[clx. 208]

1821. April 30.

First Lines

Constitutional

Under a Representative Democracy, the matter of the substantive branch of law will, throughout the whole frame of it, have, for its object or all-comprehensive end - the greatest happiness of the greatest number: in proportion /proportioned/ to the wisdom and felicity of the arrangements by which that end has been pursued and been endeavoured to be attained, the end will accordingly be attained /have been fulfilled/.

Under this same form of government /Under an absolute Monarchy/ the adjective branch of the law will of course /naturally/ have that same object for its all-comprehensive end. Accordingly so it will in fact in so far as it is the work of the same legislator of which the substantive branch of law is the work.

In the only example as yet known of a Representative Democracy, viz. the Anglo american United States, the only branch /portion/ even of the substantive branch law which is the work not only is enforced by the authority, but has actually been the work of the supreme operative power in that state or cluster of states is the Constitutional branch. The mass of law with which every other part of the field of legislation is there covered, remains in a state of chaos. Of this chaos, the ground is throughout composed of the corrupt mass imported from the territory of the limited Monarchy from the yoke of which this democracy has, for above these 40 years, been so compleatly liberated: a ground wor composed partly of statute law i.e. real law, partly of imaginary and fictitious law, called common law. Upon this chaos are still suffered to dribble in streams of fictitious law from the same impure source: and upon this medley /into this hodgepodge/ are, from time to time, cast batches of real law - the home-made work of the several particular legislatures.