His friends
knew him to be a free-hearted, impulsive sympathizer with all who were
oppressed, and they entertained no doubt of his sincere wish to bring
about parliamentary reform, complete religious toleration, and the
abolition of the slave trade. But strangers could not easily reconcile
his private life with his public words, and were antagonized by his
frequent lack of political tact.
[Sidenote: The Program of Reform]
Despite drawbacks Fox furthered the cause of reform to a considerable
extent. He it was who presided over a great mass meeting, held under
the auspices of a reform club, at which meeting was drawn up a program
of liberal reform, a program which was to be the battle-cry of British
political radicals for several generations. It comprised six demands:
(1) Votes for all adult males, (2) each district to have representation
proportionate to its population, (3) payment of the members of
Parliament so as to enable poor men to accept election, (4) abolition
of the property qualifications for members of Parliament, (5) adoption
of the secret ballot, and (6) Parliaments to be elected annually.
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