156 UNIVERSALITY OF DEGENERATIVE EVOLUTION 



Take for instance the town meetings of Boston and 

 Newhaven. 1 



When the inhabitants of a town attained to a 

 certain number, the town became a city, and the 

 Assembly of inhabitants was transformed into a 

 Common Council. In some instances, this old 

 system persists though in a reduced condition. 



In Boston, which continued to be a town, 

 governed by an Assembly of all the inhabitants up 

 to 1821, the present Charter of the city authorizes 

 the convocation of a town meeting wherever the 

 Mayor and Aldermen consider it advisable ; the 

 latter, however, never make use of this privilege. 



In Newhaven (Connecticut), the old town meeting 

 continues to exist side by side with the Common 

 Council which was established in 1*784, but, 

 Levermore says, " This ancient institution nowadays 

 is a meeting together of a small number of citizens 

 to conduct the business of several thousands. The 

 few people connected with the affairs of the town 

 (which is very poor), meet together to discuss 

 matters in a friendly way, decide what money is 

 required for current expenses, and then adjourn. 

 Not one in seventy of the inhabitants attends these 

 meetings. Few know when they take place, and 

 the papers make brief, if any, mention of them." 



2. We have now to show that the simplest 

 societies have undergone modifications, and exhibit 



1 Bryce, The American Commonwealth, i., pp. 598 and following. 

 London, Macmillan, 1893. 



