PARLIAMENT. 619 
All difputes about the right of voting would thus lie re¬ 
moved; every man would be known and recognifed in 
bis own hundred. All expenfe of carrying electors from 
one end of the kingdom to another would be prevented ; 
and all the confuiion, tumult, and riot, attending the 
prefent mode of eleftion, would be avoided. No indi¬ 
vidual at prelent poffeffing the right of voting would be 
difqualified ; and every-man having a claim to that pri¬ 
vilege would be reftored to it.” 
Thus far Mr. Oldfield as to the eleftive franchife. Next 
as to the duration of parliament. And here, we believe, 
it mud be conceded to the radical reformers, that annual 
parliaments was the ancient praftice ; i. e. that every par¬ 
liament, in very early times, was a new parliament; for 
it no-where appears that prorogations or long adjourn¬ 
ments were in ufe in thofe days. In a letter of kin.g-.Ed- 
ward I. to the pope, there is a teftimony to the practice 
of parliament meeting twice in a year, which is well wor¬ 
thy of our obferv-ation. It relates to a yearly tribute of 
jooo marks, which the popes, from the time of king John, 
exacted, and of which there were at this time lome arrears. 
The king's excufe to the nuncio was, that from the pref- 
fure of bufinefs, and his own licknefs, he had not come 
to any refolution in his parliament which he had accuf- 
tomed to hold at Ealler ; but, by common advice, he 
would give him an anfwer in his Michaelmas Parliament; 
thus fpeaking of them both as cultomary. “ Know for 
certain, pious Father and Lord, that in our other parlia¬ 
ment, which we defign to hold at the next feaft of St. 
Michael, with God’s permifiion, we and the prelates and 
peers aforefaid, in council had thereon, will, by their ad¬ 
vice, give you an anfwer on the premifes.” (See Ciaufe 
Rolls, 3 Ed. I. m. 9. Scedula. Prynne, p. 158 ) This 
record is a complete proof that there were two parliaments 
in that year. 
Th.e fitting of parliaments w'as ufually 40 days, fo low 
as king Richard II. and, if they were longer detained, 
the fubjeft of the wages of the knights and burgeffes 
came into difpute ; and Knyghton, p. 2682, has prefer- 
ved a memorable record of this faft : Dicunt ctiam , &c. 
“ In fliort, they fay, that they have an ancient llatute, 
whereby, if the king wilfully abfent himfelf from his 
parliament, not having any infirmity or other caufe of 
neceffity, but per immorleratamvoluntatem proterve, See. 40 
days, and not caring for the vexation of his people and 
their heavy expenfe, it (hall then be lawful for them all 
to withdraw from the domigerio regis, and return to their 
own homes.” 
1 Rd. II. Petition was made, That a parliament may 
be yearly holden in convenient place, to redrefs delays in 
fuits, and to end fuch cafes as the judges doubt of. To 
which the king’s anfwer 'was, “ It (hall be as it hath been 
ufed.” And in 2 Rd. II. the reafon for opening the 
parliament was (fated to be, “ for that it was enacted that- 
a parliament fhould yearly be held.” 
This law remained for a fpace of 262 years, till 16 Car. 
I. when that king, having difeontinueri parliaments for 
12 years, the nation found a neceffity of having a caution¬ 
ary parliament every third year, to fecure their annual 
parliaments for the two years immediately foregoing. 
This is (aid to be the true reafon of the aft of 1640. This 
aft was afterwards repealed by 16 Car. II. c. 1. which 
after having enafted, in § 2, the repeal, it proceeds, § 
3, to declare the law to be, that becaufe by the ancient 
laws and flatutes of this realm “ parliaments are to be 
held very often,” that hereafter the fitting and holding 
of parliaments (hall not be intermitted or difeontinued 
above three years at the molt ;.but that within three years 
from the determination of that parliament, and fo from 
time to time within three years after the determination of 
any other parliament, or, if there be occafion, more 
often, the king and his fucceffors fhould iflue writs for 
calling, affernbling, and holding, another parliament ; to 
the end there may be a frequent calling, &c. once in three 
years at the leaft. 
Thus the parliamentary law continued until 1694, 6 
Will, and Mary, c. 2. when it was further declared, that 
no parliament whatfoever that fhould at any time then- 
after be called, See. fhould have any continuance longer 
than for three years only at the fartheft from the day of 
meeting fpecified in the fummons ; and that that parlia¬ 
ment fhould ceafeon 1 Nov. 1696, unlefs fooner diifolved. 
There w'as a diffolution, and a new parliament began on 
22d of November, 1695, at Weftminlter. And by an aft 
in 1696, c. 25, for regulating eleftions, the qualification 
of voters is, freehold lands or hereditaments of the yearly 
value of 40s. 
_ The period of parliaments having thus crept on, con¬ 
tinued 21 years upon the laft llatute, when in 1716, 
1 Geo. I. it was further extended, ch. 38, to a term of 
feven years, not only for that but for all future parlia¬ 
ments, unlefs fooner diffolved. It is dated in the pre¬ 
amble, “ that it had been found by experience that the 
triennial aft had proved very grievous and burdenfome, 
by occafioning much greater and more continued ex- 
penfes in order to eleftions, and more violent and lading 
heats and animofi-ies amongd the fubjefts of the realm, 
than were ever known before; and that the provifion, if 
it fhould continue, might probably at that juncture, 
when a redlefs and popifh faftion were defigning and en¬ 
deavouring to renew the rebellion within the kingdom, 
and an invafion from abroad, be dedruftive to the peace 
and fecurity of the government.” This bill originated 
with the duke of Devonfhire in the honfe of lords, and 
w'as much oppofed by the earls of Nottingham, Abingdon, 
and Pauler, on the grounds that frequent parliaments 
were required by the fundamental conditution of the 
kingdom, afeertained in the praftice of many ages ; and 
that the members of the lower houfe were chofen by the 
body of the nation for a certain term of years, at the ex¬ 
piration of which they could be no longer reprefentatives 
of the people, who, by the parliament’s protrafting its 
own authority, would be deprived of the only remedy 
which they had again ft thofe who, through ignorance or 
corruption, betrayed the trull repofed in them ; and that 
a long parliament would yield a greater temptation, as 
well as a better opportunity, to a vicious miniflry, to cor¬ 
rupt the members, than they could poffibiy have when 
the parliaments were fliort and frequent. The bill puffed 
in the upper houfe by a majority of 35, there being 96 in 
the affirmative, and 61 in the negative; and 30 lords en¬ 
tered aflrong proteft againll it. In the houfe of commons, 
it encountered great oppclition from Mr. Shippen and fir 
Robert (afterwards lord-chief-juftice) Raymond, who 
declared that, “ would the king ellabliffi his throne in the 
hearts of his fubjefts, the molt lure and effeftual way 
would be by frequent appeals to the people. A (landing 
parliament and a Handing army are convertible and fit in- 
flruments to fupport each other’s power.” Zeal and abi¬ 
lity, however, were unavailing; and the feptennial biil 
palled by 2C4 votes againll 121. 
From thefe teflimonies it appears, that annual parlia¬ 
ments, and fometimes two parliaments within the year, 
were the cultom of the realm ; but that the legiflature 
afterwards thought fit to extend their duration to three 
years ; and the fame high authority in later times further 
extended them to (even years. Various efforts have fince 
been made to repeal this aft. Thefirll in 1734, when the 
eloquence of fir William Wyndham was confpicuous ; 
the fecon-d in 1742, and the third in 1745, when very vi¬ 
gorous efforts to that effeft were made by Mr. Carevv and 
Mr. Sydenham. The former argued, that “.the interells 
of the prince and people cannot really and truly differ; 
he can be gr'eat only in their greatnefs, and profperous in 
their profperity.” The latter obferved, “It is to the 
fatal introduftion of long parliaments, that we are to af- 
cribe the extenfion of miniflerial corruption, and the de¬ 
terioration of public morals. Nothing can fo effeftually 
remove this as the refloration of annual parliaments. 
They will demolifh the market of corruption, for minif- 
4 ter* 
