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Untitled Article
gratify his desire , exercise bis right , and do his duty by his country ; but it is a much less evil than that he should be compelled to do that which crosses his own desires , is an abuse of his privilege , and an injury to his country . It is allowed by the writer that there is a great distinction between the case of landlord and tenant , and that of customer and
tradesman . In the latter case he concedes the efficiency of the Ballot . ' The probability is , that customers would no longer canvass their tradesmen , or endeavour to sway their votes . In narrow districts they might do so ; but in a large town the practice would most likely cease , when the votes were to be given in secret . ' This is ample reason for the Ballot being immediately established * Cases of oppression make more noise in the
country ; they are more conspicuous from the farmers' comparatively isolated mode of living ; but there is a far greater mass of undue influence , bearing grievously upon town voters . The lines of dependence which traverse the whole frame-work of society are so many meshes for the entanglement of the weak . Every
man at an election is reminded of his dependence ; it is one great fight of influences ; almost everyone has some portion of that irresponsible power over his neighbour , the possession of which is so strong a temptation to its abuse . If only in towns voting could be made free by the Ballot , its enactment ought not to be delayed through another session .
It is argued that the Ballot would not protect from popular intimidation , from Political Unions in England , and a violent multitude in Ireland , whose vengeance might always be directed by demagogues against individuals , 6 \ en where no reasonable ground of suspicion existed that there had been hostility , or treachery towards the favourite candidate . The writer even imagines , and a man must be rather hard driven to make such a
supposition , that many friends of the popular cause would not vote at all , lest they should be persecuted afterwards on suspicion of having voted on the other side . He thinks they would rather bear the certain odium of neutrality than incur the contingent evil of unsupported accusation , which they would have no means of demonstrating to be false by an appeal to the poll-books . The case is so improbable , that we need scarcely dwell upon it . 4 The
infuriated rabble / who would take vengeance on such grounds , would be equally wrong-headed , unconvincible , and vindictive were the vote recorded , and would , no doubt , include the sheriff and poll-clerks in their violent proceedings , for having made a false record of the vote in question . The absurdity of the one
supposition is not greater than that of the other . The writer also gfaVely alleges that the Ballot will promote bribery , because the bribed voter is ? enabled do to the service purchased in perfect security / as if he were not also enabled to neglect it in perfect security . Rogues , no doubt , would take
Untitled Article
tB , The Edinburgh Review and tkt Ballot .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1833, page 78, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2608/page/6/
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