7 Aug. 1809 +

Parl. Reform

Ch. Necessity Hume

8

8

The more clearly his train[?] of reasoning is looked into, the weaker and weaker it will be found to be.

/Once more/ Why then is it once more that the House of Commons has never since the days of Charles the first made this imaginary conquest, never produced this imaginary change? Because says Hume "the interest of the body is here restrained by (the interest) /that/ of the individuals: and that the House of Commons stretches not its power, because such an usurpation would be contrary to the interest of the majority of its members." Thus for Hume, and still the people with all their power constitutional /factitious reward[?]/ as well as original and natural are forgotten as compleatly as if they were so many sheep.

Such a power i.e. the supposed absolute power contrary to the interest of the majority i.e. the habitually attending and acting majority of the Members? What? Did he suppose - yes for the moment he must have supposed that all the emolument they could have seized on if possessed /sole possessors/ of absolute power would not have exceeded that which under the system of that corruption which under the name of influence is in his view of the matter so necessary possess already. What a picture of the government drawn by [...?] by so able a hand, in the very act of defending it! the quantity of the people's money lavished upon the deputies of the people - and for no other purpose than to pay them for not conquering the King and Lords and so overthrowing the government this quantity of the people's money thus lavished so enormous that not even absolute power could give them more! these /The/ people more pressed to save the government from being thus destroyed than they could be pressed if it were destroyed. This too given as a reason for supporting /preventing/ the government from being destroyed & were in the way mentioned. Would it not be a [...?] better for suffering the government to be so destroyed, or even for destroying it?