--Strangers to the remotest idea of proscription, they
erected a fortress, where every virtue, and every excellence might find
a place.
The only remaining objection to the coalition that I know of, that it
shocks established opinions, is not, I think, in itself, calculated to
have much weight, and has, perhaps, been sufficiently animadverted upon,
as we went along, in what has been already said. The proper question is,
was it a necessary step? Was there any other way, by which the country
could be redeemed? If a satisfactory answer has been furnished to these
enquiries, the inevitable conclusion in my opinion is, that the more it
mocked established opinions, and the more intellectual nerve it
demanded, the more merit did it possess, and the louder applause is its
due.
I am not inclined to believe, that a majority of my countrymen, upon
reflection, have disapproved this measure. I am happy to perceive, that
so much of that good sense and manly thinking in public questions, that
has for ages been considered as the characteristic quality of
Englishmen, is still left among us. There can be nothing more honourable
than this.--By it our commonalty, though unable indeed to forestal the
hero and the man of genius in his schemes, do yet, if I may be allowed
the expression, tread upon his heels, and are prepared to follow him in
all his views, and to glow with all his sentiments.
Pages:
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48