr J- -'s as well.

Next day the committee reported that, owing to the absence of the official stenographer, "the acting stenographer had not taken the speeches of Messrs C- and Jin full. The relics of them, which the stenographer submitted with the report, were disgraceful to the House, as they were ridiculous." There was a roar when Mr C-'s alleged speech