African slave is now rated by our Government as superior to the American Indian and to the natives of the celestial Empire of China, and is intrusted with the highest privileges of an American citizen.

The effect upon the whites was in some respects ennobling, as it greatly stimulated that independence of character and love of freedom which characterize rulers, whether in kingdoms or on plantations. That profoundly philosophical statesman, Edmund Burke, in his speech on conciliations with America, delivered March 22, 1775, remarked upon the spirit of liberty developed in the masters of slaves in these words:

In Virginia and the Carolinas they have a vast multitude of slaves. When this is the case in any part of the world, those who are free are by far the most proud and jealous of their freedom. Freedom is to them not only an enjoyment, but a kind of rank and privilege. Not seeing there that freedom, as in countries where it is a common blessing, and as broad and general as the air, may be united with much abject toil, with great misery, with all the exterior of servitude, liberty looks, among them, like something that is more noble and liberal. I do not mean to commend the superior morality of this sentiment, which has at least as much pride as virtue in it, but I can not alter the nature of man. The fact is so; and those people of the Southern colonies are much more strongly, and with a higher and more stubborn spirit, attached to liberty than those northward. Such were all the ancient commonwealths; such our Gothic ancestors; such in our days were the Poles; and such will be all masters of slaves who are not slaves themselves. In such a people the haughtiness of domination combines with the spirit of freedom, fortifies it, and renders it invincible.

The institution of slavery had a marked effect on the women of Virginia. By it they were exempt from the menial duties of life; and in their country homes they devoted themselves to the management of their households and the cultivation of their minds and manners. By reason of this the name, Virginia matron, became a synonym of all that was refined in manners and pure and lovely in character. It is a great mistake to suppose that the Virginia matron led an idle or useless life. While her duties were not menial, they were nevertheless ample to occupy her whole time. As a mistress on the plantation she had the care of much that only a woman can attend to. To feed, to clothe, to teach, to guide, to comfort, to nurse, to provide for, and to watch over a great household, and keep its complex machinery in noiseless order; these were the duties which devolved on her, and which she performed to the admiration of all who came in contact with Virginia life. The mild

climate in which they lived developed in the Virginia women a beauty of person commensurate with their loveliness of character, and these two conspired to stimulate the chivalrous regard in which they were held by the men. This regard was indicated in the courteous bearing of the men towards them. The Virginian indeed became courteous to all, and his bearing in life came to be described in the two words, "Virginia gentleman."

The English people who came to Virginia, with few exceptions, did not leave England because of oppression in church or state. They brought with them the literature, the manners and customs, and the civil and religious institutions of the mother country, to all of which they were profoundly attached. It was simply the planting of the English acorn in the rich Virginia soil of America, from which sprang an American British oak, which under the genial sky of the new world was destined to outstrip its English original.

The form of government allowed by the early charters was potent in the development of Virginia character, and this form, with admirable flexibility, adapted itself to the individuality assumed by the colony in its progress. The executive was a governor appointed by the crown, or was his authorized deputy. He was advised by a council selected from the colony and similarly appointed. They were considered as representatives of royal authority and constituted a mimic court. Their style of living was in accordance with their high rank, and was more or less imitated by the rich men of the colony according to their proximity to the capital. Their influence was great, as they dispensed the patronage of the colony. In addition to their executive functions, the governor and council sat as a court, and for years was the only court in the colony. After the institution of county courts the governor and council retained much original jurisdiction and became also a court of appeals. This important body also acted as a branch of the assembly and thus took the place of the House of Lords in the colonial system. Its members were the representatives of the aristocracy of the colony.

As a legislative body it was merged into an assembly in 1619, when a house of burgesses was summoned, composed of members chosen by the people. This, the first representative body which ever sat in America, had a controlling influence in the development of Virginia character. The elective franchise,

which was for years exercised by all adult males, gave, as nothing else could, a dignity to citizenship. Each man felt himself a part of the State in the fullest sense and became interested in knowing and directing its affairs. The house of burgesses was the Cerberus that guarded, with ever-watchful eye, the political rights of the colonists. Thus as early as 1624 we find it declaring that "The governor shall not lay any taxes or ympositions upon the colony, their lands or commodities, otherway than by authority of the general assembly, to be levyed and ymployed as the said assembly shall appoynt."

This claim of the representatives of the people to the sole right to lay taxes, the great principle which is the corner stone of British freedom, was never abandoned by the Virginians.

The acts of assembly were subject to royal supervision and were sometimes disallowed. But enough were approved to allow the development of the colony, according to the law of evolution to which it was subjected. This separate assembly for the colony of necessity led to the straining and final snapping of the cords which bound it to England, and impeded its progress towards a great State. Men who became accustomed to a distinct legislative body, their own immediate representa tives, ceased to regard a Parliament, sitting beyond the ocean in which they were not represented, as authorized to legislate for them; and with this right claimed by Parliament, the question of separation became a mere question of time.

The county organization of the colony was based upon, and followed very closely the shire system of England. It was a microcosm of the State. The county lieutenant, its chief officer, was vested with executive powers, and had command of the militia. He was selected from the upper class, known as "gentlemen." The county court exercised judicial functions, and was composed of justices of the peace, who were selected from the men of the highest character and intelligence in the county, and held office for life. It was a self-perpetuating body, vacancies being filled by appointment of the governor upon the recommendation of the court. No pay was attached to the office of justice, except the possibility that the incumbent might become the sheriff of the county for a limited time, which last office was filled from the bench of justices in the order of their commissions. The office of justice thus being a highly honorable one, and filled by the best men in the county, the influence of the incumbents was very great. These resided

in different parts of the county, and thus each neighborhood was supplied with an officer. They were the advisers of the people, the composers of their difficulties, as well as the judges in their petty litigations. Naturally they came to be regarded with the greatest respect, and to be looked up to as examples of purity and intelligence, to be imitated by their fellow-citizens. Thus their influence was most elevating in its tendency. To this class Virginia was chiefly indebted for the high character of her people. Indeed, most of the Virginians who were distinguished in the Revolutionary era were, or had been, justices of the peace.

While the sheriffalty was in their hands defaults in the payment of revenue collected were almost unknown.

The courts in which they sat had their jurisdiction enlarged from time to time till it became very extensive. They also laid the county levy and passed on the claims to be paid out of it. These courts, unlike their English originals, were held at the several county seats, and during most of their history were monthly. These monthly county courts were important factors in Virginia life. At them there was always a large gathering from different parts of the county, and much business was transacted, while county men, living at a distance from each other, met and formed acquaintances, and entered into business relations. Candidates for office, elective by the people, attended, and they were required to set forth their claims in public speeches and debate with their opponents. This contributed to the cultivation of public speaking, and by these public debates the ordinary citizen was instructed in the questions of the day. In these tribunals the lawyers of Virginia were trained, and this training equipped for the higher walks of professional life the great lawyers and judges that Virginia furnished before, during, and after the Revolution. Such men as Edmund Pendleton, Peter Lyons, St. George Tucker, Spencer Roane, and John Marshall.

When in the convention of 1829 it was sought to change the system, there was a united protest from a number of the ablest men in the body. The accomplished P. P. Barbour, who afterwards sat in the Supreme Court of the United States, said:

After a twenty-five-year acquaintance with the county courts of Virginia, it is my conscientious opinion that there is not, and never has been, a tribunal under the sun where more substantial, practical justice is administered. The idea was suggested to me fifteen years ago by one

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of the most distinguished men we had among us, who declared it to me as

his belief, that the county courts of Virginia exerted an important political influence on her population; the monthly meeting of neighbors and of professional men caused the people to mingle and associate more than they otherwise would do, and produced a discussion of topics of public interest in regard to the administration of government and the politics of the community. These meetings perpetually recurring in all the counties of the State constitute so many points from which political information was thus diffused among the people, and their interest increased in public affairs.

The distinguished lawyer and statesman Benjamin Watkins Leigh followed Mr. Barbour, and said: "The eulogium pronounced by the learned gentleman from Orange is perfectly just, in declaring that these tribunals are not merely good, but the best on earth." He further declared that only two charges of corruption had been brought against Virginia justices during the existence of the office, for 200 years. Judge John Marshall joined in the praises of this venerable body of public servants, and added:

I am not in the habit of bestowing extravagant eulogies upon my countrymen. I would rather hear them pronounced by others; but it is a truth that no State in the Union has hitherto enjoyed more complete internal quiet than this Commonwealth, and I believe most firmly that this state of things is mainly to be ascribed to the practical operation of our county courts. The magistrates who compose those courts consist in general of the best men in their respective counties. They act in the spirit of peacemakers, and allay rather than excite the small disputes and differences which will sometimes arise among neighbors. It is certainly much owing to this that so much harmony prevails amongst us. These courts must be preserved.

In front of the court, when in session, sat the clerk, always an accomplished officer. He held his office by appointment by the court and during good behavior. The interests of the community at large were closely connected with the responsibilities of his office. He was the keeper of the records of the court, and of the muniments of title to the lands in the county. His fellow-countymen sought him for information on many subjects, and he became the legal adviser of the ordinary citizen. The office was often retained in families for generations, and the incumbents were, as a class, as admirable as any country ever possessed. Besides these officers there were sheriffs, coroners, constables, and surveyors, of whom I need but make mention.

The colony was laid off into parishes, in order to accommodate the affairs of the established church. Those were man