xml:lang="en" lang="en" dir="ltr">

Transcribe Bentham: A Collaborative Initiative

From Transcribe Bentham: Transcription Desk

Keep up to date with the latest news - subscribe to the Transcribe Bentham newsletter; Find a new page to transcribe in our list of Untranscribed Manuscripts

JB/038/279/001

Jump to: navigation, search
Completed

Click Here To Edit

1823. June 12. Constitut. CodeCh. Legislative
Attendance Unintermittant

Ch. 5. Legislative

1.
Sittings unintermitted
why?

Answer. Reasons.
1. To exclude boundless evil.
By non-application of the
appropriate remedies to
incidental evils during the
interval of inaction, no
saying what quantity of
evil may have been produced.

Of evil thus produced, rare
accident alone brings to
light the cause.

To excess of business, or
any cause but the true
one, is ascribed the effect
of indolence or negligence.

2.
2. To exclude corruption:
viz. by occupying the time
necessary for promiscuous
thence for corruptive
intercourse.

Contagious the atmosphere
a Legislator breathes. The
more his time is occupied
in study, the less remains
for exposure to corruption.

"John, while you draw
the Beer, keep whistling."

3.
Objection. No man of
worth will submitt to
restrictions so irksome
and degrading.

Answer.
1. Put aside all such
vague designations:
for man of worth say —
endued with adequate
appropriate aptitude
in all it's branches.
Then say no such man
will decline such
restrictions: regard them as
degrading or even irksome.
Of want of such
aptitude, such declining
would be proof
conclusive.


---page break---

4.
2. Medical practitioner
not a day does he
withdraw from duty.
Medicinist's duty is to
exclude physical evil
on an individual scale.
Legislator's, moral on a
national scale.
Medicator has no day free.
Legislator may have one
day in seven free in
ordinary cases. To
medicator's functions, no
remuneration in the
shape of power is attached:
to legislator's, power
unbounded.

5.
In the Executive, in the
lowest order of clerks,
no unintermittedness
of attendance is regarded
as necessary: yet for
these situations no want
is there of candidates.
What a man declines
not to do for less money
without power, would
he for more money with
so much power?

6.
Objection 2. Unprecedented
such strictness in such
situations.

Answer. Admitted.
Cause, irksome the obligation:
and by the situation
power of self exemption
is conferred.

7.
If, for want of attendance
subjects perish miserably
by thousands, legislator
suffers nothing.

8.
In Medicator's case,
closeness of attendance
is determined partly by
nature, partly by patient:
in legislator, by self and
c<hi rend="superscript">o</hi> partners in sinister
interest.

9.
Admitted as a peremptory
objection, unprecedentedness
would be a bar to
every thing good — namely
in all monarchies pure or mixt.


---page break---

10.
As to appropriate aptitude
this obligation is
among the most efficient
tests and securities
1. As to moral aptitude.
Adequate moral aptitude
a man may indeed fail
of having, and yet abide
this test: but if he shrinks
from the test, proof
conclusive is thereby given
of his not having it.
To self-amusement, or
doing evil or good to others
is his time exclusively
devoted: for doing good
on a national scale,
no time has he to spare.

11.
2. So as to appropriate
knowledge, judgment &
active aptitude taken
together. To such aptitude,
proportionable mental
labour is indispensable.
The greater the quantity of
of pleasure he can
obtain without this necessary
and generally irksome
labour, the less of it will
he have adequate inducement
for bestowing.

12.
Thus is attitude in the
scale of appropriate
aptitude as to legislation,
not directly but inversely
as do. in do. of prosperity.
Consummately
unapt everywhere he
whose he whose station
is on the pinnacle.(a)

13.
Perfect the accordance
between this close attendance
exacting agreement,
and the short continuance
in office securing
do.
-----

12 (a)
Situation in which the
efficiency of this bar wd.
be most intensely felt,
a situation composed of
mixtpower without obligation.


---page break---

12 (a) contind.
Example. Seat in either
House of English Parliament.
Members are
1. Ill disposed, all Tories.
2. Well disposed, a few Whigs.
Well disposed are devoted
to
1. Amusement.
2. Private business,serving
self or friends out
of the House.
3. Do. serving do. in the
House.
4. Public business of
these, never so many
as half a dozen.<p> <p>To some negative obligation
in this as in
every situation, every
man must submitt:
from annoying he
abstains for fear of being
annoyed.

To positive obligation
scarce in any shape
submitts any man bred
in either situations.

Days no House
for want of 40 Members
Ao. 1823.

Ao. 1823, number present
in Commons and Lords
on the Marriage Bill.

Contrast Taylor Place —
time allotted by him to
serving public on a
national scale.




Identifier: | JB/038/279/001
"JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 38.

Date_1

1823-06-12

Marginal Summary Numbering

1-13, 12a

Box

038

Main Headings

constitutional code

Folio number

279

Info in main headings field

constitut. code

Image

001

Titles

ch. 6 legislative

Category

marginal summary sheet

Number of Pages

1

Recto/Verso

recto

Page Numbering

Penner

john flowerdew colls

Watermarks

j whatman 1821

Marginals

Paper Producer

john flowerdew colls

Corrections

Paper Produced in Year

1821

Notes public

ID Number

11916

Box Contents

UCL Home » Transcribe Bentham » Transcription Desk