Page:Letters of Junius, volume 1 (Woodfall, 1772).djvu/22

viii last session of a septennial parliament be usually employed in courting the favour of the people, consider that, at this rate, your representatives have six years for offence, and but one for atonement. A death-bed repentance seldom reaches to restitution. If you reflect, that, in the changes of administration, which have marked and disgraced the present reign, although your warmest patriots have, in their turn, been invested with the lawful and unlawful authority of the crown; and though other reliefs or improvements have been held forth to the people, yet, that no one man in office has ever promoted or encouraged a bill for shortening the duration of parliament; but that, (whoever was minister), the opposition to this measure, ever since the septennial act passed, has been constant and uniform on the part of government,—You cannot but conclude, without the possibility of a doubt, that long parliaments are the foundation of the undue