litical theory;-that the tendency of that representation has always been, to make as near approaches towards reducing them to practice, as the irregularity and coarseness of human affairs would allow ;-and that the unrepresented state of great communities in the present age has sprung from the disuse, and may be remedied by the revival of our ancient constitutional principles. Having, in the first place, resisted plans of change, which could neither be attempted without civil war, nor accomplished without paving the way for tyranny, we have now presumed to propose a scheme of reformation, which would immediately infuse a new popular spirit into the House of Commons, and provide means for gradually correcting every real inadequacy of representation in future times; which would be carried on, solely by the principles and within the pale of the Constitution; where the repair would be in the style of the building, and contribute to strengthen, without disfiguring, an edifice still solid and commodious, as well as magnificent and venerable.

Moderate Reformers have been asked, by the most formidable of their opponents, at what period of history was the House of Commons in the state to which you wish to restore it?* An answer may now be given to that triumphant question. Had the object of the moderate reformer been total change, he might be called upon to point out some former state of the representation which he would in all respects prefer to the present. But it is a part of his principle, that the institutions of one age can never be entirely suitable to the condition of another. It was well said by an English politician of keen and brilliant wit, that" neither king nor people would now like just the original Constitution, without any varyings." It is sufficient for the "Whig, or Moderate Reformer" (for Mr. Canning has joined them, and we do not wish to put them asunder) to point out a period when the Constitution was in one respect better, inasmuch as it possessed the means of regulating and equalizing the representation. Its return to the former state, in that particular only, would be sufficient for the attainment of all his objects.

If no conciliatory measures on this subject be adopted, there is great reason to apprehend that the country will be reduced to the necessity of chusing between different forms of Despotism. For it is certain that the habit of maintaining the forms of the Constitution by a long system of coercion and terror must convert it into an absolute monarchy. It is equally evident, from history and experience, that revolutions effected by violence, and attended by, a total change in the fundamental laws of a commonwealth, have a natural tendency to throw a power into the hands of their leaders, which, however disguised, must in truth be unlimited and dictatorial. The restraints of law and usage necessarily cease. The factious among the partisans of the revolution and the animosity of those whom it has degraded or despoiled, can seldom be curbed by a gentler hand than that of absolute power; and there is no situation of human affairs, in which there are stronger temptations to those arbitrary measures of which the habit alike unfits rulers and nations from performing their parts in the system of liberty.

Mr. Canning's Speech at Liverpool, p. 45.

Political Thoughts, &c. by the Marquis of Halifax, p. 69.

PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION OF SCOTLAND.*

There is scarcely a prospect in the world more curious than that of England during a general election. The congregations of people-the interests called into operation-the passions roused-the principles appealed to-the printed and spoken addresses-the eminent men who appear-the pledges required or proffered-the Parliamentary speculations-the symbols-the vicissitudes of the poll-the triumphant chairing-these, with all the other circumstances, exhibit the most peculiar and stirring scene that any country has to show. It is a scene in which there is much to attract the eye and the ear, but more to fix the mind. A person who understands the bustle before him, and thinks what it implies, sees in it the whole practical working of the constitution. He sees the majesty of public opinion; the responsibility of representatives to constituents; the formation of the political virtues; the union of all classes and sorts of men in common national objects; the elevation of the popular character; the prodigious consolidation given to the whole civil fabric, by the incorporation of all parts of the state with the mass of the population; the combination of universal excitement with perfect general safety; the control of the people softened and directed by eloquence and wisdom; the establishment of the broadest basis on which the happiness of a state can rest.

It is impossible to behold this animating and ennobling spectacle without turning with sorrow and humiliation to Scotland. This part of the empire originally formed a kingdom by itself; and it still retains its own laws, religion, interests, feelings, and language. It contains greatly above two millions of inhabitants, who are still rapidly increasing. It is full of generally diffused wealth. Education has, for ages, been habitual throughout the very lowest ranks. The people are extremely peaceable; and their character for steadiness and prudence is so remarkable, that these virtues have been imputed to them as vices. Yet this is the only portion of the United Kingdom which is altogether excluded from all participation in the representative system. It is not enough to say that their representation is defective. The only correct statement of the fact is, the people have no share whatever in the representation. It is needless to waste time in explaining how this arose; for it would only lead us away from the consideration of the fact into historical disputes; and an exact knowledge of the origin of the evil does not facilitate its cure. The substance of the matter seems to be, that when the representation of Scotland was adjusted at the Union, there was no party, and no man, who paid any attention to the principles on which popular representation must be founded. The people had not attained any public importance; and, amidst the miserable scramble for paltry and temporary objects by which all the proceedings connected with that measure were marked, their remote interests were completely disregarded, or rather, it never occurred to any body that they had any. But, however this may be, the result is certain, that there never has been, and, while the existing system endures, there never can be, any thing resembling real representation in Scotland.

1. Memoir concerning the Origin and Progress of the Reform proposed in the Internal Government of the Royal Burghs of Scotland. By Archibald Fletcher, Esq., Advocate. 2. Considerations submitted to the Householders of Edinburgh, on the State of their Representation in Parliament. 3. An Explanation of the present State of the Case respecting the Representation of Edinburgh in Parliament. 4. Letter to the Freeholders of the County of Dumbarton, on Parliamentary Reform. By Alexander Dunlop, Esq., Advocate.-Vol. lii. p. 208. October, 1830.

In order to justify this statement, it is only necessary to explain the cir

cumstances.

The only places which elect members are the counties and certain towns. Neither the universities, nor any other bodies or professions, possess the elective franchise. The counties return thirty members, the towns fifteen.

I. To entitle a person to vote in a county, he must either be the actual proprietor of a portion of land, or he must be the feudal superior of it ;the land itself, in this last case, being in the hands of a vassal. To afford a qualification, the property must be very considerable. The whole country was valued many centuries ago; and a freehold qualification can only arise from land of which it can be proved that it was then examined and found to be worth forty shillings Scots a year, or which is now valued by the Commissioners of Supply as yearly worth 4007. Scots. It is not easy to say what these ancient valuations denote in modern times; but the subject was very much discussed about forty years ago; and persons, who were then deemed competent judges, estimated 4007. Scots of valued rent as equivalent to a present yearly rent of from one to two hundred pounds sterling. If this was correct then, the subsequent improvement of the country, which has increased the modern worth of property, while the old valuations remain, must have greatly increased the difference; so that, speaking with reference to existing circumstances, the qualification in Scotland is probably at least thirty or forty times higher than in any other part of the empire; and above a hundred times beyond the general qualification in England. Besides this, there are two things very material to be kept in view. In the first place, the qualification attaches merely to land, including under this word, fisheries, mines, and such other things as are inseparable from land; it is not conferred upon property in houses. In the second place, not even land qualifies, whatever may be its extent, unless it is holden of the crown. So that a person may have an estate of 20,0007. a year, which affords him no vote, because he holds it of a subject. The qualification, therefore, is first high, and then it must be high within a limited description of property. The result of this is, that the whole freeholders of Scotland are fewer in number (we believe) than those in any English county, unless perhaps the very smallest. There are certainly not three counties in England in which the freeholders do not in each exceed those of all Scotland. We cannot state their amount with perfect accuracy; but, according to the list usually referred to, and which, we are confident, is not very far wrong, the total number, a few months ago, was somewhere about three thousand two hundred and fifty-three. These chosen few are thus distributed :

(* Each of these three pairs only returns a member alternately.)

But calling the total number about 3,253 is rather a flattering view of the political state of Scotland. Two deductions must be made: 1. There are a great many cases in which the freehold belongs to a proprietor, but is entitled to be used during life by another. The names of both of these persons are on the rolls, but only one of them can vote. 2. Many people have votes in a plurality of places. If these double reckonings be discounted, it is very doubtful if the total number of persons would be above 2,500. Some think that they would not exceed 2,000.

A franchise so little attenuated by diffusion, is worth having. The tenth or two-hundredth part of a member of parliament is a dear article in the political market. The holder of it is an important man to government. Some people therefore buy votes as an investment. There is never a con

test at which such purchasers do not appear; and they are generally the last to declare how they are to go. It is observed, moreover, that those who take such charge of the representation seldom have their families long on their hands. These qualifications, even after being stript of every thing except the mere right of voting, are probably never worth less than 2001. or 3007.,-the average price is probably about 5007.; they frequently sell for double this sum; and, on one recent occasion, six of them, exposed to public sale in one day, brought above 60007. What is so valuable cannot be easily parted with; and, therefore, devices have been fallen upon for giving out qualifications for occasional use, without permanently losing them. The most common of these schemes is, for a person whose estale affords many votes to dispose of them to his friends only during their lives ; which, by certain legal forms, he can easily do, without at all impairing his estate. These donees, or purchasers, appear technically as the absolute life owners; but they are generally under feelings, nearly as strong as written obligations, to support the person who has trusted them. And then, lest these qualifications should be lost to the family, it is lawful to entail them along with the family estate. So that a great landed proprietor may first be surrounded by his own satellites while his attraction lasts; after which, the lesser stars return and are lost in their parent luminary; who again sends them periodically forth to perform the same evolutions. Although the present number of voters be only about 3253, yet, if all the latent voters were to be brought into action, they could be very greatly increased. But still the increase would take place on the same principle of each landed proprietor merely multiplying his friends, without holding out any prospect of relief to the public.

II. In the towns, the system is different, but not better. There are sixty-six places, which, in consequence of their municipal constitution, and their holding of the crown, are termed royal burghs. Of these, Edinburgh is the only one which returns a member for itself. All the rest are divided into clusters either of four or five; and these four or five return one member among them. Many of these places are so insignificant, that their share in the representation is the only thing which reminds the public that they exist, and (somehow or other) constitutes their only wealth. And, on the other hand, there are many very large places, such as Leith and Greenock, with about 25,000 or 30,000 inhabitants each, and Paisley with 50,000, which do not contribute to return any fragment of a member; because, although great towns, they are not royal burghs. The mode of electing in these burghs is this: the town-council of each elects a delegate, and these four or five delegates from each cluster meet, and choose the member. Each

delegate is appointed on the faith that he will vote agreeably to the wishes of those who trust him; but he is not legally bound to do so; and these delegates sometimes find it convenient to take their own way. When a fit of this kind comes upon them, the member is elected by these four or five individuals;—when they are faithful, he is chosen by a majority of those persons' constituents.

Now, in the appointment of these constituents, the people have no voice whatever. Nothing can be more close than the most liberally-constituted Scotch town-council; of which the universal, the hideous, the ludicrous, and the peculiar feature is, that each set of magistrates elects its own successors, to the utter exclusion of the rest of the public, and to the eternal perpetuation of their own feelings. Nothing can be fairer than to take Edinburgh as an example of the whole; because it is amongst the best, and has an entire member for itself. Now, in Edinburgh, the town-council consists of only thirty-three individuals, which is considerably above the usual number. The sum total of the property of these persons within the town was rated, when it was last examined, at about 28007. a year. These thirty-three individuals, or rather a majority of them, have the absolute power of electing the member who is to represent a population far exceeding 100,000, and possessing property rated at above 400,0007. a year; or, in other words, the right of voting is engrossed by less than the three-thousandth part of the population, and by about the one hundred and fiftieth part of the real property. This population contains above 1200 merchant burgesses; above 2000 persons connected with the profession of the law; at least 150, including professors in the university, engaged in the higher branches of education; a clergy of about sixty or seventy persons; and at least a hundred of the medical and other learned professions;-not one of whom has a single word to say in the election either of the member or of the towncouncil. It is town-councils so constituted that elect all the delegates.

It is important to observe, that this system, both with respect to the counties and the burghs, is the only one that exists. The chief ground on which the defects in the English representation have been defended, is, that the closeness of one place is compensated by the openness of another, there being still popularity enough upon the whole. Neither Burke nor Blackstone, nor any one who has excused these defects, ever carry their apology beyond this. But in Scotland there is no popularity at all in any one place. It is all close burgh or close county.

It is therefore unnecessary to explain that the people of Scotland scarcely feel any interest in the election of what are called their representatives. They are not taken into calculation by the parties engaged; and, having no right to interfere, the expression even of their opinion is generally considered obtrusive and dangerous. While every other part of the empire is teeming with life, they are dead. The candidates and their friends take the only concern in the proceedings; and the ceremony of an election, and the substance of a dinner, are gone through with due animation by them. But the people are left entirely out of view; and, conscious of degradation, withdraw from a scene where they can only exhibit themselves in humiliating contrast with others certainly not better educated, and not necessarily wealthier, than themselves. The hustings, which could not be put down without putting down England, are things that Scotland never saw. The county freeholders always meet under cover; sometimes in a church, but generally in a room; and the four or five town electors burrow in holes still more

VOL. V.