Page:The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 Volume 2.djvu/124

 I20 tECOlD8 OF THE FEDEP. AL CONVENTION THy MADISON Jul3 26 to that mass from which they were at first taken, in order that they may feel & respect those rights & interests, Which are again to be personally valuable to them. He concluded with moving that the constitution of the Executive as reported by the Come. o{ the whole be re-instated, viz. "that the Execu- tive be appointed for seven years, & be ineligible a zd. time," Mr. Davie seconded the motion Docr. Franklin. It seems to have been imagined by' some that the returning to the mass of the people was degrading the magistrate. This he thought was contrary to epublican principles. In free Governments the rulers are the servants, and the people their superiors & sovereigns. For the former therefore to return among the latter was not to degrade but to promote them- and it would be imposing an unreasonable burden on them, to keep them always in a State of servitude, and not allow them to become again one of the Masters. Question on Col. Masons motion as above; (which passed in the affirmative) N.H. ay. Masts. not on floor. Ct. no. N.J. ay. Pa. no. Del. no. Md. ay. Va. ay. N. C. a�. S.C. ay. Geo. ay. [Ayes- 7; noes -- 3; absent -- z.] Mr. Govr. Morris was now agst. the whole paragraph. In answer to Col. Mason's position that a periodical return of the great officers of the State into the mass of the people, was the palladium of Civil liberty he wd. observe that on the same principle the Judiciary ought to be periodically degraded; certain it was that the Legislature ought on every principle- yet no one had proposed. or conceived that the members of it should not be re-eligible. In answer to Docr. Franklin, that a return into the mass of the people would be a promo- tion. instead of a degradation, he had no doubt that our Execu- tive like most others would have too much patriotism to shrink from the burden of his office, and too much modesty not to be willing to decline the promotion. (On the question on the whole resolution as amended in the words following  --'that a National Executive be Madison originally recorded, "Question on the whole clause including Col. Mssoh's amendment". Later he substituted from Jovml the words of the text.

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