The right of protection, which might be necessary, when it was first
claimed, and was very consistent with that liberality of immunities, in
which the feudal constitution delighted, was, by its nature, liable to
abuse, and had, in reality, been sometimes misapplied to the evasion of
the law, and the defeat of justice. The evil was, perhaps, not adequate
to the clamour; nor is it very certain, that the possible good of this
privilege was not more than equal to the possible evil. It is, however,
plain, that, whether they gave any thing or not to the publick, they, at
least, lost something from themselves. They divested their dignity of a
very splendid distinction, and showed that they were more willing than
their predecessors to stand on a level with their fellow-subjects.
The new mode of trying elections, if it be found effectual, will diffuse
its consequences further than seems yet to be foreseen. It is, I
believe, generally considered as advantageous only to those who claim
seats in parliament; but, if to choose representatives be one of the
most valuable rights of Englishmen, every voter must consider that law
as adding to his happiness, which makes his suffrage efficacious; since
it was vain to choose, while the election could be controlled by any
other power.
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