ffgi. parliament. Corn bill. 2 — iG-H- 



to Ifsue his mandate to the revenue officers of the proscri- 

 bed district, telhng them that complaints are loud that 

 the revenue laws are not strictly enforced in that district,, 

 with regard to that particular article, and requiring them, 

 at their peril, to see the laws more strictly enforced in fu- 

 ture •, while no such mandate is sent to other districts, or 

 perhaps a mandate of an opposite tendency. I'he conse- 

 quence is, that the minister, by a secret manceuvre, which 

 altogether escapes the public eye, can thus deprefs or en- 

 Courage at pleasure, whatever part of the country he in- 

 clines. That this may be done, cannot be disputed j and 

 that it has been done, will not, I think be denied, in this 

 country at least. 



A strict adherence to forms of procedure, in other re- 

 spects, is also a barrier to despotism, which wisdom has' 

 contrived, and which ignorance cannot perceive, that 

 ought to be rigidly adhered to. The pafsions of men arc 

 often violent, and when a popular tide runs high in favour' 

 of a particular object, it seems to be impofsible to go toO' 

 far in its favour. In these moments of national phrenzy, 

 what barrier can be conceived for moderating its vio- 

 lence, except old establiflied_/o/v;w.'' Reasoning, by those 

 who are capable of it, would be always ineffectual, — often' 

 dangerous. Break down, therefore, this single fence that- 

 stands in the way to stop procedure for a time, and every 

 thing must give way to the popular torrent j — but let this^ 

 be respected as sacred, and reason may have time to resume 

 her throne. Often have ministers complained of the te- 

 diousnefs occasioned by the forms of procedure in the le- 

 gislative afsemblies of the Bclgic confederacy ; but these 

 states owe their very existence to these forms. Who can- 

 compute the number of wars from which they have been 

 saved by tliese forms ? The very difficulty of getting over' 

 these, prevents even an attempt to seduce them on many 

 occasions \ and similar difficulties will produce similar ef- 

 fects in other cases. For these reasons, I conceive that 

 old establiflied_/or///j- of procedure in government ought' 

 to be accounted the palladium of a state, and ought ever 

 to be deemed so sacred, as on no occasion to be made tO' 

 yield to the prefsure of the present moment. They may- 

 jofsibly, at times, be productive of a real inconvenience j» 



