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time , of his conduct to his constituents , and to vacate his seat whenever formally requested by a majority of them to do so . It must be remembered that the Reform Act leaves parliament pf septennial duration ; that it leaves the constituency without any control over their representatives during the long interval between the elections ; that it leaves a large portion of the population without any direct representation ; that it leaves a large mass of aristocratic influence in the counties and small towns ; that it leaves
the practice of open voting , by which every facility is afforded for influence and intimidation ; that it leaves many anomalies , and creates some , in the proportion of members to either numbers , property , or intelligence ; and that the best direct remedy , at present , for these defects is by such a compact between the electors and the elected as shall ensure a fair and proper responsibility .
This compact will be established by the proposed pledge ; which will also have the additional advantage of keeping up an earnest solicitude in the representative , if he be an honest man , that his constituents should possess thorough information and exercise a sound judgment on all great political questions . He will have a constant stimulus to minister to the correctness and completeness of public opinion . These topics include all that appears to the writer of these pages to be essential at the present time . The last of them makes 9 comprehensive provision for any which may have been omitted , or for any new ones which may arise . For convenience sake they may be put , and that very briefly , in the interrogative form as
follows : — If elected , will you exert yourself to obtain the prompt and total repeal of all taxes which tend to obstruct the diffusion of knowledge , especially those which aflect the price of newspapers ? Will you support all such reforms as shall render the adrninis tration of the laws more simple , impartial , easy , cheap , and certain ? Will you oppose the continuance of the corn monopoly , and , in general , the renewal or enactment of any charter , tax , or other regulation , by which members of the community are debarred from the free direction of their capital , talents , or labour to any honest employment ? Will you uphold the right of individuals to support , exclusively , the religion which they approve ; and the right of the nation over ecclesiastical property and institutions , to render them efficient for the promotion of national instruction ? Will you , at such times as shall be agreed upon , meet your constituents to explain to them the manner in which you nave discharged your parliamentary trust , and vacate your seat on receiving a requisition signed by a majority of them for that purpose ? And now , Electo r * of C * reat Britain , let every man , in hU own
Untitled Article
442 On Parliamentary Pledges .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1832, page 442, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1816/page/10/
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