I will
suppose, that they were desirous of transferring political power from a
company of rapacious and interested merchants, into the hands of
statesmen, men distinguished among a thousand parties for clear
integrity, disinterested virtue, and spotless fame. This, my lord, would
be a field worthy of your lordship's prowess. Could you but gain the
interested, could you eternize rapacity, and preserve inviolate the blot
of the English name, what laurels would not your lordship deserve?
I will therefore suppose, that your gracious master meets you with a
_carte blanche_, that he is disposed to listen to all your advices, and
to adopt all your counsels. Your lordship is aware that the road of
secret influence, and that of popular favour, are not exactly the same.
No ministry can long preserve their seats unless they possess the
confidence of a majority of the house of commons. The ministry therefore
against which your lordship acts, we will take it for granted are in
this predicament. In this situation then an important question naturally
arises. Either a majority in the house of commons must be purchased at
any rate, or the government must be conducted in defiance of that house,
or thirdly, the parliament must be dissolved. Exclusive of these three,
I can conceive of no alternative.
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