1818 Dec. 30

Parl Reform Bill

Dialogue

Prel.

Evils & Remedies

Dialogue 3

II Remedies

Excluded

1. Office -bearers

4

4

Anti-Reformist. Well, and why are /must/ men so circumstanced {to} be excluded?

Reformist. For three reasons. 1. Placed in this universally superintending

situation, a place-man can not but be judge in his one cause. + 2.

The duty of this situation is quite sufficient to occupy the whole of his disposable

time. 3. Howsoever by the election proved to be possessed of the confidence of one

set of Electors, he would still be an object of well grounded suspicion and thence of

desertion[?] and disapprobation to the 657 others. And not only he, but on his

account his Electors likewise.

Anti-Reformist. This last reason considered I know not very well how to refuse my

fiat to the exclusion thus applied. Otherwise I might have puzzled you a little. For

by one man’s vote, you must acknowledge if you have not already acknowledged, no

sensible evil can in this situation be produced without the concurrence of others in

a number sufficient to constitute a majority. And then as to the demand which the

situation presents for the whole of a man’s time, {though} you may thus prevent him

from stealing from his parliamentary trust /function/ time and applying for the

purpose of applying it /to apply it/ to other public business you can not prevent him

from stealing it for the purpose of applying it to private business, or to whatever

goes by the name of pleasure.

Reformist. For the term of one year, no. But by the arrangements which you will see,

I render it not very probable that if he steals from his parliamentary business much

time to give to /bestow upon/ any other employment he will ever sit a second term:

and at any rate if he bestows upon his parliamentary business any considerable part

of that time which is not necessarily occupied by private avocations, either the

duties of his other public situation whatever it be, will be ill-performed, or the

situation itself will be a sinecure and as such a /an unendurable/ nuisance not to be

endured.

+ Parl. Cat. Introd. §. | | Plan §.