Rights Of The Citizens Of...
The Times, 1824-12-18T00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF Tl1E TIMES. 1*1ercnnit mp, through the medium of yourjournal, to call the t3itentlon of the Vitizenx of LondOn to -w?hat appears to me to be a ) <ey un3esti&flble encroachmeni upon their ancient and most im- ,Prteant right_the elective franebis. Tht right.lo elect membrs to'lsecdin'Parlianzent for thecity, 4 also 1fayos, Sh erif nnd domse other city efficere,- Is, at pre. ana, - etised. by e Lrsery of .a.several'tradlhg compnanies sent, %. 'city; and itig rot; eielieve, keneally known that the, witthin the" -r, -iz. the freemeni and householders,4 gnd not any citizens at'lai, - deseiptiish of ddtlens4 were -the pcions in whom. p3rtieilar body 1' whese and sll other city officers originaUy vested, thc ri-ht of electing - -teant- upon' that right to which I alludeo, and t 't -the eneroaChd- 'v ps-to render it matter of gteat douibt ,was made int such a rnaianlit.- I ad- can corntrol the exercise of theL wbether it ,is justlfied by law, . appears to have -been made tin- right itself,; and, nf-nll event3i It h its atthority, to be binding, der circumrtthc=s "Whlifa, sapipsiaa. Ix , the legislature on tn. do ncvertheles3 constittte tt -strornF claii h M ishat60 > o the ptrt of the -itizens, for A riiaio oOf t e iade - I need novoecup~yotsrc()1411Ul by aon Qq ter Is f 'thorjuti , tpvethat thoae ntixht of -di i4tlzcnti WaA mu'~Ila js stated Tahey - will 'be found at large In a very able little work, Sclh?JIt oh the Elective F'ranchise of the Cjty of London cUd thc (ceneroI lRih.* o,f th Liveru, to whitlt I beg to referl eders ca atreinterested mn jc question.. The apag authoitite al.d show, that with tone- ar. two exceptions, (anti those- wrer encroach. meats u>5o-tb- eneel rifht which were al'terwardB tcneleAl), the c itizens atiarge tontiased in the unadisturbed exetcdsc os these gene. rat elective rights until so recenBt &p -riod as the re{gn 'of George I., -.hen thepari'eal r cncrorcunhe2nt tawlhies [IXow ibvite the attentioth of thc citi2chs was made. In-the 14th year o' the reign ef Geore L, (anio 172d), an aet of, Parliarantewasbysomc means reocured to be pased, thc proressed object of which ws to pteaerve-tbe rigbts and py4ydeges of the clii- zens, and to Retailhe rt of.election; but the rikect of it has been to disfricbise iiitbout-d ny apparent cause, a large porioll of the citizens. Thi act iD still in-force, and Is the law by which all city clectiont ie at rresentgoveeted. The lireibl of the act recites, that great controversies and dis.-' lensions had arisen-In the.city at the eleetion of citizens to scive in Porlainmeat, and f IJayora Aldermen, Sierlfts and other officers of the City,- and* -that snany-esiL.nlinilcti peraons,. baiVilg no right of. voting, ban pala~fflly intraded therrselves into the assemblies of the eiti2cn-andic piesismwed to -Rive--their yotes at 'auch elections, ii.>iiianifeat- vialatiom 'of; the rights and *prrvileges of the citizens, and of the' ft'eedoin of - their . tioiia,. and to the disturbance of the pubiTc peace;' and it then arocefis to enact, not any par- ticular meAsures to prinvent the interfercec or voting of imnproper and uniuphified seiaena-at those elections, nor any po5idvc' de. ctsratiod a to thc' persoan In whom the xight of veting for Mcinbebs df Padliament, Mayors, Sheriffs, and some other city oflras then existed, or wvas to exist for 'itc future; but the. act simply provides that,.in-case of a poll (inaking no mention of, te anc'ient mide of firt ?roeeeding by a show of hands), certain speific regulatiomis?'ball' be- observed nWamongst these are the oatha now taken at allcitv-elecflons.- - In the case of the election of the descrlipton of offlaers.ustmnctioncd,'the oath is, tbat thi Vofmr bas been a livcryman for tliespaee of twelve months, and In that of the eledtjoni fs lderinen and coinmon-councilmen, that the voter-Js a &eeunan of hondon aurl househoidlerof the waral in wbich the elec- tion takes place-; ante it ie pitided that the ioe of every person re- 'UDiD3 Or negleeting to t.ake these oath% shal be rej3cted. There ii a clause dteiariog, thatt or quietink all disputes respecting the right of electlosf(ofaldernmen and csutsnon courncilb that ' igit shall for the fu- ture belong to the freemen and houreho\derg o each ward paying scot and bearing let, ani to none othera but there is no such decla- ration with rerpeet to the right of the livery. Dauriruthe progres of the bill, it was proposed to refer ihe ques- tion of r.ight to the Judges; but that proposition wasnegatived, and a protest -as nai.de agaifist the bill in thel-oase of Lordsl as being destructive of the andent rights and privileges of the ctzens, and likely to be i'lioved by dangerous consequences Thustit appears. that an act of the Legislature, having for its cmr- press object the preservation of the rights aod privileges of the citi- zens, Wassnade the instrument by whichi those veryrights and privi- leges wer destroved; and that under the pretenceef excluding im- proper mntl unqualified persons from voting at their elections a real exeLusion a'3i enacted hf a large portiOll of those in whom thic right to vote was constitutionally and legally vested,_-a disfranchisenient, for which there is not stated in the act any ground or pretence what- LTader ttiese circtaimtances, I think it can scarcely be 'contended bat tliedtizensatl sgehave otstrotng and just grounds tocom. plain 6o an infracdon of thei ancient, valuable, and chartered rights; anod so feeling, I think that in consistenoy with their.gene- ral character as Englisimen, highly valuing their consttu tional prvivleges, and jealous- of any invasion of them, there are few whlo Vwil not teel disposed to make known their griev- mince, aud, bythebeat and most becomiing mode to-seek a remedy for it. It-is doubted wbether the act referred to, tramed as it is, and passedI with a refusal to refer the quesido off riglit to the Judges, or to permit proof of It by the cilIzens, reaDy does operate to disfran- chise them and lshether, if they.were to assemble and elect their officers as tley'ueel to do before the act passed, such elections would not be legal. There can, hoevrer, harlUy be any necessity for retorting to su ch an extreme mode of obtaining redrems, whilst the constiStutosal porwilege of petitioning the Throne and tbe Leglslature through their Comlmon C:ouncil is still open to them; but of that node it appears highly aece.sary and p?roper that they shauld avail themselves. There cannot be a fitu er or more favourable time for their doingso toan the present. Parliament -is on the eve of dissolution, and ite metbers are-about to return to their constittents to ask the eondance-of tbeii-onfidneue; alntI hecitirens toay thetefore,fairly calculate upon the-most favou rable consideration of th'elr claim by the Legislature. The citizens ate also about to elect their represen- tatives In Common Council for the ensaing year; and they have but ta resolve to elect none who wie not, immediately after the deec- tion, originate or support a petition to the Legislature for a repeal of thbe tatute referred to, and a restoration of their ancienft elective rights, and the favoarable consideration of their clairn, which they matry expect at the present auspiciou6 moment is at once. insured to themn, bvn mode alike-the moat-consitutfonal and legal in itself, t.e rnsst -gvee tl- and-becomintr in its adoption by then, abd the best adap?ted to concilate the good opmnion of opponents, and facilitate the accoinplishmentie of the objeet-proposed by un - J therefore re- commentd to their most serioas attention the expedieacy, and eves ,,,.rnt ia,-,'udtv. nf immeintelv -allitineihe modenow sueirted. W. P. Du; 14. HTS OP oT 01P LORD 01 V.