His Grace's landed possessions are irresistibly inviting to an agrarian
experiment. They are a downright insult upon the rights of man. They are
more extensive than the territory of many of the Grecian republics; and
they are without comparison more fertile than most of them. There are
now republics in Italy, in Germany, and in Switzerland, which do not
possess anything like so fair and ample a domain. There is scope for
seven philosophers to proceed in their analytical experiments upon
Harrington's seven different forms of republics, in the acres of this
one Duke. Hitherto they have been wholly unproductive to
speculation,--fitted for nothing but to fatten bullocks, and to produce
grain for beer, still more to stupefy the dull English understanding.
Abbe Sieyes has whole nests of pigeon-holes full of constitutions
ready-made, ticketed, sorted, and numbered, suited to every season and
every fancy: some with the top of the pattern at the bottom, and some
with the bottom at the top; some plain, some flowered; some
distinguished for their simplicity, others for their complexity; some of
blood color, some of _boue de Paris_; some with directories, others
without a direction; some with councils of elders and councils of
youngsters, some without any council at all; some where the electors
choose the representatives, others where the representatives choose the
electors; some in long coats, and some in short cloaks; some with
pantaloons, some without breeches; some with five-shilling
qualifications, some totally unqualified.
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