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 fessed to be utterly loyal to the Constitution, i.e. to government by King, Lords, and Commons. But neither was really true to its original principles. The Whigs originally favoured a vast empire, and the careful protection of British trade, by war if necessary, especially by war with Catholic France; whereas the Tories were all for a French alliance and despised trade and colonies. Nowadays things have reversed themselves; and it is the Conservatives (or Tories) who want to protect British trade, to keep a large army and navy always ready for war, and to win the love of our brothers in the Colonies. Each party has constantly taken a different view of what the exact needs of Britain are, and each has exaggerated its own view, out of rivalry with the other party.

And this has been unfortunate; for it has too often made the leaders of each party tell lies to the people of Great Britain, in order to get their friends elected to Parliament, and themselves to office as the King’s ministers. For you will see, if you reflect, that, when every law and every grant of money has to be passed by both Houses of Parliament, it would be of no use to a king to have Whig ministers if there was a Tory majority in the House of Commons; a King who wanted to govern well and without quarrels must take ministers from the party which, for the time, has the upper hand in the House of Commons. In those days the House of Commons was chosen by a very small body of electors; now it is chosen by almost all the grown-up men in Great Britain. But the principle was the same then as now; a king who, perhaps, wanted to make a ‘Whig’ war or carry a ‘Whig’ law might suddenly find himself, after the election of a new Parlia-