"As to cutting away the rotten boroughs, I am as much offended as any man at seeing so many of them under the direct influence of the crown, or at the disposal of private persons. Yet, I own I have both doubts and apprehensions in regard to the remedy you propose.... When all your instruments of amputation are prepared, when the unhappy patient lies bound at your feet, without the possibility of resistance, by what infallible rule will you direct the operation? When you propose to cut away the rotten parts, _can you tell us what parts are perfectly sound_? Are there any certain limits, in fact or theory, to inform you at what point you must stop--at what point the mortification ends? To a man [Mr. Wilkes] so capable of observation and reflection as you are, it is unnecessary to say all that might be said upon the subject. Besides that, I approve highly of Lord Chatham's idea of infusing a portion of new health into the constitution, to enable it to bear its infirmities--a brilliant expression, and full of intrinsic wisdom."--Last Letter of Junius. _Common Sense._ "To say that the constitution of England is a union of three powers, reciprocally checking each other, is farcical; either the words have no meaning, or they are flat contradictions. To say that the commons is a check upon the king presupposes two things: _"First._--That the king is not to be trusted without being looked after; or, in other words, that a thirst for absolute power is the natural _disease_ of monarchy. _"Secondly._--That the commons, by being appointed for that purpose, are either wiser, or more worthy of confidence than the crown." _Junius._ "The three branches of the legislature seem to treat their separate rights and interests as the Roman triumvirs did their friends--they reciprocally sacrifice them to the animosities of each other, and establish a detestable union among themselves upon the ruin of the laws and the liberty of the commonwealth."--Let. 39. "There is something exceedingly ridiculous in the composition of monarchy--it first excludes a man from the means of information, yet empowers him to act in cases where the highest judgment is required. The state of a king shuts him from the world, yet the business of a king requires him to know it thoroughly; wherefore, the different parts, by unnaturally opposing and destroying each other, prove the whole character to be absurd and useless." In speaking of and to the king, he says: