From the lowest and broadest stratum of Society,where the births are by the million,there was born,almost in our own memory,a Robert Burns;son of one who "had capital for his poor moor-farm of Twenty Pounds a year."Robert Burns never had the smallest chance to got into Parliament,much as Robert Burns deserved,for all our sakes,to have been found there.For the man--it was kn to men purblind,sunk in their poor dim vulgar element,but might have been kn to men of insight who had any loyalty or any royalty of their own--was a born king of men:full of valor,of intelligence and heroic leness;fit for far other work than to break his heart among poor mean mortals,gauging beer!Him Tenpound Constituency chose,did any Reforming Premier:in the deep-sunk British Nation,overwhelmed in foggy stupor,with the loadstars all gone out for it,there was whisper of a ion that it could be desirable to choose him,--except to come and dine with you,and in the interim to gauge.And yet heaven-born Mr.Pitt,at that period,was by means without need of Heroic Intellect,for other purposes than gauging!But sorrowful strangulation by red-tape,much tighter then than it is when so many revolutionary earthquakes have tussled it,quite tied up the meagre Pitt;and he said,on hearing of this Burns and his sad hampered case,"Literature will take care of itself."--"Yes,and of you too,if you don't mind it!"answers one.
And so,like Apollo taken for a Neat-herd,and perhaps for e of the best on the Admetus establishment,this new se Thor had to put up with what was going;to gauge ale,and be thankful;pouring his celestial sunlight through Scottish Song-writing,--the narrowest chink ever offered to a Thunder-god before!And the meagre Pitt,and his Dundasses and red-tape Phantasms (growing very ghastly to think of),did in the least k or understand,the impious,god-forgetting mortals,that Heroic Intellects,if Heaven were pleased to send such,were the one salvation for the world and for them and all of us.they "had done very well without"such;did see the use of such;went along "very well"without such;well presided over by a singular Heroic Intellect called George the Third:and the Thunder-god,as was rather fit of him,departed early,still in the n of life,somewhat weary of gauging ale!--O Peter,what a scandalous torpid element of yellow London fog,favorable to owls only and their mousing operations,has blotted out the stars of Heaven for us these several generations back,--which,I rejoice to see,is visibly about to take itself away again,or perhaps to be dispelled in a very tremendous manner!
For the sake of my Democratic friends,one other observation.Is this Proposal the very essence of whatever truth there is in "Democracy;"this,that the able man be chosen,in whatever rank be is found?That he be searched for as hidden treasure is;be trained,supervised,set to the work which he alone is fit for.
All Democracy lies in this;this,I think,is worth all the ballot-boxes and suffrage-movements going.that the le soul,born poor,should be set to spout in Parliament,but that he should be set to assist in governing men:this is our grand Democratic interest.With this we can be saved;without this,were there a Parliament spouting in every parish,and Hansard Debates to stem the Thames,we perish,--die constitutionally drowned,in mere oceans of palaver.
All reformers,constitutional persons,and men capable of reflection,are invited to reflect on these things.Let us brush the cobwebs from our eyes;let us bid the inane traditions be silent for a moment;and ask ourselves,like men dreadfully intent on having it done ,"By what method or methods can the able men from every rank of life be gathered,as diamond-grains from the general mass of sand:the able men,the sham-able;--and set to do the work of governing,contriving,administering and guiding for us!"It is the question of questions.All that Democracy ever meant lies there:the attainment of a truer and truer Aristocracy,or Government again by the Best .
Reformed Parliaments have lamentably failed to attain it for us;and I believe will and must forever fail.One true Reforming Statesman,one le worshipper and ker of human intellect,with the quality of an experienced Politician too;he,backed by such a Parliament as England,once recognizing him,would loyally send,and at liberty to choose his working subalterns from all the Englishmen alive;he surely might do something?Something,by one means or aher,is becoming fearfully necessary to be done!He,I think,might accomplish more for us in ten years,than the best conceivable Reformed Parliament,and utmost extension of the suffrage,in twice or ten times ten.
What is extremely important too,you could try this method with safety;extension of the suffrage you can so try.With even an approximately heroic Prime Minister,you could get hing but good from prescribing to him thus,to choose the fittest man,under penalties;to choose,the fittest of the four or the three men that were in Parliament,but the fittest from the whole Twenty-seven Millions that he could hear of,--at his peril hing but good from this.From extension of the suffrage,some think,you might get quite other than good.From extension of the suffrage,till it became a universal counting of heads,one sees in the least what wisdom could be extracted.AParliament of the Paris pattern,such as we see just ,might be extracted:and from that?Solution into universal slush;drownage of all interests divine and human,in a h's-Deluge of Parliamentary eloquence,--such as we hope our sins,heavy and manifold though they are,have yet quite deserved!
