The Statesman.
London, England, 1818-05-01 00:00:00

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'aid etch* in selibuons.e &Whig vskie.h• gave to my For understanding,. in tate **pp, oft.direet eel- Boil
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firittortee-d aftt *lirtdeas,* ' ' heti liiid 'flit66
lb . 1; each &meet any one's political opinions,, we are -in the bea
notions can only have bad thi4r•birta in g superficial habit of seeking aid
.frote keys% end 1 trams t,
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• Otedrof the science Of GotivernMent,cand a very care- in search of a key on thleiseroodionilaiiiie•oei tlien
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Ws ecluittleraiiois of the Enigiish Constitution." My eyes over an snide In the Edinbuigkilkpleei VII rill
tartness may have citified your rebate. If, feeling March, 1817, bocausa of a ail .getimirliillef fts ultr!
NO
for the liberties of an insulted country, we. con thus' the writer of the article is a persowsiudei Ate r 1 r ,
provoke each other to seek that truth, which most ship's immediate patronsge.kei
I animate to a.ratioaal and effectual defence, It will be Here, my• Lord, let us for a moment were. toms. tot
. aro:1. . template the properCharicter of a Failltleil VIA- IPIII., .
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'A power, my Lord, which, at the discretion of the Oegkt he Doe to.. be distioguishod for hibillist omit 17!
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'alders, suspends a free Coastitetion that reckons an powers; to he, profoundly irquaiuted ' trith tent ief.; and
elisteace far eaceedistg a thousand years; and at epos pe
/averment ; 16.hstitlii ability; iftee ; cite. die
• their there 1111 and Pleasure annihilates the "bellies, tore Rliisprovement in*Listiorliiiiti,*veoln losPicerii law
of a great nation, is too tremendous to be trilled: eptre 44 ache; and tit ArliblVii' dithliai infeeilly; rim
with in argument; or to be doubtingly spoken of by *aosesoelist foil renenee•,Og re.i9plt ftt
lfropartiallq In hi r
• any enlightened friooOfTreed‘lo. • • the allininistratioe of crtticisl itiilliCitieribt this tile 'Cr.
I deny, and the asseaabled citizens of Westminster proper character 'of one tili4Aricootaigtiais errerstali toe pre
hive denied, the ezistenee.ef any such power mein assume the high responil6foialne oralldge in mat. yid
• . English Parliament. That denial is*OzPressed in the tersorelating to "the master siiiiselt," the 'desalts of but
• 7atoms of a Resolution unanimously voted in a very homed
government ; on* compeeisessive knowledge, Tli
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I fall Ihieirliog on Monday the 23d of March. and a right application of whielw•dependelhe Ire's. oil
, • I eearsirt!, my Lord; that propoeitipas on' the done or the slavery, the fiasco/31W ;Ice, the limpid. Pal
.. . • highest points of Government are not, in generals ness or the misery of mankind ? - Ns
propositiois to be agitated in a popular Assembly ; And will Sat such a jades hold scrupulously even I
bat, 'rib that occasion, I was governed by the. excep- the sacred balance, faithfully and bonourably put. of
dons to the general rule,orising from the certainty of ling into each scale the mills or errors, the merits mu
Sr/important trutb,—a necessity of the broadest de• or demerits, in political :writings or conduct, for vie
nial of a pernicious error,—and the great value ,of, aiding the Public in estimating them according to ••
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such a notoriety, as to occasion dismission and relies- their true weiglif and intrinsic value? flow noble, Ell
i lion; nor was it Co be forgotten, that, in a General .hew venerable,in
bow inestimable such a judge!
Assembly of the Citizens of Westminster, the seat of 'Whereas, on the other.hand, should we behold a of
• be cou t Government, there mus ofrse
• . •present many self-constituted political renewer, the reverse of all ins
persons of enlightened naiads.. I have since been in- this, filling his scales with little knowlege and less wh
formed, that near the hustings en that.day was ob- serepolousness, and by an artful handling of the an.
. served an Under Secretary of State. &aline to cause the tongue to deviate from truth, so •
The Resolution, so, passed as aforesaid, is my as to make which scale he pleases preponderate, what wh
. . FIRST TEXT. must be our feelings ? 11411
6 That this NATION having-of right in itself the if_ eb
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nade. political reviewer happen to bit a known de. .
only original, anderived, inherent, unlimited,. and
nt and protege of a political party leader, hew ter
inalienable sotereignty of the State; and the power
can he be esteemed other thin a.prejudiced partizan ? is I
and authority of the PARLIAMENT being only a Bet
ctsegntitthis is not the worst • for an adventurer so dr. acs
a
• vicarious, delegated trust from the eueereien nation,
anced is, of course, in the way of political in. in
for keeping all executive and judicial functionaries to
vesti 4 .
. g lion, snore laborious and more incessantly' Pa
their several duties ; as well as for supPlyieg, mend-
active than his patron ; whence he sometimes re-
, idg, and changing statute laws,' at may be ezpe-
quires a dangerous ascendant ; ultimately becoming the
• silent for rightly managing the public affairs.; it is
in fact a promptelend main spring of Councils, of of
therefore obvious that the office, power, and lathe-
w
preservative .4c he was origniau i y ntended to have been the jot
rity of Parliament is' subordinate unto
of, and strictly limited by the NATioNAL so. more subservientinstrument; whereby be is some; for
times enabled to give things a tun, ratlike favouring on
VEREIGNTY ; or, in equivalent words, the CON-
hi
Sllllll'lo3 OF OUR COUNTRY: Whereht'sown interest , than that of the Public, or even Ct
of the party of his patron. na
.: ! fore to this Meeting it ii manifest; that Parliament
bath not authority to suspend, or in any way to violate We have seen a Burke with a mind on which wes a r
indelibly engraven the most rancorous hatred and ale
the public liberty of all men, in the persons of any contempt of popular freedom, who was adopted as an Ina
men, liy placing them at the arbitrary 'disposal of
instrument by a leader of Hie Whigs, soon most
Ministers, deprived of legal protection ; for that
powerfully influencing, contrary to public liberty, tit
were a complete subversion of the Constitution; the
the Whig councils • and ultimately by his fraedfal tic
k.: '' constant , onservation of which is the primary, and , • . '•
VSoii sacred duly of Parliament.• alarm, becoming the grand agent in breaking op the nit
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1 ..:(11 .'• And; to um' the same premises, this Meeting draw
it as a -self-evident conclusion, that the Parliament
bath not authOrity to skreen, by an Act of Indem- party of his patron ; for which he got well paid, by
thosecountry's eff
intent on their sebj Ilion. an
be
And, perhaps, my Lord wouldyou take the tree- tie
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ble of strictly-analyzing the particular article of re- of
idly, traitorous or other critnitial persons, who may . ... .
hive viol
ion the Constitution, and therein the
Rights, Liberties, and Sovereignty
FtRST COMMENTARY.
of the Nation.' .
Appealing, as on the present occasion I mean to viewing criticism to which I have alluded, it might no
alone suffice for producing in your own mind a just en
decision, whether the writer of that article be a pilot, hit
by whose compass any can safely steer who seek the of
standing, haven of freedom. l'a
do, to your Lordship's own superior' under
I lay Ito stress on any more authority, how high Discovering, however, one important discordance bli
sueser, as entitled to influence y oorjudgnient • but, between the sentiments of that writer end those of aft
• 1, in support of 'my owri','Tdiay quote whatever I con. your Lordship; as well as the manner of conducting l a
a e ceive to carry with it the force of truth and the en-an argument, which is in strong contrast to your
deuce of wisdom ; and those I am sure sure will ever ()Stemmas tied sincerity • so in my judgment, yeti rho
hare your respect. ought not to be considered as accessary or consenting isr
) •' : - ',make, as y our Lordship knows, erected his sys- to that performance; whatever coincidence of opinion M 4
tehr of government, after the manlier of Euclid in between your Lordship and the Reviewer may on any sit
geometry. 1.-lying on principles the most simple and matter, be incidentally thought apparent. Its
beff-evident, a firm foundation, step after step he Your Lordship has spoken of popular rights not he
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carried up his edifice by the force of clear and unan- granted by Parliaments,—of liberties that were no co
swerable reasoning. Having thus proceeded, he, at concession,—having been antecedent to all legislative jot
.4 the proper time, says as follows: authority; bat this Reviewer makes no such dis- in
'•••• '" Tile LEGIaLATIYE being only a F/DU. covery, nor seems to have any such feeling. nil
CLARY power, to 'sat for certain endss there re- Besides, he has picked up a ridiculous idea of Par
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tona still in the PEOPLE a supreme 'power to re- Constitution, which cannot be your Lordship's, wi
n
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i 1 'note and alter the Legislative when they find the namely, that it is not that which the patriots of the l
I e
Legislative act contrary to the trust reposed in them:- Revolution and of Runtiimead equWlly esteemed one lit
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1 For all power given with trail for the attaining an end and the saute; for the Gentleman (p. 150) is pleased of
. bileifiensgtil;l:lielitlLEteDd,byorthoaptiejotisded, :etihieentervuesritinhautsettnidecisnmsati:i
clo,tieislilituostitthmatw‘a‘stihne
t first
reign
eoi
gc
iiig
oi origin
tolfd
,ioli.orrd PIR.,,ESIEvNe
Were
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rily be forfeited, and the power devolve into the 1 this true, what nonsense must all those who since wo
bands of those who gave it, who may place it anew, -that epoch, have quoted Magna Charta as evidence
se where they shell think• hest, for their safety and of our Constitution, have been talking fur. some se
security. 'And thus the COMMUNITY perpetually hundred years past I to
. retains a supreme power, of saving themselves from Mr. Reviewer has so little inclination to acknow. be
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a the attempts and designs of • any' body, even their ledge any rights of the People not granted by, or ha
; LFZISLATORS."—(I3'. IL S. 1494 • which were antecedent to the Statutes of Parliament ;
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My first teat thus corroborated, 1 should he in no and is so very desirous of showing the utter lesiva_ lit
fear of the result in your Lordship's &ern' mind, were licence of the People, that he says, " the consent of sn
1, • the present commentary' bete "to • teittliniti. ; bat, in' the People, distinct from the consent of the House at
. respect of the Public, a certain degree of dilittinis'auti "of Commons, is a principle unkrro•rt to our tam.—
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illitstration are necessary to give-treth Wu effect. The common consent required
.by the Constitution. 11
. The two=fold proposition iit'the' otitis tree, or it for laws and tam, is, common consent ifi Parlia. th
. is not true: • And It now's 'my Lord, reinaiiii to he meat, that is,.the consent of the King and of the la
. seed, *better on this ".principle's of tivierritliedt," two Houses of Parliament; and naother consent has -al
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$:• f shim whit + *hinges the treat* •er the' slavery of our ever been flaked or obtained, since the rust origin of. II
country, I hate' blundered, otatheis hive tatain are- our PILESENT Constitution, in the reign of Ed- *
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less. And it It to be hoped; that-sat dily*Yourself, ward 1.;" and from the teitour• of his whole ergo- el
:t. . but that other Noble. Lords, Mende if their country, sent, this is said in the way. f a denial, that the Pee. er
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wan have :lately; like' Liirdihiiii spokeu, ple either were, or ought to have been considered utu
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I questionably, du the Sobj.o* ,•• telit,,ln deter! refire- represeilted in Parliament. cs
- lion, pualtcly and elptititirdeomthiortbaTictioh, Uy a number of historctlquotations, together with
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. • that such a terrific aothiiity'skalfsiotaWilloth net, his own comments thereon, the Reviewer has la. b;
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• i nor ever did, reside in Piellinietit. ° ''' •••` - ?* ' taoored to establish three propositions, namely :--. w
lVhen I supposetryoUrtilidshipPinkidisetto Weir.' Ist, ylist tba great mass of the People since the in- 66
i TOneOn% doctrine, ifeit inilitiatioa -iiii 'edusiderl4l: is .ttodiction ,of the, Norman dynasty* had no Repre-• sy
an effect, of which a. iniscaticeptimi bi * prejtitilce sentetio.p ist Pritliemeat. 2tl. That Parlianiauts were a
• or perhaps 'a cotelbleatiou of NON' *RV 'fbh alai 611401,..retpiired to be,ionnally chosen; and thiscilyf ace it
and iti•this. opittieti "1 'was cenfirined; NO *Wit ' 'atelier, from his first preposition that an immense
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that in yourioPeech on thellth of ' Paibrlsirti,' . stajority of tehe nation itail ne mire to.'do, nor ought fi
likewise the additional words I have Ad* 1414111410 t ?limas!coy thing moreje,tio,iii to, the imposing ci "
farther quoted, waniely,- that while Werth% to nay trig smilaxes, than the ea,* of. the pastures the 1
doctrines, yori spoke of 44 Illiiettier" fibril, let reirille sue oft e stall, or the 'wine of„the 'tie. - .
from 1' I;tisionary;sch-emet af-Refersis." '. '* • * Nay, he goes one step ,farther, in denying tket ,t 1
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And when your Lordship,lisatheet in the slightest' those in the towns and counties who were the ems.
. . degree noticing. tile natlatithigheiient non-represents- stiluesis el Members of PasikMent bad eerriglit.ii 61
Gott, oat Ore tag prepntiteeetecitatnons add Peens interfere; their being consulted being a mere matter d
mlio are mere detettdints ed the oligarchy nutty-as of choice and discretion, tot of:law or obligation." d
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• notoriously as a roan:dej eon, *re tusw'n to have *ln short, according to this Rene-wee, •Parliament, be fa
:.‘ usurped 04 menniK;liitid *eery -Leghlittlie power, its origin, be its composition, toi its corroteloOs what tt to
A I could cobtem9late *4l;o'qt:oder • a'ioseer in Par- they say •is all in all,.Wiiikeech a power as torender '.
!lament to -suapenff the A.fpehtitittints and eititihilate it e perfect despotism. Mar tiilferent his eoliths from el
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public liberty, aela, tit ail kilealniibli coustractinn of, thatof an those who,iippieseed,vilth a feeling of right, , h
:your wools, could admit thatioeelia despotism might consider thnParliammit; iseltifer tie facto composed, I (
roan beCome " indialiediabir,"!:toosehat heft misconl at a representaline ef Ole otiait'ff ; whichllacitstose Itl
• oriltion stid pritudiceitoold I aftrlbirte such a•noti on ? has so happily firessed whain le olarriest that" in e
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