093-351.xml

Title: [23 Oct r 1807 L d Eldon's Bill]

Description: 23 Oct r 1807

L d Eldon's Bill

'. 1.

Division vice Court

Among the intentions ascribed to the Union Act was that of keeping every thing in Scotland from all change, and consequently from all improvement /beneficial change/: and in particular that as to the judicature in the highest stage, nothing should ever be done by the legislature to make it go on better, while the Judges were to keep making it go on as much worse as they found convenient and agreeable to themselves.

In the case /instance/ of Queen Anne's motto, it was in jest that worse and worse was given as the translation of Semper eadem: but in every case /instance/ where shutting its eyes against the light of experience presumption or hypocrisy has undertaken to give eternity to human institutions, by tying up the hands of the legislature /supreme power/, it is the true version, and the only true one.

To the breaking /bursting/ in an honest and manly way these pernicious and essentially illegal bonds /bands/, there was a class /set/ of lawyers that had an insuperable objection: but the objection was of a moveable /ductile]/ nature, ready to give way, on condition that lawyers instruments, viz. fraud and abuse of words were employed to steal cases out of it /these bonds/ one after another, as they were wanted. Why? - Because fraud and abuse of words, instruments of lawyercraft, kept under lock and key /a sort of pick lock instruments[?]/ by lawyers, were /could/ not to be employed without their leave: whereupon if it were for the benefit of the people, that the breach were to be made and in a manner that suited not the purposes of these lawyers, no it could not be done: but so long as this purpose /convenience/ were not crossed by it, oh yes, do it and welcome.

093-392.xml

Title: [22 Oct r 1807 L d Eldon's Bill]

Description: 22 Oct r 1807

L d Eldon's Bill

In England, among /of/ the laws on which the experiment of [...?] was first tried was Magna Charta.

The state of the human mind being in those days not /not being as yet/ ripe enough to produce regulations that should be sufficiently ample and at the same time precisely enough limited /sufficiently determinate/, the provision is that famous law /charter/ were several of them so loose, that whoever had the application of it might especially in those blind ages /ages of general blindiness/ read in it whatever it suited him to read it. No free man shall be dealt with so and so but by the judgment of his peers or by the law of the land: that is, according to some other rule, whatsoever had been laid down or should come to be laid down by those to whom it belonged to lay down rules viz. by lawyers.

Moreover Magna Charta, besides being thus favourable to lawyers being the most popular of all laws, hence for the purpose of the experiment for the purpose of giving curency[?] to the doctrine, and getting /gaining/ /winning/ the /men's/ affections of the people on the side /in favour/ of it, it was the best adapted of all laws.

Accordingly it became a maxim with lawyers, and amongst others with the arch lawyer, Lord Coke, that Magna Charta was inalterable: that it was proof against the very power that made it proof against the power of the acknowledged sovereign legislator: and accordingly that whatsoever Act of Parliament, if any, ever had been, or should ever come to have been made in contrariety to it was ipso facto void: i.e. that upon a signal given by lawyers the people should rise up in rebellion against King and Parliament, rather than conform to it or suffer one another /others/ /any one/ to conform to it.

104_095.xml

Title: [19 July 1810 1810 July 19 4 Fallacies]

Description: 19 July 1810 1810 July 19 4

Fallacies Ch. | | Authority worshippers

4

. | | Lawyers interest sinister

If a cook were to be punished by dismission[?] for not roasting a leg of mutton which was never /it was known had never been/ ordered, such punishment would in the instance of the [...?]trate be deemed the height of folly: if receiving the order for the purpose of transmitting them to the Cook the [...?] were purposely to suppress them, that[?] the disgrace and dismiss[...?] of the innocent Cook might ensure such fraud would be deemed the very depth of baseness.

Thus whatever security it is the interest of every subject as such to possess to the utmost extent, and at all times, it is the interest of /the f[...?]serity of/ the lawyer that at all times he should possess it to the narrowest extent possible.

It is his interest that he may possess it in such sort and to such extent, as to avoid as much as possible, and were it possible altogether, the misfortune of falling into their hands.

But it is their interest that he should fall into theor, and[?] as often and each time be kept in their hands, as long as possible, while any ransom /money/ which can by their power be extracted from him/.

It is therefore their interest that the knowledge of every thing by the knowledge of which he might be enabled to kepp himself out of their hands (1) may be kept as conspicuously[?] as possible out of his knowledge, and to make sure that to as great an extent as possible (2) all such assemblages or words whereby the knowledge of it might be conveyed to him may be kept out of existence[?], (3) that s often as possible he may be may to suffer for not having complied with commands /ordinances/ which so far from being communicated to him have never been so much as framed and cloathed in words: (4) that as often as possible he may be punished for non-compliance with laws[?] /rules of law/ which never have been in existence: (5) and that in a word, by being kept from coming into existence so otherwise the rate of int[...?] should be as good in extent as possible be kept from coming to his knowledge, lest by knowing that is exists /is/ and what it is, he may save himself from falling into their hands.