We have, in relation to the head
of the Government, in relation to the judiciary, in relation to the
second chamber of the Legislature, in relation to the financial
responsibility of the General Government, and in relation to the public
officials whose tenure of office is during good behaviour instead of at
the caprice of a party--in all these respects we have adopted the
British system; in other respects we have learned something from the
American system, and I trust and believe we have made a very tolerable
combination of both.
"The principle of Federation is a generous principle. It is a principle
that gives men local duties to discharge, and invests them at the same
time with general supervision, and excites a healthy sense of
responsibility and comprehension. It is a principle that has produced a
wise and true spirit of statesmanship in all countries in which it has
ever been applied. It is a principle eminently favourable to liberty,
because local affairs are left to be dealt with by local bodies, and
cannot be interfered with by those who have no local interest in them,
while matters of a general character are left exclusively to a General
Government. It is a principle inseparable from every government that
ever gave extended and important services to a country, because all
governments have been more or less confederations in their character.
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