County magistrates in Georgian England enjoyed an enviable amount of power. However, their influence was not restricted to the sphere of their county. Instead, Westminster's dependence upon them for the operation of local government, to conduct judicial practise and help create domestic policy, meant that, for good or ill, they potentially had a pivotal role within the workings of the English state and formed a critical link between parliament and government and the English localities. Surprisingly, despite this, magistrates’ individual and collective influence upon the English parliament remains largely uncharted.This article considers the influence magistrates had on parliament 1780–1810 through a case study of the career of one, Sir George Onesiphorus Paul. An examination is made of the impact of magistrates on the creation of legislation and the selection and election of MPs, and through these, their influence upon the activities of parliamentary representatives. It demonstrates the relationship between magistrates and parliament could be a strong and productive one. Magistrates had a significant impact on the creation of legislation. Sometimes their intervention was solicited to effect change, but at other times they initiated the process themselves, and, in so doing, magistrates, like Paul, garnered the support of MPs or even directed their legislative activities. However, there were limitations to the influence of the magistracy as Paul's thwarted broader political ambitions attests.
During the 18th century, back‐bench members of parliament played a critical role in creating social policy. This article provides a case study of the political campaigns of the Lichfield MP, Thomas Gilbert, and his attempts at a comprehensive reform of the poor law in 1765 and 1782. These individual endeavours were energetic, sophisticated, but unallied to a particular agenda or based on Gilbert's original perspectives. Instead, he harnessed the power of local interests and extra‐parliamentary forces, particularly magistrates, through the adept use of print culture in his later campaign to form social policy based on a broad political consensus. A skilled political operator, he used these same methods to help navigate his bills through parliament. To better fit the context, the campaigns were moulded around political expediency and influenced by the development of Gilbert's humanitarian reputation and the burgeoning of the press, parliamentary reporting, and political debate. The political environments of 1765 and 1782 were, therefore, different, and broader trends influenced the two campaigns. This article demonstrates the importance of the press to political campaigning and suggests that to be successful (in social policy at least) a would‐be reformer was required to engage with a developing participatory political culture. However, given Gilbert's approach, the importance of ideology as a basis for social reform in an 18th‐century context is questioned.
This article examines the impact of magistrates on one of the most critical areas of local government, the English welfare system. It does this by employing a micro-political survey of Gloucestershire parishes who implemented one specific welfare reform, Gilbert's Act 1782. It focuses on the interplay between parishes and particular local magistrates to illuminate the diverse impact justices had on welfare practice. This approach shows how the input of magistrates was highly variable and individualized. Magisterial intervention did not ensure strict compliance to statute, but rather application of relief reflected their 'discretion' in the implementation of the poor law, where they deigned to participate with it. By demonstrating magisterial influence was strategically and operationally applied, this article also suggests that the impact of justices was more pervasive than previously acknowledged and highlights the need for further research to reappraise understanding of the justices' role in Georgian society.
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