Parliament Act 1782

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The Parliament Act 1782 (22. Geo. III, c. 41), also known as Crewe's Act, was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of Great Britain passed in 1782. The Act, which was passed by Rockingham's government at the instance of John Crewe, disqualified all officers of the Customs, Excise and Post Office from voting in parliamentary elections. The purpose of this disfranchisement was to end the abuse by which government patronage was used to bribe the voters in rotten boroughs such as Bossiney and New Romney. It failed in practice, however, since the patronage was quickly diverted from the voters themselves to their relatives.

[edit] References

• Edward Porritt and Annie G Porritt. The Unreformed House of Commons. Cambridge University Press, 1903.

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