The Online Library of Liberty

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• Errata—vol. III.
• Defence of Usury; Showing the Impolicy of the Present Legal Restraints On the Terms of Pecuniary Bargains; In Letters to a Friend.
• Letter I.: Introduction.
• Letter II.: Reasons For Restraint—prevention of Usury.
• Letter III.: Reasons For Restraint—prevention of Prodigality.
• Letter IV.: Reasons For Restraint—protection of Indigence.
• Letter V.: Reasons For Restraint—protection of Simplicity.
• Letter VI.: Mischiefs of the Anti-usurious Laws.
• Letter VII.: Efficacy of Anti-usurious Laws.
• Letter VIII.: Virtual Usury Allowed.
• Letter IX.: Blackstone Considered.
• Letter X.: Grounds of the Prejudices Against Usury.
• Letter XI.: Compound Interest.
• Letter XII.: Maintenance and Champerty.
• Letter XIII.: To Dr. Smith, On Projects In Arts, &c.
• A Manual of Political Economy: Now First Edited From the Mss. of Jeremy Bentham.
• Chapter I.: Introduction. *
• Chapter II.: Analytical Survey of the Field of Political Economy.
• Chapter III.: Of Wealth.
• Chapter IV.: Of Population.
• Chapter V.: Of Finance.
• Chapter VI.: Operation of a Sinking Fund On the Production of Wealth.
• Chapter VII.: Noscenda.
• Observations On the Restrictive and Prohibitory Commercial System; Especially With a Reference to the Decree of the Spanish Cortes of July 1820.
• Preface.: Observations, &c.
• Section I.: Nature of the Prohibitory System.
• Section II.: Mischiefs of the Prohibitory System.
• Section III.: Causes of the Prohibitory System.
• A Plan For Saving All Trouble and Expense In the Transfer of Stock, and For Enabling the Proprietors to Receive Their Dividends Without Powers of Attorney, Or Attendance At the Bank of England, By the Conversion of Stock Into Note Annuities.
• Introduction.
• Chapter I.: Plan For the Creation, Emission, Payment, and Eventual Extension, of a Proposed New Species of Government Paper, Under the Name of Annuity Notes.
• Chapter II.: Form of an Annuity Note. (see Table II.)
• Chapter III.: Comparison of the Proposed, With the Existing Government Securities, &c.
• Chapter IV.: Grounds of Expectation, In Regard to the Proposed Measure.
• Chapter V.: Financial Advantages.
• Chapter VI.: Advantage By Addition to National Capital.
• Chapter VII.: Advantage By Addition to Commercial Security.
• Chapter VIII.: Particular Interests Concerned.
• Chapter IX.: Rise of Prices—how to Obviate.
• Chapter X.: Reduction of Interest—proposed Mode Compared With Mr. Pelham’s.
• Chapter XI.: Moral Advantages.
• Chapter XII.: Constitutional Advantages.
• Chapter XIII.: Recapitulation and Conclusion.
• Appendix A.: Government Ought to Have the Monopoly of Paper Money, As Well As of Metallic Money.
• Appendix B.: Paper Money—causes Why Not Circulated By Government Without Interest, As Well As By Individuals.
• General View of a Complete Code of Laws.
• Chapter I.: General Division.
• Chapter II.: Relations Between the Laws Concerning Offences, Rights, Obligations, and Services.
• Chapter III.: Relation Between the Penal and Civil Code.
• Chapter IV.: Of Method.
• Chapter V.: Plan of the Penal Code.
• Chapter VI.: Of the Division of Offences.
• Chapter VIII. Titles of the Penal Code.
• Chapter IX.: First General Title of the Civil Code, * of Things.
• Chapter X.: Second General Title of the Civil Code. of Places.
• Chapter XI.: Third General Title of the Civil Code. of Times.
• Chapter XII.: Fourth General Title of the Civil Code. of Services.
• Chapter XIII.: Fifth General Title of the Civil Code. of Obligations.
• Chapter XIV.: Sixth General Title of the Civil Code. of Rights.
• Chapter XV.: Seventh General Title of the Civil Code. of Collative and Ablative Events.
• Chapter XVI.: Eighth General Title of the Civil Code. of Contracts.
• Chapter XVII.: Ninth General Title of the Civil Code. of the Domestic and Civil States.
• Chapter XVIII.: Tenth General Title of the Civil Code. of Persons Capable of Acquiring and of Contracting.
• Chapter XIX.: Of the Particular Titles of the Civil Code.
• Chapter XX.: Of Elementary Political Powers.
• Chapter XXI.: Of Elementary Political Powers— Subject Continued.
• Chapter XXII.: Plan of the Political Code.
• Chapter XXIII.: Plan of the International Code.
• Chapter XXIV.: Plan of the Maritime Code.
• Chapter XXV.: Plan of the Military Code.
• Chapter XXVI.: Plan of the Ecclesiastical Code.
• Chapter XXVII.: Plan of Remuneratory Laws.
• Chapter XXVIII.: Of Political Economy.
• Chapter XXIX.: Plan of the Financial Code.
• Chapter XXX.: Plan of Procedure Code.
• Chapter XXXI.: Of the Integrality of the Code of Laws.
• Chapter XXXII.: Of Purity In the Composition of a Code of Laws.
• Chapter XXXIII.: Of the Style of the Laws.
• Chapter XXXIV.: Of the Interpretation, Conservation, and Improvement of a Code.
• Pannomial Fragments.
• Chapter I.: General Observations.
• Chapter II.: Consideranda.
• Chapter III.: Expositions.
• Chapter IV.: Axioms.
• Nomography; Or the Art of Inditing Laws: Now First Published From the Mss. of Jeremy Bentham.
• Chapter I.: The Subject Stated.
• Chapter II.: Relations.
• Chapter III.: Proper End In View.
• Chapter IV.: Imperfections Primary.
• Chapter V.: Explanations Relative to the Imperfections of the Second Order.
• Chapter VI.: Of Remedies. *
• Chapter VII.: Of Language.
• Chapter VIII.: Of the Perfections of Which the Legislative Style Is Susceptible.
• Chapter IX.: Of Forms of Enactment.
• Appendix. Logical Arrangements, Or Instruments of Invention and Discovery
• Equity Dispatch Court Proposal; Containing a Plan For the Speedy and Unexpensive Termination of the Suits Now Depending In Equity Courts. With the Form of a Petition, and Some Account of a Proposed Bill For That Purpose
• Section I.: Purpose Explained. Jeremy Bentham to the Honest and Afflicted Among Equity Suitors.
• Section II.: Equity Suitors’ Petition For Dispatch Court. to the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, —
• Section III.: Dispatch Court Bill—some Account of It.
• Section IV.: Information Requisite From Petitioning Suitors.
• Equity Dispatch Court Bill: Being a Bill For the Institution of an Experimental Judicatory Under the Name of the Court of Dispatch, For Exemplifying In Practice the Manner In Which the Proposed Summary May Be Substituted to the So Called Regular Sy
• Editor’s Note.
• Preface.
• Preamble.
• Part I.—: Judiciary.
• Section I.: Judge Located, How.
• Section II.: Remuneration.
• Section III.: Registrar, &c.
• Section IV.: Eleemosynary Advocate.
• Section V.: Judges’, &c. Deputes.
• Section VI.: Judge’s Powers—exemptions—checks.
• Section VII.: Prehensors and Messengers.
• Section VIII.: Consignees; * Or Say, In-trust-holders.
• Section IX.: Grounds of Decision For the Dispatch Court Judge.
• Section X. ‡: Suits’ Comparative Suitableness; and Order of Cognizance.
• Section XI.: Auxiliary Judges and Accountants.
• Section XII.: Sittings, Times Of.
• Part II.—: Procedure.
• Section XIII.: Definitions. *
• Section XIV.: Examination of Solicitors.
• Section XV.: Initiatory Examination of Parties, &c.
• Section XVI.: Appropriate Intercourse, Constant and Universal, Secured.
• Section XVII.: Mutual Security For Forthcomingness of Persons and Things. ‡
• Section XVIII.: Evidence-procuring Money, How Provided.
• Section XIX.: Subsequential Evidence, How Elicited.
• Section XX.: Execution, How Performed.
• Section XXI.: Equity Court Costs, How Disposed Of.
• Section XXII.: Dispatch Court Costs, How Disposed Of.
• Section XXIII.: Eventual Retrotransference of a Suit to the Equity Court.
• Section XXIV.: Expense of the Court, How Provided For.
• Supplemental Sections:—
• Section I. Or XXV.: Bankruptcy and Insolvency.
• Section II. Or XXVI.: Henceforward Dispatch Court.
• Schedules to the Bill.
• Plan of Parliamentary Reform, In the Form of a Catechism, With Reasons For Each Article: With an Introduction, Showing the Necessity of Radical, and the Inadequacy of Moderate, Reform.
• Introduction.
• Section I.: History of the Ensuing Tract—alarming State of the Country and the Constitution.
• Section II.: Most Prominent Present Grievance, Gareisoning France.
• Section III.: Causes of the Above and All Other Mischiefs:—particular Interests Monarchical and Aristocratical, Adverse to the Universal—their Ascendency.
• Section IV.: Sole Remedy In Principle—democratic Ascendency.
• Section V.: Remedy In Detail: Radical Parliamentary Reform: Elementary Arrangements In This Edition of It—their Necessity.
• Section VI.: Differences Between This and the Original Editions of Radical Reform.
• Section VII.: Virtual Universality of Suffrage Further Considered.
• Section VIII.: Virtual Universality of Suffrage—its Undangerousness.
• Section IX.: Freedom of Suffrage Further Explained—seductive Influence—its Forms, Instruments, &c.
• Section X.: Bribery and Terrorism Compared.
• Section XI.: Purchase of Seats—in What Cases Mischievous—in What Beneficial.
• Section XII.: Secresy of Suffrage—its Importance Further Developed.
• Section XIII.: Exclusion of Placemen, &c. From the Right of Voting—mischievousness and Profligacy of the Opposite Arrangement.
• Section XIV.: Universal Constancy of Attendance—its Importance.
• Section XV.: Representatives—impermanence of Their Situation—its Importance:—objections—their Groundlessness.
• Section XVI.: Moderate Reform—its Arrangements—their Inadequacy.
• Section XVII.: Trienniality Inadequate;—annuality Necessary.
• Section XVIII.: Interests Adverse to Adequate Reform—support Given By Them to Moderate, to the Exclusion of Radical: Tories—whigs—people’s Men.
• Catechism of Parliamentary Reform; Or, Outline of a Plan of Parliamentary Reform; In the Form of Question and Answer; With Reasons to Each Article.
• Section I.: Ends to Be Aimed At On the Occasion of Parliamentary Reform.
• Section II.: Means, Conducive Towards These Ends.
• Section III.: Means—their Uses, With Reference to Their Respective Ends.
• Section IV.: Means Conducive to Aptitude In Members: I. Placemen Not to Vote, Nor to Be Seated By Election.
• Section V.: Means, &c. Continued.—ii. Placemen Seated By the King, With Speech and Motion, Without Vote.
• Section VI.: Means, &c. Continued.—iii. Elections Frequent—annual.
• Section VII.: Means, &c. Continued.—iv. Speeches Authentically and Promptly Published.
• Section VIII.: Means, &c. Continued.—v. Attendance, Punctual and General, Secured.
• Section IX.: Inconveniences Incident to Elections, and Election Judicature.
• Section X.: Election Inconveniences—means For Their Removal.
• Section XI.: Collateral Advantages, Referable to the Situations of Electors, Placemen, Lords, &c.
• A Sketch of the Various Proposals For a Constitutional Reform In the Representation of the People, Introduced Into the Parliament of Great Britain, From 1770 to 1812.
• Radical Reform Bill, With Extracts From the Reasons.
• Preliminary Explanations.
• Title of the Proposed Act.
• Preamble.
• Section 1.—: Seats and Districts.
• Section 2.—: Electors, Who.
• Section 3.—: Eligible, Who.
• Section 4.—: Election Offices.
• Section 5.: Election Apparatus.
• Section 6.—: Promulgation of Recommendations In Favour of Proposed Members.
• Section 7.—: Voters’ Titles Pre-established.
• Section 8.—: Election, How.
• Section 9.: Election Districts and Polling Districts, How Marked Out.
• Section 10.—: Vote-making Habitations, How Defined.
• Section 11.—: Members’ Continuance.
• Section 12.—: Vacancies Supplied.
• Section 13.—: Security For the House Against Disturbance By Members. †
• Section 14.—: Indisposition of Speakers Obviated.
• Appendix, Including General Explanations.
• Radicalism Not Dangerous. Extracted From the Mss. of Jeremy Bentham. *
• Part I.—: Introduction.
• Section I.: Radical Reform Bill Recapitulated.
• Section II.: Persuasion of the Dangerousness of Radicalism—cause of It, and of the Vituperative Expression Given to It.
• Section III.: Terms of the Accusation,—speeches From the Throne, 16 Th July and 21 St November 1819.
• Section IV.: The Accusation In General Terms—counter-averment.
• Section V.: Plan of This Defence.
• Part II.—: Deference From the General Nature of the Case.
• Section I.: Conditions Necessary to a Man’s Embarking In Such a Design.
• Section VII.: Concurrence In Any Other Extensive Plan of Spoliation Impossible.
• Section VIII.: Concurrence of Any Constituted Authorities Impossible.
• Section IX.: Accomplishment Impossible—design Impossible.
• Section X.: The Talked-of Spunge No Proof of the Design.
• Part III.—: Defence From Experience In the Case of the United States.
• Part IV.: Defence From Particular Experience In the Case of Ireland: Years 1777 Or 1778, to 1783.
• Section I.: Analogy Between This and the Previous Case.
• Section II.: Democratic Ascendency, How Produced.
• Section III.: Fruit of Democratic Ascendency a Golden Age.
• Section IV.: Coincidence of Its Characters With Those of Radicalism.
• Section VI.: Extinction of Democratic Ascendency and Reform—restoration of Monarchico-aristocratical Ascendency, and Its Consequences.
• Conclusion.

Section 8.—

Election, How.

Art. I. For the periodical day of the first meeting of a parliament, see Section 12: [ ] days before that day, the election process everywhere commences.

It commences at the sub-district office, where there is one: it is completed at the district-office:—

Art. II. Here follows the mode of proceeding at the polling-office:—*

At the time of voting, the station of the poll-clerk is separated, by a rail or other sufficient partition, from that of the multitude, voters and others.

Near to him is the secret-selection box, described in Section 5.

Within reach of this box is the station of a vote-receiving clerk, by whom the voting card, immediately as it is selected by the voter, is received from him, and dropped into the vote-receiving box,—both described in Section 5.

That the state which, at the time of the delivery, the voting card is in, may be perfectly seen by the whole company present, the station of the receiving clerk is, though at some distance, and by a rail separated from the spot occupied by the voter at the selection-box, yet within reach of it, and at the same time elevated a little above it: in such sort that the card cannot be delivered by the voter, without his raising his arm to deliver it, nor received by the receiving-clerk without his lowering his arm to receive it.

Art. III. The hustings are more or less raised above, and by a sufficient partition separated from, the attendant multitude.

Included therein are—1. The station of the poll-clerk; 2. The station of the proposed members, or of any such agents of theirs as are in attendance; 3. The station of the voters’ secret-selection box; 4. The station of a vote-receiving clerk, with his vote-receiving box.

To prevent confusion, interposed between the station of the attendant multitude and the hustings is a passage; in width sufficient to afford a convenient station to one man; in length (suppose) six, eight, or ten feet; formed by a sufficient partition, with a bar at each end.

To give admission to a voter, the bar at the end furthest from the hustings is lifted up.

He presents himself, with his distinction-ticket on his hat.

On his admittance into the passage,—for the information of all concerned, and in particular of the poll-clerk, the voter’s surname first, and then the first LETTER of it, are audibly pronounced, and at the same time the voter’s copy of his vote-making certificate is handed up by him to the poll-clerk.

On receiving the voter’s copy, the poll-clerk, being informed as above, turns to the corresponding copy, as it stands in the filled-up certificate-book: a short glance enables him to see whether the copy thus prescribed is the duplicate of it.

As soon as he is satisfied of its being so, the bar opens; and the voter repairs to the secret-selection box, within which he chooses the card that bears the name of the proposed member for whom he means to vote.

Art. IV. In the secret-selection box, the voter, looking through the pane of glass in the top, introduces his hand or hands, at the side apertures, and having taken up the card that bears the name of the proposed member for whom he means to vote, closes it while yet in the box, by applying together the two white surfaces with the name, leaving on the outside the two black ones.

In this closed state he takes it out; and, holding it aloft, delivers it to the vote-receiving clerk.

The vote-receiving clerk, without opening it, instantly drops it into the receiving-box.

If the two plates, of which this card is composed, are not clapped together, as above, by means of the hinges on which they turn, the name on one or both of them may be visible: in that case, the card is torn; and he who presents it loses his vote.

So, if they are folded together with the two black surfaces on the inside; in this case the name will be on the outside of each of them, and thus be visible.

If the proposed voter takes out more cards than one, they are replaced in the box, and he loses his vote.

If, having received the card closed, with the two black surfaces on the outside, the receiving-clerk, before he drops it into the receiving-box, opens it, in such sort that the name, or any part of it, is visible,—he is by the poll-clerk dismissed from his office, and divested of his distinction-ticket on the spot.

Art. V. As soon as the voter hath, as above, delivered up his card, he is let out through a bar; which, to prevent stoppages, is different from the one through which he was let in.

As he passes out, his copy of his vote-making certificate, by which admission to the selection-box was procured to him, is returned to him, for the purpose of its being eventually employed by him on succeeding elections. See Art. XII.

Art. VI. For dispatch, two or more secret-selection boxes may be employed: one receiving-clerk may serve for two or more boxes.

Art. VII. As soon as the time appointed for the admission of voters is expired, the poll-clerk closes the vote-receiving box, by sliding the plate over the slit, as per Section 5, Art. VI. He then applies his seal to the junctures, in such manner that, without breaking it, the lid cannot be opened, nor the slit uncovered.

He then admits the election agents, in like manner, and for the like security, to apply their seals.

Lastly, he covers the whole, by a covering of cloth without seam: the junctures are secured by seals, as above.

The box is in this state delivered, by the poll-clerk, to a messenger, by whom it is taken to, and deposited in, the election-district office.

Art. VIII. Regard being had to the respective distances, the election-master-general appoints the time or times of the day, at or before which the vote-receiving boxes shall, from the several polling-offices, have been received at the district-election office.

Art. IX. Here follows the mode of proceeding at the district-election office:—

1. At this office are provided boxes, marked with the names of the several proposed members.

2. As soon as the vote-receiving boxes from the several polling-districts are come in, or the time allowed for their coming in is elapsed—they are opened by the district-clerk, in presence of the several proposed members or their agents, or such of them as choose to attend.

3. In presence of the whole company, the voting-cards are thereupon taken out and sorted: the cards respectively appertaining to the several proposed members, being dropped into their respective boxes.

Art. X. The numbers being immediately summed up, the name of the proposed member, in whose favour the comparative majority of the whole number of votes is found to have been given, is openly declared.

The instrument of return, drawn up by means of a blank form provided by the election-master-general, the same for every district, is attested by the district-clerk: the agents of the several proposed members add their respective attestations, or their declining so to do is noted.

On the instrument of return are entered the numbers of the votes for the several proposed members at the several polling districts.

The instrument is, that same day, transmitted by post to the national-election office.

Art. XI. If, and as often as, by tempestuous weather or other accident, the free resort of the voters to the polling-office within the ordinarily appointed time has been rendered impracticable, the poll-clerk, within his district, has power to prolong the time.

In such case he shall give the earliest possible notice to the voters in general, to the district-election office, and to the national-election office.

Art. XII. Follow the conditions on which, to save time and trouble, each voter’s certificate, after having been employed in any voting district, may be employed at each succeeding election, without need of fresh signatures by co-certifiers:—

At the first election at which it is employed, the poll-clerk, before the voter’s departure from the hustings, re-delivers to him his certificate, having first stamped, or caused to be stamped upon it, the words following, together with the date and his signature:—Re-delivered, to be employed at succeeding elections.

On each succeeding election, if, at the time of its exhibition at the office, there has not, on the part of the voter, been any change of name or abode, it is again, as per Section 7, marked with the words—Found correct, and re-delivered for further use, together with other words and figures to the effect in that section described.

If there has been any change of name, entry thereof shall be made, introduced by the words—Present name.

If there has been any change of abode, in that case are to be added words and figures designative of the fresh abode, preceded by the stamped words—Present abode.

A vote-making certificate, once employed in any one polling district, may, on these conditions, be thereafter employed in any other polling districts in the United Kingdom.

Art. XIII. For the more effectual prevention of disturbance, every person officiating as clerk of a polling-office, shall, within his sub-district, and every sub-district immediately continguous to it—during the continuance of the whole of the election process, possess and exercise, so far as shall be necessary for this special purpose, the powers belonging to the office of justice of the peace: in particular, the power of appointing special constables.

Upon occasion, all instruments signed by him shall, by all justices of the peace, within their respective fields of jurisdiction, be backed: backed as the same instruments might be, if signed by any regularly appointed justice of the peace.

[* ]Question: Why, for establishing the existence of the several facts employed in the composition of the title to a vote, omit to employ the ceremony of an oath? Follow the answers:—

1. The effect of it would be to put an exclusion upon an eminently respectable class of persons, who, but for the bar set up against them by this instrument, would be entitled and admitted to vote.

2. By the ceremony, a considerable quantity of time and expense would be uselessly consumed.

3. In but too many instances, it is proved by experience to be void of efficacy, and thereby useless.

4. By giving increase to the number of instances in which it is notoriously an object of violation and contempt,a the application of the ceremony, on the occasion here in question, would have the effect of diminishing whatsoever influence it might otherwise still possess, and thereby whatsoever useful security it might otherwise be capable of affording.

[* ]Question: Why, for establishing the existence of the several facts employed in the composition of the title to a vote, omit to employ the ceremony of an oath? Follow the answers:—

1. The effect of it would be to put an exclusion upon an eminently respectable class of persons, who, but for the bar set up against them by this instrument, would be entitled and admitted to vote.

2. By the ceremony, a considerable quantity of time and expense would be uselessly consumed.

3. In but too many instances, it is proved by experience to be void of efficacy, and thereby useless.

4. By giving increase to the number of instances in which it is notoriously an object of violation and contempt,a the application of the ceremony, on the occasion here in question, would have the effect of diminishing whatsoever influence it might otherwise still possess, and thereby whatsoever useful security it might otherwise be capable of affording.

[a]Amongst others, English University Oaths, by which, at entrance, the members, all of them, swear to the observance of a set of ordinances, which no one of all these swearers fails to disobey: (see this shown in “Swear not at all:”) these University men, all of them: and amongst them, with few exceptions, all who come afterwards to be Church of England clergymen; and, with no exceptions, all who come afterwards to be bishops and archbishops: not forgetting those who, under the name of blasphemy, are so eager to draw down punishment on the heads of all who, against that which for lucre they have made profession to believe, have written anything which, in their opinion, cannot be sufficiently answered otherwise than by fine and imprisonment.So likewise custom-house oaths, and a vast variety of other oaths prescribed by statutes. [See note prefixed to “Swear not at all,” in this collection.]Also petty jurymen’s oaths—oaths which are constantly violated by the minority, as often as any ultimate difference of opinion has place.