1818 April 9

Parl. Reform Bill

Reasons

III. Electors Who

Vote conferring Qualification

2. Intellectuality

People's sufficiency

Features of Misrule intelligible

12

5

{Honour and Glory is Tyrants and Pirates wickedness vamped up by schoolboys' nonsense: fit /a fit chance for/ subjects to make declamations as, by shallow Lords and affected[?] pedants to whom useful art and science are nothing: Latin and Greek everything: Latin and Greek resorted to for rendering still more and more destructive the at all times too destructive passions, employed in /resorted to/ for pretences and excitements to the antisocial passions.}

In this there is not any thing which any person used to take the amount used note the distinction of profit and loss can find under[?] difficulty of comprehending. By the tradesman or the farmer who has sufficient leisure the result may be communicated to those who are /being either/ on the same level or under him have no such sufficient leisure.

To /In the comprehension of all the/ persons thus situated and circumstanced there will be no difficulty. But to persons in a higher sphere it will be utterly /practicably/ impossible: and the higher the sphere the more certainly impossible. Why? because the higher their sphere, not to speak of inbred idleness and dissipation, the more compleatly and irrecoverably do they /their understandings and their wills/ lie under the dominance of sinister interest and interest-begotten prejudice.

Out of whatsoever is lost as above /every portion of that which as above is loss/ to the subject many a portion of profit is derived to the ruling few.

The more numerous the more extensive the more distant the more extensive the more numerous the more expensive the train of foreign dependencies, the more offices the more money at their disposal in a word the more patronage.

The more wars the more numerous and distant and numerous and warlike the nation we have to go to war with the more money to be employed on the war and thus here too the more patronage. The more money for filling /gorging/ the pockets the ruling few, and the more honour and glory as well for puffing up the pride of the ruling few, as for playing upon the imagination, poisoning the morals and perverting the judgment of the subject many who thus while they are made victims are as far as possible to be made accomplices in that complication of murder, depredation, ravage and tyranny which has just been brought to view.

[Marginal insertion:]

Checked only by justice, in profit and loss may ever be found the only true criterions of the propriety of national expenditure, and in a word of national practice.

If this then be really the true criterion, by is it /is the application/ likely to be best understood or most diligently attended to? By the idle and careless Lord, or Country Gentleman whose pride it is to disdain it, or the industrious /assiduous/ husbandman or tradesman whose means of existence are dependent on it? Unless there is there that should hinder them from comprehending it? what, when once comprehended should hinder them from communicating the result of their inquiry, to those whom, whether above, or upon a level, or below them, either leisure or inclination are wanting, to their making the enquiry for themselves.