The works - 1820 Author:John Moore Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: mention The Venetians themselves assert, that this duration is owing to the excellent materials of which their government has been composed, by which they imagin... more »e it has long since been brought to the highest degree of perfection. As I have bestowed some time since we came hither in considering the Venetian history and government, I shall, in my next, take a general view of those boasted materials, that we may able to judge whether or hot this high eulogium is well founded. LETTER VIII. Venice. -L He first form of government established at Venice, was purely democratical. Magistrates were chosen by a general assembly of the people: they were called tribunes; and as this small community inhabited several little islands, a tribune was appointed to judge causes, and distribute justice on each of those islands. His power was continued one year ; at the expiration of which, he was accountable for fiis conduct to the general assembly of the people, who annually elected a new set of tribunes. This simple form of government, while it marks a strict regard to that freedom so delightful to the mind of man, vras found sufficient, for the space of a hundred and fifty years, to maintain order in a small community, situated as this was. At length the bad administration of some of the tribunes, discord and animosity among others, and some suspicions that the Lombards promoted civil dissension, with a view to bring the republic under their dominion, awakened the fears of the people, and made them listen to the opinions of those who thought a change in the form of government necessary. After various debates and proposals, it was finally determined, that a chief magistrate should be elected, as the centre of public authority, whose power might give such vigour and efficacy to the ...« less