The United States are divided
into nine judicial circuits, in each of which a Circuit Court is held
twice a year by a justice of the Supreme Court, assisted by the district
judge of the State in which the court sits. There is, however, a great
weakness both about the Executive and the administration of justice, the
consequence of which is, that, when a measure is placed upon the statute-
book which is supposed to be obnoxious to any powerful class, a league
is formed by private individuals for the purpose of enforcing it, or in
some cases it would become a dead letter. The powerful societies which are
formed to secure the working of the "Maine Law" will occur at once to
English readers.
Each State possesses a distinct governmental machinery of its own,
consisting of a Governor, a Senate, and a House of Representatives. The
Governor is elected by a majority of the votes of the male citizens for a
term of years, varying in different States from one to four. The Senators
are elected for like periods, and the Representatives are chosen for one
or two years. The largest number of Representatives for any one State is
356.
Nearly all power in the United States is held to a great extent on popular
sufferance; it emanates from the will of the majority, no matter how
vicious or how ignorant that majority may be.
