Note 472 — Chapter XLI

England, like the continental countries, has gradually, during the nineteenth century, conceded the right to vote to almost all adult males. Before 1832 a great part of the members of the House of Commons were chosen, not by the voters at large but by a few individuals, who controlled the so-called "rotten boroughs." These boroughs had once been important enough to be asked by the king to send representatives to Parliament, but had sunk into insignificance, or even disappeared altogether. Meanwhile great manufacturing cities like Birmingham, Manchester, and Sheffield had grown up, and as there had been no redistribution of representatives after the time of Charles II, these large cities were unrepresented in Parliament. This evil was partially remedied by the famous Reform Act of 1832. At the same time the amount of property which one must hold in order to be permitted to vote was reduced. In 1867 almost all of the workingmen of the cities were granted the franchise by permitting those to vote who rented a lodging costing at least fifty dollars a year. This doubled the number of voters. In 1885 the same privilege was granted to the country people.