1819 Sept. 19 II 5. Nov Not used

Parl. Reform Bill or Defence ag. Ed Review

Reasons

§.2. Electors who

Females?

Historical cause

1

1

In the case of the female sex the conclusiveness of the rational causes of the exclusion may remain exposed to doubt.

The actual efficient causes may be assigned without much difficulty: they are grounded in the historical causes

Whatsoever men find established by custom, they are disposed /have a natural tendency/ /stand/ to regard as right: as being upon the whole if not positively beneficial to society at any rate innoxious For this opinion /In /To/ this persuasion/ they are altogether justifiable, so long as no preponderance of evil is shewn to result from it, there can be nothing to object.

Hence unless preponderant reasonable causes to the contrary are seen to have place to the contrary, the historical causes are rational /reasonable/ causes, what has been and is now ought to be in future In the eyes of reflecting wisdom custom as /is always/ presumptive evidence of propriety, but never as conclusive. In the eyes of weakness and ignorance it is as /throughout/ conclusive

Not to speak of other countries the historical causes why females have stood excluded from the right of suffrage /voting/ on the occasion in question is obvious enough

In Military government may be seen the origin of all other government: in war no effectual power of resistance /assault or so much as defence/ can any body of men ever possess without a leader: the more continued the habit of warfare, the more continued the habit of command on the one part of obedience to the other. Formed during a long-continued war, the habit of obedience would naturally continue during /in/ the intervals of peace.

In the early ages of the Monarchy antecedently to the institution of the representative system, a state of war being the ordinary state of society in the country, the head ruler would naturally be of the male sex.