The Sun.
London, England, 1812-11-27 00:00:00

INFLUENCE OP. PREROGATIVE?

Being an Attempt to reMoye certain POPULAR MI.SCONttP-
. ,:TIONN, respecting the Present State of the BRITISH CON-
sTirunos itod GOVERNMENT. By llnft.lck: Twlss; -Esq.
• Barris`ter -at Law.

We have, as often'as opportunity permitted, di-
rected our attention to works of merit, which
appeared in the literary world, and pai•ti€ularly
to those of a political nature. We, therefore, no-
tice the pamphlet before us, not only on account
of its intrinsic merit, but because it relates to a
subject which has been much misrepresented and
has lei to many erroneous opinions in the public
at large. Among the complaints of party, and
more. especially of those persons who. have been
tainted by the revolutionary doctrines which have
been th►e fruitful source of so much misery in
France, it has been the common cry that most of
our evils arise from the increased influence:of the
Crown., We well remember that the Mar►}uis of
LANSDOWN, father'of the Noble Man who at. pre--
sent beats that title, madea,very elaborate speech,
many years ago, in the House of Lords, in which
he entered into a comparison between Influence
and Prerogative; -aml endeavoured to spew the
insidious and baneful tendency of the former, op-
posed to the open and definite character of the
latter.

' About 'the same period, the celebrated Mr.
DUNNING insistedmpon the following proposition
in the House of Commons, viz.—" the Influence
of the Crown has increased, is increasing, and
ought to be diminished." The reasoning of these
distinguished characters, but esi..!cially of the lat-
. ter, made a strong impression on the people at the
time, and excited much delusion in the public
Mind, which,, no doubt, still remains. We are,
therefore, glad to see the subject brought forward
'by an ingenious young Barrister, whose talents
are by no means unknown to the public, and
hold forth qt fair promise of future eminence
in' his profession. He
,has evidently considered
the question attentively, and displays no small
portion of political acumen. But our Readers
Shall judge for themselves: having, in his Intro-
duction, laid down the following outline of his
,arguruent,;—

" That since the Revolution, in 1683, when
this Constitution was originally established, the
power, not only of the Commons,, bet of the No-
bility, has increased, and is increasing with a ra-
pid progress ; while the Prerogative of the Crown,
so far from having increased in proportion, has'
even suffered a positive and material dim nution.—
Seckmdly, That, (the relative equality of the three
forces being thus deranged) it would have been
impossible for
,the balance .of the Constitution to
preserve its original equilibrium, if the Royal
brandh, of the Legislature - had not happily pos-
sessed within itself, a'restoring and counteracting
principle, which has expanded in the form of in-
fluenct.—Thirdly, That there is no foundation for
the charges which have been brought against this
Influence, bn the score of exceFs in its amount,
or of depravity in its principle ; and, Fourthly,
That even if its inconveniences were really what
they . have been represented, it .would still _have
been imeomparablv preferable - to that stern
Prerogative, which it has recently superseded,
and which, if Influence were banished, must of
necessity be revived, as the only adequate sub-
.stitute to Check the power of the Lords and Com-
mons—

And touched upon several points in illustration
of his proofs that the Influence of the Crown has
obviottAy declined, he proceed thus
Private opulence is public power ; it puts
the common subjects of the realm above the dan-
ger of threats and the temptation of bribes.:;. it
brings thPin near to there aristocracy in conse-
quence and character, and 'protects theni, more
esssentially and usefully, than all the rude con-
Cessions of King John,' or all the nobler enaet-
ments Of Icing William. Wealth stands secure
against the oppressor, for it can both resist and
retaliate.

" In this hasty view of the rapid strides with
which, of late years, the people have been ad-
vancing in power, we must .not forget to notice
ar.other class of .advantages, more immediate and
specific than those before enumerated ; the acces-
sions which have been gained directly to the
liberty of the subject, by, modern Acts of Parlia-
meat and judicial decisions. I will not trouble
my readers with a dry enumeration of legal autho-
rities, nsir touch, even for a moment, upon points"
of inferior importance ; it is enough to remind
them, by way of example, that the..Constitiation,
with all its provisions tor the preservation of civil
liberty, had left, for the Judges and Parliaments of
the present reign, the task of abolishing general
warrants, and of confirming to Juries the ines-
thimble 'right, immortally associated with the
noble name of Erskine„the right to decide on the
law as -veil as on the fact of a libel ; that is to
say, on the spirit of the thing published, as well
as on 'the act of publishing short, the two
,most' tremendous blows ever levelled at .the Influ-
ence of the Crown, have been struck
.during the
very reign in which the despotism of- that Influ-
ence is said to have become absolute ; and struck
too by those very Parliaments which are slander-
ously, represented as the instruments and slaves of
this CleSpOtlslll.
" But, arming the causes which have lately aug-
mented the relative power of the people, there re-
mains another, more efficient than any of the rest,
nay, than-all the rest togethei.; I mean the. vast
increase of knowledge among all orders of the
State. The
,fitst and most obvious symptom of this
increase' is the crowd of publications on almost
every subject, that swarm from .the press, and timid
a.certain market, even among the lowest classes.
Much of the literature is,idle, and some of it, per-
haps, even mischievous; but yet, upon the
whole, it is a proposition almost identical,.that
habit of reading is aliabit of improvement, iatel-:
lectual and moral. Scarcely an inatividual of the
e‘nutnon people, a hundred
.years ago, could dis-
tingukh a letter in the alphabet; nay, it may be
allowable to add, without any ludicrous insinua
Con, that the female part, even of the middling
classes, were unable to spell the common words,

occur- in -daily correspondence. But now
we have schools and institutions of every kind, as
well for the diffusion of general instruction among
the poor, as for' the promotion of science amoil
the educated ranks ; and four-fifthS'of the whole
population are as superior to their grandsires,
their grandsires were to the .painted aborigines of
the island. •

" rfo all these good effects, the Newspapers and
other periodical publications have contributed id
an incalculalile : inventions entirely of mo'
dery date, and becoining every day more and mop;
numerous and important. By the intervention Of
these extraordinary engines, every species of pubs
lie intelligence is instantly made known to the
subjects of the three kingdom's, with all the ton'
trary comments of opposite partisans ; the De'•
bates of the Parliament, which, a hundred •vearA
ago, it would have been an unfiarthinable breach
of .privilege to publish, are detailed, the verf*
morning after their occurrence, and canvassed
in every public resort ; and, _which is more
than all, the national. feeling may, on' any great
emergency, be roused within a few hours, and al'
most simultaneously communicated and set in ino,.
tion throughout the remotest provinces of the breast
empire.

From all these facilities—facilities so recent
that they have grown up within the personal re-
collection of many who are yet alive,—has sprung
that restiesS, resistless power, which men call,
Public Opinion: That power, no • menace can
stifle, no violence subdue, no artifice undermine
its subtle, unembodied spirit 13 present every
where, piercing, anti watchful; and swift, and
searching, the very 116-arts of men. It nibves iu
d:u•kness ; it 'speaks in thunder : it. singles out
the mightiest for it; attack,—aud whereit strikes)
destroys;!

To be continued.