When Alma, the first chief judge, resigned that office, so that he might devote all his time and energies to the work of saving the souls of men, he nominated or suggested his successor; but whether this was simply a courtesy extended to him by the people on account of their great love for his person and respect for his judgment, or whether it was a provision of the law, is not plain. The passage states that Alma chose Nephihah as his successor, and gave him power, according to the voice of the people to enact laws according to the laws which had been given, and to put them in force according to the wickedness and crimes of the people. The rights of the people were:[12] _Personal Liberty_:--It was contrary to the law of Mosiah that there should be any slaves among the Nephites. _Equality before the Law_:--No privileged classes. All men to enjoy their rights and privileges alike. _Uniformity of Taxation_:--The burden of supporting the government fell on all the citizens, that every man might bear his part. _The Elective Franchise_:--Whether the suffrage was confined to men, or universal, or limited by any particular restrictions, does not plainly appear. _The Rights of Petition_:--As examples of the exercise of this right we introduce the following: At the time when Pahoran was chief judge a part of the people desired that a few particular points of the law should be altered. The chief judge refused to alter the law, whereupon a portion of the people petitioned him, and he directed that an election be held, or rather that the voice of the whole nation be appealed to. This being done, the result proved that the majority of the people objected to a change. Again, Moroni, the commander-in-chief of the Nephite armies, sent a petition to the chief judge for power to compel certain dissenters to help defend their country against the national enemies, or to put them to death. His request being according to the voice of the people, the desired power was given to him. Here we have instances of the right of petition exercised, in one case by a large body of the people, and in the other by a single, though important, individual. Both were extraordinary circumstances, and in the latter case it appears to have required the all-powerful _vox populi_ to give validity to the action of the executive.