Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/98

60 on was elected, and brought back in great pomp to Venice: he became oon a tyrant and a monter, and the people tore him to pieces, but took no meaure to frame a legal government. The city increaed in commerce, and by conquets, and the new ubjects were not admitted to the privileges of citizens: this acceion of dominion augmented the influence of the doge. There was no aembly but that of the people, and another called the council of forty, for the adminitration of jutice. This body, in the twelfth century, formed omething like a plan of government.

Although the decendants of the ancient tribunes and doges were generally rich, and had a pontaneous repect hewn to the antiquity of their families, they were not properly a nobility, having no legal rights, titles, or juridictions. As any citizen might be elected to a public office, and had a vote in the aemblies, it was neceary for the proudet among them to cultivate the good will of the multitude, who made and murdered doges. Through all thee contets and dienions among a multitude, always impatient, often capricious, demanding, at the ame time, all the promptitude and ecrecy of an abolute monarchy, with all the licence of a imple democracy, two things wholly contradictory to each other, the people had, to their honour, till maintained their right of voting in aembly, which was a great privilege, and nobody had yet dared to aim a blow at this acknowledged right of the people.

The council of forty now ventured to propoe a plan like that of Mr. Hume in his idea of a perfect commonwealth, and like that which our friend,