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well-meaning country gentlemen, who are in parliament only to keep up the consequence of their families. Upon most of these a good speech will have influence." JOHNSON. "We are all more or less governed by interest: but interest will not make us do every thing. In a case which admits of doubt, we try to think on the side which is for our interest, and generally bring ourselves to act accordingly but the subject must admit of diversity of colouring; it must receive a colour on that side. In the house of commons there are members enough who will not vote what is grossly unjust or absurd. No, sir, there must always he right enough, or appearance of right, to keep wrong in countenance." BOSWELL. "There is surely always a majority in parliament who have places, or who want to have them, and who therefore will be generally ready to support government without requiring any pretext." E."True, sir; that majority will always follow

Quo clamor vocat et turba faventium."

BOSWELL." Well, now, let us take the common phrase, Place-hunters. I thought they had hunted without regard to any thing, just as their huntsman, the minister, leads, looking only to the prey." J. "But, taking your metaphor, you know that in

Lord Bolingbroke, who, however detestable as a metaphysician, must be allowed to have had admirable talents as a political writer-thus describes the house of commons, in his Letter to sir William Windham : "You know the nature of that assembly; they grow, like hounds, fond of the man who shows them game, and by whose halloo they are used to be encouraged."

hunting there are few so desperately keen as to follow without reserve. Some do not choose to leap ditches and hedges, and risk their necks, or gallop over steeps, or even to dirty themselves in bogs and mire." BOSWELL. "I am glad there are some good, quiet, moderate, political hunters." E. "I believe in any body of men in England I should have been in the minority: I have always been in the minority." P."The house of commons resembles a private company. How seldom is any man convinced by another's argument ! passion and pride rise against it." R. "What would be the consequence, if a minister, sure of a majority in the house of commons, should resolve that there should be no speaking at all upon his side?" E. "He must soon go out. That has been tried, but it was found it would not do."

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Russia being mentioned as likely to become a great empire, by the rapid increase of population: JOHNSON. " Why, sir, I see no prospect of their Propagating more. They can have no more children than they can get. I know of no way to make them breed more than they do. It is not from reason and prudence that people marry, but from incliuation. A man is poor; he thinks, I cannot be worse, and so I'll ev'n take Peggy.' BOSWELL. "But have not nations been more populous at one period than another?" JOHNSON. "Yes, sir; but that has been owing to the people being less thinned at one period than another, whether by emigrations, war, or pestilence; not by their being more or less prolific. Births at all times bear the same proportion to the same number of people." BOSWELL." But, to consider the state of our own country :-does not throwing a number of farms into one hand, hurt

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population? JOHNSON. "Why no, sir; the same quantity of food being produced, will be consumed by the same number of mouths, though the people may be disposed of in different ways. We see, if corn be dear, and butchers' meat cheap, the farmers will apply themselves to the raising of corn, till it becomes plentiful and cheap; and then butchers' meat becomes dear: so that an equality is always preserved. No, sir, let fauciful men do as they will depend upon it, it is difficult to disturb the system of life." BOSWELL. "But, sir, is it not a very bad thing for landlords to oppress their tenants by raising their rents?" JOHNSON. "Very bad; but, sir, it never can have any general influence; it may distress some individuals. For, consider this: landlords cannot do without tenants. Now, tenants will not give more for laud than land is worth. If they can make more of their money by keeping a shop, or any other way, they'll do it, and so oblige landlords to let land come back to a reasonable rent, in order that they may get tenants. Land, in England, is an article of commerce. A tenant, who pays his landlord his rent, thinks himself no more obliged to him, than you think yourself obliged to a man, in whose shop you buy a piece of goods. He knows the landlord does not let him have his land for less than he can get from others, in the same manner as the shopkeeper sells his goods. No shopkeeper sells a yard of ribband for six-pence, when seven-pence is the current price." BOSWELL. "But, sir, is it not better that tenants should be dependent on landlords?" JoHNSON. "Why, sir, as there are many more tenants than landlords, perhaps, strictly speaking, we should wish not.

But, if you please, you may let your lands, and so get the value, part in money, and part in homage. I should agree with you in that. BOSWELL." So, sir, you laugh at schemes of political improvement.' JOHNSON. Why, sir, most schemes of political improvement are very laughable things."

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No. XIII.

GOVERNMENT.

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A PARTY of literary friends spending the evening together at the Mitre tavern in Fleet-street, Goldsmith, as usual, endeavoured, with too much eagerness, to shine, and disputed very warmly with Johnsou against the well-known maxim of the British constitution," the king can do no wrong;" affirming, that "what was morally false could not be politically true; and, as the king might, in the exercise of his regal power, command and cause the doing of what was wrong, it certainly might be said, in sense and in reason, that he could do wrong." JOHNSON. "Sir, you are to consider, that in our constitution, according to its true principles, the king is the head; he is supreme; he is above every thing; and there is no power by which he can be tried: therefore it is, sir, that we hold the king can do no wrong; that whatever may happen to be wrong in government, may not be above our reach, by being ascribed to majesty. Redress is always to be had against oppression, by punishing the immediate agents. The king, though he should command, cannot force a judge to condemn a man unjustly; therefore, it is

the judge whom we prosecute and punish. Political institutions are formed upon the consideration of what will most frequently tend to the good of the whole, although now and then exceptions may occur. Thus it is better, in general, that a ration should have a supreme legislative power, although it may at times be abused: and then, sir, there is this consideration-that if the abuse be enormous, Nature will rise up, and, claiming her original rights, overturn a corrupt political system.”

In the year 1769, politics being mentioned, he said, "This petitioning is a new mode of distressing government, and a mighty easy one. I will untake to get petitions either against quarter guineas or half guineas, with the help of a little hot wine. There must be no yielding to encourage this; the object is not important enough. We are not to blow up half a dozen palaces, because one cottage is burning."*

He observed, "Providence has wisely ordered, that the more numerous men are, the more difficult it is for them to agree in any thing; and so they are governed. There is no doubt, that if the poor should reason, 'We'll be the poor no longer; we'll make the rich take their turn'-they could easily do it, were it not that they can't agree. So the common soldiers, though so much more numerous than their officers, are governed by them for the same reason.”

Dr. Maxwell said of Johnson, "He detested the idea of governing by parliamentary corruption; and asserted most strenuously, that a prince, steadily and

* Unquestionably we should, if the burning this one cottage threaten a general conflagration.-Ed.

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