Civil Government of Virginia

3. No free government, or the blessing of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles.

--Bill of Rights.

The BILL OF RIGHTS is the title of the first article, or chapter, of the Constitution of Virginia. It is so called because it is a declaration or statement of the RIGHTS of the people in regard to government. In English history the name BILL OF RIGHTS is given to a declaration of rights adopted by the two houses of Parliament in England in 1688, and soon afterwards passed into law.

VESTED IN means entrusted to or put in possession of. To vest is to invest or clothe with power or authority.

MAGISTRATES are public officers whose duty it is to administer the laws. The President is the chief magistrate of the nation. It is his duty to see that the laws of the United States are executed Or carried out. The governor is the chief magistrate of the State; the mayor is the chief magistrate of the city. Judges are magistrates who preside in the courts and administer the law as applying to the cases brought before them.

Trustees are persons who hold or have charge of the property of others in trust, and as guardians, for those to whom it belongs. Magistrates hold their offices as trustees for the people, and they are amenable, that is, answerable, to the people. If they do not perform the duties of their offices honestly, the people can call them to account and punish them.

A FREE GOVERNMENT is a government instituted, that is, established, by the consent of the people. The government of the United States is a free government, because it has been established by the people, and the people can change it when they please.

"Government ought to be established for the COMMON BENEFIT." This means that government ought to be for the benefit of all the people, poor as well as rich, and under a free government all the people have equal protection from the law.

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES are principles or truths according to which, or upon which, systems, or laws, or institutions, are FOUNDED. The fundamental principles of free government are that all men are born equal, and that all men have equal rights to life and liberty.

RECURRENCE means A GOING BACK TO. We must frequently recur, or go back to, fundamental principles in order to preserve free government. We must also firmly adhere to, or practice justice, moderation, temperance, and virtue.

JUSTICE is the doing of what is right. MODERATION means the avoiding of severity or harshness in our conduct towards others. TEMPERANCE is the moderate or reasonable use or enjoyment of the pleasures of life. FRUGALITY is the practice of thrift and economy as opposed to extravagance. VIRTUE is the practice of the moral good taught by religion.

The constitution guarantees to the people the right to make and to change their own laws; the right of speedy trial by jury; protection in the enjoyment of their inherent rights; freedom of elections; freedom of speech; freedom of the press; religious freedom; equal civil and political rights and public privileges.

It prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, the infliction of cruel and unusual punishments, and the taking of private property for public uses except by law and with just compensation.

A CONSTITUTION is a system or plan of government, or a written or printed statement of the principles and rules according to which a government is to be conducted. The constitution tells how the government is to be formed, what it has power to do, and what it must not do. The Constitution of Virginia GUARANTEES, that is, secures or makes sure to the people, the right to make or change the laws. A government under a constitution is called a CONSTITUTIONAL government.