tionist, viz. corruption-eaters: but, under the species corruption-hunters, no precise number of individuals could ever be distinguished: under the influence of the ever attracting, and scarcely resistible, cocagne above spoken of,-the difficulty would be, among the whole remainder of the numbers voting on this side, to find so much as the single individual, who did not appertain to this latter species, and thence to the genus in which it is included.

8. Number of members present at the time of the division, compared with the numbers present at different portions of the length of time employed in the debate. In ordinary tribunals, the two operationsoyer and terminer-being expressly included in the same commission,—and oyer being regarded as forming a useful, not to say a necessary, preparative to terminer, -he who performs either of them performs both: in this extraordinary tribunal, not inconsiderable (as every body knows) is the proportion of those distinguishing more than distinguished Honourables, who, regarding oyer as a useless formality, come to the terminer at once: by which principle of dispatch, a proportionable saving of time is effected. Quere, on the occa-sion of each division, the number of these economists, and the quantity of the saving effected by each?

III. Mischiefs from Non-attendance :-Mischief 1. Mischief in respect of Moral Aptitude.

Only by regard for regularity is produced the mention made of this topic in this place. In the Plan itself, pp. 21, 22, may be seen how, in the license given to dereliction of duty in this shape, is contained

a sub-license, by which, without danger of shame or reproach in any shape, every man is empowered, within any given space of time, to produce exactly half the effect, which, within that same space of time, could have been produced by an uninterrupted series of votes, given by him in support of a series of measures, not only corrupt but scandalous:-so scandalous, and that to such a degree as that, whatsoever had been his wishes,—had he been present, he could not have prevailed with himself to abstain from voting in opposition to them in every instance.

IV. Mischief 2.-Intellectual Mischief-Deficiency in respect of appropriate Intellectual Aptitude, and appropriate Active Talent.

Probity being supposed not deficient, principally upon appropriate intellectual aptitude depends the propriety of the direction, given on the several occasions, to a man's vote: in the case, where it is not with himself that the measure has originated, principally upon appropriate active talent the aptness of the matter of which his speeches are composed: in this case certain it is with himself that, singly or in conjunction with others, the measure has originated, on intellectual aptitude, as evidenced by the choice made of that same measure, and of the more particular measures, if any, including the occasional penning of written instruments-for example, Motions, Resolutions, and Reports of Committees which, as being subservient to it, are included in it but upon appropriate active talent, in another shape, depends the matter of those several

instruments.

That, in respect of these two so intimately connected elements of aptitude, a general and predominant state of inaptitude is among the natural and naturally unavoidable effects of the whole system taken together, is a matter which, in some sort, has already been brought to view. On the one hand, necessity of hard labour in both these elementary shapes to aptitude in the aggregate shape in question; on the other hand, exclusion put upon the hard labour, and thence upon the aptitude, viz. by rank and opulence :-of rank and opulence together, the effect being to put a man already, and even to a greater amount, in possession of that sort of consideration, which, but for these unmerited advantages, might, in the character of an adequate reward, have suffered to extract from him the exertions necessary to furnish his mind, and in sufficient quantity, with those same endowments. By rank, opulence, or connexion, is a man put in possession of this office: by the pride joined to the indolence derived from the same sources,—is he, in respect of the endowments here in question, more or less disqualified from the exercising, with any benefit to the universal interest, the power attached to this most important of all offices. Of these three modes of entrance into a seat, connexion is that by which the greatest chance for any tolerable stock of these endowments is left. Why? Because, in the instance of a patron, rendered such by proprietorship, or by terrorism,-what here and there will happen is-that, on failure of all persons connected with him by natural relationship, some person or other shall, by the possession, or reputed possession, of the endowments in question, in a degree

more or less distinguished, have been recommended to his choice.

In this state of things,-to men seated by connexion, with the addition of men seated by profession, but in a more particular degree to the latter,-of these two intellectual endowments will such stock as is to be found in Honourable House be, generally speaking, almost confined: at any rate, small indeed, in proportion to the whole number (658), will be the number of those, in whose instance, otherwise than in company with the one or the other of these two marks of distinction, any tolerable stock of these endowments is found discernible. In that House, the term Country-gentleman is it not a sort of by-word?-is it not commonly regarded as presenting, in one word, a sort of character, the idea of, compounded of mental indolence, mental vacuity, and mental weakness?

In those two quarters then-connexion and profession—in these two quarters are the two intellectual endowments in question almost exclusively looked for.

Well; and in those same quarters suppose them found: what is the consequence? The universal interest, is it by this means benefited? On the contrary, much more probably is it injured. Only in so far as these two intellectual endowments are in the same breast united to the one moral one-only in so far as they are united to appropriate probity-will the universal interest receive from them any net benefit:-only on the terms of this auspicious union, will it so much as escape the being sacrificed. But, the higher the degree, in which by the individual in question they are possessed, the higher will be the price which, at the

constantly overt market, of which Cr-General is Clerk, they will fetch: the higher, the price, the higher the temptation, and the less the probability of resistance.

In this state of things-the promiscuous multitude being by intellectual weakness prepared for the reception of mental poison-the select few, by sinistrously derived strength, for the injecting of it-observe what will be the effect of the cluster of arguments, comprehendible under the common appellation of the argumentum à superficie ad superficiem-arguments from surface to surface--appositely employed. Gorged with public money, obtained on false pretences out of the taxes-behold a man, whose whole political life has been employed in helping to give increase to waste, corruption, and the consequent oppressions,-summoning up, when the time comes, all his powers, to the duty of guarding this complication of disorders against the only remedy: and the history of any one such individual is the history of a class. Quicquid recipitur, recipitur ad modum recipientis-says a maxim of the Old-School Logic:-a maxim in which more instruction is contained than can often be obtained from any such musty source. Of whatsoever is received, correspondent to the constitution of that by which, or him by whom it is received, will be the effect. On a mind prepared by sound and manly instruction for the resisting of it, poison such as that would have no effect: but those with which it has to deal, are minds that, by want of instruction, or by such instruction as is worse than none, have been pre