anticipate the evil, and judge of the pressure of the grievance by
the badness of the principle."

Moreover, these hardy pioneers were the privileged heirs of the great
political traditions of England. While the Constitution of the United
States was very much more than an adaptation of the British
Constitution, yet its underlying spirit was that of the English speaking
race and the Common Law. Behind the framers of the Constitution, as they
entered upon their momentous task, were the mighty shades of Simon de
Montfort, Coke, Sandys, Bacon, Eliot, Hampden, Lilburne, Milton,
Shaftesbury and Locke. Could there be a better illustration of Sir
Frederick Pollock's noble tribute to the genius of the common law:

"Remember that Our Lady, the Common Law, is not a task-mistress, but
a bountiful sovereign, whose service is freedom. The destinies of
the English-speaking world are bound up with her fortunes and
migrations and its conquests are justified by her works"?

Another reason makes the consideration of the subject not only
interesting but opportune. "These are the times that try men's souls."
It is a time of sifting, when men of all nations in civilization in
these critical days are again testing the value even of those political
institutions which have the sanction of the past. Society is in a state
of flux. Everywhere the foundations of governmental structures seem to
be settling--let us hope and pray upon a _surer_ foundation--and when
the seismic convulsion of the world war is taken into account, it is not
surprising that this is so. While the storm is not yet past and the
waves have not wholly subsided, it is natural that everywhere thoughtful
men as true mariners are taking their reckonings to know where they are
and whether the frail bark of human institutions is still sufficiently