1822 July 4

Constitut. Code Rationale

Supreme Constitutive

Why in all

Now then in a representative democracy, take any one member of the community, acting in the situation of a functionary of the constituent class, acting in the exercise of the supreme constitutive power - that power which is such with relation to the supreme operative. His desire is to afford to himself security against depredation and oppression: such being his ultimate desire, his intermediate desire is - to see located in the situation of his Representative, a man who, appropriate desire and power in all shapes included, appears to him likely to contribute in a degree more than any other man would to his possession of that same security: such is desire, and such accordingly is his act:- the act by which he gives his vote.

Meantime his desire is - or at least in a certain case would be to exercise and cause to be exercised for his own benefit, depredation and oppression to an indeterminate amount at the expence of all other men without distinction and in particular at the expence of his fellow-citizens. But in /towards the gratification/ this desire, he sees not among any considerable number of his fellow Citizens, and in particular among the Candidates for the seat in question, any one to whom he can look to with any expectation of finding co-operation and support. The consequence /What follows/ is - that having no expectation of promoting by his vote any /that particular and/ sinister interest which either is peculiar to himself, or can not be shared in with him but by a comparatively few, he limits /restricts/ his endeavours to the employing of it in giving support to his share in the universal interest: to that interest which finds in every other voter an interest by which he is urged to contribute his endeavours towards the accomplishment of that same all comprehensive and universally beneficial end: he gives his vote to that Candidate whom by all men[?] taken together he expects to find willing and able to contribute in a greater degree than any other to the accomplishment of it.