CONSTITUTION. 



419 



state, whether it be a written instrument of a certain 

 date, as that of the United States of America, or an 

 aggregate of laws and usages which have been 

 formed in the course of ages, like the English consti- 

 tution. 



I. Constitutions, according to their origin or their 

 fundamental principle, may be divided in three clas- 

 ses : 1. those established by the sovereign power ; 2 

 those formed by contracts between nations and cer- 

 tain individuals, whom they accept as sovereigns, on 

 condition of their complying with the terms of the 

 contract ; 3. those formed by a compact between dif- 

 ferent sovereign powers. 



1. The first class may be again divided into, a. 

 constitutions established by a free sovereign people 

 for their own regulation the only ones which rest 

 on a just and philosophical basis (although such as 

 are embraced in the other descriptions may be the 

 best which circumstances will allow in given cases) ; 

 of tlu's sort are the constitutions of the United States ; 

 and, b. such as have been, in some instances, granted 

 by die plenary power of absolute monarchs to their 

 subjects, and which, hi theory, are the voluntary gift 

 of the beneficence of the ruler. These are called, by 

 the French, constitutions octroyees, from octroyer, to 

 grant. Such an instrument is the French Charte, 

 which commences with the words Nous avons volon- 

 tairement et par libre exercice de noire autorite royale 

 accorde et accordons , fait concession et octroi a nos su- 

 jets, &c. 



2. The second great class of constitutions mention- 

 ed above includes such as have been formed by a con- 

 tract between the future ruler and the people. These 

 are mutually binding on each party, as long as the 

 other fulfills his duty. Such, in a great degree, is 

 the British constitution. And a constitution octroyee 

 partakes much of the nature of a compact, as soon as 

 the people have sufficient spirit and sense of justice 

 to prevent it from being infringed or abolished, and, 

 asserting the natural rights of men, whose rulers ex- 

 ist only for their benefit, avow that they will submit 

 to the government only as long as the government 

 observes the constitution. In fact, a constitution 

 octroyee, in any case, can hardly be regarded other- 

 wise than as a compact, proceeding, as it does, from 

 the wants of the tunes and the demands of the peo- 

 ple, and expressing the intention of the ruler to ob- 

 serve certain rules, which these wants and demands 

 prescribe. Where would be its value, how could it 

 be regarded as a fundamental law, controlling the 

 operations of the government, if it were liable to be 

 abolished at any moment, at the pleasure of the sove- 

 reign? That the monarch acted from compulsion 

 in granting the constitution, only proves tliat the 

 character of the times made it indispensable.* 



3. Some constitutions are compacts between sever- 

 al sovereign powers. Such was the constitution of 

 the German empire, and that of the United Provinces 

 of Holland, and such is also the Swiss confederation. 

 The constitution of the United States of America, al- 

 though the different states call themselves soveieign, 

 proceeded, in point of fact, from the people of the 



* If we consider strictly the origin of the two great divi- 

 sions of constitutions, we shall find that they all recognize 

 the sovereignty of the people. They are, as we have said, 

 established either by the people themselves, or by a con- 

 tract between the people and their future ruler, or are 

 granted by the ruler. In the first case, the constitution is 

 a direct emanation from their sovereign power. In the 

 second case, it it no less so ; for they confer the rights of 

 sovereignty, which they could not do unless they possess- 

 ed them. In the third case, the constitution, as we have 

 (aid, ia virtually a compact, and as such, recognizes the in- 

 dependence of the contracting parties, and admits that the 

 people collectively, have no superior. 



United States collectively, as is apparent from the very 

 beginning of the instrument, which is in these words 

 " We, the people of the United States," and, not 

 " We the states." Moreover, it can escape no one's ob- 

 servation, that the congress, established by this consti- 

 tution, has rights anu powers far exceeding those 

 which other confederate, but entirely distinct govern- 

 ments, are wont to allow each other, and that the 

 constitution, in short, unites all the states into one 

 nation, the government being called, by all parties, 

 the national government. Governments entirely and 

 virtually distinct from each other never would, how- 

 ever closely confederated, allow a government, par- 

 ticularly a national government, to be established 

 over themselves. It seems, therefore, that the con- 

 stitution of the United States is more than a mere 

 compact between independent powers, yet less than 

 the simple constitution of an undivided nation : it ought 

 rather to be considered as forming one whole with 

 the different constitutions of the states which have 

 given up to the general government most of the 

 rights of sovereignty, as that of making war and 

 peace, coining, &c.f 



II. In regard to political principles, constitutions 

 are, 1. democratic, when the fundamental law guar- 

 antees to every citizen equal rights, protection, and 

 participation, direct or indirect, in the government, 

 such as the constitutions of the United States, and of 

 some cantons of Switzerland. 2. Aristocratic, when 

 the constitution establishes privileged classes, as the 

 nobility and clergy, and entrusts the government en- 

 tirely to them, or allows them a very dispropor- 

 tionate share in it. Such a constitution was that of 

 Venice, and such still are those of some Swiss can- 

 tons, for instance, Berne. 3. Of a mixed character. 

 To this latter division belong some monarchical con- 

 stitutions, which recognize the existence of a king 

 whose power is modified by other branches of go- 

 vernment, of a more or less popular cast. The Bri- 

 tish constitution belongs to this division. It has of- 

 ten been called a mixture of democracy, aristocracy, 

 and monarchy ; but, in fact, even the representation of 

 the commons of this country is, in a great measure, 

 under the control of the privileged orders, so that 

 the government falls, almost entirely, into the hands 

 of the aristocracy, and little of the democratic ele- 

 ment is visible. 



III. The forms of government, established by the 

 various constitutions, afford a ground of division im- 

 portant in some respects ; and, lastly, 



IV. The principle on which a constitution estab- 

 lishes the representation, or the way in which the 

 people participate in the government, furnishes an 

 important means of classification. 1 . Some allow the 

 people to partake in the government, without repre- 

 sentation. This is the case in several of the small 

 Swiss cantons, in which the whole people assemble 

 and legislate. It is obvious that such a constitution 

 can operate only where the number of citizens is very 

 small, and, even then, it will be, almost always, ob- 



t Fur more particular information respecting the consti. 

 tution of the United States, we would refer the reader to the 

 Federalist, the contemporaneous exposition of this instru- 

 ment, by some of the ablest men concerned in its prepara- 

 tion. The View of the Constitution of the United Stales oj 

 America, by William Rawle, Philadelphia, 1SU9, contains 

 a'lucid explanation of its principles, and has been, as well 

 as the Federalist, introduced, as a text-book, into some of 

 the American colleges. The Elementary Catechism of the 

 Constitution of the United States, for the Use of Schools, 

 by J. A. Stansbury, Boston, 1828, exhibits the principles of 

 the constitution in a way to make them easily intelligible, 

 and would prove a useful guide to a foreigner desirous of 

 obtaining a general insight into the constitution, without 

 the trouble of much study. 



