Page:A Letter on the Subject of the Cause (1797).djvu/88

 was it otherwiſe, not only the inattentive ſtraggler, but even the moſt cautious traveller, might commit a treſpaſs before he was aware: and be rendered obnoxious to the power of the Law without the leaſt concurrence of his will. The idea only of ſuch a hardſhip is painful to the mind; and could it be ſuppoſed that ſuch a circumſtance ſhould meet the ſanction of any government, it would be deemed a heavy oppreſſion, injurious to ſociety, and a groſs infringement on public liberty.

It would certainly be cruel and unjuſt, in the extreme, to puniſh a man for diſobeying a law which had not been published in a language ſuited to his underſtanding. Yet this is the actual predicament in which every Engliſhman is left, ſhould the Specification enrolled by Mr. Watt, be deemed ſufficient to afford him protection againſt the invaſion of his property: For I will venture confidently to affirm, there is not a ſingle hint comprehended in that inſtrument, which can poſſibly enable even the moſt experienced Engineer to aſcertain the proper form, the conſtruction, the relative poſition and ſituation, the dimenſions or proportion, of any one part or member of that ſtupendous and wonderful machine, a Steam Engine. Thus