The Consolidator; or, Memoirs of Sundry Transactions from the World in the MoonDefoe, Daniel
Science
The Consolidator; or, Memoirs of Sundry Transactions from the World in the Moon
Defoe, Daniel
Fantasy fiction; Interplanetary voyages -- Fiction; Moon -- Fiction; Political fiction; Satire
4. That a Writ of Deliverance, or removing the Body, is the legal
Right of every Subject in the Moon, in order to his Liberty, in case
of Imprisonment.
5. That to punish any Person for assisting the Subjects, in procuring
or prosecuting the said Writ of Deliverance, is a breach of the Laws,
and a thing of dangerous Consequence.
6. That a Writ of Follies is not a Grace, but a Right, and ought not
to be deny'd to the Subject.
These Resolves struck the languishing Reputation of the Feathers with
the dead Palsie, and they began to stink in the Nostrils of all the
Nations in the Moon.
But besides this, they had one strange effect, which was a prodigious
disappointment to the Men of the Feather.
I had observ'd before, that there was to be a new Set of Feathers,
provided in order to Building another Consolidator, according to a
late Law for a new Engine every three Years. Now several of these Men
of the Feather, who thought their Feathers capable of serving again,
had made great Interest, and been at great Cost to have their old
Feathers chosen again, but the People had entertain'd such scoundrel
Opinions of these Proceedings, such as Tacking, Consolidating,
Imprisoning Electors, Impeaching without Tryal, Writs of Follies and
the like, that if any one was known to be concern'd in any of these
things, no Body would Vote for him.
The Gentlemen were so mortify'd at this, that even the hottest
High-Church Solunarian of them all, if he put in any where to be
re-chosen, the first thing he had to do, was to assure the People he
was no Tacker, none of the 134, and a vast deal of difficulty they
had to Purge themselves of this blessed Action, which they us'd to
value themselves on before, as their Glory and Merit.
Thus they grew asham'd of it as a Crime, got Men to go about to vouch
for them to the Country People, that they were no Tackers, nay, one
of them to clear himself loudly forswore it, and taking a Glass of
Wine wisht it might never pass thro' him, if he was a Tacker, tho'
all Men suspected him to be of that Number too, he having been one of
the forwardest that way on all Occasions, of any Person among the
South Folk of the Moon.
In like manner, one of the Feathers for the middle Province of the
Country, who us'd to think it his Honour to be for the qualifying
Law, seeing which way the humour of the Country ran, took as much
Pains now to tell the People he was no Tacker, as he did before, to
promise them that he would do his utmost to have the Crolians
reduc'd, and that Bill to pass, the Reason of which was plain, that
he saw if it should be known he was a Tacker, he should never have
his Feather return'd to be put into the Consolidator.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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