SELECTMEN OR TRUSTEES.—­The legislative power of the township is vested in the trustees, town council, or selectmen, as they are variously termed.  The number of trustees or selectmen is not the same in all parts of the Union, being fixed at three in most States of the West, and varying in New England with the wishes of the electors.  The trustees, councilmen, or selectmen are elected by the qualified voters of the township for a term of one, two, or three years, varying in different States.  They are the legal guardians of the public interests of the township, and make laws or ordinances, sometimes called by-laws, expressly pertaining to the local wants of the community, and to a limited extent may levy taxes.

In some States, especially those of the East, the principal duties of the trustees or selectmen are executive.  They divide the township into road districts; open roads on petition; select jurors; build and repair bridges and town halls, where the expenditure is small; act as judges of elections; purchase and care for cemeteries; have charge of the poor not in the county charge; and act for the township in its corporate capacity.  If any thing goes wrong in the public affairs of the town, complaint is made to these officers.

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.—­Most of the public affairs of the township, as well as of all other governments, pertain to the executive department.  Its duties are far more extensive, and its officers are more numerous, than those of the other departments.  The executive officers of the township are the clerk, the treasurer, the school directors, the assessor, the supervisors, and the constables.  In most States all these officers are elected by the qualified voters; but in some the clerk, the treasurer, and the constables are elected by the town council.

CLERK.—­The clerk of the township is clerk of the trustees, council, or selectmen, and in some States of the school board.  He attends the meetings of the trustees, and makes a careful record of the proceedings.  He keeps the poll-lists and other legal papers of the township, administers oaths, and notifies officers of their election.  In the New England States, and some others, he keeps a record of the marriages, births, and deaths, calls the town meeting to order, reads the warrant under which it is held, presides until a moderator is chosen, and then acts as clerk of the meeting.

TREASURER.—­Taxes collected from the people for local purposes are paid to the treasurer.  He receives all fines, forfeitures, and license-fees paid to the township.  He is the keeper of the township funds, giving bond for the faithful performance of his duties, and pays out money upon the written order of the trustees, attested by the clerk.  In some States, as in New York, there is no separate township treasurer, the above and other duties being performed by the supervisor, who is the chief officer of the township.