fisheries tempted the settlers to remain near the coast, and fishing,
with ship-building and commerce, became their important industries.

Town Meetings and Officers.--For these reasons New England was a
region of small farms and towns, and the local government which grew up
was adapted to these conditions. The voters of each town (or township)
met annually, or oftener, in "town meeting." Here their common local
affairs were discussed and regulated. The church, the schools, roads,
the poor, and many other matters were under the complete control of this
meeting, and of the officers elected by the assembled voters. These
officers were the selectmen,--which was a board having general
supervision of the town affairs,--the clerk, treasurer, assessors, fence
viewers, constables, and numerous others.

The County in New England.--Because the people lived in towns and
could most easily regulate their affairs through the machinery of town
government, they had no counties whatever at first; but these were soon
established, though merely for judicial purposes. The governor appointed
justices who held court in each county.

The leading features of New England local government, then, were (1)
its democratic character, seen particularly in the town meeting; and (2)
the fact that nearly all local affairs were managed by the town
government, leaving but one important function, and that judicial in its
nature, for the county.

The Settlement of Virginia.--In the colony of Virginia we find
conditions that bring about entirely different results in the
organization and workings of local government. Here the settlers were
not bound by religious or other ties into compact social bodies as the