And in all probability you will see your brother, and whatever may be his faults, or the faults of his wife, when I consider whose son he is, I cannot bear to have you so wholly estranged from each other. Sense and Sensibility by Austen, Jane View in context.
(hÉdÊ) n., v. hedged, hedgâ¢ing. n. 1. a row of bushes or small trees planted close together, esp. when forming a fence or boundary; hedgerow. 2. any barrier or boundary. 3. an act or means of hedging: to buy gold as a hedge against inflation. 4. a qualifying or noncommittal statement.
It is either used as hedging, i.e. the speaker makes the statement but points out that they think it's obvious just in case the statement really is obvious, or it is used to boost the speaker's ego, i.e. the statement might not be obvious but they make it seem like it is to make the listener think that the speaker is clever.