CONTENTS. Discovery of America and contemporaneous events- Common origin of the British and American people and their institutions-Primitive character of the colonists and their final separation from the mother country-important differences in the condition of the two nations-The American constitution was planned Close resemblance between the municipal and provincial institutions of England and America-Outline of the American constitution-The federal government of the United States-If at the æra of the French Revo- lution and of the new constitution of America, Great Instability of Laws in America-Equality-The Ballot- Universal suffrage-Pledged delegates and free repre- The President of the United States-The British Sove- reign-Their ministers-Elections Elective and hereditary monarchy-The veto-Mutual relations of the executive and the legislature in both countries -How far these have been affected in England by PREFACE. THESE discourses were originally prepared for a literary association at Bristol, designed chiefly for the improvement of young men, by means of a select library, and lectures given by clergymen and gentlemen who take an interest in the institution. The author was afterwards invited to deliver them elsewhere; and to the numerous and most respectable audience, at whose request they are published, he has to apologize for the delay caused by his acceptance of an invitation from the principal inhabitants of Newport, in Monmouthshire, to repeat the course there, at the close of autumn. But he has thus been enabled to extend and illustrate it, by a reference to recent documents and very important events. Great Britain and America having been reunited in amicable bonds, every sincere patriot and philanthropist will desire that their concord may be perpetual, and will mingle his aspirations for the welfare of both countries. An Englishman, how careful soever, to derive his knowledge of the institutions of the United States, from the best sources, should be apprehensive of error. But having thus endeavoured to guard against fallacy, it is his privilege to state unreservedly his honest convictions. The author's design was, to compare our limited monarchy with the greatest modern republic, not in order to disparage either, but to elucidate both to a popular audience of his own countrymen. That plan would have circumscribed the limits of this work, even had he possessed the leisure and the ability to execute it in a manner more worthy of the theme. But in its present form, it may perhaps be read by those to whom a more costly and elaborate treatise would not be accessible. The subject has an intrinsic claim to attention. It embraces a variety of topics, both entertaining and important, and historical truths of immense practical value, concerning which the people are deeply interested and too often misled. These pages are especially dedicated to the youth and to the working classes of this kingdom. May they be happy in justly appreciating our national institutions, in cherishing true liberty and rejecting its counterfeits. CLIFTON, 13th December, 1842. |