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gally convened, not for the purpose, as it has been said, of overawing the legislature, but of recalling the different branches of it to a sense of their duty, and their interest.

The veneration of an Englishman for the constitution of his country, is not because it is written in a book, or has been decreed by a solemn assembly, but because he feels that it secures his liberty and his property, and has produced a greater degree of happiness than any other human institution which has been known to exist. I will not say all that has been said of it in theory, because I am well convinced that much of its excellence has been

impaired by vicious practice, and that from the increase of luxury, and diminished value of money, justice is neither so cheap nor so easily attainable as it ought to be; but for the redress of these and many other grievances we want only a more equal representation in parliament, and that may be acquired by the increasing spirit and information of the people, without any change in the present mode of elecelection, or any violent commotion. The great excellence of the British constitution is, that it possesses, like nature, a principle of renovation, which, if preserved, will reach to immortality.

The cause of

our love pre lie Constiture.

Constitution

& Laws.

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The words constitution and law having caused some confusion of ideas and expres

Separated sions, it is requisite that they should be more accurately understood. Constitution means & definer that form of government under which men live together in any particular country, and from whence is derived the power of making laws.-There are two kinds of law, first, the law which defines the rights and duties of the different branches of the constitution, subsequent to their first formation, which is called constitutional law, and secondly, that which defines the rights and duties of citizens, and is called municipal law.-These laws equally declare the will of the governing power, but part of them relate to itself, and part to the other members of the state, that is the people, for whose benefit alone both the law and the constitution exist. All laws relating to elections, for instance, are constitutional laws, as well as those which relate to the convening, and dissolving parliaments, or to the exercise of the royal prerogative. The Habeas Corpus is a municipal law, as well as those, whether written or unwritten, which concern the liberty or restraint of the press, and the trial by jury, in actions criminal or civil; this will, 1 trust, sufficiently mark the difference between

the law and the constitution. As the fundamental principle of good government is representation, no man can be said to be a free man who is not either actually or virtually represented, who is not either represented or supposed to be so, for however the practice of representation may be corrupted, yet where the principle is acknowledged, there must always remain some degree of freedom. That government which affords protection at the cheapest rate is comparatively the best; but when governments become so expensive and extravagant as to take from the people a considerable portion of their property under the name of taxes, they can only be said to defend them against others, that they may rob them with greater security, and the only difference to the people is, that the robbery committed by government is regular and certain, and that of a mob is uncertain and violent. The antiquity of the English constitution is one of its greatest securities, for while the paper constitutions of France and Italy have been blotted out, or torn in pieces by one despot after another, the constitution of England remains written in the hearts of the people, and while one true Englishman exists it can never be forgotten. The first thing which

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every man in this country ought to teach his
children is, to understand and to venerate the
liberties which are transmitted to him by his
ancestors, and of which the chief maxims are,
"That no man can be imprisoned, detained,
or outlawed, but by the judgment of his peers,
or by the law of the land.
man's house is his castle."

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"That every "That there is no

wrong without a remedy." "That no man can be deprived of his property but by due course of law." "That no man can be taxed without his own consent, or that of his representatives." "That every man's right to his liberties is older than the title deeds to the oldest estate." "That Englishmen ought to be as free as their own thoughts, and that their liberty consists in doing all things which are not injurious' to the liberty of others." Should the time ever arrive when the legislature can coolly and fearlessly venture to in our anstilution review those defects of the constitution, which either belong to its original formation, or have crept in thro' time and abuse, there are some things of no very small moment which ought to be attended to, but this time will not come till the great and radical abuse of rotten boroughs is removed. The first and most essential grievance which requires a remedy,

Of the defects

is the arbitrary and undefined nature of parlia-1th of it is mentary privilege. It was once very accurate- Parliamenting ly defined, but since power has been added to privilege!

privilege, it knows no bounds, and may in

time be subversive of all those rights and liberties it pretends to preserve. No privilege, which is not positively requisite for the discharge of their functions, ought to be allowed to the members of either house, and it is ridiculous to say that these functions can be interrupted by the most atrocious libel; and as to their dignity being insulted, that will always be best preserved by their own conduct as men and as legislators. As a matter of minor importance, it is to be desired that the power of voting by proxy should be given up by the lords, for it is a satire upon every debate to find that there is on the division a certain number of men who exercise the privilege either of knowing it by inspiration, or of voting without any regard to the argument or eloquence on either side of the question. It is also much to be wished that the lords had a speaker of their own, who should have no other employment, and that the bishops should no longer be withdrawn from their spiritual duties, by attending their temporal concerns as barons. It is desirable that there should be a regular attend

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