his  doing  it  then  confirmed  and  gave  weight  to  the  mis-
representation of  the  right  honorable  gentleman  opposite
to  him,  and  not  only  that,  but  put  it  out  of  his  power  to
answer  him  properly. Besides  he  had*  as  every  other
man  must  have,  a  natural  antipathy  and  dislike  to  being
catechised  as  to  his  political  principles. It  was,  he  said,
the  first  time  that  ever  he  had  heard  a  philosopher  state,
that  the  way  to  do  justice  to  the  excellence  of  the  British
constitution  was  never  to  mention  it  without  at  the  same
time  abusing  every  other  constitution  in  the  world. For
his  part,  he  had  ever  thought  that'  the  British  constitution
in  theory  was  imperfect  and  defective,  but  that  in  prac-
tice it  was  excellently  adapted  to  this  country. He  had
often  publicly  said  this. But  because  he  admired  the
British  constitution,  was  it  to  be  concluded  that  there
was  no  part  of  the  constitution  of  other  countries  worth
praising,  or  that  the  British  constitution  was  not  still  ca-
pable of  improvement  ?  He  therefore  could  neither  con-
sent to  abuse  every  other  constitution,  nor  to  extol  our
own  so  extravagantly,  as  the  right  honorable  gentleman
seemed  to  think  it  merited. As  a  proof  that  it  had  not
been  thought  quite  perfect,  let  the  two  only  reforms  of  it
be  recollected  that  had  been  attempted  of  late  years ;  the
reform  relative  to  the  representation  in  parliament  of  the
right  honorable  gentleman  opposite  to  him,  and  the  re-
form in  the  civil  list  by  his  right  honorable  friend. Was
it  expected  that  he  should  declare  the  constitution  would
have  been  more  perfect  or  better  without  either  of  those
two  reforms  ?  To  both  had  he  given  his  support,  because
he  approved  both ;  and  yet  they  were  both  tests,  one  to
retrench  the  influence  of  the  Crown*  the  other  to  enlarge
the  representation  m  that  House  ;  and  would  the  right
honorable  gentleman  say  he  was  a  bad  man  for  having
voted  for  both  ?  He  was,  Mr. Fox  said,  an  enemy  to
all  tests  whatever,  as  he  had  hitherto  thought  the  right-
honorable  gentleman  was,  and  therefore  he  objected  t#


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WAR  WITH  FRANCE. 285

every  man's  being  expected  to  have  his  political  principles
put  to  the  test,  by  his  being  obliged  to  abjure  every
other  constitution  but  our  own. 