Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/174

158 wie regulator, may be directed to any beneficial purpoe; and thereby every individual may be made ubervient to the public good, while he principally means to promote his own particular views. A body of nobility is alo more peculiarly neceary in our mixed and compounded contitution, in order to upport the rights of both the crown and the people, by forming a barrier to withtand the encroachments of both. It creates and preerves that gradual cale of dignity, which proceeds from the peaant to the prince; riing like a pyramid from a broad foundation, and diminihing to a point as it ries. It is this acending and contracting proportion that adds tability to any government; for when the departure is udden from one extreme to another, we may pronounce that tate to be precarious. The nobility therefore are the pillars, which are reared from among the people, more immediately to upport the throne; and if that falls, they mut alo be buried under it’s ruins. Accordingly, when in the lat century the commons had determined to extirpate monarchy, they alo voted the houe of lords to be ueles and dangerous. And ince titles of nobility are thus expedient in the tate, it is alo expedient that their owners hould form an independent and eparate branch of the legilature. If they were confounded with the mas of the people, and like them had only a vote in electing repreentatives, their privileges would oon be borne down and overwhelmed by the popular torrent, which would effectually level all ditinctions. It is therefore highly neceary that the body of nobles hould have a ditinct aembly, ditinct deliberations, and ditinct powers from the commons.

commons conit of all uch men of any property in the kingdom, as have not eats in the houe of lords; every one of which has a voice in parliament, either peronally, or by his repreentatives. In a free tate, every man, who is uppoed a free agent, ought to be, in ome meaure, his own governor; and therefore a branch at leat of the legilative power hould reide in the whole body of the people. And this power, when the territories of the tate are mall and it’s citizens eaily known, hould