Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/143

Rh there is not to be found, in any library, o many accurate ideas of government expreed with o much perpicuity, brevity, and preciion.

My dear Sir,

S it is impoible to uppoe that Mr. Turgot intended to recommend to the Americans a imple monarchy or aritocracy, we have admitted, as a uppoition the mot favourable to him, that, by collecting all authority into one center, he meant a ingle aembly of repreentatives of the people, without a governor, and without a enate; and although he has not explained, whether he would have the aembly choen for life, or years, we will again admit, as the mot benign contruction, that he meant the repreentatives hould be annually choen.

Here we hall be obliged to conider the reputed opinion of another philoopher, I mean Dr. Franklin: I ay reputed, becaue I am not able to affirm that it is really his: it is, however, o generally undertood and reported, both in Europe and America, that his judgment was in oppoition to two aemblies, and in favour of a ingle one, that in a diquiition like this it ought not to be omitted. To be candid with you, a little before the date of Mr. Turgot's letter. Dr. Franklin had arrived in Paris with the American contitutions, and among the ret that of Penylvania, in which