3993. INTEREST, Government and.—
Alexander Hamilton avowed the opinion that
man could be governed by one of two motives
only,—force or interest. Force, he observed,
in this country was out of the question; and
the interests, therefore, of the members must
be laid hold of to keep the Legislature in
unison with the Executive. And with grief
and shame it must be acknowledged that his
machine was not without effect; that even in
this, the birth of our government, some members
were found sordid enough to bend
their duty to their interests, and to look after
personal rather than public good.—
The Anas. Washington ed. ix, 91.
Ford ed., i, 160.
(1818)
