Shadow of great britain

The spider spins its web in the palace of the empire, but the owl has finished its vigil in the tower of Afrahiab.

——Muhammad II

"After the last reform bill was rejected, we have made thoughtful modifications and additions to the bill, and look forward to receiving broader and full support for this new bill. Although the reform bill has been widely discussed, it is based on parliamentary legislation Due to the needs of the process, I would like to reiterate my position on reform to the gentlemen in the House.

First of all, under the current electoral system, the 10 counties in southern England have a total population of 3.26 million and 325 seats in the House of Commons. The six northern counties have a population of 3.6 million and only hold 68 seats. In Cornwall, which has the most declining constituencies, they only have a population of 300,000, but they occupy 44 seats in the House of Commons. Lancashire, a newly industrialized region with a population of 1.33 million, has only 14 MPs.

Some emerging industrial cities, such as Birmingham and Manchester, have no right to elect members under the current framework. The uneven distribution of seats between the north and the south and between urban and rural areas has lagged far behind the development of the times and has affected the realization of social equity.

Secondly, there have never been clear and unified regulations on voter qualifications. Not only do urban constituencies and county constituencies have different interpretations of voter qualifications, but there are also significant differences in voter qualifications between urban constituencies and urban constituencies due to the city's historical status and development sequence.

Our current regulations for county constituencies still follow a decree issued by Henry VI in 1430, which stipulated that freeholders with an annual net income of more than 40 shillings had the right to vote. But with the advent of the industrial age and the development of the agricultural revolution, the number of freehold farmers in rural areas has declined sharply, resulting in fewer and fewer voters in county constituencies. According to our incomplete statistics, as of 1831, the total number of voters in county constituencies in England and Wales did not exceed 250,000.

In urban constituencies, the existing voter qualification regulations are very cumbersome. Since the Middle Ages, various urban constituencies have successively made different regulations. However, generally speaking, the requirements for voter qualifications in each urban constituency can be roughly classified into four types:

The first is that the conditions for voters are to have a house in the constituency, pay parish tax, and not receive relief funds.

The second is conditional on having property tenure in the constituency. However, due to the development of the city, those properties with voting rights are limited to extremely narrow old urban areas, while those properties built in new urban areas are not eligible to vote.

The third is that the municipal groups in the constituencies independently determine the voter qualifications. The conditions for issuing voter qualifications are usually vague requirements such as having a good social reputation and having a certain economic foundation.

The fourth is that so-called ‘free people’ have the right to vote. There are three ways to obtain freemen. One is to sign a seven-year apprenticeship contract in a specific industry and complete the service. The second type is inheritance through blood relatives. The third type is awarded directly by municipal groups.

To sum up, we believe that in order to reform these unbalanced, unfair, corrupt and backward electoral systems, 60 seats in declining constituencies should be eliminated, 47 seats in declining constituencies should be reduced, and one seat in a joint constituency should be reduced. Of the 168 vacated seats, 97 were allocated to England, 1 to Wales, 5 to Scotland and 3 to Ireland, with the excess seats cancelled.

If the reform bill is finally implemented, England's seven newly industrialized cities will each get two seats, and the 20 medium-sized cities will get one seat each. As for electoral qualifications, we accept the enthusiastic suggestions given by gentlemen to reform the bill after the bill was defeated last time.

We fully understand your concerns and agree with your call that "the country should be managed by people with sufficient talent and knowledge." Therefore, we abandon the requirement for universal suffrage in favor of lowering the suffrage threshold rather than outright eliminating it.

In accordance with the suggestion of the Duke of Buckingham, we will attach a supplementary clause to the bill, giving the right to vote in county constituencies to landowners with an annual income of more than 10 pounds or to free farmers with an annual net income of more than 50 pounds, and in urban constituencies to Urban residents with a rent income or annual rent of more than 10 pounds have the right to vote.

After the reform is completed, the bloated House of Commons seats will be streamlined, which will help us get rid of ills and reduce the number of seats to balance the party forces in the House of Commons, allowing Britain to move lightly into the new era..."

swish swish...

In Arthur's office, Earl Gray's speech in the House of Commons was played.

Arthur, who was leaning on the chair and closing his eyes slightly to rest, also raised his head and looked at the gentleman sitting opposite him, wearing a tuxedo and a goatee.

This is not the first time Arthur has met him, but the last time the two met was four or five years ago.

Arthur smiled and stood up and shook his hand.

"Hello, Mr. Price. The last time we met, we were on the university campus. Although our time at school was short, your speech still left a deep impression on me."

Price said: "Mr. Hastings, I heard Bentham and Lord Brougham mention you, an outstanding young man. Let me guess why you invited me to Scotland Yard today, probably because The National Political Alliance under my leadership, right?”

Arthur nodded slightly, took out the list he had prepared long ago from the drawer and placed it in front of Price.

"The National Political Alliance you lead is a very outstanding organization, running around for parliamentary reform. You yourself braved the heavy rain on the streets of London and insisted on giving speeches every day to encourage supporters' enthusiasm for reform. To be honest, if I still still When I was a student, I would definitely join your team. This is why I have always tried my best to facilitate the National Political Alliance's rallies within the scope of my duties. But..."

Arthur paused and asked with a smile: "I don't know if you have noticed that the behavior of many people in the National Political Alliance under your leadership has crossed the line. The law protects their freedom of association and speech, but it does not Their rights to destroy other people's property and threaten and intimidate good citizens are not protected.

Of course, I know these are definitely not your instructions. Because since you established this organization, you have always emphasized the need to support the government in promoting parliamentary reform in a peaceful, decent and useful way. And your efforts are now paying off.

As you have heard, Prime Minister Earl Gray, in order to respond to the enthusiasm of his supporters and preserve the results of everyone's battle, proposed a reform motion to the Parliament for the third time this morning. "

Having said this, Arthur took out the pocket watch in his pocket and took a look: "Looking at the time, this Reform Bill has most likely passed the third reading of the House of Commons. It will be submitted to the House of Lords in the near future, sprinting towards final success. I am not qualified to ask you to do anything, but I ask you to consider the position of the majority of London citizens and temporarily stop all protests by the National Political Alliance.

In the near future, it would be best not to organize a parade to celebrate the bill passing the third reading in the House of Commons. Because according to Scotland Yard's archived documents, when the second version of the Reform Bill passed the third reading of the House of Commons last year, members of the National Political Alliance under your administration engaged in violent activities during the celebration parade.

Some people participated in the siege of the houses of opposition MPs and citizens who did not support the reform position. During the siege of the Duke of Wellington's house, the mob threw stones at the Duke's house and tried to set fire to the houses near the house and Hyde. Trees in the park.

You are a lawyer by training, so you should know better than me that although the Bloody Act has been reformed, the crime of arson is still on the hanging list. As for the Duke of Wellington's personal injury activities, Scotland Yard and the London District Attorney's Office both have good reasons to believe that this behavior should initially constitute treason. "

Price stared at the young man in front of him who was neatly dressed in uniform. His pair of flawless white gloves and his soft smiling face made people unable to figure it out.

No one knew how such cold words came out of this seemingly innocuous young man's mouth.

But Price also knows how to measure things. He is a professor at the University of London and an activist. If Wellington's cabinet was still in power now, he would reject Arthur's request without hesitation.

However, the Gray cabinet is now in power. He does not want to embarrass his old friend Brougham, and his mentor Mr. Bentham is also a person who does not agree with using violence to solve problems.

Price explained: "Please rest assured about this. I am also very worried about the violent tendencies among our members. However, similar behavior is only a small probability event. Because our members are basically decent gentlemen with a certain social status. , lawyers, journalists, small shopkeepers, vendors, craftsmen, etc.

We gather to express our demands, not to oppose the government. On the contrary, we rallied precisely to support the government. We enthusiastically support the cabinet's push for the reform bill and are happy to help them put pressure on the opposition. But this kind of pressure is mostly based on public opinion, peaceful, and non-violent pressure. "

When Arthur heard Price let go, he knew that a crack had been opened in the turtle's shell.

He hurried to strike while the iron was hot: "It is really heartening to hear this kind of assurance from your mouth. In that case, can you promise me that the National Political Alliance will not join the 60,000 people in London scheduled to be held in three days? assembly."

"this……"

Once Price heard that Arthur wanted him to withdraw from the meeting, his soft stance quickly wavered.

Seeing his attitude, Arthur did not rush for his reply, but stood up and poured him some wine.

"Mr. Price, you don't need to worry too much. It's just a rally. If you must participate, it's the same as finding another venue elsewhere. Besides, you should know that we have not stopped you during this time. Submit a petition or protest to the government and parliament with your supporters.

In addition to this, I can also assure you that the NPA members currently detained will not be officially charged by the London District Attorney's Service. Of course, I do not rule out the possibility that they will still be subject to civil lawsuits from parties whose property was damaged, but I can promise you that as long as they pay compensation according to the price, these charges will not be transferred to the criminal level. And when the situation in London calms down, they will be released soon. "

Agares, who was lying on the window sill, heard this and sneered at Arthur's remarks: "My dear Arthur, listen to what you said? Do you think that this level of mercy can make people suffer?" Do they read you okay? Remember what I said, not shooting when it’s time to shoot will only end up making things get out of hand.”

Arthur glanced at the Red Devil, but he didn't pay attention to Agares' sarcasm.

Why did Price, the leader of the National Political Alliance, come over today instead of the workers' representatives from the British Workers' Union? Arthur had already figured it out in his mind.

As Price said, most of the members of the National Political Alliance were guys with some property and savings. In other words, these people consider gains and losses when doing things.

It is very simple to successfully negotiate with them. Either make them feel that they will gain a lot if the negotiation is reached, or make them feel that they will lose a lot if the negotiation fails.

Although Arthur's words were very cryptic, he believed that with Price's intelligence level, he could completely decipher his subtext.

First, Scotland Yard is concerned about the violence present in the current protests.

Second, if the Reform Bill is defeated in the House of Lords, Scotland Yard believes there is a risk of mass violence at the London rally three days later.

Third, Scotland Yard will dispatch a large number of police officers to the London rally location for surveillance.

Fourth, all violent crimes at this rally will be punished to the maximum extent. If the National Political Alliance agrees to withdraw, Scotland Yard will not only guarantee their right to peaceful protest at other venues, but also forgive the members who were previously arrested. .

Fifth, Arthur called Price here alone because he was a member of the University of London department. If he didn't show mercy, he could have killed them all.

Coupled with the fact that the Whig cabinet was currently in power, Price had to carefully consider whether the request for him to lead his men to withdraw from the London rally was due to Lord Brougham's instructions.

After all, the National Political Alliance has always been able to act on the streets with confidence because many of them believed that the current government would definitely support them.

If something goes against their expectations at the London rally, Price's reputation as a leader could be devastated.

Seeing that he was hesitant to speak, Arthur added calmly: "Mr. Price, I have to tell you very sincerely that the Swain Riot trial is a special case, and the phenomenon of extrajudicial mercy is common in many places. It won't happen again for a long time.

After the Reform Bill was rejected by the House of Lords last year, the leaders of the mob who set fire to the Duke of Newcastle's Castle and stormed Glasgow City Hall will all be hanged, and their followers will be sentenced to exile.

The reason why the Chancery Chamber has not yet announced the results of the trial is because there are a large number of participants and the trial period is relatively long. The second reason is that they are worried that announcing such severe punishment results under the current situation will trigger the confrontational mood of the British people.

However, not publishing it for the time being does not mean that it will never be published. If the "Reform Bill" is finally implemented, their judgment will be implemented immediately. While the parade celebrates, their heads fall to the ground.

As you said, your supporters all have a certain financial foundation. Even if you want to express your voice, you can definitely use some peaceful but effective means. Why do you have to be forced to move forward by violence? "

When Price heard this, his face turned slightly pale, but in an instant he frowned again: "What effective means are you referring to?"

Arthur did not answer directly. He just looked out the window with a glass of wine in his hand: "Do you still remember what happened when my first batch of graduates from the University of London first entered school? Oh my God! That's when I knew, It turns out that going to the bank to withdraw money together is more worrying for the big shots than going to war with Napoleon."

When Price heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up. He slapped the table and stood up and said, "Are you talking about the banking crisis in 1825?"