Federal Government

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, a form of government of which the essential principle is that there is a union of two or more states under one central body for certain permanent com mon objects (Lat. foedus, a league). In the most perfect form of federation the states agree to delegate to a supreme federal government certain powers or functions inherent in themselves in their sovereign or separate capacity, and the federal government, in turn, in the exercise of those specific powers acts directly, not only on the communities making up the federation, but on each individual citizen. So far as concerns the residue of powers un allotted to the central or federal authority, the separate states retain unimpaired their individual sovereignty, and the citizens of a federation consequently owe a double allegiance, one. to the state, and the other to the federal government. They live under two sets of laws, the laws of the state and the laws of the federal government (J. Bryce, Studies in History and Jurisprudence, ii. The word "confederation," as distinct from "federation," is usually, though not universally, used to distinguish from such a federal state (Bundesstaat) a mere union of states (Staatenbund) for mutual aid, and the promotion of interests common to all (see CONFEDERATION).

Ancient Federation.

In ancient Greece the most striking fact of political development was the existence of separate city states, each asserting an absolute autonomy, though all spoke practically the same language and shared to some extent in the same traditions, interests and dangers. This insistence on au tonomy is most marked in the cases of the more important states, Athens, Sparta, Argos, Corinth; but Greek history is full of ex amples of small states deliberately sacrificing what must have been obvious commercial advantage for the sake of a precarious independence. Thus the Spartan hegemony in the Peloponnese was not a federation. The states did, it is true, meet occasionally for discussion, but their relation, which had no real existence save in cases of immediate common danger, was that between a para mount leader and unwilling and suspicious allies. The Athenian empire again was a thinly disguised autocracy. The synod (see DELIAN LEAGUE) of the "allies" soon degenerated into a mere form; of comprehensive united policy there was none, at all events after the League had achieved its original purpose of expelling the Persians from Europe.

None the less it is possible, even in the early days of political development in Greece, to find some traces of a tendency towards united action. The Amphictyonic unions had one of the charac teristic elements of federation, that they were free sovereign states combining for a particular purpose (see AMPHICTYONY). But these unions, at all events in historic times, were mainly con cerned with religion, and the authority of the councils did not seriously affect the autonomy of the individual states.

There are, however, examples in Greece proper of unions ap proaching to real federal unions. The chief Greek federations were those of Thessaly, Boeotia, Acarnania, Olynthus, Arcadia, Aetolia, Achaea, the most important as well as the most com pletely organized being the Aetolian League and the Achaean League. (See ACHAEAN LEAGUE ; AETOLIA.) The governing council of the Aetolian League (rb Kocvbv Tcav 'AtrwXWv) was the permanent representative body; there was also a popular assembly (iravaLTwXcKbv ), partly of a primary, partly of a representative kind, any one being free to attend, but each state having only one official representative and one vote. Of all the federal governments of Greece, this league was the most certainly democratic in constitution. There was a complete sys tem of federal officers, at the head of whom was a Strategus en trusted with powers both military and civil. This officer was an nually elected, and, though the chief executive authority, was strictly limited in the federal deliberations to presidential func tions (cf. Livy xxxv. 25, "ne praetor, quum de bello consuluisset, ipse sententiam diceret"—the praetor, on a question of war, shall not offer his own opinion) . The Achaean League was likewise highly organized; joint action was strictly limited, and the indi vidual cities had sovereign power over internal affairs. There were federal officers, all the military forces of the cities were controlled by the league, and federal finance was quite separate from city finance.

Of ancient federal government outside Greece we know very little, though of the Lycian federation in Asia Minor Strabo in forms us that the federation, composed of 23 cities, was governed by a council (Koevov vvvihpevo) which assembled from time to time at that city which was most convenient for the purpose in hand. The cities were represented according to size by one, two or three delegates, and bore proportionate shares in financial responsibility.

The history of Italy supplies a few examples, of which the chief is perhaps the league of the cities of Latium (q.v.; see also