In the United States, where the
numerical majority have long been in full possession of collective
despotism, they would probably be as unwilling to part with it as a
single despot or an aristocracy. But I believe that the English
democracy would as yet be content with protection against the class
legislation of others, without claiming the power to exercise it in
their turn.
Among the ostensible objectors to Mr. Hare's scheme, some profess to
think the plan unworkable; but these, it will be found, are
generally people who have barely heard of it, or have given it a
very slight and cursory examination. Others are unable to reconcile
themselves to the loss of what they term the local character of the
representation. A nation does not seem to them to consist of
persons, but of artificial units, the creation of geography and
statistics. Parliament must represent towns and counties, not human
beings. But no one seeks to annihilate towns and counties. Towns and
counties, it may be presumed, are represented when the human beings
who inhabit them are represented. Local feelings cannot exist
without somebody who feels them; nor local interests without
somebody interested in them. If the human beings whose feelings and
interests these are have their proper share of representation, these
feelings and interests are represented in common with all other
feelings and interests of those persons.
Pages:
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178