Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/225

Rh the commonwealth, of confirming and repealing laws, of declaring war, and making peace, which are the greatet and mot important affairs that come under the conideration of our government, not one of which you have ubmitted to the abolute determination of the enate, allow them, in like manner, the power of trying offenders, particularly uch as are accued of crimes againt the tate, of raiing a edition, of aiming at tyranny, of concerting meaures with our enemies to betray the commonwealth, or of any other crimes of the like nature; for the more formidable you render the trangreion of the laws, and the alteration of dicipline, by appointing many inpectors, and many guards over the inolent and the ambitious, the more will your contitution be improved."

It is urpriing that Valerius hould talk of an equal mixture of monarchical, aritocratical, and democratical powers, in a commonwealth where they were o unequally mixed as they were in Rome. There can be no equal mixture without a negative in each branch of the legilature. But one example of an equal mixture has ever exited in Europe, and that is in England. The conuls in Rome had no negative; the people had a negative, but a very unequal one, becaue they had not the ame time and opportunity for cool deliberation. The appointment of tribunes was a very inadequate remedy. What match for a Roman enate was a ingle magitrate eated among them? his abilities could not be equal; his firmnes could not be always depended on: but what is wore, he was liable to be intimidated, flattered, and bribed. It is really atonihing, that uch people as Greeks and Romans hould ever have thought four or five epheri, or a ingle tribune, an