Only, after every great abatement and deduction, I think the country would bear a little more mind; and that there is a profusion of opulent dulness in Parliament which might a little--though only a little--be pruned away.
Bagehot suggests that while Parliament is largely composed of wealth, it could benefit from a slight increase in intellectual representation.
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No doubt this momentary gain is bought at a ruinous after-cost.
Carlyle has taught the present generation many lessons, and one of these is that 'God-fearing' armies are the best armies.
That a House of Commons may work well it must perform, as we saw, five functions well: it must elect a Ministry well, legislate well, teach the nation well, express the nation's will well, bring matters to the nation's attention well.
The United States could not have become monarchical, even if the Constitutional Convention had decreed it, even if the component States had ratified it.
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