date

1818 Dec. 25 Dialogue 41
1818 Dec. 25

Dialogue

41

22

Reformist continued. These are your three plague sores. {what do you think of them?}

{is the appellation misapplied} {the appellation does it want any thing of being an

apt one? In the case of election procedure indeed, so long as the business rests

there, the appellation /expression/ may be somewhat of the strongest. But, where the

procedure is of the judicial kind – of that kind which has been made by and ruined[?]

by fee-fed learned and honourable gentlemen in conjunction with noble and learned

law-lords for the sake of the profit extracted out of the expence and pocketed in the

shape of fees or offices sold or given to their children which that justice which is

thus denied to all but the few is there sold to those few at an excruciating price –

in this case, if you can find any reason for stating /calling/ the expression too

strong an one I should be glad to hear it.

Anti-Reformist. {For peace sake, a truce to personalities} Nay, nay, my friend now

you are at your personalities – Judicial Establishment, Scotch Reform and so forth.

Consider – let me beg of you – I am breeding up my second son to the bar, and hope to

see him a Chief Justice at least before I die /T’other day my wife brought me my

second son whom I intend to breed to the bar, and to baptize him by the name of

Colin[?] Littlebore[?], or Hellin-barrow[?] Endless I am not determined which, and

whom like Lord Bathurst I hope to see Chancellor before I die/. And who would accept

any of those offices, if they were prevented from selling any of those offices, or if

the fees of /in/ any of them were lessened, or if there were any bounds to the

encrease of them. Come come; we are got no further in these collateral evils than the

sensible ones; let us have your /the/ insensible ones.
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    Description: 1818 Dece r 25.

    Dialogue

    Evils & Remedies

    Evils

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    24

    Anti-Reformist. By me it shall not. Well now, if you have found logic, have not I

    found patience?

    Reformist. Indeed have you, and beyond all expectation.

    Anti-Reformist. Good: but now is the time for the virtue to have its reward. If I

    endured your evils, it was in hope of coming to the remedies.

    Reformist. These you shall have I shall not grudge them to you. But this same logic:

    /which/ you have swallowed it indeed most /so/ heroically: let us see whether you

    have digested it.

    Anti Reformist. Pah! pah! You are too hard upon me. This is more than you bargained

    for: patience, yes: hard labour, not.

    Reformist. Nay but it will not be labour in vain. You are impatient for my remedies.

    These remedies – in what other order can they be presented to you, so proper as that

    of the evils? the correspondent evils?
  • Title: [1818 Dec. 21 Parl Reform Bill]
    Description: 1818 Dec. 21

    Parl Reform Bill

    Dialogue II

    Election Evils

    {20}

    1

    Inserendumne?[?]

    Dialogue 2 o. {Evils and remedies} – Evils /What evils there are/

    to be guarded against: {what remedies are for that purpose proposed to be provided

    Anti-Reformist. Well, so it is – I am in[?] computation[?] of interest. I am in[?]

    disposition[?] to make and to persevere in making the sinister sacrifice, and as to

    the time of so doing /making it/, that by the supposition is out of the question, it

    is unfortunately implied in the appellation of ratios. Here

    then is so much evil. But your own scheme this remedial[?] scheme of yours, think you

    that no evil is to be found in it?

    Reformist. The question you put is for form sake No such absurdity I am sure do you

    mean to impute to me. […?] Government is but a choice of evils. - Taking evil in a

    certain sense life itself – the very happiest life is but a choice of evils. Taken by

    itself, government is in every shape an […?] evil: government in my own proposed form

    of course as well as in any /every/ other.

    Anti-Reformist. You take me right. Accordingly with very little expence of thought,

    I could present you with evils in plenty to none of which you could yourself imagine

    your scheme of reform to be unexposed. But since this matter has been so well

    /thoroughly/ considered by you, the shortest way would be for you to give in[?] to

    produce your own list of these evils, with the remedies by which you regard yourself

    as having in a manner more or less effectual made provision against them. It would

    /will/ then be to be all along upon the watch for the purpose of satisfying myself in

    the first place whether your list of evils be a compleat one; in the next place how

    far your remedies afford a promise of being sufficient.
  • Title: [1818 Decr 30 Parl Reform Bill]
    Description: 1818 Decr 30

    Parl Reform Bill

    Dialogue III

    {Prel}

    II Remedies

    Universality

    3

    3

    Anti-Reformist. {Good.} /Be it so./ {Three is a ticklish number to speak of.

    However} Your tread shall not be forgotten. {And as to your Miselection, good and

    evil, I am sensible are as commonly considered in a comparative, as in an absolute,

    sense. Nobody can refuse the appellation of evil to any arrangement by which a less

    good is substituted to a greater good.}

    Reformist. Well then. Now for the best possible Representative. I will tell you how

    I make sure of him. Appropriate probity, appropriate intellectual aptitude, and

    appropriate active talent, under these heads in the case of this as of any other

    situation are included all the elements of appropriate aptitude.

    Now then see what universality does for me. Applied to the

    situation of Representative, universality secures to me a

    choice almost unlimited. With at most one exception only /alone/ my Electors may each

    set of them, choose any living son of Adam that they please. Applied to the situation

    of Elector, this one word, with no limitation to it but that which is applied by the

    word virtual, allows to all in whose instance there can be

    any use in their participating it, the faculty of participating in this important

    choice.

    Anti-Reformist. Well what is this limitation to which you allude. who is it that you

    exclude

    Reformist. Office-bearers of every description holding respectively any office at

    the disposal of the Executive branch of the government, or if you please in one word

    placemen. for shortness as well as familiarity thus in the way of conversation it may

    serve: though for certainty, a complete list would be indispensable.