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Untitled Article
to be good in the existing institutions , for the construction of a newer and better machinery of rule , in unison with the principles of general utility . W ith regard to Reform , ' the word does not mean the mere abolition of abuses , but the act of taking to pieces and vising the ijiaterial more scientifically . In your language , spoken at Newcastle , the following words
pceur : — - ' I look round , north , south , east , and west , and I have never been able to hear a word uttered bearing the semblance of the to
shadow of a shade of an objection m ^ de mona rc hical institutions . I have never heard anything approaching to a demand for republican institutions : and wisely , in my opinion , Convinced as I am that a constitutional monarchy affords the best security for liberty . There seems here a contradiction in terms . The word monarchy means pure despotism- A monarch is a single uncontrolled ruler . A king is a leader or representative . A king is a chief by a nation ' s voluntary choice , A monarch is a ruler over
slaves . Now it is quite true that , with respect to the mass of the people , there is as yet no decidedly expressed aversion to royalty , but it is also true that there are many people who consider a republican form of government the most eligible , though they would not plunge a country into convulsions for the sake of
obtaining it . I avow myself to be one of that number . You consider that ' a constitutional monarchy affords the best security for liberty / Under the head of liberty , you must of course mean equal rights to all human beings who have attained majority , and are not incapacitated by physical defects . If this be your meaning , then your c constitutional monarchy * is nothing but a republic , with an hereditary president called a king , instead of an elective king or leader called a president . The whole distinction lies in the mode of procuring a chief magistrate ; republicans
prefer an elective president , because he can be chosen for his intellect , morality , and other high qualities ; an hereditary president may be either a very good or a very bad man . It is not the constant good fortune of every nation to possess a monarch like the fourth William . They must often be subjected to
ignorance , imbecility , caprice , and obstinacy . Suppose the latter to be the position of a people , will any one say that an elective ruler , removable without violence , would not be better than an hereditary nuisance , not to be got rid of without a convulsion ? With another portion of your words I perfectly agree , and all must agree with them who have at all studied the English character : ' I believe that loyalty prevails more strongly at the present moment than ever it did , and that it is only pent up , and not exhibited , because , in the first place , there is no reason for
Untitled Article
686 To Lord Durham .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1834, page 886, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2640/page/68/
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