After having thus preliminarily descanted for about two hours,
Popanilla informed His Majesty that he was unused to public speaking,
and then proceeded to show that the grand characteristic of the social
action of the Isle of Fantaisie was a total want of development. This
he observed with equal sorrow and surprise; he respected the wisdom of
their ancestors; at the same time, no one could deny that they were
both barbarous and ignorant; he highly esteemed also the constitution,
but regretted that it was not in the slightest degree adapted to the
existing want of society; he was not for destroying any establishments,
but, on the contrary, was for courteously affording them the
opportunity of self-dissolution. He finished by re-urging, in strong
terms, the immediate development of the island. In the first place, a
great metropolis must be instantly built, because a great metropolis
always produces a great demand; and, moreover, Popanilla had some legal
doubts whether a country without a capital could in fact be considered
a state. Apologizing for having so long trespassed upon the attention
of the assembly, he begged distinctly to state that he had no wish to
see His Majesty and his fellow-subjects adopt these new principles
without examination and without experience. They might commence on a
small scale; let them cut down their forests, and by turning them into
ships and houses discover the utility of timber; let the whole island
be dug up; let canals be cut, docks be built, and all the elephants be
killed directly, that their teeth might yield an immediate article for
exportation.
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