150 BECORDS AND REMINISCENCES OF GOODWOOD 



upon its own merits, it must be considered one of 

 overwhelming interest, and he therefore little supposed 

 that the opinions of so humble an individual as him- 

 self would have attracted notice on so important an 

 occasion. It had, however, been thought fit to appeal 

 to his protest against the disfranchisement of the 

 ' forty-shilling freeholders,' and an attempt had been 

 made to draw a parallel between that disfranchise- 

 ment and the proposed disfranchisement of the 

 boroughs, for the purpose of fastening upon him a 

 charge of inconsistency in supporting the Eeform Bill. 

 He would not now flinch a tittle from his former 

 statements, or pare down any one of his expressions, 

 with a view to his exculpation. A great measure 

 had been brought forward, disfranchising 180,000 

 freeholders, without any accusation of corruption 

 having ever been brought against them." 



The Duke then went on to justify his protest 

 against "seizing upon and confiscating the indu- 

 bitable rights, privileges, and franchises of unoffend- 

 ing citizens," asking what was the analogy between 

 the case of sixty rotten boroughs and the one re- 

 ferred to. 



« "Were the patrons of boroughs and the nominees of 

 patrons unoff'ending, or were they unheard, and was 

 their case unadvocated ? He would not for a moment 

 admit the special pleading and sophistry by which 

 this question had been attempted to be disguised. 



