At the general election of 1830, the Whigs were returned to power and turned their minds to the problem of parliamentary reform. Why should Parliament be reformed?
【正确答案】：There were several reasons:
（1） Power was monopolized by the aristocrats.
In the 18th and 19th centuries the Lords had far more influence than it has today and the Commons were also really “gentry” on edge of aristocracy. Most important ministers were “peers” （aristocrats and bishops of Church）. The Commons were elected only by a very small proportion of the population. The vote was a privilege for a small number of male citizens. No females were allowed to vote in national elections before 1918. Members of Parliament were not paid.
（2） Representation of town and country, and North and South was unfair.
Today the country is split into equal sized units for voting （i.e. each returns 1 member of Parliament）. In the 19th century there were county and borough seats （i.e. rural and urban）. In counties all with property worth 40 shillings per annum could vote and 2 members of Parliament were elected. Borough voting rights varied. The system had not changed since it began, yet location of most population had. Big new cities like Manchester had no seats. Some deserted Southern villages still had two each. The Southwest contributed a quarter of all members of Parliament. It was over represented.
（3） There were also various so-called rotten or pocket boroughs. Rotten boroughs had been busy market towns, and now were deserted, but they could still elect Members of Parliament. In pocket boroughs, elections were not won by political views but by influence.
【题目解析】：参见教材P124、125。
掌握“The Chartist Movement(1836－1848)”知识点。
