But of these I think it unnecessary to
treat at length, because they concern not the foundations of this sort
of dominion in particular.
44. In every council the secretaries and other officials of this kind,
as they have not the right of voting, should be chosen from the commons.
But as these, by their long practice of business, are the most
conversant with the affairs to be transacted, it often arises that more
deference than right is shown to their advice, and that the state of the
whole dominion depends chiefly on their guidance: which thing has been
fatal to the Dutch. For this cannot happen without exciting the jealousy
of many of the noblest. And surely we cannot doubt, that a senate, whose
wisdom is derived from the advice, not of senators, but of officials,
will be most frequented by the sluggish, and the condition of this sort
of dominion will be little better than that of a monarchy directed by a
few counsellors of the king. (See Chap. VI. Secs. 5-7). However, to this
evil the dominion will be more or less liable, according as it was well
or ill founded. For the liberty of a dominion is never defended without
risk, if it has not firm enough foundations; and, to avoid that risk,
patricians choose from the commons ambitious ministers, who are
slaughtered as victims to appease the wrath of those, who are plotting
against liberty. But where liberty has firm enough foundations, there
the patricians themselves vie for the honour of defending it, and are
anxious that prudence in the conduct of affairs should flow from their
own advice only; and in laying the foundations of this dominion we have
studied above all these two points, namely, to exclude the commons from
giving advice as much as from giving votes (Secs.
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