FIAT EXPERIMENTUM. 183 can an ignorant man find words?-can a low man find confidence? Is not he afraid of becoming an object of ridicule? can he believe that his expressions will be understood? How often have we seen a poor wretch, struggling against the agonies of his spirit, and the rudeness of his conceptions, and his awe of better-dressed men and better-taught men, and the shame which the accusation has brought upon his head, and the sight of his parents and children gazing at him in the Court, for the last time, perhaps, and after a long absence! The mariner sinking in the wave does not want a helping hand more than does this poor wretch. But help is denied to all! Age cannot have it, nor ignorance, nor the modesty of women! One hard uncharitable rule silences the defenders of the wretched, in the worst of human evils; and at the bitterest of human moments, mercy is blotted out from the ways of men!* 1826.] -[E. R. FIAT EXPERIMENTUM. HOWARD devoted himself to his country. It was a noble example. Let two gentlemen on the Ministerial side of the House (we only ask for two) commit some crimes, which will render their execution a painful necessity. Let them feel, and report to the House, all the injustice and inconvenience of having neither a copy of the indictment, nor a list of witnesses, nor counsel to defend them. We will venture to say, that the evidence of two such persons would do more for the * All this nonsense is now put an end to. Counsel is allowed to the prisoner, and they are permitted to speak in his defence. 184 THE FALLACY OF AGE. improvement of the criminal law, than all the orations of Mr. Lamb or the lucubrations of Beccaria. Such evidence would save time, and bring the question to an issue. It is a great duty, and ought to be fulfilled — and in ancient Rome, would have been fulfilled.-[E. R. 1826.] CURRENCY OF FALLACIES. THERE are a vast number of absurd and mischievous fallacies, which pass readily in the world for sense and virtue, while in truth they tend only to fortify error and encourage crime. — [E. R. 1825.] THE FALLACY OF AGE. Our Wise Ancestors-the Wisdom of our Ancestors - the Wisdom of Ages-venerable Antiquity—Wisdom of Old Times.-This mischievous and absurd fallacy springs from the grossest perversion of the meaning of words. Experience is certainly the mother of wisdom, and the old have, of course, a greater experience than the young; but the question is, who are the old? and who are the young? Of individuals living at the same period, the oldest has, of course, the greatest experience; but among generations of men the reverse of this is true. Those who come first (our ancestors), are the young people, and have the least experience. We have added to their experience the experience of many centuries: and, therefore, as far as experience goes, are wiser, and more capable of forming an opinion than they were. The real feeling should be, not, can we be so presumptuous as to put our opinions in opposition to those of our an WISDOM OF OUR ANCESTORS. 185 cestors? but can such young, ignorant, inexperienced persons as our ancestors necessarily were, be expected to have understood a subject as well as those who have seen so much more, lived so much longer, and enjoyed the experience of so many centuries?-[E. R. 1825.] WISDOM OF OUR ANCESTORS. OUR ancestors, up to the Conquest, were children in arms; chubby boys in the time of Edward the First; striplings under Elizabeth; men in the reign of Queen Anne; and we only are the white-bearded, silver-headed ancients, who have treasured up, and are prepared to profit by, all the experience which human life can supply. It is necessary to insist upon this; for upon sacks of wool, and on benches forensic, sit grave men, and agricolous persons in the Commons, crying out "Ancestors, Ancestors! hodie non! Saxons, Danes, save us! Fiddlefrig, help us! Howel, Ethelwolf, protect us!" Any cover for nonsense -any veil for trash any pretext for repelling the innovations of conscience and of duty! —[E. R. 1825.] IRREVOCABLE LAWS. THE despotism of Nero or Caligula would be more tolerable than an irrevocable law. The despot, through fear or favour, or in a lucid interval, might relent; but how are the Parliament, who made the Scotch Union, for example, to be awakened from that dust in which they repose-the jobber and the patriot, the speaker and the doorkeeper, the silent voters and the men of rich allusions-Cannings and cultivators, Barings and beggars→→ 186 IRREVOCABLE LAWS. making irrevocable laws for men who toss their remains about with spades, and use the relics of these legislators, to give breadth to broccoli, and to aid the vernal eruption of asparagus? To suppose that there is anything which a whole. nation cannot do, which they deem to be essential to their happiness, and that they cannot do it, because another generation, long ago dead and gone, said it must not be done, is mere nonsense. While you are captain of the vessel, do what you please; but the moment you quit the ship, I become as omnipotent as you. You may leave me as much advice as you please, but you cannot leave me commands; though, in fact, this is the only meaning which can be applied to what are called irrevocable laws. In every year, and every day of that year, living men have a right to make their own laws, and manage their own affairs; to break through the tyranny of the antespirants — the people who breathed before them, and to do what they please for themselves. When a law is considered as immutable, and the immutable law happens at the same time to be too foolish and mischievous to be endured, instead of being repealed, it is clandestinely evaded, or openly violated; and thus the authority of all law is weakened. An irrevocable law is a piece of absurd tyranny exercised by the rulers of Queen Anne's time upon the government of 1825-a certain art of potting and preserving a kingdom, in one shape, attitude, and flavour and in this way it is that an institution appears like old Ladies' Sweetmeats and made Wines- Apricot Jam 1822-Currant Wine 1819-Court of Chancery 1427 -Penal Laws against Catholics 1676. The difference SUBMISSION OF JUDGMENT. NO INNOVATION. 187 is, that the Ancient Woman is a better judge of mouldy commodities than the liberal part of his Majesty's Ministers. The potting lady goes sniffing about and admitting light and air to prevent the progress of decay; while to him of the Woolsack, all seems doubly dear in proportion as it is antiquated, worthless, and unusable. -{E. R. 1825.] SUBMISSION OF JUDGMENT. CAN there be greater absurdity than to say that a man is acting contrary to his conscience who surrenders his opinion upon any subject to those who must understand the subject better than himself?-[E. R. 1825.] NO INNOVATION. No Innovation!-To say that all new things are bad, is to say that all old things were bad in their commencement for of all the old things ever seen or heard of, there is not one that was not once new. Whatever is now establishment was once innovation. The first inventor of pews and parish clerks, was no doubt considered as a Jacobin in his day. Judges, juries, criers of the court, are all the inventions of ardent spirits, who filled the world with alarm, and were considered as the great precursors of ruin and dissolution. No inoculation, no turnpikes, no reading, no writing, no popery! The fool sayeth in his heart, and crieth with his mouth, "I will have nothing new!"-[E. R. 1825.] |
