poor. And all this he did of the said farm, where he that now hath it payeth sixteen pound by year or more, and is not able to do anything for his prince, for himself, nor for his children, or give a cup of drink to the poor." Latimer's Sermons, Parker Society, p. 101. CHAPTER IV. GOVERNMENT. SECTION I. REPUBLICS. WE turn to those of Italy. We traced their rise in a former volume. Their independence was established as early as the twelfth century, but their career, though brilliant and vigorous, was turbulent and short. The sun of Italian liberty was often encircled by tempestuous clouds, and it "went down while it was yet day." Before the close of the period to which this work relates, the liberties of all these republics had perished: some long before. Yet, no doubt, the remembrance and influence of their struggles animated other nations, and ministered to the establishment of their freedom. The republic of Venice had numbered seven centuries, at the time when our review begins. Her early democratic government had long passed away. The doge, elected by the people, had, with almost despotic power, ruled the destinies of the republic for nearly five hundred years, when, in 1172, Venice resolved upon a representative council, composed of four hundred and eighty citizens, to be annually chosen. These councillors were nominated by twelve tribunes, elected by the people. At the same time a "senior council" was established, consisting of six members, who, in connexion with the doge, were to originate laws and ordinances to be submitted to the great council for their approval. The right of electing the doge was also vested in the latter. This new constitution provided against the tyranny of the chief magistrate, but it created a new power, which soon overthrew the liberties of Venice. The grand council withdrew from the people their elective rights, and, by gradual changes, between the years 1297 and 1319, constituted themselves an hereditary body, whose names were enrolled in the famous Golden Book. As early as 1179, a council of forty had been instituted for the administration of criminal justice; but in 1311* there was appointed the Council of Ten, that frightful inquisitorial tribunal, with its wide-spread apparatus of espionage Moving throughout, subtle, invisible, And universal, as the air they breathed, A power that never slumbered, nor forgave; The people were encouraged in the pursuits of commerce and pleasure; the government observed economy in the administration of finances, and was, in some respects, indulgent to its subjects; but every particle of political power was withdrawn from their possession, * Sismondi says 1311; Hallam, 1310. It was a capital crime for a man to question the wisdom of his rulers. A word, a thought against the laws of Venice, The council of ten had a power higher than the nobles, higher than the doge, higher than the law. With it all liberty perished. Genoa, whose history is associated with that of Venice, had, in the twelfth century, its consuls, varying in number from four to six, annually elected; but, in the next age, the republic, according to a fashion of the times, which had originated in Lombardy, chose its podesta. This officer was a nobleman of some neighbouring state, elected to administer both civil and military affairs: an arrangement which obviously arose from the extreme jealousy which the citizens of the same republic cherished in reference to each other. Hence the podesta was forbidden to link himself by the ties of marriage, or even the intimacies of friendship, with any families in the city which had elected him as its chief. The podesta of Genoa had a council of eight, chosen by the eight companies of nobility. "It gave not only an aristocratic, but almost an oligarchical character to the constitution, since many of the nobility were not members of those eight societies. Of the senate or councils we hardly know more than their existence; they are very little mentioned by historians. Every thing of a general nature, every thing that required the expression of public will, was reserved for the entire and unrepresented sovereignty of the people. In no city was the parliament so often convened for war, for peace, for alliance, for change of government." Here then we have an oligarchy and a democracy blended; most uncongenial elements-out of the mingling of which jealousies, factions, and conflicts arose in Genoa. When these had prevailed for about a century, the Genoese, in 1339, sought tranquillity by a change of government. Venice, tired of the despotism of a doge, placed itself under the shadow of a powerful aristocracy. Genoa, tired of an aristocracy, elected a doge; but not a despotic one. His authority was limited by democratic influence; and by the two powers which now ruled the state, the aristocracy, as a body, was subdued. Yet individuals among them, distinguished by talents and patriotism, were appointed to offices of trust, in the civil and naval departments. But the revolution of 1339 did not secure peace to Genoa. For two centuries the city was the scene of frequent tumults, for a plebeian oligarchy now arose upon the ruins of the patrician, and faction and strife were the result. Both Milan and France took advantage of this state of things, and, at times, placed their garrisons in the city; but Genoa recovered her independence, under Andrea Doria, who established a new constitution, which provided for the election. of a new doge every second year, and created a council of state for his assistance. This |