Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/92

54 aembly, the aembly of the people, or the council general, is compoed of all the citizens or freemen of twenty-five years of age.

At the time of the Reformation, every affair, important or trifling, was laid before the general aembly; it was both a deliberating and acting body, that always left the cognizance of details to four indics: this was neceary, in that time of danger, to attach the affections of the citizens to the upport of the commonwealth by every endearing tie. The city was governed by two indics of its own annual election. The multiplicity of affairs had engaged each indic to nominate ome of the principal citizens to erve as aeors during his adminitration; thee aeors, called counellors, formed a council of twenty-five perons. In 1457 the general council decreed, that the council of twenty-five hould be augmented to ixty. This body, in 1526, was augmented to two hundred.

Thus far the aritocratical gentlemen proceeded upon democratical principles, and all is done by the general aembly. At this intant commences the firt overt act of aritocratical ambition.—Warm in their eats, they were loth to leave them, or hold them any longer at the will of the people. With all the ubtlety, and all the agacity and addres which is characteritic of this order of men in every age and nation, they prevailed on the people to relinquih for the future the right of electing counellors in the general aembly; and the people, with their characteritic implicity, and unbounded confidence in their rulers when they love them; became the dupes, and paed a law, that the two councils hould for the future elect, or at leat approve and affirm, each other,