The Tories in the House of Lords persist in maintaining
that the privileges of the members of Corporations are equivalent to
" freeholds," of which they crannot legally be deprived; and
yet they assert the entire Innocence of such corporations as Leicester, whose creation of 800 burgesses in one year, and ex-
penditure of 10,0001. for Tory election purposes, is undisputed !
Precious freehold/ truly—the possessors of which may be com- pelled to admit unlit/sited numbers to a participation in the rents and profits! precious freeholds—in which the value of a man's interest depends upon the degree of fecundity with which his neighbour's wife may be blessed or afflicted; for an increase in the gross number of freemen proportionally diminishes the freehold" property of each individual. It is surprising how the really wealthy Peers, who, however dense in other respects, have generally shown a full comprehen- sion of the argumentum ad crumenam—a lively regard to their
selfish aggrandizement—should become the advocates of a doc- trine so dangerous to the rights of property. It matters little to
the mass of Opposition Peers, what may or may not be a legal or
indefeasible title to property, as they are for the most part mere pensioned paupers, with scarcely a foot of unmortgaged land in the
world ; but the Dukes of NORTHMBERLAND and BUCCLEUCH, the Marquis of HERTFORD, and some others, are in a very different situation; and it is fool-hardy infatuation on their parts to put their fortunes in the same boat with the " freeholds" of Burgesses and the privileges of Aldermen. They are doing their best to in- culcate the spoliating doctrines, which they so greatly dread, among the multitude.
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