Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/65

§. 2. what right oever they ubit, there is and mut be in all of them a upreme, irreitible, abolute, uncontrolled authority, in which the , or the rights of overeignty, reide. And this authority is placed in thoe hands, wherein (according to the opinion of the founders of uch repective tates, either exprely given, or collected from their tacit approbation) the qualities requiite for upremacy, widom, goodnes, and power, are the mot likely to be found. political writers of antiquity will not allow more than three regular forms of government; the firt, when the overeign power is lodged in an aggregate aembly coniting of all the members of a community, which is called a democracy; the econd, when it is lodged in a council, compoed of elect members, and then it is tiled an aritocracy; the lat, when it is entruted in the hands of a ingle peron, and then it takes the name of a monarchy. All other pecies of government, they ay, are either corruptions of, or reducible to, thee three. the overeign power, as was before oberved, is meant the making of laws; for wherever that power reides, all others mut conform to, and be directed by it, whatever appearance the outward form and adminitration of the government may put on. For it is at any time in the option of the legilature to alter that form and adminitration by a new edict or rule, and to put the execution of the laws into whatever hands it pleaes: and all the other powers of the tate mut obey the legilative power in the execution of their everal functions, or ele the contitution is at an end. a democracy, where the right of making laws reides in the people at large, public virtue, or goodnes of intention, is more likely to be found, than either of the other qualities of government. Popular aemblies are frequently foolih in their contrivance, and weak in their execution; but generally mean to do the thing that is right and jut, and have always a degree of pa- Rh