Here they fasten, and, if they are right in their
fact, with sufficient judgment in their selection. If he be guilty in
this point, he is equally blamable, whether he is consistent or not. If
he endeavors to delude his countrymen by a false representation of the
spirit of that leading event, and of the true nature and tenure of the
government formed in consequence of it, he is deeply responsible, he is
an enemy to the free Constitution of the kingdom. But he is not guilty
in any sense. I maintain that in his Reflections he has stated the
Revolution and the Settlement upon their true principles of legal reason
and constitutional policy.
His authorities are the acts and declarations of Parliament, given in
their proper words. So far as these go, nothing can be added to what he
has quoted. The question is, whether he has understood them rightly. I
think they speak plain enough. But we must now see whether he proceeds
with other authority than his own constructions, and, if he does, on
what sort of authority he proceeds. In this part, his defence will not
be made by argument, but by wager of law.
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