The National Register.
London, England, 1817-04-07 00:00:00

kt SI

No. 478.—V0r.. N.

POLITICAL

OF UNIVEASAL SUFFR %GE AND IwRATION OF

rAUJJ &MEN 1" .

Mr. Brougham is reported to have said (Friday 31st
Jan.) that "he should Le gratified if any of the *enters
of the Petitions for itafbrin could produee au historical
voucher, substantiating Universal Sunrag,e and Aanael
Parlitunents," that they most have known the reverse,
&c. This Iturnage excited curiosity, and induced a
hasty review of some of the ancient authorities, and
abstracted from any opinion or wish to substantiate
annual parliaments or universal suffrage, the result
may tend to elucidate parts of the discussion,
I. As to Unit-cr.:al Sqrrage,—lt does not appear
by the ancient records that this was at any time the
practice or law of this kingdom, even when the sim-
plicity of early dotes and the numbers of men were
every where much smaller, and all could readily be
seen and known, when the country wus divided into
tithings and deeennaries, and no one could pass from
one to the other without being sought out and ques-
tioned, The antamt view of frank pledge took cog.
nizance of every man within its jurisdiction. The act
of $ lien. VI. e. 14, restrained the tight of voting fur
knights of the shire to freeholders of 40s. per annum,
in lands or tenements, because of the very great, out-
rageous, and excessive number of people dwelling with-
in the county. These, it may be presumed, came to
the full county court. The freeholders were inha-
bitants, and freeborges, or land-owners ; for those who
were not such, were of an inferior class, villains, and
labourers. The freeborges were burgesses, or frank
pledgers, in their respective tythings and hundreds,
which afterwards became incorporated into burghs.—
Co, Lit. 209.
In the great annual courts of frank pledge, every
householder was incorporated with nine other neigh-
bouring householders (the titled men excepted) which
constituted tithings ; all others attended the court to
be sworn to arms and allegiance, yet the ten house-
holders or treehorges, who pledged all the rest and had
a fixed habitation, and paid scot and lot, being ilea-
ners, were suitors at the county courts, (since become
vested in the land-owners. The citizens of borough
towns, now incorporated, derive their title from the
frechurges who so pledged one another in their tith-
logs, std, being deciners, gave title also to householder'
paying lot and scot ; which burgage tenure is now the
title by which Westminster, Southwark, and many
other towns vote at elections—paying an annual rent;
Littelton 109, b ; and none else had the privilege. It
is thus clear that universal suffrage was not the custom
of this realm. See Gr. Sharp on Congregational Courts,
No. 2 ; awl this will appear more especially it' we con.
eider that these meetings or great councils were corn.
postal of the wise men, the Witten's. ; there was some
mode adopted by which the Selection from the whole
people was made—luec sunt institute qua Edgarus Rex
etviediu supientum suurum instituit ; and also, hwc runt
nstitutiones quay Res Edmundus et EpLccopi sui cum
sapientibus suis instiluerunt ; and their duty, even ac-
cording to the modern usage and design of parliament,
was, novis injuriis onersis nova constituere
Vleta, 1. 2, c. 2.
This common council of the realm is recognized as
existing at the time of King:John's charter, which de-
clares ne scutagium vel auxilium ponatur in rarto, nisi
per commune amedium regni, &c. the nuiescuage [war
tax] or aid shall be laid upon the kingdom, but by the
common council of' the kingdom. Articles upon which
the great charter was framed, Bishop Burnett's MSS.
copy, art. 9.
In the original great charter in French, art IR, the
above is much enlargsd ; and the following words arc
the foundation of'parliattwut, and of its mode of meeting
at this day—'' Et aient le common conseil," Sas—
" And AS fir coming to the common council of the king-
dom, and for assessing aids (except in the three cases
aforesaid), and as fir the assessing of escuage [the hel-
met, or war tax], we will cause to be summoned the
archbishops, hisfops, abbots, earls, and the greater ha-
rms, each in party agar, by our letters ; and moreover,
we will casts to los summoned, in general, by our she-
riff( and alb that hold of us in chief, at a certain
day, to wit, fitly days after at least, an 1 at a certain
place, and in our cud letters we will express the cause
of the SIIIII;11011A. And when the summons shall be so
=ode, Isuaitiess shall go on at the day assigned, by the