I EARLY LIFE 19 



fourth Essay, " On the First Principles of Govern- 

 ment " : 



" As force is always on the side of the governed, the governors 

 have nothing to support them hut opinion. It is, therefore, 

 on opinion only that government is founded ; and this maxim 

 extends to the most despotic and most military governments, 

 as well as to the most free and the most popular." (III. 31.) 



But if the whole fabric of social organisation 

 rests on opinion, it may surely be fairly argued 

 that, in the interests of self-preservation, if for no 

 better reason, society has a right to see that the 

 means of forming just opinions are placed within 

 the reach of every one of its members ; and. there- 

 fore, that due provision for education, at any rate, 

 is a right and, indeed, a duty, of the state. 



The three opinions upon which all government, 

 or the authority of the few over the many, is 

 founded, says Hume, are public interest, right to 

 power, and right to property. No government 

 can permanently exist, unless the majority of the 

 citizens, who are the ultimate depositary of Force, 

 are convinced that it serves the general interest, 

 that it has lawful authority, and that it respects 

 individual rights : 



"A government may endure for several ages, though the 

 balance of power and the balance of property do not coincide 

 .... But where the original constitution allows any share of 

 power, though small, to an order of men who possess a large 

 share of property, it is easy for them gradually to stretch their 

 authority, and bring the balance of power to coincide with that 

 of property. This has been the case with the House of 

 Commons in England." (III. 34.) 



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