But as the refusal of franchises which are drawn out of
the first vital stamina of the British Constitution is a very serious
thing, we ought to be very sure that the manner and spirit of the
application is offensive and dangerous indeed, before we ultimately
reject all applications of this nature. The mode of application, I hear,
is by petition. It is the manner in which all the sovereign powers of
the world are approached; and I never heard (except in the case of James
the Second) that any prince considered this manner of supplication to be
contrary to the humility of a subject or to the respect due to the
person or authority of the sovereign. This rule, and a correspondent
practice, are observed from the Grand Seignior down to the most petty
prince or republic in Europe.
You have sent me several papers, some in print, some in manuscript. I
think I had seen all of them, except the formula of association. I
confess they appear to me to contain matter mischievous, and capable of
giving alarm, if the spirit in which they are written should be found to
make any considerable progress.
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