Explanation: The question with me is, not whether you have a right to render your people miserable; but whether it is not in your interest to make them happy. It is not, what a lawyer tells me I may do; but what humanity, reason, and justice tell me I ought to do.
Answer: The lines occur in Burke's "Speech on Conciliation with America”, an unforgettable piece in the tradition of British parliamentary speeches. While discussing the question of whether the British Parliament has the right to tax the American people, Burke makes the quoted observation.
In the Parliament, Burke has come up with plans of action aiming at conciliation with America. He argues that neither the coercive policies nor the tactful schemes will be effective in appeasing the American people. This is why he proposes his resolutions for peace. He is for simple peace. Here Burke states that politicians may quarrel over intricate points of law but generous statesmen will always consider what is good for both parties. Burke makes it clear that England has no right to make the American people miserable by taxing them indiscriminately. Rather the interest of the mother country lies in making the people of the colonies happy. He says that, in this regard, he will not be guided by shrewd interpretations of legal rights. What matter to him are humanity, reason, and justice. He · is for the humanistic and judicious approach to the problem existing between England and America. It is the humanitarian Burke who is speaking here.
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