KECOKDS OF THE FEDERAL CONVENTION 3S T?esday MADISON July ?7 powers. He conceived it to be absolutely necessary to a well constituted Republic that the two first shd. be kept distinct & independent of each other. Whether the plan proposed by the motion was a proper one was another question, as it de* pended on the practicability of instituting a tribunal for impeachmrs. as certain & as adequate in the one case as in the other. On the other hand, respect for the mover entitled his proposition to a fair hearing & discussion, until a less objection- able expedient should be applied for guarding agst. a danger- ous union of the Legislative & Executive departments. Col. Mason. This motion was made some time ago, & negatived by a very large majority. He trusted that it wd. be again negatived. It wd. be impossible to define the misbe- haviour in such a manner as to subject it to a proper trial; and perhaps still more impossible to compel so high an offender holding his office by such a tenure to submit to a trial. He considered an Executive during good behavior as a softer name only for an Executive for life. And that the next would be an easy step to hereditary Monarchy. If the motion should finally succeed, he might himself live to see such a Revolution. If he did not it was p,robable his children or grandchildren would. He trusted there were few men in that House who wished for it. No state he was sure had so far revolted from Republican principles as to have the least bias in its favor. Mr. Madison, was not apprehensive of being thought to favor any step towards monarchy. The real object with him was to prevent its introduction. Experience had proved a ten- dency in our governments to throw all power into the Legisla- tive vortex. The Executives of the States are in general little more than Cyphers; the legislatures omnipotent. If no effec- tual check be devised for restraining the instability & encroach- ments of the latter, a revolution of some kind or other would be inevitable. The preservation of Republican Govt. there- fore required some expedient for the purpose, but required evidently at the same time that in devising it, the genuine principles of that form should be kept in view. Mr. Govt. Morris was as litfie a friend to monarchy as any gentleman. He concurred in the opinion that the way to
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