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rule of Government . They find you will not realise your rule . They see the weakest possible infusion of the people's feeling in the House , which you inform them ought to breathe none other . They see your efforts to remedy this discrepancy daily worsted , and they are preparing to do that for themselves , which you are so manifestly unwilling to do for them . As one of the middle classes , imbued with the moderation of opinion which is said
to characterize them , I have , I confess , been systematically averse to universal franchise upon what has always appeared to me the very stable ground of the ignorance of the unenfranchised masses . Latterly , I own , I have seen so many instances of superiority of mental qualification on the part of those who have no franchise , over a multitude of those who have , that my
opinion has undergone considerable modification . Take , for instance , the meeting of the working classes , the other day , at the Crown and Anchor . I have had much experience in the conduct of the House of Commons . I assure you , nevertheless , that I cannot recall to my recollection any six consecutive speeches in Parliament , displaying so much aggregate talent as tne six consecutive speeches of the unenfranchised working men who addressed the meeting at the Crown and Anchor .
I wish the " order " of the House of Commons would bear comparison with the perfect decorum of these three thousand artisans . My Lord , I cannot think that these men are without aptitude for the choice of Members of Parliament , and I believe that a niass of unrepresented talent must—despite every barrier , whether of Tories or Whigs—ere long obtain a representative
voice . The lethargy of the millions is r 6 lling away like the mists which struggle awhile with the morning dawn . The prosperity which has everted its , ' soporific power , is likewise deserting the cause of political stagnation ^ and giving place to the iiiightiest stimulants of thought and action . The power of the oppressors , toy Lord , is already at its height : the power' of thk oppressed is barely awoken froia its giant ' s slumber .
You are engrossed ' , in the struggle for po ^ er between your own Capinet an $ the other fraction of the community whom you ^ xcl ^ but bf the ttifrht of the imlfiqg&aa ^ you both , it appears to jne ^ yw fflK ^ ^ Mh- When the conflict cotfie ^ ai > e you desirdus of feaBwfi the pecmte ? If so , r % ' on Wyoti must hoist tUeir INtojp ^ no ^ t— -not ^ alf-riiast high , as thotigti yoii were in mournin ^ jtor Vour , o ^ pnnciples , but riaiM to Hit riiast tiead : if i ® My % mi ^ Wit * strike it at once ; for
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26 S Hints to the Home Secretary .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 1, 1837, page 268, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1831/page/13/
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