The three main forms of executive embrace the hereditary and irresponsible king, with or without a responsible ministry; the single responsible president; and the executive council. The most typical examples of these are: the constitutional monarchy of England; the Presidency of the United States; and the Federal Council of Switzerland. Or, there may be said to exist four chief ways in which parliamentary government is worked. _First_, that of England, where the executive is the primary and the legislature the ultimate source of power; the English ministers have the right of initiative, but they cannot remain in office without a majority in the House of Commons. _Second_, the German plan, where the ministers are solely dependent upon the Crown, but cannot spend money without parliamentary sanction. _Third_, there is the constitution of the United States, under which the functions of both branches are clearly defined; the Cabinet being excluded from Congress, and Congress having no control over it, further than the confirmation of its members by the Senate. _Fourth_, the Swiss system, wherein the executive is as great a departure from the precedent of the United States, and has produced something at least as widely different from the President of the United States, as he differs from an European king. The Swiss constitution provides no executive head, in the sense of that of the President of the United States; there is practically no such functionary. The Swiss executive has, in fact, none of the functions that are given to the President of the United States, as an independent power in the State, making him as truly the representative of the sovereign people as Congress itself. Andrew Jackson, indeed, habitually prided himself on the privilege of representing the masses; and the use of the veto by the President is in most cases highly popular, for through it the President is expected to counterbalance the power of the legislature.