"Well," said the General, smiling, "but this, for instance: the great palladium of British liberty, taxation, must be accompanied with representation."
"Yes; that, if adhered to, would protect property and its owners; but then it never has been carried out, even in England, while the non-taxpayer is wholly out of its reach; and my recollection is, that the constitutional violation of this palladium of the Constitution by king, lords and commons, produced a lively commotion, some sixty-odd years ago."
"Yes, I've heard of that; but the attempt to tax the colonies was clearly unconstitutional; they were without representation in the Parliament that enacted the law."
"But then, General, you are to remember that, according to Blackstone, Parliament was and is, by the English Constitution, omnipotent. The fact is, we took one part of the constitution, and George the other; we kept our part, and all our land, and George maintained his, on his island, strong as ever; and yet there, property-owners always have been and always will be taxed, who do not vote. I fear that it will be found that all the other maxims have from time to time suffered in the same way."
"You must admit, however," said the General, "that the maxims in favor of personal freedom have usually been adhered to in England proper."
"Yes, the sturdy elements of the natural constitution of the English people have vindicated their liberty against all constitutional violations of it; and while I cordially detest them, one and all, there isn't another nation in Europe that I am willing to be descended from."
"I fear that is the common sentiment among our people," said the General. "And so you think the world-famous British Constitution may be written in one condensed sentence—the old English formula—Parliament is omnipotent."
"Yes, just that. Parliament is the constitution; everything else is ornamental."
Without expressing any opinion, the General resumed, and turning at hop, skip and jump, he found that Bart happened to be at home wherever he alighted. He finally turned to the last page, and asked questions with the same result, closing the book with:
"Well, what else have you been doing this week?"