CHAPTER I.


THE WORK OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

The Preservation of Order.--The first and most important work of
any government is the preservation of order. We think of this function
most frequently as exercised in the arrest of offenders who violate the
law. In fact, most young persons receive their earliest ideas of
government by seeing the policeman, or constable, who stands for the
authority of the government. But he is not the only officer who is
concerned in preserving order. The police officer who makes an arrest
cannot punish his prisoner, but must merely hold him until it is decided
that he deserves punishment. This is the work of a court, with its
justice, or judge, and the jury. If the prisoner is declared guilty,
then the police officer executes the orders of the court by collecting a
fine or by imprisoning him. We have here illustrated two divisions of
governmental authority: (1) the _judicial_, which decides whether the
law applies in particular cases; and (2) the _executive_, which carries
out the requirements of the law and the orders of the court.

Law-Making.--The executive and the judicial officers are both
subject to higher authority: the one applies and the other executes _the
law_. The framing of the law is the third function of government. This
work is called _legislation_, and is carried on by such bodies as the
town board, the village board, and the city council. But these
law-making bodies do not have independent authority; they are bound more