Political Science Of The State

POLITICAL SCIENCE.

state, through its judges, or it may be through its legislature,
to decide whether the town shall longer enjoy its franchises
which it has forfeited, or of which public necessity required
the modification. But the states in a confederacy cannot con-'
trol the central power, or put an end to it, except by unani-
mous agreement, or in accordance with the provisions of the
compact ; nor can the federal union affect the status or
existence of one of its members, unless the member is en-
deavoring to overthrow the power of the union, in which
case, by the courts or by force, the union can defend itself
and the members who remain faithful.
A confederation, then, is one and many. It is one, in that
the 'law and power of the union is supreme so far as all or
certain external affairs are concerned, and so far as certain
intercourse between the parties is concerned. The control
in certain things, of which international law takes notice, and
in certain things pertaining to the relations of the states to
one another, belongs to the central government. Nearly all
the relations of private individuals within a state, to the state
or to each other, are within the jurisdiction of the state itself.
It must be confessed, however, that this description would
cut off the right of some governments generally called
federal to being considered as such, and would necessitate
the use of new divisions and terms which would not he likely-
to be of much use in theory or in practice, For instance, it
will be admitted probably by all, that the right of waging
war with foreign nations must belong, if any right can ex-
clusively belong, to a federal government. But suppose that
no war could be declared or carried on without the consent
of all the states or members of the union, or that they are by
its constitution required to furnish each its fair contingent,
while the union has no army of its own ; would this be an
imperfect union or no federal government at all ? if we say
that it would be no proper federal government, we should
have to arrange the seven united provinces of the Nether-
lands under another rubric. If each were required to furnish
its own contingent, while no power was lodged with the ten-