MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 207 



once enlightened sons ; for this renown and this 

 exalted station cannot be stable unless a pure 

 representation of the people is' kept up : without 

 that, justice will be perverted, and corruption will 

 creep in and in time overturn the best and wisest 

 plans. Government will become omnipotent, in- 

 stead of being the umpire and standing by, like 

 a strong man, to see that justice is done. Lord 

 Bacon says: "The ultimate object which legis- 

 lators ought to have in view, and to which all their 

 enactments and sanctions ought to be subservient, 

 is, that the citizens may live happy. For this 

 purpose it is necessary that they should receive 

 a religious and pious education ; that they should 

 be trained to good morals ; that they should be 

 secured from foreign enemies by proper military 

 arrangements ; that they should be guarded by an 

 effectual police against seditions and private in- 

 juries ; that they should be loyal to government, 

 and obedient to magistrates ; and, finally, that 

 they should abound in wealth, and other national 

 resources." 



Well-constituted governments, if occasionally 

 revised, and as often as necessary scrupulously 

 amended, may be rendered as permanent as time. 

 If wisely and virtuously administered, they would 

 be indestructible, and incalculably contribute, by 

 their vigour and uninterrupted duration, to the 

 mental and moral aggrandisement of man. It is 

 a truth confirmed by universal history, that the 

 happiness or misery of a people almost entirely 

 depends upon the principles of their government, 

 and the conduct of their rulers. Where just and 

 honourable intentions exist, there is nothing to 

 dread; but, when only the semblance of these are 



