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Quote#Politics & Power

As property is in the main the chief subject-matter of legislation,…

Quote byRobert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury · 1830–1903

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: 'The House of Commons', Quarterly Review, vol. 116 (July & October 1864), pp. 265-266.

English (original)

As property is in the main the chief subject-matter of legislation, so it is almost the only motive power of agitation. A violent political movement (setting aside those where religious controversy is at work) is generally only an indication that a class of those who have little see their way to getting more by means of a political convulsion.

— Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury

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