They, in a word, hold the purse-that powerful instrument by which we behold, in the history of the British Constitution, an infant and humble representation of the people gradually enlarging the sphere of its activity and importance, and finally reducing, as far as it seems to have wished, all the overgrown prerogatives of the other branches of the government.

试翻译为:
总而言之，在英国宪政历史上可以看到，他们（指政府的部门或者地方）把持着我们（指集权的中央，总统决策系统）看守着的国家财库，那些幼稚而谦恭的民众逐渐扩大他们的社会活动范围、并且在社会事物中日益重要，直至发展壮大到看来最终有希望消弱政府各部门滥用权力的程度。

（注：不知是否是麦迪逊关于国家财权作用的言论，估计这里是举出英国历史上的例子说明美国的问题。）