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 11.—

Members’ Continuance.

Art. I. Except as per Section 12, the term during which a representative of the people shall, without a fresh election, continue in his seat, shall in no case be longer than one year.

Art. II. Throughout the kingdom, the day on which the new representatives of the people are regularly to take their seats, is—[the first day of January.]

On that day, the Speaker shall, with such members of the out-going assembly of the representatives as choose to attend, appear and deliver up the possession of the place of meeting to the in-coming assembly. The incoming assembly, till its Speaker has entered into office, is presided over by the chief clerk.

Art. III. If, by any accident, the in-coming assembly are on that day prevented from forming a House competent to do business, the out-going assembly continues in the exercise of its functions, until the day on which the in-coming assembly is competent to the exercise of them.

Art. IV. Dissolution is not produced by the decease or disability of the monarch.*

Art. V. On the expiration of an assembly, the business continues in the hands of the new assembly, as if they were one and the same.

Art. VI. In committees, vacancies are accordingly filled up, as if produced by death or resignation.†

[* ]Among the artifices of misrule, are needless and useless and groundless nullifications, interruptions, and terminations of public business. No measures but those that have for their object either the interest of the people, or the interest of the opposition, suffer by these obstacles. The Crown has times and seasons at command.

[† ]Resignation.] At present a seat cannot be vacated by simple resignation. When a member wishes to resign, he cannot do so without being appointed to an office under the Crown; which appointment, monarch or minister may refuse, or delay as long as he pleases. Refusal is not, indeed, customary; but it is not the less legal, and might, and would at any time be resorted to, if an expected successor were to a certain degree obnoxious. In Ireland, before the union, and on the occasion of the union, it was actually resorted to.

Among the inwardly harboured maxims, by which the practice of Honourable House conducts itself, a leading one may be stated to be this:—never do in a direct way that which you can do in an indirect way: in other words, never do without insincerity that which you can do by insincerity.

Thus, in the present case, one man cannot make room in the House for another, but a false pretence for it must be made: a false pretence; and to that false pretence, not only the out-going member himself, but the monarch and minister likewise, are parties.

The ground of the falsehood is this. In the statute-book are some half dozen acts, mentioning, by general description, certain offices, and other sources of emolument at the pleasure of the Crown, and declaring, that upon acceptance given to any office, &c. coming within that description, by a member of the House of Commons, his seat is vacated. Why vacated? Because, were he to continue in it, the office being one of those to which emolument is attached, his conduct would, by the fear of losing it, be apt to be rendered subservient to the particular interests of monarch and minister—adverse to the universal interest. Thus the very principle of all the acts is the notorious corruptness of the system of which they make a part.

Among these offices is one called the Stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds. Of the system of falsehood, without which a seat is not suffered to be vacated, this office is the constant instrument. On this occasion, the following is the pretence, the falsehood of which is so notorious. Regarding the person in question as being eminently fit for the trust in question,—and willing, as well as able, to perform the duties of it, and thereby to earn the emolument attached to it,—his Majesty has been advised, and is graciously pleased, to select him for that purpose, and place the office in his hands. What, in the instrument of appointment, is actually expressed, I cannot pretend to say; nor can I at this moment be certain whether any instrument for this purpose actually receives official signature. But, whether expressed or no, such are the allegations implied. Willing and determined to do his best towards the fulfilment of these duties, the Member who has thus been singled out, gives, on his part, to his Majesty his humble thanks, and to the office his acceptance. This being what is said—said by monarch and by minister—both saying it in solemn form by their signature, how stands the matter of fact? No duties whatever; no selection; the office is given indiscriminately and successively, to every Member that applies for it to all Members; who, one after another, apply for it; perhaps to several on one and the same day.

Thus drenched in insincerity is Honourable House. It is by insincerity men get into it; it is by insincerity men get out of it. Hear their speeches; look to their votes; look to their journals: see whether, without insincerity, anything that is done there, is ever done.a

Were not all regard for sincerity almost universally cast off in Honourable House—cast off by Whigs not less completely than by Tories—could sham representation have stood thus long in the place of genuine?

Among the effects of Radical reform, would be—not only in Honourable House, but in so many other places—in other houses—on the throne—on the seats of judicature—in the seats of education—if not to put an end to this, at any rate to put an end to the empire of this.

[† ]Resignation.] At present a seat cannot be vacated by simple resignation. When a member wishes to resign, he cannot do so without being appointed to an office under the Crown; which appointment, monarch or minister may refuse, or delay as long as he pleases. Refusal is not, indeed, customary; but it is not the less legal, and might, and would at any time be resorted to, if an expected successor were to a certain degree obnoxious. In Ireland, before the union, and on the occasion of the union, it was actually resorted to.

Among the inwardly harboured maxims, by which the practice of Honourable House conducts itself, a leading one may be stated to be this:—never do in a direct way that which you can do in an indirect way: in other words, never do without insincerity that which you can do by insincerity.

Thus, in the present case, one man cannot make room in the House for another, but a false pretence for it must be made: a false pretence; and to that false pretence, not only the out-going member himself, but the monarch and minister likewise, are parties.

The ground of the falsehood is this. In the statute-book are some half dozen acts, mentioning, by general description, certain offices, and other sources of emolument at the pleasure of the Crown, and declaring, that upon acceptance given to any office, &c. coming within that description, by a member of the House of Commons, his seat is vacated. Why vacated? Because, were he to continue in it, the office being one of those to which emolument is attached, his conduct would, by the fear of losing it, be apt to be rendered subservient to the particular interests of monarch and minister—adverse to the universal interest. Thus the very principle of all the acts is the notorious corruptness of the system of which they make a part.

Among these offices is one called the Stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds. Of the system of falsehood, without which a seat is not suffered to be vacated, this office is the constant instrument. On this occasion, the following is the pretence, the falsehood of which is so notorious. Regarding the person in question as being eminently fit for the trust in question,—and willing, as well as able, to perform the duties of it, and thereby to earn the emolument attached to it,—his Majesty has been advised, and is graciously pleased, to select him for that purpose, and place the office in his hands. What, in the instrument of appointment, is actually expressed, I cannot pretend to say; nor can I at this moment be certain whether any instrument for this purpose actually receives official signature. But, whether expressed or no, such are the allegations implied. Willing and determined to do his best towards the fulfilment of these duties, the Member who has thus been singled out, gives, on his part, to his Majesty his humble thanks, and to the office his acceptance. This being what is said—said by monarch and by minister—both saying it in solemn form by their signature, how stands the matter of fact? No duties whatever; no selection; the office is given indiscriminately and successively, to every Member that applies for it to all Members; who, one after another, apply for it; perhaps to several on one and the same day.

Thus drenched in insincerity is Honourable House. It is by insincerity men get into it; it is by insincerity men get out of it. Hear their speeches; look to their votes; look to their journals: see whether, without insincerity, anything that is done there, is ever done.a

Were not all regard for sincerity almost universally cast off in Honourable House—cast off by Whigs not less completely than by Tories—could sham representation have stood thus long in the place of genuine?

Among the effects of Radical reform, would be—not only in Honourable House, but in so many other places—in other houses—on the throne—on the seats of judicature—in the seats of education—if not to put an end to this, at any rate to put an end to the empire of this.

[a]It is from the class of men by which the proceedings of Honourable House have at all times, as they could not but have been, been guided, that the insincerity so conspicuous in the whole frame of them has manifestly been derived. Lies manufactured by lawyers, as such, are even by themselves acknowledged to be untruths, and, as such, constantly spoken of under the name of fictions. But never was the appellation of a lie ascribed to anything with more strict propriety than to these fictions. A fiction of law hurts nobody, says one of their Latin maxims. This lie embraces and overtops all the others. A fiction of law hurts everybody. Never was any one of these lies told, but it had for its object, and as far as it compassed its object, for its effect, usurpation and injustice. When a Judge wanted to do something which he was conscious he had no right to do, his way was, in relation to some matter of fact, to make an assertion, which, if true, might have afforded him a justification for what he did: but which, to his knowledge, was not true. Here then was a gross lie; and by lies of this sort, in the dark ages, did judges contrive to steal power, sometimes from parliament, sometimes from the monarch, sometimes from one another, under favour of that universal ignorance, which they had so successfully laboured to keep up, by the clouds in which, by these and other means, they had succeeded in enveloping their proceedings. The detail of these lies and these thefts may be seen in Blackstone: in Blackstone, who, so thoroughly depraved by bad education were his understanding and his morals, saw, for anything that appears, no harm in it.—Yes; usurpation and injustice. Never, in the coining of any one of these lies, could the coiner have had any better object; for if what he was doing had not been contrary to justice, the lie would have been of no use to him. Contrary to justice? Yes, and even contrary to law, as it stood, in so far as in such a shape, and in such hands, anything to which the name of law could with propriety be applied, could be said to stand, or to have existence.For some time past, no fresh lies of this sort—none at least that in flagrancy can compare with the old stock—have been coined: the people, it may have been feared, would not bear it. But the old stock is made the most of:—several purposes are continually answered by it:—purposes, as baneful to the people, as beneficial to those by whom the base currency is forced upon them. A vice, which for its mischievousness ought to be an object of universal abhorrence—the vice of insincerity in its very grossest forms—has, to their own profit—such is the efficiency with which power, decked in false science, can produce delusion—been converted by them into an object of almost universal veneration. To an eye that dares open itself, a curious sight is—to see how, in the very act of punishing this vice in others, they revel in it themselves. No; never has man been punished by them for lying, but a string of lies has been uttered by the judge, to help form the ground for punishing him. Every record is the discourse of some judge or judges. Look into any record, you will see the lies it teems with. Examine in detail the forms of judicial procedure, and see whether it be not in insincerity that they began, and from the beginning have continued. No proposition so absurd, no practice so flagitious—that custom and habit will not reconcile men to. When the king has made a man a judge, amongst other powers is this of converting vice into virtue: this is among the articles of faith which hitherto the people have bad the goodness to believe.It may be seen in another work (Swear not at all) whether the clergy of the establishment are not, on their part, trained up for years in a course, even confessed by themselves to be that of habitual perjury: not to speak of the insincerity in so many other forms, with which, without exception, men, on their entrance into that profession, are by authority of law compelled to defile themselves.Of the sort of morality thus imbibed by the higher orders, who does not see—yes, and feel but too sensibly—the effects?—in particular, the effects produced by it in Honourable House, and in the whole system of sham representation, on which it stands? To men thus educated, how can insincerity—when so constantly practised to their own sinister purposes—be otherwise than an object of fond affection, and sincerity an object of terror and abhorrence? Thus it is, that whatsoever regard for sincerity has place in the “lower orders,” it is not in consequence but in spite of the example set them: set them by those who, on no better ground than that of the riches and power with which fortune has favoured them, pretend to constitute the only class in which either wisdom or virtue is to be found.Protest against high-seated vice in this and so many other shapes, the answer is—You are an enemy to English institutions: as if, only by continuing to practise it, Englishmen had a power of converting vice into virtue.