1820 Oct. 9 3 Spanish liberticide measures 1 Not employed Letter 3. Public

Discussion 1. Meeting licensing 1. Colony Minister

3. The Minister of the Colonies would not admitt’ (it is said) ‘the existence of

political assemblies without dependence on the government, and without

responsibility of their members.’ Would not admitt? Who could ever have asked

him to admitt any such thing? Why thus, in the character of a reason, advance a

fact notoriously and necessarily false? By making known or endeavouring to make

known whether in private or in public, his opinions relative to the conduct of

the members of the government, does any man make himself or so much as seek to

make himself or any one else independent of the government? Does he exempt or

seek to exempt himself from responsibility for this or for any other of his

acts? How is this? What am I to think of this gentleman? that in his mind there

exists no difference between liberty and power: between liberty to a man to do

or not do so and so himself, and power to take this liberty from others? But a

man who is or affects to be ignorant of the difference, and under the notion or

pretence of stripping men of a power or for stripping them or for stripping all

the men in the nation of a most indispensable liberty – how dangerous must not

such a man be in and to any government of which he is a member?

{If this be not his own speech, this at any rate is the opinion that by

insinuation as usual he endeavours to impress his colleagues and fellow country

men with. I mean in his 4th article. Nevertheless these societies, authorized by

the competent authority will not be regarded as corporations? Regarded as

corporations indeed. What? the liberty of declaring his opinion of the conduct

of the government does he the possessor of this liberty constitute a man: if

instead of one man there be two that do this does there being two constitute

them a corporation? if instead of two we say two hundred or two thousand, are we

any thing the nearer to the constituting of a corporation.

At this moment, a friend who sits opposite to me is joining with me in melancholy

reflections on this speech of Mr Gorelli. By doing so My friend is he a

corporation? I am I a corporation? Both of us together are we are corporation:

we are quite as truly a corporation as any of those men, out of whom by calling

them a corporation Mr Gorelli has made /[…?]/ a pretence for ruining them, and

destroying the Constitution which he pretends to serve.}