Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/53

Rh whole property of land. There are no nobles or patricians—all are equal by law and by birth. The governors and enates, as well as repreentative aemblies, to whom the exercie of overeignty is committed, are annually choen. Governments more democratical never exited; they are vatly more o than St. Marino. Yet the annual adminitratjon is divided into executive, legilative, and judicial powers; and the legilature itelf is divided into monarchical, aritocratical, and democratical branches; and an equilibrium has been anxiouly ought for in all their deliberations and actions, with infinitely more art, judgment, and kill, than appears in this little Italian commonwealth.

The liberty and the honety of thee people is not at all urpriing. In o mall a tate, where every man peronally knows every other, let the form of government be what it will, it is carcely poible that any thing like tyranny or cruelty can take place. A king, or a decemvirate intruted with the government, would feel the cenures of the people, and be contantly concious of the facility of aembling the whole, and apprehenive of an exertion of their trength.

The poverty of this people appears, by the fine of one penny impoed upon abence from the arengo;, and by the law, that an ambaador hould have a hilling a day. This however is a alary in proportion to the numbers of the people, as thirty guineas a day would be to an ambaador from the United States.—It appears alo, from the phyician's being obliged to keep a hore, probably there is not a carriage, nor another addle-hore, in the commonwealth.

An handful of poor people, living in the implet manner, by hard labour, upon the produce of