ABSTRACT
The House of Commons is now constituted of 658 Members, all of whom are returned by some form of election; 513 of them for England, 45 for Scotland, and 100 for Ireland. The phrase, therefore, “virtual representation,” is an attempt at deception, and, as such, should be banished out of all decent society. It has no warrant in law or reason; and if it be admitted as valid, the inmates of Newgate may contend, that in virtue of the diversity of their original occupations or pursuits, they are representatives of the city of London. The bane of all religions has been the necessity of keeping up an attention and attaching a value to external forms and ceremonies. “The first class associate together in a style of elegance and splendour little inferior to Europeans; and in some instances superior to those in a similar station of life.
