Contents.


Numérisation et relecture des OCR réalisées par la Bibliothèque Cujas

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS DEMOCRACY

Introduction 1

The Franchise before the Reform Bill of 1832 and the Control of Parliament by the Aristocracy 3

The Theory of Representative Government held by the Aristocracy 9

The Whig View of Reform 15

The Criticism of the Aristocracy by the Middle-class Reformers 21

Early Democratic Theories 27

The Middle-class View of Reform 33

CHAPTER II

THE FURTHER TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY

The Reform Bill of 1832 40

Its Effect on the Power of the Aristocracy 41

The Responsibility of the Aristocracy for the Disturbance of the Settlement of 1832 47

The Theory of Representative Government held by the Aristocracy after 1832 55

Its Instability 58

The further Extension of the Franchise after 1832 60

Representation of Minorities 69

Redistribution of Seats 72

The Bribery Laws and the Ballot Act 75

The Conversion of the Representative into a Delegate 77

The Revolution in Local Government 86

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[CHAPTER III

THE HOUSE OF LORDS

The Change in the Relation of the Lords to the Commons 98

The Conflicts of the Lords with the Commons 100

The Key to the Policy of the Lords 105

The Lords and the Extension of the Suffrage 108

The Lords and the Universities 113

The Lords and Jewish Disabilities 115

The Lords and the Irish Church 115

The Lords and Property 118

CHAPTER IV

THE INTERPRETATION OF DEMOCRACY BY THE WORKING-CLASS

The General Character of the Political Movement in the Working-class 125

Early Socialism 126

Robert Owen's Agitation 134

Chartism 139

The Period of Individualism 146

The Recrudescence of Socialism 150

CHAPTER V

THE PRESENT SITUATION

The Bearing on the Theory of Democracy of the Political Division into the Rich and the Poor 160

The House of Commons and the Actual Situation 162

The House of Commons and the Will of the People 169

The Referendum 172

The Question of a Second Chamber 175

The House of Commons and the Empire 178