Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/44

6 Mr. Turgot eems to be of a different opinion, and is for "collecting all authority into one center, the nation." It is eaily undertood how all authority may be collected into "one center" in a depot or monarch; but how it can be done, when the center is to be the nation, is more difficult to comprehend. Before we attempt to dicus the notions of an author, we hould be careful to acertain his meaning. It will not be eay, after the mot anxious reearch, to dicover the true ene of this extraordinary paage. If, after the pains of "collecting all authority into one center," that center is to be the nation, we hall remain exactly where we began, and no collection of authority at all will be made. The nation will be the authority, and the authority the nation. The center will be the circle, and the circle the center. When a number of men, women, and children, are imply congregated together, there is no political authority among them; nor any natural authority, but that of parents over their children. To leave the women and children out of the quetion for the preent, the men will all be equal, free, and independent of each other. Not one will have any authority over any other. The firt "collection" of authority mut be an unanimous agreement to form themelves into a nation, people, community, or body politick, and to be governed by the majority of uffrages or voices. But even in this cae, although the authority is collected into one center, that center is no longer the nation, but the majority of the nation. Did Mr. Turgot mean, that the people of Virginia, for example, half a million of ouls cattered over a territory of two hundred leagues quare, hould top here, and have no other thority