Weekly national intelligencer., 1848-10-28
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER.
FROM OK EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT
LONDON, OCTOBER 3, ls4S.

Obsery:llOnS
Dodge" adding that, in attempting to anayze il, it
is impossible 10 decide I" how much is hodge, and
how much is podge." We will not do our merry con-
temporary the injustice to suppose that he intends
10 cast any ridicule upon the subject, but we object
to ,he propriey Of his calling the constitution Of
England /" hodee-Dodse." Never was there a
more decided misnomer. The common meaning
OF the word, as given by Webster, is "a aliGed
mass" We are aware that good deal Of curious
learning has been displayed upon the phrase by
Blackstone, in the l2th chapter and 2d book of his
Commentaries and that Coke, i'll his oommenta.
res upon Ltteton, in the 18th chapter of his 81
book has talked most legally and profoundly about
"hctchpot;" but we can find nothing in these high
authorities which iust.ies our friend Puach's ap-
plicaton Of the term 10 the British constitution.
We hold that The constitution in question is made
up Of great gathering or collection of facts and
doings of charters grants, acts OF Parliament, DC.
bur there is nothing of the character Of mirt,re
about the mass II is all of one material, all tend
ing to one end il is made up of one sole .edent,
all tending to cne result the rights and Liberties of
the people and by means of which those rights and
liberties have been extended, consolidated, and en-
joyed. Call it, if you will by another Semi-cassi-
cal phrase, onni,sn- gathertt1'l, or, i'll East An
gIian, Provincial parlance, [" hog-il-a-difherum,"
for il is literally gathering together but all that's
gathered is Of one homogeneous description there
is no mixture, there is no h0dgepodge or hoichpoi
about il.
Centuries have rolled away since the work of
moulding the constitution Of England into the form
II al present wears first began. Empires have been
lost and won kingdoms have disappeared; great
ones Of the earth have been laid low, and are no
more remembered; but all that time, while many
naughty memorial of human pride or human gran.
.eur heen stricken from rhe liSt Of hnuS that
be, The form of government under which our liber-
ties have been gradually wldened and cemented and
enjoyed in this country has been in the process of
expansion, growth, and development The NoR-
MAN seemed for time to oppress and orerwhelm
the SAXON principle of government in the State
but eventually the rugged determination Of the latter
restored the balance which had been for time de-
siroyed. single line records the fact, but it took
ages to bring our political machine to It's present
perfection and to destroy, a; least TO neutrallze
the friction OF It's various parts, until each could
work freely and fulfil the duty assigned to It. Our
constitution Is not like yours, one sole written do
cument, TO be taken up and read and laid down and
discussed. We have no written constitution. The
bulwark under which we take shelter the fortress
Of our liberties is composed OF charters, grants, and
acts of Parliament: the former wrung from mon
archs by the peoples power in acknowledgment of
the peoples rights the latter framed by the peo-
pies representatives ia protection or extension of
those rights. No, no, 4Er. Punch our constitu-
ton is no hodge-podge; il is one great uniform
mass of rights and powers, and liberties and pro-
tectons; gradually rot together; sometimes pro-
cured at much cost of suffering and blood but al
ways looking to and promoting one object. The
commencement Of the present year found The Peo-
PIE and the Parliament OF England at work amend
Ing and improving This constitution. struggle had
long been going on,was then, and is now going on be-
tween the arstocrac and the popular feeling of the
empire; not with any grea. bitterness or virulence.
because in England political warfare puts on rather
the appearance OF an amicable suit al law than an
angry encounter, and il advances towards its object
perhaps with slower, but certainly with salts
factory results. The French revolution of Februa-
ry burst upon us like political earthquake among
the nations, and seemed, as il rushed BY us with
whirlwind speed TO mock the slow but steady pace
OF English reforms and Improvements But, for,u-
nately, we were not tempted to enter upon a race
with our neighbors. As people, we have never
been inclined TO offer incense at the altars Of the
wild demon of revolution. There were, indeed,
some few rash or unthinking enthusiastic men
who were led away by the dazzling scenes which
were enacted in the capital OF France, ana anxious
to emulate and initiate them in this country. But
the sound sense Of the great bulk Of all classes of
society was firmly opposed to Them that thew
prudenty abstained from all vain attempts to give
reality 10 their wishes. The English people prefer
their own experience TO the experiments Of others
They cherish liberty too much to run the risk OF
exchanging Il for RIGHTEOUSNESS. They who have
been occupied so many ages in the work OF perfect
ing and maturing the form Of government under
which they live will not hazard the chance Of a re-
tograde step by taking rash and hasty forward
one IN an imperfect light, and before they are GER
tain Of It's direction and tendency. The feeling
that we enjoy much makes us hesitate before we
make any not we-considered movement in search
OF more. We know that there is much to be done,
that the State machine needs repairs in one place
and improvement in another; that friction has crept
in here, and decay is visible there that the anti
friction OF reform must the one, and an in5er-
ton OF sound and strong materials must remedy the
other. All this IS known by the mass OF English
people, and they desrcus OF rcmedyng these
detects; but not by taking the old machine to
pieces, and running the risk of building up again.
This would really be making the "hodge-podge"
Of which our friend Punch speaks. We want re.
novation, not alteration restitution, not revolutions
reformation not innovation. All this our good old
" 0UniuDl-g gdthe,Um' Of constitution will bear ;
all this we hope, it's destined gradually to receive
The firm and grave attitude Of English rcformers
must not be mistaken for apathy thew must not be
understood TO be satisfied with things as they are
because they do not build barrie AIDES, assassinate
members Of Parliament, and bully minister's as our
'Tertnni, fripnds NJ Erapkfnr, La,o Io,ol,, Jono