p.

19

The first suggestion is, that in a country of such ex-
tent as the United States, it is difficult, not to say imprac-
ticable, for the whole body of electors to have a sufficient
knowledge of the candidates to form an accurate estimate of
their respective characters, and be enabled to select the most
suitable person. The difficulty is increased, ten fold, by
the representations given of their characters by the friends
and the opposers of the different candidates, through the
medium of the press.

The second suggestion is, that a great mass of peo-
ple are and always must be very incompetent judges of
the qualifications necessary for the chief magistrate of a
great nation. The populace are often influenced by the
splendid achievements, more than by the solid talents, of
the candidates ; yet a man may gain a great victory on land
or water, without the most ordinary qualifications for a chief
magistrate.

The third suggestion is, that when party spirit is
violent, the people imbibe such strong prejudices as to
disqualify them for exercising a temperate, unbiassed judg-
ment.

There is a great defect in the Constitution of the United
States, which, if permitted to exist, will utimately shake
the government to its center. This defect is, the want of
some effectual provision to prevent candidates from seeking
the office of chief magistrate by corrupt and illegal means.
So long as the president has the bestowment of most of the
offices, and the power of removal from office, at pleasure,
the most daring and unprincipled intriguer for the office has
the best chance of success. It is hardly to be conceived