1819 June 15 + §. 2 A

To Erskine

Lett. 7. Whigs Anti Reformists

§. 2. Position I Desire impossible.

1

§. 2. Position 1. The desire impossible.

{§. 2. Position 1. On the part of {a set of} men in the situation in question any such desire as that of witnessing a change of the sort in question, is in the nature of the case morally impossible.}

For fear /exclusion/ of misconception I will here explain what on this occasion I mean by the word free, and why it seemed necessary that this or some equivalent term should be employed.

By Pitt the second before he was in office to wit A o 1780 /1782/ an opinion was /I find/ expressed that no considerable reform in any shape would ever be produced without resolutions in favour of reform signified by the people meeting in bodies and thus acting upon the prudence of the House: + and the years after to wit A o 1794 by Earl then M r Grey, this opinion of Pitts I find referred to and adopted . In this way {it seems to me also that a desire to the effect in question on the part of Honourable House might be created, and in fine brought into effect. But {it seems to me that to such a desire the quality indicated by the word free could not /it should seem/ with propriety be considered as applicable /attributable/.

For the grounds of this position I know not what better I can do than to take my chance for pointing your Lordships attention to the correspondent part of my abovementioned work on parliamentary reform (§.18. pp. CCXCIX to CCCXXIII.). Your Lordship will hardly, I think, pronounce it irrelevant: and though whatever claim Your Lordships clients can have to the confidence they are never tired of calling for depends upon the insufficiency /inconclusiveness/ of the proof there brought to view though their attention to it has been called to it in Parliamentary, I have never yet been able to hear of any endeavour made in or out of Parliament to contest /dispute/ it.