At the very least, that means any kind of centralized data bank which co-ordinates unrelated information, e.g. driving records and hunting licences, must be outlawed. It also means that its ownership and the authority to release it must be dispersed. The last thing we need is a super agency which knows everything about everybody. In passing, both senior levels of government have extensive files on citizens accessible to them but not to the citizen. Enabling citizens to easily check their files and, if necessary, modify incorrect information, is a more urgent priority than developing integrated databases.
People say law-abiding citizens have no reason to fear government.
That depends on the government. Conceived as a tool for living, government once born takes on a life of its own and grows, unless checked, into a monster. Canada has been spared true oppression, so far only because the institution has been sufficiently widely understood that its encroachments have been recognized and checked. In an age when technology can radically and quickly extend the reach of government, this is even more true than when he first said it in 1790. Meanwhile, the Austro-Hungarian empire holds lessons yet for us all.