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Untitled Article
principles of morals , politics , or humanity ; but this is a poor test of ability to grapple with the topics which engage the attention of Parliament . These are all men below the mark . At least they may be , and must be so , unless they have something better to recommend them ; and then it is on that better qualification that their pretensions should be based . A member of Parliament ought to be a man of superior intellect and sound education . By education , I mean neither Latin , Greek , nor mathematics . The senior wrangler at a university may yet be a mere tyro in the education of a statesman . Many self-taught men have acquired it in great perfection . In fact every man who has it is , so far , selftaught ; for our public institutions have been very worthless in this matter . He should be profoundly versed in history ; especially the history of our own country ; and especially that portion of that history to which our annalists have paid least attention , viz . the condition of the great mass of the population at different periods , and the influence of laws and institutions in improving or deteriorating that condition . He should be at home in statistics , familiar with the details of numbers , extent , occupations ,
productions , &c . of the different provinces of the British empire , and of the countries with which we have most to do , whether commercially or politically . He should be able to select , combine , and arrange all these materials with the master-hand of a true philosopher .
Moreover , he should be no stranger to the people ; no mere creature of the study or the drawing-room . He should know , by actual observation , and direct communication , something of the condition , the habits , wants , opinions , and feelings , of those who constitute the great mass of the community . He can never learn this from the newspapers , nor from public meetings merely , nor by club suppers and canvassing calls at election times . Nor will it be enough to look in , with Lord Whamcliffe , upon the shopkeepers in
Bondstreet . Better information about modes of existence which are common to millions should be acquired by him who purposes to be a faithful trustee of the interests of millions . He should be an independent man ; independent in mind and in circumstances ; the former ^ or he certainly will not be the latter , whatever his pecuniary qualification . We have had enough of mere political
adventurers and place-hunters ; they can only thrive upon corruption , and if they find not their food , they must make it . He should be able , when necessary , to speak with effect . It is a foolish apology sometimes made for the choice of members that their vote is as good as that of the most eloquent . It is not so
good , unless they can give their reasons for it . The speeches delivered in the House of Commons are far from being the least important part of its proceedings . Not unfrequently they have been the most useful part . Much worse would have been the condition of the country had not the intelligence of the iniquitous votes of a majority been accompanied by the report of the sound
Untitled Article
On Parliamentary PUdge * . 437
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1832, page 437, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1816/page/5/
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