Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/82

44 of whom is furnihed by each tribe; the grand autier preides in it, intead of the avoyer in office: the conitory, and the chamber of orphans. This canton has a large country ubject to it, comprehending eleven bailiwicks.

The oil is extremely fertile, yet there is a want of hands for agriculture, and population decreaes; although commodiouly ituated for commerce, they have none. Thee circumtances are enough to hew the bleings of a government by a few noble families. They hew another thing, till more curious; to wit, the conequences of mixing the nobles and commons together. The latter have here been induced to reduce their own contitutional hare in the government to a mere form, and complaiantly to reign all the ubtance into the hands of thoe whom they think their natural uperiors: and this will eternally happen, ooner or later, in every country, in any degree coniderable for extent, numbers, or wealth, where the whole legilative and executive power are in one aembly, or even in two, if they have not a third power to balance them.

Let us by no means omit, that there is a grand arenal at Soleure, as there is at Berne, well tored with arms in proportion to the number of inhabitants in the canton, and ornamented with the trophies of the valour of their ancetors.

Nor hould it be forgotten, that a defenive alliance has ubited between France and everal of thee cantons, for more than a century, to the great advantage of both. Thee republicans have found in that monarchy a teady, faithful, and generous friend. In 1777 the alliance was renewed in this city of Soleure, where the French ambaador reides and extended to all the cantons. In the former treaty an article was inferred, that