If we do, I
fear, that, tho' we employ at first a Number and not a single Person,
the Number will in time be set aside; it will only nourish the
F;oetus of a King (as the honourable Gentleman from Virg'a very aptly
express'd it), and a King will the sooner be set over us.
It may be imagined by some, that this is an Utopian Idea, and
that we can never find Men to serve us in the Executive Department,
without paying them well for their Services. I conceive this to be a
Mistake. Some existing Facts present themselves to me, which incline
me to a contrary Opinion. The High Sheriff of a County in England is
an honourable Office, but it is not a profitable one. It is rather
expensive, and therefore not sought for. But yet it is executed, and
well executed, and usually by some of the principal Gentlemen of the
County. In France, the Office of Counsellor, or Member of their
judiciary Parliaments, is more honourable. It is therefore purchas'd
at a high Price; there are indeed Fees on the Law Proceedings, which
are divided among them, but these Fees do not amount to more than
three per cent on the Sum paid for the Place.
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