date

1820 Feb. 19 Radicalism not dangerous
1820 Feb. 19

Radicalism not dangerous

III Experience

II Ireland

Radicalism - its origin?

Factitious dignity

King and President

23

12

1

Look here to the King /Monarch/ of Great Britain and Ireland! Look there to the President of the United States! Say then, which of the two is likely to be best disposed to do his utmost towards the bettering the condition of the people.

Look first to the Monarch: to the omnipresent all benevolent all-beneficent omnipresent impeccable all perfect immortal all powerful, irresponsible arbiter of our destiny, the fountain of all honour and all justice. + This political Emmanuel - this God with us - this factitious English God so much nearer to the true God than ever Greek or Roman God was, this idols of flesh and blood who made him? by whom is it that he was made? by whom but by yourselves. By your obedience you make his power - by your tongues and pens saying to him Lord most gracious most religious most excellent majesty and so forth you make his factitious dignity: by your money while /by that money for the many of which/ so many are starving you give to that factitious dignity the support that is said to be so necessary to it. And wherefore /for what/ is it that you do so? for fear of being embowelled or hanged, or banished, or imprisoned or fined or seeing your houses gutted, or being shot or cut to pieces. But for those motives /inducements/ motive of this complexion and this force, how long would that prostration that prostration of will at least if not of understanding last, that prostration which is necessary to so much /all this/ obedience /obsequiousness/ on the one part to so much /all this/ power and dignity on the other. To you the question is addressed: but it is so only for forms sake. The answer is given by other hands, it is given in by the Vote for the eleven thousand additional wielders of those musquets and sabres without which by the declaration of Blackstone’s earthly God he would not be secure in the throne which under the terror of these visitations your hands have /never cease[?] to/ built for him:

+  Refer to and perhaps quote Blackstone.
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  • Title: [1820 Feb. 19 Radicalism not dangerous]
    Description: 1820 Feb. 19

    Radicalism not dangerous

    III Experience

    II Ireland.

    Radicalism - its origin

    Factitious dignity

    King and President

    24

    13

    2

    2

    by the Vote of those who been kept in place by him for that very purpose, vouchsafe to stile themselves your representatives, being chosen as such by those on whom alone if representation were what it pretended to be policy[?] and their paymaster would find that obedience of /by/ which their power is composed /constituted/.
  • Title: [1820 Feb. 19 Radicalism not dangerous]
    Description: 1820 Feb. 19

    Radicalism not dangerous

    III Experience

    II Ireland.

    Radicalism - its origin?

    Factitious dignity

    King and President

    25

    13

    3

    Look now - if you can endure thus to sink - look if so much splendor as you have just seen /been seeing/ has not blinded you - look to the place men of the people possessing some /considerable/ powers possessing no attributes the man who has sense to worship him sense to flatter him sense to utter lies to pour forth for him without ceasing the tribute of unblushing mendacity for his honour and his glory, the President of Congress. No Majesty has he: no […?], no nor so much as Lordship. Palpable as is the deficiency, in what are the people over whom he presides in what is he himself the worse for it? When did he even thank any of them for cutting any others of them to pieces? To whom against whom did he will he or can he ever call for vengeance? Good people so long as you keep your thoughts to yourselves you can not be cut to pieces for thinking, think of these things. There is a time for all things. It is already a time for thoughts. The time for action, peradventure it may one day come.

    King and President - look at them together. On the one hand you see /have/ Most Excellent Sovereign power and dignity on the other hand you have incessant labour, perfect responsibility, unavoidable appropriate probity preeminent intellectual aptitude approved talent cheap and […?] /indefatigable/ service. The Monarch looks down upon the people and calls them his subjects - The President looks up to them and calls them Fellow Citizens. The Monarch has been taught /learnt/ from his cradle to think the people were made for him, and hears every body around him say, so they were, the President knows that it is by the people that he was made what he is and that he can no longer be while he is thus in their judgment he is fit to be so.
  • Title: [1820 Feb. 19 Radicalism not dangerous]
    Description: 1820 Feb. 19

    Radicalism not dangerous

    III. Experience

    II. Ireland

    Radicalism - its origin

    Factitious dignity

    17

    6

    This nice discrimination all this nicety of discrimination factitious dignity supposing it ever to have any such object as the production of meritorious service necessarily confounds and puts out of sight. So many Knights of the Garter, so many Knights of the Bath, so many Knights of the Thistle, so many Knights of S t Patrick so many simple Knights /Knights Bachelors/ so many Baronets, suppose all these men to have rendered to the country in some shape or other meritorious public service, how in any one instance can you perceive or so much as discover in what degree or in what shape the service has been rendered?

    Meritorious public service - factitious dignity - is it possible without extreme violence even for so short a time and for the purpose of the argument to bring the mind to conceive[?] /keep forced into the mind the conception/ of any tendency on their part to take up their abode in the same subject receptacle?

    Personal favour or money - look at /open the book of/ history in these two causes you will behold the original and only ordinary[?] sources of distinction in that shape.

    Look in the first place to the order of the garter. A /As a/ token of the place occupied by the wearer in the private affections of the Monarch - in this character and no other, as every body may see, was it conferred.

    As to the others one and all they are but so many copies inferior copies of the /that/ same original.

    In one thing they all agree and that is a […?] with the person.

    One lot of factitious dignity there is which is hereditary which in imitation of that composed of independent /irresponsible/ power and factitious dignity called a peerage is capable of continuing for ever in the same family descending to the eldest and nearest male of the last possessor. Of this institution what is the purpose? Giving encrease to meritorious public service? No such thing. What then? Giving encrease to the wasteful and selfish expenditure of the Monarch in pursuit of his own individual pleasures. It was sold by him to who ever would pay the price for it; sold, and the produce of it poured into that tub of the Danaides his privy purse.