17-2 
HISTORY OF THE [book. vi. 
whose education and past pursuits have not given 
them opportunities of acquiring much acquaintance 
with the principles of our limited government, is 
a very dangerous experiment. Persons of this 
class, with tire purest intentions, are easily misled 
by selfish and interested men, whom the conscious¬ 
ness of their own deficiencies compels them to 
consult.—Even while actuated by honest and lau¬ 
dable motives, they may violate irreparably the first 
principles of law and a free constitution, by esta¬ 
blishing fatal precedents which no integrity of in¬ 
tention can sanctify. Mr. Stokes, the late chief 
justice of Georgia, relates, that a governor of a 
province in North America (at that time a British 
colony) ordered the provost marshal to hang up a 
convict some days before the time appointed by his 
sentence, and a rule of court for his execution. 
“ He meant well, says Stokes, but, being a mili¬ 
tary man, conceived that as he had power to re¬ 
prieve after sentence, he had power to execute al¬ 
so when he pleased; and the criminal was actually 
hanged as the governor ordered, nor could his ex¬ 
cellency be persuaded, that, by this very act, he 
was himself committing felony.” 
An anecdote not less curious than the former is 
related by the same author of another military go¬ 
vernor, who, it seems, took it into his head to 
suspend a gentleman from his seat in the council, 
for no other reason than marrying his daughter 
without his consent. 
