Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/41



, October 4, 1786 My dear Sir,

HREE writers in Europe, of great abilities, reputation, and learning, Mr. Turgot, the Abbé De Mably, and Dr. Price, have turned their attention to the contitutions of government in the United States of America, and have written and pubiihed their criticims and advice. They had all the mot amiable characters, and unquetionably the puret intentions. They had all experience in public affairs, and ample information in the nature of man, the neceities of ociety, and the cience of government.

There are in the productions of all of them, among many excellent things, ome entiments, however, that it will be difficult to reconcile to reaon, experience, the contitution of human nature, or to the uniform tetimony of the greatet tatemen, legilators, and philoophers of all enlightened nations, ancient and modern.

Mr. Turgot, in his letter to Dr. Price, confees, "that he is not atisiied with the contitutions which have hitherto been formed for the different ates of America." He obervrs, "that by mot of them the cutoms of England are imitated, without any particular motive. Intead of collecting all authority into one center, that of the nation, they have etablihed "different