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Burke, Edmund, 1729-1797

"The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 08 (of 12)"

" And it is to be observed, that
this censure was not for the purpose of seeking or obtaining redress for
any injury, but appeared rather as a reason for refusing to obey their
lawful commands. It is plainly implied in that minute, that no servant
of the Company, in Mr. Bristow's rank, would dare to act in such a
manner, if he had not by indirect means obtained a premature fortune.
This alone is sufficient to show the situation of the Company's servants
in the subordinate situations, when the mere claim of a right, derived
from the sovereign legal power, becomes fatal not only to the objects
which they pursue, but deeply wounds that reputation both for ability
and integrity by which alone they are to be qualified for any other.
If anything could add to the disagreeable situation of those who are
submitted to an authority conducted on such principles, it is this: The
Company has ordered that no complaint shall be made in Europe against
any of the Council without being previously communicated to them: a
regulation formed upon grave reasons; and it was certainly made in
_favor_ of that board.


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