1819 Jan y 5

Parl. Reform Bill

Dialogue

Preliminary View

Evil & Remedies

Remedies

Miselection

Electors

Qualifications

1

30

25

Anti-Reformist But, were it only for […?] sake, for the sake of humouring

/humouring/ people in their opinions in those opinions which you call prejudices – would it not be better to require on the part

of the Electors either[?] one or more of those endowments which have been customarily

which hitherto have every where been required under the name of qualifications?

Reformist. By humouring you mean – I will take for granted unless you disavow me

/correct me/ - avoiding to displease – to produce pain or uneasiness of mind.

Uneasiness of mind is an evil – a sensible evil – or there is no such thing in human

nature. Yes – to be sure, I would humour every body /man/, as far as the evil here in

question can be prevented without the introduction of a greater evil. Where I could

not humour every body, I would humour as many as I could, and accordingly where one

set of men could not be humoured without the adoption of a proposed measure

/arrangement/ nor another set of men without the rejection of it, I would so far as

humour could be warrantably consulted /taken for the guide/ as above, the greater

number is the number that I would on every occasion I would humour, not the lesser.

Will this satisfy you?

Anti-reformist. So far as mere humour I see not at present any thing presumptory[?]

to object to it: I mean so long as the humour lasts. For whether it is likely to

last, and if yes, how long it is likely to last this is a point on every occasion to

be considered

Reformist. Unquestionably it is.