THE FRANCHISE— POTWALLERS 57 



of the ' Potwaller ' still existed, in my own town of 

 Aylesbury that franchise being very highly prized. 

 There is still one voter living (a.d. 1897) who retains 

 the privilege — I refer to Mr. John Webb — who is 

 ninety-six years of age. Such voters were, along 

 with many others, disfranchised by the Reform Bill 

 of 1832, but the then existing ' Potwallers ' were 

 allowed to retain the franchise. This ancient 

 privilege was granted exclusively to certain towns, 

 and it was claimed and used by ' every man who 

 boiled his own pot,' that is, who had a hearth of his 

 own. It often happened that two men occupied one 

 house, but if the tenement was divided so as to admit 

 of each tenant occupying separate rooms, and each 

 was independent of the other, they had the privilege 

 of voting separately at the election of a member for 

 Parliament. It has often puzzled many writers to 

 understand how boroughs of present insignificance 

 that were disfranchised by the Reform Bill of '32 

 ever became entitled to send members to Parlia- 

 ment. They must, even at their establishment, 

 have been comparatively small places, when towns 

 of much greater importance were unrepresented. 

 It must not, however, be inferred that because 

 such towns are now unimportant they were not 

 places of some consequence centuries ago. They 

 generally then represented a distinguished family 

 or personage in the State. But I am not writing in 

 defence of decayed boroughs, or a history of the 

 Parliaments of England. Accept my observations 

 rather as a slight introduction to some remarkable 

 chronicles which I have been personally enabled 



