21Dec r 1806

Scotch Reform │ │ To L d Grenville

Facienda

II Inspector Gen l 5 Appointment

In the natural course of things and in virtue of the general constitution of human nature the Officer with this function and this name would not only himself be an Inspector, but in virtue of the principle of emulation he would be a cause of inspection /the spirit of that inspection would be/ in other men. Those in /among/ whom the heedless authors and unconcerned spectators if not the anxious protectors and concealers of the abuses and imperfections of the law would otherwise continue to be found, would by this means be rendered the careful observers and active discoverers. Seeing the preservation of abuse hopeless, they would feel it to be their interest to put in for whatever share it lay in their way to obtain of the reputation derivable from the correction of it.

Scotland would then have /possess/ /present/ a reasonable probability of witnessing /possessing/ in adequate abundance a sort of character of which England has scarcely witnessed so many as one in a century - a reforming Judge. By a reforming Judge, I do not mean a Judge ready to concentrate in his own person the authority of Kings, Lords and Commons - for of that sort of character there has been so such scarcity - but a Judge seeking every opportunity of ministering by constitutional means measures /adding of his own accord to the number of his duties that of being on the perpetual look out for occasions to/ to the ends of justice.

That your Lordship may see that the character thus alluded to is drawn /taken/ from nature and not from fancy /Utopia/ I will beg leave to subjoin a short extract from the life of the Lord Keeper North written by his honourable brother.