356 LETTER TO 



are to resist repeated attacks of interest, where 

 there is the smallest chance that their yielding 

 to them will be concealed, refused to commit 

 an orphan, or person of insane mind, to the care 

 of the next heir, though he were the nearest 

 relation. 



It would, I think, be difficult, if not impos- 

 sible, to point out, in any part of the world, a 

 large body of men, who are more likely, in 

 their collective capacity, to regulate their con- 

 duct by the principles of honour and good 

 faith, than the Commons of the Parliament of 

 Great Britain ; and yet not many years have 

 elapsed, since they confessed by their proceed- 

 ings, that they had often corruptly exercised 

 the power of determining contested elections to 

 their House, and by a noble act of general jus- 

 tice, deprived themselves of the means in future 

 of violating the rules of right in detail. 



Distrust of the virtue of mankind, seems in- 

 deed to be a leading principle of the con- 

 stitution of our country. The supreme power 

 of the state is vested in no one person, or set of 

 persons , but is broken down into various parts, 

 which are distributed among different descrip- 

 tions of men. Each of these, from the original 

 laws of human nature, aims at its own aggran- 

 dizement, which the others labour equally to 

 oppose. From this contention arises the most 



