After the unaccountable treatment the noble plan of Sir Christopher Wren met from the interested views of ignorant, obstinate, designing men, (notwithstanding it had the sanction of the King and Parliament) who by rejecting it did an irreparable injury to the city of London, the author cannot hope to see a scheme so much inferior to that, adopted in the manner he could wish; he doubts not but it will by many be treated as Utopian, a work of supererogation, and that the old cry of private property and the infringement on liberty will be objected and urged with the greatest vehemence, in opposition to the good effects he proposes…
It is very certain that no public good ever was proposed to which interested individuals have not objected, but it certainly does not follow, that for this reason public good is not to be attended at all.
-John Gwynn, London and Westminster Improved (1766), vi-vii
No comments:
Post a Comment