( 83 )
¬" Although, Sir, it may not always be easy to reconcile some particular customs, amongst the most civilized nations, with their general man- ners and character, yet I am charged to deliver our opinion, that they will be found, in most instances, to have had some reasonable begin- nings, though, from change of circumstances, they may appear to strangers ridiculous, or even offensive. — The nobility, and those amongst us of consideration and respect, do not consist now, as in old times, of a very few persons elevated to rank by the personal choice of the sovereign, or from having attended his person in courts or in battle, but of many others, rising to emi- nence in the various ways by which superiority and distinction may be arrived at in a free country — by eloquence and knowledge of bu- siness in the superior councils of the state, or by ability and learning in the courts of justice — by great and splendid achievements in naval or military warfare, or having been engaged in useful and perilous service — by the great in- fluence derived from the possession of great ¬landed ¬
