The act also reserved the right to vote for members of parliament to every per son who, if the act had not been passed, would have enjoyed that right as a bur gess or freeman by birth or servitude. These persons' names are to be inserted by the town-clerk on a list to be entitled the " Freemen's Roll." The right of vot ing as a freeman for members of parlia ment can only be acquired by birth or servitude, but a person can claim to be put upon the " Freemen's Roll," for the exercise of municipal privileges, in respect of birth, servitude, or marriage.
Having protected the personal interests of those in favour of whom much of the abuse of the municipal system had ope rated, the act provided against the future existence of such interests, by enacting (˘ 3) that no rights of burgess-ship or freedom should be acquired by gift or purchase, and more effectually still by creating the constituency which was to replace the freemen. And the 13th clause provided that after the passing of the act no person should be enrolled a burgess in respect of any other title than that enacted by the art. The constituencies of a mu nicipality now consist of every male per on of full age, who on the last day of kugust in any year shall have occupied remises within the borough continuously or the three previous years, and shall for hat time have been an inhabitant house iolder within seven miles of the borough, ,rovided that he shall have been rated to he poor rates, and shall have paid them and all borough rates during the time of his occupation.
The occupiers of houses, warehouses. iounting-houses, and shops (the premises which confer the qualification), who at the tame time contribute to the rates, are nearly all those who are pecuniarily con aerned in the administration of the funds 3f the town. They are, however, very far from constituting the whole of those interested in the administration of justice and in the efficiency of the police. As, however, the whole number of such occu piers is reduced by requiting the quali fication of three years' residence, the num ber of the constituency may at any time be expected to be very far short of the persons actually contributing to the funds of the corporation, and still more so of those interested in the good government of the borough.
The grounds of a property qualification are perfectly clear, when the rights of the person, of life and limb, and reputation, in which all men are nearly equally inte rested, are not concerned, and when on the other hand the administration of a fund subscribed to only by persons having the possession of the qualifying property is the sole object of the government. In
the municipalities, however, other in terests are concerned than the raising of funds and the administration of them for the purposes of protecting property ; and these interests, many of them of personal importance exceeding that of property, such as are involved in the administration of police and criminal justice, may ap pear not to be represented where property alone is the ground of qualification. Nevertheless, the possessor of property cannot divest himself of these other in terests; and whenever property is repre sented, these interests are likewise in some measure represented. The chief justifi cation of property qualification appears to have been, in the present case, the numbers who would have the franchise would be too numerous to be easily influ inced by sinister interests, while on the other hand, as the chief contributors to the fund, they would be most interested in its proper administration, as they would be the persons who must chiefly bear the expenses and the evils of any abuse of it. They would, therefore, if they had the power to do so, most effectively resist any maladministration, and would most stre nuously support those improvements by which they would be in the largest de gree benefited. Considering the close connexion of the interests of all classes with one another, it can scarcely be con ceived that the interests in good govern ment of the constituencies created by this act, are not nearly identical with the ge neral interests of the communities amongst whom they live. The policy of restrain ing the suffrage by requiring a three years' residence is undoubtedly more question able. It is true that it has often occurred that immense numbers of freemen have been created to serve a particular pur pose of the ruling body. Whenever there was a general election the number of freemen admitted was increased. In 1826 the number of freemen admitted in 128 cities and towns was 10,797, and in the previous year only 2655; in 1830 the admissions were 9321, and in the year preceding only 1433. In 1826 about 1000 freemen were admitted at Maldon during an election. The deliverance from the systematic corruption of a numerous but venal and fluctuating constituency is de cidedly one of the greatest benefits .con ferred on the country by the act.