[clx. 353]

1822 July 15

Constitut Code Rationale

Securities Counterforce

4. Legal

5. Moral responsibility

Evidence etc its necessity

In regard to the net amount of the benefit of which this counterforce is capable of being the instrument, for lessening the net amount of it, by operations applying /applied/ to the mass /stock/ of information and the channels of conveyance through which, as above, it has to pass, for lessening the net amount of this benefit, the nature of the case affords two expedients or courses of action /policy/. The One consists in the blocking up of the channels, and thus /thereby/ stopping in the whole or in part the current of information that would otherwise make its way through them to the eyes and ears of the public - of the members of the community taken in the aggregate. The other consists in rendering in a greater or less quantity and degree corrupt and delusive the stock of information which comes so received: the one system may be stiled the obstructive /blockading/ system or the obstructive policy the other, the corruptive. The obstructive operates by the simple diminution /substraction/ of the quantity of such information as being correct, is at the same time usefully instructive. The corruptive operates by the addition of a mass of information in itself false and designed to be fallacious. /deceptious./ And note /Note here/ that by substraction, deception may be produced as well as by corruption. To this purpose all that is necessary may be /what may happen to be sufficient is/ to render partial the stock which is suffered to pass on /passes on/: partial that is to say in the bad sense of the word in which it means conducive to deception /being the sense in which it is used when subservient to injustice/: that which would operate /is regarded as operating/ against the side meant to be favoured by the deceit being stopped, while that which is regarded as operating in favor of it is suffered to pass on.