date

1818 Sept. 7 Parl. Reform Bill
1818 Sept. 7

Parl. Reform Bill

Reasons ult o

'.2. Electors Who

Universality

Universities

28

3

Great indeed would be the advantage of this instrument for blinding the eye /eyes/ /keeping the eyes of the mind closed/ which one half of the field of government is /has/ before it /them/ could be applied to the other half: if the most opulent and richly instructed and influential portion of the rising generation could be made to subscribe to /temporal/ articles of temporal faith: to articles asserting the existence of monarchy, hereditary aristocracy, and of a mock representative democracy, held in subjection to the monarchy through the aristocracy, to be necessary to good government.

Still greater would be the convenience, if by torture administered by a body of inquisitors, all men could be compelled upon oath to declare what on all these /the/ several points in question were /are/ their opinions, under a law according to which, in regard to every point in which the opinions entertained were different from the opinions presented, the option would be given of either incurring the guilt of perjury, or expiring under the torture of fire.

Unfortunately the time /days/ in which the security for /opportunities[?] under[?] favour of/ spiritual orthodoxy might have been extended to temporal orthodoxy were suffered to pass away unimproved.
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