The Works of Adam Smith

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Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009 - 242 páginas
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: BOOK therefore, difcharged themfelves of it by appointing a deputy, -bailiff, or judge. When the judicial is united to the executive power, it is fcarce poflible that jufticefhould not frequently be facrificed to, what is vulgarly called, politics. The perfons entrufted with the great interefts of the ftate may, even without any corrupt views, fometimes imagine it necei fary to facrifice to thofe interefts the rights of a private man. But upon the impartial adminif- tration of juftice depends the liberty of every individual, the fenfe which he has of his own fecurity. In order to make every individual feel himfelf perfectly fecure in the pofleflion of every right which belongs to him, it is not only necef- fary that the judicial fhould be feparated from the executive power, but that it fhould be rendered as much as poflible independent of that power. The judge fhould notbeliabletobe removed from his office according to the caprice of that power. The regular payment of his falary fhould not depend upon the good-will, or even upon the good occonomy of that power. PART THIRD. Of the Expence of public Works and public Injtitutions. THE third and laft duty of the fovereign or commonwealth is that of erecling and main- taining thofe public inftitutions and thofe public works, which, though they may be in the highefl degree advantageous to a great fociety, are, however, of fuch a nature, that the profit could never repay the expence to any individual or ' finallihial 1 number of individuals, and which it there- Chap. fore cannot be expected that any individual or fmall number of individuals mould ere6t or maintain. The performance of this duty requires too very different degrees of expence in the different periods of fociety. After the public inftitutions and public wor...

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