Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/212

174 conventions. It is to the people that the generals, after the expiration of their command, give an account of their conduct: o that it is by no means afe for them to diregard the favour either of the enate, or of the people.

The enate is under a neceity of hewing a regard to the people, and of aiming at their approbation; as not having the power to punih crimes of the firt magnitude with death, unles the people confirm the previous decree: if a law is propoed, by which part of the power of the enate is to be taken away, their dignities abolihed, or even their fortunes diminihed, the people have it in their power either to receive or reject it. If one of the tribunes of the people oppoes the paing of a decree, the enate are o far from being able to enact it, that it is not even in their power to conult or aemble at all. For all thee reaons, the fenae tands in awe of the people.

The people alo are ubject to the power of the enate, and under an obligation of cultivating the good-will of all the enators, who have many opportunities both of prejudicing and advantaging individuals. Judges are appointed out of the enate in mot caues that relate to contracts, public or private. There are many rivers, ports, gardens, mines, and lands, and many works relating to erecting and repairing public buildings, let out by the cenors, under the care of the enate; all thef are undertaken by the people; ome are purchaers, others partners, ome ureties for the contracts. All thee things are under the controul of the enate, which has power to give time, to mitigate, and, if any thing has happened to render the performance of the contract impracticable, to cancel it. The people, thus dependent on the enate, and apprehending the uncertainty of the occaions