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To Erskine
§. Whig Fallacies
Matchless Constitution
No Theory
Lord Milton 1812
1 1
Now Then again my Lord there is Lord Milton. He has I warrant
you a noble contempt for all theories: his own one noble theory
to wit his own whatever it is of course excepted: I mean contempt for all theoretical theories, that is for all
theories which state the greatest happiness of the greatest number
as the only satisfiable end of government, and the faculty of
choosing and removing those who govern them and govern for
them as the only effectually conducive means.
Well my Lord I was to tell you what his Lordships
theory is. It is the same Whig theory which serves especially
well for the support of Whig reform and Non-Reform. It Your Lordship will serve
for Reform: his Lord Milton's Lordship it will serve has served for Non-Reform. For
in the speech from whence I deduce it that is the purpose
which it has served
His theory is — that so that names remain, it matters
not in what way direction or degree the change of which they were the
names have are changed:[+]
[+] that so long as King
is called King, Lords
Lords, Commons Commons
and Parliamentary Electors
or which is equivalent,
it matters not which
power the King has,
what the Lords have
what the Commons have
and whether they are
chosen by the People
or by one another, or
by themselves
In this proposition is are included another two other
propositions 1 that military force has no influence, or that
its influence is the same whether it consists of two men as in
Henry the 7th or 8th time, or between £100,000 and 200,000
as at present. 2. that money in the hands of the Monarch has no influence, or at any
rate no corruptive influence applicable to the corruption of the peoples agent: or that its influence is the same
whether it amounts to £36,000 a year as in Henry the
6th time or £ a year as at present
"The Constitution: (says his Lordship) "has existed for
ages" This he gives as his reason for condemning rejecting Parliamentary
Reform, the only reason he can find, but that an all-
sufficient and conclusive one. The proposition is a short concise
one. "I stand upon the Constitution which has existed for ages:"
the above is what is meant Now by the Constitution standing having existed for
ages, as it is nothing to the purpose either what means as above
is the real meaning, or it is nothing to the purpose. If your
Lordship can find any better meaning, I shall be glad
to hear it.
Identifier: | JB/104/466/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 104.
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104 |
fallacies |
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466 |
to erskine |
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text sheet |
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recto |
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jeremy bentham |
[[watermarks::i&m [with prince of wales feathers above] 1818]] |
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arthur wellesley, duke of wellington |
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1818 |
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34437 |
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