1821. April 24.

III. Delusion. It remains to be shown how it is that, byone

and the same quantity of the matter of wealth consumed in waste -

wasted in the main endeavour to inject an additional quantity of

happiness into a receptacle over and over again disabled from the capacity

of receiving any more - how, by this same quantity of wealth,

in addition to the purpose of producing corrupt obsequiousness, the purpose

of producing delusions is but effectually and extensively accomplished.

In the case where production of corrupt obsequiousness was

the object, the persons on whom the operation was performed were the

sub-ruling influential and opulent few, with no other addition than

that of that comparatively small portion of the subject many, to whom the corruptive influence

of those their superiors could be applied

for the purpose of

of producing correspondent corrupt obsequiousness. the corruptive influence

of those their superiors could be extended. applied In the ease of delusion, the

person, in whose instance on whom the effect is endeavoured

to be produced, are, in addition to the subruling, the influential and

the opulent few - (for these are not less exposed to, nor less susceptible

of, the delusion than the many)- the subject many likewise: in a

word, the whole of the community without exception - the Royal Lead Chief

himself, by whom the profit of the delusion was reaped in the greatest

abundance, not excepted.

On this as on other occasions, such is the ambiguity and imperfection

of language, to the word delusions as to so many others

that exhibit the same grammatical form, sometimes an active

sense, sometimes a passive sense is attributive of this as of so

many other words wearing the same grammatical form, use is

made sometimes in an active, sometimes in a passive sense: sometimes

it is employed to designate the act whereby an erroneous opinion

is produced, sometimes the erroneous opinion so produced