date

1818 April 16 Parl. Reform Bill
1818 April 16

Parl. Reform Bill

Reasons

§ 9. Election Districts

II Mathematical first

2

5

If in relation to the three kingdoms there existed any such thing as a compleat collection of maps each of them exhibiting a County with the divisions and subdivisions of it down to Parishes, in this case it might seem, at any rate at a first glance that a mass of documents of this description might suffice, and save the expence which in the shape of time and money would be necessarily absorbed by a /an entire/ mathematical survey to be made for this particular purpose.

But to the first place no such complete, nor any thing approaching to it is as yet in existence: not even in England, still less in Scotland, and still far less still in Ireland. In the next place /So far from it/, scarcely even scarcely even in and for England is so much as a single County to be found of which any Map is extant, framed in such sort as to exhibit the boundary-lines by which the Parishes or any of them are distinguished: the names of the Parishes, yes: but not the bounds of them: the names of the Parishes, yes: of some of them and perhaps of most of them: but no assurance extant that those of which the names are thus visible compose all of them taken together the whole number of the Parishes. As to the causes of this omission /deficiency/ they are sufficiently apparent: in any demarcation that could be made of the Parishes, a determination of /relative to/ legal titles, and all the law question that belongs to such titles would be /necessarily have been/ involved: but among the objects of the operation by which those maps were produced, no such object as that of making or settling legal arrangements /making out legal titles/ has ever been or could very well have been included.
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    Description: 1818 April 4 o

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    Supplemental

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    17

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    3. That the whole number of the Representatives of the people

    having as such seats in this House ought for the present to remain unchanged: but

    that no more than one Member ought to serve for any one place.

    4 That for the purpose of practical equality and prevention of

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    out upon a Map or competent number of Maps be divided into 658 Districts as nearly

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  • Title: [1818 April 16 + §.9 (2) Parl. Reform]
    Description: 1818 April 16 + §.9 (2)

    Parl. Reform Bill

    Reasons

    § {8}9 Election Districts

    II Mathematical first

    1

    {9}

    Question Why require a survey upon a mathematical plan to be taken in the first instance?

    Answer. Because considerable as may be the length of time that will have elapsed before an operation of this sort can have been performed, yet without it scarcely by any means could a demarcation such as the proposed plan it necessarily depends upon for its execution, be effected /made/. Altogether inadequate to this purpose is the whole stock of the materials /documents/ already in existence.

    In the Population Tables are indeed given the population numbers expressive of the population of the several parishes, and where there are any such, of the divisions subordinate to {those distinguished by the name of} parishes. But, the order in which these as well as the superordinate divisions are ranged being alphabetical only, not topographical, by /from/ no such alphabetical order /document/ could any tolerably grounded determination be deduced either on the question which two in case of a thinly peopled spot should be put together, or into what parts in the case of a densely peopled spot, viz. as in a town too large for the population of it to be crowded /compressed/ together within the compass of a single district the territory of it should be divided.
  • Title: [1818 April 16 Parl Reform Bill]
    Description: 1818 April 16

    Parl Reform Bill

    Reasons

    § 9. Election Districts

    II Mathematical first

    6

    6

    For the towns in every instance in which the population of the town was deemed too copious to be consistently with the regard due to the principle of equality of rights condensed into one district, a survey of the town would require to be made upon a scale large enough to serve for the demarcation into divers districts: the already existing Map of London may to this purpose serve at any rate as an object of reference.

    By a mathematical survey taken by mathematicians /topographers/ of the first eminence the construction of a Map of the Island of Great Britain has been carrying on for several years. Of this survey some of the results in the shape[?] of 10[?] maps[?] of Counties have already been made public. But in no one of these Maps has any demarcation of parishes been expressed. It remains therefore for enquiry how far if in any degree use could be made of that survey for the present purpose.