ABSTRACT
To the contemplative philosopher, nothing is more striking, throughout the whole range of human life, than the universal tendency of men to overrate the relative importance of the business under their hand. It was a time of revolutionary conspiracies; conspiracies to which those of the Castlereagh and Sidmouth times were trifles; conspiracies at both extremes of society, – one under the steps of the throne, the other under the shadow of the workhouse. It is unnecessary to present again the conduct of the majority of the Peers during the reform struggle. It is, and ever will be, fresh in men’s minds; the disgrace of the bishops above all; and, next, the insolence and rancor of the least enlightened of the lay Peers. Much more effectual was the action within the walls of the House of Commons, on the ground of the petitions sent up during the mutilation of the Municipal Bill by the Peers.
