Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/195

Rh only reaonable method that can be ubtituted to the tyrannical magitracy of the Ephori, and to the tate inquiitors of Venice, who are alo depotical.

As, in a free tate, every man who is uppoed a free agent, ought to be his own governor; o the legilative power hould reide in the whole body of the people. But ince this is impoible in large tates, and in mall ones is ubject to many inconveniencies; it is fit the people hould execute by their repreentatives what they cannot execute by themelves.

The inhabitants of a particular town are much better acquainted with its wants and interets, than with thoe of other places; and are better judges of the capacity of their neighbours, than of that of the ret of their countrymen. The members therefore of the legilature hould not be choen from the general body of the nation; but it is proper, that in every coniderable place, a repreentative hould be elected by the inhabitants.

The great advantage of repreentatives, is their being capable of dicuing affairs; for this the people collectively are extremely unfit, which is one of the greatet inconveniencies of a democracy.

It is not at all neceary that the repreentatives, who have received a general intruction from their electors, hould wait to be particularly intructed on every affair, as is practied in the diets of Germany. True it is, that by this way of proceeding, the peeches of the deputies might with greater propriety be called the voice of the nation: but, on the other hand, this would throw them into infinite delays; would give each deputy a power of controuling the ambly; and on