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When an Act of Parliament is to be drawn, the first case of the Penner is to look out for a Preamble; and though the Provisions speak their own design in never so plain terms, yet without something beginning with a "Whereas it is plain, the composition would be imperfect: [for it is absolutely necessary that where the Legislature continues an Act, they should declare they thought it beneficial, least it should be supposed they meant to have it understoodit should be otherwise as their reasonmotive for so doing that it was useless or pernicious.] The next is, to heap together as many words [ Terms for the same idea as a Gradus ad Parnafsum were there such a thing for the English Language would furnish] and to force those Terms intoout of these Terms to form as many propositions as can be devised brought togetheraccumulation has no other Limitsso as not to be absolutely foreign to the subject, nor too apparently contradictory to one anothereach other
The next case is, to make the turn of the Phrase in every instance, as remote from that which are accustomed to as possible; and if the poverty of the language or infelicity of his imagination should in any case unhappily driveforce into his hands to heap Turn to such an one as can be apprehended without effort he omits not by the .... interposition of such an epithet as "commonly called" or known ordinarily or the like, to let it be perceived, that it is his intention to depart not from choice that he from the dignity of being unintelligible.
Under the necessary burthen of increasing Laws, we suffer a stile of composition to be in useremain perpetuated, by which out of pure wantonnefs without the least Utility, at the expence often as much of precision as of conoisenefs, that burthen is twice or three times doubled, to the great discomfiture of plain sense and reason, to the attracting of contempt of ridicule on what ought to be the subject of veneration reverence , and to the signal frustration of those purposes for which Laws are made.
If it be absolutely necessary that Legislation should have a Stile [and languagelucilialto itself] of its own, let it be a stile which without maching their understanding shallmay command their reverence.
There is nothing in this so difficult.
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A number of Schemesmodes of eaprefsion consecrated to a certain degree by the stamp of antiquity or of religion, offer themselves in sufficient plenty for every occasion.
Many phrases remote from vulgar use tho'not above vulgar distinguishedapprehension rather by the turn of the eaprefsion, then by the words of which it consistsis comfiored.
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Identifier: | JB/070/064/001"JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 70. |
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070 |
of laws in general |
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064 |
composit. stat. singly - as a discourse - general idea |
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001 |
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copy/fair copy sheet |
1 |
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recto |
a1 |
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[[watermarks::gr [crown motif] [britannia with shield motif]]] |
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23179 |
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