Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/74

36 counellors and ninety-nine aeors, the election of whom is made, by the eizeniers and the enate, from the citizens, from whom they are uppoed virtually to derive their powers but a general aembly of the citizens is never called together, on any occaion, or for any purpoe, not even to lay taxes, nor to make alliances or war. To be eligible into the grand council, one mut be a citizen of Berne, member of one of the ocieties or tribes, and at leat in the thirtieth year of his age.

The executive power is delegated by the grand council to the enate or little council, which is compoed of twenty-even perons, including the two avoyers or chiefs of the republic, the two treaurers of the German country, and of the pays de Vaud, and the four bannerets or commanders of the militia, taken from the four firt tribes, for the four ditricts of the city. Vacancies in this enate are filled up by a complicated mixture of ballot and lot: twenty-fix balls, three of which are gold, are drawn out of a box by the everal enators; thoe who draw the golden ones nominate three electors out of the little council; in the ame manner, even members are deignated from the grand council, who nominate even electors from their body; thee ten nominate ten candidates to be voted for in the grand council: the four of thee who have the mot votes, draw each of them a ball out of a box, which has in it two of gold and two of ilver; the two who draw the gold are voted for in the grand council, and he who has the mot votes is choen, provided he be married, and has been ten years in the grand council.

Vacancies in the grand council are filled up, at certain periods of about ten years, and two new members