Author Description

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1837 Excerpt:... APPENDIX, No. L Regulations of the London Corresponding Society. Man, as an individual, is entitled to liberty--it is his birthright. As a member of society, the preservation of that liberty becomes his indispensable duty. When he associated, he gave up certain rights, in order to secure the possession of the remainder. But, he voluntarily yielded up only as much as was necessary for common good:--he still preserved a right of sharing in the government of his country;--without it no man with truth can call himself FREE. Fraud or force, sanctioned by custom, withholds that right from (by far) the greater number of the inhabitants of this country. The few with whom the right of election and representation remains, abuse it; and the strong temptations held out to electors, sufficiently prove that the representatives of this country seldom procure a seat in parliament from the unbought suffrages of a free people. The nation at length perceives it, and testifies an ardent desire for remedying the evil. The only difficulty, therefore, at present, is the ascertaining the true method of proceeding. To this end, different and numerous societies have been formed in various parts of the nation. Several likewise have arisen in the metropolis; and among them (though yet in an infant state), the London Corresponding Society with modesty intrudes itself and opinions on the attention of the public, in the following resolutions: 1. Resolved, That every individual has a right to share in the government of that society of which he is a member--unless incapacitated. a 2. Resolved, That nothing but nonage, privation of reason, or an offence against the general rules of society, can incapacitate him. 3. Resolved, That it is no less the Right than the duty of every citizen, to ke...