On the Constitution of The Church and State, according to The Idea of Each: with Aids toward a Right Judgement on the late Catholic Bill.

Bookseller Notes

Written in the context of the Catholic Emancipation debate, and begun when the details of the Bill were not yet known, Coleridge concedes, in his opening remarks that the Bill 'agreeably disappointed my fears', and challenges Peel's prediction that the new law would 'break in upon the constitutional settlement of 1688.' In characteristically pragmatic form, Coleridge contrasts the idea with the reality of the constitution, 'the distinction I have enforced, between the exhibition of an idea, and the way of acting on the same.' Rather topically, he continues 'I seem to see a world of power and talent wasted on the support of half-truths... This may result from the spirit and habit of partizanship...' His last prose work, which had a considerable influence on Gladstone. (The Coleridge Bulletin, NS32, Winter 2008)