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88-542: Their appointment was one of the results of the vigorous movements for the reform of public institutions which followed the Reform Act 1832 . In 1835 two commissions were appointed to consider the state of the several dioceses of England and Wales, with reference to the amount of their revenues and the more equal distribution of episcopal duties, and the prevention of the necessity of attaching by commendam to bishoprics certain benefices with cure of souls ; and to consider also

176-569: A general election was held. Electoral reform, which had been frequently discussed during the preceding parliamentary session, became a major campaign issue. Across the country, several pro-reform "political unions" were formed, made up of both middle and working class individuals. The most influential of these was the Birmingham Political Union , led by Thomas Attwood . These groups confined themselves to lawful means of supporting reform, such as petitioning and public oratory, and achieved

264-546: A run on the banks ; one day signs appeared across London reading "Stop the Duke; go for gold!" £1.8 million was withdrawn from the Bank of England in the first days of the run (out of about £7 million total gold in the bank's possession). The National Political Union and other organisations sent petitions to the House of Commons, demanding that they withhold supply (cut off funding to

352-425: A Tory and as an "independent Whig"). Like his father, he shrank from proposing the wholesale abolition of the rotten boroughs, advocating instead an increase in county representation. The House of Commons rejected Pitt's resolution by over 140 votes, despite receiving petitions for reform bearing over twenty thousand signatures. In 1783, Pitt became Prime Minister but was still unable to achieve reform. King George III

440-520: A high level of public support. The Tories won a majority in the election, but the party remained divided, and support for the Prime Minister ( the Duke of Wellington ) was weak. When the Opposition raised the issue of reform in one of the first debates of the year, the Duke made a controversial defence of the existing system of government, recorded in the formal "third-party" language of the time: He

528-415: A lifetime right to vote, however they had qualified, provided they were resident in the boroughs in which they were electors. In those boroughs which had freemen electors, voting rights were to be enjoyed by future freemen as well, provided their freemanship was acquired through birth or apprenticeship and they too were resident. The Act also introduced a system of voter registration , to be administered by

616-473: A more significant event; it has been argued that it was the inclusion of the word "male", thus providing the first explicit statutory bar to women voting, which provided a focus of attack and a source of resentment from which, in time, the women's suffrage movement grew. Many constituencies, especially those with small electorates, were under the control of rich landowners, and were known as nomination boroughs or pocket boroughs , because they were said to be in

704-614: A right to an interest or share in the disposing of the affairs of the kingdom ... that hath not a permanent fixed interest in this kingdom." The views of the conservative "Grandees" eventually won out. Oliver Cromwell , who became the leader of England after the abolition of the monarchy in 1649, refused to adopt universal suffrage; individuals were required to own property (real or personal) worth at least £200 in order to vote. He did nonetheless agree to some electoral reform; he disfranchised several small boroughs, granted representation to large towns such as Manchester and Leeds , and increased

792-422: A single member. Statutes passed in 1430 and 1432, during the reign of Henry VI , standardised property qualifications for county voters. Under these Acts, all owners of freehold property or land with an annual value of at least forty shillings in a particular county were entitled to vote in that county. This requirement, known as the forty shilling freehold , was never adjusted for inflation of land value; thus

880-603: A torrent of corruption as no private hereditary fortune could resist". During the 1640s, England endured a civil war that pitted King Charles I and the Royalists against the Parliamentarians . In 1647, different factions of the victorious parliamentary army held a series of discussions, the Putney Debates , on reforming the structure of English government. The most radical elements proposed universal manhood suffrage and

968-585: Is An Act to amend the representation of the people in England and Wales . Its formal short title and citation is Representation of the People Act 1832 ( 2 & 3 Will. 4 . c. 45). The Act applied only in England and Wales; the Irish Reform Act 1832 brought similar changes to Ireland. The separate Scottish Reform Act 1832 was revolutionary, enlarging the electorate by a factor of 13 from 5,000 to 65,000. After

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1056-471: The Acts of Union 1800 became law on 1 January 1801, the unreformed House of Commons comprised 658 members, of whom 513 represented England and Wales. There were two types of constituency: counties and boroughs. County members were supposed to represent landholders, while borough members were supposed to represent mercantile and trading interests. Counties were historical national subdivisions established between

1144-594: The Glorious Revolution . It was revived in the 1760s by the Whig Prime Minister William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham ("Pitt the Elder"), who called borough representation "the rotten part of our Constitution " (hence the term "rotten borough"). Nevertheless, he did not advocate an immediate disfranchisement of rotten boroughs. He instead proposed that a third member be added to each county, to countervail

1232-468: The Industrial Revolution , and removed seats from the " rotten boroughs ": those with very small electorates and usually dominated by a wealthy patron. The Act also increased the electorate from about 400,000 to 650,000, making about one in five adult males eligible to vote. By defining a voter as a male person, it also introduced the first explicit statutory bar to women voting . The full title

1320-623: The Lord Chief Justice , the Master of the Rolls , two judges of the admiralty division , and certain laymen appointed by the crown and by the archbishop of Canterbury. The lay commissioners were required to be members of the Church of England, and to subscribe a declaration to that effect. The crown also appointed two laymen as church estates commissioners, and the archbishop of Canterbury one. These three were

1408-611: The National Political Union . Perceiving this group as a threat, the government issued a proclamation pursuant to the Corresponding Societies Act 1799 declaring such an association "unconstitutional and illegal", and commanding all loyal subjects to shun it. The leaders of the National Political Union ignored this proclamation, but leaders of the influential Birmingham branch decided to co-operate with

1496-602: The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 . This legislation repealed various laws that imposed political disabilities on Roman Catholics, in particular laws that prevented them from becoming members of Parliament. In response, disenchanted ultra-Tories who perceived a danger to the established religion came to favour parliamentary reform, in particular the enfranchisement of Manchester, Leeds, and other heavily Nonconformist cities in northern England. The death of King George IV on 26 June 1830 dissolved Parliament by law, and

1584-588: The Scottish Reform Act and the Irish Reform Act . Scotland received eight additional seats, and Ireland received five; thus keeping the total number of seats in the House of Commons the same as it had been before the Act. While no constituencies were disfranchised in either of those countries, voter qualifications were standardised and the size of the electorate was increased in both. Between 1835 and 1841, local Conservative Associations began to educate citizens about

1672-514: The Seditious Meetings Act prohibited groups of more than 50 people from assembling to discuss any political subject without prior permission from the sheriff or magistrate. Since the House of Commons regularly rejected direct challenges to the system of representation by large majorities, supporters of reform had to content themselves with more modest measures. The Whig Lord John Russell brought forward one such measure in 1820, proposing

1760-638: The Society of the Friends of the People , included 28 MPs. In 1793, Grey presented to the House of Commons a petition from the Friends of the People, outlining abuses of the system and demanding change. He did not propose any specific scheme of reform, but merely a motion that the House inquire into possible improvements. Parliament's reaction to the French Revolution was so negative, that even this request for an inquiry

1848-400: The electoral system of England and Wales . It reapportioned constituencies to address the unequal distribution of seats and expanded franchise by broadening and standardising the property qualifications to vote. Before the reform, most members of Parliament nominally represented boroughs . The number of electors in a borough varied widely however, from a dozen or so up to 12,000. Frequently

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1936-520: The overseers of the poor in every parish and township. It instituted a system of special courts to review disputes relating to voter qualifications. It also authorised the use of multiple polling places within the same constituency, and limited the duration of polling to two days. (Formerly, polls could remain open for up to fifteen days. ) The Reform Act itself did not affect constituencies in Scotland or Ireland. However, there were also reforms there, under

2024-526: The "Radical" reforms supported by these organisations (for example, universal suffrage) found even less support in Parliament. For example, when Sir Francis Burdett , chairman of the London Hampden Club, proposed a resolution in favour of universal suffrage, equally sized electoral districts, and voting by secret ballot to the House of Commons, his motion found only one other supporter ( Lord Cochrane ) in

2112-449: The "celebrated article on Government", James Mill had stated: ... all those individuals whose interests are indisputably included in those of other individuals may be struck off without any inconvenience ... In this light also women may be regarded, the interests of almost all of whom are involved in that of their fathers or in that of their husbands. The passing of the Act seven years later enfranchising "male persons" was, however,

2200-406: The 8th and 16th centuries. They were not merely parliamentary constituencies: many components of government (as well as courts and the militia ) were organised along county lines. The members of Parliament chosen by the counties were known as knights of the shire . In Wales, each county elected one member, while in England, each county elected two members until 1826 when Yorkshire's representation

2288-455: The Act abolished 143 borough seats in England (one of the boroughs to be completely abolished, Higham Ferrers , returned only a single MP). In their place the Act created 130 new seats in England and Wales: Thus 65 new county seats and 65 new borough seats were created in England and Wales. The total number of English members fell by 17 and the number in Wales increased by four. The boundaries of

2376-400: The Act. The new constituencies saw party conflicts within the middle class, and between the middle class and working class. A study of elections in the medium-sized borough of Halifax, 1832–1852, concluded that the party organisations, and the voters themselves, depended heavily on local social relationships and local institutions. Having the vote encouraged many men to become much more active in

2464-435: The Duke of Rutland, Lord Lonsdale, the Duke of Newcastle, and about twenty other holders of boroughs. They are our masters!" T. H. B. Oldfield claimed in his Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland that, out of the 514 members representing England and Wales, about 370 were selected by nearly 180 patrons. A member who represented a pocket borough was expected to vote as his patron ordered, or else lose his seat at

2552-476: The House of Lords with pro-reform votes. But the prerogative of creating peerages rested with the king, who recoiled from so drastic a step and rejected the unanimous advice of his cabinet. Lord Grey then resigned, and the king invited the Duke of Wellington to form a new government. The ensuing period became known as the " Days of May ", with so great a level of political agitation that some feared revolution. Some protesters advocated non-payment of taxes, and urged

2640-558: The Lords rejected the Reform Bill, public violence ensued. That very evening, riots broke out in Derby , where a mob attacked the city jail and freed several prisoners. In Nottingham , rioters set fire to Nottingham Castle (the home of the Duke of Newcastle) and attacked Wollaton Hall (the estate of Lord Middleton). The most significant disturbances occurred at Bristol , where rioters controlled

2728-561: The Reform Act. After Newark was enfranchised in 1661, no additional boroughs were enfranchised, and, with the sole exception of Grampound's 1821 disenfranchisement, the system remained unchanged until the Reform Act of 1832. Most English boroughs elected two MPs; but five boroughs elected only one MP: Abingdon , Banbury , Bewdley , Higham Ferrers and Monmouth . The City of London and the joint borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis each elected four members. The Welsh boroughs each returned

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2816-413: The Reform Bill was difficult. During the committee stage, Isaac Gascoyne put forward a motion objecting to provisions of the bill that reduced the total number of seats in the House of Commons. This motion was carried, against the government's wishes, by 8 votes. Thereafter, the ministry lost a vote on a procedural motion by 22 votes. As these divisions indicated that Parliament was against the Reform Bill,

2904-574: The Whigs' decisive victory in the 1831 election, some speculated that opponents would abstain, rather than openly defy the public will. Indeed, when the Lords voted on the second reading of the bill after a memorable series of debates, many Tory peers did refrain from voting. However, the Lords Spiritual mustered in unusually large numbers, and of 22 present, 21 voted against the Bill. It failed by 41 votes. When

2992-909: The act. The constitution of the commission was amended by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners Act 1840 ( 3 & 4 Vict. c. 113) and subsequent acts, to consist of the two archbishops, all the bishops, the deans of Canterbury, St Paul's, and Westminster, the Lord Chancellor, the Lord President of the Council , the First Lord of the Treasury , the Chancellor of the Exchequer , the Home Secretary ,

3080-562: The alterations suggested in the report of the original commission and recited in the act. The new commission was constituted a corporation with power to purchase and hold lands for the purposes of the act, notwithstanding the statutes of mortmain . The first members of the commission were the Archbishop of Canterbury , the Archbishop of York , and three bishops, the Lord Chancellor and the principal officers of state, and three laymen named in

3168-524: The amount of land one had to own in order to vote gradually diminished over time. The franchise was restricted to men by custom rather than statute; on rare occasions women had been able to vote in parliamentary elections as a result of property ownership. Nevertheless, the vast majority of people were not entitled to vote; the size of the English county electorate in 1831 has been estimated at only 200,000 and 400,000 enfranchised Englishmen overall. Furthermore,

3256-405: The bill standardised and expanded the borough franchise, increasing the size of the electorate (according to one estimate) by half a million voters. On 22 March, the vote on the second reading attracted a record 608 members, including the non-voting Speaker (the previous record was 530 members). Despite the high attendance, the second reading was approved by only one vote, and further progress on

3344-484: The borough influence. The Whigs failed to unite behind the expansion of county representation; some objected to the idea because they felt that it would give too much power to the aristocracy and gentry in rural areas. Ultimately, despite Chatham's exertions, Parliament took no action on his proposals. The cause of parliamentary reform was next taken up by Lord Chatham's son, William Pitt the Younger (variously described as

3432-699: The borough to the highest bidder. Especially notorious for their corruption were the " nabobs ", or individuals who had amassed fortunes in the British colonies in Asia and the West Indies . The nabobs, in some cases, even managed to wrest control of boroughs from the nobility and the gentry. Lord Chatham , Prime Minister of Great Britain during the 1760s, casting an eye on the fortunes made in India commented that "the importers of foreign gold have forced their way into Parliament, by such

3520-509: The city for three days . The mob broke into prisons and destroyed several buildings, including the palace of the Bishop of Bristol , the mansion of the Lord Mayor of Bristol , and several private homes. Other places that saw violence included Dorset , Leicestershire, and Somerset . Meanwhile, the political unions, which had hitherto been separate groups united only by a common goal, decided to form

3608-500: The commission recited in the act of 1836 are too numerous to be given here. They include an extensive rearrangement of the dioceses, equalization of episcopal income, providing residences, etc. By the act of 1840 the fourth report of the original commissioners, dealing chiefly with cathedral and collegiate churches, was carried into effect, a large number of canonries being suspended, and sinecure benefices and dignities suppressed. The emoluments of these suppressed or suspended offices, and

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3696-497: The common seal, and if only two were present they could demand its postponement to a subsequent meeting. The schemes of the commission having, after due notice to persons affected thereby, been laid before the king in council, could be ratified by orders, specifying the times when they should take effect, and such orders when published in the London Gazette had the same force and effect as acts of parliament. The recommendations of

3784-408: The county in which Leeds is situated. In this form, the bill passed both houses and became law. In 1828, Lord John Russell suggested that Parliament repeat the idea by abolishing the corrupt boroughs of Penryn and East Retford , and by transferring their seats to Manchester and Birmingham. This time, however, the House of Lords rejected his proposals. In 1830, Russell proposed another, similar scheme:

3872-472: The disfranchisement of the notoriously corrupt borough of Grampound in Cornwall. He suggested that the borough's two seats be transferred to the city of Leeds. Tories in the House of Lords agreed to the disfranchisement of the borough, but refused to accept the precedent of directly transferring its seats to an industrial city. Instead, they modified the proposal so that two further seats were given to Yorkshire ,

3960-483: The enfranchisement of Leeds, Manchester, and Birmingham, and the disfranchisement of the next three boroughs found guilty of corruption; again, the proposal was rejected. Support for reform came from an unexpected source—a reactionary faction of the Tory Party—in 1829. The Tory government under Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington , responding to the danger of civil strife in largely Roman Catholic Ireland, drew up

4048-638: The entire House. Despite such setbacks, popular pressure for reform remained strong. In 1819, a large pro-reform rally was held in Birmingham. Although the city was not entitled to any seats in the Commons, those gathered decided to elect Sir Charles Wolseley as Birmingham's "legislatorial representative". Following their example, reformers in Manchester held a similar meeting to elect a "legislatorial attorney". Between 20,000 and 60,000 (by different estimates) attended

4136-598: The event, many of them bearing signs such as "Equal Representation or Death". The protesters were ordered to disband; when they did not, the Manchester Yeomanry suppressed the meeting by force. Eighteen people were killed and several hundred injured in what later became known as the Peterloo Massacre . In response, the government passed the Six Acts , measures designed to quell further political agitation. In particular,

4224-572: The existence of the commission the profits of dignities and benefices without cure of souls becoming vacant should be paid over to the treasurer of Queen Anne's Bounty . In consequence of the recommendation of these commissioners, a permanent commission was appointed by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners Act 1836 ( 6 & 7 Will. 4 . c. 77) for the purpose of preparing and laying before the king in council such schemes as should appear to them to be best adapted for carrying into effect

4312-537: The franchise to 7 per cent of the population. Tradesmen, such as shoemakers, believed that the Reform Act had given them the vote. One example is the shoemakers of Duns, Scottish Borders , Berwickshire . They created a banner celebrating the Reform Act which declared, "The battle's won. Britannia's sons are free." This banner is on display at People's History Museum in Manchester . Many major commercial and industrial cities became separate parliamentary boroughs under

4400-425: The government by discouraging activities on a national level. After the Reform Bill was rejected in the Lords, the House of Commons immediately passed a motion of confidence affirming their support for Lord Grey's administration. Because parliamentary rules prohibited the introduction of the same bill twice during the same session, the ministry advised the new king, William IV , to prorogue Parliament. As soon as

4488-404: The government) until the House of Lords should acquiesce. Some demonstrations called for the abolition of the nobility, and some even of the monarchy. In these circumstances, the Duke of Wellington had great difficulty in building support for his premiership, despite promising moderate reform. He was unable to form a government, leaving King William with no choice but to recall Lord Grey. Eventually

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4576-487: The groups of Acts mentioned in the Second Schedule to this Act, or with any group of Acts to which a collective title has been given by any Act passed before this Act, that group shall be construed as including that Act or part, and, if the collective title of the group states the first and last years of the group, the year in which that Act is passed shall be substituted for the last year of the group, and so on as often as

4664-525: The intention of the original endowment, was given up without an effort to defend it. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners Acts 1840 to 1885 is the collective title of the following acts: Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832 , Great Reform Act or First Reform Act ) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4 . c. 45) that introduced major changes to

4752-547: The joint treasurers of the commission, and constituted, along with two members appointed by the commission; the church estates committee, charged with all business relating to the sale, purchase, exchange, letting or management of any lands, tithes or hereditaments. The commission had power to make inquiries and examine witnesses on oath. Five commissioners were a quorum for the transaction of business, provided two of them were church estates commissioners; two ecclesiastical commissioners at least had to be present at any proceeding under

4840-455: The king consented to fill the House of Lords with Whigs; however, without the knowledge of his cabinet, Wellington circulated a letter among Tory peers, encouraging them to desist from further opposition, and warning them of the consequences of continuing. At this, enough opposing peers relented. By abstaining from further votes, they allowed the legislation to pass in the House of Lords, and the Crown

4928-449: The ministry decided to request a dissolution and take its appeal to the people. The political and popular pressure for reform had grown so great that pro-reform Whigs won an overwhelming House of Commons majority in the general election of 1831 . The Whig party won almost all constituencies with genuine electorates, leaving the Tories with little more than the rotten boroughs. The Reform Bill

5016-405: The net annual income named for it by statute or order. All the profits and emoluments of the suspended canonries, etc., pass over to the commissioners, as well as the separate estates of those deaneries and canonries which are not suspended. Out of this fund the expenses of the commission are to be paid, and the residue is to be devoted to increasing the efficiency of the church by the augmentation of

5104-540: The new divisions and parliamentary boroughs were defined in a separate Act, the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 . In county constituencies, franchise rights were extended to copyholders and long-term (at least sixty years) leaseholders of land with at least £10 annual value, medium-term (between twenty and sixty years) leaseholders of land with at least £10 annual value, and to tenants-at-will paying an annual rent of at least £50 . Annual value refers to

5192-559: The new session began in December 1831, the Third Reform Bill was brought forward. The bill was in a few respects different from its predecessors; it no longer proposed a reduction in the total membership of the House of Commons, and it reflected data collected during the census that had just been completed. The new version passed in the House of Commons by even larger majorities in March 1832; it

5280-481: The next election. Voters in some constituencies resisted outright domination by powerful landlords, but were often open to corruption. Electors were bribed individually in some boroughs, and collectively in others. In 1771, for example, it was revealed that 81 voters in New Shoreham (who constituted a majority of the electorate) formed a corrupt organisation that called itself the "Christian Club", and regularly sold

5368-544: The number of members elected by populous counties. These reforms were all reversed, however, after Cromwell's death and the last parliament to be elected in the Commonwealth period in 1659 reverted to the electoral system as it had existed under Charles I. Following Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 the issue of parliamentary reform lay dormant; James II 's attempt to remodel municipal corporations to gain control of their borough seats created an antipathy to any change after

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5456-415: The party's platform and encouraged them to register to vote annually, as required by the Act. Coverage of national politics in the local press was joined by in-depth reports on provincial politics in the national press. Grassroots Conservatives therefore saw themselves as part of a national political movement during the 1830s. The size of the pre-Reform electorate is difficult to estimate. Voter registration

5544-576: The pockets of their patrons. Most patrons were noblemen or landed gentry who could use their local influence, prestige, and wealth to sway the voters. This was particularly true in rural counties, and in small boroughs situated near a large landed estate. Some noblemen even controlled multiple constituencies: for example, the Duke of Norfolk controlled eleven, while the Earl of Lonsdale controlled nine. Writing in 1821, Sydney Smith proclaimed that "The country belongs to

5632-619: The political, economic and social sphere. Collective title A collective title is an expression by which two or more pieces of legislation may, under the law of the United Kingdom , be cited together. A famous example is the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 . Section 2(2) of the Short Titles Act 1896 reads: If it is provided that any Act passed after this Act may, as to the whole or any part thereof, be cited with any of

5720-593: The present moment he had imposed upon him the duty of forming a legislature for any country [...] he did not mean to assert that he could form such a legislature as they possessed now, for the nature of man was incapable of reaching such excellence at once. [...] [A]s long as he held any station in the government of the country, he should always feel it his duty to resist [reform] measures, when proposed by others. The Prime Minister's absolutist views proved extremely unpopular, even within his own party. Less than two weeks after Wellington made these remarks, on 15 November 1830 he

5808-474: The rent at which the land might reasonably be expected to be let from year to year. (The franchise rights of 40 shilling freeholders were retained.) The property qualifications of borough franchise were standardised to male occupants of property who paid a yearly rental of £10 or more. The property could be a house, warehouse, counting-house, shop, or other building as long as it was occupied, and occupied for at least 12 months. Existing borough electors retained

5896-421: The reorganisation of parliamentary constituencies. Their leader Thomas Rainsborough declared, "I think it's clear, that every man that is to live under a government ought first by his own consent to put himself under that government." More conservative members disagreed, arguing instead that only individuals who owned land in the country should be allowed to vote. For example, Henry Ireton stated, "no man hath

5984-467: The same time it was regarded as having made a serious breach in the legal theory of ecclesiastical property. The important principle, says Cripps, on which the inviolability of the church establishment depends, that the church generally possesses no property as a corporation, or which is applicable to general purposes, but that such particular ecclesiastical corporation, whether aggregate or sole, has its property separate, distinct and inalienable, according to

6072-462: The selection of Members of Parliament (MPs) was effectively controlled by one powerful patron: for example Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk , controlled eleven boroughs. Criteria for qualification for the franchise varied greatly among boroughs, from the requirement to own land, to merely living in a house with a hearth sufficient to boil a pot. There had been calls for reform long before 1832, but without success. The Act that finally succeeded

6160-438: The sizes of the individual county constituencies varied significantly. The smallest counties, Rutland and Anglesey , had fewer than 1,000 voters each, while the largest county, Yorkshire , had more than 20,000. Those who owned property in multiple constituencies could vote multiple times . Not only was this typically legal (since there was usually no need for a property owner to live in a constituency in order to vote there) it

6248-485: The smaller bishoprics and of poor livings, the endowment of new churches, and employment of additional ministers. The substitution of one central corporation for the many local and independent corporations of the church, so far at least as the management of property is concerned, was a constitutional change of great importance, and the effect of it undoubtedly was to correct the anomalous distribution of ecclesiastical revenues by equalising incomes and abolishing sinecures. At

6336-546: The state of the several cathedral and collegiate churches in England and Wales, with a view to the suggestion of such measures as might render them conducive to the efficiency of the established church, and to provide for the best mode of providing for the cure of souls, with special reference to the residence of the clergy on their respective benefices. And it was enacted by the Vacant Ecclesiastical Dignities, etc. Act 1835 ( 5 & 6 Will. 4 . c. 30) that during

6424-421: The surplus income of the episcopal sees, constitute the fund at the disposal of the commissioners. By an act of 1860, on the avoidance of any bishopric or archbishopric, all the land and emoluments of the see, except the patronage and lands attached to houses of residence, become, by order in council, vested in the commissioners, who may, however, reassign to the see so much of the land as may be sufficient to secure

6512-505: The time of their original enfranchisement, but later went into decline, and by the early 19th century some only had a few electors, but still elected two MPs ; they were often known as rotten boroughs . Of the 70 English boroughs that Tudor monarchs enfranchised, 31 were later disenfranchised . Finally, the parliamentarians of the 17th century compounded the inconsistencies by re-enfranchising 15 boroughs whose representation had lapsed for centuries, seven of which were later disenfranchised by

6600-780: The women's vote appears to have been first made by Jeremy Bentham in 1817 when he published his Plan of Parliamentary Reform in the form of a Catechism , and was taken up by William Thompson in 1825, when he published, with Anna Wheeler , An Appeal of One Half the Human Race, Women, Against the Pretensions of the Other Half, Men, to Retain Them in Political, and Thence in Civil and Domestic Slavery: In Reply to Mr. Mill's Celebrated Article on Government . In

6688-481: Was a pledge to carry out parliamentary reform. On 1 March 1831, Lord John Russell brought forward the Reform Bill in the House of Commons on the government's behalf. The bill disfranchised 60 of the smallest boroughs, and reduced the representation of 47 others. Some seats were completely abolished, while others were redistributed to the London suburbs, to large cities, to the counties, and to Scotland and Ireland. Furthermore,

6776-513: Was again brought before the House of Commons, which agreed to the second reading by a large majority in July. During the committee stage, opponents of the bill slowed its progress through tedious discussions of its details, but it was finally passed in September 1831, by a margin of more than 100 votes. The Bill was then sent up to the House of Lords, a majority in which was known to be hostile to it. After

6864-403: Was also feasible, even with the technology of the time, since polling was usually held over several days. In boroughs the franchise was far more varied. There were broadly six types of parliamentary boroughs, as defined by their franchise: Some boroughs had a combination of these varying types of franchise, and most had special rules and exceptions, so many boroughs had a form of franchise that

6952-737: Was averse to the idea, as were many members of Pitt's own cabinet. In 1786, the Prime Minister proposed a reform bill, but the House of Commons rejected it on a 174–248 vote. Pitt did not raise the issue again for the remainder of his term. Support for parliamentary reform plummeted after the French Revolution in 1789. Many English politicians became steadfastly opposed to any major political change. Despite this reaction, several Radical Movement groups were established to agitate for reform. A group of Whigs led by James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale , and Charles Grey founded an organisation advocating parliamentary reform in 1792. This group, known as

7040-515: Was forced to resign after he was defeated in a motion of no confidence . Sydney Smith wrote, "Never was any administration so completely and so suddenly destroyed; and, I believe, entirely by the Duke's declaration, made, I suspect, in perfect ignorance of the state of public feeling and opinion." Wellington was replaced by the Whig reformer Charles Grey , who had by this time inherited the title of Earl Grey. Lord Grey's first announcement as Prime Minister

7128-420: Was fully convinced that the country possessed, at the present moment, a legislature which answered all the good purposes of legislation,—and this to a greater degree than any legislature ever had answered, in any country whatever. He would go further, and say that the legislature and system of representation possessed the full and entire confidence of the country. [...] He would go still further, and say, that if at

7216-550: Was increased to four, following the disenfranchisement of the Cornish borough of Grampound . Parliamentary boroughs in England ranged in size from small hamlets to large cities, partly because they had evolved haphazardly. The earliest boroughs were chosen in the Middle Ages by county sheriffs, and even a village might be deemed a borough. Many of these early boroughs (such as Winchelsea and Dunwich ) were substantial settlements at

7304-405: Was lacking, and many boroughs were rarely contested in elections. It is estimated that immediately before the 1832 Reform Act, 400,000 English subjects (people who lived in the country) were entitled to vote, and that after passage, the number rose to 650,000, an increase of more than 60%. Rodney Mace estimates that before, 1 per cent of the population could vote and that the Reform Act only extended

7392-435: Was once again sent up to the House of Lords. Realizing that another rejection would not be politically feasible, opponents of reform decided to use amendments to change the bill's essential character; for example, they voted to delay consideration of clauses in the bill that disfranchised the rotten boroughs. The ministers believed that they were left with only one alternative: to create a large number of new peerages, swamping

7480-572: Was proposed by the Whigs , led by Prime Minister Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey . It met with significant opposition from the Pittite factions in Parliament, who had long governed the country; opposition was especially pronounced in the House of Lords . Nevertheless, the bill was eventually passed, mainly as a result of public pressure. The Act granted seats in the House of Commons to large cities that had sprung up during

7568-597: Was rejected by a margin of almost 200 votes. Grey tried to raise the subject again in 1797, but the House again rebuffed him by a majority of over 150. Other notable pro-reform organisations included the Hampden Clubs (named after John Hampden , an English politician who opposed the Crown during the English Civil War) and the London Corresponding Society (which consisted of workers and artisans). But

7656-526: Was thus not forced to create new peers. The bill finally received royal assent on 7 June 1832, thereby becoming law. The Reform Act's chief objective was the reduction of the number of nomination boroughs. There were 203 boroughs in England before the Act. The 56 smallest of these, as measured by their housing stock and tax assessments, were completely abolished. The next 30 smallest boroughs each lost one of their two MPs. In addition Weymouth and Melcombe Regis 's four members were reduced to two. Thus in total

7744-462: Was unique to themselves. The largest borough, Westminster , had about 12,000 voters, while many of the smallest, usually known as "rotten boroughs", had fewer than 100 each. The most famous rotten borough was Old Sarum , which had 13 burgage plots that could be used to "manufacture" electors if necessary—usually around half a dozen was thought sufficient. Other examples were Dunwich (32 voters), Camelford (25), and Gatton (7). The claim for

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