20 Jan y 1808

Scotch Reform

Letter V

Ch 5. Malâ fide Appeals

how prevented

Loss to plaintiff, say, as before, 12 per cent: advantage to malâ fide defendant by keeping the money in his hands, say as before, 5 per cent: costs payable by him say, as before, 5 per cent: add[?] payable by him to the plaintiff in the score[?] of interest, 5 per cent. This leaves to the malâ fide defendant, disadvantage /pecuniary loss/ to the concupiscible appetite, 5 per cent. But his advantage by profit to the irascible appetite, is still 12 per cent: if then such be the state of his mind that for the 12 per cent advantage obtainable to the use of his irascible appetite, his concupiscible appetite is content to suffer a loss of 5 per cent, in other words, to pay at the rate of 5 per cent, an encouragement to imploy the hand of the law in doing wrong - an encouragement, and that an adequate and effectual one, is still[?] held not to him and given to him by the law.