A BILL TO AMEND THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE' IN
ENGLAND AND WALES.
[Note—The words printed in Italics are proposed to be inserted in the Committee.).
- PREAMBLE.
Whereas it is expedient to take effectual measures for correcting divers abnsP.-sr that have long prevailed in the choke of members to serve in the Commons Roan' of Parliament, to diminish the expense of elections, to deprive ninny inconsitier- places of the right of returning members, to grant such privilege to large, populous, and wealthy towns, to increase the number of knights of the shire, and to extesrie the elective franchise to many of his Majesty's, subjects who have not heretofore enjoyed the same :—
1. BOROUGHS TO BE DISFRANCHISED.
Be it enacted, by the King's most excellent Majesty, by and with the adaice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in. this- present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same. the t the boroughs- enumerated in schedule (A.) to this act annexed, shall cease, after the end of that. present Parliament, to return members to serve in Parliament, and tint no writ precept shall shall be issued or sent to any ot the said boroughs tneetims!uerobers..2. serve in any future Parliament.
SCHEDULE (A.) DorOughe • Courtin& Boroughs. Courtin&
Aldborough Yorkshire Malmesbury.. 'Wiltshire Aldeburgh ....Suffolk Micillurst Sussex Appleby . ;Westmoreland Milborne Port .....Somersetshire Bedwin, Great... ..Wilts Minehead ditto Berealston Devonshire Newport . Cornwall Bishop's Castle Salop Newton .. ..... .. Lancashire Bletchingly Surry Newtown .........Isle of Wight Boroughbridge Yorkshire Okehampton Devonshire, Bossiney ,i ..... ....Corinvall Orford Suffolk Brackley Northampton Petersfield Rants Bramber Sussex Plympton .........Devonshir Buckingham Bucks Queenborough . Kent Callington. Cornwall Reigate Surry
Camelford ditto Romney, New Kent Castle Rising Norfolk St. Ili a we's Cornwall'
Corfe Castle Dorsetshire St. Michael's ditto Dunwich. ..... ... Suffolk Saltash........ ditto Eye.. . ditto Sarum (Old) Wilts
Fowey ............Cornwall Seaford Sussex
Gatton . . . ..Surry Stey ning ditto Haslemere .. ...... ditto Stockbridge Hants Heydon Yorkshire Tregony Cornwall Heytesbury Wilts Wareham Dorsetshire
II igham Ferrers ...Northampton Wendover Bucks
Hindon Wilts Weobley . .Nerefo rdshire.- Ilchester .... .....Somersetshire Whitchurch Hants Looe (East) ..... .. Cornwall Winchelsea Sussex. Lone (West) ditto Woodstock Oxfordshire Lostwithiel ... ditto Wootton Bassett ..Wilts Ludgershall .......Wilts Yarmouth ..... ....Isle of Wight
2. BOROUGHS TO RETURN ONLY ONE ME.MBER.
And belt enacted that the boroughs enumerated in schedule (B.) to fink tri', annexed, shall, after the end of this present Parliament, return one member. &sail no more, to serve in Parliament for each of the said boroughs.
ScasauLa (B.)
Borough& Courtfies. Boroughs. Courtin.,
Amersham... ...... Bucks Lymington Kampshire Arundel Sussex Maldon Essex Ashburton Devon Marlborough Wilts Bodmin Cornwall Marlow, Great Bucks
Bridport Dorsetshire Illorpeth Northumberland':
Chippenham Wiltshire Northallerton York Clitheroe Lancashire Penryn Cornwall Cockermouth Cumberland Richmond York
Dorchester Dorsetshire Rye Sussex
Downton .Wiitshire Si. Germain's......Cornwall Droitwich ...... ...Worcestershire St. lye's ditto Evesham ditto Sandwich Kent Grimsby, Great ....Lincolnshire Shaftesbury .. Dorsetshire Grinstead, East ....Sussex Sudbury Suffolk
Guildford Surry Tam worth Stafford & WansErsiER
Ralston Cornwall Thetford Norfolk Moulton Devonshire Thirsk York Huntingdon Huntingdon Totness Devonshire Hythe Kent . Truro Cornwall Launceston Cornwall Wallingford Berkshire' Leominster Herefordshire Westbury Wilts Liskeard Cornwall Wilton ditto Lyme Regis Dorsetshire Wycombe,. Bucks
3. TOWNS NOW UNREPRESENTED TO SEND MEMBERS.
And be it enacted, that after the end of this present Parliament, the-towns enstA- merated and described in schedule (C.) to this act annexed, shall each. retambittso
members to serve in Parliament ; and that the towns enumerated in schedule (D.) to this act annexed, shall each return one member to serve in Parliament.
Scetsrints (C.) Pram. Parish or Township. Returning Officer.
Manchester Township of Manchester The 13oroughreeve of — Salford Manchester. Townships of Charlton Row,
Redwicke,
Beswick, - Hulme, - Cheetham, and ...as- Pendleton, Lancashire. Birmingham.... Parishes of St. Philip and St. Mary, in The Two Bailiffs of the Birmingham. Town of Birmingham.
— Aston, Warwickshire.
Leeds The Borough and Liberty of Leeds, York- The Mayor of Leeds. shire.
Balhfai Parish of Halifax, Yorkshire, Ometturich Parishes of Greenwich, — St. Nicholas and St. Paul, Deptford ; — Woolwich, Kent.
Sheffield...... Townships of Sheffield The Master Cutler.
- Eccleshall, Brightside, s— Nether Radom, — Upper Hallam,
- Attercliffe, Yorkshire.
Sunderland I Parishes of Sunderlaud,
— Bisbopwearmouth, and — Monkswearmoqth, Durham.
Devonport The Town of Devonport. Parish of Stoke Damerel, and Township of Stonehouse, Devon. Wolverhampton Parishes of Wolverhampton, Constable of the Manor
— Bilston, and of the Deanery of - Sedgley, Staffordshire. Wolverhampton. Tower Hamlets. Parishes of the Tower Division, Ossulston Hundred, Middlesex.
Pi zu3bury Parishes of the Finsbury Division, Ossul-
ston Hundred, Middlesex. St. Andrew Holborn, and St.
George the Martyr, Saffron Hill, Hatton Garden, Ely Rents, St. Giles-in-the-Fields, and St. George, Bloomsbury, Mid- dlesex.
Marylehone Parishes of St. llIarylebone,
— St. Pancras, and — Paddington, Middlesex. Parishes of St. Mary, Lambeth, — St. Mary, Newington, — Bermondsey, - Rotherhithe, Surry. SCHEDULE (D.)
.Tiorough. Parish or Township, Returning Officer.
Iihighthelmstone Parish of Brighthelmstone, Sussex The Constable Bolton-le-Moor •Townshipsof Great and Little Bolton, Lancashire The Constables Blackburn Parish of Blackburn, Lancashire • •••• Bradford .•• ... Parish of Bradford, Yorkshire Cheltenham ....Town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire Dudley Parishes of St. Edmund and St. Thomas, Dudley, Worcestershire
?tome Town of Frame, Somersetshire Constables of the
Manor Gateshead Parish of Gateshead, Durham Iluddersfield....Parish of Huddersfield, Yorkshire Kidderminster ..Town of Kidderminster, Worcestershire Bailiff Benda! .. Town of Kendal, Westmoreland .. Mayor Macclesfield ....Town of Macclesfield, Cheshire Mayor Stockport Town of Stockport, Lancashire High Constable Bouth Shields...The To wn of South Shields, Township of Westoe, county of Durham Tynemonth Parish of Tynemouth, Township of North Shields, Northumberland ..
Warrington Town of Warrington, Lancashire .
Whitehaven Town of Whitehaven, Town and Parish of Work- ington' Parish of Harrington, Cumberland 'Walsall Borough aud Foreign of Walsall Mayor 4. WEYMOUTH AND mELcomBE REGIS TO SEND ONLY TWO alE3IBB1tS. And be it enacted, that the towns of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis shall, for the purposes of this act, be taken as one town, and shall, after the end of this present Parliament, return only two members to serve in Parliament.
S. PLACES ADDED TO THE BOROUGHS OF PORTS3I0UTH, ROCHESTER, AND iluLL.
And be it enacted,that each of the towns of Portsmouth, Rochester, and Kingston- upon-Hull, shall, after the end of this present Parliament, return two members to serve in Parliament, jointly with the other places respectively, as described in schedule (E.) to this act annexed.
SCHEDULE ( E.)
••••■••• .11,1■%.
1•11/1.11111.
Cities and Boroughs. Places Annexed.
Portsmouth Portsea, County of Southampton.
Rochester Chatham and Stroud, Kent.
Kingston-upon-Hull Sculcoates, Yorkshire.
S. WELSH TOWNS ADDED TO OTHER SHIRE TOWNS OR BOROUGHS.
And be it enacted, that after the end of this present Parliament, eaelt of the places named in schedule (F.) to this act annexed, shall have a share in the election of burgesses to serve in Parliament, for the shire, town, or borough towhich such place Is annexed in the said schedule (F.) ; and that every person having the right of voting in any of the said places previously to the passing of this act, or acquiring such right•by virtue of this act, shall and may give his vote in respect thereof at the place in which he resides, before the mayor or other chief officer of the place, who shall transmit the poll taken before him to the returning officer of the shire, town, or borough, to which such place may be joined for the purposes of election.
SCHEDULE ( F.)
Holyhead Beaumaris Anglesey. Aberysttvith
Lampeter, and. Cardigan Cardigan. Adpar LlanellY Caermarthen .Caermarthen.
Pwllhell .
Newin Carnarvon. Carnarvon . Conway Bangor Ruthin Holt Wrexham .... Denbigh.
Rhyddlan
Overton ..............
Canada ..... .• • • • Flint Flint. Caergonly Holywell
Places sharing in the County in which such Election of Burgesses. Boroughs aro Situated. Shire, Torrn,or Principal Borough,
...........
. Llandaff Cowbridge Merthyr Tyclvil Cardiff Gin:outgun. Aberdare .....
Llantrisseut.
Llanidloes Welsh Pool Alachynleth ....... . Montgomery ........Montgomery.
Llanfylli ng Newtown Narberth St. David's Fisliguand
Milford Haven tgboly:ti 0. u
Ryaclor . Kevinleece ... . . Radnor Knuckles . . Radnor.
Presteigne
7. CalCeifiTII NOT TO VOTE FOR CARNARVON.
And be it enacted, that no person shall, after the end of this present Parliament; have the right of voting the election of members to serve for the town of Camara von, in respect of any supposed right of voting in the place called Criccieth.
8. SWANSEA, Win! CONTRIBUTORY TOWNS, To RETURN ONE MEMBER.
And be it enacted, that the towns of Swansea, Laugharne, Neatli, Aberaven, and Ken Fig, shall, after the end of this present Parliament, for the purposes of this act. be taken as one borough, and shall return one ieember to serve in Parliament; and no person, by reason of any right accruing in any of the places last named, shall have: any vote in the election of members for the borough of Cardiff ; and that the votee shall in such elections be taken at the town or place within which the persons bay- ing the right of voting shall severally reside, by the mayor or other municipal officer of such town or place, who shall transmit the poll taken before him to the portreevn of Swansea, who shall bathe returning officer for the said borough.
9. RETURNING OFFICERS.
And be it enacted, that the persons described in the column of the said several schedules (C.) (D.) and (E.) shall be the persons to whom all writs and precepts shall, after the end of this present Parliament, bedirected, and shall be the returning officers for the elections of members to serve in Parliament for the said towns and places.
10. VOTERS IN BOROUGHS NOT TO VOTE FOR KNIGHTS 01 THE SHIRE.
And he it enacted, that no person shall be entitled to vote at the election of a knight of the shire to serve in any future Parliament, in respect of any house, by reason of the occupation whereof he or any other person shall be entitled to vote for any city or borough.
11. QUALIFICATION OF VOTERS FOR COUNTIES.
And be it enacted, that from and after the end of this present Parliament, every male person of full age, and not subject to any legal incapacity, seised of and in any lands or tenements for an estate for life, or for any larger estate of at least the yearly value of ten pounds, above reprises, holden by a copy of court roll of the lord or lady of any manor, or by any customary tenure, and every person holding lands or tenements by lease fur any term not less than years, whereon a yearly rent of not less than _fifty pounds shall be reserved, shall have a right to vote in the elec- tion of knights of the shire in all future Parliaments ; provided that no leaseholder shall enjoy such right by virtue of any lease renewable every year, or which shall have been renewed within two years preceding the registrbtion to be made in man- ner hereinafter directed : provided always, that nothing herein contained shall take away or in any manner affect the right of voting for knights of the shire, at pre- sent enjoyed by any person, and which may hereafter accrue to any person, according to the laws now in force, in respect of freehold property, rent. charges, annuities, or any other right of voting new by law enjoyed in relation to the electioa of knights of the shire.
12. VOTERS IN CITIES, AND TOWNS BEING COUNTIES IN THEMSELVES, TO VOTE IN ADJOINING COUNTIES.
And be it enacted, that after the end of this present Parliament, every person owning or holding any lands or tenements, situate within cities or towns, being counties of themselvea, described in schedule (G.) to this act annexed (which lands or tenements would, if situated in a county not being a city or town which is a county of itself, entitle the owner or holder thereof to vote), shall be entitled to vote at any election for the knights of the shire named in the said schedule (G.) respectively.
• SCHEDULE (G.)
Counties for which the Freeholders, Cogyholders
Counties of Cities or Tonne. and Leaseholder, ,,aeto Vole.
Bristol Somerset Canterbury . ...... Kent Chester Cheshire Coventry Warwick Exeter Devon Gloucester Gloucestershire
Kingston-upon-Hull •.(....Yorkshire, East Riding
Lichfield ...Staffordshire Newcastle-upon-Tyne ... Northumberland
NNootttni•nicsh Norfolk h.an..l.. . IN,00rtit
Southampton ighamshire
Poole.
nouthampton Worcester ...Worcestershire York Yorkshire, Noi th Riding
13. THIRTY DAYS' POSSESSION OF LAND, &C. BEFORE REGISTRATION
REQUIRED.
Provided, also, and be it hereby enacted, that no person shall vote for any member, to serve in any future Parliament, in respect of the ownership or possession of any lands or tenements, unless he shall have been seised or possessed thereof for the space of airty days at least before the registration (to be made in manlier herein-. after directed) last before tile election at which he shall claim to vote.
14. COUNTIES TO BE DIVIDED AND RETURN TWO ADDITIONAL MEMBERS. And belt enacted, that each of the counties enumerated in schednle (11.) to this act annexed, to be divided iu manner hereinafter particularly directed, shall in like manner choose and return four knights of the shire instead of two, to serve in all future Parliaments for the same resepnescpTiE tiveLly.
SCHEDULE (H.)
Counties to return each Four Nernters.
Chester Gloucester Northampton • Suffolk
Nottingham . Derby Cornwall
d. Relit SSoami°Perset Warwick Su.irirtsy
Cumberlan Sussex Leicester Lancaster Southampton m Worcester
DDITr.hoam Northumberland Stafford
n Norfolk Essex
IS. YORKSHIRE TO RETURN SIX MEMBERS.
And be it enacted, that in all future Parliaments there shall be six knights of the shire instead of four, to serve for the county of York ; that is to say, two members for each of the three ridings of the said county, to be elected in such manner and by the same classes and descriptions of voters, and in respect of the same several rights of voting, as if each of the three ridings were a county of itself.
16. ralvcomusaras TO 'trauma YOUR MEMBERS.
And he it enacted, that in all future Parliaments these shall be/our knights of the shire instead of two, to serve for the county of Lincoln ; that is to say, two for the parts of Lindsey, in the said county, and two for the parts of Holland and the parts of Kesteven in the same county; and that such four members shall be chosen in the same manner and by the same classes and descriptions of voters, and in respect of the allIne several rights of voting, as if the said parts Of Lindsey were a separate Illaverfordwest... Pembroke
Pembroke.
Pembroke. 26. HOW TO PROCEED IN EXPUNGING AND RETURNING NAMES.
And be it enacted, that the said returning officer shall have full power, and he is hereby required to retain on the said list all names to which no valid objection shall be made and proved by evidence, and to insert in such list the name of every male person of full age, not subject to any legal incapacity. who shall appear to have been residing for sir months at least within such city or borough, or such annexed parish or township, and to have either been in the occupation of such house as aforesaid, for six months at the least before the Monday on which the said returning officer shall commence hissittings, or to be entitled in some other right, hereby saved, or not hereby affected, to vote at the election of members of Parliament to serve for such city or borough ; and shall expunge from the said list the name of every person who shall be proved to be a minor under the age ef twenty-one years, or incapaci- tated by any law or statute from voting for members to serve in Parliament, and of every person who shall be proved not to have been for the time aforesaid the occu- pier of such house as aforesaid, or not to have mate good the payment of all rates, rents, and taxes, or who shall not prove himself entitled in some other right to vote in the election of members to serve for such city or borough : provided that no per- son's name shall be expunged without one clear week's notice first given to him or left at his residence ; and no person's name shall be inserted without three clear weeks' notice to the churchwardens and overseers aforesaid, of his claim to have his name inserted, and without such notice being affixed for the three Sundays preced- ing the said Monday on the doors of all churches and chapels within the parish wherein such persons shall reside.
27. YEARLY LIST OF VOTERS FOR END:JETS OF THE sines TO BE PUBLISRED. And be it enacted, that the clairchivardens and overseers of every parish and township shall make an alphabetical list of all persons claiming to be entitled, by reason of the ownership or possession of any freehold, leasehold, or copyhold, or customary lands or tenements, situate within suck parish or township, to vote in any election for a knight of the shire to serve for the county wherein such parish or
township lies, and shall, on or before the day of in the present year,
and on or hefore the day of in each succeeding year, cause such list to be affixed on the doors of all the churches and chapels within such parish or township, or if there be no church or chapel, then to be fixed up in some public and conspicuous situation within the same respectively on the first three Sundays in the month of September in each year ; and on or before the twenty-fifth day of Sep- tember in each year shall send such list to the high constable or high constables of the hundred wherein such parish or township lies, who shall forthwith transmit the same to the clerk of the peace of the county.
28. JUDGES TO APPOINT A BARRISTER TO DETERMINE OBJECTIONS TO CLAIMS TO VOTE FOR KNIGHTS OF THE SHIRE.
And be it enacted, that the judges named in the last commission of the assize for each county, immediately after the passing of this act, and in each succeeding year the judges of assize for each county when travelling the summer circuit, shall no- minate and appoint (subject, nevertheless, to the approbation of the Lord High Chancellor, Lord Keeper, or Lords Commissioners of the Great Seal for the time being) a barrister to revise such lists, and decide upon all objections to the omission or insertion of the names therein respectively ; and that such barrister, so appointed as aforesaid, shall give public notice by advertisement in the county newspapers, that he will make a circuit of the county for which he shall be so nominated and appointed, and of the several times and places at which he will hold courts for that purpose, and he shall hld an open court for that purpose at the times and places so to be announced; and that such barrister shall be paid for discharging the duty so cast upon him, out of the at the rate of not more than or lees than for every day that he shall be so employed ; provided always that no bar- rister, so nominated and appointed as aforesaid, shall be eligible to serve in Partin- 'merit for twelve months from the time of such his appointment for the county for which he shall be nominated and appointed.
29. ALTERATION OF LIST OF VOTERS.
And belt enacted, that the said barrister shall inquire into and determine all such objections as aforesaid, and shall expunge the names of all persons who shall not have owned or held the lands or tenements in respect of which he .si.a.os so vote for the space of thirty days at the least before the first day of holding the said court, or who shall be incapacitated by any law or statute from voting in the election of members to serve in Parliament, and shall insert the name of any person who may, to the satisfaction of such barrister, prove himself to have owned or held such lands and tenements as may entitle him to a vote in the De xt ensuing election, and who shall not be proved incapable, by law, of voting in the election of members to serve in Parliament ; provided that no name shall be expunged or inserted without such notice and publication as is hereiabefore re- quired in respect to the lists to be made for cities and boroughs.
30. LISTS TO BE SETTLED AND SIGNED BY RETURNING OFFICER OR BARRISTER. • And be it enacted, that such returning officer and such barrister, so holding their respective courts as aforesaid, shall have power to administer an oath to all persons making objection to the insertion or omission of any name in such list as aforesaid, and to all persons objected against, and to all witnesses who may be tendered on either side, but that the said hearings shall not be attended by counsel; and that such returning officer or barrister shall, upon the hearing in open court, linally de- termine upon the validity of such claims and objections, and shall, in open court, write his initials against the names respectively struck out or inserted, and sign his name to the several lists so settled.
31._LISTS TO BE KEPT By CLERK OF TIM PEACE AND BY RETURNING OFFICER. COPIES TO BE SOLD FOR SIXPENCE.
And he it enacted, that such lists shall, when so settled and signed, be tacked together and form one list for the county or division, city or borough respectively ; and the list so signed by the said barrister shall be transmuted to the clerk of the peace of the county for which he shall have been appointed ; and the list so signed by the said returning officer, shall be by him kept and handed over at the expiration of his office to the person succeeding him in the same ; and that the clerk of the peace and the returning officer, respectively, shall cause copies of the same to be printed at the expense of the county (which shall be delivered to all persons apply- ing, on payment of sixpence for each copy), and that such lists shall be the lists of electors to vote, after the end of this present Parliament, in the choice of knights, citizens, and burgesses for the several counties, and division of counties, cities, and boroughs, for which such lists shall be made respectively at any election which may be holden after the said day of in the present year, and the lists to be made in each succeeding year shall be the lists of the electors to vote at any election to be holden after the first day of December in each succeeding year respectively.
32. INQUIRIES TO BE MADE OF PERSONS AT TIME OF VOTING.
And be it enacted, that in all elections whatever of members to serve in any futnre Parliament, no inquiry shall be permitted at the time of polling, except as to whe- ther the person claiming to vote be the same whose name appears in such list, and whether such persons shall have previously voted at the same election ; and no such person shall be excluded from voting at any such election, except by reason of his refusing to take the oaths or make the affirmation required by law.
33. PERSONS COMPLAINING OF UNDUE ELECTION, MAT QUESTION THE CORRECTNESS OF THE LIST OF VOTERS.
Provided nevertheless, and be it further enacted, that by petition to the House of Commons, complaining of an undue election or return of any knight, citizen, or burgess, any petitioner shall be at liberty to question the correctness of the lists which shall have been settled by such barrister or returning officer, and to prove that names were improperly retained, inserted, expunged, or omitted at the regis- tration that shall have taken place next before the election or return complained of; and the committee, before whom the merits of any such petition shall be tried, may inquire Into the same, and alter the poll taken at such election according to the truth of the case, and direct the return to be amended accordingly ; and in case of corruption, partiality, or wilful misconduct, may order such costs to be paid to the petitioner by such barrister or returning officer as such committee shall think reasonable.
34. SHERIFFS TO FIX DAYS OF ELECTION.
And belt enacted, that the sheriffs of the counties directed hereby to be divided, shall fix the several days of election for knights of the shire for the several parts, ridings, and divisions of their said respective counties, and shall preside at the same by themselves or their lawful deputies.
35. DURATION OF POLL FOR CITIES AND BOROUGHS.
dabs is enacted, that all contested elections of members to serve in at all future
17. ISLE OF WIGHT TO RETURN ONE MEMBER...!
And be it enacted, that in like manner all persons now having. or who would by virtue of this act acquire the right of voting in elections for knights of the shire for the county of Southampton, by reason of the ownership or possession of any lands or tenements situate within the Isle of Wight, shall, in all future Parliaments, cease to vote in such election for the county at large, in respect of such ownership or possession, and shall be entitled to howe one member to serve for the Isle of Wight ; and that all elections for the same shall be holden at the town of Newport, in the Isle of Wight.
18. A COMMITTEE OF PRIVY COUNCIL TO DETERMINE DIVISIONS OF COuNTIES.
And be it enacted, that a committee of the Lords of his Majesty's Most Honour- able Privy Council. to be selected and named by his Majesty, under his Royal sign- manual, shall, within three months of the passing of this act, inquire into and deter- mine in what mamier the said counties enumerated in schedule (H.) to this act an- nexed, shall thereafter be divided, for the election of knights of the shire to serve in all future Parliaments ; and shall have the power of uniting and iticorporating with any county, or any division of a county to be by them made (fur the purposes of election oily), any outlying portions of any other county which may be locally situate within the former, and shall make a report to his Majesty in Council; and It shall be lawful for his Majesty to issue his Royal proclamation, making known le the determination and report of the said committee, and such reports shall forth- with be laid before both Houses of Parliament.
19. COMMITTEE OF PRIVY COUNCIL TO DETERMINE PLACES FOIL COUNTY
ELECTIONS.
And be it enacted, that the said committee :hall also, in their said report, deter- mine at what places respectively all elections of knights of the shire. to serve in all future Parliaments for the respective divisions of the said counties, when Ws divided, shall be hoiden.
20. PERSONS ONLY TO VOTE FOR TIIE DIVISION IN WHICH THEIR PROPERTY IS SITUATF.D.
And be it enacted, that after such division and incorporation of the said coun- ties shall have been proclaimed as hereinbefore mentioned, any petson claiming and having the right to Vote, after the end or this present Parliament, for a knight of the shire to serve in Parliament, shall vote only for that division of the said county ;a which the property in respect of which be claims to vote shall be situate.1 21. ANOTHER COMMITTEE OF PRIVY COUNCIL TO•DETERMINE THE LIMITS OF CITIES A ND BOROUGHS.
And be it enacted, that another committee of his Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, to be named by his Majesty, under his sign.rnannal, shall inquire into and determine the limits and boundaries of all the cities and boroughs in Eng- land and Wales having the right of sending /Members to Parliament, and shall have power to annex unto and incorporate with any city or borough, any parish or town- ship locally situated within such city or borough or thereto adjoining, or any out- lying portion of any parish or township which may happen to be locally situate beyond the limits of such city or borough respectively; and shall, on or before the d next after the passing of this act, lay before his Majesty in Couayneofil a report of such their determination ; and it shall be lawful for his Majesty to issue his royal proclamation, making known the said determination and report of the said committee, from the date of which proclamation such cities and boroughs shall be and remain bounded and limited, annexed and incorporated, respectively according to such determination us aforesaid ; and the said report shall forthwith be laid before both Houses of Parliament.
22. COMMITTEE TO ADD ADJOINING PLACES TO CITIES OR BOROUGHS WHICH HAVE NOT MORE THAN 300 VOTERS.
And be it enacted, that the said last-mentioned committee of the Lords of hip Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, shall, within three mouths after the passing of this act, proceed to annex to such cities and boroughs, except those enumerated in schedule (A.) as now have the privilege of sending members to Parliament, but do not contain more than three hundred houses, of the yearly value of ten pounds at least, or rated to the relief of the poor, or to the duty assessed on inhabited houses at ten pounds by the year at least, any parish or township within which the said city or borough or any part thereof may lie, or any parish or township adjoining thereto, or any outlying por- tions of any other parish or townbilip that may be locally situate within such city or borough, or within such annexed parish or township, parishes or town- ships, as such committee may deem convenient (fur the purpose of elections only) ; anti every such city or borough shall, jointly with such annexed parish or township, parishes or townships, be a city or borough for the purpose of electing members, and return such member or members as they may be entitled respectively to return-
to serve in all future Parliaments ; and the said last-mentioned committee shalt make a report of their determination touching the said annexations to his Majesty in council ; and it shall be lip.% tul for his Majesty to issue his Royal proclamation, making known the said determination and report of the said committee, and the said report shall forthwith be laid before both Houses of Parliament,
23. QUALIFICATION 05' VOTERS IN CITIES AND BOROUGHS.
And be it enacted, that in all elections for members to serve in any future Parlia ment for cities anti boroughs, every male person of full age, and nut subject to any legal incapacity, who shall have occupied for sic months previous to the settlement of the registers which are hereinafter directed to be made, any house, within such cities and boroughs of the clear yearly value of ten pounds, or bona thie subject to the yearly rent of ten poutuls, or which shall have been for the same time rated to the relief of the poor, or to the duty assessed upon inhabited houses, at a sum not less than ten pounds, shall have a right to vote for such cities and boroughs ; provided always, that no person who shall not have been duly registered act:indite.: to the pro- visions hereinafter contained shall be admitted to vote at such election; provided, also, that every person now having a right to vote in virtue of any corporate right, shall retain such right for his life, and on being duly registered shall be entitled to vote, provided every such person shall have resided for sir months previous to the time of registration hereinafter directed, within seven statute miles of the usual place of election within such city or borough ; and provided also, that any person now having a right to vote by reason of owning or occupying ally tenement, shall retain such right as long as he owns or occupies the same or any other tenement in the same place, by reason of which ownership or occupation lie will have a right of voting by the laws or customs now in force, and shall be allowed to vote, if duly re- gistered, as hereinafter directed.
24. YEARLY LISTS OF VOTERS FOR CITIES AND BOROUGHS TO BE PUBLISHED.
And be it enacted, that the churchwardens and overseers of every parish and town- ship, in part or in whole, situate within, or by virtue of this act to be annexed to any city or borough returning, or which shall retail), members to serve in any future
Parliament, except those named in schedule (A.) shall, on or beforethe the day of
in the present n t year, and on or before day of in each subsequent year, make out an alphabetical list of every male person
residing within such city or borough, or annexed parish or township, as the case may be, occupying a house of the clear yearly value of ten pounds, or bona fide sub- ject to the yearly rent of tenpounds, or rated to the relief of the poor, or to the duty on inhabited houses, at a sum of not less than tea pounds by the year, and in respect of which all the rents, rates, and taxes shall have been paid up to that time ; and an- other such list, of every male person claiming to vote by virtue of any corporate, or burgess, or any other right existing in such persons at the time of passing this act, and shall affix such lists to the doors of all churches and chapels in the several town- ships and parishes situate within the said cities and boroughs respectively, on the three Sundays next after they shall have been made respectively in this and every subsequent year.
25. RETURNING OFFICER ANNUALLY TO REVISE LISTS.
And be it enacted, that on the Monday next following the last of the said three Sundays in the present year, and on the first Monday in the month of November In each succeeding year, the returning officer of every city or borough shall sit in some convenient public ball or place (having first given three clear days' notice of his sitting, to be affixed on thedoors of all the said churches and chapels) for hearing ob. jections to the insertion or omission of names in other of the said lists, and for in" quiring into the truth of such objections, and for expunging, retaining, or insertin5 names according to the best of his judgment,
county, and the said parts of Holland and Kesteven together were also a separate county.
Parliaments, except elections for counties and divisions of counties, the poll shall commence on the day of nomination, or on the day next following, or at the latest on the third day ; and that the number of hours during which the polling shall proceed shall on the first day of polling be seven, and on the second (lay eight; and that the poll shall on no account be kept open later than four o'clock in the afternoon of such second day ; and the final state of the poll shall be declared not later than two o'clock in the afternoon of the third day after the poll shall be opened ; and the returning officer or officers shall return the member or members to serve In Parliament by virtue of such election, immediately after the final state of the poll Is declared.
38. DURATION OF POLL FOR KNIGHTS OF THE SHIRE.
• And be it enacted, that if on the day of election of a knight to serve in any future Parliament for any county or division, more candidates shall be pro- posed for the choice of the electors than the number of vacancies to be tilled up, rind a poll shall be demanded, the polling shall cammence at nine o'clock in the forenoon of the next day but one after the day of election, in the several places to he appointed as hereinafter directed by the magistrates for taking polls ; and the final state of the poll shall be declared at I10011 of the sixth day after the said day of election.
37. COUNTY MAGISTRATES TO APPOINT PLACES FOR TARING POLL FOR KNIGHTS OF TIER SHIRE.
And belt enacted, that the justices of the peace for each county assembled at the general quarter sessions to be holden nest- after the flossing of this act, and after such royal proclamations as Issreinbefore mentioned, malting known the divisions and incorporations of the said counties for which, after the pu.ssing of this act, knights of the shire shell he elected, to serve in all future Parliaments, or at some special sessions to be by them appointed, and of which at least there shall be given ten days' public notice, shall consider and shall have full power to appoint conve- nient places within such counties and divisions for taking the poll at all future elections of knights of the shire to serve in Parliament for the said counties and divisions respectively, in such manner that no person shall have to travel more than fifteen miles from the property in respect of which be claims to vote ; provided that no county or division of a county now entitled or by this actempowercd to send knights of the shire to serve in Parliament shall have more than fifteen places ap- pointed for taking the.poll for the same respectively.
38. COUNTY MAGISTRATES MAY APPOINT OTHER PLACES FOR POLLING AT THE END OF TWO VEARS• And he it enacted, that the said justices of the peace shall have the like authority to appoint different places, at the end of two years from the first appointment to be made for that purpose, and that a list of the polling places to be so uppointed shall be lodged with the clerk of the peace of each county ; and that the names of such places so appointed shall be inserted on lists to be affixed on the doors of the churches and chapels within each county and division immediately after they are so made according to the last appointment, and the polling at election shall take place according to the list last lodged, in conformity to this enactment, with the said -clerk of the peace.
39. ELECTION FOR BOROUGHS TO BE HELD IN ONE PLACE, BUT AT DIFFERENT BOOTHS.
And be it enacted, that every election of members to serve in all future Parlia- ments for all cities and boroughs in England shall be held, carried on, and con- cluded in some one place and under the superintendence and control of the same returning officer or officers ; but there shall be appointed for taking the poll at such election different booths for different parishes, districts, or places, so divided and al- lotted as to the returning officer or officers shall seem most convenient, of which division and allotment public notice shall be given, so that no greater number than 84 hundred shall be required to poll at any one booth.
40. EXPENSE OF ERECTING BOOTHS—EXPENSE OF THE POLL-CLERKS TO BE BORNE BY EACH CANDIDATE.
And be it enacted, that, after the end of this present Parliament, all booths to be built for the convenience of taking polls shall be erected by contract with the can- didates, or if they cannot agree, such booths shall be erected by the sheriff* or other returning officer or officers at the joint and equal expense of the several candidates ; and that the clerks employed in taking the polls shall be paid one guinea by the day by each of the candidates at such election ; provided always, that if any person shall be proposed without his consent, then the person so proposing him shall be liable to defray his share of the said expenses in like manner as if he had been a can- didate.
41. HOURS OF POLLING FOR EN/GUTS OF THE SHIRE.
And be It enacted, that the number of hours during which the poll for any connty or division shall be taken on the first day shall be acres, and on the second day shall be eight; and that no poll shall be kept open later thanfour o'clock in the afternoon on the second day.
42. CUSTODY OP TIIE POLL-BOOKS AT BLIICTIONS OF KNIGHTS OF TIM SHIRE.
And be it enacted, that the poll-clerks, at the close of each day's poll of an elec- tion for any county or division, shall inclose and seal their, several books and shall in open court deliver them so sealed to the sheriff or to his deputy presiding at such poll, who shall give a receipt for the same ; and the sheriff or his deputy who so receives, shall, on the commencement of the poll on the second day, deliver then, back so inclosed and sealed to the person from whom he shall have received them : and on the final close of the poll, the said sheriff, or such his deputy, shall keep the said poll-books so unopened until the reassembling of the court on the sixth day, when he shall openly break the seals thereon and cast up the number of votes as they appear on the said several books, and shall openly declare the state of the poll or polls, and shall make proclamation of the member or members chosen.
43. NAMES OF COUNTY VOTERS NOT TO BE PLACED ON LAND-TAX ROLL. ELECTION-LAWS NOT REPEALED BY THIS ACT TO REMAIN IN FORCE.
And be it enacted, that so much of an act passed in the twentieth year of the reign of King George the Third, entitled "An Act to remove certain difficulties relative to voters at county elections," as requires the names of freeholders to be placed on the land-tax roll, shall be, and the same is hereby repealed ; and all laws, statutes, and usages now in force respecting the election of Menibers to serve in Parliament for that part of the United Kingdom called England and Wales, shall be and remain and are hereby declared to be and remain in lull force, except so far as they are repealed or altered by this act.
44. moos OF PROCEEDING AGAINST SHERIFF OR RETURNING OFFICER.
And be it enacted, that if any sheriff, returning officer, barrister, or any person whatsoever, shall wilfully contravene or disobey the provisions of this act, or any of them, with respect to any matter or thing which such sheriff. returning officer, barrister, or other person, Is hereby required to do, he shall for such his offence be liable to be sued in an action of debt in any of his Majesty's Courts of Record at Westminster for the penal sum of ; and the jury before whom such action shall be tried may find their verdict for the full sum of or for any less sum not less than which the said jury shall think it just that be should pay for such his offence ; and the defendant in such action being con- victed, shall pay such penal sum so awarded, with full costs of suit, to any party who may sue for the same, without prejudice, however, to the right of any party grieved by the same misconduct of such sheriff, returning officer, barrister, or other person, to recover such damages in an action on the case for a false return, or any other grievance, as Ile may be entitled to at common law, or by virtue of any statute now in force.
45. PUNISHMENT OF DISQUALIFIED rensoNS GIVING VOTE.
And be it enacted, drat If any person named in any of the lists so as aforesaid required to he made, but who at the time of any election shall be in the enjoyment of any office now by law disqualifying him from giving his vote at the election of members to serve in Parliament, shall presume to vote at such election, he shall be liable to all penalties and forfeitures to which he would have been subject for the said offence by any law in force at the time of the passing of this act, any thing herein contained notwithstanding ; and in case of a petition to the House of Com- mons for altering the return or setting aside the election in which such person shall have voted, his vote shall be struck off by the committee, with such costs to be by him paid to any petitioner as to such committee shall seem just.
46. ACT NOT TO AFFECT THE ELECTION FOR THE TWO UNIVERSITIES. And be it enacted and provided, that nothing In this act contained shall extend to or in any wise affect the election for members to serve in Parliament for the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge.
47. THE MEANING OF CERTAIN WORDS USED IN THIS ACT.
And be It enacted, that throughout this act, wherever the words "city or borough," "cities or boroughs," may occur, those words shall extend to and include all towns corporate, cinque ports, districts, or places within England and Wales which shall be entitled, after this act shall have passed, to return members to serve in Parliament,. other than counties and divisions of counties, and also to the town of Berwick-upon-- Tweed ; and the words' returning officer" shall apply to every person or persons who by virtue of his or their office, either under the present act or under any former law, custom, or statute, has, or have had, and shall have, the right of returning writs or precepts fur the election of such members to serve in Parliament, by whatever name such person or persons may have been called ; and the words "parish or township" shatl-extend to every parish, township, vill, hamlet; district, or place maintaining its own poor; and the words "churchwardens and overseers of the poor" shall extend to all overseers of the poor in the several parishes, townships, or chapetries, vills, districts, or places, by whatever name or title they may be called, and whether appointed under the act for the relief of the poor passed in the forty- third year of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, or under any local act, or according to any peculiar custom, or in any other manner whatever.
Previous page
