1 823.] Bkknell on Purity of Election 



name, is now scarooJy known. A 



similar remedy, he conceives, may be 



applied, to prevent corruption and 



bribery at parliamentary elections. 



'I'lie author proposes, therefore, a 



legislative enactment, binding every 



candidate for a seat in parliament to 



take tlie following oath, previously to 



the commencement of polling : 



"I do swear that I have not, by myself, 

 or by any agent or other person or persons 

 whatsoever authorized by me, given or 

 bargained, promised or agreed to give, to 

 any person or persons whatsoever, any sum 

 or sums of money or pecuniary advantage, 

 compensation or remuneration, for the 

 purpose of obtaining, or procuring, or 

 receiving, any vote or voles for tlie elec- 

 tion for this borough, and that I am not 

 party or privy to any such gift or promise. 

 And I do swear that I will not, during 

 this election, either by myself, or any 

 agent or other person authorized by me, 

 give, or cause to be given, or promise to 

 give, any sum or sums of money, or other 

 compensation or remuneration whatsoever, 

 for the purpose of obtaining, or procuring, 

 or receiving, any vote as aforesaid. And 

 that I will not repay any sum or sums of 

 money, or make good any engagement, 

 agreement, or undertaking, given or en- 

 tered into by any peison or persons what- 

 soever, for the said purposes, or any of 

 them; nor will I ratify or confirm any such 

 agreement, engagement, or undertaking. 

 " So help me God." 

 All votes given previously to the 

 administration of this oalh to be de- 

 clared null and void. 



He proposes, also, that the success- 

 ful candidate, previously to the return 

 being made by the returning oificer, 

 shall take and subscribe an oath, 

 couched in nearly the same terras as 

 the preceding one, solemnly declaring 

 that he had not, either directly or 

 otherwise, violated the engagements to 

 which, by that oath, he bound himself 

 to adhere. The returning officer, who 

 shall neglect to administer the oaths, 

 to be punished with fine or impri- 

 sonment. 



To ensure the due observance of 

 these oaths, he proposes an enact- 

 ment, — 



'^ That if any person or persons having 

 taken the said oaths, or either of them, 

 iiliall act contrary to the said oaths pr 

 either of them, or any part of the said 

 oaths or either of them, and shall be con- 

 victed in any of his Majesty's courts at 

 Westminster, or at any assizes to be holden 

 in the county wli«rc such oath or oaths 

 shall have been taken, by the evidence of 

 two or more crcdiblt witnesses, of falsely 

 swearing in any maticf or thing in the said 



101 



oaths or either of them contained, the per* 

 son so convicted shall be adjudged to be 

 fjuilty of wilful and corrupt perjury, and 

 shall sutfer the punishment for the said 

 crime of perjury ; and the person so con- 

 victed shall, upon such conviction, forfeit 

 and lose his seat in the Commons House of 

 Parliament." 



The measure here proposed, if not a 

 complete corrective of the evil, would 

 serve to reduce it to comparative in- 

 significance. The sanctity of an oath, 

 the facility of detection, with the 

 penalty annexed to legal conviction ; 

 to which may be added, the conscious- 

 ness of the candidate, that, if be vio- 

 lated his oath, he would be at the 

 mercy of his adversaries, who might 

 accept a bribe in order to betray him, 

 would operate as a powerful, if not 

 irresistible, restraint from attempting 

 to influence the votes of electors. 

 The plan proposed, if it would not 

 correct the inequality of our repre- 

 sentation, would at least expel the 

 bane of corruption ; and this, surely, 

 would be no common benefit, both to 

 the community and the constitution. 

 Its great recommendation is, that it 

 disturbs no private rights, invades no 

 private property, requires no compen- 

 sation for lost patronage, and presses 

 peculiarly on no party. This is not 

 all. It could hardly fail to lead, ulti- 

 mately, to a just and constitutional 

 reform in parliament. The suggestion 

 appears to be at once judicious and 

 practicable, no complex machinery 

 being required to carry it into effect, 

 while the supreme importance of the 

 object forcibly recommends it to the 

 serious attention of our legislative 

 authorities. The letter is neatly writ- 

 ton, its principles arc friendly to 

 liberty, and the motives of its author 

 entitled to commendation. 



For the Monthly Magazine. 



SOME ACCOUNT of the SYSTEM of GYM- 

 NASTIC EXERCISES which has been 



INTRODUCED into VARIOUS PUBLIC 

 INSTITUTIONS for EDUCATION UpOn the 



CONTINENT ; by M. CLIAS, Profe.isor 

 of Gymnastics, 



M. Clias is a native of Berne in 

 Switzerland ; and, at an early 

 period of life, had the command of a 

 detachment of light artillery, to defend 

 his country against the inroads of re- 

 volutionary France. Being stationed 

 in the mountains of Obcrland, where 

 their immediate service was not re- 

 quired, he turned his attention to- 

 wards 



