On the contrary, both
the vestry and the county court filled vacancies in their own number,
without popular election.
This fact serves to illustrate the general truth that local government
was democratic in New England and aristocratic in Virginia; in the
former colony the mass of voters took part most actively in local
government, while in the latter a few men constituted the ruling class.
This does not mean that local affairs in Virginia were badly managed,
for the leading men were on the whole intelligent and public-spirited;
and in the years of the Revolution they were among the foremost in the
defense of American liberties. In New England, however, it was
noticeable that the mass of voters were intelligent and understood the
practical management of political affairs--a result which doubtless
came largely from their training in the town meeting.
The Three Types of Local Organization.--We have now seen that in
New England the town had the most important functions of local
government, and this is called, therefore, the _town type_; while in
Virginia the county had the greater share of governing powers, and there
we find the _county type_.
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