riminal jurisdiction over sundry petty offences.

[Sidenote: The Sheriff.]
The sheriff is elected by the people for a term of three years. He may
appoint deputies, for whom he is responsible, to assist him in his
work. He must attend all county courts, and the meetings of the county
commissioners whenever required. He must inflict, either personally
or by deputy, the sentence of the court, whether it be fine,
imprisonment, or death. He is responsible for the preservation of the
peace within the county, and to this end must pursue criminals and may
arrest disorderly persons. If he meets with resistance he may call out
the _posse comitatus_; if the resistance grows into insurrection
he may apply to the governor and obtain the aid of the state militia;
if the insurrection proves too formidable to be thus dealt with, the
governor may in his behalf apply to the president of the United States
for aid from the regular army. In this way the force that may be
drawn upon, if necessary, for the suppression of disorder in a single
locality, is practically unlimited and irresistible.

We have now obtained a clear outline view of the township and county in
themselves and in their relation to one another, with an occasional
glimpse of their relation to the state; in so far, at least, as such a
view can be gained from a reference to the history of England and of
Massachusetts. We must next trace the development of local government in
other parts of the United States; and in doing so we can advance at
somewhat quicker pace, not because our subject becomes in any wise less
important or less interesting, but because we have already marked out
the ground and said things of general application which will not need to
be said over again.

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT.

Give an account of the modern county in Massachusetts under
the following heads:--

1. The county a corporation.
2. The county commissioners and their duties.
3. The county treasurer and his duties.
4. The courts held in a county.
5. The shire town and the court-house.
6. The register of deeds and his duties.
7. Justices of the peace and trial justices.
8. The sheriff and his duties.
9. The force at the sheriff's disposal to suppress disorder.

Section 3. _The Old Virginia County._

By common consent of historians, the two most distinctive and most
characteristic lines of development which English forms of government
have followed, in prop