application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence."

We have already pointed out the value of this provision to the States of South Africa.

The next provision provides the mode of amending the constitution.

"The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this constitution, or on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as part of this constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendments which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the senate.

No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

This should certainly be embodied in the constitution of the United States of South Africa.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of

the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

This is a most important article; we have seen its principles denied and violated in recent times in South Africa.

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized.

"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the states wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny, to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of race, colour, or previous condition of servitude.

"The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

These are the provisions of the constitution which have a more than local application, and which are worthy of the careful consideration of those upon

whom it may devolve to devise the machinery for a closer union of the states of South Africa.1

1 The reader may consult for an elucidation of the provisions of the constitution the splendid "Commentaries on the Constitution" of Story and of Kent. Also the works of Fiske and Bryce to which reference has been so frequently made, and in addition Bancroft's works. Sir Henry Maine's chapter on the American constitution in his "Popular Government" is most valuable in it he traces the historical principles on which the provisions of the constitution are founded, and discusses the results of the test to which they have been put by the lapse of time. See also A. V. Dicey's article "Federal Government," Law Quarterly Review, Jan. 1885, p. 80, to which reference has already been made. The full text of the constitution will be found set out in the appendix.

CHAPTER XII.

THE PROVED ADVANTAGES OF FEDERAL

GOVERNMENT.

Arguments for federation used in case of America-Provides union for national purposes-Separate state government for state purposes-Federalism best means for developing new countries-Sir John Seeley's opinion-Self-government stimulates political life-Secures good administration of local affairs-Diminishes difficulty of governing great areas-Relieves central legislature of much work better dealt with by local legislation-All above advantages hold good for South Africa-Sir George Grey's opinion-Only road to safety and success in South Africa-Bryce's opinion on success of federalism in America-Fiske's opinionFreeman's eulogy-Federal success in case of Switzerland -Value of Swiss precedent for South Africa-Sir Henry Maine's tribute to success-Lesson plain to South AfricaRapid movement of questions in South Africa-Direction of development towards powerful union-Importance of seizing right moment-Value of federation to enable South Africa to occupy proper position in regard to Europe-To realize its legitimate aspirations.

WE have now had in review the causes which, in America, compelled the States to form a strong federal government while retaining their own individuality and independence. We have seen the machinery which they devised for this purpose. We

have reviewed and described the office of president, the constitution and powers of Congress, and the functions of the federal courts. We have also enumerated the most important clauses of the constitution, which is of higher authority than any of these. We have incidentally pointed out how similar evils in South Africa point to a similar remedy, and have indicated the advantages which would flow from the establishment of a federal government.

Let us then once more recapitulate the proved advantages of the federal system so far as they have a bearing on the present condition of affairs in South Africa.

"There are two lines of argument by which the federal system was recommended to the framers of the constitution of America, and by which it is still put forward as worthy of imitation by other countries.

"I. That federalism furnishes the means of uniting commonwealths into one nation under one national government without extinguishing their separate administrations, legislatures, and local patriotisms. As the Americans of 1787 would probably have preferred complete state independence to the fusion of their states into a unified government, federalism was the only resource. So when the new Germanic Empire, which is really a federation, was established in 1871, Bavaria and Wurtemburg could not have been brought under a national government save by a federal scheme."1

We see in South Africa also a strong local attach1 Bryce, p. 342.