Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/110

72 and armies, have never been able to get the advantage of them, who have always tood by their houes of repreentatives in every intance, and carried all their points; and no governor ever tood his ground againt a repreentative aembly; as long as he governed by their advice he was happy; as oon as he differed from them he was wretched, and oon obliged to retire.

My dear Sir,

HE king of Poland is the firt magitrate in the republic, derives all his authority from the nation.—He has not the power to make laws, raie taxes, contract alliances, or declare war, nor to coin money, nor marry, without the ratification of the diet.

The enate is compoed of the clergy and nobility, the third etate, or people, is not o much as known. The grand marhal, the marhal of the court, the chancellor, vice chancellor, and the treaurer, are the firt enators.

The nobility, or gentry, poes the dignities and employments, in which they never permit trangers, or the commonalty, to have any participation: they elect their king, and would never uffer the enate to make themelves maters of this election. The peaants are laves to the gentry; having no property, all their acquiitions are made for their maters, and are expoed to all their paions, and are oppreed with impunity. The