And it is the more necessary to put the case in a clear and true light,
because at the present day there is an evident disposition on the part
of constituencies to avail themselves of Peel's conduct in this instance
as a precedent, in spite of his protest against its being so regarded,
and to fetter their representatives with precise instructions; and a
corresponding willingness on the part of candidates to purchase support
at elections by a submissive giving of pledges on a variety of subjects,
so numerous as to leave themselves no freedom of judgment at all. On the
great majority of subjects which come before Parliament, a member of
Parliament, if he be a sensible and an honest man, has a far better
opportunity of obtaining correct information and forming a sound opinion
than can be within reach of any constituency, whose proneness to
misjudge is usually in exact proportion to the magnitude of its numbers.
Every elector justifiably may, and naturally will, seek to ascertain
that between the candidate whom he supports and himself there is a
general conformity of opinion; an absolute identity he will never find,
and he has no right to ask.[215]
Notes:
[Footnote 182: L118,776,000. Alison, c. lxxvi.]
[Footnote 183: See Lord Malmesbury's account of their first
interview.
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