VIRGINIA CIVIL GOVERNMENT





I.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES


1. All power is vested in and hence derived from the people;
magistrates are their trustees and servants and at all times
amenable to them.

2. Government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common
benefit, protection, and security of the people.

3. No free government, or the blessing of liberty, can be
preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice,
moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent
recurrence to fundamental principles.

--Bill of Rights.

The BILL OF RIGHTS is the title of the first article, or chapter,
of the Constitution of Virginia. It is so called because it is a
declaration or statement of the RIGHTS of the people in regard to
government. In English history the name BILL OF RIGHTS is given to
a declaration of rights adopted by the two houses of Parliament in