It would be superfluous here to repeat the story of the rise of the boroughs, whose gradual acquisition of charters, with privileges and powers of various degrees, has been sufficiently investigated by Hallam.[237] What the Parliament had now to deal with was the way in which the system worked in the nineteenth century; and here it must be confessed that the report of the commissioners, severe as it was, did in no degree exaggerate the prevailing evils.  The corporations had gradually become self-elected oligarchies of the worst kind.  It must be admitted that, in perverting their authority to political purposes, they might plead the excuse that they were but following the example set them by the ministers of William III., who introduced into their bill for restoring the corporations which James II. had suppressed clauses manifestly intended to preserve the ascendency of the Whig party, “by keeping the Church or Tory faction out of"[238] them.  But no such palliation (if, indeed, that had any right to be called a palliation) could be alleged for their abuse of the trusts committed to them; abuse which, if committed by single individuals, would have been branded, and perhaps punished, as malversation and fraud of the deepest dye.  A sufficient specimen of the kind and extent of their misdeeds in one branch of their duties was afforded by a single paragraph of Lord John Russell’s speech, in which he affirmed that, in some of the reports of their management of charitable estates committed to their care, it was proved that “the property, instead of being employed for the general benefit of the town, had been consumed for the partial benefit of a few individuals, and not unfrequently in the feastings and entertainments in which the mayor and other corporators had been in the habit of indulging.  In some not very large boroughs these expenses had amounted to L500 and L600 a year; and the enjoyment had been confined to freemen of only one party.”  And the perpetuity of this mismanagement was in most instances secured by the members of the corporation themselves electing their new colleagues on the occasion of any vacancy.

To put an end to this discreditable state of affairs, the government had prepared a very sweeping scheme of reform, though that it was not too sweeping was proved by the approval with which not only its principle but most of its details were received by the greater part of the Opposition; the leading principle being, to quote the words of the minister in introducing the bill, “that there should be one uniform government instituted, applicable to all; one uniform franchise for the purpose of election; and a like description of officers in each, with the exception of some of the larger places, in which there would be a recorder, or some other such magistrate.  The first thing to be amended was the mode of election to the corporation, which was now to be intrusted to all such rate-payers in each borough as had paid poor-rates for three years, and resided within seven