Page:Trenchard Tracts 074-124.djvu/2

 ''ame Things, call them what Names of Ditinction you pleae. A Government is a mere Piece of Clockwork; and having uch Springs and Wheels, mut act after uch a Manner: And therefore the Art is to contitute it o that it mut move to the public Advantage. It is certain that every Man will act for his own Interet; and all wie Governments are founded upon that Principle: So that this whole Mytery is only to make the Interet of the and Governed the ame. In an absolute Monarchy, where the whole Power is in one Man, his Interet will be only regarded: In an Aritocracy the Interet of a few; and in a free Government the Interet of every one. This would be the Cae of England if ome Abues that have lately crept into our Contitution were remov'd. The  of this Kingdom depends upon the People's chuing the Houe of Commons, who are a Part of the Legilature, and have the ole Power of giving Money. Were this a true Repreentative, and free from external Force or private Bribery, nothing could pas there but what they thought was for the public Advantage. For their own Interet is o interwoven with the People's, that if they act for themelves (which every one of them will do as near as he can) they mut act for the common Intert of England. And if a few among them hould find it their Interet to abue their Power, it will be the Interet of all the ret to punih them for it: and then our Governmene would act mechanically, and a Rogue will as naturally be hang'd as a Clock trike Twelve when the Hour is come. This is the Fountain-head from whence the People expect all their, and the Redres of their Grievances; and if we can preerve them free from Corruption, they will take Care to keep every Body ele o. Our Contitution eems to have provided for it, by never uffering the King (till Charles the Second's Reign) to have a Mercenary Army to frighten them into a Compliance, nor Places or  great enough to bribe them into it. The Places in the King's Gift were but few, and mot of them Patent Places for Life, and the ret great Offices of State enjoy'd by ingle Perons, which eldom fell to the Share of the Commons, uch as the Lord Chancellor, Lord Treaurer, Privy-Seal, Lord High-Admiral, &c. and when thee were poes'd by the Lords, the Commons were evere ''