224 Reform on the 



This number of statutes lias very 

 inucli grown out of v ar and taxation ; 

 and, accordingly, t'le first 40 years pro- 

 duced little more tliau the last 15 of the 

 series since 17G0 : the proportion of en- 

 trease being nearly as four to one. 



TIjc langutige of special phadivg in- 

 troduced into our statutes since 1700 

 has also encreascd their bulk. 



I lujidc an experiment on a scetiou of 

 one of i\\c Malt Acts (not more ])rolix 

 than other statutes, in general, within 

 the last 116 years), and fountl it reducc- 

 »hie from 326 to 95 words, being a 

 saving of more than 85 to 1 ; and with 

 great advantage to clearness. If then 

 the obsolete and the bad laws were done 

 away, those which are repealed omitted 

 (except where they illustrate tlioso 

 which continue), we might have a Code, 

 reducing what would remain to simple, 

 clear, precise language, alike valuable 

 for its general excellence, intelligibility, 

 and conciseness — a Code of the ewr/t- 

 ftW written law of .nx cfulurics, com- 

 prised in Mie or two quarto volumes at 

 tLc most. 



Representation, [Oct. !» 



pie the basis, the safer and nobler would 

 be \\\c superstructure. 



A^'henever local conTcnience admits, 

 towns \\\\\c\i at present return members-^ 

 where they are of any considerable size 

 and [)opulation, should give name to the 

 primari/ elective district in which they 

 arc situated. 



Such large unrepresented towns 

 as liceds, iNIancbester, and Sheffield, 

 Avould be entitled to give tjie denomi- 

 nation. 



The present number of members, in- 

 cluding Ireland, is 65B ; on the plan 

 pioposed it would be 700, and Ireland 

 would be brought nearer to its due rela- 

 tive proportion. 



On Ttcform in the Representation, I 

 irould add some few wordn. 



Supi ose the n:hole number of rfiprc- 

 seutativcs for England, Scotland, and 

 Wales, to be 600, this would constitute 

 aOO primari/ elective districts ; and, if 

 there wou!(\ be 1,200,000 voters, that 

 vould be, on an average, 4000 for each 

 primari/ elective district. 



I should not be for subdividing by 

 hundreds for the secondari/ districts, or 

 places of election included under each 

 jirimary. The t-xtent and |)opulation 

 of hundieds is too unequal for this pur- 

 pose ; and, whenever it would admit of 

 going to the place of cleelion, and re- 

 tnniing on the same day, the most ad- 

 viseable division would be into secon- 

 dary districts or departments, containing 

 at least 1000 voters; 2000 would be pre- 

 ferahle, where that number was in- 

 cluded within a convenient space; s7naU 

 elective bodies being dangerous to the 

 spirit of freedom. And, on this idea, 

 each primary district mrght contain two, 

 three, or four, secondary districts, ac- 

 cording to the more scattered or closer 

 j)opulation. On the principle Which I 



tirefer of universal suffrage, there would 

 leat least 1,600,000, if not two rnilhms, 

 of voters; and this would give more than 

 .5000 voters for each elective district in 

 the one case, and more than 6000 in the 

 other ; and, in my opinion, the luorc avi- 



I could sec no Solar Spots on th« 

 15th, 24th, or 2Sth of August, during 

 wiii<h time both sides of the Sun had. 

 su<'cessively come in sight. 



The last Sj)ots Mhich I have seen 

 were nearly oft' the Sun's disc, 09 

 the 5th. Cai'el Lofft. 



Ipswich ; Sept. 3. 



Eruata in my k-iter in your last niim» 

 ber. — In col. iv. Art. 3, as in Nos. i. and 

 II. namely, Poll luj Di.idicls to be begun 

 and ended tliu same day. — Fa^e 99, col. i. 

 line ^0 from tlie bottom, for "provincial" 

 read " luiitcipal." 



To the Editor of the Mofiithly Magazine, 



SIK, 



IN the present unpropitions state of 

 Etuojie, in \\ hieh the ascendency of 

 arbitrary jjower ;uid monkish supersti- 

 tion ajjpears to threaten the very exis- 

 tence of libeftd and independent opi- 

 nions, it is by no means a matter of .sur- 

 prise, that emigration to the United 

 States of America should have become 

 so general, and that too amongst a cl*ss 

 of people, who, though possessed of some 

 property, yet, finding themselves unable 

 to stem tho toi'rent of an overwhelming 

 taxation, are willing to venture their all- 

 across the Atlantic, in search of a new 

 settlement, where their families may, by 

 industry and skill, establish themselves 

 in honorable and easy .stations in society: 

 — To .such as these, the following Ex- 

 tracts from a conuwmication recently re- 

 ceived from the Stale of Ohio, dated 

 March 1816, will be found peculiarly in- 

 teresting. The writer removed with his 

 family to this new erected state in the 

 year 1800; he has minutely observed the. 

 progress of its settlement ; and contri- 

 buted, in DO inconsiderable degree, to its 

 prosperity; I may add, that he is a mau 

 of unquestionable veracity, and of an ex- 

 ceUgnt 



