"Wherever they have been arraigned, a plain charge has been exhibited against them. They have had an impartial trial and have been permitted to make their defense"
About this Quote
The line reads like a procedural lullaby: everything is orderly, everything is fair, nothing to see here. Walpole’s genius is in how he uses the bland language of due process as political anesthesia. “Wherever they have been arraigned” and “a plain charge has been exhibited” sound almost bureaucratically modest, as if power is merely following forms rather than exerting force. That’s the intent: to present the state as neutral machinery, not a partisan actor with interests, grudges, or a preferred outcome.
The subtext is more barbed. “Plain charge” and “impartial trial” aren’t just descriptions; they’re preemptive shields. In an era when prosecutions could be tools of factional combat, insisting on neutrality is itself a political move, aimed at disarming critics who suspect vengeance or show trials. The phrasing “have been permitted to make their defense” is especially telling: liberty framed as permission. It quietly reasserts hierarchy even while praising fairness. Rights aren’t innate; they are granted by the system now congratulating itself.
Context matters: Walpole, often treated as Britain’s first de facto prime minister, governed through Parliament, patronage, and message discipline. His administration had to sell legitimacy not only through outcomes but through process. This sentence is process-as-propaganda. It doesn’t argue innocence or guilt; it argues that the state has behaved correctly, which is a subtler claim of moral authority. It’s the voice of a government that knows appearances can be as stabilizing as justice - and sometimes more useful.
The subtext is more barbed. “Plain charge” and “impartial trial” aren’t just descriptions; they’re preemptive shields. In an era when prosecutions could be tools of factional combat, insisting on neutrality is itself a political move, aimed at disarming critics who suspect vengeance or show trials. The phrasing “have been permitted to make their defense” is especially telling: liberty framed as permission. It quietly reasserts hierarchy even while praising fairness. Rights aren’t innate; they are granted by the system now congratulating itself.
Context matters: Walpole, often treated as Britain’s first de facto prime minister, governed through Parliament, patronage, and message discipline. His administration had to sell legitimacy not only through outcomes but through process. This sentence is process-as-propaganda. It doesn’t argue innocence or guilt; it argues that the state has behaved correctly, which is a subtler claim of moral authority. It’s the voice of a government that knows appearances can be as stabilizing as justice - and sometimes more useful.
Quote Details
| Topic | Justice |
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