Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/45

Rh by which to make or execute a law, or judge a caue, but by a vote of the whole people, and the deciion of a majority! Where is the plain large enough to hold them; and what are the means, and how long would be the time, neceary to aemble them together?

A imple and perect democracy never yet exited among men. If a village of half a mile quare, and one hundred families, is capable of exerciing all the legilative, executive, and judicial powers, in public aemblies of the whole, by unanimous votes, or by majorities, it is more than has ever yet been proved in theory or experience. In uch a democracy, the moderator would be king, the town-clerk legilator and judge, and the contable heriff, for the mot part; and, upon more important occaions, committees would be only the counellors of both the former, and commanders of the latter.

Shall we uppoe then, that Mr. Turgot intended, that an aembly of repreentatives hould be choen by the nation, and veiled with all the powers of government; and that this aembly hall be the center in which all the authority hall be collected, and hall be virtually deemed the nation. After long reflection, I have not been able to dicover any other ene in his words, and this was probably his real meaning. To examine this yte, in detail may be thought as trifling an occupation, as the laboured reaonings of Sidney and Locke, to hew the aburdity of Filmar's upertitious notions, appeared to Mr. Hume in his enlightened days. Yet the mitakes of great men, and even the aburdities of fools, when they countenance the prejudices of numbers of people, epecially in a young country, and under new governments, cannot be too fully confuted. You