Parliament Act 1782
Encyclopedia
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 Customs and Excise
and the 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 borough
s such as Bossiney
and New Romney
. It failed in practice, however, since the patronage was quickly diverted from the voters themselves to their relatives.
It was repealed by the Act 31 & 32 Vict. c.73.
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the Parliament of Great Britain
Parliament of Great Britain
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...
passed in 1782. The Act, which was passed by Rockingham's
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, KG, PC , styled The Hon. Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1733, Viscount Higham between 1733 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750 and The Earl Malton in 1750, was a British Whig statesman, most notable for his two terms as Prime...
government at the instance of John Crewe
John Crewe, 1st Baron Crewe
John Crewe, 1st Baron Crewe , of Crewe Hall in Cheshire, was a British politician. He is chiefly remembered for his sponsorship of Crewe's Act of 1782, which barred customs officers and post office officials from voting....
, disqualified all officers of Customs and Excise
Her Majesty's Customs and Excise
HM Customs and Excise was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government in the UK. It was responsible for the collection of Value added tax , Customs Duties, Excise Duties, and other indirect taxes such as Air Passenger Duty, Climate Change Levy, Insurance Premium Tax, Landfill Tax and...
and the 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 borough
Rotten borough
A "rotten", "decayed" or pocket borough was a parliamentary borough or constituency in the United Kingdom that had a very small electorate and could be used by a patron to gain undue and unrepresentative influence within Parliament....
s such as Bossiney
Bossiney (UK Parliament constituency)
Bossiney was a parliamentary constituency in Cornwall, one of a number of Cornish rotten boroughs, and returned two Members of Parliament to the British House of Commons from 1552 until 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
and New Romney
New Romney (UK Parliament constituency)
New Romney was a parliamentary constituency in Kent, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1371 until 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act....
. It failed in practice, however, since the patronage was quickly diverted from the voters themselves to their relatives.
It was repealed by the Act 31 & 32 Vict. c.73.