-1784}

BILL FOR EXCLUDING CONTRACTORS, ETC.

It has been seen that bills for disabling revenue-officers from voting
at elections, and excluding contractors from the house of commons, had
been repeatedly brought into parliament, and as repeatedly negatived. In
order to acquire popularity ministers revived these bills, and they now
passed with approbation and applause. And it seems to have been high
time that such measures should have been adopted. In support of the
former bill, the Marquess of Rockingham declared that the election
chiefly depended on officers of the revenue in seventy boroughs, and
that nearly 12,000 officers, created by the recent administration,
possessed votes in other places. He argued that his situation, as
first lord of the treasury, would be extremely uneasy if the bill were
rejected, for he could not without remorse subject them through his
influence to the necessity of voting against the dictates of gratitude
and conscience. This was a curious argument, but it terminated the
debate, and the bill passed. About the same time, also, Mr. Burke's
Reform Bill was again brought forward, and after some warm opposition
in the house of lords was adopted. By this bill the board of trade, the
board of works, the great wardrobe, the office of American secretary of
state, and many sinecure appointments were abolished.

RESOLUTIONS RESPECTING WILKES EXPUNGED FROM THE JOURNALS.

During this session, Wilkes was successful in obtaining the erasure of
the resolutions concerning the celebrated Middlesex election from the
journals. The motion was made by himself and was seconded by Mr. Byng.
It was opposed by Fox, the "man of the people," on the principle that
the house of commons ought, for the advantage of electors, to have
the privilege of expelling those whom they as representatives deemed
unworthy of a seat. Elated with his triumph, Wilkes published a letter
expressive of delight, but the people generally did not participate in
his triumph. The sun of Wilkes's popularity had long gone down, and the
people read his letter with indifference.

DISFRANCHISEMENT OF CRICKLADE, ETC.

A few days after the success of Wilkes an act was passed, by large
majorities in both houses, for disfranchising many corrupt voters of
the borough of Crick-lade, and extending the right of suffrage to the
freeholders of the hundred. This bill was strenuously opposed in the
upper house by Lords Thurlow, Mansfield,