Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/188

172 between the two extremes. Only uch are entirely excluded, as can have no will of their own: there is hardly a free agent to be found, but what is entitled to a vote in ome place or other in the kingdom. Nor is comparative wealth, or property, entirely diregarded in elections; for though the richet man has only one vote at one place, yet, if his property be at all diffued, he has probably a right to vote at more places than one, and therefore has many repreentatives. This is the pirit of our contitution: not that I aert it is in fact quite o perfect as I have here endeavoured to decribe it; for, if any alteration might be wihed or uggeted in the preent frame of parliaments, it hould be in favour of a more complete repreentation of the people.

to return to our qualifications; and firt thoe of electors for knights of the hire. 1. By tatute 8 Hen. VI. c. 7. and 10 Hen. VI. c. 2. the knights of the hires hall be choen of people dwelling in the ame counties; whereof every man hall have freehold to the value of forty hillings by the year within the county; which by ubequent tatutes is to be clear of all charges and deductions, except parliamentary and parochial taxes. The knights of hires are the repreentatives of the landholders, or landed interet, of the kingdom: their electors mut therefore have etates in lands or tenements, within the county repreented: thee etates mut be freehold, that is, for term of life at leat; becaue beneficial leaes for long terms of years were not in ue at the making of thee tatutes, and copyholders were then little better than villeins, abolutely dependent upon their lord: this freehold mut be of forty hillings annual value; becaue that um would then, with proper indutry, furnih all the necearies of life, and render the freeholder, if he pleaed, an independent man. For bihop Fleetwood, in his chronicon precioum written about ixty years ince, has fully proved forty hillings in the reign of Henry VI to have been equal to twelve pounds per annum in the reign of queen Anne; and, as the value of money is very coniderably lowered ince the bihop wrote, I think we may fairly conclude, from this and other circumtances, that