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Untitled Article
arguments of a minority , who though they could not avert injustice from the people , yet exposed the injustice that was perpetrated . True , there is debating in abundance ; but it is confined to a comparatively small number of members * The same men seem to be retained as counsel in all causes . This need not be the case if
every man were properly qualified ; and every man ought so to qualify himself who aspires to public life . Nor should you , on any account , entrust your interests to men whose age is yet immature , whose characters are unformed , and whose principles are unfixed . Some previous services , some public warrant of the requisite ability , information , energy , and patriotism , ought to be required . The past ought to have given promise of the future .
Let none say , much less than this will do very well for us ; much less than this will not do very well for the country , and therefore not for yourselves ultimately . The question is not what will content you , but what the country needs in its present unprece-r dented state . It needs all the wisdom , the foresight , the moral courage , that can be made available for its service . Your franchise is not a property , but a trust . You , the half million of voters , hold it
on behalf of the four-and-twenty millions of souls that constitute the nation . You hold it on behalf of posterity : for how largely must the legislation of the present day affect the characters and the condition of those who will soon occupy our places in the world ! You hold it on behalf of an immense colonial population , who , while they are kept in dependency , have a right to impartial and liberal consideration . You hold it on behalf of the civilized
world , and when you exercise it unworthily , when slavish principles gain the ascendency in British councils , despots rejoice , and good rnen grieve , and the oppressed curse , from the banks of the Seine to those of the Vistula . The franchise is not your own ; it is a sacred trust , and your exercise of it is a solemn act . I will not descend to the degrading admonition not to take a bribe . I write not for that base and worthless class . But I say , beware of
rash promises . Be sure that you have found the best man that can be obtained , before you entangle yourselves in pledges and bestow improperly that which is not your own . Keep yourselves free to return the worthiest . Take measures for ascertaining the fittest persons . Submit not to the selection and dictation of those who think that every thing must yield to their local importance . If the candidates 4 iave been in Parliament before , let their career
- be scrutinized . Ascertain when they spoke and how they spoke . Examine their votes . Inquire into the regularity of their attendance , mark when and-why they absented themselves . If they be new men , procure authentic information of their public conduct . Be not satisfied with professions and generalities . A few industrious , intelligent , and trustworthy men can easily be employed by you to make these investigations , so far as you cannot do it for yourselves individually ; and a trifling contribution will defray all
Untitled Article
43 d On Parliamentary Pledge * .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1832, page 438, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1816/page/6/
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