e House of Commons,
under the operation of these examples, must of necessity be constituted.
On the side of the court will be, all honors, offices, emoluments; every
sort of personal gratification to avarice or vanity; and, what is of
more moment to most gentlemen, the means of growing, by innumerable
petty services to individuals, into a spreading interest in their
country. On the other hand, let us suppose a person unconnected with the
court, and in opposition to its system. For his own person, no office,
or emolument, or title; no promotion, ecclesiastical, or civil, or
military, or naval, for children, or brothers, or kindred. In vain an
expiring interest in a borough calls for offices, or small livings, for
the children of mayors, and aldermen, and capital burgesses. His court
rival has them all. He can do an infinite number of acts of generosity
and kindness, and even of public spirit. He can procure indemnity from
quarters. He can procure advantages in trade. He can get pardons for
offences. He can obtain a thousand favors, and avert a thousand evils.
He may, while he betrays every valuable interest of the kingdom, be a
benefactor, a patron, a father, a guardian angel to his borough. The
unfortunate independent member has nothing to offer, but harsh refusal,
or pitiful excuse, or despondent representation of a hopeless interest.
Except from his private fortune, in which he may be equalled, perhaps
exceeded, by his court competitor, he has no way of showing any one good
quality, or of making a single friend. In the House, he votes forever in
a dispirited minority. If he speaks, the doors are locked. A body of
loquacious placemen go out to tell the world that all he aims at is to
get into office. If he has not the talent of elocution, which is the
case of many as wise and knowing men as any in the House, he is liable
to all these inconveniences, without the _eclat_ which attends upon any
tolerably successful exertion of eloquence. Can we conceive a more
discouraging post of duty than this? Strip it of the poor reward of
popularity; suffer even the excesses committed in defence of the popular
interest to become a ground for the majority of that House to form a
disqualification out of the line of the law, and at their pleasure,
attended not only with the loss of the franchise, but with every kind of
personal disgrace.--If this shall happen, the people of this kingdom may
be assured that they cannot be firmly or faithfu