The judicial systems are yet more various. In the greatest part the judges hold their offices during good behaviour. In the others they receive their appoint ment for a fixed term, varying from seven years to a single year. In New York, they retire from office when they reach the age of sixty. In some States they are appointed by the governor and council ; and in others, by the legislature. In some they are removable only by im peachment; in others, on the vote of two thirds of the legislature. In some, the salaries are liberal; in others, very small. Some States have separate Chancery courts ; whilst in others, the courts of Common Law exercise Equity jurisdic tion. In some, the court of Last Resort exercises no other than appellate juris diction ; in others, the judges of separate courts unite to form an Appellate court; and in others again, the judges, combined with the senate, form a special court of Appeals.
In fourteen of the States negro slavery has the sanction of the law. These are the twelve States lying south of Penn sylvania and the river Ohio, together with the States of Missouri and Arkansas. In the other thirteen, slavery either never had existence, or has been abolished, except as to those who were slaves at the time of the abolition.
The right of suffrage has various re strictions in the different States as to pro perty, residence, and length of citizen ship; but it is now no where limited to an interest in land. In all the States the votes are given by ballot, except in Vir ginia, Kentucky, and Arkansas, where they are given orally. In all, except Virginia, lands can be taken in execution for debt, in the same way as personal property. The common law of England is the law of every State, so far as it has not been changed by the legislature, ex cept in Louisiana, where the laws of every description have been digested into one code.
The revenues of the several States vary according to their population and wealth. Some of them, by judicious expenditure on canals and other public improvements, by the proceeds of public lands, and other sources, have a sufficient revenue for the ordinary expenses of the government, without the aid of taxes. In general, however, a sum equal to the annual ex penditure is raised by taxes within the year, in which case it rarely averages more than a dollar for each inhabitant, and sometimes it is not one-fourth of that sum. But besides the taxes paid into the state treasuries, the county courts of the state or other corporate bodies have the power of levying money for special local objects, as for making and repairing roads, for providing courthouses and jails, for the support of schools, &c., the amount of which taxes sometimes equals, and even exceeds the State tax.
Besides the twenty-seven States which constitute the Federal Union, there are territories beyond their limits which are immediately subject to the general go vernment, though they have no partici pation in its political power. Over these the legislative power of Congress is su preme ; but it is so exercised as gradually to fit them for admission into the Union. At first they are administered by a go vernor, appointed by the federal execu tive. When, by the progress of the settlements, they are deemed fit for it, they are advanced to the second stage of their probation. Of late years, the rights of the second stage are conferred on the territories at the time of their creation. They are then allowed to elect their own local legislature—the executive power continuing as before—and to send a de legate to Congress, who has the privilege of speaking, but not of voting: and lastly, when their numbers justify it, and Con gress approves, they are made States and are admitted into the Union, and become like the other States. There are now two
of these territories in the second stage: Wisconsin and Iowa.
The revenue of the general govern ment arises from the sale of public land, customs duties, and the post-office. The whole produce of the post-office depart ment is absorbed by the expenditure in that department. The sale of public land has produced for many years a large revenue. During the three years pre ceding 1838 there were sold more than 38,000,000 acres, the purchase money of which was 48,175,160 dollars. But the excessive issues of the banks afforded both the temptation and the means to ex tensive speculations in these lands, and made the amount sold much greater than it had ever been before, or is likely to be again. The produce of the sales of pub lic land was in 1838 less than 44 millions of dollars; in 1839 less than 64 millions; in 1840 less than 3 millions ; in 1841 less than l millions; in 1842 less than Il millions: in 1843 a little above 2 millions; and in 1844 also a little above 2 millions of dollars.
The public land consists first of the lands which, having been once national domain by purchase, have never been sold or ceded by the general government, and of which there are yet large bodies in most of the Western States, and in all the territories ; and secondly, of those lands iu the unsettled western territory, which have been more recently purchased of the Indians. The system adopted by Congress for disposing of these lands is well contrived to facilitate settlements, to prevent disputes about titles or bound aries, and to render extensive purchases by speculators impracticable. The lands are accurately surveyed by the govern ment; and are then laid off into ranges of townships by true meridian lines. Each township is exactly six miles square, and contains of course 23,040 acres. It is divided into 36 sections of a square mile each, which sections are again subdivided into four quarter sec tions, each of 160 acres, and sometimes into half-quarter and quarter-quarter sec tions. The space between these squares and the margin of a river, or Indian boundary, is laid off into the smaller parts of a section. When thus laid off, the lands are sold from time to time at public auction, provided they bring the minimum price, which is a dollar and a quarter per acre. Formerly the mini mum price was two dollars, and the lands were sold partly on credit; but in 1820, to avoid the present inconvenience and future danger of thus placing the government in the delicate relation of creditor to so many of its citizens, Con gress in 1820 reduced the minimum price, and abolished the credit. The public land to which the Indian title has been extinguished, and which was unsold on the 1st January, 1832, was 227,293,884 acres. The business of surveying and disposing of the public lands is managed by a general land-office at Washington, and numerous land-offices distributed among the western states and territories, all which are under the control of the Treasury department.
The customs duties are the chief source of revenue to the United States. The total revenue of the United States for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1844, was a little more than thirty millions of dollars, with a balance in the Treasury of nearly 104 millions on the 1st July, 1843. The expenditure for the year ending June 30, 1844, was near thirty three millions, of which the war depart ment cost above eight millions, and the navy department cost nearly six and a half millions of dollars.
(Geography of America, Library of Useful Knowledge; American Almanac for 1846.)