Chartism and the Reform Bill. 
513 
picture often served as an inspiration to chartist meetings later 
on. This, then, was the soil in which Chartism grew. 
CHARTISM AND THE REFORM BILL. 
The Chartists were always deeply concerned with the move¬ 
ment toward popular representation in parliament and the en¬ 
franchisement of the masses. Agitation along these lines was 
early begun in England. This movement passed through many 
stages of its evolution before Chartism became an influence in 
it. As early as 1783 a committee, of which Chas. J. Fox was 
chairman, was selected by the electors of Westminster to draw 
up a statement of desired political reforms. This committee, in 
their report, produced a truly noteworthy document. They rec¬ 
ommended annual parliaments, universal suffrage (by this term 
was meant manhood suffrage), equal voting districts, no prop¬ 
erty qualifications for seat in the Commons, voting by ballot, 
and the payment of the members of parliament. This was not only 
progressive for its time but it anticipated the points of the 
" People’s Charter ” from which Chartism was named. In 1792 
there was founded a “ Society of Friends of the People ” which 
was active in pushing the reform bills and which sympathized 
with the wage earning classes in their sufferings. To this so¬ 
ciety belonged Chas. (later Earl) G-rey, James Mackintosh, and 
others equally prominent. 
As a result of distressing economic conditions and political 
appeals to the masses, in connection with the suffrage, a gen¬ 
eral ferment began to work in the lower orders of society. The 
first evidence of this was a general increase in crime. There 
were frequent explosions in factories. The property of em¬ 
ployers was burned and assaults were made upon disliked per¬ 
sons. General depredations became of annoying frequence in 
the manufacturing ^centers of the country. The “ Henry Hunt 
Movement, ” at this time prominent, was characterized by fre¬ 
quent outbreaks of violence. Associations sprang up amongst 
workmen all over England. Their methods were in most cases 
secret and must be admitted to have been frequently unlawful. 
It is known that prices were sometimes set on the head of 
