Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/129

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My dear Sir,

S we have taken a curory view of thoe countries in Europe, where the government may be called, in any reaonable contruction of the word, republican; let us now paue a few moments, and reflect upon what we have een.

Among every people, and in every pecies of republics, we have contantly found a firt magitrate, a head, a chief, under various denominations indeed, and with different degrees of authority, with the title of tadtholder, burgomater, avoyer, doge, confalloniero, preident, yndick, mayor, alcalde, capitaneo, governor, or king: in every nation, we have met with a ditinguihed officer: if there is no example in any free government, any more than in thoe which are not free, of a ociety without a principal peronage, we may fairly conclude, that the body politic cannot ubit without one, any more than the animal body without a head. If Mr. Turgot had made any dicovery, which had ecaped the penetration of all the legilators and philoophers, who had lived before him, he ought at leat to have communicated it to the world for their improvement; but as he has never hinted at any uch invention, we may afely conclude that he had none; and therefore, that the Americans are not jutly liable to cenures, for intituting governors. In