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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Common Sense by Thomas Paine: there is for a king. It is somewhat difficult to find a proper name
for the government of England. Sir William Meredith calls it a republic;
but in its present state it is unworthy of the name, because the corrupt
influence of the crown, by having all the places in its disposal,
hath so effectually swallowed up the power, and eaten out the virtue
of the house of commons (the republican part in the constitution)
that the government of England is nearly as monarchical as that of France
or Spain. Men fall out with names without understanding them.
For it is the republican and not the monarchical part of the constitution
of England which Englishmen glory in, viz. the liberty of choosing an house
of commons from out of their own body - and it is easy to see that when
Common Sense |
