Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/64

26 all authority into one aembly, they eem to have been forcibly agitated by a mutual power of repulion, which has divided them into two commonwealths, each of which has it monarchical power in a chief magitrate; its aritocratical power in two councils, one for legilation, and the other for execution; beides the two more popular aemblies. This is ureJy no imple democracy.—Indeed a imple democracy by repreentation is a contradiction in terms.

My dear Sir,

HE canton of Underwald conits only of villages and boroughs, although it is twenty-five miles in length, and eventeen in breadth. Thee dimenions, it eems, were too extenive to be governed by a legilation o imperfectly combined, and nature has taught and compelled them to eparare into two diviions, the one above, and the other below, a certain large foret of oaks, which runs nearly in the middle of the country, from north to outh. The inferior valley, below the foret, contains four communities; and the uperior, above it, ix. The principal or capital is Sarnen. The overeign is the whole country, the overeignty reiding in the general aembly, where all the males of fifteen have entry and uffrage; but each valley apart has, with repect to its interior concerns, its land amman, its officers of adminitration, and its public aembly, poed