The Sun.
London, England, 1818-08-07 00:00:00

THE COUNTRY.

Thong!' the turmoils of the General Election
are over, yet as the principles which have pro-
cured the return of several of tie followers of
ty are likely to pcevail, and to seduce the un-
wary, we shall avail ourselves of whatever mSV

be calculated to expose. its artifices, and defeat its
machinations. We, therefore, extract the fol-
lowitt pertinent and judicious observations from
The (Dublin) Correspondent :
" We perceive that some of the French Jour-
nalists have amused themselves with a disquisition
or two upon the elementary parts of our Consti-
tution ; and not withstanding their apparent un-
fitness for the undertaking, they seem, upon the
wh01,,, to understand the subject somewhat better
than the Reformers, with whose doctrines they are
a little. at vartattee. The latter, however, are
not very scrupulous about the nature of their ar-
guments ; and provided they fan, by means of a
few nonscomioissioned l'a.riws, collect the phy-
sical force of the populace together, they appear
willing enough to leave the renown of arguing to
whers. Indeed, their speculations are altogether
addressed to A set of disciples, whose understand-
iugs e;innot travel far into a subject, without the
hazard of growing o eat)? ; and who are more
likely to be convinced by dashing assertions, which
bri!. them at once to the subject, and to a fa-
vourite conclusion, and which relieve their spirits,
dot ink the labours of their intelli cts, by a reviv-
ing allowance of invective, than by the soundest
reasouines and the clearest demonstrations.—
Wtten Sir Francis Burdett pronounces in favour
of Animal Elections and Universal Suffrage—when
he tells.his auditors, that those are the essential
qualities of popular power—the ancient tnetho-
dized democracy—such as, in former tinit, ha-
. lanced the weight of the Saxon 'ionarchy in Eng-
land—he does not expect to be ,contradicted by
those who are assembled only to shout and act,
81.11 who are as conveniently inclined to begin the
work of Reform, as if all that their Orator said
had any authority upon its side. The ingenious
Baronet has only to display his invention and his
confidence,' and " Burdett for ever !" is a ,reply
which never can endanger the reputation of his
knowledge, or the efficacy of his arguments. He
may proceed to talk for hours, without the dread
of refutation, conerniog popular power, and its
early influence in moulding our Constitution--as
if the turbulent Aristocracy—the iron Barons of
the feudal times—never had any existence, or as
iF they were overlooked altoge her by History.
One would suppose that a gross artifice of
this kind could oat but offend or disgust the more
intelligent descriptions of persons. - But the truth
is, that many who see the folly and absurdity of
those doctrines relative to Reform, which have
turned the heads of the populace every Where, are
enxious to avail themselves of the effects which
they have produced—are anxious to profit by their
influence !you igiiorance, impatience, anti delu-
sion, especially when they become worked up into
eomething of a systematic violence. There are
many ambitious schemers in politics, who are le-
solved to keep the secret, that the doctrines gene-
rally preached by the Reformers are t:othing but
a mass of fligrant nonsense ; and who are deter-
mined not to divulge the truths which their own
understandings recognize, lest the people should
turn away from unmasked itspoature, betake
themselves to contentment, and relax into repose
and subordination. A connivance with such mis-.
chievous absurdity as is now prevalent, is gra-
dually exciting an impatience under our present
constitutional system, and disposing the great
body of the people towards eXehatigiqg the esta-
blished good which they possess for a set of va-
poury projects. If the projects in themselves
were theoretically good—if they bad the sanction
of reason, or the authority of airy thing that ever
prevailed aruong men to recommend them—and it
alb' that is established with us were as indifferent
as the libellers of our Goverm»ent are industrious
to describe it—still there would be no small
hazard in making the exchange of the established
thing for the projected thing.
" Whatever 1136 been long practised among
mankind, is understood in its effects—all of which
time and experience have concurred to develope—
and habit anti familiar practice have taught men
how to adapt themselves to them. Let us intend
ever so fairly, yet we cannot calculate absolutely
upon results which are to come. Some uncer-
tainty inheres in every undertaking that looks pro-
spectively for its consequences. None but it des-
perate empiric in political science could look for-
ward to the effect of experiments upon thesub-
stance of society, without anxiety and doubt, es-
pecially when the experiment contemplates the
consequences of forming a system altogether
upon one principle, which has been only an ele-
ment, combined with many, in another system.—
Society is a sensible body, the vibrations of which
it is hard to calculate, before it be subjected to
any specific impulse. It may be convulsed front one
end to the other—all its subtle organization lace-
rated—all its most delicate and important powers
paralyzed, by the very medicament intended to
improve it from theoretical defect into practical
perfection. By adding a simple property more to
any of its powers than it possessed—by taking
away, in the most sparing proportion, any thing
that once had an influence upon its operative sys-
tem—the whole may become fatally deranged, and
the natural and salutary equilibrium of its consti-
tuent parts overthrown and destroyed. ,Ifa mere
simple change were the end all' of the project,
sontethiog may be said for the experiment, pas-.
sihly. But who can undertake this ? Illho is there
able to insure us against being hurried away by a
succession of changes, when once we give up our
steady anchorage, anti Consign. ourselves to the
current of theory ? Are we to trust our safety to
the moderation of that spirit which contended
egainat what was ancient and venerable ? Are we
to presume that it will treat. novelty with mercy,
atter it bad cast shown what was ancient Ary
we sure that we may not pnrcbase even improve-
ment at too costly a price ? Are we certain, even,
should it favour the ex-
that a real improvement,
petiment, would be recognized as such ? Are

we morally sure, that what may be thought im-
provement at one time would always continue to
he Iliought so, and that we should be protected,
by a change, from great periodical disorders in
ftitnee.!

Cl What Lord Chief Jastice Hale has said of a
Law, may be, with equal justice, applied to any
proposed change io the Substance of our Consti'
tution—for surely such we musNonsider Annual
Elections and Universal Suffrage to be.
" It is most :tain,'' says this learned Writer, " that
time and long' experience is ninckmore ingenious, subtle, and
inventive, than all the wisest and acutest wits in the worlel,
co-existing, can he. It discovers such varieties of emergen-
cies and cases, that no man could ever otherwise have ima-
gined. And, on the other side, in every thing that is new, or
at least, in roost things, especially relating to laws, there are
thousands of new occurrences, and intanglements, and coin-
cidencies, and complications, that would nut possibly be at
first foreseen. And the reason is apparent ; because laws
concern such multitudes, and those of various dispositions,
passions, wits, interests, concerns, that it is not possible for
any human foresight to discover at once, ur to provide expe-
dients against, in the first constitution of a law. Now, a law
that bath abiden the.test of time bath met with most of these
varieties and complications; and experience bath, in all that
process of time, discovered these cianplications and emergen-
cies, and so has applied suitable remedies and cures for these
emergencies. So that in truth, ancient Laws, especially those
that have a commo❑ concern, are not the issues of the pru-
dence of this or that Council or Senate, but they are the
production of the various experiences and applications of the
wisest thing in the inferior world—to wit, time; which, as it
discovers, day after day, new inconveniences, so it doth suc-
cessively apply new remedies; and, indeed, it is a kind of ag-
gravation of Ike discoveries, results, and applications of ages
dad events; so that it is a great adventure to go ationtto al-
ter it, without very great necessity, and under the greatest
demonstration nf safety and convenience imaginable.'