, by force of
circumstances, is continually obliged to submit his actions to general
approbation. But the only restraints that can be brought to bear upon
the exercise of power, be it the power of the one, of the many, or
of the multitude, are to be found in the religious institutions of a
country. Religion forms the only adequate safeguard against the abuse of
supreme power. When a nation ceases to believe in religion, it becomes
ungovernable in consequence, and its prince perforce becomes a tyrant.
The Chambers that occupy an intermediate place between rulers and their
subjects are powerless to prevent these results, and can only mitigate
them to a very slight extent; Assemblies, as I have said before, are
bound to become the accomplices of tyranny on the one hand, or of
insurrection on the other. My own leanings are towards a government by
one man; but though it is good, it cannot be absolutely good, for the
results of every policy will always depend upon the condition and the
belief of the nation. If a nation is in its dotage, if it has been
corrupted to the core by philosophism and the spirit of discussion, it
is on the high-road to despotism, from which no form of free government
will save it. And, at the same time, a righteous people will nearly
always find liberty even under a despotic rule. All this goes to show
the necessity for restricting the right of election within very narrow
limits, the necessity for a strong government, the necessity for a
powerful religion which makes the rich man the friend of the poor, and
enjoins upon the poor an absolute submission to their lot. It is, in
fact, really imperative that the Assemblies should be deprived of
all direct legislative power, and should confine themselves to the
registration of laws and to questions of taxation.

"I know that different ideas from these exist in many minds. To-day, as
in past ages, there ware enthusiasts who seek for perfection, and who
would like to have society better ordered than it is at present. But
innovations which tend to bring about a kind of social topsy-turvydom,
ought only to be undertaken by general consent. Let the innovators
have patience. When I remember how long it has taken Christianity to
establish itself; how many centuries it has taken to bring about a
purely moral revolution which surely ought to have been accomplished
peacefully, the thought of the horrors of a revolution, in which
material interests are concerned, make