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actual bribe which it h $ of most importance to . gel rid of ; it is tb » thousand secret , intangible , invisible , inaudible mode * in which the vole Is perverted from its proper direction . A hundred and thirty yea ** ago it was said , by a shrewd observer / TiU the-freeholders will forbesw *? be led by persons and parties , and to vote from the sordid motives of iatsv
rest and submission * it will be impossible they should be well represented . " After the lapse of this long period we have seen no progres * made in the species of forbearance here pointed out ; and it is no greal hardihood to predict that , if we persevere in the same system of open voting , the lapse of a hundred and thirty years more will be equally barren of improvement . '—p . 302—304 .
The debasement to all parties of the practice of canvassing , and the utility of distinct and complete expositions of the candidate * * opinion , are clearly stated , and followed by an argument against pledges , in which , taken abstractly , we concur . Our exception , under present circvimstances , in favour of the main points of organic reform , has been already mentioned in our last number . It is also shown that elections will never be usefully conducted while thai excitement is cherished in which some so much delight , who , oa other occasions , show themselves not particularly friendly to popular
enjoyment . 4 These remarks will scarcely be misconstrued as intended to denounce music , or processions , or other festivities amongst the people , on suitable occasions . The hostility which has been shown by well-intentioned Wt mistaken moralists against popular amusements would be peroicioas , if it could have any effect . Such amusements are required for the healthy play both of the moral and of the physical constitution of man ; and the propensities which they gratify , if not allowed to take a salutary , will
assuredly take a mischievous direction . Amidst the monotonous em * ployments arising out of the extreme division of labour in civilized states ; excitement and exhilaration are especially demanded , and must be haul ; if they are not to be got in the active game , the absorbing represeftts * tion , the animating burst of music , the splendid pageant , ike sfMnt * stMP ring address , they will be sought and found in the tavern and the gmjR * ing-house , or the want of them will people the infirmary and the asyhis * But an election is not an occasion designed for yielding wholesome excitement ; it is an affair of deliberation and decision , in which the less
perturbation of mind there is the better . If it is of any importance to mankind to have securities for good government in their own baatlft , it is also of importance that they should not trifle with them . Theae securities are not written document * deposited in a state register office ; they consist mainly of certain acts to be done by the people themselves *
and require the exercise of discrimination and > judgment oa the part of those for whose benefit they are instituted . Let the people then apply themselves to the business of elections in the spirit of sobriety and wisdom , and they may find other occasions for indulging in those joyaut amusements , which true morality will never discourage so loag ** they are harmless and seasonable . * —u . 835 , 336 .
The concluding chapter u » a very important one oil the general
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No . 103 . t H
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The Rationale o / FolUismt Representation . \\ %
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1835, page 413, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2646/page/49/
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