Page:The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 Volume 2.djvu/60

 56 RECORDS OF THE FEDERAL CONVENTION Thursday MADISON July 9 concurrence of the people in favor of any one man. On the whole he was of opinion that an appointment by electors chosen by the people for the purpose, would be liable to fewest objections. Mr. Patterson's ideas nearly coincided' he said with those of Mr. King. He proposed that the Executive should be appointed by Electors to be chosen by the States in a ratio that would allow one elector to the smallest and three to the largest States. Mr. Wilson. It seems to be the unanimous sense that the Executive should not be appointed by the Legislature, unless he be rendered in-eligible a 2d. time: he perceived with pleas- ure that the idea was gaining ground, of an election mediately or immediately by the people. Mr. (Madison) If it be a fundamental principle of free Govt. that the Legislative, Executive & Judiciary powers should be separately exercised; it is equally so that they be indepen- dently exercised. There is the same & perhaps greater reason why the Executive shd. be independent of the Legislature, than why the Judiciary should: A coalition of the two former powers would be more immediately & certainly dangerous to public liberty. It is essential then that the appointment of the Executive should either be drawn from some source, or held by some tenure, that will give him a free agency with regard to the Legislature. This could not be if he was to be appointable from time to time by the Legislature. It was not clear that an appointment in the xst. instance (even) with an ineligibility afterwards would not establish an improper con- nection between the two departments. Certain it was that the appointment would be attended with intrigues and con- tentions that ought not to be unnecessarily admitted. He was disposed for these reasons to refer the appointment to some other Source. The people at large was in his opinion the fittest in itself. 8 It would be as likely as any that could be devised to produce an Executive Magistrate of distinguished Character. The people generally could only know & vote for s Crossed out: "It was the source rom which the Legislature He was per- suaded ".

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