COBBETT'S WEEKLY POLITICAL REGISTER. VOL.77.-No. 1.] LONDON, SATURDAY, JULY 7TH, 1832. PLEDGES. TO THE [Price Is. 2d be put into the occupation of one who is not the owner, how careful we are about the covenant! Why, these highspirited knaves who are railing against pledges, would, I suppose, scorn to be parties to the covenants of a lease, they would scorn to be parties to a contract for furnishing this righteous Government with horses or clothing for the army, in which specific pledges are given with regard to the age and size of the horse, and with regard to the quality of ELECTORS OF THE WHOLE KINGDOM. the cloth. Their high blood would boil at the idea of pledging themselves to perform the specific things required of them in the ordination of priests, and in the consecration of bishops! In short, persons so very high-blooded as to deem it a degradation to give any pledge to those who entrust them with affairs of any sort, are far too high-blooded to be entrusted by anybody who has not the mind to be the slave of his agent. THIS is really VITAL matter! I shall first make a few remarks on the objections which the crafty knaves are making to pledges generally. In all the concerns of life, when we are engaging a person to do anything for us, whether he be servant, clerk, attorney, So much for the principle of pledges; steward, or agent of any sort, we tell so much for the result of common him what we want him to do for us, and sense and of reason applied to the he engages to do that thing. A mem- case. And now for experience; and ber of Parliament is called the represen- for our own recent experience as applitative, and those who choose him are cable to this very matter. The Reform called his constituents. They consti- Bill had to pass through two Houses: tute, or make him their representative; a pledged House, and non-pledgedHouse. he is to act for them; he is to do that Through the pledged House it went very in his single person which it would be glibly; but we all recollect that a nonimpracticable for them in a body to do pledged House actually threw it out for themselves; and of course they are the first time, and passed it the second to give him instructions what to do, and time, only because something was applihe is to promise, or to pledge himself, to ed to it quite as efficacious as a pledge! obey those instructions. They do not Then the House which was pledged the choose him to do his own will, and not last time, was not pledged the first time; their will; and if he think it beneath and it was obliged to be dissolved, in him to be considered as their mere dele-order that we might have an opporgate to act for them,he ought not to un-tunity of pledging it. In short, we all dertake the task; to say to a body of know that if the House of Commons person, choose me to do what I like, is had not been pledged, we should have at once nonsense and impudence. had no Reform Bill. What says our experience in common matters? How often have great mischiefs happened from there not being a clear understanding between the parties serving another, and the parties to be served. When a house or a farm is to The base reptiles in the city of Lon-don; these sneaking, tax-hunting knaves, who are now clamouring against the pledges put forth by the committee of the electors of London, and who are crying out, that no gentleman will give B |