The township is the lowest in order, then the county, and lastly the State; and I propose to devote the following chapter to the examination of these three divisions.
The American System Of Townships And Municipal Bodies Why the Author begins the examination of the political institutions with the township--Its existence in all nations--Difficulty of establishing and preserving municipal independence--Its importance--Why the Author has selected the township system of New England as the main topic of his discussion.
It is not undesignedly that I begin this subject with the Township.
The village or township is the only association which is so perfectly natural that wherever a number of men are collected it seems to constitute itself.
The town, or tithing, as the smallest division of a community, must necessarily exist in all nations, whatever their laws and customs may be: if man makes monarchies and establishes republics, the first association of mankind seems constituted by the hand of God.

But although the existence of the township is coeval with that of man, its liberties are not the less rarely respected and easily destroyed.

A nation is always able to establish great political assemblies, because it habitually contains a certain number of individuals fitted by their talents, if not by their habits, for the direction of affairs.

The township is, on the contrary, composed of coarser materials, which are less easily fashioned by the legislator.

The difficulties which attend the consolidation of its independence rather augment than diminish with the increasing enlightenment of the people.