It is out of the question to say how long what is called the English constitution has lasted, and to argue from thence how long it is to last; the question is, how long can the funding system last?
Paine challenges the focus on the historical duration of the English constitution, redirecting attention to the more pressing issue of the sustainability of the nation's financial system.
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The Aristocracy had hitherto opposed the despotism of the Court, and affected the language of patriotism; but it opposed it as its rival (as the English Barons opposed King John) and it now opposed the nation from the same motives.
I know the value of moral instruction, and I have seen the danger of the contrary.
The object is not so much the produce of the tax as the justice of the measure.
Burke's Book is easily accounted for.--When a man in a wrong cause attempts to steer his course by anything else than some polar truth or principle, he is sure to be lost.