Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/191

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My dear Sir,

N every government there are three orts of power; the legilative, the executive in repect of things dependent on the law of nations, and the executive in regard to things that depend on the civil law.

By virtue of the firt (i. e. the legilative power), the prince or magitrate enacts temporary or perpetual laws, and amends or abrogates thoe that have been already enacted. By the econd, he makes peace or war, ends or receives embaies, etablihes the public ecurity, and provides againt invaions. By the third, he punihes criminals, or determines the diputes that arie between individuals. The latter we hall call the judiciary power, and the other imply the executive power of the tate.

The political liberty of the citizen, is a tranquillity of mind, ariing from the opinion each peron has of his afety. In order to have this liberty, it is requiite the government be o contituted, as that one citizen need not be afraid of another citizen.

When the legilative and executive powers are united in the ame peron, or in the ame body of magitrates, there can be no liberty; becaue apprehenions may arie, let the ame monarch or enate, or the ame enate hould enact nical