On the record
These men seemed to be as strange instruments for improving a revenue as ever were chosen, I suppose, since the world began.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “These men seemed to be as strange instruments for improving a revenue as ever were chosen, I suppose, since the world…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke remarks on the absurdity of the individuals chosen to manage revenue improvements.
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More from Edmund Burke
Jan 1, 1790
Let us add, if we please, but let us preserve what they have left; and standing on the firm ground of the British Constitution, let us be satisfied to admire, rather than attempt to follow in their desperate flights, the aëronauts of…
Jan 1, 1790
Our people will find employment enough for a truly patriotic, free, and independent spirit, in guarding what they possess from violation.
Jan 1, 1790
If any of them should happen to propose a scheme of liberty soberly limited, and defined with proper qualifications, he will be immediately outbid by his competitors, who will produce something more splendidly popular.
Jan 1, 1790
Whatever they are, I wish my countrymen rather to recommend to our neighbors the example of the British Constitution than to take models from them for the improvement of our own.
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