Author: MUNICIPAL CORPORATION BILL
Title: List of the Majority and Minority, in the Division on Thursday, the 16th of July, 1835, on Mr. Winthrop Praed's Motion to save the Political Rights of the Freemen of England and Wales> Rights solemnly recognised and reserved by the Reform Act.
Description: Roake and Varty, 1835. Broadside, 415 x 520 mm. printed in red and black, chip to top left corner margin. The Municipal Coropration Bill of 1835 sought to extend the reforms gained by the 1832 Reform Act for parliamentary constituencies, to cover municipal administrations. A parliamentary commission of 1835 had found these local institutions to be largely exclusive bodies with no community interest with the town of which they were named and that some operated in almost complete secrecy. The Act established a uniform system of municipal boroughs, to be governed by town councils elected by ratepayers. The reformed boroughs were obliged to publish their financial accounts and were liable to audit. Each borough was to appoint a salaried town clerk and treasurer who were not to be members of the council. The bill extended voting rights to all ratepayers, rather than the £10 qualification for national elections and the Tories saw this as diluting the rights of Freemen of the boroughs, who in many cases had exclusive and preserved rights within their boroughs which were frequently self-perpetuating as Freemen elected Freemen. No locations traced for this separate publication> the speech appears in Hansard [without the "Great laughter" and "Loud and long-continued cheers" etc.].

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