[O]ne of the greatest men that this country ever saw, considered universal representation to be such an inherent part of the Constitution as that the King himself might grant it by his prerogative, even without the Lords and Commons... [T]he maxim that the King might grant universal representation, as a right before inherent in the whole people to be represented, stands upon the authority of Mr. Locke, the man, next to Sir Isaac Newton, of the greatest strength of understanding which England, perhaps, ever had; high too in the favour of King William, and enjoying one of the most exalted offices in the state.

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "[O]ne of the greatest men that this country ever saw, considered universal representation to be such an inherent part of the Constitution as that the King himself might grant it by his prerogative, even without the Lords and Commons... [T]he maxim that the King might grant universal representation, as a right before inherent in the whole people to be represented, stands upon the authority of Mr. Locke, the man, next to Sir Isaac Newton, of the greatest strength of understanding which England, perhaps, ever had; high too in the favour of King William, and enjoying one of the most exalted offices in the state." in the context of "Thomas Erskine, speech in the defence of Thomas Hardy during his trial for treason (1 November 1794), quoted in Joseph Gurney, The Trial of Thomas Hardy, for High Treason, at the Sessions House in the Old Bailey, Vol. III (1795), pp. 243-244" to mean that wisdom is timeless.