If it is proper for the Assembly to restrain the King by refusing
him subsidies, it is proper for him to be able to defend himself by
appealing to the electors. - But, besides these extreme measures,
which are dangerous and rarely resorted to, there is another which
is ordinarily employed and is safe, that is, the right for the King
to take his ministers from the Chamber. Generally, the leaders of
the majority form the ministry, their nomination being the means of
restoring harmony between the King and Assembly; they are at once
men belonging to the Assembly and men belonging to the King.
Through this expedient not only is the confidence of the Assembly
assured, since the Government remains in the hands of its leaders,
but also it is under restraint because these become simultaneously
both powerful and responsible. Placed at the head of all branches
of the service, they are, before proposing it or accepting it, in a
position to judge whether a law is useful and practicable. Nothing
is so healthy for a majority as a ministry composed of its own
chiefs; nothing is so effective in repressing rashness or
intemperance.
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