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PROPOSAL
FOR ESTABLISHING
A CHEAP, JUST, AND EFFICIENT MODE
OF
Elating itUnxbirs uf Wrfamtnf,
AND FOR
SECURING THE JUST AND EQUAL
REPRESENTATION OF THE WHOLE PEOPLE.
WILLIAM LOVETT.
LONDON
WATBELOW AND SONS, PEINTEES, CAEPENTEBs’ HALE, LONDON WALL.
1869.
��PROPOSAL, &c.
1. That for the purpose of obtaining an equal repre
sentation of the whole people in the Commons House of
Parliament, and for preventing as far as possible the
undue influence of great and wealthy families, or of
individuals who would seek to control the voter in his
choice, the United Kingdom be divided into a sufficient
number of Electoral Districts, each containing as nearly
as may be an equal number of inhabitants, and each
returning one representative to Parliament and no more.
2. That all persons of legal age, sound mind, and
untainted by crime, who have occupied any house,
lodgings or apartments in a house for three successive
calendar months, be eligible to vote for the repre
sentative to Parliament for the district they live in, and
for no other.
3. That preparatory to every general election the
returning officer of the district should cause a printed
form to be sent round to every householder in the
district, requesting him or her to fill up the same with
the names of all persons, of the age of 21 or upwards,
who have resided there for three months or more ; and
from which forms, when returned, he shall cause a list
of electors to be made out. That after proper publicity
�4
be given to this list, he should hold open courts of adju
dication in his district, for the purpose of hearing and
deciding on all objections, and from the list thus revised
he should cause a Voter’s Certificate to be sent round to
every person qualified to vote.
4. That to secure members of Parliament possessing
high intelligence and good moral character, all persons
seeking this high honour of legislating for a nation (or
for filling other important offices of State) should be
required to pass an examination, showing that they possess
the requisite knowledge and ability, and should hold a
diploma to that effect before they should be entitled to
offer themselves as candidates, or to take their seats in
Parliament, or be appointed to any important office.
5. That the knowledge requisite for members of
Parliament (or for the offices referred to) should be
clearly set forth in a special Act of the Legislature, and
the mode pointed out by which persons seeking such
high honour or place of trust, should present themselves
before Public Examiners, which (roverTi-merit should
appoint to meet at stated times and places ; and persons
who shall prove their ability and fitness before such
examiners, according to the provisions of such Act,
should obtain a diploma to that effect.
6. That every nomination for a member of Parliament
should be made by a written requisition, delivered to the
returning officer, and signed by at least one hundred
electors belonging to the district, who, in recommending
their candidate, should be required to certify to his
�5
moral character, and also that he holds a diploma of
having passed an examination to prove that he possesses
the requisite knowledge and ability required by law.
7. That to prevent all undue influence, bribery and
corruption in the election of members of Parliament,
the votes of the electors should be taken by Ballot;
the present expensive, unjust, and bribing mode of can
vassing for members should be abolished by law, and
persons punished for having recourse to it; and all
Committee or other meetings for the election of mem
bers held at Public Souses be done away with, as having
heretofore been the cause of much undue influence,
riot and disorder.
8. That to do away with the present disgraceful and
costly mode of electing members of Parliament, which
excludes the representatives of the working classes, and of
all persons, however competent, who have not the means
of purchasing their way to power ; it should be the duty
of Parliament to enact, that a sufficient number of
Pistrict Salls, or commodious buildings be erected in
every voting district, to be used as permanent hustings, or
voting places ; the same to contain a sufficient number
of committee rooms, and a large hall for public meetings
and voting place ; the rooms to be used for public meet
ings, lectures, evening schools, or other district purposes,
when not needed for the elections. That all candidates
for seats in Parliament should have the free use of such
halls during the election; such as the use of the large
hall, or balcony in front, from which to address the
electors in their turn, and the use of the committee rooms
�6
and voting place, so that the only expense needed to he
incurred by candidates would be that of printing their
litis and circulars. The erection and repair of such halls
should be paid for by the inhabitants of the district,
and be managed by them.
9. That previous to the day of election, the large
room in each of the said district halls should be fitted
up with moveable fittings, in order to secure secrecy in
voting, and justice and despatch in receiving and regis
tering the votes given for each candidate.
The plan of
the fittings in such voting place is shown in the model
to which this paper is attached.
10. That a sufficient number of lallot loxes be pro
vided for each voting place—one for each of the candi
dates nominated—and formed on a plan for securing
secrecy in voting, and at the same time for registering the
votes given, so that the deputy of the returning officer
might be able accurately to announce the state of the
poll at the end of the election, without the necessity of
any counting of the votes. The model of such a regis
tering ballot box is hereto attached.
11. That the returning officer of the district should
be required to appoint a deputy to set in front, behind the
ballot boxes, at each voting place on the day of election,
to see that the voting is conducted orderly and fairly,
and to cause all persons to be arrested that attempt to
vote unfairly, or seek to promote disturbance. It should
also be his duty to show the accredited friends of the
candidates the register of the ballot boxes before and after
�7
the voting, and to see that the correct numbers given
for each candidate are posted up on the outside of the
building, at the end of the election. In order that the
friends of the candidates should have the opportunity
of seeing that the voting is conducted fairly, they should
be provided with seats immediately behind the deputy
returning officer.
12. That every elector entering the voting place on
the day of election, should be required to show his
voter’s certificate to the registration clerk at the entrance
A ; and if it be found correct, he shall be allowed to
pass on and receive from the deputy returning officer’s
assistant a balloting ball at the entrance B ; when he
should enter the balloting place C, and with all despatch
drop his ball into the box of his favourite candidate ;
the name and colours of the candidate being placed on
each box to guide him. After he has thus given his
vote he should pass out of the balloting place by the
door D. The table before the deputy returning officer
should be inclined outwards, and the arrangements
within so constructed, that the ball, in whatever box
deposited, should roll down the middle of the table
in front of the deputy to be ready for the next voter ;
and thus, should any elector make use of any other
balloting ball than the one given to him, it will
roll out and lead to his detection before he leaves
the room.
The deputy might also be provided with
different coloured balls in the drawers of his table,
so that he might change the colour whenever he
thought proper, and thus more effectually guard against
unfair voting.
�8
13. That any person convicted of registering Ini in self
in more than one voting district; of forging or using
any forged voter’s certificate, or of trying to vote in any
other district than his own; or of going from house to
house, or place to place to canvass for the votes of
electors, or in any other way contravening the electoral
Act, should, for the first offence be subject to one year’s
imprisonment, and for the second the loss of his electral rights. Also that any candidate employing persons
to canvass for him, or should seek to secure his election
by bribery; or by intimidating or using any undue in
fluence over an elector, or otherwise contravening the
Act, shall be subject to one year’s imprisonment and the
loss of his seat for the first offence, and for the second,
the loss of his electoral rights, and to be for ever after
disqualified from having a seat in Parliament.
14. That in order to obtain properly qualified persons
as Legislators ; men disposed to devote their sole time
and attention to their parliamentary duties; instead,
as at present, often dividing their time between their
private business and their parliamentary duties ; or in
regarding the honour of their seats as passports to
fashionable society ; members of Parliament should be
paid for their services by a writ on the Treasury, the
same as any other officers of State.
�
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Title
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Victorian Blogging
Description
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A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
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2018
Publisher
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
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Pamphlet
Dublin Core
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Title
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Proposal for establishing a cheap, just and efficient mode of electing members of Parliament and for securing the just and equal representation of the whole people
Creator
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Lovett, William
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: London
Collation: 8 p. ; 19 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway.
Publisher
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Waterlow and Sons, printers
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1869
Identifier
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G5621
Subject
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Parliament
Suffrage
Rights
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Proposal for establishing a cheap, just and efficient mode of electing members of Parliament and for securing the just and equal representation of the whole people), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
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application/pdf
Type
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Text
Language
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English
Chartism
Conway Tracts
Representative Government and Representation
William Lovett