1819 May 17

To Erskine? or Whig Fallacies?

Whig Fallacies

Suitors made by Erskine

Matchless Constitution

 Add to Fallacies (26 May 1819)

[...?] the balance! Trim the boat

Talk of a Constitution indeed? when openly and avowedly in the form of authority, two placemen both of them appointed by the Monarch, one of them removable without consent of Parliament, without authority from Parliament, by a set of taxes to which all Englishmen are subjected, raise money to be applied to their own use.

In the case of Ship money

In Charles the first time by a /an exampled/ stretch of the power of the House of Commons men in various situations were ruined for the concern in /the parts borne by them/ this business, and in particular a number of Judges for declaring judicially the legality of it. If any one will take the trouble to enquire, he will find that fore justification of what was done in the case in question for taxing men in the character of suitors to satisf[?] /gratify/ the rapacity of lawyers, the pretanes /pretence/ bear no comparison in point of plausibility with that by which the levying of Ship money was endeavoured to be justified

/Capital justification! contributing to the [...?] of factions contributing to the effect by every half-[...?] extent./

Now had they done twenty times the good things they ever pretended to still it might be asked and asked with reason what confidence can the Whigs lay claim to, they having at /all/ with folded hands /shut eyes/ and unpenned lips while this violation of the most radical and vital principle of the pretended Constitution was perpetrated.

Many thus extorted from the people under colon[?] of law and in contempt of Parliament - this puppet Parliament This violation of the Bill of Rights that [...?] and the trumpeters of the glorious Revolution Oh ever glorious: Revolutions! O rare Bill of Rights not moving a tongue in opposition to it. They oppose it? Why, it was by them it was by the very head of them it was committed. It was by their Lord Chancellor: In this exploit of theirs they were but seconded by the Tories. The Tory who /for this purpose and to this effect/ in the situation of Master of the Rolls, to use their own jargon) confederated and combined to and with

this

this head of the Whigs, joined in this business did but follow where the Lord High Whig led.