The spider weaves its webs in the palaces of the Empire, but the owl has finished its vigil at the tower of Afrahiab.

—Mehmed II

"Since the last reform bill was vetoed, we have made thoughtful changes and additions to the bill, and we look forward to a broader and full support for this new bill. Although the reform bill has been extensively discussed, I would like to reiterate the position of reform to the gentlemen of the House of Commons for the needs of the legislative process in Parliament.

First, under the current electoral system, the 10 counties in the south of England have a 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 hold only 68 seats. In Cornwall, the largest number of decayed constituencies, they have a population of only 300,000 but hold 44 seats in the House of Commons. The 1.33 million population of Lancashire in the new industrial area has only 14 MPs.

Some new industrial cities, such as Birmingham and Manchester, do not have the right to elect MPs at all 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 times and has affected the realization of social equity.

Second, there has never been a clear and uniform regulation on voter qualifications. Not only are the interpretations of voter eligibility different between urban and county constituencies, but even there are significant differences in voter eligibility between urban constituencies and urban constituencies due to the historical status and development of cities.

For the present time, our regulations for county constituencies are based on a decree issued by Henry VI in 1430, which granted the right to vote for freelancers with an annual net income of more than 40 shillings. However, with the advent of the industrial age and the development of the agricultural revolution, the number of freelance farmers in rural areas has decreased dramatically, which in turn has led to a smaller number of voters in county constituencies. According to our incomplete count, by 1831 there were no more than 250,000 voters in the county constituencies of England and Wales.

In urban constituencies, the existing voter eligibility requirements are cumbersome. Since the Middle Ages, each city constituency has successively made its own rules. However, in general, the requirements for voter eligibility in each urban constituency can be broadly categorized into four types:

The first is that voters have a home in the constituency, pay parish taxes, and do not receive benefits.

The second is conditional on tenure in the constituency. However, due to the development of the city, those properties with the right to vote are confined to the very narrow old city, while those built in the new city are not eligible to vote.

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

Fourth, the so-called 'freedmen' have the right to vote. There are three ways for freedmen to obtain it, one is to sign a 7-year apprenticeship contract in a specific industry and complete the service. The second is through blood inheritance. The third type is granted directly by municipal bodies.

In summary, we believe that in order to reform these unbalanced, unfair, corrupt and backward electoral systems, 60 seats in decay concedencies should be abolished, 47 seats in decayed constituencies should be reduced, and one seat in a coalition constituency should be reduced. Of the 168 seats vacated, 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 finalised, England's seven new industrial cities will each receive two seats, and the 20 medium-sized cities will each get one seat. As for the electoral qualifications, we accept the gentlemen's enthusiastic suggestions for reforming the bill since the last bill was rejected.

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

On the advice of the Duke of Buckingham, we will add a supplementary clause to the bill to give the right to vote to landowners with an annual income of more than £10 or any tenant with an annual net income of more than £50 in county constituencies, and to urban dwellers with an annual rent income of more than £10 in urban constituencies.

When the reform is completed, the bloated House of Commons will be downsized, which will help us to get rid of the ills and reduce the number of seats in order to balance the partisanship in the House of Commons, so that Britain can move lightly and better into the new era......"

Rustle rustle......

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

Arthur, who was leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes slightly, also looked up at the gentleman sitting across from him in a tuxedo with a goatee.

This wasn't the first time Arthur had seen him, but the last time they had seen each other was four or five years ago.

Arthur smiled and stood up and shook his hand.

"Hello, Mr. Price. The last time we met, it was on the campus of the university. Although my time at the school was short, I was very impressed by your presentation. ”

Price spoke, "Mr. Hastings, I have heard Bentham and Lord Broughham mention you, a distinguished young man. Let me guess why you invited me to Scotland Yard today, probably because of the National Political League under my leadership? ”

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

"The National Political League you lead is a very distinguished organisation that campaigns for parliamentary reform, and you yourself brave the heavy rain on the streets of London to give speeches every day to inspire your supporters to reform the spirit. Honestly, if I had been a student, I would have joined your team as well. That is why I have always done my best to facilitate the meetings of the National Political League within the scope of my mandate. But ......"

Arthur paused, smiled and asked, "I don't know if you have noticed that many people in the national political alliance under your leadership have crossed the line. The law guarantees their freedom of association and expression, but it does not guarantee their right to destroy other people's property and threaten and intimidate good citizens.

Of course, I know that this is certainly not at your behest. Because since you founded this organization, you have always emphasized the need to support the government in a peaceful, dignified and useful way to promote parliamentary reform. And your efforts are now paying off.

As you have heard, the Prime Minister, Earl Grey, in order to respond to the enthusiasm of his supporters and preserve the gains of the fight, this morning introduced a reform motion to Parliament for the third time. ”

Speaking of this, Arthur took out the pocket watch in his pocket and glanced at it: "Look at the time, this "Reform Bill" has now passed the third reading of the House of Commons. It will be submitted to the upper house in the near future, and it will sprint towards the final success. I am not in a position to ask you to do anything, but I ask that you stand in the position of the general public of London and put a temporary cessation of all protests by the National Political League.

In the near future, it would also be better not to organize a celebratory march to pass the third reading of the bill in the House of Commons. This is because, according to Scotland Yard archives, there was violence among members of the National Political League under your administration during the celebrations when the second version of the Reform Bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons last year.

Some were involved in the siege of opposition MPs and the homes of citizens who did not support reform, and during the siege of the Duke of Wellington's residence, mobs threw stones at the Duke's residence and tried to set fire to trees near the mansion and in Hyde Park.

You're a lawyer, so you know better than I know that despite the reform of the Bloody Act, arson is still on the hanged list. In the case of the Duke of Wellington's personal assault, both Scotland Yard and the London District Prosecution Service had good reason to believe that such conduct should constitute prima facie treason. ”

Price stared at the young man in front of him in a neat uniform, the pair of white gloves that did not stain a single blemish and the soft smiling face made people wonder how to figure it out.

No one knew how such cold words could come out of the mouth of this young man who didn't seem to be aggressive.

But Price is also a man who knows how to measure things, he is a member of the University of London department, and he is also an activist. If the Wellington Cabinet was still in power, he would not hesitate to refuse Arthur's request.

But now in power was the Gray Cabinet, who did not want to embarrass his old friend Breham, and his mentor, Mr. Benthham, was also a man who did not approve of the use of violence to solve problems.

Price explained: "Rest assured, I'm also concerned about the violent tendencies among the 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, small vendors, craftsmen, etc.

We are rallying to express our demands, not to oppose the government. On the contrary, we are rallying in support of the government. We are a strong supporter of the Cabinet's push for reform bills and are happy to assist them in putting pressure on the opposition. But this kind of pressure is more of a peaceful, non-violent pressure of public opinion. ”

Arthur heard Price loosen his mouth and knew that the turtle shell had been pried open a crack.

He hurriedly hit the railroad while it was hot: "It is a joy to hear such assurances from your mouth. In that case, can you promise me that the National Political League will not join the 60,000-strong rally in London, which is scheduled to take place in three days' time? ”

"This ......"

As soon as Price heard that Arthur wanted him to withdraw from the rally, Fang Cai's soft stance quickly wavered.

Seeing his attitude, Arthur did not rush to urge him to reply, but got up and poured him some wine.

"Mr. Price, you don't need to worry too much. It's just a rally, and if you must attend, find another venue somewhere else. And you should know that we have not stopped you and your supporters from submitting petitions or protests to the government and parliament during this time.

In addition to this, I can assure you that the members of the National Political League who are currently in custody will not be officially charged by the London District Prosecution Service. Of course, I don't rule out that they may still be subject to civil lawsuits brought by parties whose property has been damaged, but I can assure you that these charges will not be transferred to the criminal level as long as they pay the price. And when the situation in London calms down, they will soon be released. ”

Hearing this, Agareth, who was lying on the windowsill, scoffed at Arthur's remarks and said, "My dear Arthur, what do you say?" Do you think that this level of soft-heartedness will make them think good about you? Remember what I said, not firing when you should only end up getting things out of hand. ”

Arthur glanced at the Red Devil, who didn't heed Agares' cynicism.

Why he invited Price, the leader of the National Political League, instead of the workers' representatives of the British Workers' League, to come over today, Arthur had already thought about it.

As Price said, most of the members of the National Political League are guys with some property and savings. In other words, these people do things with a view to gain and loss.

Successful negotiations with them are as simple as making them feel that they have a lot to gain when they reach a negotiation, or they feel that they will lose a lot if they fail.

Although Arthur said it very vaguely, he believed that with Price's intelligence level, his subtext could be completely deciphered.

First, Scotland Yard is concerned about the violence that is taking place in the current protests.

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

Thirdly, Scotland Yard will send a large number of police to the London rally site to monitor it.

Fourthly, all violent crimes committed at this rally will be punished at the highest level, and if the National Political League agrees to withdraw, Scotland Yard will not only guarantee their right to protest peacefully at other venues, but will also be held accountable for the members who have been previously arrested.

Fifth, Arthur called Price over alone because he was in the same department at the University of London, and if he didn't show his feelings, he could have wiped them out.

Coupled with the fact that the Whig Cabinet was currently in power, Price had to carefully consider whether it was Lord Bruham's behest that he led his men out of the London rally.

After all, the National Political League has been emboldened in the streets, because many of them believe that the current government will definitely support them.

If there were a discrepancy with their expectations at the London rally, the prestige of Price as a leader would also be devastated.

Seeing that he was slow to speak, Arthur added without being salty: "Mr. Price, I must tell you very sincerely that the trial of the Swain riot is a special case, and the phenomenon of extrajudicial mercy will not be repeated for a long time.

After last year's reform bill was rejected by the House of Lords, the riot leaders who set fire to the Duke of Newcastle and stormed Glasgow City Hall were all hanged and their followers sentenced to exile.

The reason why the Chancellor's Office has not yet announced the results of the trial is that the number of participants is relatively large and the trial period is relatively long. The second is the fear that the announcement of such a severe punishment in the current situation will ignite the antagonism of the British people.

However, not publishing it for the time being does not mean that it will never be published, and if the final Reform Act is implemented, their judgment will be enforced immediately. As the parade celebrates, their heads fall to the ground.

As you said, your supporters have a certain economic base, and even if you want to make your voice heard, you can use some peaceful but effective means, so why should you be held hostage by violence? ”

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

Arthur didn't answer directly, he just looked out the window with his wine glass: "Do you remember what happened to my first batch of graduates of the University of London?" O my God! That's when I learned that it turned out that everyone went to the bank to withdraw money together was more worrying to the big guys than going to war with Napoleon. ”

When Price heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he got up and said, "You are talking about the banking crisis of 1825?" ”

(End of chapter)

.