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Nov 1802
Letter 3d
Note continued (2
In the course of one of my own melancholy wanderings
in the purlieus of your Lordships office, I once stumbled
upon once upon a time upon a man in whose hands
if not the essence of life and death, at least the fate of
convicts during life appeared to be reposed. Among the He shewed
me books upon books. I mean official ones with
letters upon letters some of them he said addressed to
himself — mentioning particular instances
adiv praying favours and pregnant with bank-notes. of The
occupation was to make no small part share was the making
inquiries about convicts — those characters and circumstances
and repeating in consequence.] These Banknotes he assured
me were as often made known to higher persons, refused, or what came to the same thing as
often as they were received. It may be so: the offer and refusal
rest as to me upon the same evidence. I knew saw
no reason to suspect not that in this time of July he was any other than one honest
man: what I am sure of is that amidst this rain of
bank notes he was a very needy man. He would borrow
without repaying: he would borrow without returning: but
not the mimic actor but the real possessor and actor of the prerogatives of Kings from that to his selling pardons, I do not regard the informer
as affording any thing like a certainty. I had a butler once
who stole every thing but plate. To return to this arbiter
of life and death — who was it? Not a Secretary: not a Secretary's Clerk: but a Secretary's Clerk's Clerk.
to leave the life of use to be "Blown about with "worry but if favour — and such more — instead of being fixed upon the rock of written laws. applied to the subject a load more than an the human faculties of any man are able to bear, and do with justice to the trust.
Mistake me not my Lord: think not that I am
so much as in thought a pilferer of this jewel of the crown.
H I know scarcely of a liberty that I would up stand up in
defence of with more zeal, than of this prerogative. All I mean
is to represent the inevitable consequence of ones loading it: of our loading heaping
it without necessity or use burthen upon a not capable of being
applied
Identifier: | JB/116/048/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 116.
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1802-11-07 |
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116 |
panopticon versus new south wales |
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048 |
letter 3d |
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001 |
note continued |
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text sheet |
1 |
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recto |
e2 |
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jeremy bentham |
1800 |
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1800 |
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37581 |
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