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[46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, aitd 58 & 59 Vict. c. 40.] WITH NOTES OF JUDICIAL DECISIONS, AND WITH SHORT INTRODUCTORY CHAPTERS ON ELECTION PETITIONS UNDER THESE ACTS, ELECTION CONTESTS UNDER THESE ACTS, THE GENERAL POLICY AND EFFECT OF THESE ACTS AND THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMON LAW OF AGENCY. BY ERNEST ARTHUR JELF, M.A., OF NEW COLLEGE, OXKORD, BARRISTER-AT-LAW OF THE HONOURABLE SOCIETY OF THE INNER TEMPLE ; An Election Agent nndf-r tlipue Actx for a County Dh-'iskm durum thf last Gf,neral Election. " llema coronabitur qui non kgttimc ccrtflberit." THIRD EDITION. LONDON : SWEET AND MAXWELL, LIMITED, •A, CHANCERY T.AXE, '$Riv JJulilislin-s. 1905. TO E. H. SUTTON NELTHORPE, ESQ., OF SCAWBY HALL, THE CHAIRMAN IN THE BRIGG DIVISION, BY WHOSE SIDE AND WITH WHOSE INVALUABLE ASSISTANCE THE AUTHOR FOUGHT THE ELECTION OF 1900 AND CARRIED OUT THE PROVISIONS OP THESE ACTS. >- <: or. CD l_o23 PREFACE Since the last edition I have myself served the office of an election agent, and it was my duty in that office to provide for the organisation of the election expenses and for the employment and, where lawful, for the remuneration of somewhere "^ about a hundred persons in connection with the ^ work of the election. The result of all this has cc been somewhat to modify some of the opinions cj expressed in the last edition. ^ Chapter I. is new. The form for an election 5'^ petition is much fuller than any which I have seen elsewhere ; and the reasons why so full a^form is to be preferred appear from the chapter itself. The abstract of the actual particulars delivered in the Montgomery Boroughs case of 1892 — made by me at the time — is another feature special to this work, which it is hoped may be useful to practi- tioners. Chapter 11. is also new, and is written from an Election Agent's point of view. Chapter III. has substantially appeared in the IV PREFACE. previous editions, and is a reprint, by permission, from articles which I wrote in the first instance for the Laio Times. Chapter IV. contains an analysis, relegated in the previous editions to a note, of the authorities relating to "agency" as understood in election petitions — an original analysis of a most peculiar branch of law — being the most important and perhaps the most difficult portion of election law. The decisions of the Courts in the interim concerning the Acts of 1883 and 1895 will be found duly noted under the appropriate sections. EKNEST A. JELF. 9, King's Bexch Walk, Temple. CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE iii TABLE OF CASES xi INTKODUCTOEY CHAPTEES. CHAPTER I. Of an Election Petition under the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Acts, 1883 and 1895. The drafting of the petition (with a form) — The presenting of the petition — The contest about particulars (with a precedent of particulars) — Interlocutory proceedings generally — The withdi-awal of the petition — Amend- ments — The trial — The result — Costs .... 1 CHAPTER II. Of a Contested Election under these Acts. Importance of all supporters obeying the Acts — The election agent primarily responsible — He must be loyally supported by all — His numerous other duties — Precautions to prevent a petition from being after- wards successful — How to prevent corrupt practices — And how illegal practices — Excuses . . . . 39 VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. Of the General Policy and Effect of these Acts. PAGE The fears entertained in Parliament as to tlie effect of tlie bill of 1883 — Not justified by the result — The election petitions of 1892 — 1893 discussed by way of illustra- tion — Corrupt practices — Illegal practices — The Act of 1895, why necessary — Some criticisms ... 46 CHAPTER IV. Of the Parliamentary Law as to Agency. Principles of this law — Degrees of agency — Agents of agents — Particular things from which agency may be inferred — Canvassing — Being on committees — Receiving money from the candidate for election expenses — Receiving letter of authority from the candidate — By inference from a previous election — By being agent to another candidate who has coalesced with the candidate in question — By ratification of the candidate after the Act — Persons who are not agents — Duration of agency — Political associations as agents — Rules of evidence 69 CORRUPT AND ILLEGAL PRACTICES PREVEN- TION ACT, 1883 (46 & 47 Vict. c. 51), with notes of decisions ....... 83 Corrupt Practices. SECT. 1. What is treating 83 2. What is undue influence 87 3. What is corrupt practice . . . . . , . 89 4. Punishment of candidate found, on election pctitiun, guilty iiorsonall^' of cnrriiiit pnicticHs . . . 90 CONTENTS. Vll SKCT. PAfJi; o. Puuislimeut of caudidate I'uuud, on election petition, guilty by agents of corrupt practices . . . . 90 6. Punishment of person convicted on indictment of corrupt practices . . . . . . .91 Illegal Pbactices. 7. Certain expenditure to be illegal practice ... 93 8. Expense in excess of maximum to be illegal practice . 94 9. Voting by prohibited persons and publishing of false statements of withdrawal to be illegal ... 96 10. Punishment on conviction of illegal practice . . . 97 11. Report of election court respecting illegal practice, and punishment of candidate found guilty by such report 97 12. Extension of 15 & 16 Vict. c. 57, respecting election comjnissioners to illegal practices . . . . 99 Illegal Payment, Employment, and Hiring. 13. Providing of money for illegal practice or payment to be illegal payment . . . . . . .100 14. Employment of hackney carriages, or of carriages and horses kept for hire . . . . . . . 101 15. Corrupt withdrawal from a candidature . . . 102 16. Certain expenditure to be illegal payment . . . 102 17. Certain employment to be illegal .... 105 18. Name and address of printer on placards . . . 106 19. Saving for creditors . . . . . . .107 20. Use of committee room in house for sale of intoxicating liquor or refreshment, or in elementary school, to be illegal hiring . . . . . . . 108 21. Punishment of illegal payment, employment, or hiring 109 Excuse and Exception foe Coekupt oe Illegal Peactice oe Illegal Payment, Employment, oe Hieing. 22. Eeport exonerating candidate in certain cases of corrupt and illegal practice by agents . . . 110 23. Power of High Court and election court to except innocent act from being illegal practice, etc . .111 Vlll CONTENTS. Electiox Expenses. SECT. PAGE 24. Nomination of election agent 115 25. Nomination of deputy election agent as sub-agent . 116 26. Office of election agent and sub-agent . . . . 117 27. Making of contracts tbrougb election agent . .118 28. Payment of expenses through election agent . . . 119 29. Period for sending in claims and making payments for election expenses . . . . . .121 30. Reference to taxation of claim against candidates . 124 31. Personal expenses of candidate and petty expenses . 124 32. Eemuneration of election agent and returning officer's expenses ......... 125 33. Eeturu and declaration respecting election expenses . 126 34. Authorized excuse for non-compliance with provisions as to return and declaration respecting election expenses . . 130 35. Publication of summary of return of election expenses 134 Disqualification of Electoes. 36. Prohibition of persons guilty of corrupt or illegal practices, etc., from voting 135 37. Prohibition of disqualified persons from voting , . 135 38. Hearing of person before he is reported guilty of corrupt or illegal practice, and incapacity of person reported guilty . . . . . . .136 39. List in register of voters of persons incapacitated for voting by corrupt or illegal practices . . . . 141 Proceedings on Election Petition. 40. Time for presentation of election petitions alleging illegal i:)ractice ....... 144 41. Withdrawal of election petition 147 42. Continuation of trial of election petition . . . 150 43. Attendance of Director of public prosecutions on trial of election jietition, and prosecution by him of offenders 150 44. Power to election court to order payment by county or borough or individual of costs of election petition . 155 contents. ix Miscellaneous. SKCT. I'AOE 45. Inquiry by Director of public prosecutions into alleged corrupt or illegal practice . . . . . . 159 46. Eemoval of incapacity on proof tbat it was procured by perjiuy . . . . . . . .160 47. Amendment of law as to polling districts and polling places . . . . . . . . . . 160 48. Conveyance of votei's by sea in certain cases . . 162 49. Election commissioners not to inquire into elections before the passing of this Act 162 Legal Pkoceedings. 50. Trial in Central Criminal Court of indictment for corrupt practice at instance of Attorney-General . 163 51. Limitation of time for prosecution of offence . . . 164 52. Persons charged with corrupt practice may be found guilty of illegal practice . . . . .165 53. Application of enactments of 17 & 18 Vict. c. 102, and 26 & 27 Vict. c. 29, relating to prosecutions for bribery . . . . . . . . . 165 54. Prosecution on summary conviction, and appeal to quarter sessions . . . . . . .167 55. Application of Summary Juiisdiction and Indictable Offences Acts to proceedings before election courts . 167 56. Exercise of jui'isdiction of High Court, and making of rules of court ........ 168 57. Director of public prosecutions, and expenses of prosecutions . . . . . . . . 169 58. Recovery of costs payable by county or borough or by person 169 Supplemental Peoyisions, Deflnitions, Savings, AND Eepeal. 59. Obligation of witness to answer, and certificate of indemnity . . . . . . , . . 170 60. Submission of report of election coui't or commissioners to Attorney-General . . . . . .172 61. Breach of duty by officer 172 62. Publication mid service of norioes .... 173 SECT. l'AC5E 63. Definition of candidate, and saviug i'or pciaous nomi- nated witliout consent 1T4 64. General interpretation of terms 176 65. Short titles 180 66. Eepealof Acts ISl 67. Commencement of Act • . . . . . . 181 Application of Act to Scotland. 68. Application of Act to Scotland 181 Application of Act to Ireland. 69. Application of Act to Ireland 186 Continuance. 70. Continuance 188 Schedules 190 COERUPT AND ILLEGAL PEACTICES PEEVEN- TION ACT, 1895 (58 & 59 Vict. c. 40), with notes of decisions . . . . . . . .214 1. Certain false statements concerning a candidate to be an illegal practice . . . . . . . 214 2. Evidence on hearing of charge under the Act . .216 3. Injunction against person making false statement . . 216 4. Candidate exonerated in certain cases of illegal practices by agents 216 5. Short title . 218 INDEX 220 (XP OASES CITED. Aiuliews V. Barnes Aylesbury case VAGE . 159 70, 84, 175 Barnstaple case Barrow-in-Furuess case 106 Belfast case . Belfast case, West Bettesworth v. Allingliani Beverley case Bewdley case . Blackburn case Bodmin case . Bolton case Boston case . Bradford case Bridgwater case Bristol case 70, 72 94, 105, 115, 193 . 206 89, 109 107 86, 208 71, 73, 76, 80 . 69, 77, 78 . . 72 . 74 . . 71 86, 206, 217 . 71,72 82. 206 Buckrose case 36, 101, 108, 109, 121, 127, 145, 150, 190, 200 Cashel case . 73 Chelsea case . , 118 Cheltenham case . 82, 208 Chester case . 82 Chesteriiuld case 215 Clare case, East 104 Clark, E.x parte . 107, 111, 112 Cotkennouth case 106, 126, 215 Coventry cast- 69, 206 PAt;K Devonport case 109,146,154,159 Dover case . . . 206 Dublin case . . . . 75 Dungannon case . . 70 Durham case. North . 75, 88 Elgin and Nairn case 95, 105, 190 Ellis r. National Union . . 215 Essex case, S.W. 97, 113, 191 Galway case, Borough of, 1869 . . . . 88 Galway case. County of, 1872 .... 76 Galway case. Borough of, 1874 . . . . 79 Greenock case . . 69, 72 Guildford case . . . 82 Haggerston case 17, 79, 86, 96, 145 Harwich case . 37, 74, 82 Hastings case . . 72, 208 Hereford case . . 71, 72 Hexham case 81, 85, 114, 134, 151, 155, 158 Huddersfield case . . 75 Ipswich case 87, 88, 120, 152, 157 Xll CASES CITRD. Keniiington case King's Lynn case . Knaresborough case I'AG !■; 96, 155 . 79 . 92 Lambeth case . . . 206 Lancaster case 86, 95, 119, 126, 145 Lenanton, Ex parte 73, 107, 112, 114 Lichfield case 93,105,119,146 Londonderry case . 78, 136, 155 Longford case . . 79, 88 Lowestoft case . . 123, 155 Mackinnon v. Clark . 126, 129 Maidstone case . 98, 146, 170 Mallow case . 73, 78, 79, 206 Manchester case, East 16, 94, 102, 110, 158 Mayo case .... 88 Meath case, North . . 88,147 Meath case, South . 87, 88 Mile End case . . . 113 Monmouth Boroughs case 120, 146, 215 Montgomery Boroughs case. 19, 38, 86, 91, 151, 157, 159, 175, 215 Oldham case I'Alili 206, 203 Norfolk case. North Norwich case, 1869 Norwicli case, 1871 Norwicli case, 1886 114, 121, 131, 132, 155, 163, 174, 201 . 70, 72, 79 69, 70, 73, 84, 87 78, 85 36, 77, 112, Pease v. Norwood . . . 145 Pembroke Boroughs case . 146 Plymouth case . . . 72 Pontefract case . 36, 104, 157, 168 Preston case . . . . 206 Reg. r. Holl . 91, 07, 171 Reg. V. Mansel Jones . . 140 Reg. V. Stroulger . 89, 91, 165 Rochester case 80, 85, 95, 111, 114, 151, 175 Rye case . . . . 206 St. George's Division case 80, 85, 86, 103, 120, 146, 215, 217 . 79 . 74 74, 79 . 74 113, 131 . 215 . . 70 85, 94, 110, 112 Salford case . Salisbury case, 1880 . Salisbury case, 1883 Shrewsbury case . Shropshire case, South Silver v. Benn . Sligo case Southampton case Staflbrd case . Staleybridge case 71, 72, 76, 79 Stepney case, 1886 89, 103, 106, 112, 131, 135, 175, 191, 192, 210 Stopney case, 1892 104, 113, 115. 157 Stroud case . . .71, 75 Sm.drrlaiidease. 151. 214, 21') CASES CITED. Xlll PAGE I'A'^K Tamworth case . . 69, 78 Waterfoid case . . 78, 79 Taunton case . 71, 72, 208 Westbury case . 69, 72, 73, 74, Tewkesbiiry case . 71, 74, 75 81 Thornbur)' case . . .88 Westminster case . 70, 72, 73, 82 Wigan case, 1869 . 71, 72, 208 Walker, Ex parte . . 91, 97 Wakefield case . 70, 71, 75, 80 Wigan case, 1881 . 69, 73 Walsall case . 43, 81, 104, 113, Windsor case. 76,78,79,146 152, 155 Worcester case . . .18 THE CORRUPT AND ILLEGAL PRACTICES PREVENTION ACTS, 1883 and 1895. INTRODUCTOKY CHAPTERS. CHAPTER I. OF AN ELECTION PETITION UNDEE THE CORRUPT AND ILLEGAL PRACTICES PREVENTION ACTS, 1883 AND 1895. Although an election is prior in time to an election petition, it is very desirable that those who are carrying on an election contest shovild do so with a clear view before them of what wotdd happen if the election in question should afterwards form the subject of an election petition. And we therefore propose first to consider the cotu'se and effect of an election petition tmder these Acts, and in our next chapter (a) to show how an election contest may so be carried on as to avoid any vinpleasant consequences in the event of a subsequent election petition being brought under these Acts. Now such a petition must be launched under the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868 (31 & 32 Vict. c. 125), (a) See p. 39. I.P. 1 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. and the Acts amending the same, and the rules made there- under, and by these the trial and procedure must also be governed. It is not within the scope of this book to set forth the whole of that procedure. Many election petitions may be brought which have nothing to do with the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Acts, 1883 and 1895, whereas it is petitions under these last-mentioned Acts and the law about such petitions in particular that we are about to consider. First, then, as to the drafting of the petition. — Every election petition will be sufficient if made in the following form or one to the like effect (6) : — In the High Court of Justice, King's Bench Division (c). Election for [state the place'] holden on the day of A.D. The petition of A. of [or of A. of and B. of as the case may be] whose names are subscribed. (1) Your petitioner A. is a person who voted [or had a right to vote, as the case may be] at the above election [or claims to have had a right to be returned at the above election, or was a candidate at the above election] and your petitioner B. Piere state in Hke manner the right of each petitioner] (d). (2) And your petitioners state that the election was holden on the day of a.d. when A. B., C. D., and E. F. were candidates, and the returning officer has returned A. B. and C. D. as being duly elected. {h) Rules of 21 Novemher, 1868, made under 31 & 32 Vict, c. 125 ; r. 5. (c) 36 & 37 Vict. c. 66, ss. 32 and 34, and order in council of 16 December, 1880. As to Scotland and Ireland, see 31 & 32 Vict. c. 125, ss. 5 and 58. (d) 31 & 32 Vict. 0. 125, s. 5. Of an Election Petition. (3) And your petitioners say that [here state the facts and grounds on which the petitioners rely]. Wherefore your petitioners pray that it may be determined that the said A. B. was not duly elected or returned and that the election was void [or that the said E. F. was duly elected and ought to have been returned (e), or as the case may be]. (Signed) A. B. In the case of an election petition under the Acts of 1883 ( / ) and 1895 (g), the names of these Acts should be added to the title of the petition : and the blank in j)ara- graph (3) and the body of the succeeding paragraphs may be filled in as follows, mutatis mutandis, according to the number of offences and matters which it is desired to state. (A petition in this form is more advisable than a petition vaguely alleging corrupt and iUegal practices, because immediate particulars of such a petition would be ordered, whereas if a petition were in such form as that which follows, particulars would not be ordered till within seven or ten days of the trial, which is in practice a great advantage (see below, pp. 18, 19). Bruce, J., in the Lancaster Division case (5 O'M. & H. 41), preferred such a petition as that which we are about to set out.) (3) ... that the said A. B. and C. D. by themselves their election agent and their agents before during and after the above election were guilty of the corrupt practice of treating (h) . (e) The seat is not to be claimed in a petition under the Acts of 1883 and 1895 unless enough votes bad thereunder to turn the scale can be proved. See paragraphs 26 to 46 and 49 of the precedent below, the object of which paragraphs is to strike ofi such votes. (/) 46 &47 Vict. c. 51. Ig) 58 & 59 Vict. c. 40. {h) 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 1. 1—2 CoER AND III, Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. (4) tliat the said A. B. and C. D. by themselves their election agent and their agents before during and after the above election were guilty of the corrupt practice of undue influence (i). (5) that the said A. B. and C. D. by themselves their elec- tion agent and their agents before dm-ing and after the above election were guilty of the corrupt practice of bribeiy (k). (6) that the said A. B. and C. D. by themselves their election agent and their agents before during and after the above election were guilty of the corrupt practice of personation (Z) . (7) that the said A. B. and C D. by themselves their election agent and their agents before during and after the above election were guilty of illegal practices by making jiayments and contracts for payments for the purpose of pro- moting or procuring the election of themselves the said A. B. and C. D. thereat on account of the conveyance of electors to and from the poU by hiring horses from G. and a carriage from H. and by paying the railway fares of certain of such electors and by, etc. etc. (?n). (8) that the said A. B. and C. D. by themselves their election agent and their agents before during and after the above election were guilty of illegal practices by making payments and contracts for payments for the like purpose to certain electors on account of the use of a certain house, certain land, certain buildings and certain premises for the ex- liibition of certain addresses bills and notices and on account of the exliibition of certain addresses bills and notices (n). (9) that the said A. B. and C. D. by themselves their election (0 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 2. (k) 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 3 incorporating 17 & 18 Viot. c. 102, ss. 2 and 3, and other statutes. (/) 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, 8. 3, incorporating 35 & 36 Vict. c. 33, s. 24. (to) 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 7 (1) (a). (n) 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 7 (1) (b). Of an Election Petition. agent and their agents before during and after the above elec- tion were guilty of illegal practices by making payments and contracts for payments for tlie like purpose on account of certain committee rooms in excess of the number allowed by the first schedule of the statute 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51 (o). (10) that the said A. B. and C. D. by themselves and their election agent before during and after the above election were guilty of iUegal practices in that they paid certain siuns and incurred certain expenses on account of and in respect of the conduct and management of such election in excess of the maximum amounts in that behalf specified by the said schedule ( p). (11) that the said A. B. and C. D. by themselves and their election agents were guilty of iUegal jDractices in that they induced and procured certain persons to vote at the above election knowing that such persons were by [name the statute] prohibited from voting at such election (g). (12) that the said A. B. and C. D. by themselves and their election agents before and during the election were guilty of illegal practices in that they knowingly published a false statement of the withdrawal of E. F. a candidate at the above election for the purpose of promoting or procuring the return of themselves the said A. B. and C. D. (?•). (13) that the said A. B. and C. D. by themselves and their election agent before during and after the above election were guilty of illegal payment by knowingly providing money for certain payments which were con- trary to the provisions of the statute 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51 [section to be specified] and for certain expenses in- curred in excess of the maximum amount allowed by the said statute, to be expended on [specify the purpose] and (o) 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 7 (1) (c). (p) 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 8. {q) 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 9 (1). (r) 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 9 (2). Cork, and III. Pkact. Prey. Acts, 1883 and 1895. for replacing certain money expended in such payments and expenses (s). (14) that the said A. B. and C D. by themselves and their election agent were guilty of illegal hiring by hiring borrow ,ang and using for the purpose of the conveyance of electors to and from the poll at the above election certain carriages and horses [or other animals] which they knew the owner thereof to be prohibited b}'^ the statute 46 & 47 Vict, c. 51, s. 14, to let lend or employ for that purpose (t). (15) that the said A. B. and C. D. by themselves and their election agent were guilty of illegal payment by cor- ruptly inducing K. to withdraw fi'om being a candidate at the above election in consideration of a certain payment [or promise of payment] (u). (16) that the said A. B. and C. D. by themselves and their election agent were guilty of illegal payment by making payments and contracts for payment for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of themselves the said A. B. and C. D. at the above election on account of certain bands of music, certain torches, certain flags, certain banners, certain cockades, certain ribbons and certain other marks of distinction (x). (17) that the said A. B. and C D. by themselves and their election agent before during and after the above election were guilty of illegal employment by engaging or employing certain other persons for the purpose of promot- ing and procuring the election of themselves the said A. B. and C. D. for payment [or promise of payment] for certain purposes and in certain capacities other than those mentioned in the first and second parts of the first schedule of the statute 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, and by making (s) 46 & 47 Vict. c. 61, s. 13. (t) 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, 8. 14 (2). (»/) 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 15. (;i) 46 & 47 Vict, c, 51, 8. 16, Of an Election Petition. certain payments not authorised by such parts of such schedule (y). (18) that the said A. B. and C. D. by themselves and their election agent were guilty of illegal practices before and during the above election in that they printed and published and posted and caused to be printed, published, and posted certain bills certain placards and certain posters having reference to such election which failed to bear upon the face thereof the name and address of the printer and publisher (z). (19) that the said A. B. and C. D. by themselves and their election agent before during and after the above election were guilty of illegal hiring in that they hired [or used] certain premises [or a part thereof] as a committee room for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of themselves the said A. B. and C. D. which premises were (a) premises on which the sale by wholesale or retail of in- toxicating liquor was aiithorised by a licence (a) and (b) cer- tain other premises [or a part thereof] where intoxicating liquor was sold and supplied to members of a certain club [or society or association] which was not a permanent poli- tical club (b) and (c) certain other premises [or a part thereof] w^hereon refreshment was ordinarily sold for consumption on the premises (c) and (d) certain other premises [or a part thereof] being those of a public elementary school in receipt of an annual Parliamentary grant (d). (20) that the said A. B. and C. D. and their agents before during and after the above election were guilty of illegal practices in that they made certain pajmients advances and deposits in respect of certain expenses on (y) 46 & 47 Yict. c. 51, s. 17. (z) 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 18. (a) 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 20 (a). {h) Ibid., s. 20 (b). (c) Ibid., s. 20 (c). {d) Ibid., a. 20 (d). Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. account of and in respect of the conduct and management of tiie above election otherwise than by or through the election agent contrary to the statute 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 28. (e). (21) that the agents of the said A. B. and C. D. before during and after the above election were guilty of illegal practices in that they paid money provided by persons other than the said A. B. and C. D. for expenses incurred on account of and in respect of the conduct and management of the above election to persons other than the said A. B. and C. D. and their election agent contrary to the statute 46 & 47 Vict, c. 51, s. 28. (/). (22) that the election agent of the said A. B. and C. D. was guilty of an illegal practice in that after the above election he paid certain claims which were not sent in to him the said election agent within the time limited by the statute 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 29 (sub-s. 3) (g) and he paid the said claims with the sanction [or connivance] of the said A. B. and C. D. {h). (23) that the election agent of the said A. B. and C. D. was guilty of an illegal practice in that he failed to pay certain sums for expenses incurred by [or on behalf of] the said A. B. and 0. D. which were incm'red on account of [or in respect of] the conduct [or management] of the above election within the time limited by the statute 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 29 (sub-s. 5) (i) and he paid certain of such sums after the expiration of such time and he paid such sums with the sanction [or connivance] of the said A. B. and C. D. (k). (e) 46&47 Vict. c. 51,3. 28. ( / ) See that section. (g) See sub-s. 2 of s. 29. (A) See sub-s. 6 of s. 29. (/) See sub-s. 4 of s. 29. (A-) See 8ub-8. G of s. 29. Of an Election Petition. (24) that the said A. B. and C. D. after the above election were guilty of an illegal practice in that they failed to comply with the requirements of the statute 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 33, by failing to transmit [here specify which of the statements referred to in that section they or either and which of them so failed to transmit and whether they or either and which of them failed to transmit the declara- tions provided for in sub-ss. 2 and 4 of that section or whether they transmitted them after the expiration of the time limited by the section or how otherwise] (Z). (25) that the said A. B. and C. D. and their election agent were guilty of a corrupt practice in that they knowingly made the declaration required by the statute 46 & 47 Vict. c, 51, s. 33 (m), falsely. (26) that certain persons before during and after the above election were guilty of the corrupt practice of treating and such persons voted at the above election (n). (27) that certain persons before during and after the above election were guilty of the corrupt practice of undue influence and such persons voted at the above election (o). (28) that certain persons before during and after the above election were guilty of the corrupt practice of bribery and such persons voted at the above election (p). (29) that certain persons before during and after the above election were guilty of the corrupt practice of persona- tion and such persons voted at the above election (q). (0 See sub-s. 6 of s. 33. (m) See sub-s. 7 of s. 33. (n) Only effect — to strike out these votes (46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 1 and 8. 36). (o) Only effect — to strike out these votes (46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 2 and s. 36). (jp) Only effect — to strike out these votes (46 & 47 Vict. c. 51 8. 3 and s. 36, and 17 & 18 Vict. c. 102, ss. 2 and 3, and other incorporated statutes). (q) Only effect — to strike out these votes (46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, 8, 3 and s. 36, and 35 & 36 Vict. c. 33, s. 24). 10 CoKR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. (30) that certain persons were guilty of illegal practices by making the payments and contracts for payments set out in paragraphs (7) — (9) hereof and certain other persons were guilty of illegal practices by receiving such payments and being parties to such contracts and such persons voted at the above election (r). (31) that certain persons were guilty of illegal practices by inducing and procuring certain other persons to vote at the above election knowing that such other persons were prohibited by [specify the Act] from voting at the above election and the persons who made such inducements and procurements voted at the above election (s). (32) that certain persons before and during the above election were guilty of an illegal practice in that they knowingly published a false statement of the vsdthdrawal of E. F. a candidate at the above election for the purpose of promoting or procuring the return of the said A. B. and C. D. and such persons voted at the above election (t). (33) that certain persons before during and after the above election were gTiilty of making illegal payments by knowingly providing money for certain payments which were contrary to the provisions of the statute 46 & 47 Vict, c. 51, [section to be specified] and for certain expenses incurred in excess of the maximum amount allowed by the said statute to be expended on [specify the purpose] and for replacing certain money expended in such payments and expenses and such persons voted at the above election (u). (34) that certain persons were guilty of illegal hiring (r) Only effect — to strike out these votes (46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 7 and s. 36). (s) Only effect — to strike ont the votes of the persons who induced and procured, etc. (46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 9 (1) and s. 36). (t) Only effect— to strike off these votes (46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, 8. 9 (2) ands. 36). (u) Only effpct^to strike off Iheso votrs (46 & 47 Vict, c. 51, 8. 13 and s. 36). Of an Election Petition. 11 by letting lending and employing for the purpose of the conveyance of electors to and from the polls at the above election certain public stage or hackney carriages and certain horses [or other animals] which they kept or used for the purpose of letting out for hire loiowing that they were intended to be used for the purpose of the conveyance of electors to and fi-om the poll at the above election and such persons voted at the above election (x). (35) that certain persons were guilty of illegal hiring by hiring borrowing and using for the purpose of the conveyance of electors to and from the polls at the above election certain carriages and horses or other animals which they knew the owner thereof to be prohibited by the statute 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 14, to let lend or employ for that purpose and such persons voted at the above election (y). (36) that certain persons were guilty of illegal payment by corruptly inducing K. to -withdraw from being a candidate at the above election in consideration of a certain payment [or promise of payment] and such persons voted at the above election (z). (37) that certain persons were guilty of illegal pay- ment by making payments or contracts for payment for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of the said A. B. and C. D. at the above election on account of certain bands of music, certain torches, certain flags, certain banners, certain cockades, certain ribbons and certain other marks of distinction and such persons voted at the above election (a). {x) Only effect — to strike off these votes (46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 14 (1) and s. 36). (y) Only effect — to strike off these votes (46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 14 (2) and s. 36). (z) Only effect — to strike off these votes (46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 15 and s. 36). (a) Only effect — to strike off these votes (46 & 47 Vict, c. 51, e. 16 and s. 36). 12 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. (38) that certain other persons were guilty of illegal payment in that they were parties to such contracts and received such payments as are alleged in the last preceding paragraph hereof knowing that the same were made contrary to law and such persons voted at the above election (6). (39) that certain persons before during and after the above election were guilty of illegal employment by engaging and employing certain other persons for the purpose of promoting and procuring the election of the said A. B. and C. D. for payment [or promise of payment] for certain purposes and in certain capacities other than those mentioned in the first and second parts of the first schedule of the statute 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, and by engaging and employing certain other persons in cases where payment is not authorised by such parts of such schedule and the persons so guilty voted at the above election (c). (40) that the persons so engaged and employed as alleged in the last preceding paragraph hereof knew that they were engaged and employed contrary to law and were therefore likewise guilty of illegal employment and the persons so guilty voted at the above election (c). (41) that certain persons before during and after the above election were guilty of illegal hiring in that they hired [or used] as a committee room for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of the said A. B. and C. D. (a) certain premises [or a part thereof] on which the sale by wholesale of intoxicating liquor was authorised by a licence (d) and (b) certain other premises [or a part (h) Only effect — to strike off these votes (46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 16 and s. 36). (c) Only effect — to strike off these votes (46 & 47 Vict, c. 51, s, 17 and s. 36). {(I) Only effect — to strike off these votes (46 & 47 Vict, c, 51, 8. '20 (a) and s, 36). Of an Election Petition. 13 thereof] where intoxicating liquor was sold and supplied to members of a certain club [or society or association] which was not a permanent pohtical club (e) and (c) certain other premises [or a part thereof] whereon refreshment was ordinarily sold for consumption on the premises (/) and (d) certain other premises [or a part thereof] being those of a public elementary school in receipt of an annual parlia- mentary grant (^) and the persons so guilty voted at the above election. (42) that the persons letting such premises or part as in the last preceding paragraph hereof mentioned knew it was intended to use the same as committee rooms and were therefore Hkewise guilty of illegal hiring and the persons so guilty voted at the above election (h). (43) that certain persons before during and after the above election were guilty of illegal practices in that they made certain payments advances and deposits in respect of certain expenses in respect of and on account of the above election otherwise than by or through the election agent contrary to the statute 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 28, and such persons voted at the above election (i). (44) That certain persons before during and after the above election were guilty of illegal practices, in that they paid money provided by persons other than the said A. B. and C. D. for expenses incurred on account of and in respect of the conduct and management of the above election to persons other than the said A. B. and C. D. and their election (e) Only efiect — to strike off these votes (46 & 47 Vict, c. 51, s. 20 (b) and s. 36). (/) Only efiEect — to strike off these votes {ibid., s. 20 (c and s. 36). {g) Only effect — to strike off these votes {ibid., s. 20 (d) and s. 36). (/i) Only effect — to strike out these votes {ibid., s. 20 and s. 36). (0 Only effect — to strike out these votes (46 & 47 Vict c. 51, s. 28 and s. 36). 14 CoRR, AND III. Pract. Prbv. Acts, 1883 and 1895. agent, contrary to the statute 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 28, and the persons so guilty voted at the above election (fe). (45) that certain persons who in consequence of convictions or of the report of a certain election court or of certain election commissioners under the statute 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51 [or 35 & 36 Vict. c. 60, or 45 & 46 Vict. c. 50, or state under what other Act relating to corrupt practices at an election for any public office] had become incapable of voting at any election and were prohibited fi*om voting by the statute 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 37, but such persons voted at the above election (l). (46) that the election agent certain sub-agents certain polling agents certain clerks and certain messengers were directly [or indirectly] paid by the said A. B. and C. D. and nevertheless voted contrary to the statute 46 & 47 Vict, c. 51, schedule I., part I., rule 7 (m). (47) that the said A. B. and C. D. and their election agent before and diiring the above election were guilty of illegal practices in that they made or published for the purpose of affecting the return of the said E. F. a candidate at the above election certain false statements of fact in relation to the personal character or conduct of the said E. F. (n). (48) that certain persons bodies and associations cor- porate who and which were agents of the said A. B. before and during the above election, were guilty of illegal {]{) Only effect — to strike out these votes (46 & 47 Vict, c. 51, s. 28 and s. 36). (I) Only effect — to strike out these votes (46 & 47 Vict, c. 51, s. ;37). (?n) Only effect — to strike off these votes, unless the candidates or any agent have been guilty of an offence under 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, 8. 9. See above, paragraph (11), under which paragraph and not under this the election would in such case be avoided. [n) 58 & 59 Vict. c. 40, s. 1 1 Of an Election Petition. 15 practices in that they made or published for the purpose of affecting the return of the said E. F. a candidate at the above election certain false statements of fact in relation to the personal character or conduct of the said E. F. and the said A. B. and C. D. and their election agent authorised and consented to the committing of such illegal practice [or " paid for the circulation of the false statement constituting such illegal practice "] [or " and the election of A. B. and C. D. was procured or materially assisted by the making or publishing of such false statements (o). (49) that certain persons and the directors of certain bodies and associations corporate before and during the above election were guilty of illegal practices in that the said persons and bodies and associations corporate made or published for the purpose of affecting the return of the said E. F. a candidate at the above election certain false state- ments of fact in relation to the personal character or conduct of the said E. F. and the said persons and the said directors voted at the above election (p). To any such petition may be added further paragraphs founded upon other Acts of Parliament not the subject of this book ; and may succeed on such paragraphs while failing upon the paragraphs above set out, or vice versd. And in any petition such as the above it is usual and desirable to add some such paragraph as the following : — (50) That before during and after the above election such general bribery and treating and corruption and in- timidation prevailed as to vitiate the above election at common law (5). (0) 58 & 59 Vict. c. 40, s. 1 and s. 4. (p) Only effect — to strike off these votes (46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 36, and 58 & 59 Vict. c. 40, s. 1). (j) See notes on pp. 86, 88. 16 Core, and III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. When drawing an election petition it is advisable to make the net as wide as possible, and to charge every offence as to whose precise nature there is any doubt under any section which may possibly cover it. See, for instance, the East Manchester case (4 O'M. & H. 120), where an offence was charged under 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 14, and the Court re- fused to amend the petition so that sect. 7 of that Act might apply. It wiU be well, therefore, to run through the whole of the fifty paragraphs of the precedent which we have just laid before the reader, which is fuller than any precedent which we have seen elsewhere, and to consider the matter carefully before any one paragraph is passed over. At the same time it is not likely that any particular case would in fact justify the inclusion of the whole of the fifty paragraphs, and if many totally unsupported paragraphs were inserted the petitioner would be mulcted in costs even if successful (?•). The first matter to be considered is whether it is desirable to include any and which of the charges made above against the candidates personally or their election agent, which is, of course, a very serious matter. The technical offences against the law for the prevention of illegal practices, such as the exceeding of maximum amounts, the employing of persons whom it is luilawful to employ, the non-inclusion of items in the accounts, the omis- sion of the printer's and publisher's name, and the use of marks of distinction should not be omitted if there is any doubt ; for subsequent inquiry wiU often reveal fresh in- stances of these mistakes. A general petition alleging corrupt and illegal practices vaguely would probably be quite legal ; but particulars would probably be ordered at once in such a case. See Day's Election Cases, pp. 5, 11, 128. (r) See case:) cited ou pp. 19 aud 157. Of an Election Petition. 17 The presenting of the petition. — After the petition has been drafted, engrossed on parchment (s), and signed by all the petitioners (if there be more than one), it must be "presented," which means that it must be presented at the oflSce of a master nominated for the purpose by the Lord Chief Justice of England. The time limited within which it must be presented is as follows : — (1) When no " illegal practices " are charged — then within twenty-one days of the return, unless it questions the return upon an allegation of corrupt practices and specifically alleges a payment of money or other reward to have been made by any member or on his account or with his privity since the time of such return in pursuance or furtherance of Buch corrupt practices, in which case it may be presented within twenty-eight days after the date of such payment (31 & 32 Vict. c. 125, s. 6, sub.-s. 2). (2) When illegal practices are charged — then before the expiration of fourteen days after the day on which the returning officer receives the return and declarations respect- ing election expenses by the member to whose election the petition relates and his election agent ; unless the petition specifically alleges a payment of money or some other act to have been made or done since the said day by the member or an agent of the member, or with the privity of the member or his election agent in pursuance or in furtherance of the illegal practice alleged in the petition, in which case it may be presented within twenty-eight days after the date of such payment or other act (46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 40, sub.-s. 1). It is to be noted that the petitioner is not entitled to give particulars of any illegal practices committed after the date of the presenting of the petition. (Haggerston case, [1896] 1 Q. B. 504.) Within five days of the presentation of the petition a (s) This is usual, but not necessary. Day's Election Cases, p. 6. I.P. 2 18 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. notice of such presentation must be served on the respondent or respondents, together with a copj' of the petition. Also a notice of the nature of the proposed security. The petitioners must give security to the amount of £1,000 either by recognisance or by deposit of money or both. This amount is of course in most cases not enough to cover more than a fraction of the respondents' costs, but the Court has no power to order it to be increased. The manner in which the deposit is to be made and the sufficiency or insuflficiency of the proposed recognisance determined is dealt with in the Rules of 21 November, 1868, made under 31 & 32 Vict. c. 125, and need not be further discussed in this place. The contest about particulars. — Many an election petition is really lost or won in the contest about particulars. Such particulars as may be necessary to prevent surprise and unnecessary expense and to insure a fair and effectual trial, may be ordered by the Court or a Judge as in ordinary causes upon such terms as to costs or otherwise as may be ordered. A very important point which has to be decided is how many days before the trial the particulars have to be delivered. On the one hand the respondents practically cannot begin to prepare their case at all until the charges which they have to answer are disclosed ; on the other enormous influences are likely to be brought to bear upon the various witnesses if these charges are disclosed too soon, and it is no exaggeration to say that the petitioners' advisers have often to watch their witnesses like valuable racehorses during the time between the delivery of the particulars and the hearing. There is no inflexible rule : the time must depend upon the particular circumstances of each case (t). The period usually ordered is from seven to ten days before trial. But Cave, J., in one case made the period depend upon the number of charges in the (t) Stepney case, [1893] 1 Q. B. 118. Of an Election Petition. 19 particulars : and Master Day, whose experience of these cases at the bar was exceedingly wide, considers that snch a sHding scale is the fairest to adopt, and may have some effect in preventing wholesale and reckless charges (u). Full particulars of corrupt and illegal practices are usually ordered, the names and addresses of the offenders and the persons who were bribed or treated or illegally employed and so forth, the registered number of such persons if votrs, the exact nature of the offence and the time and place in each instance (x). But when general corruption, etc., at common law is alleged, less stringent particulars are ordered (y). The form of particidars set out hereimder is an abstract of the particulars in an actual case, viz. : — The Montgomery Boroughs case (z). It is true that in this case Wills, J., said, "I am very sorry that such a multitude of particulars have been put into this case." But he gave his reason : " They go far beyond any of the evidence in the possession of the petitioners .... The petitioner has had from the time when the petition was filed to the time when he delivers his particulars to get up his case, and really by that time he ought to know a great deal more than the petitioners seem to have known in this case as to the instances which can be relied upon and tbose which can not." It was the evidence therefore which was wanting to support the particulars. Indeed, not one single charge out of the sixty-nine which were made was brought home to the satisfaction of both the judges. But the particulars themselves are a fair sample of such a document : and they give a good idea of au election petition in the concrete. (u) Day's Election Cases, pp. 12 and 13. (x) Ibid, {y) Ibid- (2) An abstract made by the Author from those particulars at the time of the trial in 1892, 2—2 20 Core, and III. Pract. Pbev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. 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O m H pq s O Oi OS ,2 ^^ P a o.1 ■-It a _^ . ■3 a . >>-a" o-gSg on a IB 3 '3'S« s ^&.2aO IB > ^ p S|| HP ^n ^0 to 10 to MS 0^ 2~ n d ."a S a si a . OH a .0 ^ .. ^ ■s am -•* n =S fH So Ph"" ^0^ goo 1^ <0 r-< ^ .a t-ifl g A) a §So ;^ 6 -c So ^11 ^ »■ ^ j3 ■o Saga og| axi^ a a« n 0*5 >i.i >, CJ?X1 "O U a r^ a; a ID a a lU 43 ^ a a a fl ee"4j 03 -c > ClJ sals 60 a *a5 'O ,C] 2 a a ft to ID u a u a -a lU QQ 10 a a •ajBinoi!) -ABJ ' r1 11 •* •0 10 on Of an Election Petition. 23 °1^ O 03 to cS fs .-2"-- O 3 Q C3 ^ t— 1 ^1 hq t- o O o § o 5 = > go Sa tea ai^ MO o g^ .23 £ d •-< p> © o © S? 532° 24 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. H pa o o g H ■< !z; r^ o IH H r. H M OJ Ph o f^ Pi o bf) o '^ P3 Ph CM o •J P o H Ph Ph P O « a; d .^ cS ® H >■« si® 0) So JO ON 5^ ^3^ ^s^ ®.s r- S'^ 0.2 5 J a d o-S a^ > Cl n •OB raC-vi >- O ? ■ O C^-i to*'-' Cfl QJ fl O) n 9 o aj 2-= p a a t* OJ o Oli.3 ' m ffl a C.S a a ^'^3 o o 03 Of an Election Petition. 25 o'H='o.2 ^"^ HP ^S ^ C Q ^ " fe [^ 5 ^^ of fe-Sg O ^ ^* i! o "J- -I 55 H^ 1^1 ^ 5 (B o o & « :2"S S a & o o in t-l o fe !- m^ C S~ > a ee ^^ S O o2 :S OK S.S ' ^ - o o q2 a,,.. d a ■9 fc >" o 'eh" O 0» o '^ © >^ 26 Core, and III. Peact. Peev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. w M M H O CM o i-i p o o own S., .3 oral ion. |!B„ a ^ V^ o-g m M Q So CO CTi TJI IS ■Si 0^ >a H 3 a aS§K.^ a to m ij =0 a 1 So >> ^ 30 1 ^1 iH 1 00 1 S 1 t- 00 1 •0^2 ^ ^ 5 -i > 1-5 > -o T! , a" a a" a S3 . d a ^ O o 2 f= «5 d m P g^a s biz; 1 >. fl >^ >. >!■ CD S*^ la a to 3 i-s a Q a 05 1 0^0 p^-t' >> m ^ ^ -»■=** .a^ a c3 a ■a ■l ■^ ® CXJS ;^ ffi'O a in.; W) aiJ .9g S ^ T3 a i to .2.3 o eS a ^H ©r ^- a Pm ^■3 ID U H cc tH H •BJ'BinOI!} -.^'Btl CM § gj ^ JO ON Of an Election Petition. 27 J J ij iJ J J iJ ^J 05 05 o ro o t- § CO CO 00 '- 2 m^ ." a a a a a 1:© S °*° ooce o o o o o ot,-"- «3'3 es'3 ^■^ KG a; i hsI g_. ^ ^ ^ ►, ►, .g- ^- og "^oS °"S 0^2 co^ re.'O 0:73 2-- ■? c~2, 00 -"^cS <=cj «8,a eSsS dd a^ '^■^Ci 9g ag t: g 3® giq ,rfo •^Pho ^«=, ^-S -. --3 g-S -^ »o^ |K. iitgi§ °f 21" II II II °J °l S ci|3-2 Sl. ^S. |S |l h| i^. |3a. - "a ^.il g„-s "^ -s 3 2 I 2 -- ^§ f .S «2 .g oocSg „2c a ^-3 ^^2 l^g Sgg ^ g j.'s .^o S ios-^ifl S^^ "^JiS 2"° 0^0 °§^ «§= ■?-- o goMaticojs o«3 r'^SS go's JEo"3 f^^^cc c6=£? ^Oh) ^"3 a - , >, §5 C-.S a-.g c-.a g.S a'.S g g . §.S c7;-«iu "-iS as as c~ ^:= '-'S c— a3 — £5|a 1 2 c« aa an .2 c .2 a |^-= |"S "" |»j «=3 «^3 a^a g3 k3 ^-^ |3 ■5 ».*1>> ^-i' ^^i- »,-^ ^«>> u^>^ i" i- ^ oSfe-;: osa osg oss oss ess a a a 2 f^ a S"^ cS*^ a °^ a°'^ a 2'^ '^ '^ ^ O'i'S^ Ods Odg 0*5 O'Sg Od^g 3 5 j .a ooooo,^o- .« .^ ts a ^•E' o3© mO S) <0 (D .© ,0 »g c^ t^ H H H EH H H*^ Eh" 28 CoKR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. 7^ H < w rt H H Cm o o o P o o _o OS- o ^ tH ■s^- S Sll d 6 in lO in CO CO CO CO := a — ■4 a — i 1—1 >.Ar-; aj !- o "3 S ffl fl a o a . so OD t< ©(BO} > !U O 111 an ^ > cog CS o (D 01 a o a ce o a o a a s a a ■3 a a '2 3 a M a a a n •^ CO CO c^ § - - . _ ^ - .. . « *. oq ■» w t> (S *-a g cs o a a a fl o a a^ a a, a "3 S'gft ce o-a 1:1 ^^"^ •-5 OS 1-5 ^ H5 ^ -|o^ ajft 6 a ^ a ^^ ft SaS* 03 g a-a j^ ^ fl s "-a O c6^ O cS cS ee ■3 Ot> © O^o 5a«' ^ ^ 5: CS >. >. >. _>> QJ NS 3 a ogS a ";3 .a >-3 1-5 CO *■■" t- t- t- o o * « **^ ■*3 ■^ ■*3 ■*» ? to 6C &o ^ CO a a T to U) 6JD a a "* a oj.a a a> .0 a o) a a 4) .a a H- £- S« CO a 1^ >^ •SJ'BIllOT!) -AUj' o Cl -^ a o — « ;^ — H >, C3 ^ S S ce fl c3 30 Cork, and III. Pract. Prbt. Acts, 1883 and 1895. H 'A o ;z H EH o I CM O ^u ^ m^ M s ■ a . a . u a o a o a S -^-S cs o te o oS o O .4 S afl ^ a " 1^ n a o3 o Oo| ce (D oj go3 ■3>'3 si O o °a» >>'r p^-^ ^ '^ ,^ «*H rS =« O =S rK"3 '5 a |.3 a lu a" 1 a' i III 6 fl_0 «2c^ T- a » m ^ cS o QJ-5 — ><. >. >. _t|. 0) CJ ^ 3 "3 "3 "3 g^ 1-5 ■-5 1-5 «-« .a a g a O-l to S oo 3 o O !- o M fc. O-O ■*^<2** ^V.^«fl (U ttc'S tx rH '^ w-a bcts a"* a a a g a,-- is > H ^<.Sf ■XB^' s 13 s jooM Of an Election Petition. 31 to 1-H CO o CO CJ d 6 6 o 6 6 H Z Z »i ^'l^^l ■* ceo ^o 6 a: C-S-a -2 73 'S a '3 ■2 ■ • Q IS a'3 ols ^ O k O > " S 3 -gi i (D M ^ -•2 •« 2 CO 3 >i'3 ^'-3 SI > a ■ ^4 o ^ ? ffl'§ •as o <0 •D o s5 S|"l o a 'oM _'3o 2^* ® O OS '-^ a o ^ -5 - o o t£3 o a'C a g (B 0)^ S a--) •35 a O <* a =^ M ^- o o .-.3 •- 0) D Ot , O Q ^^ 1-^3 ^ ^ ^ r- Jj -^ -^O csca:p> K 1-5 ,M ex M ^ <0 p ^ i . ® .S . ^ Gx--* r:: 0> > ^ r-1 S-S^'O a a c Di-j '*> i^o 3 = 3 43 c^ ^ O o a o'S "S'S "S o 5^ !1> >■ o 1 o 1 H t- ^^ -o .2 5) a .>,o t>.o eing respo nouse niplo dent agent 5 o unplo dent agent work. n m m gd ^ ;? ^^goJS 02 O ^§ 6 Q dm „ 3 !z; . n — s-^=y> ^•S j2:s6 ^p tS JH o SQgO HO •3^^ ■^ S Iwyc tora own tora o t1 O o3 13 15 ^g ag CI ce Jh ^'3 <« ^3)2; ^J ^ J Iz; ^:i to rn^ "^ 13 Jh *^ S M 2 cS ^ u- o .M b*-s ^ a c 0) c: p: T3 Tl J-J o tJ i? 5 n « q " S ^ :i s la < < a ^ W t. 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. (U rJ <-, OJ •^1 ga 3 S 3 t 1-5 .a •^ S" a t- 1-5 t- Of an Election Petition. 83 y^a ra 2 o cc.o "'3 rt S; r, =s *a i>S *H ij z iz; o o S, 52; C5 rt — — 3 B « C ,s >S ••ii 2 5^« O " — > cc C o S o to o >., o— I'*: o o E 2 i. ft eo 3 0) _o j3 "3 c3 tJ S3 a a _t> a P >i 3 hs ^ t- 5jO a S !U gS "3 S2 EC M 0) (D &: (D ;h .a tH j^ « tS 073 OS 6.2 >£-a a © "S >'M'^ tort "3 1 O d PQ CO . OH a 60 3 o5 a> a o 1-5 B .2 s <" ° ■rH r-l^ a s d ^da ■« "3 . gs::2 0-3 « •-Hate's P-i £ O o s «a^/a&S ca ci S® g _o -^-IS- jSot o o 1 1 fta t, i=< O 0« 61) 1 i a o 1-5 a'd . ^ , CO >. ^> . P s S a 3 1-0 ■q3 f? a 3 1-5 -^o>^ '6 o > P5 ft Mm .So . ft Mo, a 3, ma® ^fta •sa-Binor!) -:fB 13 o3 O =* 3^ Newtown W., No. 4 Electoral Division. o CO s 1 m 3 ■? o Cooper, e Lodge, Street, wn. obert of Th L'ark Newto P m M c^. ^9 fa >< >< -"Ti «-« cijca mS a P< a "* S o S B > a > a (6 © ;z; w p hj tt, 1— 1 s p ft ;z; P ;^ TJH o ii H 1— 1 H n W h > .• V ^1 "1 a ;=; 'JJ o P^ m d.3 n m fl '^ . ii 0) ■3 2-S .s a a Q, a> Ph B "3 .h a ^^ -*^ CO 1 .5§ P 9 s Is 1 eq 1 CO , P o ij _Ci3 rrt i-q © fl-C • r-t C* to O 0) oq" &a2 o o o > 6 '1 nS o * " tn A ® O ©-^ |o P . oj s^a '^'^ m .a 82S ^"1 .a o.g o u'm g M^.a «•.=:§ = a CO i33 02 w G(-i U2 O • !- 00 to *=■ 3 2 36 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. Interlocutory proceedings generally. — All interlocutory questions and matters (including particulars), except as to the sufficiency of the security, are to be heard and disposed of before a Judge who has the same control over the proceedings under 31 & 32 Vict. c. 125, as a Judge at Chambers in the ordinary proceedings of the Superior Courts, and such questions and matters are to be heard and disposed of by one of the Judges upon the Rota if practicable, and if not, then by any Judge at Chambers. This does not apply to the withdrawal of the petition, which can only be done as prescribed by 42 & 43 Vict. c. 75, s. 2, before the Judges. The withdrawal of the petition. — An election petition resembles in some respects a criminal trial : it is easy to launch — it is difficult to withdraw. And for the same reason. It is no mere issue inter partes. The whole con- stituency itself is, in a sense, upon its trial : and the representative of the Director of Public Prosecutions is always present to see that there is no improper smothering of the petition. The whole matter is dealt with in 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 41. (See that section set out at p. 147, and note thereon.) Amendments. — (1) Amendments of petitions cannot be made by the introduction of a substantially new charge after the time for presenting a petition in respect of such a charge has expired (Norwich case, (1886) 2 Times Reports, 273) ; but any petition presented within the proper time as before explained may, for the purpose of questioning the return or election on an allegation of an illegal practice, be amended within the time hmited by sect. 40 of the Act of 1883 ; and this extends to illegal payment, employ- ment, or hiring : per Pollock, B. {Buckrose case, 4 O'M. & H. 116). The application must be made to a Judge on the Rota {Pontefract case, [1893] 1 Q. B. 779). (For the practice, see that case and Day's Election Cases, pp. 6 — 8.) Of an Election Petition. 37 (2) Amendments of particulars may always be made upon good cause being shown, provided that they come under some allegation in the petition (Day's Election Cases, p. 15). Amendments wiE be allowed even during the trial (Harwich ease, 3 O'M. & H. 60). The trial. — The trial itself takes places before two Judges of the High Court, and is conducted in accordance with the ordinary principles as to practice and evidence pre- vailing in ordinary trials at nisi prius. Four matters only are somewhat special. (1) Agency ; (2) Excuses ; (3) The presence of the Public Prosecutor ; and (4) The granting of certificates of indemnity. (1) Agency for the purpose of election petitions is established by principles of law which are peculiar to the subject, and which are of such importance as to require a separate chapter (a). (As to the law and practice as to proof of corrupt practices before agency is estabhshed, see p. 82.) (2) Excuses under these Acts are matters of the greatest importance. Whether there is an election petition or not, persons who have been guilty of certain irregularities are bound to obtain an excuse from the Court. And both corrupt and illegal practices can ujider ordinary circum- stances be excused. The matter is fully dealt with in this book under sects. 22, 23 and 34 of the Act of 1883 (see pp. 110, 111, 130), and it is not necessary further to allude to that law here than to point out that the evidence of both sides should be largely directed to the view which the Court ought to take of these sections, every one of whose provisions must be made the subject of the most careful consideration. (3) The presence of the Public Prosecutor introduces a peculiar element into these trials. It would be very hard upon the respondents if the Pubhc Prosecutor might take (a) See Chapter iv., pp. 69—82. 88 Conn, and III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. up and drive home any charge which the petitioners did not dare to put forward, and thus double the chances of defeat. And it has now been clearly established that so long as the parties are at arm's length, he must not interfere until the issue between the parties has first been tried. (See the Mo7itgomery Boroughs case, 4 O'M. & H. 168, 169.) The whole matter is discussed in the notes to sect. 43 of the Act of 1883. (4) The granting of certificates of indemnity is conse- quential on the obligation of witnesses to answer aU questions relating to any offence at or connected with the election, without being able to excuse himself on the ground that the answer thereto may criminate or tend to criminate himself, or on the ground of privilege. But the witnesses must answer truly in order to be entitled to such certificates. This again must be borne in mind as an element in determining the policy of making this or that charge in an election petition. The result. — At the conclusion of the trial the two Judges decide whether the respondent or any other candidate has been duly elected, and if they differ the respondent retains his seat, as happened in the Montgomery Boroughs case. The various matters as to which they may also report appear from the Act of 1883 itseK(a). Costs. — The costs of an election petition under the Act of 1883 have been discussed in several cases, which are duly noted below (h). (a) See pp. 97, et seq. (b) See pp. 157, 158. Of a Contested Election. 89 CHAPTER n. OF A CONTESTED ELECTION UNDER THE CORRUPT AND ILLEGAL PRACTICES PREVENTION ACTS, 1883 AND 1895. It would be well for his party if every person who concerns himself at aU in the work of an election could be made to xmderstand the statutes which form the subject of this book, to consider what would be the effect if such a petition as that which we have set out and discussed in the last chapter were to be launched, and in particular to study the pecidiar law of agency obtaining in these matters. But that is of course impossible : and the next best thing is that all such persons should place themselves whenever in doubt in the hands of the election agent. It will be seen in a later chapter that high authorities have often compared the position of " agents " for this purpose to the persons who are de facto on board a yacht at the time when she is sailing in a race. We may perhaps extend the analogy and say that while the candidate is like the owner of such a yacht, the election agent is like the captain to whom he has intrusted her. The election agent is therefore above all the person responsible for the observ^ance of the Acts of Parlia- ment now before us ; but he must be loyally supported by all concerned, including the candidate himself. Now it must be remembered that in practice an election agent is not employed solely or even principally to carry out the provisions of the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Pre- vention Acts. He is employed to win — to win, of course, by fair means only, but to win. Lawyers without experience of actual election work are apt to forget how heavy is the work of an election agent entirely outside the provisions of the Acts in question. He has to purchase the registers and to organise the canvass of every elector whose name appears 40 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. upon them, in itself a work of colossal magnitude. He has to arrange for the meetings, often to the number of three a night — with, perhaps, auxiliary meetings in the candidate's absence at some other places. He has continually to alter the arrangements so made according to the halls available, etc. He has to employ a large nimaber of persons to do a large nimaber of things, and the characteristics of his employees are liable to present the various difficxilties which potentially attend all labour markets — incompetence and idleness and drunkenness and avarice. Nor can he follow his own pleasure, as the manager of another business might do, with regard to getting rid of undesirables — for he must, whenever he fairly and properly may do so, consider the popularity of his candidate and of his party. He must be ready, along with the candidate, to suffer what we might call the " poor man's contumely " with a smiling face. He must attend to a correspondence which goes into many hundreds of letters and telegrams, and which, in the country, arrives even on a Sunday. He must be prepared to parry the attacks of innumerable touts from newspapers and advertisement offices and smart business men of every kind, who know each and all that he has a large sum of money at his disposal, and hope each and all for their share. He must send out the candidate's address and other election literature, and must keep pace with his adversary in this matter, as well as in the placarding of the constituency with posters of aU descriptions. He must do aU lawful things pos- sible to reach outvoters and secure their votes. He must read and be prepared to answer, at a moment's notice, the pamphlets of the enemy. He must consvJt with aU the volunteer members of his party, and make the most profitable use of the assistance which any lady or gentleman may offer him ; and he must see to the provision of as many freely pro- vided conveyances as can be secured to take the voters to and fr( >m the poU. Such are a few of his more obvious duties. Of a Contested Election. 41 And even when we come to the legal department, so to speak, of his work, it is by no means the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Acts alone which must engage his energies. Various other statutes are in force which neces- sitate action that depends upon the election agent (a). From the time of the nomination to the time of the counting he is constantly at work considering legal problems raised by such other statutes or by the general principles of the coromon law. These things, it is submitted, ought to be borne in mind in considering what an election agent, as a reasonable man, ought to have done or left undone in particular circum- stances with relation to the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Acts. Nevertheless it is most important that what man can do he should do faithfully to carry out these Acts. He ought to read the Acts and the cases here noted under the various sections. He ought to consider the effect of a possible petition such as that set forth in the preceding chapter. He ought to contemplate that possibility throughout — not with nervous apprehension, for then he would scarcely dare to act at all on a hundred occasions when action is necessary, but with level-headed carefulness. We will now carefully consider what he ought to do to minimise the chances of any corrupt or illegal practices being committed on his side. Corrupt Practices. — He shoTild call successive meetings of his own supporters — a meeting of the ladies and gentle- men who form the party leaders in the constituency or who are volunteering to assist him ; and a meeting of the paid employees who are about to work with and under him. The candidate shotdd be present on both occasions. The election (a) E.g., 6 Yict. c. 18; 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102; 35 & 36 Vict. c. 33; 38 & 39 Vict. c. 84; 48 Vict. c. 10; 48 & 49 Vict. c. 23; 30 Vict. c. 9. 42 Core, and III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. agent should address these meetings on the importance of avoiding anything which could be construed into the appear- ance of a corrupt practice. He should point out strongly that a single instance might be fatal to the party after the contest was won. The candidate should say a few words to the same effect. If these speeches are made — and made in good faith — they ought to be of great service in the event of an election petition, especially in view of 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 22 (h). They should be taken down by a shorthand writer. Every person employed to do anything particular by the election agent or by any person working under him should as far as possible be warned on the subject. Canvassing- books should contain a warning on the cover ; and written appointments, such as those of sub-agents, should contain upon their face a similar warning. Similar notices should be posted in the committee-rooms and in any places where the workers of the party resort. And notices to the like effect, signed by the election agent, addressed to the public generally and posted in the con- stituency, may also be useful. The last-named notices should contain a list of the penalties which can be incurred by offenders; and these may also have the effect of pre- venting the interests of the candidate, on whose behalf they were posted, from being injured by the corrupt practices of his adversaries. It is always to be remembered that a corrupt practice must be something done with a corrupt mind ; and that the Court will always look from that point of view at the real substance of any alleged corrupt act and the real bona-fide intention of any alleged precaution taken by the candidate or election agent against it. Illegal Practices. — The election agent and candidate when addressing the meetings already suggested as to (b) Seep. 110. Of a Contested Election. 43 corrupt practices, should also discuss illegal practices, and should point out by the illustration of some such decision as that in the Walsall case (4 O'M. & H. 126) the fatal effect of the neglect even in an apparently trifling instance of these laws. The appointment of sub-agents must also be accompanied with careful printed instructions on the subject ; and in general the precautions advised in regard to corrupt practices may usefully be observed in regard to illegal practices as well. The duties of the election agent himself in relation to illegal practices are extremely onerous. His selection of sub-agents, clerks and messengers must be care- fully carried out in accordance with the Act of 1883, and he must duly notify their appointment as his own to the returning officer (c). He must employ no persons for pay- ment or promise of payment for any purposes or in any capacities which would be contrary to 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 17 (d). He must take every precaution he can devise to prevent illegal payments for banners, etc., contrary to sect. 16 of the same Act (e), and he must carefully scrutinise all posters and election literature to see that they comply with the conditions of sect. 18 of the same Act (/) as to the name and address of the printer and publisher. In short, he must make himself personally responsible for the carrying out of all the provisions in the Act against illegal practices. But it is the financial part of his duties which will weigh most heavily upon him. He is tightly tied to a particular maximum, and the result makes his task most difficult and irritating. The amount is, in the author's opinion, too small. Though the candidate may be generously ready and willing to pay what is a fair and just reward for labour done, the election agent is bound to be continually cheeseparing : (c) See pp. 116—118. (rf) See p. 105. (e) See p. 102. (/) See p. 10(3. 44 Core, and III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. to ask perhaps solicitors of good position to give up a large amount of time for the work of a sub-agency and to allow them a remuneration only equivalent to a small frac- tion of the value of their time : to bargain with every prin- ter and bill-poster in order to save a few shillings here and there : to insist on exact estimates beforehand even where jobs are most difficult to estimate ; and generally, if we may use the popular expression, to " sweat." If this is not done the candidate and election agent wiU find it difficult honestly to make the declarations which the Act requires and which are so worded as to cover every liabihty past present or future which has been undertaken in any way on account of the election. The election agent should have before his eyes throughout two necessary objects — (1) that his accounts must be able to stand the test of cross-examination (a test which probably by no means all such election accounts could bear), and (2) that he himseK must be able honestly to declare this accuracy in the prescribed form. The accounts must be as accurate as those of a bank and vouchers for all payments must be obtained and exhibited. The election agent should notify as widely as possible that the candidate will not be responsible for any contract, whei-eby any expenses are incurred on account of or in respect of the election, made otherwise than by the election agent or his sub- agents (g) ; and the appointments of the latter must be made strictly subject to a written condition that they must incur no expenditure beyond a stated snm. And sub-agents must remember that, however unwillingly, the election agent may be obliged to carry out such an agreement literally, and their remuneration will in such case be lessened by the amount of any excessive expenditure. It may be absolutely necessary to take this course to save the seat from danger. Every night before he goes to bed the election agent and {y) 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 27. Of a Contested Election. 45 each sub-agent ought to reckon up exactly where they stand as to liabilities already undertaken and those which must still be incurred with reference to the maximum. The personal expenditure of the candidate must also be set out. This may be unlimited in amount but the account of it must be carefully examined to see whether all the items appearing in it properly belong to personal expenditure and not to the other account. The election agent must deter- mine this question in the light of his own common-sense, as there has been no decision by the Courts as to what may properly be included in personal expenditure. The definition in s. 64 at p. 179 is not exhaustive. Excuse. — If in spite of all care the maximum amount is exceeded, or if any other illegal practice has been committed, an application must be made for an excuse under 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 23, where, if the precautions above-named are proved to have been taken, there ought to be a fair chance of success under sub-sect. (b). (See that sub-section.) This application, unlike that under sect. 22, may be made to the High Court, and is not confined to a case where there is an election petition. The same is true of an apphcation under sect. 34 of the same Act for an authorised excuse for non-compliance with the provisions of sect. 33 as to the return and declaration respecting election expenses. Either of these applications should be made to the Divisional Court. The excuse contemplated by sect. 22 relates to corrupt practices only, and is a matter for the Election Court only, and at the trial of an election petition only. The law as to such excuses and the conditions necessary for their success appears from the sections in question and the notes thereto. 46 Core, and III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895, CHAPTER m. OF THE GENERAL POLICY AND EFFECT OF THE CORRUPT AND ILLEGAL PRACTICES PREVENTION ACTS, 1883 AND 1895. In the summer months of 1883 the important Bill which is connected with the name of Lord James of Hereford, then Sir Henry James, A.-G., was debated at some length in the Houses of Parliament. It was agreed on all hands that some provision to secure a higher degree of purity at Parliamentary elections was greatly needed : but the remedy proposed was thought by many to be severer than was needful, and likely in practice to faU hardly on the most innocent of candidates. " You are now proposing," said one opponent of the BiU, " to pass a most cruel law — not for the criminal classes, but for men who wish to fight an election fairly. Under this BiU an honest man wiU be afraid to stand, while the dishonest man vnll triumph " (a). And the same thing was reiterated in various ways through weary weeks of long deliberation. At last, on August 23, 1883, the Bill became law, and from that date those who are interested in the prevention of corruption at elections began to look closely and anxiously, to see what results the new law would bring about. For some while the chief result was mere per- plexity ; election petitions were rare : defeated candidates hesitated to make trial of the newly-made machinery, whereby alone lost honours were to be regained and grievances against rivals in politics redressed. The Act was not understood : and men would not play a game of which they did not know the rules. But gradually this state of things passed away. Experiments were made, and made successfully ; and others were encouraged to try (a) Hans, cclxxix., p. 1653. General Policy and Effect. 47 their fortune too. Accordingly, the General Election of 1892 was fruitftd in illustrations of the working of this Act — so fruitful that the Judges on the Rota for the follow- ing year tried no fewer than a dozen petitions (h) in England and L-eland. In all of these cases the petition set forth offences under the Act of 1883, though in one case — that of Cirencester — these were abandoned before trial, and the petitioner relied on other grounds for his attack. The decisions of the remaining eleven cases all depended on this Act, and almost every part of it was touched by one or other of them ; so that after these, for the first time, it was really possible to form some judgment of the utility of the machinery which was introduced in 1883. These eleven cases were those of Hexham, East Clare, the two divisions of Meath, the Montgomery Boroughs, Walsall, Worcester, Eochester, Stepney, East Manchester, and Pontefract. In six cases the petition was successfid : in one the Judges differed, whereby the sitting member kept his seat : in one they found illegal practice, but condoned it under their special powers : in the other three they found for the respondents on the facts. What, then, shall we say on looking at these cases ? Is it a severe and cruel law calculated " to make an honest man afraid to stand"? Another general election maybe near at hand, and the question is, therefore, of the gravest consequence. The election law of England, now brought to its highest perfection by the Act of 1883, is un- doubtedly most stringent, and here and there an honest man may feel the sting of it for aU his honesty. But the policy of the law requires a dihgence, a circumspection, a something more than honesty in those who deal with matters so important to the public weal. If a common (b) See Day's Election Cases, 1892-1893, and shorthand notes of judgments in Parly. Papers 25 and 25 Q) of 1893, from which the quotations in this chapter are derived. 48 CoKR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. carrier must sometimes pay for the loss of goods wliich lie for his part did his best to carry with all safety : and a seller of food and drugs be criminally responsible for the adulteration of articles which he at least did not by will or deed adulterate (and this because of the importance to the public of its being able to utterly rely on those who carry on these businesses), is there not something to be said for binding a Parliamentary candidate with bonds at least as tight ? The principle which gives the law its real severity, and which is said to make it formidable even to an innocent candidate, is a principle altogether independent of the Act of 1883 — the principle by which the Court determines who are the agents of the candidate. But for this, all that part of the Act which deals with corrupt practices would, of course, be without terrors to the innocent candidate. What would such an one have to fear from a punishment which could only fall on "any person who corruptly " does this or that, " for the purpose of corruptly influencing " and so forth, were it not for the added words which make the section read " who corruptly by himself or any other person " does these things ? " The doctrine of agency," said an opponent of the Bill before it became law, "has been pushed to its extreme limits. If the candidate is speaking to anyone, it almost makes the man his agent." This principle has long obtained in election petitions. It was upon this principle that the committees of the House acted in deciding such questions — those committees whose principles, practice, and rules in the matter are still to be observed by the express words of statute 31 & 32 Vict. c. 125, s. 6. The Act of 1883, therefore, introduced no new oppression in this respect. It has not invented the liability ; but the liability has assumed a more serious aspect in view of some of the provisions of the Act. The offence of " corrupt treating " General Policy and Effect. 49 under the Act is the chief cause of this. There is no small portion of the inhabitants of our islands whose lives are largely made up of treating and being treated. For- tunate, indeed, is the candidate who numbers no such persons among his agents. The election petitions of 1892-3 have been fruitful in illustrations of this danger. To quote Wills, J. : " There is inherent in a great many- people, with whom we have had to deal in this inquiry, the habit of giving and accepting drinks ; it is as natural for them to treat and be treated, as it is to have their breakfast or their dinner, or anything else that forms part of their daily hfe ; and to suppose that such habits would be dropped at election time is preposterous." Not a few seats were lost or imperilled by the fact that the candidate had agents among this class of men. And, although it would be an exaggeration to say that " speaking to a man" would make him your agent, yet, in a crisis when a man must make all the honest friends he can, and accept all the help that is offered him in good faith, it is difficult not to find some of these would-be friends among the class to whom Wills, J., refers. And then those habits, which it would be so preposterous to expect them to drop at election time, prevail once too often ; and by imperceptible degrees the offence of " corrupt treating " is approached. For it is no more possible for these people in practice to separate the questions, which ought to be so completely distinct — " How are you going to vote?" and "What are you going to drink?" — than for a local cricket club to play together unless it may dine together too. How is the candidate to fight an election without some agents of this class ? For it may sometimes include the chief proportion of the constituency. But then, on the other hand, how, but by some such enactment as this, could a monstrous abuse have been done away ? Coidd anything be more disgraceful than i.p. 4 50 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. that " glasses round " in public-houses througliout the country should decide the terrible issues which lie before us now ? Yet there are men to whom these grave matters are of less moment than a glass of gin in a time of thirstiness ; and the " poor voter," whom the late Mr. Whittier imagined proudly exclaiming on the polling-day, ' ' The wide world has not wealth to buy The power in my right hand," is a very different man from some of the real-life "poor voters " at Hexham, Montgomery, or Rochester. It must, therefore, be acknowledged that the author of the Act had a very difficult problem before him — to protect the purity of elections on the one hand, and on the other to avoid punishing candidates, who have done their very best in the cause of such purity, for things which were utterly beyond their control. But this problem was dealt with in a masterly manner. The most briUiant idea of the Act is that of sect. 22, enabling the Court to exonerate an innocent candidate, in certain cases, from the consequences of dis- obedience to what the Act prescribes, when the candidate himself and his election agent have done nothing against the law themselves, when they have taken all reasonable means to prevent offences, when the offences are trivial, unimportant, and limited, and when the election is other- wise pure. The notion of this proviso seems to have originated in a suggestion made by the late Lord Bramwell (Hans., vol. cclxxix. p. 1691), when examined by a Royal Commission on this subject. Vaughan WiUiams, J. (now L.J.), took pains to make it clear that the Judges' adminis- tration of the Act does not operate hardly upon candidates. " It is of all things essential," said he, " that those who stand for Parliament should feel that the success or failure of a petition against them does not depend upon matters General Policy and Effect. 61 wliicli are beyoud their coutrol. If it were felt that it were so, one would find that honest citizens, who respected them- selves, would decline to stand for Parliament at aU. No one, with proper self-respect, woidd submit himseK to the chance of being unseated after he had been elected, by reason of matters for which he was in no way responsible." The member for Rochester was unseated, because he failed to prove that he and his election agent took aU reasonable means for preventing the commission of corrupt and illegal practices at the election. It is here to be noticed that the candidate is responsible for the doings of his election agent equally with his own. This is only common sense : for it is he who reaUy conducts the business of the candidature : the candidate has trusted aU to him, and to excuse his defaults would be beyond the scope of reasonable clemency. In every case which he tried, Vaughan Williams, J. (now L. J.), had a good word for the Act with regard to its bearing on an innocent candidate. " I do not believe," he said in the Stepney case, "that these Acts, when properly construed, contain any pitfaU or trap whatsoever for any candidate who determines to conduct his candidature honestly and care- fully." So again at Hexham he would not have it said that the question of guilt or innocence upon a charge of " corrupt treating " could be a question of law. " It is not a question of law," he said : " it is a question of fact. Let the candidate feel that, if he personally carefully avoids coiTuption, and carefully chooses his agents, and carefully supervises their conduct on his behalf, he will not be stigmatised as a party to an impure election, or suffer the consequences of the misconduct of others." The inference from this is that, if parties innocent of wilful corruption are ever punished, it is for their carelessness. For carelessness in things so important is most reprehensible : it is, in its own degree, analogous to the carelessness that causes another's death, and that is the felony of manslaughter. 4—2 52 Core, and III. Pract, Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. There is one thing that no section in the Act gives the Court any power to condone, however trivial and unimport- ant, however miich against the wishes of the candidate and his election agent. This thing is actual or attempted (17 & 18 Vict. c. 102, s. 2) bribery. The reason of the distinction is obvious : the giving and receiving of money is much more significant than that of food or drink. The habit of giving and accepting money, without the passing of money's worth, is not inherent in the natui-e of humanity ; this is not as natural as breakfast or dinner in any class ; and if this is done in a place where canvassing is going on, it is in itself suspicious. Prove this to have been done by an agent of the candidate, prove its corrupt motive, and how could it be excused ? But the danger to a candidate of an agent doing this unpardonable thing must be remem- bered, as against the picture of security enjoyed under this Act by an innocent candidate drawn by Vaughan Williams, J. (now L.J.). For see what happened at Pontefract. There an agent of the candidate, utterly without the candidate's knowledge, paid a voter certain moneys for attending to vote. (It was left an open question whether this was bribery pure and simple or an illegal payment of a railway fare, which would fall under 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 7.) Sir Henry Hawkins - (now Lord Brampton) said : " One cannot help it : one must deal with the facts as one feels they ought to be dealt with, and, much as I regret it, I am bound to come to the conclu- sion that the member must lose his seat. He owes his disagreeable position entirely to the corrupt act of a person who, unfortunately, had been constituted his legal agent. No imputation of any sort or kind rests upon him." And Cave, J., said that he "to some extent shared the regret expressed by his brother." There was another case in which the sitting member came perilously near to losing his seat by reason of bribery, General Policy and Effect. 53 of which he knew nothing, on the part of a person unfor- tunately his legal agent. The vice-chairman of one of the election committees, which the respondent member for the Montgomery boroughs had made his own, was said, during a bout of heavy drinking, to have tendered first one Qd. and then another Gd. to a voter, and, at the same time, to have asked the man for his vote. Wills, J., thought that these facts were proved ; and indeed, so far, PoUock, B., seems to have agreed with him. " Such a vice-chairman," argued petitioner's counsel, "must be an agent: an agent has bribed : the seat is lost." "Not so," it was contended on the other side ; " there can be no corrupt motive when there is no corrupt mind, and no corrupt mind when there is no mind at all. Therefore, although this man may have been an agent, he did not commit any corrupt practice. If the candidate himself had done the same thing, in the same condition, it would not have been corrupt." Pollock, B., the senior member of the Court, did not quite take either of those views. But he put it in this way. It was proved that this vice-chairman was at nonnal times an honest and respectable man, trusted in business matters by persons of aU classes around him. The election agent had sworn he knew nothing of his habits of intemperance ; it was impossible to hold that this man had been made an agent for bribery ; if the candidate and his election agent had known of his frailty, this very knowledge would have pre- vented them from selecting him to do one of the very nicest acts of criminality that are probably known to mankind. It was not the proper view that this vice-chairman was either furnished with money to bribe, or with his own money set about bribing others : therefore be found as a fact there was no bribery. Wills, J., was reluctantly opposed to this "the milder, the more gentle, the more charitable con- clusion," and held that the election should be avoided for llie corrupt giving of those two sixpences ; but he does not 54 Core, and III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. view this as a misfortune falling on tlie candidate by opera- tion of tlie law. He " could not help saying that it was a most reprehensible selection of an agent, the consequences of which ought to recoil upon those who have been guilty of such culpable carelessness." Thus in neither Judge's view was it right — or the law — that an innocent candidate should suffer. The one said that he shoidd not suffer : the other that he was not, in the true sense, innocent. It is rare, in fact, for a candidate to lose his seat under this Act, by reason of bribery of which he personally is adjudged utterly innocent : yet the judgments at Pontefract seem to show that it Avas so in that case, and, at any rate, it would be too much to say that the Act makes this impossible. The candidate in all innocence might ask his own familiar friend, whom he trusted, to canvass for him, a person of good character and blameless reputation. But the chronicles of breach of trust remind us that character and reputation are occasionally deceptive, insomuch that the most intimate friends and the closest kinsfolk are sometimes duped by the fraudulent trustee ; and, if such an one corruptly gave a single penny to buy a poor man's vote, there is no machinery in the Act to relieve the candidate from the consequences of his wrong-doing, however trivial. It is, therefore, quite possible for an election to be set aside from circumstances beyond the candidate's control. But the case imagined is a "hard case," and it would be impolitic to change the law to meet it. Next, after bribery and treating, the statute deals with "undue influence," which briefly is "the inflicting or threatening of temporal or spiritual injurj^ for the purpose of influencing votes." The most important of the cases which depended on this portion of the Act were those decided in co. Moath. "Temporal or spiritual" injury! It was with the latter that the Court here had most to do. For in this part of the country the real battle was fought General Policy and Effect. 55 by and against the priests. N^ot that the priests were beyond suspicion of threatening and inflicting even tem- poral injuries in the cause they had at heart. Their black- thorns do figure in the evidence ; but the most important part of these contests referred, of course, to their use of " spiritual " weapons. Here we are on the threshold of one of the most difficult provinces in all jurisprudence. Bentham himself was per- plexed as to the way in which the legislator ought to regard the religious sanction. " The sovereignty," he says (Theory of Legislation, Part TV., chap. 18), "is divided between two magistrates, the spiritual (as he is called) and the tem- poral. The temporal sovereign is in perpetual danger of seeing his authority disputed or snatched away by his rival. We find in history a picture of the effects which result from such a struggle. The temporal magistrate commands such and such an action, the spiritual magis- trate forbids it. "Whichever side the citizens take, they are punished by the one side or the other — proscribed or damned — they are placed between the fear of the gallows and the dread of hell fire." But this rivalry, as manifested in the evidence given before the election Judges in co. Meath, appeared in a very different light to that in which we have seen it oftenest in history. For there we most frequently find that the temporal prince is the usurper, issuing his commands with regard to matters of conscience and faith, where the spiritual authority would more fitly be supreme. In the co. Meath elections, it was the spiritual prince who was the usurper. The parish priest is the sovereign power to whom the Irish peasant looks in matters of religion ; let it be so, but his civil franchise is a very different thing. This must, for the State's sake, be beyond the dictates of hierarchy : in these matters the law of Parliament must be obeyed : these are "the things which are Cseear's." 56 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. The law with regard to elections has only gradually recognised this evil. The Act of 1883 is the first statute that has attempted to deal with it. The definition of " undue influence " in sect. 5 of stat. 17 & 18 Vict. c. 102, says nothing about "spiritual " injuries. And it was not until comparatively late years, as O'Brien, J., points out in his South Meath judgment, that any trace is to be found in the common law of any endeavour to restrain " merely moral agencies " in these respects. The fact is that, so lately as April, 1853, the law was that, where the undue influence was of a spiritual sort, it would not affect the seat. For, a Parliamentary committee of that date, con- sisting entirely of Protestants, passed two simultaneous resolutions for report to the House (2 Power, Rodwell and Dew, 201). First, "that the respondents are duly elected knights of the shire to serve in this present Parliament for CO. Mayo." Second, " that it appears from evidence given before the committee that there was a great abuse of spiritual influence, on the part of a great body of the Roman Catholic priesthood, during the last election for co. Mayo." Four years later a second Mayo ease (1 Wolferstan and Dew, 1) came before another of these committees. Spiritual intimidation was once more a prominent part of the petitioner's case. It was sworn that one priest, who was present but not called at the hearing, made a speech saying that the candidate, whom he was opposing, had sold his country, his body, and his soul, yet he had now the presumption to come and ask for their support. " But believe me," he added, "the curse of God will follow every man that gives it him." The conmiittee found spiritual intimidation as before ; but this time they avoided the election in consequence, and moreover the priest quoted above was prosecuted for his offence, though his language was mild compared with that used in 1892 by the priests of CO. Meath. General Policy and Effect. 57 The law was still in this unsettled state when the Parlia- mentary Elections Act, 1868, was passed, under which the trial of these petitions was intrusted to a Judge of the High Court. Very soon in Ireland the Judges had occa- sion to deal with this matter, Keogh, J., at Galway (1 O'Malley and Hardcastle, 303) in 1869, and Fitzgerald, J., at Longford (2 Ibid., 7) in 1875, had to try important cases in which the question was raised. And the law as laid down by them was in substance this : that it is the undoubted right of the clergy to canvass and induce persons to vote in a particular way, but it is not lawful to declare it to be a sin to vote in a different manner, nor to threaten to refuse the sacraments to a person for so doing. Thus stood the law when the Act of 1883 was passed to clear up any doubt which might remain upon this subject, Fitzgerald, J., had thought the language of sect. 5 of statute 17 & 18 Vict. c. 102, defining " undue influence," wide enough to embrace almost every case of improper influence, whether by physical intimidation or otherwise. The present definition, however, is undoubtedly an improvement ; for undue influence is thereby distinctly defined, so as to include the inflicting or threatening of spiritual injury. One uncertainty remains. How about the holding out of spiritual hope for the purpose of influencing voters ? It is suggested by the judgment in the Longford case, thaj; this also woidd be " undue influence." That question did not arise for judgment in co. Meath ; and it is still an open matter under the Act of 1883. It is clear that the section does not expressly meet this case ; but it would probably be regarded as within the spirit of the common law. It was, perhaps, because the holding out of heavenly hope seemed less likely to induce the voters of co. Meath to support the Church's nominee, than were the terrors of its opposite to deter them from supporting his adversary*, 58 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. that the priests in that county preferred the latter method. The two petitions of 1892 showed that the activity of the priesthood at elections had not diminished since the days of the Parliamentary coim^nittees. " The Church," says O'Brien, J., " became converted for the time being into a vast political agency, a great moral machine, moving with the resistless influence of united action and a single way. Every priest who was examined was a canvasser. The canvass was everj^where, on the altar, in the vestry, in the roads, in the houses. The presence of the priest would be a strong moral influence, and a check upon cowards and traitors ; but it was an influence undoubtedly attended with distinct danger to the freedom of the voter." " Free- dom of election," says Andrews, J., "is at common law essential to the validity of an election. The statute law not only leaves this common law principle intact, but supple- ments it by stringent enactments." Of the facts there could be no doubt. Spiritual intimi- dation was universal among the priesthood : from the bishop, who sent his pastoral through the two constituencies, wherein (so it was found) " the leading idea, that it was a matter of salvation that was in question, was developed with fidelity and distinctness, and governed the whole election " : — from this bishop to the curate, whose language pictured the future punishment of the man who voted for a Parnellite in strong words, terrible to the believing Catholic. "To some," says Johnson, J., in the North Meath case, " it may be a source of sour satisfaction ; but to those to whom religion is dear, no matter where they worship, it must be a source of sorrow and pain " to find rehgion degraded in this way. Certainly no election was more deservedly avoided than were these. An Irish member, when the then Sir Henry James's bill was before the Hoiise, intreated that the Judges in Ireland might liave no juris- diction in these election matters. " You in England," he General Policy and Effect. 59 said, " may be satisfied with your Judges : we in Ireland have no confidence in ours " (Hans., vol. cclxxix. p. 1679). But there is no question of " satisfaction " or " confidence " here. The great mass of the constituency was to blame : and the Queen's Judges were wanted in co. Meath to exert the nation's power in securing that freedom of election which the nation had willed should be. Corrupt practices of every sort and kind — alike that of the pulpit and the public-house — under the present law are doomed. Even where there is the inclination to be corrupt, the risk will now be too great. You may win a vote, two votes, three votes : but you will put all your votes in jeopardy. It is a wager that no reasonably prudent man will dare to lay. The right then, it would seem, must triumph now : the rich man can no longer buy it out. But the authors of the Act of 1883 clearly perceived that, to achieve this result, something more is needed than even the entire suppression of corrupt practices. For, even where all is honest and above-board, the rich candidate, if unrestrained by law, would still have great advantages. He could pay a higher price for the expenses of his election, for its organisation, and, in the present age most important of all, for its advertisement. A people, which notoriously will buy almost anything be it only advertised enough, wiU be led by advertisements in the disposal of its franchise, as well as in that of its money : it will do always what seems to be most popular : people will flock to the largest standard, or to that which is made of the most showy stufE. Or, at the least, ivhen opinions are closely divided, these things will turn the scale. Besides advertisements, there are many things in which the rich man has the better of his poorer opponent : the attending to registers, the hiring of committee rooms, and (an old vexed question) the bring- ing of voters to the poU — aU these things are expensive. If the tn;e mind of the people is to be shown at the poU, 60 Core, and III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. the chances of the candidates must be equalised by some further machinery of the Legislature. Hence those many sections of the Act which deal with iUegal practices, making positive rules as to how much money may be spent, and on what objects, and bj^ what persons. The mass of these regulations need no discussion ; their meaning is clear ; the only perplexing questions that have arisen in most of these matters have been questions of fact and proof. In the present writer's opinion — for reasons mentioned in the last chapter (c) — the law is so framed as to prevent a fair remuneration for labour done, and the maximum amounts ought to be raised. But the principle is a plain and righteous one — to make electioneering as cheap as reason- ably possible, so that all sides may have an equal oppor- tunity, and may be j udged on their merits alone. There is one section, however, concerning illegal payment, which gave rise to considerable argument. By this section — sect. 16 — " no payment or contract for payment shall, for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of a candidate at any election, be made on account of bands of music, torches, flags, banners, cockades, ribbons, or other marks of distinction." On this section raged the hottest of the fight in the Walsall, East Clare, and Stepney petitions. And very nice distinctions arose upon it, the comparison of which is at first sight somewhat startling. At Walsall the sitting member was unseated because his election agent paid for hat cards with the said member's portrait on them, together with words used for the purpose of stimulating the voters on his behalf, and no excuse was allowed. In East Clare the sitting member was a Parnellite : there the cards invited beholders to remember ParneU and to vote for the Parnellite candidate : these cards were not made for hat cards, but were used as such : these were held (even if paid ((•) See p. 44. General Policy and Effect. 61 for by the candidate) not to be " marks ol' distinction " and not to fall within the 16th section of the Act. At Stepney, streamers paid for by the candidate were hung across the street: these were held to be " banners " and " marks of distinction " witliin the meaning of the section ; but they were excepted from being illegal payments, an exception which the Court has power to make by sect. 23. This last named section gives the Court the second of its condoning powers, exercisable in its discretion ; and greater clemency is thereby allowed in the case of merely illegal payments than can be extended to corrupt practices. What is the object of the provision against payment for " marks of distinction " ? It was suggested in the Stepney case that the object was to preclude those kinds of marks of distinction which might lead to a fight (a suggestion which finds some foTindation in the judgment of Pollock, B., at Walsall). " But," said Cave, J., in his Stepney judgment, " I do not think that that was the intention of the Act of 1883, because, if it had been, it seems to me that aU coloui's, all badges, and all banners would have been made illegal, instead of only those which are paid for by the candidate or his election agent. That cannot make the shghtest differ- ence, with regard to their provocative effect, if that was the object of the Legislature. It seems to me that the object was entirely different. What was intended to be stioick at was the waste of money at elections, which sen'^ed no useful purpose at all. A maximum was fixed : this, that, and the other mode of spending money was made illegal. Why Partly for the purpose of preventing waste of money, and, if it has any other object, it is that of preventing a man from gaining a false show of popxdarity by laying out his money on flags and banners and such like " (d). And (d) Candidates must be careful about paying even for bills and placards, which it was suggested in the Stqiney rase may be held to be within the section. (Cf. 4 O'M. & H. 181.) 62 Cork, and III. Peact. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. this probably may be taken to represent the objects of all those clauses, speaking generally, which deal with illegal practices. The case of Walsall must be acknowledged to be a hard one ; and it is at first sight very difficult to see why the same relief should not have been given to the respondent there, which was subsequently given in the Stepney case. But it must be remembered that it is of the very essence of those condoning powers that the matter is to be absolutely in the discretion of the Court. Now at Walsall, in the first place, the Court held, as judges of fact, that the conduct of the election agent in buying the fatal hat cards did not arise from " inadvertence or other reasonable cause of a like nature." So they could not excuse it under sect. 23, which makes these circumstances indispensable ; while condona- tion under sect. 22 was out of the question, because the election agent was himself in fault. In the second place, Sir Henry Hawkins (now Lord Brampton) said: "I would add that even if the word ' inadvertence ' could be construed as we were asked to construe it, for myseK I should hesitate long before applying relief, in the exercise of my discretion, to a case like the present." O'Brien, J., in his East Clare judgment said : " The Walsall case is considered to have gone to the extreme verge of the law and of common sense " — which is the general opinion — and he therefore refused " to step across the bor- der into the region of entire and utter absurdity." It comes to this : the question whether this or that thing is, for this purpose, a " mark of distinction " is a question of fact, which can only be decided in reference to the particular circumstances of each case. A candidate should make himseK personally acquainted witli the clear directions of the statute as to what are illegal payments. Tlie election agent at any rate must be an expert in the matter. And, so far as possible, every other General Policy and Effect. 63 agent must (as Vaughan Williams, J., said) be " carefully selected and carefully supervised." It ought to be made almost impossible for any of them to commit a corrupt or illegal practice. There is one class of agents with regard to which the candidate has to be particularly careful. These are political associations. In almost every constituency there are to be found Conservative or Liberal associations, which are em- ployed at ordinary times in doing general work for their respective parties, but which at election times naturally incline to expend their energies to a large degree in each supporting its party's local representative. These associa- tions are invaluable as allies ; but, for obvious reasons, dangerous as agents. Now, as Cave, J., remarked at Hex- ham, " if their action is recognised by the candidate that would of course be quite sufficient to make the association his agents. When I say the ' association,' I do not mean every member of it ; but I do mean that it was sufficient to make the acts of the executive committee acts for which the candidate would be responsible, as long as he chose to acquiesce in their endeavouring to support him and procure his election." Therefore, if the candidate would not have the association for his agents, of course, he must not make them his canvassers. Yet, as Pollock, B., said at WalsaU, " there are many other acts which a political association are entitled to do, even to the extent of making known their views, which in one sense may amount to canvassing, while, at the same time, they do not pledge themselves to become agents, nor does the proposed member become liable for their acts as agents." The conclusion is that the association may " canvass," if we so call it, for their party, may espoimd their party views, may publish reasons why Fiscal Reform or Imperial Federation, or what not, is desirable or undesir- able, and may persevere in so doing throughout election time. The candidate may acquiesce in all this, and may 64 CoER. AND III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. continue to pay his subscription — that was specifically decided in the Worceste7' case — and yet, if that is all, the association will not be his agents. But the association must not, with the acquiescence of the candidate, canvass for him personally ; if they do so, of course they will be his agents. The question as to the exact point of time when an associa- tion passes fi'om being merely the agents of a party to being the agents of a particular candidate was declared to be a question of some nicety in each case. The Judges refused to lay down any positive rule on this subject, considering it to be a question of fact, depending in each case on sur- rounding circumstances. It must be remembered that an election petition is something more than an issue between the petitioner and the respondent. The whole constituency is in a manner on its trial. The Judges have to make a general report, and not merely to say whether the election was good or bad. For this reason there must be no collusive holding back of evidence. Charges once made are not easily withdrawn ; nor, on the other hand, can inquiry be escaped by the frank avowal that the seat cannot be defended. That is what was unsuccessfully attempted in the North Meath case. The Court will search out everything it can, and endeavour to find out the real state of facts. And, moreover, the Director of Public Prosecutions or his representative is there to help the Court in seeing that no material evidence is kept oiit which might throw light on the case. This arrangement has its drawbacks ; the fight inclines to become a sort of triangular duel between the petitioner, the respondent, and the Public Prosecutor, and this may prove hard upon a respondent who is brought face to face with evidence which he was never, till the last moment, called upon to meet. But this matter again is in the discretion of the Court, in whose hands the Public Prosecutor is entirely placed. In some of the (;arliest General Policy and Effect. 65 petitions that were tried under this Act — the Stepney (4 O'M. & H. 37) and Buckrose (4 O'M. & H. 115) cases of 1886 — it was ruled that the Public Prosecutor had no right to cross-examine witnesses during the trial. Cave, J., at Rochester (4 O'M. & H. 158), went further still, holding that the duties of the Public Prosecutor are confined to assisting the Court at the conclusion of the case, in con- sidering whether any particular individual has been guilty of corrupt practices. But he concurred in a qualification of this, which Vaughan Williams, J. (now L.J.), added, saying: "Yet if there should be in his opinion any collusive withholding of evidence, it would be his duty to interfere and call that evidence himself." But, while the parties are at arms' length and beyond suspicion of collu- sion, the Public Prosecutor must not interfere between them. The question arose again at Montgomery, when it was decided that the issue between the petitioner and respondent must first be tried, and that the Public Prose- cutor has no separate locus standi, but must wait until the Court invites his intervention (4 O'M. & H. 168, 169). At the conclusion of the respondent's case, the Court intimated its desire to caU certain witnesses, who it hoped might throw further light on obscure parts of the case. Respon- dent's counsel objected that the petitioner ought not to have an opportunity of benefiting his case by their evidence ; but the Court said it had jurisdiction — so it had held at Hexham too (4 O'M. & H. 143) — and called the witnesses, who did not, however, as it happened, elucidate matters. This method is not without great disadvantages. How is the respondent to deal with charges which are brought against him in this form ? and how is the Court to call evidence, affecting the general report, which shall not affect the seat as well ? The Court must be very careful, as Denman, J., said in the Stepney case of 1886 (4 O'M. & H. 37), to do nothing which is " inconvenient or unfair to the respondent " i.P. 5 66 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev, Acts, 1883 and 1895. in availing itself of its powers in tliis respect ; and this has, in fact, been the tendency of aU the decisions which have been given in the recent cases on the point. On 25th January, 1895, a letter appeared in the Times, signed " Frederick Milner," containing these words: — "It seems to be quite the recognised thing for the agent to rack his brains during the contest to invent some slander, which is likely to catch on at the last moment, and then to send this to every voter with his poll-card. It is high time that this sort of thing should be put a stop to." From the movement so started the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Pre- vention Act, 1895 (58 & 59 Vict. c. 40), came into existence and certain false statements were made illegal practices. But when the candidate and his election agent are personally innocent, the election is not avoided tuiless it can be shown that they or one of them authorised or consented to the committing of the illegal practice by an agent, or paid for the circulation of the false statement, or that the election of the candidate was procured or materially assisted in consequence thereof. The conclusion of the whole matter is, that the really inno- cent and careful candidate runs some risk indeed, but a very slight one, of losing his seat for things which he could not have helped ; but it must be observed that he does run a very great risk — indeed, in some cases it is a certainty — of losing thousands and thousands of pounds in the expenses of his defence. The petitioner's game is to make the petition as wide, and the particulars as voluminous, as possible ; and the defence of each and all of these, the rotten as weU as the sub- stantial charges, is an extremely costly matter. Look at the case of the Montgomery boroughs. There sixty-nine charges were made (they are set out at pp. 20 — 35, supra), the bulk of which were worthless, but which aU had to be answered at the cost of immense labour and expense. Look at the flagrant cases of this abuse at Worcester and at Pontefract. The General Policy and Effeci. 67 former of these is described in tlie judgment as " inflicting intolerable hardship," and in the latter the charges made were adjudged to be " scandalously reckless." It is true, as Cave, J., said in the East Manchester petition (which was, perhaps, the worst of them all in this respect), that the petitioner will suffer the penalty for such conduct in the costs which he has to pay, by way of caution " that those who draw particulars are not at liberty to thi'ow charges about broadcast, but must confine themselves to those charges which they expect to have some means of establish- ing." But what consolation is this to the respondent in cases where the petitioners are men of straw ? Now, any voter or person who had a right to vote may be a petitioner. The Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868 (31 & 32 Vict. c. 125), s. 5, still regulates the question of who may be petitioners ; and the Act of 1883 does not touch the matter. In theory it may be well that any voter, however poor, should have the right to petition if his franchise has been deprived of its due effect by reason of the wrong-doing of the candidate and his agents at the election — though it must be noted that he wiU have to deposit 1,000L, and to pay the expenses of the attack. But then this poor voter should be bond fide the petitioner, not a mere dummy, under cover of whose poverty the real and substantial attackers shelter themselves. It is notorious that rich men and rich associations have been behind the nominal petitioners in several of the cases. These find the 1,000L that must be deposited ; this, indeed — a mere fraction of the cost of answering such charges — the successful respondent may recover, for the rest he has a judgment against a man of straw. Should there not be some means of reaching the real maintainer of the suit ? Perhaps an action at common law for maintenance may be suggested as the remedy. But, in the first place, it is at least doubtful whether paying the expenses of an election petition would be held to be an "officious intermeddling" in the 5—2 68 Core, and III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. suit of another, such, as would support an action for main- tenance, and whether a plea of common interest with the nominal petitioners would not be successful on defendant's part. In the second place, it is impossible to obtain "discovery," which would be essential to the success of such a suit, because maintenance is a crime, and every one who knew anything of the maintenance would be protected from giving evidence. The second reason might be obviated by abolishing the obsolete indictment (e) for maintenance, which is quite unnecessary and only operates in the way above suggested in making the civil action difficult. But something more is needed. There should surely be some statutory remedy to prevent rich men and rich associations from maintaining an election petition, using the medium of men of straw, and afterwards, when the petition is dismissed, refusing to pay anything above 1,000Z. to the respondent, though he has lost a much larger sum in justifying himself against their unwarranted attack. The respondent can have no men of straw to fight his battle for him. If he is defeated, he pays the petitioner's costs and loses his seat as well. It is therefore a crying injustice that, when he wins the contest, he should have to pay such a high price for his victory. This is the one serious wrong remaining in English election law. If it be not removed it will weigh heavily against the excellent work which the Acts of 1883 and 1895 have done in behalf of the right ; and an election petition, which is intended to further purity in the exercise of the fi-aiichiso, and to deprive money of its power to override the real miaid of the people, will become, on the contrary, a mere instrument of party machinery, by which rich men and rich associations may wear out the strength of candidates who are too poor to fight in such an unequal struggle. (e) The witness is only protected if the disclosure would sub- ject him to " crimination, penalty, or forfeiture." (See Best on KvideroR, 9th ed., p. 113.) Parliamentary Law as to Agency. 69 CHAPTER IV. OF THE PARLIAMENTARY LAW AS TO AGENCY. A MEMBER of Parliament loses his seat under the Act of 1883 if he has been guilty of corrupt and illegal practices by agents. (Sects. 5, 11.) It is, therefore, of great importance to see what is the parliamentary common law as to agency, for the law of agency which would vitiate an election is a peculiar law of agency — utterly different, for instance, from that which would subject a candidate to a penalty or an indictment. {Norwich case (1869), 1 O'M. & H. 10.) Principle of the Parliamentary Law as to Agents. — The principle is well summed up in the maxim, " Nemo CORONABITDR QUI NON LEGITIME CERTA\'ERIT." The position of a candidate at an election is like that of a yacht-owner in a race. When the owner goes aboard and finds captain and crew there, the very fact that he consents to sail vnth. them makes them perforce his agents for the purpose of sailing the race in accordance with the laws of the course. And so, where the steersman aboard one yacht thwarts his opponent by declining to give way to the vessel that had a right to keep her wind, or where one of the crew hoists a sail not allowed by the rules of the race, the owner of that yacht is disallowed the prize. This illustration has been frequently approved. (See Westhury case, 1 O'M. & H. 55 ; Tamworth case, ih. 81 ; Coventry case, ih. 107 ; Black- hum case, ib. 202 ; Wigan case (1881), 4 O'M. & H. 11.) Lord Barcaple, in the Greenock case (1 O'M. & H. 251), distinguished three classes of cases : — (1) Criminal cases, in which the prisoner must be proved personally guilty ; (2) civil cases, in which it is enough if the offence is caused by the person employed by the defendant doing 70 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. the thing he is employed to do ; (3) election petitions, where, it being proved that a candidate is having his election carried on by a committee or certain canvassers, those canvassers do something vy^hich, if the candidate is responsible for it, wiU invalidate the election ; and it is held that he is responsible for it in the sense of making the election depend upon it. This statement of the law was approved by Blackburn, J., in the North Norfolk case (1 O'M. & H. 241). What has to be proved to constitute agency for this purpose is that the person in question has been entrusted in some way or other by the candidate with some material part of the business of the election, which is performed, or which is supposed to be performed, by the candidate him- seK. (Dungannon case, 3 O'M. & H. 101 ; cf. Wakefield case, 2 O'M. & H. 102 ; Aylesbury case, 4 O'M. & H. 62.) In such a case the candidate is responsible for the act of an agent, though he himself not only did not intend or authorise it, but even hand fide did his best to hinder it. {Taunton case, 1 O'M. & H. 182 ; Barnstaple case, 2 O'M. & H. 105.) The relation is, therefore, more on the principle of master and servant than on that of principal and agent in the ordinary common law. (See Norwich case (1869), 1 O'M. & H. 11 ; Westminster case, ib. 95 ; Aylesbury case, 4 O'M. & H. 62.) Agency is a result of law to be drawn from the facts in the case, and from the acts of individuals ; as Keogh, J., said, in the Sligo case (1 O'M. & H. 301, 302), "It is not by what the principal tells me that he intends to do that I am to construe the question of agency. It is 7iot what he intended, but ichat authority he gave, and did the acts of the person so authorised naturally flow from the authority so given? A wherryman may look one way," he significantly added, " while he rows the other." Parliamentary Law as to Agency. 71 So, where the respondent intended generally a distribu- tion of coals to the poor as a charitable gift, and with a view of making himself popular, but in the hands of those who acted for him it was made the agency of getting votes for him, this was held to be a corrupt act, for which the respondent was responsible, and he was unseated. {Boston case, 2 O'M. & H. 16G.) But, on the other hand, mere non-interference with persons, who, feeling interested in the success of the candi- date, may act in support of his canvass, is not enough to saddle the candidate with any unlawful act of theirs, of which the tribunal is satisfied that he or his authorised agent is ignorant. {Wigan case (1869), 1 O'M. & H. 192.) It is clear that a man's merely acting is not enough ; he must act in promotion of the election, and he must have authority, or there must be circumstances from which it can be inferred. Where D. canvassed three times a week, though he had no regular canvass book, attended con- tinually at the committee room, was bringing up voters to the poll all the poll-day, and was employed as to the petition afterwards, there, although the respondent had said, "I cannot employ you as an agent," yet as others working side by side with the respondent did employ him, he was held to be an agent. {ISti^oud case (Nov. 1874), 3 O'M. & H. 11.) In such cases as these it is a question for the Court whether, upon the aggregate of all these things taken together, of which each in itself is little — though some — evidence, the person is shown to have been employed to such an extent as to make him, upon the common sense broad view of it, an agent for whom the candidate woiild be responsible. {Bewdley case, 1 O'M. & H. 18 ; cf. also Staleybridge case, ih. 70 ; Wakefield case, 2 O'M. & H. 102 ; Tewkesbury case, 3 O'M. & H. 99 ; Bridgewater case, 1 O'M. & H. 115 ; Taunton case, ib. 186 ; Hereford case, ib. 195.) 72 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. But, where the honesty of the candidate is shown, he will not be unseated unless the corrupt act of his agent is shown to the entire satisfaction of the Court. {Wig an case (1869), 1 O'M. & H. 192.) Again, an isolated act of bribery by an agent must be very clearly proved ; because in such a case, though it is admitted that there is no logical reason why it should be so, more evidence is required to satisfy one of the agency. {Hastings case, 1 O'M. & H. 219 ; cf. Westminster case, ib. 95.) Such, in general, is the principle on which agency is determined in these cases. The Court has refused to frame any exact definition of such agency. (See Bridgewater case, 1 O'M. & H. 115 ; Taunton case, 2 O'M. & H. 74.) The principle is grounded on the just requirement that the candidate must not take the benefit of the services of the individual and repudiate them at the same time. {Barn- staple case, 2 O'M. & H. 105 ; Greenock case, 1 O'M. & H. 251 ; Staleyhridge case, ih. 68.) Degrees of Agency. — There may, however, be degrees of agency. As you go lower down you require more dis- tinctly to show that the act was done by a person for whom the candidate would be responsible. (Hereford case, 1 O'M. & H. 195.) Besides this, it must be noted that a man may be an agent for limited purposes ; and such an one makes the candidate liable to that limited extent. (Westhury case, 1 O'M. & H. 48 ; N. Norfolk case, 1 O'M. & H. 237 ; Bodmin case, ib. 120.) Subordinate Agents. — If an agent, though he be no agent of the candidate, be employed by the agent of the candidate, he is a sort of subordinate agent ; and, if he is employed by persons who have authority to employ people to further the election of a particular individual, and in the course of such canvassing makes use of a threat or promise, such an act Parliamentary Law as to Agency. 73 will make the candidate liable, however innocent the candi- date may be and however carefid. (Barnstaple case, 2 O'M. & H. 105.) Thus, where one of the respondent's principal agents authorised S. to go to Penzance and bring up any Plymouth voter he could find, and S. found W., who declined to come unless a substitute was paid to do his share in certain fish- ing during his absence, and S. did this, the election was avoided in consequence. {Plymouth case, 3 O'M. & H. 108.) And where a huge sum was paid by the respondent to P. for election expenses, P.'s agent was held to be the respondent's agent. (Bewdley case, 1 O'M. & H. 19.) A candidate was held responsible, in the Cashel case (1 O'M. & H. 288), for the act of the wife of an agent ; for an agent, it was said, may work through an instrument. But where H. was an agent, it was held that his son was not. Martin, B., said : — " Although young H. seems to have been active with regard to the election, I cannot hold that an act done by him, because his father was a person for whom the respondent would be responsible, would make young H. one also." (Westminster case, 1 O'M. & H. 96.) Nor can the partner of a paid agent be held constructively liable for having committed a misdemeanour. (Mallow case, 2 O'M. & H. 21.) Particular Things from which Agency may sometimes be inferred.— I. Canvassing. — Canvassing by procurement (whether expressly or impliedly, whether by words or actions it is immaterial) of the respondent creates agency. (Westhury case, 1 O'M. & H. 55 ; cf. Wigan case (1881), 4 O'M. & H. 13.) Any person authorised to canvass is an agent; and it does not matter whether he has been forbidden to bribe or not. (Norwich case (1869), 1 O'M. & H. 11 ; cf. also Lichfield case, 1 O'M. & H. 25, 26.) 74 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. But agency is not established by merely showing that a particular person has gone about with the candidate and has canvassed. Canvassing will only afford premises from which a judge, discharging the functions of a jury, may conclude that agency is established. {Shrewsbury case, 2 O'M. & H. 36 ; cf. Tewkesbury case, 3 O'M. & H. 98 ; Salisbury case (1883), 4 O'M. &"h. 21.) The fact that a man has a canvassing-book is only a step in the evidence that he is a canvasser authorised by candi- date's agents. You must prove his aiithority ; e.g., by showing that he was in company with one of the principal agents, who saw him canvassing, or was present when he was canvassing. (Bolton case, 2 O'M. & H. 140, 141.) Introducing candidates to voters, whom the said candi- dates then and there canvassed, is not conclusive evidence of agency. For taking a man to point out voters and to influence them in the candidate's presence is not conclusive evidence of an employment of that person to go behind the candidate's back and bribe them. {Salisbury case (1880), 3 O'M. & H. 132.) Where the respondent determined and made known his determination to those who were p^iynd facie his agents that his canvass should be a personal one, and such persons conducted him to the voters' houses, but left him to deal with the voters himself, these were held not to be his agents. {Harwich case, 3 O'M. & H. 69.) For a definition of " canvassing," see Westbury case (1 O'M. & H. 56), where it is said : " Canvassing may be either by asking a man to vote lor the candidate for whom you are canvassing, or by begging him not to go to the poll, but to remain neutral, and not to vote for his adversary." — II. Being on the Committee. — Members of a Committee, to whom written " instructions " had been sent by the respondent's conducting agents, were held to be capable to Parliamentary Law as to Agency. 75 the fullest extent of making the respondent liable for the parliamentary consequences of their acts. {Dublin case, 1 O'M. & H. 273. See also Huddersfield case, 2 Power, Rod- weU & Dew, 128.) Being on the committee is one of the circumstances, several of which go cumulatively, to prove agency. (See Stroud case (Nov. 1874), 3 O'M. & H. 11, above cited.) So, where D. was limited to a district, attended the respondent's committee twenty times, was present at the local committee, and on the day of the bribery was busy in getting up voters who required particular attention, that was enough, if he was to i;se anything like solicitation or persuasion to them. {Durham case, 2 O'M. & H. 136.) Again, where it was proved that the respondent was vice- president of a society, that he spoke at its meetings, that many of its members were to his knowledge active partisans of his, and actively canvassing for him, that there were cer- tain rooms belonging to the society which might in one sense be called committee-rooms (though they were not such in the old sense of being occupied by a certain fixed com- mittee), that they were placarded with the respondent's name, and that at them business in connection with the elec- tion was transacted, it was held that the respondent would be liable for what these persons did — provided that he or his authorised agents had reasonable knowledge that those persons were acting in a certain manner and with a certain object. l^A'ake field case, 2 O'M. & H. 102, 103.) And where S. was an active politician, proved to be in a committee-room, and coming out of it with a body of others, and that body separated into three or four parties, canvass- ing three or four districts, canvassing with canvass-books, and where the respondent was in the immediate neighbour- hood of the place where the offence was committed, the Court held S. to be an agent. (Tewkesbury case, 3 O'M. & H. 98, 99.) 76 CoKR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1888 and 1895. But, where D.'s name was in a list of a committee for promoting the respondent's election, consisting of six hun- dred persons, he was held not to be an agent. The com- mittee-man for whom the respondent would be responsible is a committee-man in the ordinary intelligible sense of the word, i.e., a person in whom faith is put by the candidate, and for whose acts he is, therefore, responsible. (West- minster case, 1 O'M. & H. 92.) So, again, where it was not proved who put P. on the committee, how he got there, what his duties were, or what he did ; but his own statement was, that he understood his duties were to do the best he could for the respondent ; the respondent was not responsible for P. having offered to pay a voter's expenses to come and vote. (Windsor case, 2 O'M. & H. 89.) The unauthorised act of an agent of a volunteer com- mittee does not affect the respondent. {Staleyhridge ease, 1 O'M. & H. 66.) — III. Receiving Money from the Candidate for Election Expenses (a). — Thus, where the respondent deposited 11,000L with P., directing him in his letters to apply that money honestly, but not exercising personally, or by anyone else, any control over its expenditure, the respondent was held thereby to have made P. his agent for the election to almost the fullest extent possible, in so much that every person employed by P. was an agent for the respondent. {Bewdley case, 1 O'M. & H. 19.) — IV. Receiving Letter of Authority from the Candidate. — See, for instance, the Ualicay case (2 O'M. & H. 53), in which all the clergy were in this way constituted agents. Where a letter was addressed by the respondents to (a) See now 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 28, concerning payments not made by or through the election agent. Parliamentary Law as to Agency. 77 " every manager, overlooker, and tradesman, and other person having influence in the town," its effect was not to make every overlooker in the place an agent, but to make an agent of every person having authority down to the last grade ; and anybody in that or any other grade, who bond fide took up the respondents' side and acted on the circular, became their agent, and his acts bound them. {Blackburn case, 1 O'M. & H. 200.) Where the respondent addressed a circular to certain voters, who had requisitioned him to stand, asking them " to enter heartily into the contest and secure the votes and interest of others," it being held that every elector who received this circiJar and took part in promoting his elec- tion, did not thereby alone become an agent of the respondent to do illegal things. Cave, J., said : " If he does nothing but an illegal act, it appears to me that he is not acting in pursuance of that invitation ; but if I find persons to whom that circular was sent are engaged in promoting the respon- dent's election, in some instances by proper and legitimate means, but in other instances they have adopted illegal means, I then say there is some pi^imd facie case of agency which calls for an answer." {Nortcich case, 4 O'M. & H. 89.) — V. By inference from a previous Election. — Where, at a previous election, the respondent had appointed B. to act as his personal agent, and B. at that election handed over money for bribery expenses to W^., who passed it on to A., who carried on organised bribery therewith, but W. went over to the other side before the present election, and A. was not regTilarly reappointed agent, but he did canvass for the respondent and bribed, it was held that the respon- dent was responsible for his acts, no matter how much he disclaimed his agency, and that nothing could sever the connection but the death of A., or his going abroad, or 78 Cork, and III. Pract. Prey. Acts, 1883 and 1895. going over to the other side. (Water ford case, 2 O'M. & H. 2.) Note. — On a similar principle, the vote of a paid agent of a candidate, who has retired before the poll, would seem to be invalid. (Mallow case, 2 O'M. & H. 20.) — ^VI. By being Agent to another Candidate who has coalesced with the Candidate in question. — Candidates are, in general, Hable after coalition for the acts of each other's agents ; though if the agent said, " I give you this bribe to vote for R., but not to vote for T., because my object is that you should not vote for T.," he might thereby determine the joint agency. (Norwich case (1871), 2 O'M. & H. 39.) — VII. By ratification of the Candidate after the Act. — A ratification after the act is equivalent to an authority given at the time, provided that the person sought to be made liable as principal is acquainted with the character of the act at the time when he ratifies. (Tamworth case, 1 O'M. & H. 81.) So in the Blackburn case (1 O'M. & H. 201), the respon- dents were held liable for the consequences of a circular sent round by a pohtical association and afterwards adopted by the respondents themselves. Persons who are not Agents. ~A land agent is not necessarily an agent in election matters. (Tamworth case, 1 O'M. & H. 82.) Nor is ayiy employment in election business necessarily enough to make the employee an agent : e.g., a card-messenger was held to be no agent in the Windsor case, 1 O'M. & H. 3. (Cf. Londonderry ease, 1 O'M. & H. 278.) So, where K.'s house was proved to have been hired for an exorbitant sum for election purposes, and after that Parliamentary Law as to Agency. 79 rouglis were hired by an arrangement between K. and the respondents, it was held that there was no sufficient evidence to constitute K. an agent. {Salford case, 1 O'M & H. 136.) Where the respondent publicly stated that he was put forward by the bishop and his clergy, that implied that the bishop was his supporter ; but it does not follow that the bishop had, therefore, made himself the respondent's agent. {Galicay case (1874), 2 O'M. & H. 300.) And the candidate is in no case responsible for the act of an agent, who does a corrupt act with a view to betray him. (Stafford case, 1 O'M. & H. 230.) For other instances of persons who are not agents, see the following cases (cited above) : — Staleyhridge case, 1 O'M. & H. 67 ; Mallow case, 2 O'M. & H. 21 ; Windsor ease, ih. 89 ; Salisbury case, 3 O'M. & H. 132 ; Haggerston case, 5 O'M. & H. 84. Duration of Agency. — Ordinary agency ceases at the close of the poll. (King's Lynn case, 1 O'M. & H. 208 ; North Norfolk case, 1 O'M. & H. 243.) The respondent's privity must be shown after that. (Salford case, ib. 136.) And an agent's statements made twenty-six days after the election must not be put in evidence, without proving that the authority continued after the election was over. (Long- ford case, 2 O'M. & H. 12.) Agency may, however, as has been shown, be inferred from agency at a previous election. (Waterford case, 2 O'M. & H. 2.) Political Associations as Agents. — Associations as well as individuals may be agents for a candidate, if they come within the principle above set forth. Lopes, J., said: "There may doubtless be in a borough a political association, existing for the purposes of a poli- tical party, advocating the cause of a particular candidate, 80 Core, and III. Pract. Prev. Acts, 1883 and 1895. and largely contributing to liis success, yet in no privity with the candidate or his agents — an independent agency and acting in its own behalf. To say that the candidate should be responsible for the corrupt acts of any member of that association, however active, would be opposed to law. There may on the other hand be a political association in a borough, advocating the views of a candidate, of which that candidate is not a member, to the funds of which he does not subscribe, and with which he personally is not ostensiblj'' connected, but at the same time in intimate relationship with his agents, utilised by them for the purpose of carrying out his election, interchanging com- munication and information with his agents respecting the canvassing of voters and the conduct of the election, and largely contributing to the result. To say that the candi- date is not responsible for any corrupt act of such an association, would be repealing the Corrupt Practices Act and sanctioning a most effective system of corruption." {Bewdley case, 3 CM. & H. 146.) Compare the observations of Pollock, B., in the St. George's Division case, 5 O'M. & H. 97. So, where an association suggested to the respondent that it would be desirable to give a conversazione, and he consented, and refreshments were provided at a nominal price, and the extra expenses were borne by the association and not returned in the respondent's " return of expenses," the Court held the election void on the ground of corrupt and illegal practices by the respondent's agents, i.e., by the association. " Undoubtedly," said Cave, J., " it would be a wise plan, as soon as the candidate has been fixed upon, for these associations to suspend their operations until after the election is over." (Rochester case, 4 O'M. & H. 158 ; of. Wakefield case, 2 O'M. & H. 102.) Party associations are employed at ordinary times in doing general work for their respective parties, but at election time they naturally incline to expend their energies Parliamentary Law as to Agency. 81 in supporting their party's local representative. "If tlieir action is recognised by the candidate," said Cave, J., — as appears by the shorthand notes — "that would be quite sufficient to make the association his agents : I do not mean every member of it ; but it was sufficient to make the acts of the executive committee acts for which the candidate would be responsible, as long as he chose to acquiesce in their endeavouring to support him and procure his election." (Hexham case, Day's El. Cas. 91 ; 4 O'M. & H. 145.) There are many acts which a political association are entitled to do, even to the extent of making known their views, which in one sense may amount to canvassing, while at the same time they do not pledge themselves to become agents, nor does the proposed member become liable for their acts as agents. {Walsall case, 4 O'M. & H. 124.) The candidate may acquiesce in all this and may continue to pay his subscription (see shorthand notes of Pollock, B.'s judgment in the Worcester case, Day's El. Cas. 86 ; 4 O'M. & H. 154) ; yet, if that is all, the association will not be his agents. There is no general rule as to the exact point of time when an association passes from being merely the agents of a party to being the agents of a particidar candidate ; it is a question of fact depending in each case on surrounding circximstances. Where a Conservative association requisitioned the respondent to become their representative, and he attended some of their meetings to expound his views, and after that the connection ended, it was held that they were not agents. {Westhury case, 3 O'M. & H. 79.) Where D. canvassed for the Working Men's Consei-vative Association, most of the funds of which came from the respondent's subscription, and were spent in promoting the respondent's canvass, but the evidence was that it was an independent agency, and that this body was acting in its I. p. G 82 Cork, and III. Pract. Prbv. Acts, 1883 and 1895 own behalf, D. was held not to be an agent. {Westminster case, 1 O'M. & H. 92.) For further remarks as to the general principle of these cases, see the judgment of Lush, J., in the Chester case, U L. T. N. S. 286, 287. Rules of Evidence in Cases of Agents within the meaning of the Parliamentary Common Law. — The rulea of evidence in these cases seem to follow the analogy of the rules which would be applicable in cases of master and servant, which is the analogy closest to this principle in the ordinary common law. Thus, the statement of an agent made after a transaction is not evidence against the principal. (Harwich case, 3 O'M. & H. 64 ; Cheltenham case, ib. 88.) Proof of Corrupt Practice before Agency is established. — Note that by sect. 17 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868 (31 & 32 Vict. c. 125), it is enacted that, unless the Judge otherwise directs, any charge of corrupt practice may be gone into and evidence received in relation thereto before any proof has been given of agency. But it is desirable that proof of bribery should not be given before agency is established, unless there is a reason- able expectation of establishing agency afterwards. {Per Bramwell, B., Bristol case, 2 O'M. & H. 29.) Proof of corrupt practice will, however, be allowed before agency is established, where the petitioner has opened a case of agency. (Guildford case, 1 O'M. & H. 14.) ( 83 ) CORRUPT AND ILLEGAL PRACTICES PREVENTION ACT, 1883. (46 & 47 Vict. c. 51.) An Act for the better prevention of Corrupt and Illegal Practices at Parliamentary Elections. [25th August, 1883. Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows : Corrupt Practices. 1. "Whereas under section four of the Corrupt what is Practices Prevention Act, 1854, persons other than ^"^^ ^°^' candidates (a) at Parliamentary Elections are not liable to any punishment for treating, and it is expedient to make such persons liable ; be it there- fore enacted in substitution for the said section four as follows : — (1.) Any person who corruptly by himself or by any other person (b), either before, during, or (a) " Other than candidates." See Corrupt Practices Pre- vention Act, 1854 (17 & IS Vict. c. 102), s. 4., for wliicli repealed section the present section is substituted. (h) " Or by any other person." See " Chapter on the Par- liamentary Law as to Agexcy." at pp. 69 — 82. It was decided uudtoT the Corrupt Practices Preveuliou Act, 1834 (17 & Iti 6—2 84 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1888. after an election, directly or indirectly gives or provides, or pays wholly or in part the expense of giving or providing, any meat drink entertainment or provision to or for any person, for the purpose of corruptly influencing (c) that person or any other person Vict. c. 102), that "the respondent by himself and other persons in his behalf," covers the acts of every person, besides the respondent, for whose act he is responsible, i.e., every agent ; and it is enough to allege in an election petition an ofience " by the respondent and other persons on his behalf." Otherwise in a criminal case or an action for penalty. The law of agency, which would vitiate an election, is utterly different from that which would subject a candidate to an indictment or penalty ; and the question of his right to sit in Parliament has to be settled on an entirely different principle. {Norwich case, 1869, 1 O'M. & H. 10.) What that principle is has been explained in the chapter above referred to. It may be worth observing, that the words "in his behalf" do not occur in this section, though they do occur in sect. 2 of this Act. "Person" includes "association." See sect. 64. (c) To constitute an offence under this section the act must be done corruptly, or with a corrupt purpose. Treating may be innocent. I'rimd facie it is innocent. But it may be given under such circumstances as to lead the tribunal to conclude that it was not innocent, but corrupt. Where a school-feast had been given by the respondent for many years, and no more was done than had been done in previous years, there was no corrupt treating in his giving one a few months before the election was expected, although a very much larger number of persons came on the occasion in question than ever came before, and although the respondent did anti- cipate that he would be a candidate at such election. {Ayles- bury case, 4 O'M. & H. 63.) ^ The statute does not apply to that form of treating, which exists occasionally between social equals, where first one treats and then the other — one form of hospitality. Neither does it apply to certain kinds of treating which exist in relation to business matters — cementing a bargain with a little drink. It applies to that sort of treating, which exists where the superior treats his inferior, which gives tlie treater influence over the treatee, and secures his goodwill. Not however to Corrupt Practices. 85 to give or refrain from giving his vote at the election, or on account of such person or any all cases of this kind does the ' ' corrupt treating ' ' here spoken of apply. It does not apply to a return for small services, e.g., to a porter, or a guard, or the treater's own servants : nor where the object is to acquire general goodwill. It must have reference to some election, and be for the purpose of influencing some vote. (Per Cave, J., Norwich case, 1886, 4 O'M. & H. 91.) Where refreshments are a mere incident of a political gathering, there is no offence within the Act. It does not make it "corrupt treating" if the persons attending the meeting are provided with some sort of refreshment. But if they are gathered together merely to gratify their appetites, and so to influence their votes, then it is " corrupt treating" within the Act. {Rochester case, 4 O'M. & H. 157.) In that case a threepenny ticket entitled the holder to partake of ale, claret and sandwiches. So, in the Hexham case (4 O'M. & H. 150), Vaughan Wil- liams, J., speaks of the practice of political associations giving entertainments, picnics, suppers, teas, sports, &c., as "a practice dangerously akin to ' corrupt treating,' and one which if indulged in by a candidate would certainly amount to ' corrupt treating.' " But the Hexham judgment is not an intimation that any one of the transactions therein referred to would have been, taken alone, as amounting to ti'eating. It is always a ques- tion of intention, and the Court looks to the whole of the circumstances in each case. {Rochester case, 4 O'M. & H. 156.) "VMien the candidate allowed himself to be drawn about in a carriage in a procession of people who were drinking and the worse for drink, the Court refused to draw the inference that because there was drinking there must have been treat- ing. {Southampton case, 5 O'M. & H. 17 — 20). It is not necessarily corrupt to attract people to meetings by offering refreshment of a moderate kind. . . . The ques- tion of corrupt treating must be in each case a question of fact. If the refreshments provided were excessive, if the occasions were numerous, and if there were other circumstances calculated to excite suspicion, a con'upt intention might be inferred. {St. George's Division case, 5 O'M. & H. 99.) Where the candidate, according to his custom of giving somethinc; in charity on the occasion of his birthday. arranged for food tickets to the valu'J of 6d, to be distributeij 86 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. other person having voted or refrained from voting, or being about to vote or refrain from on stamped visiting cards of his own in a time of great distress and a member of the Unionist association afterwards alluded to this offer (while still in operation) in a letter to the local papers as the offer of "the Unionist candidate" Wright, J., held that this did, but Bruce, J., that it did not, avoid the election . The election therefore stood. {Haggerston case, O'M. & H. 72—84.) Where food tickets were given by the candidate in a time of great distress, the Court held that under all the circumstances no corrupt treating was proved. The Court "was in some measure influenced by the fact that what was done was done openly, that the tickets were given to men and women, voters and non-voters indiscriminately, and that none were apparently given knowingly to undeserving persons." {St. George's Division case, 5 O'M. & H. 92.) The time at which the act is done is a matter for considera- tion. A corrupt act is not the less corrupt for being done a long time before the election is in prospect : but in deter- mining whether it is reasonable to conclude that an act is done with a view to influence votes, the element of time becomes a very material one. {Ih. 100, 101.) See the Lancaster Division case, 5 O'M. & H. 43, where although the person who eventually became the election agent took part in the political association's entertainment, it was not held to be treating for which the candidate was responsible. Where evidence was given of a " promise to treat" by an agent of the respondent, it was submitted that this reqiiired no answer, there being no such offence as a " promise to treat." But the Court said : — " We think this case must be met." {Montgomerii Boroughs case, 4 O'M. & H. 169.) Note that, apart from the statutory avoidance of a seat for treating by agents, there may be such general treating as will vitiate the election at common law. If it could be proved there was treating in all directions on purpose to influence voters, that public-houses were thrown open where people could get drink without paying for it, by the common law such election would be void, because it would be carried on contrary to the principle of the law. (Bradford case, 1 O'M. & H. 41 ; Beverley case, ib. 149.) Only to avoid the seat for corruption at common law the coiruption must, of course, have been in favour of the person who WS.8 elected, The Court, in eaph of these cases, TfiU Corrupt Practices. 87 voting at such election shall be guilty of treating. (2.) And every elector who corruptly accepts or takes any such meat drink entertainment or provision shall also be guilty of treating. 2. Every person who shall (d) directly or in- What is directly, by himself or by any other person on his liueuce!'^' behalf (c), make use of or threaten to make use of any force, violence, or restraint, or inflict or threaten to inflict, by himself or by any other person, any temporal or spiritual (/) injury, look to the particular circumstances to see whether the result might have been affected by the corruption proved. The absolute majority obtained is an important ingredient in deciding this. The corruption of ten or twelve might be very important where there is a majority of twelve — certainly not so important where there is a majority of sixty or more. (Ifjsuuch case, 4 O'M. & H. 71.) See last part of note to sect. 2. {d) This section replaces sect. 5 of the Corrupt Practices Prevention Act, 1854 (17 & IS Yict. c. 102), which is re- pealed. (e) " Or any other person on his behalf." It was decided that the same words under the Corrupt Practices Prevention Act, 1854 (17 & 18 Vict. c. 102), cover the acts of every person other than the candidate for whose act Tie is responsible, i.e., every agent : and it is enough in an election petition to allege an offence "by the respondent and other persons in his be- half." Otherwise in a criminal case, or an action for penalty. The law of agency which would vitiate an election, is utterly different from that which would subject a candidate to an indictment or penalty ; and the question of his right to sit in Parliament has to be settled on an entirely different principle. [Norwich case, 1869, 1 O'M. & H. 10.) This principle is explained in the " Chapter on the Parlia- mentary Law as to Agexcy," at pp 69 — 82. (/) " Spiritual." It is the undoubted right of the clergy to canvass and induce persons to vote in a particular way ; but it is not lawful to declare it to be a sin to vote in a different manner, nor to threaten to refuse the sacraments for so doing. (See So\dh Meath case, 4 O'M. & H. 131 ; 88 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. damage, harm, or loss upon or against any person in order to induce or compel such person to vote or refrain from voting, or on account of such person having voted or refrained from voting at any elec- tion (^r), or who shall by abduction, duress, or any fraudulent device (h) or contrivance impede or pre- vent the free exercise of the franchise of any elector, or shall thereby compel, induce, or prevail upon any elector either to give or to refrain from giving his vote at any election, shall be guilty of undue influence. North Meath case, 4 O'M. & H. 187, decided under this Act; and of. tlie earlier cases of Oalway, 1 O'M. & H. 303 ; Long- ford, 2 O'M. & H. 7 ; and Mayo, 1 W. & D. 1.) It is doubtful whether the holding out of spiritual hope to influence a vote would be "undue influence" within this Act. (See South Meath case, uhi sup.) (g) To avoid the seat for intimidation under this section, it is necessary to prove that the candidate or his election agent was guilty of, or sanctioned it. But note that besides statutory intimidation there is a common law intimidation which may also vitiate the election — where the intimidation is so general and extensive in its operation that it cannot be said that the polling was a fair representation of the opinion of the constituency. If the intimidation is local or partial, the election will not be set aside for it. But where it is general, the onus lies on the constituency incriminated to show that the gross amount of intimidation could not possibly have affected the result. The Court looks not only to the amount of the intimidation, but to the absolute majority which has been obtained. {North Durham case, 2 O'M. & H. 157 ; cf. Stafford case, 1 O'M. & H. 229 ; and Ihornbury case, 4 O'M. & H. 67.) For the principle, see also the Ipswich case (4 O'M & H. 71), and the last part of the note to sect. 1 of this Act. Where such intimidation was considerable, though not enough to affect the result, the respondent will not get his costs. (Thornbury case, vhi sup.) (/() "Fraudulent device." The section deals with two classes of misconduct — (1) the first class depends on intent : using or threatening to use force, etc., or inflicting or threat- ening to inflict injury, etc. in order {i.e., with the intent) to CoKRUPT Practices. 89 3. The expression " corrupt practice " (i) as used What is in this Act means any of the following offences ; practfcc namely, treating (k) and undue influence (l), as defined by this Act, and bribery (?;i), and persona- tion (n), as defined by the enactments set forth in Part III. of the Third Schedule to this Act, and aiding, abetting, counselling, and procuring the commission of the offence of personation, and induce a voter, etc. ; (2) for the second class there must be successful impeding or preventing the free exercise of the franchise by abduction, etc. Thus, in the Stepney case, 1886, (4 O'M. & H. 57), a fraudulent device, which falls under the second head, was held not to vitiate an election in the absence of evidence that any one was in fact deceived thereby. (?) " Corrupt practice" is not a sufficient description of an offence in an indictment. (See Beg. v. Stroulger, 17 Q. B. D. 327.) In that case, the prisoner was tried and convicted on an indictment alleging that at the parliamentary election for Ipswich he was guilty of " corrupt practices" against the form, etc. It was held by the majority of the Court that the indictment was defective, because it did not state specifically of what corrupt practices the prisoner was guilty, but that the defect was cured by verdict. (k) " Treating" — defined by sect. 1 of this Act. (/) " Undue influence" — defined by sect. 2 of this Act. (to) " Bribery" — defined by the Corrupt Practices Preven- tion Act, 185-1 (17 & IS Vict. c. 102), ss. 2, 3, and by certain sections of other Acts, making corrupt payment of rates and university registration fees " bribery." (See notes under these sections as set out in the Third Schedule to this Act.) (?i) "Personation" — defined by the Ballot Act, 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c. 33), s. 24. (See the section set out in the Third Schedule of this Act, and notes thereto.) It seems that an election cannot be avoided by personation other than that by an agent of the candidate. For it cannot be avoided at common law by general personation, as it may by general bribery or undue influence ; while to avoid the seat under the statute, agency must be proved. {West Belfast case, 4 O'M. & H. lOS. See sect. 5.) For the kind of agency which must be proved, see Chapter on the Parliamentary Law of Agency at pp. 69 — S2. 90 Core, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. 31&32 Yict. c. 125. Punish- ment of candidate found, on election petition, guilty personally of corrupt practices. 31 &32 Vict. c. 125. Punish- ment of candidate found, on election petition, guilty l)y iigents ot corrupt practices. every offence which is a corrupt practice within the meaning of this Act shall be a corrupt practice within the meaning of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868. 4. Where upon the trial of an election petition respecting an election for a county or borough the election court (o), by the report made to the Speaker in pursuance of section eleven of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, reports that any corrupt practice other than treating or undue influence has been proved to have been committed in reference to such election by or with the knowledge and consent of any candidate at such election (p), or that the offence of treating or undue influence has been proved to have been committed in refer- ence to such election by any candidate at such election, that candidate shall not be capable of ever being elected to or sitting in the House of Commons for the said county or borough, and if he has been elected, his election shall be void ; and he shall further be subject to the same incapacities (q) as if at the date of the said report he had been convicted on an indictment of a corrupt practice. 5. Upon the trial of an election petition respect- ing an election for a county or borough, in which a charge is made of any corrupt practice having been committed in reference to such election, the election court shall report in writing to the Speaker whether (o) " Election Court" — defined by sect. 64. (/>) " Candidate at an election" — defined by uect. 63. (q) " Incapacitiea." See sect, 6, wib-s. (3). Corrupt Practices. 91 any of the candidates at such election has been guilty by his agents (r) of any corrupt practice in reference to such election ; and if the report is that any candidate at such election has been guilty by his agents of any corrupt practice in reference to such election, that candidate shall not be capable of being elected to or sitting in the House of Commons for such county or borough for seven years after the date of the report, and if he has been elected his election shall be void. 6. (1.) A person who commits any corrupt Punish- practice (s) other than personation, or aiding, ^e^on abetting, counselling, or procuring the commission convicted of the offence of personation, shall be guilty of a ment of misdemeanor (t), and on conviction on indictment corrupt practices. (r) " By his agents.'' See Chapter on the Parliamentary Law of Agency at pp. 69 — 82. (s) " Corrupt practice" is not a sufficient description of an ofPence in an indictment. (See Beg. v. StrouJger, 17 Q. B. D. 327.) In that case the prisoner was tried and convicted on an indictment alleging that at the Parliamentary election for Ipswich he was guilty of "corrupt practices," against the form of the statute, etc. It was held by the majority of the Court that the indictment was defective, because it did not state specifically of what corrupt practices the prisoner was guilty, but that the defect was cured by verdict. (<) Because this section and sect. 10 make corrupt and illegal practices criminal offences, it does not follow that every proceeding under the Act is a " criminal cause or matter" within sect. 47 of the Judicature Act, 1873 (36 & 37 Vict. c. 66). See Ex parte WaJker (22 Q. B. D. 384), and cf. Beg. v. Holl (7 Q. B. D. 575). Objection was made in the Montgomery Boroughs case (4 O'M. & H. 167) that witnesses should not be ordered out of Court during the trial of an election petition where criminal charges were made against some of the respondent's witnesses, and it was argued that it would be only fair that they should remain in Court to jnetruct their representatives. The Court overruled the 92 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. \ shall be liable to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding one year, or to be fined any sum not exceeding two hundred pounds. (2.) A person who commits the offence of per- sonation, or of aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring the commission of that offence, shall be guilty of felony, and any person convicted thereof on indictment shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, together with hard labour. (3.) A person who is convicted on indictment of any corrupt practice shall (in addition to any punishment as above provided) be not capable during a period of seven years from the date of his conviction : (a) of being registered as an elector or voting at any election in the United Kingdom, whether it be a Parliamentary election or an election for any public office within the meaning of this Act; or (b) of holding any public (w) or judicial office (x) within the meaning of this Act, and if he holds any such office the office shall be vacated. (4.) Any person so convicted of a corrupt practice in reference to any election shall also be incapable of being elected to and of sitting in the House of Commons during the seven years next after the date of his conviction, and if at that date he has objection, and witnesses on both sides were ordered out of Court until called. But the election agent may remain in Court. (See Knaresborouyh case, 3 O'M. & H. 142). {u) " Public office " — dofined by sect. G4 of this Act. (x) " Judicial office " — defined by sect, 04 of this Act, Illegal Practices. 93 been elected to the House of Commons his election shall be vacated from the time of such conviction. Illegal Practices. 7. (1.) No payment or contract for payment shall, Certain for the purpose of promoting or procuring the tufetobc election of a candidate at any election (?/), be made — illegal (a) on account of the conveyance of electors to or from the poll {z), whether for the hiring of horses or carriages, or for railway fares, or otherwise ; or (b) to an elector on account of the use of any house, land, building, or premises for the exhibition of any address, bill, or notice; or on account of the exhibition of any address, bill, or notice ; or (c) on account of any committee room in excess of the number allowed by the First Schedule to this Act. (2.) Subject to such exception as may be allowed in pursuance of this Act, if any payment or contract for payment is knowingly made in contravention {y) " Candidate at any election." See sect. 63, and see the important note to the next section. (z) Payments made on behalf of a candidate in respect of the stabling and baiting of horses sent from a distance for the purpose of conveying voters to the poll are payments made on account of the conveyance of electors to the poll within this section. Per Pollock, B., •' I prefer to rest my judgment upon the prior part of sub-sect, (a), not using the -word 'otherwise.'" Per Bruce, J., " It is not necessary to decide whether there would have been anything illegal in the friends of the candidates putting up vehicles, horses, and men gratuitously." {Lichfield case, 5 O'M. & H. 30, 31.) See note on p. 206 below as to when such payments as are referred to in this section may be not only ' ' illegal " but ' ' corrupt" practices. 94 Cork, and III. Peact. Prev. Act, 1888. of this section either before, during, or after an election, the person making such payment or con- tract (a) shall be guilty of an illegal practice (b), and any person receiving such payment or being a party to any such contract, knowing the same to be in contravention of this Act, shall also be guilty of an illegal practice. (3.) Provided that where it is the ordinary busi- ness of an elector as an advertising agent to exhibit (c) for payment bills and advertisements, a payment to or contract with such elector, if made in the ordinary course of business, shall not be deemed to be an illegal practice within the meaning of this section. Expense 8. (1.) Subject to such exception as may be (a) The person makiny the payment or contract is liable whether he knew or did not know the same to be in contra- vention of the Act. {Southampton case, o O'M. & H. 20.) (h) Where it was objected that the petition said that during the election the respondent was by his agents guilty of illegal practices by hiring, for the purpose of the conveyance of electors to and from the poll at the said election, carriages and horses, knowing that the owners thereof were prohibited by sect. 14 of this Act from lending the same for that purpose — there being no allegation in the particulars that the acts complained of had been done by the candidate or his election agent — the Court held that this was a good objection, and refused to amend the petition so that this section (sect. 7) might applj% in wliich it is an illegal practice if ani/ agent was guilty of hiring horses or vehicles. {East Manchester case, 4 O'M. & H. 120.) (c) Field, J., says, in the Barrow-in-Furness case (4 O'M. & H. 78), that if it is lawful to pay an advertising agent to exhibit a bill, it must be lawful to take the biU to be ex- hibited; it cannot be exhibited until it is printed, and it must be posted up ; and the labour of doing all that involves an expense which must be incurred by the candidate. So that inferences from this section and sect. 18 would seem to help to extend sect. 17 and the schedule thereto attached. in excess Illegal Practices. 95 allowed in pursuance of this Act, no sum shall be of '^a'^i- •jj 1-111,' 11 T mum to be paid and no expense shall be incurred by a candi- inegai date at an election (d) or his election agent, whether pi'^c^ce. before, during, or after an election, on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of such election (c), in excess of any maximum amount in (d) "A candidate at an election" — defined by sect. 63. But where a man begins to incur expenses with regard to an election before the dissolution or issue of the writ, those expenses must be returned. (Bochetster case, 4 O'M. & H. 157.) It is, however, a difficult question of fact when a particular election begins. See the elaborate judgment of the Scotch Lords Mcljaren and Kyllachy in the Elgin and Nairn case, 5 O'M. & H. 2 — 13. The election must not be i» nubibus, but reasonably imminent. The legislature had in view a period not at least much anterior to the group or series of events which immediately precede the nomination. Instances are given of a vote adverse to the ministry or canvassing commenced by a candidate, whose political sagacity tells him that a general election is imminent. But circum- stances alter cases, and it is a man's " own choice when he throws down the glove and commences his candidature." Per Pollock, B., Lichfield Division case, 5 O'Ai. & H. 36. That case was further explained in the Lancaster Division case, 5 O'M. & H. 44, from which it appears that an absolute stranger coming to the district will be more readily taken to have commenced a candidature by holding meetings, etc., than one who lives in the neighbourhood. This view would appear to place the sitting member in such a district in an advantageous position over an opponent who is nursing it. The words "the conduct or management of the election" and the words "candidate at an election" must both be considered. The judgments in all the cases referred to in this note ought to be carefully studied. The question when does a candidature commence and when do election expenses com- mence are of importance to many sections. It is probable that the Courts will always refuse to lay down a definite rule on the subject. (e) ' ' On account of or in respect of the conduct or manage- ment of such election." — Such election means a definite election within the knowledge and contemplation of the parties who are engaged in conducting and managing it. {Elyin and Xairn cast, 5 O'M. & H. o.) See preceding note. 96 Coke, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. Voting bj' prohibited persons and pub- lishing of false state- ments of with- drawal to be illegal. that behalf specified in the first schedule to this Act. (2.) Any candidate or election agent who know- ingly acts in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an illegal practice. 9. (1.) If any person votes or induces or pro- cures any person to vote at any election, knowing that he or such person is prohibited, whether by this (/) or any other Act (^f) from voting at such election, he shall be guilty of an illegal practice (A). Expenses connected with improving tlie registration of the borough in the interest of the candidate and his party are not within this section ; nor is the starting of a newspaper advocating the candidate's political views. What is or is not snch expense is a question of fact for the Court as a jury to decide. {Kennington case, 4 O'M. & H. 93. Cf. Lichfield case, 1895, 5 O'M. & H. M.) As to lectures there is no general rule that even if they are given with a view of advancing the prospects of a particular candidate they are expenses on account of the election. {Haggerston case, 5 O'M. & H. 72, and see note to sect. 28.) (/) "This Act." See First Schedule, Pt. I. (7). ((/) " Any other Act." (Cf. the BaUot Act, 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c. 33), s. 7.) No person under the age of one-and- twenty years may vote, by 7 & 8 Will. 3, c. 25, s. 8. Nor may any elector vote who has been employed for reward within six months of the election by any candidate at such election as agent, canvasser, clerk, messenger, or in other like employment by sect. 11 of the Eepresentation of the People Act, 1867 (30 & 31 Vict. c. 102). As to this last case, cf. sect. 17 of this Act, and the First Schedule, Pt. I. (7). Common-law disabilities are not touched by this section. (/() Where M. voluntarily undertook the duties of a sub- agent withoutany payment or reward, or promise of payment or reward, and when he voted he believed he would receive none, but after the election was over, the election agent, finding that he had a surplus, paid him a sum of 26/. as an honorarium, and five guineas for the use of his ofiice, and M. did not tell him he had voted, this was held to be an illegal practice under sect. 9, and the Court refused to make an order Illegal Practices. 97 (2.) Any person who before or during an election knowingly publishes a false statement of the with- drawal of a candidate at such election for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of another candidate shall be guilty of an illegal practice. (3.) Provided that a candidate shall not be liable, nor shall his election be avoided, for any illegal practice under this section committed by his agent other than his election agent. 10. A person guilty of an illegal practice, whether Puuish- under the foregoing sections or under the pro- ^nviL°ion visions hereinafter contained in this Act, shall on of illegal summary conviction be liable to a fine (?) not ex- ceeding one hundred pounds and be incapable during a period of five years from the date of his conviction of being registered as an elector or voting at any election (whether it be a parliamentary election or an election for a public office within the meaning of this Act) held for or within the county or borough in which the illegal practice has been committed. 11. Whereas by sub-section fourteen of section Report of eleven of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, court°^ it is provided that where a charge is made in an respecting election petition of any corrupt practice having practice, under sect. 23 relieving M. of the consequences of his act. (S. W. Essex case, 2 Times L. R. 388.) (/) Because sect. 6 and this section make corrupt and illegal practices criminal offences, it does not follow that any proceeding under the Act is a "criminal cause or matter " ■within sect. 47 of the Judicature Act, 1873 (36 & 37 Vict. c. 66). See Ex parte Walker, 22 Q. B. D. 389, and of. Beg. v. Eoll, 7 a B. D. 575. i.p. 7 98 Cork, and III. Peact. Prev. Act, 1883. and been committed at the election to which the petition ment of refers, the judge shall report in writing to the candidate Speaker as follows :— found ^ gaihj (a) "Whether any corrupt practice has or has report " ^^^ ^^^^ proved to have been committed by 31 & 32 "or with the knowledge and consent of any c, 125. " candidate at such election (k), and the nature " of such corrupt practice ; (b) " The names of all persons, if any, who " have been proved at the trial to have been "guilty of any corrupt practice ; (c) " Whether corrupt practices have, or whether " there is reason to believe corrupt practices " have, extensively prevailed (1) at the election " to which the petition relates " : And whereas it is expedient to extend the said sub-section to illegal practices : Be it therefore enacted as follows : — 31 & 32 Sub-section fourteen of section eleven of the c 125 Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, shall apply as if that sub-section were herein re-enacted with the substitution of illegal practice within the meaning of this Act for corrupt practice ; and upon the trial of an election petition respecting an election for a county or borough, the election court shall report in writing to the Speaker the particulars required by the said sub-section as herein re-enacted, and shall also report whether any candidate at such election has been guilty by his agents of any illegal (/c) " Candidate at such election." See sect. 63. (i) A lenient view of what this means was taken on the facts in the Maidstone cise (5 O'M. & H. 153). Illegal Practices. 99 practice within the meaning of this Act in reference to such election, and the following consequences shall ensue upon the report by the election court to the Speaker ; (that is to say,) (a) If the report is that any illegal practice has been proved to have been committed in reference to such election by or with the know- ledge and consent of any candidate at such election, that candidate shall not be capable of being elected to or sitting in the House of Commons for the said county or borough for seven years next after the date of the report, and if he has been elected his election shall be void ; and he shall further be subject to the same incapacities as if at the date of the report he had been convicted of such illegal practice ; and (b) If the report is that a candidate at such elec- tion has been guilty by his agents (m) of any illegal practice in reference to such election, that candidate shall not be capable of being elected to or sitting in the House "of Commons for the said county or borough during the Parliament for which the election was held, and if he has been elected, his election shall be void (n). 12. "Whereas by the Election Commissioners Act, Extension 1852, as amended by the Parliamentary Elections y\^f}- Act, 1868, it is enacted that where a joint address of respecting' {m) See Chapter on the Parliamentary Law as to Agency, at pp. 69—82, (n) I.e., unless such illegal practice is exonerated under sect. 22 or sect. 23. 100 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. election commis- sioners to illegal practices. 15 &16 Vict. c. 57, 31&32 Vict, c. 125. 15&16 Vict. c. 57. both Houses of Parliament represents to Her Majesty that an election court has reported to the Speaker that corrupt practices have, or that there is reason to believe that corrupt practices have, extensively pre- vailed at an election in any county or borough, and prays Her Majesty to cause inquiry under that Act to be made by persons named in such address (being qualified as therein mentioned), it shall be lawful for Her Majesty to appoint the said persons to be election commissioners for the purpose of making inquiry into the existence of such corrupt practices : And whereas it is expedient to extend the said enactments to the case of illegal practices : Be it therefore enacted as follows : — When election commissioners have been appointed in pursuance of the Election Commissioners Act, 1852, and the enactments amending the same, they may make inquiries and act and report as if "corrupt practices" in the said Act and the enactments amending the same included illegal practices ; and the Election Commissioners Act, 1852, shall be con- strued with such modifications as are necessary for giving effect to this section, and the expression " corrupt practice " in that Act shall have the same meaning as in this Act. Illegal Payment, Employment, and Hiring. Providing 13. Where a person knowingly provides money for foriiTcKal ^^^ payment (o) which is contrary to the provisions practice or of this Act, or for any expenses incurred in excess of (o •' Payment "—defined Vy ^cct. 64. Illegal Payment, Employment, and Hiring. 101 any maximum amount allowed by this Act, or for payment replacing any money expended in any such payment illegal or expenses, except where the same may have been Payment. previously allowed in pursuance of this Act to be an exception, such person shall be guilty of illegal payment. 14. (1.) A person shall not let, lend, or employ Employ- for the purpose of the conveyance of electors to or ha^ckney from the poll, any public stage or hackney carriage, carriages, or any horse or other animal kept or used for drawing carriages the same, or any carriage, horse, or other animal ^nd horses which he keeps or uses for the purpose of letting out hire, for hire, and if he lets, lends, or employs such car- riage, horse, or other animal, knowing that it is intended to be used for the purpose of the convey- ance of electors to or from the poll, he shall be guilty of an illegal hiring. (2.) A person shall not hire, borrow, or use for the purpose of the conveyance of electors to or from the poll any carriage, horse, or other animal which he knows (p) the owner thereof is prohibited by this section to let, lend, or employ for that purpose, and if he does so he shall be guilty of an illegal hiring {q). (j') Where the voter had driven to the poll in a cab, paying nothing to the driver, but there was no proof that the voter knew that the use of the cab was prohibited by law, the Court allowed the vote, and held that no breach of this section had been committed. (Buckrose case, 4 O'M. & H. 117.) (9) An " illegal hiring" is not an " illegal practice " unless committed (see sect. 21 (2) ) by the candidate, or his election agent. Therefore, where it was objected that the petition said that during the election the respondent was, by his agents, guilty of illegal practices by hiring, lor the purpose 102 CoER. AND III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. Corrupt with- drawal from a candida- ture. Certain expendi- ture to be illegal payment. (3.) Nothing in this Act shall prevent a carriage, horse, or other animal being let to or hired, employed, or used by an elector, or several electors at their joint cost, for the purpose of being conveyed to or from the poll. (4.) No person shall be liable to pay any duty or to take out a license for an}' carriage by reason only of such carriage being used without payment or promise of payment for the conveyance of electors to or from the poll at an election. 15. Any person who corruptly induces or pro- cures any other person to withdraw from being a candidate at an election (?•), in consideration of any payment or promise of payment, shall be guilty of illegal payment, and any person withdrawing, in pursuance of such inducement or procurement, shall also be guilty of illegal payment. 16. (1.) No payment or contract for payment (s) of the conveyance of electors to and from the poll at the said election, carriages and horses, knowing that the owners thereof were prohibited by this section from lending the same for that purpose — there being no allegation in the par- ticulars that the acts complained of had been done by the candidate or his election agent — the Court held that this was a good objection, and refused to amend the petition so that sect. 7 might ap]ily, which makes it an illegal practice if any agent is guilty of hiring horses or vehicles. {East Manchester case, 4 O'M. & H. 120.) (?) " A candidate at an election " — defined by sect. 63 ; and see note to sect. S. (s) If the words of the section are to be taken literally, the payment or contract is the offence ; and if a candidate buys himself a pink or blue tic, and his wife and daughters some pink or blue ribbons to show themselves oft' to the electorate for election purposes in their i)arty colours, an offence will have been committed ; but if no distribution of such ties or ribbons was made or intended, it is difficult to suppose Illegal Payment, Employment, and Hiring. 103 shall, for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of a candidate at any election (t), be made on account (u) of bands of music, torches, flags, banners (x), cockades, ribbons, or other marks of distinction (i/). that this is what the Legislature meant. It might, however, be worth while to test this point, if an election petition were being brought on other grounds. For the words are clear. (t) See sect. 63, and see note to sect. 8. (u) " On account of." Where a man was employed to repair a portion of the roof of a house, which had been damaged by reason of ropes having been attached to it for the purpose of suspending a banner across the street (the banner itself being lawful, because no payment had been made for it), this was held not to be an illegal payment. {Stepnetj case, 1886, 4 O'M. & H. 39.) (x) Where it was proved that from 500 to 1,000 portraits of a candidate had been printed on linen and furnished with a lath at top and bottom, and there was evidence to show that they had been carried about on sticks by boys and others, and that they had been suspended across streets with the candidate's knowledge, these were held to be banners within the section ; but it would have been better to have described them as marks of distinction. {St. George's Division recriminatory case, 5 O'M. & H. 107 — 114.) {y) Where broad strips of canvas, with the words "Isaac- son for Stepney " on them, had been paid for by the election agent and hung across the streets, these were held to be " banners " and " marks of distinction " within the section. Cave, J., did not think it was the object of the Act to pre- clude those kinds of marks of distinction which might lead to a fight. Its object was partly to prevent waste of money, and partly to prevent a man gaining a false show of popu- larity by laying out his money on fiags, banners, and such like. The payment for these banners was, however, excused as "inadvertent" under sect. 23. {titepney case, 1892, 4 O'M. & H. 179—183.) In the Walsall case (4 O'M. & H. 126), 2,000 cards, bearing respondent's portrait and the words, " We're bound to win — Play up Swifts — Vote for James," and 2,000 similar impres- sions on stout paper were printed by the printer, who was employed by the respondent, in respondent's colours. They were, in fact, largely worn in the hats of respondent's sup- porters. They were charged to the election account, and 104 Cork, and III. Pract. Prbv. Act, 1883. (2.) Subject to such exception as maybe allowed in pursuance of this Act, if any payment or contract for payment is made in contravention of this section, either before, during, or after an election, the person making such payment shall be guilty of illegal payment, and any person being a party to any such were paid for by the election agent. The Court held the election void, on the ground that the use of the hat-cards was an illegal practice, and refused to give relief under sect. 23. Where yellow cards had been extensively worn, and where one witness proved that an agent of respondent pinned such cards on to him at respondent's committee-room, the Court did not agree with regard to the inferences to be drawn from the facts as to whether these were marks of distinction or not. {Fontefrad case, 4 O'M. & H. 200.) In that case Hawkins, J., said : — " The cards in use at Walsall were obviously marks of distinction, and I came also to the conclusion that they were simply cockades in another form. They were purposely made to be worn in the hat, ordered for that purpose, and paid for with the knowledge of the use to which they were put. It was an illegal payment, whether they are called ' cockades,' or only ' marks of distinction.' " In the East Clare case (4 O'M. & H. 162), 3,000 cards bearing the inscription, " Men of Clare, remember Parnell — vote for Eedmond," had been printed for the Young Ireland Society, who had distributed them in the interest of the respondent. These cards had, in fact, been largely worn in the hats of respondent's supporters : but had not been made or intended for hat-cards. The Irish Judges held that these were not " marks of distinction " within the section. It will thus be seen that the cases run very fine on this matter of "marks of distinction," and great care must be exercised by those responsible for the conduct of an election, that nothing is paid for by the candidate, or his election agent, which could possibly fall within the categories of any of the things mentioned in this section. It would seem from dicta of the Judges in the Stepney case, 1892, above cited, that it may be unsafe for a candidate at an election to pay even for bills and placards bearing his name and colours, in cases where they are not "addresses" or " notices" (as to which, see Schedule I., Part il. (3) ). For such bills and placards might well be held to be " marks of distinction " within the principle in that case laid down. Illegal Payment, Employment, and Hiring. 105 contract or receiving such payment shall also be guilty of illegal payment if he knew that the same was made contrary to law. 17. (1.) No person shall, for the purpose of Certain promoting or procuring the election of a candidate ^nt°to be at any election (^), be engaged or employed (a) for illegal, payment (6) or promise of payment (c) for any pur- pose or in any capacity whatever, except for any purposes or capacities mentioned in the first or second parts of the First Schedule to this Act, or except so far as payment is authorised by the first or second parts of the First Schedule to this Act (d). (z) See sect. 63, and see note to sect. 8. (a) It is not because a man who is employed to act as a clerk only for a small part of a day, or for some possibly trivial or small matters — it is not because he occupies that time wbicli is his own that he is to be robbed of the ordinary right of a citizen to go about and take an interest in an election where he cares for the politics involved and to canvass. The question therefore is — was there a canvassing either by the direct directions of the candidate or his agent or by their knowledge, in the sense that they not merely knew that there was canvassing done, in fact, by that agent, but that the canvassing was such that the fair assumption would be that it was illegal? {Lichfield case, o O'M & H. 28, 29. Cf. Elgin and Nairn case, ibid. 13.) (b) " For payment " — see sect. 64. Eefreshments may be " payment " within the meaning of this section. Thus, where a sandwich, a pork pie and a cup of coifee were given to respondent's "workers " on the polling-day, it was held that this was " illegal employment ; " and where the respon- dent and his election agent are the offenders "illegal employment" is "illegal practice" (see sect. 21 (2)), and avoids the seat. {Barrow-in-Furness case, 4 O'M. & H. 82.) (c) Promise of payment — This means "an actual express promise and not that the promise may be inferred by the con- duct of the parties, which would entitle a man to recover in a civil action." (Per Pollock, B., Lichfield case, 5 O'M. & H. 30.) {d) Canvassing handbills are not specifically mentioned in either part of the First Schedule. It is doubtful whether 106 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. Name and address of printer on placards. (2.) Subject to such exception as may be allowed in pursuance of this Act, if any person is engaged or employed in contravention of this section, either before, during, or after an election, the person engaging or employing him shall be guilty of illegal employment, and the person so engaged or employed shall also be guilty of illegal employment if he knew that he was engaged or employed contrary to law. 18. Every bill, placard, or poster having reference to an election (e) shall bear on the face thereof the name and address of the printer (/) and they are "addresses" or "notices" witliin the meaning of Part II. Sect. 3, of the First Schedule. But looking at other parts of the Act, as sect. 18, Field, J., held that it is not an illegal practice or expense to employ persons to distribute such handbills. (Dissentiente Denman, J., Stepney case, 1886, 4 O'M & H. 00.) Where it was proved that persons had been employed and paid for the distribution of documents relating to the respon- dent's candidature, e.g. a letter from a distinguished states- man giving reasons why he could not come to a meeting, the Court held that there was no "illegal employment " or pay- ment under this section ; but that such things come fairly within the meaning of "addresses and notices " mentioned in Part II. sect. 3, of the First Schedule. Offensive pictures and statements might be otherwise. But the Court has, in general, nothing to do under this Act with the contents of the documents. [Barrow-in-Furness case, 4 O'M. & H. 78.) (e) See note to sect. 8. ( / ) Where it was proved that the copies of the respondent's election address did not have the printer's name, but the address was printed on the back of photographs of the respondent, which bore the stamp of the photographer, Channell, J., said that the section was aimed at documents which were anonymous or of doubtful authority, so that the printer might be asked who had authorised him to issue such a document. This was an election address signed by the respondent, and ho did not think it came within the section at all. It was in any event trivial, and if there were a technical breach of the statute the Court would have given relief. [Cockermouth case, 6 O'M. & II. 156.) Illegal Payment, Employment, and Hirino. 107 publisher (g) thereof ; and any person printing, publishing, or posting, or causing to be printed Qi), published, or posted, any such bill, placard, or poster as aforesaid, which fails to bear upon the face thereof the name and address of the printer and publisher, shall, if he is the candidate, or the elec- tion agent of the candidate, be guilty of an illegal practice, and if he is not the candidate, or the election agent of a candidate, shall be liable on summary conviction (i) to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds (A-). 19. The provisions of this Act prohibiting certain Saving for crfiQitors payments and contracts for payments, and the pay- ment of any sum, and the incurring of any expense (g) It is usual to describe bills printed in the ordinary' way by a member of the printing trade as " printed and pub- lished " by that man. This may not in all cases be quite accurate : but it is unlikely that the Court would insist on a more literal view of the section. (A) Under the similar section (sect. 14) of the Municipal Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Practices) Act, 1884, where B. was a candidate for a seat on a Local Board and A. , the other candidate, received from his own servant a printed address and letter, having reference to the election and purporting to be signed by B., but without the printer's name and address thereon, and the document was printed for publica- tion by instructions conveyed to the printer in a letter from B.'s brother who resided with him, and the printer had debited B. with the cost of printing but had not been paid, Day and A. L. Smith, JJ., held that there was no evidence that B. printed or caused to be printed this document. (Bettesworth v. Allimjhavi, 16 Q. B. D. 44.) (?■) " Summary conviction." See sect. 54. {j) " It would appear from Ex jM'^te Lenanton (53 J. P. 263) that since if he is not the candidate or election agent he has not committed an illegal practice, a printer cannot take advantage of sect. 23. of this Act and obtain relief. This case was decided under the analogous sections of the Municipal Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Practices) Act, 1884 (47 & 48 Vict. c. 70). But cf. Ex parte Clark (52 L. T. N. S. 260). 108 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. in excess of a certain maximum, shall not affect the right of any creditor, who, when the contract was made or the expense was incurred, was ignorant of the same being in contravention of this Act. Use of 20. (a) Any premises on which the sale by whole- committee , , -1 C ■ 1 • 1- T • ,1 • T room in Sale or retail of any mtoxicatnig liquor is authorized house for |jy g^ licence (whether the licence be for consumption toxicatiiig on or off the premises), or rd'resh"'^ (b) Any premises where any intoxicating liquor ment, or in is sold, or is supplied to members of a club, society, or tary school associatioii other than a permanent political club, or to be illegal (g^ j^y^j premises whereon refreshment of any kind, whether food or drink, is ordinarily sold for consumption on the premises, or (d) The premises of any public elementary school (A) in receipt of an annual parliamentary grant, or any part of such premises, shall not be used as a committee room (l) for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of a candidate at an election (m), and if any person (n) hires or (k) "The premises of an elementary school." This, in general, includes a schoolmaster's house, where such house is within the curtilage of the school: though it might be otherwise where such house is obviously apart from, and distinct (not only with respect to structure, but with respect to the mode in which the expenditure of keeping it up is defrayed) from the school-house itself. (See sect. 6 of 3o & 36 Vict. c. 33.) But where the master's house was provided rent free by a subscriber to the schools, the house was held not to be part of the premises of a public elementary school, although the managers were in receipt of an annual par- liamentary grant. (Buckrose case, 4 O'M. & H. 115.) (/) "Committee-room." See sect. 64. (jji) See sect. 63, and see note to sect. 8. (n) " Any person." Wherever de facto certain persona meet together, who act as a committee during the polling- day, and in a room, whether it be a room within (a), (b), (c) Illegal Payment, Employment, and Hiring. 109 uses any such premises or any part thereof for a committee room he shall be guilty of illegal hiring, and the person letting such premises or part, if he knew it was intended to use the same as a committee room, shall also be guilty of illegal hiring : Provided that nothing in this section shall apply to any part of such premises which is ordinarily let for the purpose of chambers or offices or the holding of public meetings or of arbitrations, if such part has a separate entrance and no direct communica- tion with any part of the premises on which any intoxicating liquor or refreshment is sold or supplied as aforesaid (o). 21. (1.) A person guilty of an offence of illegal Punish- payment, employment or hiring shall, on summary j^|g"*i conviction [p), be liable to a fine not exceeding one payment, hundred pounds. mei)t°or (2.) A candidate or an election agent of a candi- firing- date iq) who is personally guilty of an offence of illegal payment, employment, or hiring, shall be guilty of an illegal practice. or (d) of this section, in respect of whicli there is a prohibi- tion : in all of these cases, at any rate, the members of the committee who so use that room must be taken to be within the provision. [BucJirose case, uhi supra.) (o) See for instances of committee-rooms within this pro- viso the Devonport case (2 Times L. E. 3-16) and Cockermouth case{o O'M. & H. 155). (p) " Summary conviction." See sect. 54. {q) "Where it was objected that the petition said that during theelection the respondent was, "by his agents," guilty of illegal practice by hiring, for the purpose of the conveyance of electors to and from the poll at the said election, carriages and horses, "knowing that the owners thereof were pro- hibited, by sect. 14, from lending the same for that pur- pose" — there being no allegation in the particulars that the 110 Core, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. Eeport exonerat- ing candi- date in certain cases of corrupt and illegal practice by agents. Excuse and Exception for Corrupt or Illegal Practice or Illegal Payment, Employment, or Hiring. 22. Where, upon the trial of an election petition respecting an election for a county or borough, the election court report that a candidate at such election has been guilty by his agents of the offence of treat- ing and undue influence, and illegal practice, or of any of such offences, in reference to such election, and the election court further report that the can- didate has proved to the court — (a) That no corrupt or illegal practice was com- mitted at such election by the candidate or his election agent and the offences mentioned in the said report were committed contrary to the orders and without the sanction or connivance of such candidate or his election agent ; and (b) That such candidate (r) and his election agent acts complained of had been done by the candidate or his election agent^ — the Court held that this was a good ob- jection, and refused to amend the petition so that sect, 7 might apply, which makes it an illegal practice if any agent was guilty of hiring horses or carriages. {East Manchester case, 4 O'M. & H. 120.) (r) Where there were two candidates as respondents to the petition, Wright and Bruce, JJ., held, though with some doubt, that the sub- section might be read as applying to each of the candidates separately, and granted relief to the one while refusing it to the other. {Fiovthampton case, 5 O'M. & H. 21.) Where the candidate took part in a procession round the town, in which the Court was satisfied that a good deal of drmking took place and that he must be taken to have known that there was at least a danger of treating, the Court refused to find aiBrmatively that this candidate "took all reasonable means" to prevent corrupt treating, and in the absence of such affirmative finding held that they had no power to relieve against an illegal act, though of a trivial, unimportant, and limited character. {Southampton case, 5 O'M. & H. 22 — 24.) Excuse for Corrupt or Illegal Practice, etc. Ill took all reasonable means for preventing the commission of corrupt and illegal practices at such election ; and (c) That the offences mentioned in the said report were of a trivial, unimportant, and limited character ; and (d) That in all other respects the election was free from any corrupt or illegal practice on the part of such candidate and of his agents ; then the election of such candidate shall not, by reason of the offences mentioned in such report, be void, nor shall the candidate be subject to any incapacity under this Act (s). 23. Where, on application made, it is shown to Power of the High Court (t) or to an election court by such Q^^J.^^ ^^ evidence as seems to the Court sufficient — election (a) that any act or omission of a candidate at any except election, or of his election agent or of any other innocent act from agent or person, would, by reason of being a being payment, engagement, employment or contract pjl^cdce (s) The law intends, by this and the next section, to enable Judges to relieve candidates from all responsibility for cor- rupt and illegal practices, where they satisfy the Judges that they have done everything on their part to render the election pure and free from corruption. But the onus Kes on the candidate and his election agent to prove, if they ask for such relief, that they personally took all reasonable means for preventing the commission of corrupt and illegal practices. [Bochester case, 4 O'M. & H. 160.) {t) The application is made by motion to the Divisional Court or by application to the Judge in chambers, and is in either case made ex parte after notice. It may be made on affidavit : for a precedent of such an affidavit, see Ux parte Clark (52 L, T. 260), decided under the analogous section, sect. 20 of the Municipal Corporations (Corrupt and Illegal Practices) Act, 1884 (47 & 48 Yict. c. 70). etc. 112 CoKR. AND III. Pract. Prbv. Act, 1883. in contravention of this Act, or being the pay- ment of a sum or the incurring of expense in excess of any maximum amount allowed by this Act, or of otherwise being in contravention of any of the provisions of this Act, be but for this section an illegal practice, payment, employ- ment, or hiring {u) ; and (b) that such act or omission arose from inadvertence or from accidental miscalcu- lation or from some other reasonable cause of a like nature {x), and in any case did (w) A printer guilty of an offence against sect. 18 is not within this sub-section, unless he knew he was acting in contravention of the Act, in which case he is not within the next sub-section. (Ex parte Lenanton, 53 J. P. 263, decided under the analogous sections of the Municipal Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Practices) Act, 1884 (47 & 48 Vict. c. 70) ; but cf. Ex parte Clark, 52 L. T. 260.) (x) "Inadvertence" — " accidental miscalculation" — "some other reasonable cause of a like nature." The section is intentionally very carefully guarded and has always been limited by the Courts to small and accidental mistakes. {Southampton case, 5 O'M. & H. 25.) Thus, in the Stepney case, 1S8H (4 O'M. & H. 52), where Denman, J., held that a candidate was guilty of illegal employment and illegal payment, in employing and paying persons to tout for votes and to distribute canvassing handbills, he excused him under this section, because the Act was new and by no means easy to master, and the blot in question was so far from obvious that opposed counsel did not rely on it until the Court pointed out its bearing. But he might hold otherwise, he said, on a future occasion with precisely similar facts. Again, in the Norwich case (4 O'M. & H. 91), where an in sufficient description of clerks and messengers was excused as " inadvertent," Cave, J., rested his decision on the groiind that that part of the Act had never yet been interpreted. It does not therefore follow that the same excuse would be allowed now. "Inadvertence" may either bo that the party was not aware of what was done, or that he did not know it was wrong. Where streamers hung across the street were held Excuse for Corrupt or Illegal Practice, etc. 113 not arise from any want of good faith (t/) ; and (c) that such notice (z) of the apphcation has been to be "banners" within sect. 16, the Court said that the election agent might faii-ly say that the payments for them ■were "inadvertent" in the latter sense, and the payment •was therefore excused under this section. {Stepney case, 1892, 4 O'M. & H. 182.) But where cards for hats were charged as such to the " election account," and were paid for by the election agent, where they had been spoken of from the beginning as " cards for hats," and had been made specially adaptable for being placed in hats, though no want of good faith was imputed to either the respondent or the election agent, the Court refused to excuse this from being an illegal practice. There was no inadvertence, accidental miscalculation, or other ground of a like nature within the meaning of this section. A miscon- ception of the law, it was said here, cannot be treated as inadvertence. {Walsall case, 4 O'M. & H. 129.) Note, that the Court has entire discretion in this matter ; and Haw- kins, J., said in the Walsall case that he woiild not exercise his discretion in favour of the respondent, even if he had the power. In the S. W. Essex case (2 Times L. E. 388) when a sub-agent voted, not having expected that he would be paid for his work as sub-agent, but afterwards received something " as an honorarium," he did not have relief. In the Mile End case (2 Times L. E. 215), the candidate had spent extra money in contradicting untrue reports. He was excused. But part of the money had been spent owing to a mistake in the accounts. See also cases under the analogous section (sect. 20) of 47 & 48 Vict. c. 70. (?/) AVith regard to the question as to whether illegal pay- ments have been made bond fide, it is very material to con- sider what was the character of the election in other respects — whether it was in other respects pure, so as to show that there has been a bond fide desii'e to avoid illegal practices. {Stepney case, 1892, 4 O'M. & H. 182.) (2) "You must give notice," said A. L. Smith and Grantham, J J. , " of the application to the defeated candidate, the returning officer, and to the constituency, by advertise- ment." {S. Shropshire case, 34 W. E. 352.) The author has also found in practice, though it does not appear in the text books, that notice should also be given i.p. 8 114 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. given in the county or borough for which the election was held as to the Court seems fit ; and under the circumstances it seems to the Court to be just that the candidate and the said election and other agent and person, or any of them, should not be subject to any of the consequences under this Act of the said act or omission, the Court may make an order (a) allowing such act or omission to be an to the Election Petitions Office, Eoom 175, Royal Courts of Justice. Mr. B. E. Hodgson now has charge of all such like matters in that office. See Parker on Election Agents (ed. 1891), p. 485, where it is said, " Notice is usually given to each of the candidates, to the returning officer, and to the constituency, hj advertisement and by conspicuous posters throughout the constituency." Cf. the cases under the analogous section (sect. 20) of the Municipal Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Practices) Act, 1884 (47 & 48 Vict. c. 70), e.g., Ex parte Lenanton, 53 J. P. 263, where the practice was fully discussed. In the Norwich case (4 O'M. & H. 90), notice given in court, where the persons interested were present, was held enough at the trial of the petition to satisfy the statute. (a) The effect of such order is to do away with the illegal practice so relieved against, so that when the Court comes to make its report to the Speaker (see sect. 11), if that practice is all that has been proved against the respondent, the Court will have to report that there has been no illegal practice. (Hexham case, 4 O'M. & H. 145.) The law intends by sect. 22 and this section to enable Judges to relieve candidates from all responsibility for cor- rupt and illegal (in this section only illegal) practices, where they satisfy the Judges that they have done everything on their part to render the election pure and free from corrup- tion. It IS for the candidate and his election agent to prove, when such relief is asked for, that they personally took all reasonable means for preventing the commission of corrupt and illegal practices. {Rochester case, 4 O'M. & H. 160.) Where relief is sought for under the powers which the Act confers upon the Court, the person who obtains that relief always has himself to bear the cost of obtaining it. If therefore the respondent in an election petition delays until the last moment to come and ask for it, so that the whole ciipo has to be fought out, he has only himself to thank Election Expenses. 115 exception from the provisions of this Act which would otherwise make the same an illegal practice, payment, employment, orhiring, and thereupon such candidate, agent, or person shall not be subject to any of the con- sequences under this Act of the said act or omission. Election Expenses. 24. (1.) On or before the day of nomination at Nomina- an election, a person shall be named by or on behalf giect^Ji^ of each candidate as his agent for such election (in agent, this Act referred to as the election agent) (b). (2.) A candidate may name himself as election agent, and thereupon shall, so far as circumstances admit, be subject to the provisions of this Act both as a candidate and as an election agent, and any reference in this Act to an election agent shall be construed to refer to the candidate acting in his capacity of election agent. for not taking an earlier opportunity of giving notice of what lie intends to do, and thereby giving the petitioners an opportunity of reconsidering their position. (Per Cave, J., Stepney case, 1892, 4 O'M. & H. 183.) (6) The object of the Act is that a person shall be the election agent who shall be effectively responsible for all the acts done in procuring the election. No contract is to be made by anybody but him ; he is the jjerson to make the conti'acts, because he is a known and responsible man, who can be dealt with afterwards, and who can be looked to afterwards for an explanation of his conduct in the management of the election. The object of the Act was, that the affairs of the election should be carried on in the light (jf day; and that a respectable and responsible man, responsible to the candidate and to the public, should be there to do all that was necessary. (Per Field, J., Barroic-in-Furness case, 4 O'M. & H. 82.) For observations on the position and duties of the election agent, see Chapter II., "Of a Contested Election,"pp. 39 — 4j. 8—2 116 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1888. Nomina- tion of deputy election agent as sub-agent. (3.) On or before the day of nomination the name and address of the election agent of each candidate shall be declared in writing by the candidate or some other person on his behalf to the returning officer (c), and the returning officer shall forthwith give public notice of the name and address of every election agent so declared. (4.) One election agent only shall be appointed for each candidate, but the appointment, whether the election agent appointed be the candidate himself or not, may be revoked, and in the event of such revoca- tion or his death, whether such event is before, during, or after the election, then forthwith another election agent shall be appointed, and his name and address declared in writing to the returning officer, who shall forthwith give public notice of the same. S6. (1.) In the case of the elections specified in that behalf in the First Schedule to this Act an elec- tion agent (cl) of a candidate may appoint the number of deputies therein mentioned (which deputies are in this Act referred to as sub-agents), to act within different polling districts. (2.) As regards matters in a polling district the election agent may act by the sub-agent for that district, and anything done for the purposes of this Act by or to the sub-agent in his district shall be deemed to be done by or to the election agent, and any act or default of a sub-agent which, if he were (c) " Returning oflBcer." See sect. 8 of the Ballot Act, 1872 (35 & 3() Vict. c. 33) ; and see also the Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officers) Act, 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. 84). {(l) "Election agent." See preceding section and notes thereto. Election Expenses. . 117 the election agent, would be an illegal practice or other offence against this Act, shall be an illegal practice and offence against this Act committed by the sub-agent, and the sub-agent shall be liable to punishment accordingly ; and the candidate shall suffer the like incapacity as if the said act or default had been the act or default of the election agent. (3.) One clear day before the polling the election agent shall declare in \yriting the name and address of every sub-agent to the returning officer (e), and the returning officer shall forthwith give public notice of the name and address of every sub-agent so declared. (4.) The appointment of a sub-agent shall not be vacated by the election agent who appointed him ceasing to be election agent, but may be revoked by the election agent for the time being of the candi- date, and in the event of such revocation or of the death of a sub-agent another sub-agent may be ap- pointed, and his name and address shall be forthwith declared in writing to the returning officer, who shall forthwith give public notice of the same. 26. (1.) An election agent (/) at an election for office of a county or borough shall have within the county or election . . . agent and borough, or withm any county of a city or town sub-agent, adjoining thereto, and a sub-agent shall have with- in his district, or within any count}^ of a city or town adjoining thereto, an office or place to which all claims, notices, writs, summons, and documents may (e) " Eetumin^ officer." See note as to " returning officer " under the preceding section. (/) "Election agent." See sect. 24, 118 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. be sent, and the address of such office or place shall be declared at the same time as the appointment of the said agent to the returning officer, and shall be stated in the public notice of the name of the agent. (2.) Any claim, notice, writ, summons, or docu- ment delivered at such office or place and addressed to the election agent or sub-agent, as the case may be, shall be deemed to have been served on him, and every such agent may in respect of any matter con- nected with the election in which he is acting be sued in any Court having jurisdiction in the county or borough in which the said office or place is situate. Making of 27. (1.) The election agent (g) of a candidate by througV himself or by his sub-agent shall appoint every election polling agent, clerk, and messenger employed for payment on behalf of the candidate at an election, and hire every committee room hired on behalf of the candidate. (2.) A contract whereby any expenses are incurred on account of or in respect of the conduct or manage- ment of an election {h) shall not be enforceable (i) against a candidate at such election unless made by the candidate himself or by his election agent, either by himself or by his sub-agent ; provided that the inability under this section to enforce such contract against the candidate shall not relieve the candidate from the consequences of any corrupt or illegal practice having been committed by his agent. (7) " Election agent." See sect. 24, and note thereto. (/t) Soo the important note to sect. 8, p. 95. (?■) And the Court has refused leave to the candidate, even though he was willing, to make such a payment in oxoess of maximum. (Chelsea case, 2 I'imes L. E, 374.) Election Expenses. 119 28. (1.) Except as permitted by or in pursuance Payment of this Act, no payment and no advance or deposit pe^sgg shall be made by a candidate at an election {k) or through by any agent on behalf of the candidate or by any agent, other person at any time, whether before, during, or after such election, in respect of any expenses incurred on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of such election (I), otherwise than {k) "A candidate at an election" is defined by sect. 63, but see the following note. (0 But under this section tbe Court will in every case consider (not by reference only to tbat definition but on all tbe facts) whether the payment in question is a payment "in respect of the conduct or management of such election." Thus the expenses of two meetings held to induce the respon- dent to stand, and of a requisition to him for that purpose, are not expenses in respect of such election. {Xom-irh case, 4 O'M. & H. 86.) Expenses connected with improving the registration of the borough in the interest of the candidate and his party are not within this section ; nor is the starting of a newspaper, advocating the candidate's political views. Cf. also the Lichfield case, 1895 (5 O'M. & H. 34). There is no general rule that lectui'es, even though given with the view of advancing the prospects of a particular candidate, are expenses incurred on account of the conduct or management of the election. (Hagyerston case, 5 O'M. & H. 70.) What is or is not such expense is a question of fact for the Court, as a jury, to decide. (Kennington case, 4 O'M. & H. 93.) It is a most difl&cult question of fact when a particular election begins. See the elaborate judgment of the Scotch Lords, McLaren and Kyllachy, in the Elgin and Nairn case (5 O'M. & H. 2 — 13). The election must not be in nuhihus but reasonably imminent. The Legislature had in view a period not at least much anterior to the group or series of events which immediately precede the nomination : instances are given of a vote adverse to the Ministry, or canvassing commenced by a candidate whose political sagacity tells him that a general election is imminent. But circumstances alter cases: and it is a man's "own choice when he throws down the glove and commences his candidature." (Per Pollock. B., Lichfield case, 5 O'M. & H. 36.) That case was further explained in the Lancaster case 120 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. by or through the election agent (m) of the candidate, whether acting in person or by a sub-agent ; and all money provided by any person other than the candidate (??) for any expenses incurred on account (5 O'M. & H. 44), from wliicli it appears that an absolute stranger coming to tlie district will be more readily taken to have commenced a candidature by holding meetings, etc., than one who lives in the neighbourhood. This view would appear to place the sitting member in such a district in an advantageous position over an opponent who is nursing it. The words " the conduct or management of the election," and the words " candidate at an election," must both be considered. The judgments in all the cases refeiTed to in this note ought to be carefully studied. The questions, When does a candidature commence ? and When do election expenses commence ? are of importance to many sections. It is probable that the Courts will always refuse to lay down a definite rule on the subject. Where the candidate had taken a house in the constituency and built at the further end of the yard a room which he had furnished as a club room and which he had allowed the Radical association to use as a club for its meetings, and where such room was used during the election as a committee room, the candidate paying all the expenses in connection with this room, it was held that these were expenses which should have been returned through the election agent. {St. George's Division recriminatory case, b O'M. & H. 115.) See also note to sect. 33. {m) When a pajanent through one other than the election agent was made by mistake and the money was returned, and the transaction was honest and hovd fide, the Coxirt held that no offence had been committed within this section. {Monmouth Boroughs case, o O'M. & II. 170.) («) "Any person other than the candidate." If money is spent illegally by an agent of the candidate to promote his return, wherever the money came from, such expenditure will be fatal to the candidate who succeeds by its help. Thus, where money was paid by one who was admitted to be an agent of the candidate, in order to enable roughs to be hired for keeping order at that candidate's meeting, this was held to be an illegal practice within the section. It does not matter under this section whether the expenses are incurred by the election agent or by any other person. (Tpsunch case, 4 O'M. & II. 74.) [Note. — Volunteers may be employed to Election Expenses. 121 of or in respect of the conduct or management of the election, whether as gift, loan, advance, or deposit, shall be paid to the candidate or his election agent and not otherwise ; Provided that this section shall not be deemed to apply to a tender of security to or any payment by the returning officer or to any sum disbursed by any person out of his own money for any small expense (o) legally incurred by himself, if such sum is not repaid to him. (2.) A person who makes any payment, advance, or deposit in contravention of this section, or pays in contravention of this section any money so provided as aforesaid, shall be guilty of an illegal practice. 29. (1.) Every payment made by an election Period for agent, whether by himself or a sub-agent, in cfdmsind respect of any expenses incurred on account of or making in respect of the conduct or management of an for elec- tion ex- keep order ; and, where serious disorder is apprehended, it peuses. may be wise to swear in such volunteers as special constables. (Per Cave, J., in the same case.)] Where certain payments had been made by the secretary of a political association on account of the election, and also, acting under the orders of such secretary, by a member of such association, and these payments were not included in the return of the election agent, but the secretary of the parent association repaid to the member of the local branch the sums so paid by him, the Court held that both persons had infringed this section, and their votes were struck ofi. {Buck-rose case, 4 O'M. & H. 116.) (o) The proviso is meant to apply to such small paj-ments as the hire, e.g. of a cab by a canvasser in order to go round canvassing, or for postage, etc., where the payer is not and does not intend to be repaid. Twenty pounds' worth of placards cannot be so excused ; 2s. 6(^. worth of cartoons possibly might. {N^urwich case, -i O'M. & H, 89.) 122 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. election, shall, except where less than forty shillings, be vouched for by a bill stating the particulars and by a receipt. (2.) Every claim against a candidate at an elec- tion (p) or his election agent in respect of any expenses incurred on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of such election which is not sent in to the election agent within the time limited by this Act shall be barred and shall not be paid ; and, subject to such exception as may be allowed in pursuance of this Act, an election agent who pays a claim in contravention of this enactment shall be guilty of an illegal practice. (3.) Except as by this Act permitted, the time limited by this Act for sending in claims shall be fourteen days after the day on which the candidates returned are declared elected. (4.) All expenses incurred by or on behalf of a candidate at an election, which are incurred on account of or in respect of the conduct or manage- ment of such election, shall be paid within the time limited by this Act and not otherwise ; and, subject to such exception as may be allowed in pursuance of this Act, an election agent who makes a payment in contravention of this provision shall be guilty of an illegal practice. (5.) Except as by this Act permitted, the time limited by this Act for the payment of such expenses as aforesaid shall be twenty-eight days after the day on which the candidates returned are declared elected. (6.) Where the election court reports that it {p) " Candidate at an election." See sect. 63. Election Expenses. 123 has been proved to such court by a candidate that any payment made by an election agent in contravention of this section was made without the sanction or connivance of such candidate, the election of such candidate shall not be void, nor shall he be subject to any incapacity under this Act, by reason only of such payment having been made in contravention of this section. (7.) If the election agent in the case of any claim sent in to him within the time limited by this Act disputes it, or refuses or fails to pay it within the said period of twenty- eight days, such claim shall be deemed to be a disputed claim. (8.) The claimant may, if he thinks fit, bring an action for a disputed claim in any competent court iq) ; and any sum paid by the candidate or his agent in pursuance of the judgment or order of such court shall be deemed to be paid within the time limited by this Act, and to be an exception from the provisions of this Act, requiring claims to be paid by the election agent. (9.) On cause shown (r) to the satisfaction of the High Court, such Court on application by* the claimant or by the candidate or his election agent (q) See the County Courts Act, 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 43), ss. 56—65 ; and the County Courts Act, 1903 (3 Edw. VII. c. 42), s. 3. (r) E.g., when it was shown by affidavit that the claim was made by J., whom the candidate had employed to pre- pare canvassing books in anticipation of the election, but whom he had not eventually appointed his election agent, and the claim for such woi-k was disputed and returned as such, but subsequently £60 was allowed therefor in an arbitration, an Order was made under this section, Lourstn/t case, 4 Times L. E. 38.) 124 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. Reference to taxation of claim against candi- dates. Personal expenses of candi- date and petty vxpenaetj. may by order give leave for the payment by a candidate or his election agent of a disputed claim, or of a claim for any such expenses as aforesaid, although sent in after the time in this section mentioned for sending in claims, or although the same was sent in to the candidate and not to the election agent. (10.) Any sum specified in the order of leave may be paid by the candidate or his election agent, and when paid in pursuance of such leave shall be deemed to be paid within the time limited by this Act. 30. If any action is brought in any competent court to recover a disputed claim against a candi- date at an election (s), or his election agent, in respect of any expenses incurred on account or in respect of the conduct or management of such election, and the defendant admits his liability, but disputes the amount of the claim, the said amount shall, unless the court, on the application of the plaintiff in the action, otherwise directs, be forthwith referred for taxation to the master, official referee, registrar, or other proper officer of the court, and the amount found due on such taxation shall be the amount to be recovered in such action in respect of such claim. 31. (1.) The candidate at an election (s) may pay any personal expenses {t) incurred by him on account of or in connection with or incidental to such election to an amount not exceeding one hundred pounds, but (s) " Candidate at an election." (t) " Personal expenses." therein ia not exhuuative, See sect. 63. See sect. 64 ; but the definition Election Expenses. 125 any further personal expenses so incurred by him shall be paid by his election agent (u). (•2.) The candidate shall send to the election agent within the time limited by this Act for sending in claims a written statement of the amount of personal expenses paid as aforesaid by Buch candidate. (3.) Any person may, if so authorised in writing by the election agent of the candidate, pay any necessary expenses for stationery, postage, tele- grams, and other petty expenses, to a total amount not exceeding that named in the authority, but any excess above the total amount so named shall be paid by the election agent. (4.) A statement of the particulars of payments made by any person so authorised shall be sent to the election agent within the time limited by this Act (x) for the sending in of claims, and shall be vouched for by a bill containing the receipt of that person. 32. (1.) So far as circumstances admit, this Act Remune- shall apply to a claim for his remuneration by an election election agent (y) and to the payment thereof in agent and ,., ., , ,, ,.. returning like manner as if he were any other creditor, officer's and if any difference arises respecting the amount expenses. of such claim the claim shall be a disputed claim within the meaning of this Act, and be dealt with accordingly. (2.) The account of the charges claimed by the («) " Election agent." See sect. 24. (x) "Within the time limited by this Act." See sect. 29 (3). (y) See sect. 24. 126 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1888. 38 & 39 Vict, c. 84. Return and de- claration respecting election expenses. returning officer in the case of a candidate, and transmitted in pursuance of section four of the Parliamentary Elections (Eeturning Officers) Act, 1875, shall be transmitted within the time specified in the said section (z) to the election agent of the candidate, and need not be transmitted to the candidate. 33. (1.) Within thirty-five days after the day on which the candidates returned at an election are declared elected, the election agent of every candi- date at that election shall transmit (a) to the returning officer a true return (h) (in this Act referred to as a return respecting election ex- penses) (c), in the form set forth in the Second (z) I.e. " witidn twenty-one days after the day on which the return is made of the persons elected at the election." By the same section, " the returning officer shall not be entitled to any charges which are not duly included in his account." If any part of the returning officer's claim is objected to, application may be made (within fourteen days from the time when the account was transmitted) to the Lord Mayor's Court in London, and elsewhere in England to the County Court, and in Ireland to the Civil BiU Court, having j urisdiction at the place of nomination ; which Court has jurisdiction to tax his account. (o)" Transmit," /.e., send or remit. He must send it off before midnight of the day on which the thirty-five days expire. He need not lodge it with the returning officer by that day. (Per A. L. Smith, L.J. , Machinnon v. Clark, 1898, 2 Q. B. 255.) {h) Inspection may be had and copies obtained of this return on payment of the respective fees mentioned in sect. 35 (2). (c) "Election exi)enses":Whatare election expenses? "It is a matter, I will not say of discretion, but of sound judgment to say how far you can go back." (Per Pollock, B., Lancaster vase, 5 O'M. & H. 45.) See the important note to sect. 28, where the subject is discussed. The Judges in the Cocker- mouth case (5 O'M. & H. 156) were satisfied that a tea-party given by the Liberal Unionist association need not under the circumstiincos be included. Election Expbnsbs. 127 Schedule (d) to this Act or to the like effect, containing, as respects that candidate, — (a) A statement of all payments made by the election agent, together with all the bills and receipts (which bills and receipts are in this Act included in the expression "return respecting election expenses"); (b) A statement of the amount of personal ex- penses (x), if any, paid by the candidate ; (c) A statement of the sums paid to the returning officer for his charges, or, if the amount is in dispute, of the sum claimed and the amount disputed ; (d) A statement of all other disputed claims of which the election agent is aware ; (e) A statement of all the unpaid claims, if any, of which the election agent is aware, in respect of which application has been or is about to be made to the High Court ; (f) A statement of all money, securities, and equivalent of money received by the election agent from the candidate or any other person for the purpose of expenses incurred or to be incurred on account of or in respect of the (d) E.g., where the names of the persons from whom rooms had been hired were (contrary to the form in the schedule) omitted, and where the election agent had included his own personal expenses in the sums paid for hiring the rooms, it was held that these things formed a prima facie case of illegal practice under this section ; but it was excused under the circumstances by an authorised excuse which the Court has power to allow iinder sect. 34. [Buchrose case, 4 O'M. & H. 116.) (cc) "Personal expenses." See definition in s. G-1, p. 179, which is not however exhaustive. 128 Cork, and III. Pract. Prbv. Act, 1888. conduct or management of the election, with a statement of the name of every person from whom the same may have been received. (2.) The return so transmitted to the returning officer shall be accompanied by a declaration (e) made by the election agent before a justice of the peace in the form in the Second Schedule to this Act (which declaration is in this Act referred to as a declaration respecting election expenses). (3.) Where the candidate has named himself (/) as his election agent, a statement of all money, secu- rities, and equivalent of money paid by the candidate shall be substituted in the return required by this section to be transmitted by the election agent for the like statement of money, securities, and equiva- lent of money received by the election agent from the candidate ; and the declaration by an election agent respecting election expenses need not be made, and the declaration by the candidate respecting elec- tion expenses shall be modified as specified in the Second Schedule to this Act. (4.) At the same time that the agent transmits the said return, or within seven days afterwards, the candidate shall transmit or cause to be transmitted to the returning officer a declaration made by him before a justice of the peace, in the form in the first part of the Second Schedule to this Act (which declaration is in this Act referred to as a declaration respecting election expenses). (e) " Declaration." Inspection may bo harl and copies obtained of this declaration on payment of the respective fees mentioned in sect. 35 (2). (/) See soct. 24 (2). Election Expenses. 129 (5.) If in the case of an election for any county or borough, the said return (g) and declarations are not transmitted before the expiration of the time limited for the purpose, the candidate shall not, after the expiration of such time, sit or vote in the House of Commons as member for that county or borough until either such return and declarations have been transmitted, or until the date of the allowance of such an authorised excuse for the failure to transmit the same, as in this Act mentioned, and if he sits or votes in contravention of this enactment he shall forfeit one hundred pounds for every day on which he so sits or votes to any person who sues for the same. (6.) If without such authorised excuse as in this Act mentioned, a candidate or an election agent fails to comply with the requirements of this section, he shall be guilty of an illegal practice. (7.) If any candidate or election agent knowingly makes the declaration required by this section falsely, he shall be guilty of an offence, and on conviction thereof on indictment shall be liable to the punishment (h) for wilful and corrupt perjury ; such offence shall also be deemed to be a corrupt pract ice within the meaning of this Act. (8.) Where the candidate is out of the United (g) It is not tie law that a return with a blunder in it is no return, nor that in case of such a blunder this sub-section applies. (Mackirnwn v. Clark, 1898, 2 Q. B. 258.) (h) Viz., to a maximum punishment of seven years' penal servitude. (2 Geo. 2, c. 25, s. 2 ; 20 & 21 Vict. c. 3 ; and 54 & 00 Vict. c. 69, s. 1. See Axchbold's Criminal Pleadings (22nd ed.), p. 1008. i.p. 9 130 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. Autho- rised excuse for non-com- pliance with pro- visions as to return and declara- tion re- specting election expenses. Kingdom at the time when the return is so transmitted to the returning officer, the declaration required by this section may be made by him within fourteen days after his return to the United Kingdom, and in that case shall be forthwith transmitted to the returning officer, but the delay hereby authorised in making such declaration shall not exonerate the election agent from complying with the provisions of this Act as to the return and declaration re- specting election expenses. (9.) Where, after the date at which the return respecting election expenses is transmitted, leave is given by the High Court for any claims to be paid, the candidate or his election agent shall, within seven days after the payment thereof, transmit to the returning officer a return of the sums paid in pursuance of such leave accompanied by a copy of the order of the court giving the leave, and in default he shall be deemed to have failed to comply with the requirements of this section without such authorised excuse as in this Act mentioned. 34. (1.) Where the return and declarations re- specting election expenses of a candidate at an election for a county or borough have not been transmitted as required by this Act, or being transmitted contain some error or false statement, then — (a) if the candidate applies to the High Court or an election court and shows that the failure to transmit such return and declarations, or any of them, or any part thereof, or any error or false statement therein, has arisen by reason of his Election Expenses. 181 illness, or of the absence, death, illness, or misconduct of his election agent or sub-agent or of any clerk or officer of such agent, or by reason of inadvertence or of any reasonable cause of a like nature (i), and not by reason of any want of good faith on the part of the applicant, or (b) if the election agent of the tsandidate applies to the High Court or an election court and shows that the failure to transmit the return and declarations which he was required to transmit, or any part thereof, or any error or false statement therein, arose by reason of his illness or of the death or illness of any prior election agent of the candidate, or of the absence, death, illness, or misconduct of any sub-agent, clerk, or officer of an election agent of the candidate, or by reason of inadvertence (k) (i) E.g., where sub-agents' charges had been first disallowed as excessive, but subsequently shown to be reasonable. {S. Shropshire case, 2 Times L. E. 347.) (A-) "Inadvertence." Thus, where men were employed and paid to force canvassing handbills into the hands of every voter, and to prevent anyone else from approaching them by superior physical force — not only to distribute them but to tout for votes — the return described the paj-ment as one for " distributing bills." Deuman, J., thought that the description was inaccm-ate and insuflBcient ; but he thought that the inaccuracy and insufficiency arose not from any want of good faith, but from inadvertence arising from difficulties in ujiderstanding the Act. But he intimated in his judgment, that in future a similar case would not be so leniently treated. (Stepney case, 18^6, 4 O'M. & H. 53.) So, again, in the Norwich case (4 O'M. & H. 91), insufficient description of clerks and messengers was excused as inadver- tent ; but there, too, Cave, J. , rested his decision on the ground that this part of the Act had never been yet 9—2 132 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prbv. Act, 1883. or of any reasonable cause of a like nature, and not by reason of any want of good faith on the part of the applicant, the court may, after such notice (/) of the applica- tion in the said county or borough, and on pro- duction of such evidence of the grounds stated in the application, and of the good faith of the application, and otherwise, as to the court seems fit, make such order for allowing an authorised excuse for the failure to transmit such return and declaration, or for an error or false statement in siich return and declaration, as to the court seems just. (2.) Where it appears to the court that any person being or having been election agent or sub-agent has refused or failed to make such return or to supply such particulars as will enable the candidate and his election agent respectively to comply with the provisions of this Act as to the return and declaration respecting election expenses, the court interpreted. It does uot therefore follow that the same excuse would be allowed now. Where the names of the persons from whom rooms had been hired were omitted from the return, and the election agent had included his own personal expenses in the sums paid for hiring the rooms, the Court held that these things had been done through inadvertence, and iised their powers under this section, having regard to the fact that there was nothing in the general account of a suspicious character, and to the fact that the Court were perfectly satisfied that there had been not only no money misspent, but that there had been no intention in the framing of this account to mislead anybody in this important particular. {Bnckrose case, i O'M. &H. 119.) (/) In the Norwich case (4 O'M. & H. 90), notice given in Court, where persons interested were present, was held enough to satisfy the statute. Election Expenses. 133 before making an order allowing the excuse as in this section mentioned shall order such person to attend before the court, and on his attendance shall, unless he shows cause to the contrary, order him to make the return and declaration, or to deliver a statement of the particulars required to be contained in the return, as to the court seem just, and to make or deliver the same within such time and to such person and in such manner as the court may direct, or may order him to be examined with respect to such particulars, and may in default of compliance with any such order order him to pay a fine not exceeding five hundred pounds. (8.) The order may make the allowance condi- tional upon the making of the return and declara- tion in a modified form or within an extended time, and upon the compliance with such other terms as to the court seem best calculated for carrying into effect the objects of this Act ; and an order allow- ing an authorised excuse shall relieve the applicant for the order from any liability or consequences under this Act in respect of the matter excused by the order ; and where it is proved by the candidate to the court that any act or omission of the election agent in relation to the return and declaration respecting election expenses was without the sanc- tion or connivance of the candidate, and that the candidate took all reasonable means for prevent- ing such act or omission, the court shall relieve the candidate from the consequences of such act or omission on the part of his election agent. (4.) The date of the order, or if conditions and 134 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. Publica- tion of summary of return of election expenses. 38&39 Yict. c. 84. terms are to be complied with, the date at which the applicant fully complies with them, is referred to in this Act as the date of the allowance of the excuse. 35. (1.) The returning officer at an election within ten days after he receives from the election agent of a candidate a return respecting election expenses shall publish a summary of the return in not less than two newspapers circulating in the county or borough for which the election was held, accompanied by a notice of the time and place at which the return and declarations (including the accompanying documents) can be inspected, and may charge the candidate in respect of such publi- cation, and the amount of such charge shall be the sum allowed by the Parliamentary Elections (Keturning Officers) Act, 1875 {m). (2.) The return (n) and declarations (including the accompanying documents) sent to the returning officer by an election agent shall be kept at the office of the returning officer, or some convenient place appointed by him, and shall at all reasonable times during two years next after they are received by the returning officer be open to inspection by any per- son on payment of a fee of one shilling, and the re- turning officer shall on demand furnish copies there- of or any part thereof at the price of twopence for every seventy-two words. After the expiration of (m) Viz., in counties and district or contributory boroughs 21. 28., and in .other boroughs 1/. Is. (See sect. 2 of the Act cited, and the first schedule thereto annexed.) (n) On the trial of an election petition the Court •will allow the Public Prosecutor to have a copy of the respondent's return of election expenees. {Hexham case, 4 O'M. & H. 143.) Disqualification of Electors. 135 the said two years the returning officer may cause the said return and declarations, (including the accompanying documents,) to be destroyed, or, if the candidate or his election agent so require, shall return the same to the candidate. Disqualification of Electors. 36. Every person guilty of a corrupt or illegal Prohibi- practice or of illegal employment, payment, or hiring p °rsong at an election is prohibited from voting at such guilty of election, and if any such person votes his vote shall megai be void (o). practices, 37. Every person who, m consequence of con- voting. viction or of the report of any election court or ProMbi- election commissioners under this Act, or under disquall- the Corrupt Practices (Municipal Elections) Act, ^ed per- '■ ^ sons from 1872, or under Part IV. of the Municipal Corpora- voting, tions Act, 1882 (p), or under any other Act (q), for ^^.^^^^^^ c. 60. (o) Field, J., said: — " Corruptness is the essence of dis- 45 & 43 qualification under this section." {Stepney case, 1886, 4 O'M. A^ict. & H. 48.) In that case a voter was inadvertently registered c. 50. as entitled to vote for each of two divisions, whereas he was really only entitled to vote for one ; he was ignorant of the law, and had acted conscientiously by mistake ; he had no corrupt intentions, and was not corruptly influenced. It was held that this was not personation, and did not invali- date the first vote. Semble, that it might be otherwise if a man, deliberately intending to do wrong, went and gave the first vote, intending to give a second: then the words, "if any such person votes his vote shall be void," would apply to both votes. Corrupt practice is defined by sect. 3 of this Act. Sects. 7 — 9 deal with illegal practice. Sects. 13 — 20 with illegal employment, payment or hiring. (p) The former of these Acts cited is repealed by the latter. (2) See Municipal Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Practices) Act, 1884 (47 & 48 Yict. c. 70). 136 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. Hearing of persoa before lie is reported guilty of corrupt or illegal practice, and in- capacity of person reported guilty. the time being in force relating to corrupt practices at an election for any public office, has become in- capable of voting at any election, whether a parlia- mentary election or an election to any public office, is prohibited (r) from voting at any such election, and his vote shall be void. 38. (1.) Before a person, not being a party to an election petition nor a candidate on behalf of whom the seat is claimed by an election petition, is reported by an election court, and before any person is reported by election commissioners, to have been guilty, at an election, of any corrupt or illegal prac- tice, the court or commissioners, as the case may be, shall cause notice to be given to such person, and if he appears in pursuance of the notice, shall give him an opportunity of being heard by himself and of calling evidence in his defence to show why he should not be so reported. (2.) Every person reported by election commis- sioners (s) to have been guilty at an election of any corrupt or illegal practice may appeal against such report to the next court of oyer and terminer or gaol delivery held in and for the county or place in which the offence is alleged to have been committed, and such court may hear and determine the appeal ; and subject to rules of court such appeal may be (r) This section is important, as showing that the existence of actual incapacity is not sufficient to prevent a man's voting, unless it were stated that incapacity should be prohibition, and amounted to i)rohibition. AVhat may be an objection to registration is not necessarily a ground of objection to the exercise of the franchise by freemen. {Londonderry case, 4 O'M. & H. 103.) (x) " Election Commissioners." See sect. G4. Disqualification of Electors. 137 brought, heard, and determined in like manner as if the court were a court of quarter sessions and the said commissioners were a court of summary juris- diction, and the person so reported had been con- victed by a court of summary jurisdiction for an offence under this Act, and notice of every such appeal shall be given to the Director of Public Prosecutions in the manner and within the time directed by rules of court, and subject to such rules then within three days after the appeal is brought. (3.) Where it appears to the Lord Chancellor that appeals under this section are interfering or are likely to interfere with the ordinary business transacted before any courts of oyer and terminer or gaol delivery, he may direct that the said appeals, or any of them, shall be heard by the judges for the time being on the rota for election petitions, and in such case one of such judges shall proceed to the county or place in which the offences are alleged to have been committed, and shall there hear and determine the appeals in like manner as if such judge were a court of oyer and terminer. (4.) The provisions of the Parliamentary Elec- tions Act, 1868 (0, with respect to the reception and powers of and attendance on an election court, and to the expenses of an election court, and of receiving and accommodating an election court, shall apply as if such judge were an election court. (5.) Every person who after the commencement (t) 31 & 32 Vict. c. 125, beginning sect. 28. 138 Cork, and III. Peact. Prev. Act, 1883. of this Act is reported by any election court or election commissioners to have been guilty of any corrupt (ii) or illegal practice (x) at an election, shall, whether he obtained a certificate of indemnity or not, be subject to the same incapacity as he would be subject to if he had at the date of such election been convicted of the offence of which he is reported to have been guilty : Provided that a report of any election commissioners inquiring into an election for a county or borough shall not avoid the election of any candidate who has been declared by an election court on the trial of a petition re- specting such election to have been duly elected at such election or render him incapable of sitting in the House of Commons for the said county or borough during the Parliament for which he was elected. (6.) Where a person who is a justice of the peace is reported by any election court or election commissioners to have been guilty of any corrupt practice in reference to an election, whether he has obtained a certificate of indemnity or not, it shall be the duty of the Director of Public Prosecutions to report the case to the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain with such evidence as may have been given of such corrupt practice, and where any such person acts as a justice of the peace by virtue of his being, or having been, mayor of a borough, the Lord High Chancellor shall have the same power to re- move such person from being a justice of the peace as if he was named in a commission of the peace. (7.) Where a person who is a barrister or a (w) See sect. G (3). (x) See sect. 11. Disqualification of Electoks. 139 solicitor, or who belongs to any profession the admission to which is regulated by law, is reported by any election court or election commissioners to have been guilty of any corrupt practice in reference to an election, whether such person has obtained a certificate of indemnity or not, it shall be the duty of the Director of Public Prosecutions to bring the matter before the Inn of Court, High Court, or tribunal having power to take cognizance of any misconduct of such person in his profession (?/), and such Inn of Court, High Court, or tribunal may deal with such person in like manner as if such corrupt practice were misconduct by such person in his profession. (8.) With respect to a person holding a licence or certificate under the Licensing Acts (z) (in this section referred to as a licensed person) the following provisions shall have efi'ect : (a) If it appears to the court by which any licensed person is convicted of the offence of bribery or treating that such offence was com- mitted on his licensed premises, the court shall direct such conviction to be entered in the proper register of licences (a). (y) A barrister may be disbarred by bis Inn, subject to an appeal to the Judges. As to other professions, see Solicitors Act, 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 65), ss. 12—15; Medical Act, 1858 (21 & 22 Vict. c. 90), s. 29; Dentists Act, 1878 (41 & 42 Yict. c. 33) ; and Veterinary Surgeons Act, 1881 (44 & 45 Vict. c. 62), s. 6. (z) See sect. 64 of this Act. The Acts referred to are the Licensing Acts, 1872 and 1874 (35 & 36 Vict. c. 94, and 37 & 38 Vict. c. 49.) See also the Licensing Act, 1904 (4 Ed. VII. c. 23.) (a) See eect. 36 of the Licensing Act, 1872(35&36 Vict.c.94), 140 Cork, and III. Pract. Pre v. Act, 1883. (b) If it appears to an election court or election commissioners that a licensed person has knowingly suffered any bribery (6) or treat- ing (x) in reference to any election to take place upon his licensed premises, such court or commissioners (subject to the provisions of this Act as to a person having an opportunity of being heard by himself (y) and producing evidence before being reported) shall report the same ; and whether such person obtained a certificate of indemnity or not it shall be the duty of the Director of Public Prosecutions to bring such report before the licensing justices from whom or on whose certificate the licensed person obtained his licence, and such licensing justices shall cause such report to be entered in the proper register of licences. (c) Where an entry is made in the register of licences of any such conviction of or report respecting any licensed person as above in this section mentioned, it shall be taken into con- sideration by the licensing justices in deter- mining whether they will or will not grant to such person the renewal of his licence or which provides for a register of licences to be kept in every licensing district, on which shall be entered all forfeitiu'es of licences, disqualifications of premises, records of convic- tions, and other matters relating to the licences on the register. See also the Licensing Act, 1902 {'I Ed. VII. c. 23), s. 9. {h) "Bribery." See the Third Schedule to this Act, where the enactments defining " Bribery" are set forth. {x) "Treating." See sect. 1. (»/) "By himself" — j.e.,notby counselor solicitor. Rpg. V. Mansel-Jones, 23 Q. B. P. 29. DiBQTTALIFICATION OF ELECTORS. 141 certificate, and may be a ground, if the justices think fit, for refusing such renewal (c). (9.) Where the evidence showing any corrupt practice to have been committed by a justice of the peace, barrister, soHcitor, or other professional person, or any licensed person, was given before election commissioners, those commissioners shall report the case to the Director of Public Prose- cutions, with such information as is necessary or proper for enabling him to act under this section. (10.) This section shall apply to an election court under this Act, or under Part IV. of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882 (d), and the expression " election " shall be construed accordingly (e). 39. (1.) The registration officer (/) in every List in (c) See the Licensing Act, 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c. 94), s. 42 ; tlie Wine and Beerhouse Act, 1869 (32 & 33 Vict. c. 27), ss. 8 and 19 [by which it was not lawful for the justices to refuse an application except on certain grounds therein mentioned] ; and the Beer Dealers' Eetail Licences Act, 1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c. 34). See also the Licensing Act, 1904 (4 Ed. VII. c. 23), s. 1, by which the right to refuse the renewal of a licence on grounds other than those therein mentioned is transferred to Quarter Sessions. ((/) 45 & 46 Vict. c. 50. (e) Cf. sect. 64. (/) The "registration officer." See sect. 64; and cf. the Parliamentary Registration Act, 1843 {6&1 Vict. c. 18), s. 101, by which the words " clerk of the peace" comprehend and apply to any deputy or other person executing the duties of such clerk of the peace, and the words " town clerk," except in regard to the cities of London and Southwark, extend to and mean " any person executing the duties of town clerk, or if in any city or borough there shall be no such officer as town clerk, then to any officer executing the same or like duties as usually devolve upon the town clerk, or if in any city or borough there shall be no such person, then to the returning officer of such city or borough, or to such person as the returning officer might appoint for that purpose." register of 142 Core, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1888. voters of persons incapaci- tated for voting by corrupt or illegal practices. 45&46 Vict. c. 50. county and borough shall annually make out a list containing the names and description of all persons who, though otherwise qualified to vote at a parliamentary election for such county or borough respectively, are not capable of voting by reason of having after the commencement of this Act been found guilty of a corrupt or illegal practice on conviction or by the report of any election court or election commissioners whether under this Act, or under Part IV. of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, or under any other Act for the time being in force relating to a parliamentary election or an election to any public office ; and such officer shall state in the list (in this Act referred to as the corrupt and illegal practices list), the offence of which each person has been found guilty. (2.) For the purpose of making out such list he shall examine the report of any election court or election commissioners who have respectively tried an election petition or inquired into an election where the election (whether a parliamentary election or an election to any public office) was held in any of the following places ; that is to say, (a) if he is the registration officer of a county, in that county, or in any borough in that county ; and (b) if he is the registration officer of a borough, in the county in which such borough is situate, or in any borough in that count}'. (3.) The registration officer shall send the list to the overseers of every parish within his county or borougli, together with his precept, and the Disqualification of Electors. 143 overseers shall publish the list together with the list of voters, and shall also, in the case of every person in the corrupt and illegal practices list, omit his name from the list of persons entitled to vote, or, as circumstances require, add "objected" before his name in the list of claimants or copy of the register published by them, in like manner as is required by law in any other cases of disqualification. (4.) Any person named in the corrupt and illegal practices list may claim to have his name omitted therefrom, and any person entitled to object to any list of voters for the county or borough may object to the omission of the name of any person from such list. Such claims and objections shall be sent in within the same time and be dealt with in like manner, and any such objection shall be served on the person referred to therein in like manner, as nearly as circumstances admit, as other claims and objections under the enactments relating to the registration of parliamentary electors. (5.) The revising barrister shall determine such claims and objections and shall revise such list in like manner as nearly as circumstances admit as in the case of other claims and objections, and of any list of voters. (6.) Where it appears to the revising barrister that a person not named in the corrupt and illegal practices list is subject to have his name inserted in such list, he shall (whether an objection to the omission of such name from the list has or has not been made, but) after giving such person an oppor- tunity of making a statement to show cause to the 144 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. contrary, insert his name in such list and expunge his name from any list of voters. (7.) A revising barrister in acting under this section shall determine only whether a person is incapacitated by conviction or by the report of any election court or election commissioners, and shall not determine whether a person has or not been guilty of any corrupt or illegal practice. (8.) The corrupt and illegal practices list shall be appended to the register of electors, and shall be printed and published therewith wherever the same is printed or published. Time for presenta- tion of election petitions alleging illegal practice. 31 &32 Vict, c. 125. Proceedings on Election Petition. 40. (1.) "Where an election petition questions the return or the election upon an allegation of an illegal practice, then notwithstanding anything in the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, such peti- tion, so far as respects such illegal practice, may be presented within the time following ; (that is to say), (a) At any time before the expiration of fourteen days after the day on which the returning officer receives the return and declarations respecting election expenses by the member to whose election the petition relates and his election agent. (b) If the election petition specifically alleges a payment of money, or some other act to have been made or done since the said day by the member or an agent of the member, or with Proceedings on Election Petition. 141 the privity of the member or his election agent in pursuance or in furtherance of the illegal practice alleged in the petition, the petition may be presented at any time within twenty-eight days after the date of such payment or other act. (2.) Any election petition presented within the time limited by the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868 ig), may for the purpose of questioning the 31 & 32 return or the election upon an allegation of an ^^f^r illegal practice (/?.) be amended with the leave of the High Court (i) within the time (k) within which a (g) By sect. 6 of the Act cited, "The petition shall be presented within twenty-one days after the return has been made to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery in England, or to the Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper in Ireland, as the case may be, of the member to whose election the petition relates, unless it question the return or election upon an allegation of cori'upt practices, and specifically alleges a payment of money or other reward to have been made by any member, or on his account, or with his privity, since the time of such return, in pursuance or in furtherance of such corrupt prac- tices, in which case the petition may be presented at any time within twenty-eight days after the date of such pay- mient." The twenty-one days must be twenty-one working days, and Sundays are excluded. {Pease v. Norwood, 4 C. P. 238. Cf. sect. 49 of the same Act.) (A) No distinction is drawn for this purpose between an illegal practice and an illegal payment, employment, or hiring, which is not an illegal practice. {Buckrose case, 4 O'M. & H. 117.) (?") See sect. 56, and note. (k) The Court ought not to allow particulars to be amended in such a way as to bring in charges which were not pointed at in the petition. And when it was too late to amend the petition, the mere fact that the petition charged " other corrupt and illegal practices" is no reason for applying a rule to the amendment of particulars which would not apply to the petition. Lancaster case (5 O'M. & H. 42). Cf. Haggerston case ([1896], 1 Q. B. 504), where charges of things occurring after presentation of the petition were not allowed to be added as particulars of that petition. i.p. 10 146 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. petition questioning the return upon the allegation of that illegal practice can under this section be presented. (3.) This section shall apply in the case of an offence relating to the return and declarations respecting election expenses in like manner as if it were an illegal practice, and also shall apply not- withstanding that the act constituting the alleged illegal practice amounted to a corrupt practice. (4.) For the purposes of this section — (a) where the return and declarations are received on different days, the day on which the last of them is received, and (b) where there is an authorised excuse for failing to make and transmit the return and declarations respecting election expenses, the date of the allowance of the excuse, or if there was a failure as regards two or more of them, and the excuse was allowed at different times, the date of the allowance of the last excuse, shall be substituted for the day on which the return and declarations are received by the returning officer. (5.) For the purposes of this section, time shall be reckoned in like manner as it is reckoned for the pur- poses of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868 (l). With- 41. (1.) Before leave for the withdrawal of an eie^ctiou° election petition (w) is granted, there shall be petition. (/) By sect. 49 of the Act cited, "In reckoning time for the purposes of this Act, Sunday, Christmas Day, and Good Friday, and any day set apart for a public fast or public thanksgiving, shall bo excluded." {in) "Leave for the withdrawal of an election petition." The Court cannot be a party to any arrangement, since an Proceedings on Election Petition. 147 produced affidavits by all the parties to the petition and their solicitors, and b}' the election agents of all of the said parties who were candidates at the elec- tion, but the High Court may on cause shown dispense with the affidavit of any particular person if it seems to the Court on special grounds to be just so to do. (2.) Each affidavit shall state that, to the best of election petition involves much more than a question between the immediate parties in it. Thus the Court -would not con- sent to a judgment declaring the election void without hearing evidence, where a pastoral letter read throughout the whole county had been decided to be "undue influence" within sect. 2 in the other division of the county. One of the Judges was not a member of the Court on the trial of the former petition, and both the Judges desired to hear the evidence at the present trial. {North Meath case, 4 O'M. & H. 187.) Where, however, the petitioner's case failed and the recrimi- natory case succeeded, and the respondent was content to take the 1,000/. lodged in satisfaction of his claim for costs, and the petitioner did not desire to go on with the claim for a scrutiny which he had originally made, the Court allowed this conclusion of the case. (St. George's Division case, 5 O'M. & H. 117.) The terms and conditions under which an election petition will be allowed to be witlidrawn before trial wei'e discussed in the Devonport case (2 Times Ij. R. 345). On consideration of the facts in the particular case the Court thought the Public Prosecutor justified in sanctioning the withdrawal of the case. Costs were allowed to the respondent on the higher scale as between solicitor and client in the Superior Court : but the Coiu't had no power to allow the PubHc Prosecutor the costs of the inquiries which he had made. Where at the trial the respondent admitted that he could not defend the seat on the ground of an illegal practice Kennedy, J., said " Our functions are primarily judicial, not inquisitorial." (Quoting Willes, J., in the Windsor case, 1 O'M. & H. 7.) The Court had to report to the Speaker and must discharge this duty upon evidence. {Monmouth Boroughs case, o O'M. & H. 167. Cf. Maidstone case, 5 O'M. & H. 150.) In the Lichfield case, 4 Times L. R. 92, the only grounds given for withdrawing were that there was not sufficient evidence to support the petition. The withdrawal was allowed. (Cf. Pembroke Boroughs case, 5 O'M.. & H. 145.) 10—2 148 Core, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1888. the deponent's knowledge and belief, no agreement or terms of any kind whatsoever has or have been made, and no undertaking has been entered into, in relation to the withdrawal of the petition ; but if any lawful agreement has been made with respect to the withdrawal of the petition, the affidavit shall set forth that agreement, and shall make the foregoing statement subject to what appears from the affidavit. (3.) The affidavits of the applicant and his solici- tor shall further state the ground on which the petition is sought to be withdrawn. (4.) If any person makes any agreement or terms, or enters into any undertaking, in relation to the withdrawal of an election petition, and such agree- ment, terms, or undertaking is or are for the with- drawal of the election petition in consideration of any payment, or in consideration that the seat shall at any time be vacated, or in consideration of the withdrawal of any other election petition, or is or are (whether lawful or unlawful) not mentioned in the aforesaid affidavits, he shall be guilty of a mis- demeanor, and shall be liable on conviction on in- dictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months, and to a iine not exceeding two hundred pounds. (5.) Copies of the said affidavits shall be delivered to the Director of Public Prosecutions a reasonable time before the application for the withdrawal is heard, and the court may hear the Director of Public Prosecutions or his assistant or other repre- sentative (appointed with the approval of the Attor- ney-General), in opposition to the allowance of the Vict, c. 125. Proceedings on Election Petition. 149 withdrawal of the petition, and shall have power to receive the evidence on oath of any person or per- sons whose evidence the Director of Public Prose- cutions or his assistant, or other representative, may consider material. (6.) Where in the opinion of the court the proposed withdrawal of a petition was the result of any agreement, terms, or undertaking prohibited by this section, the court shall have the same power with respect to the security as under section thirty- five of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, 31 & 32 where the withdrawal is induced by a corrupt con- sideration. (7.) In every case of the withdrawal of an election petition the court shall report to the Speaker whether, in the opinion of such court, the with- drawal of such petition was the result of any agree- ment, terms, or undertaking, or was in considera- tion of any payment, or in consideration that the seat should at any time be vacated, or in considera- tion of the withdrawal of any other election petition, or for any other consideration, and if so, shall state the circumstances attending the withdrawal. (8.) Where more than one solicitor is concerned for the petitioner or respondent, whether as agent for another solicitor or otherwise, the affidavit shall be made by all such solicitors. (9.) W^here a person not a solicitor is lawfully acting as agent in the case of an election petition, that agent shall be deemed to be a solicitor for the purpose of making an affidavit in pursuance of this section. 150 Core, and 111. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. Continua- tion of trial of election petition. Attend- ance of Director of Public Prosecu- tions on trial of election petition, and pro- secution by him of ofifenders. 42. The trial of every election petition, so far as is practicable, consistently with the interests of justice in respect of such trial, shall be continued de die in diem on every lawful day (n) until its con- clusion, and in case the rota of judges for the year shall expire before the conclusion of the trial, or of all the proceedings in relation or incidental to the petition, the authority of the said judges shall continue for the purpose of the said trial and proceedings. 43. (1.) On every trial of an election petition the Director of Public Prosecutions shall by hiraself or by his assistant, or by such representative as herein- after mentioned, attend at the trial, and it shall be the duty of such Director to obey any directions given to him by the election court with respect to the summoning and examination of any witness to give evidence on such trial, and with respect to the prosecution by him of offenders, and with respect to any person to whom notice is given to attend, with a view to report him as guilty of any corrupt or illegal practice. (2.) It shall also be the duty of such Director, without any direction from the election court (o), if ()() "Lawful flay." A phrase from Scotch law. All the days of the week except Sunday, or the fast days appointed by Government, are called Unuful days ; and no legal dili- gence either against person or property can be executed, except on a lawful day. (Bell's Dictionary of the Law of Scotland, suh voce "Day.") (o) The Court will not allow the Public Prosecutor to interrupt proceedings in the course of the case, either by cross-examining witnesses or by stating what he intends to do hereafter. [Buckrose case, 4 O'M. & H. 115.) The Public Prosecutor may not croes-examine a witness Proceedings on Election Petition. 151 it appears to him that any person is able to give material evidence as to the subject of the trial, to cause such person to attend the trial, and with the leave of the court to examine such person as a witness. in order to prove agency. Tliat is for the petitioners to make out. {Hexham case, 4 O'M. & H. 144.) But though, the Public Prosecutor has no right to cross- examine witnesses, he has the right, under certain cu'cum- stances, to summon a witness ; but as to the examiaation of witnesses, he is bound to obey the directions of the Court. It would be inconvenient and unfau- for him to interfere on his own mere motion with every witness. There should be no application on his part to examine a witness, unless it is founded on something substantial. {Stepnei/ case, 1886, 4 O'M. & H. 37.) The issue between the petitioner and the respondent must fii'st be tried ; the Public Prosecutor has no separate locus standi, but must wait until the Court invites his intervention. {Montgomery Boroughs case, 4 O'M. & H. 168, 169.) There, at the conclusion of the respondent's case, the Court called certain witnesses for their own information, hoping that they naight thi'ow further light on obscure parts of the case, though the respondent objected that the petitioner ought not to have an opportunity of benefiting his case by their evidence. The duties of the Public Prosecutor are in general confined to assisting the Court, at the conclusion of the case, in con- sidering whether any particular individual has been guilty of corrupt and illegal practices. If he has witnesses who will throw light on this, they wUl be summoned to be in attend- ance at the close of the case. But, if there should be, in his opinion, any collusive withholding of evidence, it would be his duty to interfere, and to call that evidence himself. But the Court is cautious how it allows him to do so. {Rochester case, 4 O'M. & H. 158.) A somewhat unusual course was pursued in the Sunderland case (5 O'M. & H. 60). There at the conclusion of the respondent's case, the Public Prosecutor pointed out that H., against whom an illegal practice was alleged, had not been called. In spite of the protest of counsel for the petitioner, the Court directed H. to be called and examined by Mr. Scott Fox, who had a brief to watch the case on behalf of H. 152 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. (3.) It shall also be the duty of the said Director, without any direction from the election court, if it appears to him that any person who has not received a certificate of indemnity has been guilty of a corrupt or illegal practice, to prosecute such person for the offence before the said court, or if he thinks it expe- dient (_p) in the interests of justice before any other competent court. (4.) Where a person is prosecuted before an elec- tion court for any corrupt or illegal practice, and such person appears before the court, the court shall proceed to try him summarily for the said offence, and such person, if convicted thereof upon such trial, shall be subject to the same incapacities as he ia rendered subject to under this Act upon conviction, whether on indictment or in any other proceeding for the said offence; and further, may be adjudged by the court, if the offence is a corrupt practice, to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding six months, or to pay a fine not exceeding two hundred pounds, and if the offence is an illegal practice, to pay such fine as is fixed by this Act for the offence ; Provided that, in the case of a corrupt practice, the court, before proceedingto try summarily any person, (p) " Or if he thinks it expedient." He must exercise his own discretion. {Ipswich ease, 4 O'M. & H. 75.) So in the West Belfast case (4 O'M. & H. 109), the Court were of opinion that the initiative in these cases should be left to the Attorney-General for Ireland [= the Director of Public Prosecutions in England, by sect. 69 (8)] ; but they ordered that notice should be given to the persons implicated to appear and show cause why they should not be reported by the Court. (Cf. also WaUall case, 4 O'M. & H. 123.) Pkooebdings on Election Petition. 153 shall give such person the option of being tried by a jury. (5.) Where a person is so prosecuted for any such ofifence, and either he elects to be tried by a jury or he does not appear before the court, or the court thinks it in the interests of justice expedient that he should be tried before some other court, the court if of opinion that the evidence is sufficient to put the said person upon his trial for the offence, shall order such person to be prosecuted on indictment or before a court of summary jurisdiction, as the case may require, for the said offence ; and in either case may order him to be prosecuted before such court as may be named in the order; and for all purposes prelim- inary and of and incidental to such prosecution the offence shall be deemed to have been committed within the jurisdiction of the court so named. (6.) Upon such order being made, (a) if the accused person is present before the court, and the offence is an indictable offence, the court shall commit him to take his trial, or cause him to give bail to appear and take hia trial for the said offence ; and (b) if the accused person is present before the court, and the offence is not an indictable offence, the court shall order him to be brought before the court of summary jurisdiction before whom he is to be prosecuted, or cause him to give bail to appear before that court ; and (c) if the accused person is not present before the court, the court shall as circumstances require, issue a summons for his attendance, or a warrant 154 Core, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. to apprehend him and bring him before a court of summary jurisdiction, and that court, if the offence is an indictable offence, shall, on proof only of the summons or warrant and the identity of the accused, commit him to take his trial, or cause him to give bail to appear and take his trial for the said offence, or if the offence is punishable on summary conviction, shall proceed to hear the case, or if such court be not the court before whom he is directed to be prosecuted, shall order him to be brought before that court. (7.) The Director of Public Prosecutions may nominate, with the approval of the Attorney- General, a barrister or solicitor of not less than ten years standing to be his representative for the purpose of this section, and that representative shall receive such remuneration as the Commis- sioners of Her Majesty's Treasury may approve. There shall be allowed to the Director and his assistant or representative, for the purposes of this section, such allowance for expenses as the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury may approve. (8.) The costs incurred in defraying the ex- penses (q) of the Director of Public Prosecutions under this section (including the remuneration of his representative) shall, in the first instance, {q) This section onlj^ applies to the costs of the Public Prosecutor at the trial of the petition ; and where the petition is withdrawn (as to which see sect. 41) the Court has no power to order the preliminary costs of the Public Prosecutor, and the costs of the inquii-ies made by him, to be paid by the parties. i^Devonport case, 54 L. T. N. S. 733.) Proceedings on Election Petition. 155 be paid by the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, and so far as they are not in the case of any prosecution paid by the defendant shall be deemed to be expenses of the election court ; but if for any reasonable cause it seems just to the court so to do, the court shall order all or part of the said costs to be repaid to the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury by the parties to the petition (r) , or such of them as the court may direct. 44. (1.) Where upon the trial of an election Power to , • . . , . 1 1 • f 1 election petition respecting an election for a county or court to borough it appears to the election court that a order pay- . , , 111 ment by corrupt practice has not been proved to have been county or committed in reference to such election by or with boi'ough (r) Where the petition is unfounded the public must be protected ; and the petitioner will be ordered to pay the costs of the Public Prosecutor under this section. [Kennington case, 4 O'M. & H. 95.) And, on the other hand, where the PubHc Prosecutor's costs have been rendered necessary by the conduct of the respondent and his agent, the respondent must pay such costs. {Hexham case, 4 O'M. & H. ]52.) The Public Prosecutor does not get his costs from the petitioner except in a strong case of misconduct. (Nuriuich case, 4 O'M. & H. 92.) Two persons in the Rochester case (4 O'M. & H. 161) whom the Court decided to report as guUty of corrupt treating were ordered to pay so much of the Public Prosecutor's costs as referred to them. (See sect. 44 (2).) The Attorney-General for Ireland [= the Director of Public Prosecutions in England, by sect. 69 (8)] was not allowed his costs in the Londonderry case (4 O'M. & H. 104), O'Brien, J., remarking that his costs ought to be regarded as part of the ordinary costs incident to the administration of the law in that country. The Court will make no order about the Public Prosecutor's costs when no special grounds for such order are put forward. {Wahall cate, 4 O'M. & H. 126.) 156 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. or indi- vidual of costs of election petition. the knowledge and consent of the respondent to the petition, and that such respondent took all reasonable means to prevent corrupt practices being committed on his behalf, the court may make one or more orders with respect to the payment either of the whole or such part of the costs of the petition as the court may think right as follows ; (a) if it appears to the court that corrupt practices extensively prevailed in reference to the said election, the court may order the whole or part of the costs to be paid by the county or borough ; and (b) if it appears to the court that any person or persons is or are proved, whether by providing money or otherwise, to have been extensively engaged in corrupt practices, or to have encour- aged or promoted extensive corrupt practices in reference to such election, the court may, after giving such person or persons an oppor- tunity of being heard by counsel or solicitor and examining and cross-examining witnesses to show cause why the order should not be made, order the whole or part of the costs to be paid by that person, or those persons or any of them, and may order that if the costs cannot be recovered from one or more of such persons they shall be paid by some other of such persons or by either of the parties to the petition. (2.) Where any person appears to the court to have been guilty of the offence of a corrupt or Proceedings on Election Petition. 157 illegal practice, the court may, after giving such person an opportunity of making a statement to show why the order should not be made, order the whole or any part of the costs of or incidental to any proceeding before the court in relation to the said offence or to the said person to be paid by the said person. (8.) The Rules and Regulations of the Supreme Court of Judicature with respect to costs (s) to be allowed in actions, causes, and matters in the High Court shall in principle and so far as practicable (s) See Eules of tlie Supreme Court, 1883, Ord. LXV., and Appendix N. When tlie petition succeeded, but the charges had been multiplied in a scandalous and reckless way (109 charges ; in 75 no evidence offered, in 31 evidence insufficient, 3 proved), the Court gave the petitioner no general costs, but only the costs of the charges proved. {Fontefract case, 4 O'M. & H. 202.) And in the Ipswich case (4 O'M. & H. 75) the petition succeeded ; but the respondent was given costs of those cases which were included in the particulars, but as to which no evidence was offered at the hearing. No costs were given of cases as to which petitioners had given evidence, but which they failed to prove. Cf . also the Norivvh case (4 O'M. & H. 92), and cf. sect. 41 of 31 & 32 Vict. c. 125, and sect. 2 of 42 & 43 Yict. c. 75. Where the petitioner fails as to charges of corrupt practice, and the respondent as to charges of illegal practice, there will as a rule be no costs. But where, in such a case, the peti- tioners confessed that they were not in a position to pay anything, the respondent was given half his costs out of the fund in Court. [See sect. 6 of 31 & 32 Vict. c. 125.] Where the respondent asks for rebef under sect. 23 of this Act, he must in general pay the costs of obtaining it. {Stepney case, 1892, 4 O'M. & H. 184.) Where the Judges differed on certain charges, the respondent was declared duly elected, the petitioner pa^-ing the respon- dent's costs, except as to those charges on which the Judges differed. As to those, no costs. {Montgomery Buronghs case, 4 O'M. &H. 170.) 158 CoBR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. apply to the costs of petition and other proceedings under the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, and under this Act, and the taxing officer shall not allow any costs, charges, or expenses on a higher scale than would be allowed in any action, cause, or matter in the High Court on the higher scale (t), as between solicitor and client (tt). (t) This is a limitation on the discretion which, the. Coiirt had under sect. 41 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868 (31 & 32 Vict. c. 19.5). By that section, " AU costs, charges, and expenses of and incidental to the presentation of a petition under this Act, and to the proceedings consequent thereon, with the exception of such cos^s and expenses as are by this Act otherwise provided for, shall be defrayed by the parties to the petition in such manner and in such proportions as the Court or Judge may determine, regard being had to the disallowance of any costs, charges, or expenses which may, in the opinion of the Court or Judge, have been caused by vexatious conduct, unfounded allegations, or unfounded objections on the part of the petitioner or respondent, and regard being had to the discouragement of any needless expense by throwing the burden of defraying the same on the parties by whom it has been caused, whether such parties are or not on the whole successful. The costs may be taxed in the prescribed manner, but according to the same prin- ciples as costs between attorney and client are taxed in a suit in the High Court of Chancery, and such costs may be recovered in the same manner as the co.sts of an action at law, or in such manner as may be prescribed." On an application by petitioner's counsel for costs on the higher scale, Cave, J., said: — "The difference between the two scales only comes to about 1 per cent. The costs in election petitions are taxed by the master who deals with election petitions generally, and he will tax them on the usual scale, which does not differ substantially from the other scale." {Hexham case, i O'M. & H. 151, Cf. East Manchester case, 4 O'M. & H. 122.) See Rules of the Supreme Court, 1883, Ord. LXV., rules 8 and 9, by which costs are taxed on the lower scale, unless on special grounds arising out of the nature and importance or the difficulty or urgency of the case the Court or Judge shall For note (u) see p. 159. Miscellaneous. 159 Miscellaneous. 45. Where information is given to the Director of Public Prosecutions that any corrupt or illegal practices have prevailed in reference to any elec- tion, it shall be his duty, subject to the regulations under the Prosecution of Offences Act, 1879 (x), to make such inquiries and institute such prosecu- tions as the circumstances of the case appear to him to require. Inquiry by Director of Public Prosecu- tious into alleged corrupt or illegal practices. order tliem to be taxed on the bigber scale. See notes illus- trating such special grounds under tbe said rule 9 in tbe Annual Practice. An election petition is business wbicb in its nature requires a great deal of inconvenient and unusual attention on tbe part of a solicitor, since it is of a kind in which he is necessarily very seldom engaged, and further it entails the examination of novel documents. It is, moreover, of great importance, as is shown by the duty of dealing with it being cast upon two Judges of the High Court, and clearly involves great interests. Taking into account, therefore, the difBculty with which it is accompanied, the Court held in the Devonport case, 54 L. T. N. S. 733, that costs ought to be allowed on the higher scale. Cf. Montgomery Boroughs case, 4 O'M. & H. 170. For difference between the two scales, see Appendix N. The Court has power to lower the costs apparently, even to county court costs. [Devonport case, uhi supra.) (m) See Ord. LXV. rule 29. The Court of Chancery had (and the Bugh Court now has), iu matters of equitable jurisdiction, a general and discretionary power to give to a successful party costs as between solicitor and client. (See Andretvs v. Barnes, 39 Ch. D. 133.) And in the Kennington case (4 O'M. & H. 95), the respon- dent's counsel applied for costs, and referred to this section, stating that it was the practice of the taxing masters not to tax costs as between solicitor and client without some expres- sion from the Court. The Court, thinking it a case for a full indemnity, made an order giving the respondent his costs as between solicitor and client. {x) 42 & 43 Yict. c. 22. 160 Cork, and III. Praot. Prey. Act, 1883. Removal of inca- pacit}'^ on proof that it was procured by per- jury. Amend- ment of law as to polling districts and poll- ing places. 46. Where a person has, either before or after the commencement of this Act, become subject to any incapacity under the Corrupt Practices Preven- tion Acts iy) or this Act, by reason of a conviction or of a report of any election court (z) or election commissioners C^'), and any witness who gave evi- dence against such incapacitated person upon the proceeding for such conviction or report is con- victed of perjury in respect of that evidence, the incapacitated person may apply to the High Court, and the Court, if satisfied that the conviction or report so far as respects such person was based upon perjury, may order that such incapacity shall thence- forth cease, and the same shall cease accordingly. I 47. (1.) Every county shall be divided into polling districts, and a polling place shall be assigned to each district in such manner that, so far as is reasonably practicable, every elector resi- dent in the county shall have his polling place Iwithin a distance not exceeding three miles from his residence, so nevertheless that a polling district need not in any case be constituted containing less than one hundred electors. (2.) In every county the local authority who have power to divide that county into polling districts shall from time to time divide the county into poll- ing districts, and assign polling places to those districts and alter those districts and polling places in such manner as may be necessary for the purpose of carrying into effect this section. (//) See sect. 65 (1) and the Third Schedule. (z) Defined by sect. 64. MiSCELI-ANEOUS, IGl (3.) The power of dividing a borough into polling districts vested in a local authority by the Eepre- sentation of the People Act, 1867 (a), and the enact- ments amending the same, may be exercised by such local authority from time to time, and as often as the authority think fit, and the said power shall be deemed to include the power of altering any polling district, and the said local authority shall from time to time, where necessary for the purpose of carrying this section into effect, divide the borough into polling districts in such manner that — (a) Every elector resident in the borough, if other than one hereinafter mentioned, shall be enabled to poll within a distance not exceeding one mile from his residence, so nevertheless that a polling district need not be constituted containing less than three hundred electors ; and (b) Every elector resident in the boroughs of East Eetford, Shoreham, Cricklade, Much ^Yenlock, and Aylesbury, shall be enabled to poll within a distance not exceeding three miles from his residence, so nevertheless that a polling dis- trict need not be constituted containing less than one hundred electors. (4.) So much of section five of the Ballot Act, 1872 (6), and the enactments amending the same a) Eepresentation of the People Act, 1867 (30 & 31 Vict. c. 102), s. 34. (i) The BaUot Act, 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c. 33). The part of the section repealed is from the beginniDg to "one hun- dred registered electors." (See the Fifth Schedule to this Act. I.P. 11 162 CoBR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. Convey- ance of voters by sea in certain cases. Election commis- sioners not to inquire into elec- tions be- fore the passing of this Act. as is in force and is not repealed by this Act, shall apply as if the same were incorporated in this section. (5.) The expenses incurred by the local authority of a county or borough under this or any other Act in dividing their county or borough into polling districts, and, in the case of a county, assigning polling places to such districts, and in altering any such districts or polling places, shall be defrayed in like manner as if they were expenses incurred by the registration officer in the execution of the enactments respecting the registration of electors in such county or borough (c), and those enact- ments, so far as is consistent with the tenor thereof, shall apply accordingly. 48. Where the nature of a county is such that any electors residing therein are unable at an elec- tion for such county to reach their polling place without crossing the sea or a branch or arm thereof, this Act shall not prevent the provision of means for conveying such electors by sea to their polling place, and the amount of payment for such means of conveyance may be in addition to the maximum amount of expenses allowed by this Act. 49. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Act 15 & 16 Vict. cap. 57, or any amendment thereof, in any case where, after the passing of this Act, any commissioners have been appointed, on a joint address of both Houses of Parliament, for the pur- pose of making inquiry into the existence of corrupt (c) See the Parliamentary Eegistration Act, 1843 (6 & 7 Vict. c. 18), 8. 57. Legal Proceedings. 168 practices in any election, the said commissioners shall not make inquiries concerning any election that shall have taken place prior to the passing of this Act, and no -witness called before such com- missioners, or at any election petition after the passing of this Act, shall be liable to be asked or bound to answer any question for the purpose of proving the commission of any corrupt practice (d) at or in relation to any election prior to the passing of this Act : Provided that nothing herein contained shall affect any proceedings that shall be pending at the time of such passing. Legal Proceedings. 50. Where an indictment as defined by this Act Trial in for any offence under the Corrupt Practices Pre- ^^."t^^l vention Acts (e) or this Act is instituted in the Court of High Court or is removed into the High Court by a ^j^^eut for writ of certiorari issued at the instance of the corrupt Attorney-General, and the Attorney-General suggests instance of on the part of the Crown that it is expedient for ^"orney- the purposes of justice that the indictment should (cZ) "For tlie pui"pose of proving the commission of any- corrupt practice." But where petitioner's counsel asked a witness in cross-examination, "Are you the man who was reported, for corruptly treating voters, by the Election Com- m.issioners ? " Denman, J., would not allow an objection to this question. " I do not think," he said, " that tfie section means to prevent the asking of such a question as this, ciz., whether he is the same person." {Norwich case, 4 O'M. & H. 90.) (e) "Corrupt Practices Prevention Acts." What this means is explained in the third schedule to this Act. (See sect. 65 (1).) 11—2 164 Core, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. be tried in the Central Criminal Court, or if a special jury is ordered, that it should be tried be- fore a judge and jury at the Eoyal Courts of Justice, the High Court may, if it think fit, order that such indictment shall be so tried upon such terms as the Court may think just, and the High Court may make such orders as appear to the Court necessary or proper for carrying into effect the order for such trial. Limita- 61. (1.) A proceeding against a person in respect time for ^^ ^^^ offence of a corrupt or illegal practice or any prosecu- other offence under the Corrupt Practices Preven- offence. tion Acts or this Act shall be commenced within one year after the offence was committed, or if it was committed in reference to an election with re- spect to which an inquiry is held by election com- missioners shall be commenced within one year after the offence was committed, or within three months after the report of such commissioners is made, whichever period last expires, so that it be commenced within two years after the offence was committed, and the time so limited by this section shall, in the case of any proceeding under the Sum- mary Jurisdiction Acts for any such offence, whether before an election court or otherwise, be substituted for any limitation of time contained in the last- mentioned Acts. (2.) For the purposes of this section the issue of a summons, warrant, writ, or other process shall be deemed to be a commencement of a proceeding, where the service or execution of the same on or against the alleged offender is prevented by the Legal Proceedings. 165 absconding or concealment or act of the alleged offender, but save as aforesaid the service or execu- tion of the same on or against the alleged offender, and not the issue thereof, shall be deemed to be the commencement of the proceeding. 62. Any person charged with a corrupt practice ( /) Persons may, if the circumstances warrant such finding, ^ith'' be found guilty of an illegal practice (which offence corrupt shall for that purpose be an indictable offence), and maybe any person charged with an illegal practice may be ^'^^^[^^1 ^^ found guilty of that offence, notwithstanding that illegal the act constituting the offence amounted to a corrupt practice, and a person charged with illegal payment, employment, or hiring, may be found guilty of that offence, notwithstanding that the act constituting the offence amounted to a corrupt or illegal practice. 53. (1.) Sections ten, twelve, and thirteen of the Applica- Corrupt Practices Prevention Act, 1854, and section six of the Corrupt Practices Prevention Act, 1863 ments 17 & 18 (which relate to prosecutions for bribery and other vict. c. offences under those Acts), shall extend to any ^2^; ^^^ prosecution on indictment for the offence of any Vict. c. 29, corrupt practice (g) within the meaning of this Act, ^^ ^ ^"" ^ tion of enact- of prosecu- tions for (/) " Charged with a corrupt practice.^'' Not a sufficient description of an offence in an indictment. (See Re(^. v. StroitJyer, 11 Q. B. D. 327 ; and see the next section (sect. 53) and note thereunder.) (g) "The offence of any corrupt practice." But " corrupt practice" is not a sufficient description of an offence in an indictment. (See Beg. v. Stroulger, 17 Q. B. D. 327.) In that case, the prisoner was tried and convicted on an indict- ment alleging that at the parliamentary election for Ipswich he was guilty of corrupt practices, against th© form of th» 166 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883, bribery. and to any action for any pecuniary forfeiture for Vict. an offence under this Act, in like manner as if such 20^^% offence were bribery within the meaning of those Vict. c. 29. Acts, and such indictment or action were the indictment or action in those sections mentioned, and an order under the said section ten may be made on the defendant ; but the Director of Public Prosecutions or any person instituting any prose- cution in his behalf or by direction of an election court shall not be deemed to be a private prose- cutor, nor required under the said sections to give any security. (2.) On any prosecution under this Act, whether on indictment or summarily, and whether before an election court or otherwise, and in any action for a pecuniary forfeiture under this Act, the person prosecuted or sued, and the husband or wife of such person, may, if he or she think fit, be examined as an ordinary witness in the case. (3.) On any such prosecution or action as afore- said it shall be sufficient to allege that the person charged was guilty of an illegal practice, payment, employment, or hiring within the meaning of this Act, as the case may be, and the certificate of the returning officer at an election that the election mentioned in the certificate was duly held, and that the person named in the certificate was a candidate at such election, shall be suflQcient evidence of the facts therein stated. statute, &c. The majority of tlie Court held that the indict- ment was defective, because it did not state specifically of what corrupt practices Ihe prisoner was guilty, but that the defect was cured bv verdict. Legal Proceedings. 167 54. (1.) All offences under this Act punishable Prosecu- on summary conviction may be prosecuted in si*J^mrry manner provided by the Summary Jurisdiction conviction, and appeal AClS \ll). to quarter (2.) A person aggrieved by a conviction by a sessions. court of summary jurisdiction for an offence under this Act may appeal (i) to general or quarter sessions against such conviction. 55. (1.) Except that nothing in this Act shall Applica- ., . 1 • J • tion of authorise any appeal agamst a summary convic- summary tion by an election court (k), the Summary Junsdic- •^ . . . tion and Jurisdiction Acts shall, so far as is consistent with indictable the tenor thereof, apply to the prosecution of an ^c°s°to^ offence summarily before an election court in like proceed- manner as if it were an offence punishable only on election summary conviction, and accordingly the atten- co^^ts. dance of any person may be enforced, the case heard and determined and any summary convic- tion by such court be carried into effect and enforced, and the costs thereof paid, and the record thereof dealt with under those Acts in like manner as if the court were a petty sessional court for the county or place in which such conviction took place. (2.) The enactments (Z) relating to charges before justices against persons for indictable offences shall, so far as is consistent with the tenor thereof, apply to every case where an election court orders a person (/i) "Summary Jurisdiction Acts," 11 & 12 Yict. c. 43, and 42 & 43 Vict. c. 49, (i) Cf. also 20 & 21 Yict. c. 43, s. 14, and 42 & 43 Vict. c. 49, s. 33. (A-) "Election Coui-t." See sect. 64. (0 11 & 12 Vict. 0. 42, and 30 & 31 Vict. c. 35. 168 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. to be prosecuted on indictment in like manner as if the court were a justice of the peace. Exercise 56. (1.) Subject to any rules of court, any juris- diction of diction vested by this Act in the High Court may, ^i^ii so far as it relates to indictments or other criminal making of proceedings, be exercised by any judge of the Queen's rules of Bench Division, and in other respects (m) may either be exercised by one of the judges for the time being on the rota for the trial of election petitions, sitting either in court or at chambers, or may be exercised by a master of the Supreme Court of Judicature in manner directed by and subject to an appeal to the said judges. Provided that a master shall not exercise juris- diction in the case either of an order declaring any act or omission to be an exception from the pro- visions of this Act with respect to illegal practices, payments, employments, or hirings, or of an order allowing an excuse in relation to a return or declaration respecting election expenses, (2.) Rules of court may from time to time be made, revoked, and altered for the purposes of this Act, and of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, and the Acts amending the same (??), by the same authority by whom rules of court for pro- cedure and practice in the Supreme Court of Judicature can for the time being be made (o). (m) Thus, a Judge who is not on the rota of election Judges has no jurisdiction to make an order giving leave to amend the petition under sect. 40 of this Act. {Ponte/ract case, W. N. May, 1893, and 62 L. J. Q. B. 375.) (w) Cf. e.g. 42 & 43 Vict. c. 75. (o) See sect. 17 of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, 187G (39 & 40 Vict. c. 59), and sect. 19 of the Judicature Act, 1881 Legal Proceedinos. 169 67. (1.) The Director of public prosecutions in Director performing any duty under this Act shall act in pr _ 42 & 43 him by the Attorney-General ; and any assistant vict. c. 22. or representative of the Director of public prosecu- tions in performing any duty under this Act shall act in accordance with the said regulations and directions, if any, and with the directions given to him by the Director of public prosecutions. (2.) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the costs of any prosecution on indictment for an offence punishable under this Act, whether by the Director of public prosecutions or his representative or by any other person, shall, so far as they are not paid by the defendant, be paid in like manner as costs in the case of a prosecution for felony are paid. 58. (1.) Where any costs or other sums (not Recovery- being costs of a prosecution on indictment) are, ^^^°^|e ^^ under an order of an election court (q), or other- county or wise under this Act, to be paid by a county or i^y'pefson.^ borough, the Commissioners of Her Majesty's (44 & 45 Vict. c. 68). The authority is, " any five or more of the following persons, of whom the Lord Chancellor shall be one, viz, : the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice of England, the Master of the RoUs, the President of the Pro- bate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the High Court of Justice, and four other Judges of che Supreme Court of Judicature, to be from time to time appointed for the pur- pose by the Lord Chancellor in writing under his hand, such appointment to continue for such time as shall be specified therein." (p) 42 & 43 Vict. c. 22. (2) " Election Coiirt," See sect. 64. 170 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. Treasury shall pay those costs or sums, and obtain repayment of the amount so paid, in like manner as if such costs and sums were expenses of election 32 & 33 commissioners paid by them, and the Election Vict c 21 . 34 & 35 ' Commissioners' Expenses Acts, 1869 and 1871, Vict. c. 61. shall apply accordingly as if they were herein re-enacted, and in terms made applicable to the above-mentioned costs and sums. (2.) Where any costs or other sums are, under the order of an election court or otherwise under this Act, to be paid by any person, those costs shall be a simple contract debt due from such person to the person or persons to whom they are to be paid, and if payable to the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury shall be a debt to Her Majesty, and in either case may be recovered accordingly. Supplemental Provisions, Definitions, Savings, and Repeal. Obligation 59. (1.) A person who is called as a witness (r) of witness j-especting an election before any election court (s) to answer, i o J ^ ^ / and certi- shall not be excused from answering any question indemnity. I'slating to any offence at or connected with such election, on the ground that the answer thereto may criminate or tend to criminate himself or on the ground of privilege ; Provided that — (a) a witness who answers truly all questions which he is required by the election court to {r) It is a condition precedent that he be called {Maidstone case, 5 O'M. & H. 152). (s) " Election Court" defined by sect. 64. Supplemental Provisions, Definitions, Etc. 171 answer shall be entitled (t) to receive a certifi- cate of indemnity under the hand of a member of the court stating that such witness has so answered : and (b) an answer by a person to a question put by or before any election court shall not, except in the case of any criminal proceeding for per- jury in respect of such evidence, be in any proceeding, civil or criminal, admissible in evidence against him : (2.) Where a person has received such a certifi- cate of indemnity in relation to an election, and any legal proceeding is at any time instituted against him for any offence under the Corrupt Practices Prevention Acts (u) or this Act com- mitted by him previously to the date of the certificate at or in relation to the said election, the court having cognisance of the case shall on proof of the certificate stay the proceeding, and may in their discretion award to the said person such costs as he may have been put to in the proceeding. (3.) Nothing in this section shall be taken to relieve a person receiving a certificate of indemnity from any incapacity under this Act or from any (<) "Entitled." See Beg. v. Holl (7 Q. B. D. 575), in whicli it was decided under sect. 7 of 26 & 27 Vict. c. 29 (now repealed), that where election commissioners have, with reference to a witness before them on the inquiry which they were appointed to make, exercised their judgment as to the right of such witness to receive a certificate, their decision refusing such certificate is conclusive and cannot be reviewed by mandamus. (u) See the Third Schedule to this Act. 172 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. Submis- sion of report of election court or commis- sioners to Attorney- General. Breach of duty by officer. proceeding to enforce such incapacity (other than a criminal prosecution). (4.) This section shall apply in the case of a witness before any election commissioners (x), in like manner as if the expression " election court " in this section included election commissioners. (5.) Where a solicitor or person lawfully acting as agent for any party to an election petition re- specting any election for a county or borough has not taken any part or been concerned in such election, the election commissioners inquiring into such election shall not be entitled to examine such solicitor or agent respecting matters which came to his knowledge by reason only of his being concerned as solicitor or agent for a party to such petition. 60. An election court or election commission- ers (y), when reporting that certain persons have been guilty of any corrupt or illegal practice, shall report whether those persons have or have not been furnished with certificates of indemnity ; and such report shall be laid before the Attorney-General (accompanied in the case of the commissioners with the evidence on which such report was based) with a view to his instituting or directing a prosecu- tion against such persons as have not received certificates of indemnity, if the evidence should, in his opinion, be sufficient to support a prosecution. 61. (1.) Section eleven of the Ballot Act,1872 {z), (x) " Election Commissioners " defined by sect. 64. (y) See sect. 64. (z) By the section cited, " Every returninp; officer, presid- ing officer and clerk who is guilty of any wilful misfeasance, or any wilful act or omission in contravention of this Act, Supplemental Peovisions, Definitions, Etc. 178 shall apply to a returning officer or presiding officer 35 & 36 or clerk who is guilty of any wilful misfeasance or ^^^' '^' wilful act or omission in contravention of this Act in like manner as if the same were in contravention of the Ballot Act, 1872. (2.) Section ninety-seven of the Parliamentary 6 Vict. Registration Act, 1843 (a), shall apply to every ^- '^^• registration officer who is guilty of any wilful mis- feasance or wilful act of commission or omission contrary to this Act in like manner as if the same were contrary to the Parliamentary Registration Act, 1843. 62. (1.) Any public notice required to be given Publica- by the returning officer under this Act shall be given service of in the manner in which he is directed by the Ballot notices. Act, 1872, to give a public notice. vict. c. 33. (2.) Where any summons, notice, or document is required to be served on any person with reference to any proceeding respecting an election for a county or borough, whether for the purpose of causing him shall, in addition to any other penalty or liability to which he may be subject, forfeit to any person aggrieved by such misfeasance, act or omission, a penal sum not exceeding lOOi:' (a) By the section cited, parties wilfully contravening that Act " shall for every wilful misfeasance, or wilful act of commission or omission contrary to this Act, forfeit to any party aggrieved the penal sum of lUU/., or such less sum, as the jury, before whom maybe tried any action to be brought for the recovery of the before-mentioned sum, shall consider just to be paid to such party, to be recovered by such party, with full costs of suits, by action for debt in any of her Majesty's Superior Courts : provided always, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to supersede any remedy or action against any returning officer according to any law now in force." 174 Cork, and III. Pract. Prbv. Act, 1883. Definition of candi- date, and saving for persons nominated without consent. to appear before the High Court or any election court, or election commissioners, or otherwise, or for the purpose of giving him an opportunity of making a statement or showing cause, or being heard by himself, before any court or commissioners, for any purpose of this Act, such summons, notice or docu- ment may be served either by delivering the same to such person, or by leaving the same at, or sending the same by post by a registered letter to, his last known place of abode in the said county or borough, or if the proceeding is before any court or commis- sioners, in such other manner as the court or com- missioners may direct, and in proving such service by post it shall be sufficient to prove that the letter was prepaid, properly addressed, and registered with the post office. (3.) In the form of notice of a parliamentary election set forth in the Second Schedule to the Ballot Act, 1872, the words " or any illegal prac- tice " shall be inserted after the words " or other corrupt practices," and the words *' the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act, 1883," shall be inserted after the words " Corrupt Practices Prevention Act, 1854." 63. (1.) In the Corrupt Practices Prevention Acts, as amended by this Act, the expression " can- didate at an election " and the expression "candi- date " respectively mean (b), unless the context (h) This section was explained in the Norivich case (4 O'M. & H. 84). It was pi'oved in that case that two meetings had been hold to ask the respondent to stand, and a requisition to him for that purpose had been carried round. The expenses of such meetings and requisition were hold not to be expenses Supplemental Peovisions, Definitions, Etc. 175 otherwise requires, any person elected (c) to serve in Parliament at such election, and any person who is nominated as a candidate at such election, or is declared by himself or by others to be a can- didate, on or after the day of the issue of the writ for such election, or after the dissolution or vacancy in consequence of which such writ has been issued ; of the candidate returnable under sect. 28, But it would be incorrect to say that there may not be such a thing as a person who is elected, and in whose case an illegal act was committed before the dissolution or vacancy, who might be a " candidate " within the meaning of this section. " I read the section," says Denman, J., "as dividing the persons who are to be considered ' candidates ' into two classes — one is the successful candidate, i.e., the person who is elected; and the other is the unsuccessful candidate, the person who is only nominated or declared by himself or by others to be a candidate on or after the day of the issue of the writ, or after the dissolution or vacancy." And, where the charge is that a voter was retained and employed by the respondent for the purpose of the election, it is no answer to say that such employment took place before the respondent had been actually selected as a candi- date. It would have been very dangerous not to have included this payment in his election expenses. {Stepney case, 1886, 4 O'M. & H. 38 ; cf. 35 & 36 Yict. c. 33 (The BaUot Act, 1872), s. 25.) When a man begins to incur expenses with regard to an election, there is nothing to prevent his appointing an elec- tion agent. In some cases, canvassei's are set to work and committees formed long before the dissolution or issue of the writ. If those expenses are not to be returned as election expenses, the words of the Act as to the maximum amount of expenditure are set at naught. {Bochester case, 4 O'M. & H. 167.) Evidence at any rate of what has passed before the disso- lution is admissible ; and throws a very strong light on what takes place afterwards. {Montgomery BorougJiS case, 4 O'M. & H. 169; and cf. Aylesbury case, id. 62.) (c) Elected, i.e., subsequently elected. This section must be carefully read with sect. 28. See the important note in that section as to when election expenses begin. 176 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. General interpre- tation of terms. 31 &32 Vict, c. 125. (2.) Provided that where a person has been nominated as a candidate or declared to be a candidate by others, then — (a) If he was so nominated or declared without his consent, nothing in this Act shall be construed to impose any liability on such person, unless he has afterwards given his assent to such nomi- nation or declaration or has been elected ; and (b) If he was so nominated or declared, either without his consent or in his absence and he takes no part in the election, he may, if he thinks fit, make the declaration respecting elec- tion expenses contained in the second part of the Second Schedule to this Act, and the election agent shall, so far as circumstances admit, com- ply with the provisions of this Act with respect to expenses incurred on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of the election in like manner as if the candidate had been nominated or declared with his consent. 64. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires — The expression " election " means the election of a member or members to serve in Parliament : The expression " election petition " means a petition presented in pursuance of the Parlia- mentary Elections Act, 1868, as amended by this Act : The expression " election court " (d) means the {(l) The Court whicli presides at an election now consists of two Judges by the Paiiiamentary Elections and Corrupt Practices Act, 1879 (42 & 43 Vict. c. 75), s. 2. Supplemental Provisions, Definitions, Etc. 177 judges presiding at the trial of an election petition, or, if the matter comes before the High Court, that court : The expression "Election Commissioners" means commissioners appointed in pursuance of the Election Commissioners Act, 1852, and the 15 & I6 enactments amending the same : vict. c 5/. The expression "High Court " (e) means Her Majesty's High Court of Justice in England : The expressions " court of summary jurisdiction," *' petty sessional court," and " Summary Juris- 42 & 43 diction Acts" have the same meaning as in ^^^'^' ' the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879: The expression " the Attorney-General " includes the Solicitor-General in cases where the office of the Attorney-General is vacant or the Attorney- General is interested or otherwise unable to act : The expression " registration officer " means the clerk of the peace in a county, and the town clerk in a borough, as respectively defined by the enactments (/) relating to the registration of parliamentary electors : (e) Judicature Act, 1873 (36 & 37 Yict, c. 66), s. 4. (/) See the Parliameutary Eegistration Act, 1843 (6 & 7 Vict. c. 18), s. 101, by wLicli the words " clerk of the peace" comprehend and apply to any deputy or other person exe- cuting the duties of such " clerk of the peace," and the words " town clerk," except in regard to the cities of London and Southwark, extend to and mean any person executing the duties of "town clerk," or if in any city or borough there shall be no such oflBcer as town clerk, then to any officer executing the same or like duties as usually devolve upon the " town clerk," or if in any city or borough there shall be no such person, then to the returning officer of such city or borough, or to such person as the returning officer might appoint for that purpose. LP. 12 Vict. c. 33. 178 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. The expression ** elector " means any person whose name is for the time being on the regis- ter roll or book containing the names of the persons entitled to vote at the election with reference to which the expression is used : The expression " register of electors " (g) means the said register roll or book : The expression " polling agent " means an agent of the candidate appointed to attend at a 35 & 36^^ polling station in pursuance of the Ballot Act, 1872, or of the Acts therein referred to or amending the same : The expression "person" includes an association or body of persons (h), corporate or unincorpo- rate, and where any act is done by any such association or body, the members of such asso- ciation or body who have taken part in the commission of such act shall be liable to any fine or punishment imposed for the same by this Act : The expression " committee room " shall not include any house or room occupied by a candidate at an election as a dwelling, by reason only of the candidate there transacting business with his agents in relation to such election ; nor shall any room or building be deemed to be a committee room for the purposes of this Act by reason only of the candidate or if/) " Register of electors." See Parliamentary Registration Act, 1843 (G & 7 Vict. c. 18), s. 3, and following sections. (/i) With regard to "associations," &c., as agents, see Chapter on the Parliamentary Law of Agency, pp. 79 — 82. Supplemental Provisions, Definitions, Etc. 179 any agent of the candidate addressing therein electors, committeemen, or others : The expression "public office" means any office under the Crown or under the charter of a city or municipal borough or under the Acts relating i to Municipal Corporations or to the Poor Law, or under the Elementary Education Act, 1870, 33 & 34 or under the Public Health Act, 1875, or under ssVsD any Acts amending the above-mentioned Acts, "V'ict. c. 55. or under any other Acts for the time being in force (whether passed before or after the commencement of this Act) relating to local government, whether the office is that of mayor, chairman, alderman, councillor, guardian, member of a board, commission, or other local authority in any county, city, borough, union, sanitary district, or other area, or is the office of clerk of the peace, town clerk, clerk or other officer under a council, board, commission, or other authority, or is' any other office, to which a person is elected or appointed under any such charter or Act as above-mentioned, and includes any other municipal, or parochial office ; and the expressions " election," " elec- tion petition," "election court," and "register of electors," shall, where expressed to refer to an election for any such public office, be construed accordingly : The expression "judicial office" includes the office of justice of the peace and revising barrister : The expression " personal expenses " as used with respect to the expenditure of any candidate in 12 2 180 Core, and III. Praot. Prev. Act, 1883. relation to any election includes the reasonable travelling expenses of such candidate, and the reasonable expenses of his living at hotels or elsewhere for the purposes of and in relation to such election : The expression "indictment" includes informa- tion : The expression " costs " includes costs, charges, and expenses : The expression "payment" includes any pecu- niary or other reward (i) ; and the expressions "pecuniary reward "and "money" shall be deemed to include any office, place, or employ- ment, and any valuable security or other equivalent for money, and any valuable con- sideration, and expressions referring to money shall be construed accordingly : The expression " Licensing Acts " means the Licensing Acts, 1872 to 1874 : Other expressions have the same meaning as in the Corrupt Practices Prevention Acts. Short 65. (1.) The enactments described in the Third titles. Schedule to this Act are in this Act referred to as the Corrupt Practices Prevention Acts. ('2.) The Acts mentioned in the Fourth Schedule to this Act are in this Act referred to and may be cited respectively by the short titles in that behalf in that schedule mentioned. (8.) This Act may be cited as the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act, 1883. (t) Thus, refreshments may be payment. {Barrow-in- Furness case, 4 O'M. & H. 82.) Application of Act to Scotland. 181 (4.) This Act and the Corrupt Practices Preven- tion Acts may be cited together as the Corrupt Practices Prevention Acts, 1854 to 1883. 66, The Acts set forth in the Fifth Schedule to Repeal of this Act are hereby repealed as from the commence- ■^°^^' ment of this Act to the extent in the third column of that schedule mentioned, provided that this repeal or the expiration of any enactment not continued by this Act shall not revive any enact- ment which at the commencement of this Act is repealed, and shall not affect anything duly done or suffered before the commencement of this Act, or any right acquired or accrued or any incapacity incurred before the commencement of this Act, and any person subject to any incapacity under any enactment hereby repealed or not continued shall continue subject thereto, and this Act shall apply to him as if he had become so subject in pursuance of the provisions of this Act. 67. This Act shall come into operation on the Com- fif teenth day of October one thousand eight hundred n^^'^'; ^■ •^ _ _ o ment of and eighty-three, which day is in this Act referred Act. to as the commencement of this Act. Application of Act to Scotland. 68. This Act shall apply to Scotland, with the Applica- following modifications : \^°f °^ ° _ Act to (1.) The following expressions shall mean as Scotland. follows : The expression "misdemeanor" shall mean crime and offence : 182 CoER. AND III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1888. The expression " indictment " shall include criminal letters : The expression " solicitor " shall mean enrolled law agent : The expression " revising barrister " shall mean sheriff : The expression "barrister" shall mean advocate : The expression " petty sessional court " shall mean sheriff court : The expression " quarter sessions " shall mean the Court of Justiciary : The expression " registration officer " shall mean an assessor under the enactments relating to the registration of parliamentary voters : The expression " municipal borough " shall in- clude royal burgh and burgh of regality and burgh of barony : The expression " Acts relating to municipal corporations " shall include the General Police and Improvement (Scotland) Act, 1862, and any other Act relating to the constitution and government of burghs in Scotland : The expression "mayor" shall mean provost or chief magistrate : The expression " alderman " shall mean bailie : The expression "Summary Jurisdiction Acts" shall mean the Summary Jurisdiction (Scot- land) Acts, 1864 and 1881 {h) and any Acts amending the same. (2.) The provisions of this Act with respect to polling districts and the expenses of dividing a {k) 27 & 28 Vict. c. 53, and 44 & 45 Vict. c. 33. Application of Act to Scotland. 183 county or borough into polling districts shall not apply to Scotland. (3.) The provisions respecting the attendance at the trial of an election petition of a representative of the Director of public prosecutions shall not apply to Scotland, and in place thereof the following provisions shall have effect : (a) At the trial of every election petition in Scotland Her Majesty's advocate shall be represented by one of his deputes or by the procurator-fiscal of the sheriff court of the district, who shall attend such trial as part of his official duty, and shall give all necessary assistance to the judge with respect to the citation of witnesses and recovery of docu- ments : (b) If the judge shall grant a warrant for the apprehension, commitment, or citation of any person suspected of being guilty of a corrupt or illegal practice, the case shall be reported to Her Majesty's advocate in order that such person may be brought to trial before the High Court of Justiciary or the sheriff, accord- ing to the nature of the case : (c) It shall be the duty of the advocate depute or, in his absence, the procurator-fiscal, if it appears to him that a corrupt or illegal practice within the meaning of this Act has been com- mitted by any person who has not received a certificate of indemnity, to report the case to Her Majesty's advocate in order to such person being brought to trial before the 184 Cork, and III. Peact. Peev. Act, 1883. proper court, although no warrant may have been issued by the judge. (4.) The jurisdiction of the High Court of Justice under this Act shall, in Scotland, be exercised by one of the Divisions of the Court of Session, or by a judge of the said court to whom the same may be remitted by such division, and subject to an appeal thereto, and the Court of Session shall have power to make Acts of sederunt for the purposes of this Act. (5.) Court of Oyer and Terminer shall mean a circuit court of Justiciary, and the High Court of Justiciary shall have powers to make acts of adjournal regulating the procedure in appeals to the circuit court under this Act. (6.) All offences under this Act punishable on summary conviction may be prosecuted in the sheriff court in manner provided by the Summary Juris- diction Acts, and all necessary jurisdictions are hereby conferred on sheriffs. (7.) The authority given by this Act to the Direc- tor of public prosecutions in England shall in Scot- land be exercised by Her Majesty's advocate, and the reference to the Prosecution of Offences Act, 1879, shall not apply. 25 & 26 (8.) The expression ** Licensing Acts " shall mean td'kl'o^^' "*^® Public Houses Acts Amendment (Scotland) Vict. c. 26. Act, 1862," and " The Publicans' Certificates (Scot- land Act, 1876," and the Acts thereby amended and therein recited. (9.) The expression " register of licences " shall mean the register kept in pursuance of section Application of Act to Scotland. 185 twelve of the Act of the ninth year of the reign of King George the Fourth, chapter fifty-eight. (10.) The references to the Public Health Act, 1875, and to the Elementary Education Act, 1870, shall be construed to refer to the Public Health (Scotland) Act, 1867 (/), and to the Elementary Education (Scotland) Act, 1872 (m). (11.) Any reference to the Parliamentary Elec- tions Keturning Officers Act, 1875, shall not apply. (12.) The provision with respect to the registra- tion officer sending the corrupt and illegal practices list to overseers and the dealing with such list by overseers shall not apply, and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted that the assessor shall in counties include the names of such persons in the list of persons who have become disqualified, and in boroughs shall omit the names of such persons from the list of persons entitled to vote. (13.) The power given by this Act to the Lord Chancellor in England shall in Scotland except BO far as relates to the justices of the peace be exercised by the Lord Justice General. (14.) Any reference to the Attorney-General shall refer to the Lord Advocate. (15.) The provisions with respect to the removal of cases to the Central Criminal Court or to the trial of cases at the Eoyal Courts of Justice shall not apply. (16.) Section thirty-eight of the County Voters oi & 25 Registration (Scotland) Act, 1861, shall be substi- Vict. c. 83. (0 30 & 31 Vict. c. 101. (772) 35 & 36 Vict. c. 62. 186 Core, and III. Pract. Prhv. Act, 1883. tuted for section ninety-seven of the Parliamentary Registration Act, 1843, where reference is made to that section in this Act. (17.) The provision of this Act with regard to costs shall not apply to Scotland, and instead thereof the following provision shall have effect : The costs of petitions and other proceedings under " The Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868," and under this Act, shall subject to any regulations which the Court of Session may make by act of sederunt, be taxed as nearly as possible accord- ing to the same principles as costs between agent and client are taxed in a cause in that court, and the auditor shall not allow any costs, charges, or expenses on a higher scale. Application of Act to Ireland. Applica- 69. This Act shall apply to Ireland, with the tion of Act r ^■| • j-xi j.- to Ireland. foUowmg modmcations : (1.) No person shall be tried for any offence against this Act under any of the provisions of 45 & 46 the Prevention of Crime (Ireland) Act, 1882. Vict. c. 25. ^2.) The expression " Summary Jurisdiction Acts " means, with reference to the Dublin Metropolitan Police District, the Acts regulating the powers and duties of justices of the peace and of the police in such district ; and with reference to 14 & 15 other parts of Ireland means the Petty Sessions Vict. c. 93. (Ireland) Act, 1851, and any Acts amending the said Act. (3.) Section one hundred and three of the Act of the session of the thirteenth and fourteenth Application op Act to Ireland. 187 years of the reign of Her present Majesty, chapter sixty-nine, shall be substituted for section ninety-seven of the Parliamentary Eegistration Act, 1843 (n), where reference is made to that section in this Act. (4.) The provision with respect to the registration officer sending the corrupt and illegal practices list to overseers and the dealing with such list by overseers shall not apply, and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted that the registration officer shall, after making out such list, himself pub- lish the same in the manner in which he publishes the lists referred to in the twenty-first and the thirty-third sections of the Act of the session of the thirteenth and fourteenth years of the reign of Her present Majesty, chapter sixty-nine ; and shall also in the case of ^very person in the corrupt and illegal practices list enter "objected to " against his name in the register and lists made out by such registration officer in like manner as he is by law required to do in other cases of disqualification. (5.) The Supreme Court of Judicature in Ireland shall be substituted for the Supreme Court of Judicature. (6.) The High Court of Justice in Ireland shall be substituted for the High Court of Justice in England. (7.) The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland shall be substituted for the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. (n) 6 & 7 Vict. c. 18. 188 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prbv. Act, 1883. (8.) The Attorney-General for Ireland shall be substituted for the Director of Public Prose- cutions, and the reference to the prosecution of the Offences Act, 1879, shall not apply. (9.) The provisions of this Act relative to polling districts shall not apply to Ireland, but in the county of the town of Galway there shall be a polling station at Barna, and at such other places within the parliamentary borough of Galway as the town commissioners may appoint. (10.) Any reference to Part IV. of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, shall be construed to refer to the Corrupt Practices (Municipal Elec- tions) Act, 1872 (o). (11.) Any reference to the Licensing Acts shall be construed to refer to the Licensing Acts (Ireland), 1872-1874 (p). Vict f 52 ^^^-^ ^^® ^^^^^^ Health (Ireland) Act, 1878, shall be substituted for the Public Health Act, 1875. (13.) The provisions with respect to the removal of cases to the Central Criminal Court, or to the trial of cases at the Eoyal Courts of Justice, shall not apply to Ireland. Continuance. Contiim- 70. This Act shall continue in force until the thirty-first day of December one thousand eight (o) 35 and 36 Vict. c. 60. (p) 35 & 36 Vict. c. 94, and 37 & 38 Vict. c. 69 ance. Application of Act to Ireland. 189 hundred and eighty-four, and no longer, unless continued by Parliament (q) ; and such of the Cor- rupt Practices Prevention Acts as are referred to in Part One of the Third Schedule to this Act shall continue in force until the same day, and no longer, unless continued by Parliament. {q) The Act has been continued by Parliament from year to year by the Expiring Laws Continuance Acts. 190 Core, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. SCHEDULES. FIRST SCHEDULE. Paet I. Persons Legally Employed for Payment. (1.) One election agent and no more. (2.) In counties one deputy election agent (in this Act referred to as a sub-agent) to act within each polling district and no more. (3.) One poUing agent (r) in each polling station and no more. (4.) In a borough one clerk (s) and one messenger, or if the number of electors in the borough exceeds five hundred, a number of clerks and messengers not exceed- ing in number one clerk and one messenger for every complete five hundred electors in the borough, and if there is a number of electors over and above any com- plete five hundred or complete five hundreds of electors, then one clerk and one messenger may be employed for such number, although not amounting to a complete five hundred. (5.) In a county for the central committee room one clerk and one messenger, or if the number of electors in (r) As to what a polling-agent may do, in addition to the duties for which he is paid, see the Elgin and Nairn case, 5 O'M. & H. 13. (s) Where the election agent was a solicitor, and he employed one of his regular clerks, paying him no additional salary, for work in connection with the election, the Court Haid that he was not a clerk within the meaning of this schedule. [Bnckroae case, 4 O'M. & H. 116.) Schedules. 191 the county exceeds five thousand, then a number of clerks and messengers not exceeding in number one clerk and one messenger for every complete five thousand electors in the county ; and if there is a number of electors over and above any complete five thousand or complete five thous- ands of electors, then one clerk and one messenger may be employed for such number, although not amounting to a complete five thousand. (6.) In a county a number of clerks and messengers not exceeding in number one clerk and one messenger for each polling district in the county, or where the num- ber of electors in a polhng district exceeds five hundred one clerk and one messenger for every complete five hundred electors in the polling district, and if there is a number of electors over and above any complete five hundred or complete five hundreds of electors, then one clerk and one messenger may be employed for such num- ber, although not amounting to a complete five hundred : Provided always, that the number of clerks and messen- gers so allowed in any county may be employed in any polling district where their services may be required. (7.) Any such paid election agent, sub-agent, poUing agent, clerk, and messenger may or may not be an elector but may not vote (i). (8.) In the case of the boroughs of East Retford, Shoreham, Cricklade, Much Wenlock, and Aylesbury, {t) A vote ■will be struck off if the children of the voter are employed and paid as messengers by the candidate. (Stepney case, 1886, 4 O'M. & H. 39.) Where M. voluntarily undertook the duties of a sub-agent •without any payment or reward, or promise of payment or reward, and when he voted he believed he would receive none, but after the election was over the election agent, finding that he had a surplus, paid him the sum of 26?. as an honorarium, and five guineas for the use of his office, and M. did not tell him he had voted, this was held to be an illegal practice under sect. 9. {S.W. Essex case, 2 Times L. E. .'388. ) 192 Cork, and III. Pract. Prbv. Act, 1883. tlie provisions of this part of this schedule shall apply as if such borough were a county. Part H. Legal Expenses in Addition to Expenses under Part I. (1.) Sums paid to the returning officer for his charges not exceeding the amoiint authorised by the Act 38 & 39 Vict. c. 84. (2.) The personal expenses of the candidate (i). (3,) The expenses of printing, the expenses of adver- tising, and the expenses of pubhshing, issuing, and distributing addresses and notices (w). (t) See s. 64, p. 179, for a definition of personal expenses, which is not, however, exhaustive. (») In the Stepney case, 1886, 4 O'M. & H. 52, about twenty men were employed by the candidate's agent to dis- tribute on the polling day, in the neighbourhood of the polling- stations, handbills twelve inches long by eight inches broad, headed ' ' Stepney Election. Facts worth remembering at the poll." Six paragraphs followed about Mr. Isaacson's qualifications for election, concluding thus: — " Mr. Isaacson will be the winner if his friends will poll early and mark their voting papers thus." Then followed a copy of the ballot paper, with Mr. Isaacson's name in very large letters, and his opponent's name in very small letters. There was a X after Mr. Isaacson's name. It was held by Denman, J. — dubitante. Field, J. — that these men were not employed to ' ' distribute addresses or notices " within the meaning of the schedule. But Field, J., would not therefore hold that an illegal employment or payment under sect. 17 had been committed; but looking at other parts of the Act, as sect. 18, he put a broader construction on the Act, and held that there was no illegal practice. Denman, J., held that there was illegal employment and payment, but condoned it under sect. 2',i, The Court agreed in the condemnation of any such practice as the endeavouring to mislead voters by giving them directions intended to mislead them. But where it was proved that persons had been paid for the distribution of certain documents relating to the respon- dent's candidature at the election, including a letter from a Schedules. 193 (4.) The expenses of stationery, messages, postage, and telegrams. (5.) The expenses of holding public meetings. (6.) In a borough the expenses of one committee room, and if the number of electors in the borough exceeds five hundred, then of a number of committee rooms not exceeding the niunber of one committee room for every complete five hundred electors in the borough, and if there is a number of electors over and above any com- plete five hundred or complete five hundreds of electors, then of one committee room for such number, although not amounting to a complete five hundred. (7.) In a county the expenses of a central committee room, and in addition of a number of coramittee rooms not exceeding in number one committee room for each polling district in the county, and where the number of electors in a polling district exceeds five hundred one additional committee room may be hired for every com- plete five hundred electors in such polling district over and above the first five hundred. statesman giving reasons why he could not come, and so forth, the Court held there was no illegal employment or payment under this section, but that such things come fairly within the meaning of " addresses and notices." Offensive pictures and statements might be otherwise. The Court, however, has in general nothing to do with the contents of the documents. (^Barrow-in-Furness case, 4 O'M. & H. 78.) As to bills, placards, and posters, these are not mentioned in the schedule ; but it is lawful to employ an advertisement contractor to exhibit a bill. See sect. 7 (3). "And there- fore," says Field, J., in the same case, "it must be equally lawfiil to take the bill to be exhibited, and it cannot be exhibited until it is printed, and it must be posted up, and the labour of doing all that involves an expense which must be borne by the candidate." i.p. 13 194 Core, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. Part m. Maximum for Miscellaneous Matters. Expenses in respect of miscellaneous matters other than those mentioned in Part I. and Part IE. of this schedule not exceeding in the whole the maximum amount of two hundred pounds, so nevertheless that such expenses are not incurred in respect of any matter or in any manner constituting an offence under this or any other Act, or in respect of any matter or thing, payment for which is expressly prohibited by this or any other Act. Part IV. Maximum Scale. (1.) In a borough the expenses mentioned above in Parts I., n., and III. of this schedule, other than personal expenses and sums paid to the returning officer for his charges, shaU not exceed in the whole the maximum amount in the scale following : If the number of electors on the register — The maximum amount shall be — Does not exceed 2,000... 350^. Exceeds 2,000 380^., and an additional 30Z. for every complete 1,000 electors above 2,000. Provided that in Ireland if the number of electors on the register — The maximum amount shall be — Does not exceed 500 2QQI, Exceeds 500, but does not exceed 1,000 250Z. Exceeils 1,000, but doei not exceed 1,500 276^. Schedules. 195 (2.) In a county the expenses mentioned above in Parts I., n., andm. of this schedule, other than personal expenses and sums paid to the returning oflScer for his charges, shall not exceed in the whole the maximum amount in the scale following : If the number of electors on the register — The maximum amount shall be — Does not exceed 2,000 ... 650?. in England and Scotland, and 5001. in Ireland. Exceeds 2,000 7101. in England and Scotland, and 5i0l. in Ireland ; and an additional 601. in England and Scotland, and 40Z. in Ireland, for every complete 1,000 elec- tors above 2,000. Part V. General. (1.) In the case of the boroughs of East Retford, Shoreham, Cricklade, Much Wenlock, and Aylesbury, the provisions of Parts 11., m., and IV. of this schedule shall apply as if such borough were a county. (2.) For the purposes of this schedule the nimiber of electors shall be taken according to the enumeration of the electors in the register of electors. (3.) Where there are two or more joint candidates at an election the maximmn amount of expenses mentioned in Parts III. and IV. of this schedule shall, for each of such joint candidates, be reduced by one-fourth, or if there are more than two joint candidates by one-third. (4.) Where the same election agent is appointed by or on behalf of two or more candidates at an election, or where two or more candidates, by themselves or any 13—2 196 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. agent or agents, hire or use the same committee rooms for such election, or employ or use the services of the same sub-agents, clerks, messengers, or polling agents at such election, or publish a joint address or joint circular or notice at such election, those candidates shall be deemed for the purposes of this enactment to be joint candidates at such election. Provided that — (a) The employment and use of the same committee room, sub-agent, clerk, messenger, or polling agent, if accidental or casual, or of a trivial and unim- portant character, shall not be deemed of itseK to constitute persons joint candidates. (b) Nothing in this enactment shall prevent candidates from ceasing to be joint candidates. (c) Where any excess of expenses above the maximum allowed for one of two or more joint candidates has arisen owing to his having ceased to be a joint candidate, or to his having become a joint candidate after having begun to conduct his elec- tion as a separate candidate, and such ceasing or beginning was in good faith, and such excess is not more than under the circumstances is reasonable, and the total expenses of such candidate do not exceed the maximum amount allowed for a separate candidate, such excess shall be deemed to have arisen from a reasonable cause within the meaning of the enactments respecting the allowance by the High Court or election court of an exception from the provisions of this Act which would otherwise make an act an illegal practice, and the candidate and his election agent may be relieved accordingly from the consequences of having incurred such excess of expenses. Schedules. 197 SECOND SCHEDULE. Part I. Form of Declarations as to Expenses. Form for Candidate. I , having been a candidate at the election for th e county [or borough] of on the day of , do hereby solenmly and sincerely declare that I have examined the return of election expenses [about to be] transmitted by my election agent \or if the candidate is his own election agent, " by me "] to the returning oflBcer at the said election, a copy of which is now shown to me and marked , and to the best of my knowledge and belief that return is correct ; And I further solemnly and sincerely declare that, except as appears from that return, I have not, and to the best of my knowledge and belief no person, nor any club, society or association, has, on my behalf, made any payment, or given, promised, or offered any reward, ofl&ce, employment, or valuable consideration, or incurred any liabihty on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of the said election ; And I further solemnly and sincerely declare that I have paid to my election agent [if the candidate is also his own election agent, leave out " to my election agent"] the svim of pounds and no more for the purpose of the said election, and that, except as specified in the said return, no money, security, or equivalent for money has to my knowledge or belief been paid, advanced, given, or deposited by anyone to or in the hands of my election agent [or if the candidate is his oxen election agent, "ni)'- self "] or any other person for the purpose of defraying 198 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prey. Act, 1883. any expenses incurred on my belialf on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of the said election ; And I further solemnly and sincerely declare that I wiU not, except so far as I may be permitted by law, at any future time make or be party to the making or giving of, any payment, reward, oflSce, employment, or valuable consideration for the purpose of defraying any such expenses as last mentioned, or provide or be party to the providing of any money, security, or equivalent for money for the purpose of defraying any such ex- penses. Signature of declarant. CD. Signed and declared by the above-named declarant on the day of , before me. (Signed) E.F. Justice of the Peace for Form for Election Agent. I, , being election agent to , candidate at the election for the county [or borough] of , on the day of , do hereby solemnly and sin- cerely declare that I have examined the return of elec- tion expenses about to be transmitted by me to the returning oflBcer at the said election, and now shown to me and marked , and to the best of my knowledge and belief that return is correct ; And I hereby further solemnly and sincerely declare that, except as appears from that return, I have not and to the best of my knowledge and belief no other person, nor any club, society, or association has on behalf of the said candidate made any payment, or given, promised, or offered any reward, ofiBce, employment or valuable Schedules. 190 consideration, or incurred any liability on account of or in respect of tlie conduct or management of the said election ; And I further solemnly and sincerely declare that I have received from the said candidate pounds and no more [or nothing] for the purpose of the said elec- tion, and that, except as specified in the said return sent by me, no money, security, or eqmvalent for money has been paid, advanced, given, or deposited by anyone to me or in my hands, or, to the best of my knowledge and belief, to or in the hands of any other person for the purpose of defraying any expenses incurred on behalf of the said candidate on account of, or in respect of the conduct or management of the said election. Signature of declarant, A.B. Signed and declared by the above-named declarant on the day of before me. (Signed) E.F. Justice of the Peace for Form of Return of Election Expenses (a.) I, A.B., being election agent to CD., candidate at the election for the county [or borough] of on the day of , make the following return respecting election expenses of the said candidate at the said election [or where the candidate has named himself as election agent, " I, CD., candidate at the election for (x) No section in the Act makes all payments except those in this schedule illegal. Therefore, where a voter was paid five shillings for the loss of a hat at a pubHc meeting, and the return of election expenses showed the payment in specific terms, the Court refused to hold the payment illegal, and the vote stood. (Stepney case, 1886, 4 O'M. & H. 39.) 200 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. "the county [or borough] of on the day "of , acting as my own election agent, make the "following return respecting my election expenses at " the said election "]. Receipts. Received of [the above-named candidate^ [or\ where the candidate is his own election agent, j- £ "Paid by me"] _ _ _ -j Received of J.K. - - - - £ [Here set out the name and description of every person (y), clxth, society, or association, whether the candidate or not, from xchom any money, securities, or equivalent of money was received in respect of expenses incurred on account of or in connexion with or inciderital to the above election, and the amount received from each person, club, society, or association separately^ Expenditure. Paid to E.F., the returning officer for the said] county [or borough] for his charges at the I £ said election -----] (y) Where there was an omission of these through inadvertence, Pollock, B., said: — "The requirements of the schedule are of the greatest importance to carry out the object and intention of the Act, viz., that the other side in the election and the public at large should be properly informed, in respect of every payment which is made, whether it be of one kind or the other." There was therefore a prima facie case of illegal practice imder sect. 33 (6). But the Coiu-t excused it under sect. 34, having regard to the fact that there was nothing in the general account of a suspicious charact(^r, and to the fact that the Court were satisfied that there had been not only no money misspent, but that there had been no intention in passing this account to mislead anvbody in this important particular. (Buckrose case, 4 O'M. & il. 119.) Schedules. 201 Personal expenses (yy) of the said CD., paid by^ himself [or if the candidate is his own election [■ £ agent, "Paid by me as candidate" - -) Do. do. paid by me lor\ if the candidate is his ovm election [agent, add V £ " acting as election agent "] - - -J Received by me for my services as election] agent at the said election [or if the candidate ]■ £ is his ovm, election agent, leave out this item] -} Paid to G.H. as sub-agent of the poUing dis-| trict of - - - - -j [The name and description of each sub-agent and the sum paid to him must be set out separately.] Paid to as poUing agent - - £ Paid to as clerk for days services - £ Paid to as messenger for days services - £ [The names and descriptions (z) of every polling agent, clerh, and messenger, and the sum paid to each, must be set out separately either in the account or in a separate list annexed to and referred to in the account, thus, " Paid to polling agent {or as the case may be) as per annexed list £ ."] Paid to the following persons in respect of goods supphed or work and labour done : To P.g. (printing) - - - £ To M.N. (advertising) - - - £ To R.S. (stationery) - - - £ iyy) " Personal expenses." See definition in s. 64, p. 179, whSch is not, however, exhaustive. (z) A description must be given which would involve that by which they would be known, identified and distinguished from other persons. Obviously, therefore, their address and business should be given. {Norwich cast. 4 O'M. & H. 91.) 202 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. [The name and description of each person, and the nature of the goods supplied, or the work and labour done by each, must be set out sepa- rately either in the account or in a separate list annexed to and referred to in the account^ Paid for postage - - - - £ Paid for telegrams - - - - £ Paid for the hire of rooms as follows : — For holding public meetings - - £ For committee rooms • - - £ [A room hired for a public meeting or for a committee room must be named or described so as to identify it ; and the name and description of every person to whom any payment was made for each such room, together with the amount paid, must be set out separately either in the account or in a separate list annexed to and referred to in the account.] Paid for miscellaneous matters, namely — - £ [The name and description of each person to whom any sum is paid, and the reason for which it was paid to hivi, must be set out separately either in the account or in a separate list annexed to and referred to in the account.] In addition to the above, I am aware, as elec- tion agent for CD. [or if the candidate is his own election agent, leave out " as election agent for CD."] of the following disputed and unpaid claims ; namely — Disputed claims. By T.U.ioT - . - . £ [Here set out the name and description of each perton whose claim is disputed, the amount of the Schedules. 203 claim, and the goods, work, or other matter on the ground of which the claim is hased^] Unpaid claims allowed by the High Court to be paid after the proper time or in respect of which application has been or is about to be made to the High Court. By M.O. for - - - - - £ \B.ere state the name and description of each person to whom any such claim is due, and the amount of the claim, and the goods, icorh, and labour or other matter on account of which the claim is due.l (Signed) A.B. Part E. Form of Declaration as to Expenses. Form for candidate where declared a candidate or nomi- nated in his absence and taking no part in the election. I, , having been nominated [or having been declared by others] in my absence [to be] a candidate at the election for the county or borough of held on the day of , do hereby solemnly and sincerely declare that I have taken no part whatever in the said election. And I further solemnly and sincerely declare that [or with the exception of ] I have not, and no person, club, society, or association at my expense has, made any payment or given, promised, or offered, any reward, oflBce, employment, or valuable consideration, or incTirred any liabihty on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of the said election. 204 CoRn. AND III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. And I further solemnly and sincerely declare that [or with the exception of ] I have not paid any money or given any security or equivalent for money to the person acting as my election agent at the said election, or to any other person, club, society, or association on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of the said election, and that [or with the exception of J I am entirely ignorant of any money security or equivalent for money having been paid, advanced, given, or deposited by any one for the purpose of defraying any expenses incurred on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of the said election. And I further solemnly and sincerely declare that I will not, except so far as I may be permitted by law, at any future time make or be party to the making or giving of any payment, reward, office, employment, or valuable consideration for the purpose of defraying any such expenses as last mentioned, or provide or be party to the providing of any money, security, or equivalent of money for the purpose of defraying any such expenses. Signature of declarant, CD. Signed and declared by the above-named declarant on the day of , before me, (Signed) E.F. Justice of the Peace for Schedules. 205 THIRD SCHEDULE. Corrupt Practices Prevention Acts. Session and Chapter. 17 & 18 c. 102. 26 & 27 c. 29. 31 k 32 c. 125. 35 & 36 c. 33. 42 & 43 c. 75. Vict. Vict. Vict. Vict. Vict. 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102. 31 & 32 Vict, c. 48. 31 & 32 Vict. c. 49. 44 & 45 Vict, c, 40. Title of Act. PAFa- I. Teriiporary. The Conu])t Practices Preven- tion A.:t, 1854. An Act to amend and con- tinue the law relating to corrupt practices at elections of members of Parliament. The Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868. The Ballot Act. 1872 The Parliamentary Elections and Corrupt Practices Act, 1879. Part II. Permanent. The Representation of the People Act, 1867. The Representation of the People (Scotland) Act, 1868. The Representation of the People (Ireland) Act, 1868. The Universities Elections Amendment (Scotland) Act, 1881. Enactments referred to as being the Corrupt Practices Prevention Acts. The whole Act so far as unrepealed. The whole Act so far as uniepealed. The whole Act so fur as unrepealed. Part III. as far as unre- The whole Act so far unrepealed. Sects. 11, 49, 5u. Sects. 8, 49. Sects. 8, 13. Sub-s. 17 of sect. 2. 206 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prhv. Act, 1883. Part HI. (a). Enactments defining the Offences of Bribery and Personation. The Corrupt Practices Prevention Act, 1854, 17 & 18 Vict. c. 102, ss. 2, 3. Bribery s. 2. The foUoTNdng persons shall be deemed guilty of defined. bribery, and shall be punishable accordingly : — (1.) Every person who shaD, directly or indirectly, by himself, or by any other person on his behalf, give, lend, or agree to give or lend, or shall oflFer, promise, or promise to procure or to endeavour to procure, any money or valuable consideration to or for any voter, or to or for any person on behaK of any voter, or to or for any other person in order to (a) The Corrupt Practices Prevention Act, 1883, adds nothing to tlie law of bribery and personation, except that — while defining " corrupt practice " under the Act in sect. 3 — it incorporates these definitions of bribery and personation from earlier Acts. The subjects of bribery and personation are not therefore proper to this book. The cases explaining the definition of bribery in sects. 2 and 3 of the Corrupt Practices Prevention Act, 1854, are collected in Rogers on Elections, 17th ed., vol. 2, pp. 266 — 286, and are principally these: — Z^over case,Wolferstan & Bristowe, 127; Lambeth case, Wolferstan & Dew, 129; i^res^on case, Wolf erstan & Bristowe, 74 ; Coventry case, 1 O'M. & H. 102 ; Bradford case, 1 O'M. & H. 32 ; Bristol case, sub tit. Britt v. Robinson, L. E. 5 C. P. 503 ; Rye case, 3 Power, Eodwell & Dew, 122 ; Belfast case, 1 O'M. & H. 285; Oldham case, 1 O'M. & H. 162; Mallow case, 2 O'M. & H, 21. Cf. also Parker's Powers, Duties and Liabihties of an Election Agent, 2nd ed., pp. 380 — 404. Note that payment of railway fares, etc., besides being an " illegal practice " under 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 7, may imder this earlier Act be " bribery," and therefore now a " corrupt practice," with the more serious consequences sometimes following therefrom. See the Pontefract case. Day's El. Cas. 130, 4 O'M. & H. 200; and the pages of Rogers on Elections above cited, esp. pp. 272 — 274, Schedules. 207 induce any voter to vote or refrain from voting, or shall corruptly do any such act as aforesaid on account of such voter having voted or refrained from voting at any election : (2.) Every person who shall, directly or indirectly, by himself, or by any other person on his behalf, give or procure, or agree to give or procure, or offer, promise, or promise to procure or to endeavour to procure, any office, place, or employment to or for any voter, or to or for any person on behalf of any voter, or to or for any other person in order to induce such voter to vote or refrain from voting, or shall corruptly do any such act as aforesaid on account of any voter having voted or refrained from voting at any election : (3.) Every person who shall, directly or indirectly, by himself, or by any other person on his behalf, make any such gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement, or agreement as aforesaid to or for any person, in order to induce such person to procure or endeavour to procure the return of any person to serve in Par- liament, or the vote of any voter at any election : (4.) Every person who shall, upon or in consequence of any such gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement, or agreement, procure or engage, promise, or endeavour to procure the return of any person to serve in Parlia- ment, or the vote of any voter at any election : (5.) Every person who shall advance or pay, or cause to be paid, any money to or to the use of any other person with the intent that such money or any part thereof shall be expended in bribery at any election, or who shall knowingly pay or cause to be paid any money to any person in discharge or repajTuent of any money wholly or in part expended in bribery 208 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Act. 1883. Bribery further defined. at any election. Provided always, tliat the afore- said enactment shall not extend or be construed to extend to any money paid or agreed to be paid for or on account of any legal expenses bona fide in- curred at or concerning any election. s. 3. The following persons shall also be deemed guilty of bribery, and shall be punishable accordingly : — (1.) Every voter who shall, before or during any election, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his l)ehalf , receive, agree, or contract for any money, gift, loan, or valuable con- sideration, office, place, or employment, for himseK or for any other person, for voting or agreeing to vote, or for refraining or agreeing to refrain from voting at any election : (2.) Every person who shall, after any election, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behaK, receive any money or valuable consideration on account of any person having voted or refrained from voting, or having induced any other person to vote or refrain from voting at any election. Corrupt payment of rates to be punish- able as bribery. The Representation of the People Act, 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102, s. 49 (6). Any person, either directly or indirectly, corruptly paying any rate on behalf of any ratepayer for the purpose of enabhng him to be registered as a voter, thereby to influence his vote at any future election, and {b) See Beverley case, 1 O'M. & H. 145 ; Oldham case, 1 O'M. & H. 164; Taunton case, 1 O'M. & H. 183; Hastings case, 1 O'M. & II. 219; (Jheltenham case, 1 O'M. & H. 63 ; Wujun rase, 1SG9, 1 O'M. & H. 190; Uogers ou Elections, nth ed., vol. 2, pp. 271, 272 and 285. Schedules. 209 any candidate or other person, either directly or indirectly, paying any rate on behalf of any voter for the purpose of inducing him to vote or refrain from voting, shall be guilty of bribery, and be punishable accordingly; and any person on whose behalf and with whose privity any such payment as in this section is mentioned is J^ade, shall also be guilty of bribery, and punishable accordingly. The Representation of the People (Scotland) Act, 1868, 31 & 32 Vict. c. 48, B. 49. Any person, either directly or indirectly, corruptly Corrupt paying any rate on behalf of any ratepayer for the pur- ^f j^g° ^g pose of enabling him to be registered as a voter, thereby be punish- to influence his vote at any future election, and any f .f ^^ candidate or other person, either directly or indirectly, paying any rate on behalf of any voter for the purpose of inducing him to vote or refrain from voting, shall be guilty of bribery, and be punishable accordingly ; and any person on whose behalf and with whose privity any such payment as in this section mentioned is made shall also be guilty of bribery, and pxmishable accordingly. The Universities Elections Amendment (Scotland) Act, 1881, 44 & 45 Vict. c. 40, s. 2. 17. Any person, either directly or indirectly, corruptly Corrupt paying any fee for the purpose of enabling any person P^>™?" to be registered as a member of the general council, and tration fee thereby to influence his vote at any future election, and !-° "^ P^°' ,., , ., T ^ • T istable as any candidate or other person, either directly or mdi- bribery. rectly, paying such fee on behalf of any person for the LP. 14 210 Cork, and III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1883. Persona- tion de- fined. purpose of inducing him to vote or to refrain from voting, sliall be guilty of bribery, and shall be punishable accordingly ; and any person on whose behalf and with whose privity any such payment as in this section men- tioned is made, shall also be guilty of bribery, and punishable accordingly. The BaUot Act, 1872, 35 & 36 Vict. c. 33, s. 24 (c). A person shall for all purposes of the laws relating to parhamentary and municipal elections be deemed to be guilty of the offence of personation who, at an election for a county or borough, or at a municipal election, applies for a ballot paper in the name of some other person, whether that name be that of a person living or dead, or of a fictitious person, or who, having voted once at any such election, applies at the same election for a ballot paper in his own name. FOURTH SCHEDULE. Short Titles. Session and Chapter. Long Title. Short Title. 15 & 16 Vict. c. 57. 26 & 27 Vict. c. 29. An Act to provide for more effectual inquiry into the existence of corrupt practices at the election of members to serve in Parliament. An Act to amend and continne the law relating to corrupt practices at elections of members of Parliament. Election Commissioners Act, 1852. The Corrupt Practices Pre- vention Act, 1863. (c) See Stepney case, 1886, 4 O'M & H. 43; Rogers on Elections, 16th ed., vol. 2, pp. 146 — 152 ; Parker's Powers, Duties and Liabilities of an Election Agent, 2nd ed., pji. 434 — 436. Schedules. 211 FIFTH SCHEDULE. Enactments Repealed. Note. — Portions of Acts which have already been specifically repealed are in some instances included in the repeal in this Schedule in order to prerlude henceforth the necessity of looking back to previous Acts. A description or citation of a portion of an Act is inclusive of the words, section, or other part first or last mentioned, or otherwise referred to as forming the beginning or as forming the end of the portion comprised in the description or citation. Session and Chapter. Title or Short Title. Extent of Repeal. 60 Geo. 3 & 1 Geo. 4, c. 11. 1 & 2 Geo. 4, c. 58. 4 Geo. 4, c. 55. An Act for the better regula- tion of polls, and for making further provision touching the election of members to serve in Parliament for Ire- land. An Act to regulate the ex- penses of election of mem- bers to serve in Parliament for Ireland. An Act to consolidate and amend the several Acts now in force so far as the same relate to the election and return of members to serve in Parliament for the coun- ties of cities and counties of towns in Ireland. Sect. 36. Tiie whole Act except sect. 3 Sect. 82. 14—2 212 Cork, and III. Pract. Prey. Act, 1883. 17 & 18 Vict, c. 102. 21 & 22 Vict, c. 87. 26 & 27 Vict. c. 29. 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102. 31 & 32 Vict. c. 48. 31 & 32 Vict. c. 49. 31 & 32 Vict. 0. 58. 31 & 32 Vict. c. 125. The Corrupt Practices Preven- tion Act, 1854. An Act to continue and amend the Corrupt Practices Pre- vention Act, 1854. An Act to amend and continue the law relating to corrupt practices at elections of members of Parliament. The Piepresentation People Act, 1867. of the The Representation of the People (Scotland) Act, 1868. The Representation of the People (Ireland) Act, 1868. The Parliamentary Electors Registration Act, 1868. The Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868. Sect. 1. Sect. 2 from "and any pprson so offending " to "with full costs of suit." Sect. 3 from " and any per- son so offending" to the end of the section. Sects. 4, 5, 6. Sect. 7 from " and all payments" to the end of the section. Sects. 9, 14, 23, 36. Sect. 38 from "and the words personal ex- penses" to the end of the section ; and sect. 39 and Schedule A. The whole Act. The whole Act except sect. 6. Sect. 34 from "and in other boroughs the justices" to " greater part thereof is situate ; " and sect. 36. Sect. 25. Sect. 12. Sect. 18 from "the power of dividing their county" to the end of the section. So much of sect. 3 as relates to the definitions of "cau- dida':e." Sects. 16, 33, 36. Sect. 41 from ' ' but accord- ing to the same principles" to " the High Court of Chancery." Sects. 43, 45, 46,47. Sect. 58 from " the principles" down to "in the court of session," being sub-8. 16. Schedules. 213 Session and Chapter. Title or Short Title. Extent of Eepeal. 36 & 86 Yict. The Ballot Act, 1872 Sect. 5 from the beginning c. 33. down to "one hundred re- gistered electors." Sect. 24 from "The offence of per- sonation or of aiding" to "hard labour," and from "The offence of personation shall be deemed to be " to the end of the section. 42 & 43 Vict. The Parliamentary Elections Sect. 3, and Schedule. c. 75. and Corrupt Practices 1879. Act, 43 Vict. c. 18. The Parliamentary Elections The whole Act except sects. and Corrupt Practices Act, 1, 3. 1880. ( 214 ) THE CORRUPT AND ILLEGAL PRACTICES PREVENTION ACT, 1895. [58 & 59 Vict. o. 40.] An Act to Amend the Corrupt and Illegal Prac- tices Prevention Act, 1883. [6th July, 1895.] Be it enacted by the Queen's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows : — Certain 1. Any person who, or the directors of any body sfaTementa °^ association corporate which, before or during concern- any parliamentary election, shall, for the purpose candidate 0^ affecting the return of any candidate at such to be an election, make or publish any false statement of practice, fact (d) in relation to the personal character or (d) " False statement of fad.'' Any false statement of fact whetlaer charging dislionesty or merely bringing a man into contempt if it affects or is calculated to affect the election comes within this Act. Pollock, B., said that a charge of shooting a fox or taking a ^lass of sherry might under certain circumstances come within this Act. Words such as " paying wretched wages " or " having cleverly shelved " or "being forced to do" a particular thing must be carefully considered under all the surrounfi inrr circumstances, fiurtder- land case (5 O'M. & H. GU). The petition in this case failed; 58 & 59 Vict. c. 40. 215 conduct (e) of such candidate shall be guilty of an 46 k 47 "Vict c. 51 illegal practice within the meaning of the provisions of the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention but it is not easy to understand tlie reasoning of the Court. The alleged false statements are set out in the report q.v. A more satisfactory judgment seems to be that of the Court of Appeal in the Chesterfield rase (11 Times L. R. 537) where the meaning of the allegation appeared to be that the candi- date "hypocritically feeling in his conscience that he was doing wi'ong for the purpose of making large profits for himself locked out his workmen for a certain length of time, and that then some time afterwards he found that his con- science reproved him and resolved he would starve them no longer." There the Court granted an injrmction. The effect of all statements of this nature would appear to be somewhat arguable after these two cases. Buckley, J., as Vacation Judge in Ellis v. National Union, held that " Radical traitors " was not within the statute because it was a statement of opinion and not of fact. (Law Times for 6th Oct., 1900.) The analogies from the law of libel are not necessarily in point. In some senses the words in this section are not so wide, in other senses they are wider than in the common law of libel. St. George's Division lierriminatory case (5 O'M & H. 10-1.) (Note that the charge there only failed because it was not proved that the offence was committed after the day when the Act came into force.) The exact woi'ds need not be set out in the particulars, as they would have to be in libel. (lb. p. 108.) The fact (which is relevant in actions of libel to reduce damage) that the statement complained of was provoked by another similar statement is irrelevant under this Act. Monmouth Boroughs case (5 O'M. & H. 174). It was suggested in Ellis v. National Union {nhi 5»pra)that the law of innuendo does not apply to a case under this Act : but it is clear from Silver v. Benn (12 Times L. E. 200) where Kay, L. J., speaks of ' ' what the passage meant to convey," and on general principles, that the law of innuendo does apply. (e) " Personal character or conduct." This does not appear to include political conduct. See Cochermouth. case (5 O'M. & H. 164). In an unreported case the Author applied to Day, J., for a rule to show cause why an injunction should not be granted against the repetition of a statement that a candidate had in the last Parliament backed a bill having a certain effect when he had not backed a bill having that effect. Day, J., granted the rule, but intimated that in his 216 CoRR. AND III. Pract. Prev. Act, 1895. Evidence on hearing of charge under the Act Injunction against person making false statement. Act, 1883, and shall be subject to all the penalties for and consequences of committmg an illegal practice in the said Act mentioned, and the said Act shall be taken to be amended as if the illegal practice defined by this Act had been contained therein. 2. No person shall be deemed to be guilty of such illegal practice if he can show that he had reasonable grounds for believing, and did believe, the statement made by him to be true (/). Any person charged with an offence under this Act, and the husband or wife of such person, as the case may be, shall be competent to give evidence in answer to such charge. 3. Any person who shall make or publish any false statement of fact as aforesaid may be restrained by interim or perpetual injunction by the High Court of Justice from any repetition of such false statement or any false statement of a similar character in relation to such candidate, and for the purpose of granting an interim injunction prima facie proof of the falsity of the statement shall be sufficient. opinion it was not a case within tlie Act. The matter was then dropped. But in these cases the matter might be said to be one of opinion : if a false statement of fact as to a political matter, e.g. that A. B. had accepted a position as a member of a particular government, the case might be worth raising again. The petitioner in a doubtful case should also consider whether there is any possibility of proving a " fraudu- lent contrivance" under 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, s. 2, p. 88. (/) In each case it must depend upon the character and nature of the information given. Sunderland case (5 O'M. & H. 65.) Illustrations of what would or would not satisfy the words are there given. 58 & 69 Vict. o. 40. 217 4. A candidate shall not be liable, nor shall be Candidate subject to any incapacity, nor shall his election be rated in avoided, for any illegal practice under this Act certain committed by his agent (^) other than his election illegal agent, unless it can be shown (h) that the candi- ^y^agg^ts date or his election agent has authorised or consented to the committing of such illegal practice by such other agent, or has paid for the circulation {g) ' ' Agent," see ' ' Chapter on the Parliamentary Law as to Agency, at pp. 69 — 82. As in the principal Act, the election will not be annulled under this statute for anything done by a person who is not his " agent " at all. But, as in the cases of treating (see p. 86), and of intimidation (see p. 88), there may be such general corruption as will vitiate an election at common law, so it may be suggested that there might be such a general circulation of a slander as would also deprive the candidate of his seat. For what is the rationale of the common law in the above-mentioned cases ? This question is answered by Martin, B., in The Bradford case (1 O'M. & H. 39.) " By the common law," he said, " such an election would be void, because it would be carried on contrary to the principle of the common law." Winning an election by a malicious slander, at any rate, might conceivably be held to involve "carrying it on contrary to the principle of the law." But the difficulty of applying this rule to the case of lies and incorrect statements generally is obvious ; for in many cases it would then be necessary for the Coiu-t to enter upon quasi- historical enquiries, which is manifestly quite impossible. (h) Thus where S. had written and published a statement that the petitioner ' ' had a very dark passage in the course of his own life," which was false, where it was not suggested that the election agent had taken any part in the printing or circulation of the statement in question, and the respon- dent satisfied the Court that the article was written and published without his knowledge and that he knew nothing about it until he saw it in print, that as soon as it came to his knowledge he swore and circulated a statutory declara- tion to that efiect, the Coiirt dismissed this part of the petition with costs — finding that the election of the respon- dent was not procured or materially assisted in consequence of the making or publishing of the false statement. St. George's Division case [5 O'M. & H. 101 — 103). 218 Core, and III. Pract. Prbv. Act, 1895. of the false statement constituting the illegal practice, or unless upon the hearing of an election petition the election court shall find and report that the election of such candidate was procured or materially assisted (i) in consequence of the making or publishing of such false statements. Short title. 5. This Act may be cited as the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act, 1895, and shall be construed as one with the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act, 1883, and that Act and this Act may be cited together as the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Acts, 1883 and 1895. (?) " Procured or materially assisted.'' It is not unlikely that these words may give some difficulty. For what is "materially assisting" a candidate's election? In one sense, every vote ' ' materially assists " the candidate for whom it was given. It is the chief mission of every canvasser to urge and insist that it does so. In another sense, when the election is over, it may be said that no vote given or withheld is of "material assistance" to either side, which would not have tui-ned the scale. If the phrase be so inter- preted, it is synonymous with and adds nothing to the word "procures." We imagine that the promoters of the measure intended to meet cases where it is reasonable to suppose that the conduct complained of may have affected the result, having regard to the absolute maj ority obtained : this criterion has frequently been applied to cases of such general corruption as will vitiate an election at common law. iSee the cases collected in the notes on pp. 86 — 88. INDEX. ABDUCTION OF ELECTOR, when undue influence, 88 ABSENCE FROM UNITED KINGDOM, rule as to candi- date's declaration in case of, 128, 129 ACCEPTANCE OF MEAT, DRINK, ETC., when constitutes the offence of corrupt treating, 87 ACCIDENTAL MISCALCULATION, iUegal practice, etc., when excused on the ground of, 112 ACTION FOR DISPUTED CLAIM, 123 ADDRESSES, expenses of, 192 AFFIDAVIT, on withdrawal of petition, 147 ADVERTISING, expenses of, 192 ADVERTISING AGENT, regular, may be paid for exhibiting bill, 94 AGENTS, principles, practice and rules of the Old Parliamentary Committees still applies as to, 69 analysis of this Parliamentary law as to, 69, 82 principle with regard to, 69 degrees of agency of, 79 duration of agency of, 72 subordinate, 72 particular things fi-om which agency of inferred, 72 persons who are not, 78 poUtical associations as, 79 rules of evidence as to, 82 election agent and sub-agents mider Act of 1883. See " Election Agent " and " Sub-agent " law as to offence by, under Act of 1895, 216 220 Index. AMENDMENT, of petition, 36, 94 of particulars, 37 ANIMALS, hiring of, to convey voters to poll, 93, 101 APPEAL, from election commissioners to assizes, 136 Lord Chancellor may direct Judges in Rota to hear, 137 from summary conviction to general or quarter sessions, 167 AEBITRATIONS, premises ordinarily let for, when may be used as committee rooms, 109 ASSISTING AN ELECTION MATERIALLY, what is, 218 ASSOCIATION, person includes, 178 as agent, 121 advice of Cave, J., as to suspension of, 80 payment of secretary of, not included in election expenses 121 ATTORNEY GENERAL, submission of the report to, 172 defined, 177 for Ireland, 188 AUTHORISED EXCUSE, for non-compliance with Act as to return and declaration of election expenses, 130 — 134 AUTHORISING false statement on the part of a candidate or election agent, 217 AYLESBURY, special provision as to Borough of, 191, 195 BAITING, of horses, 93 BALLOT ACT, 1872, incorporated section of the, 210 BANDS OF MUSIC, when payment for, is illegal payment, 103 BANNERS, when paj'ment for is illegal payment, 103 relief in case of, 103 damage caused by rope of, 103 BARRISTER, guilty of corrupt practices, 139 Index. 221 BELIEF ON REASONABLE GROUNDS, that false state- ment is true, 216 BILL, expenses of printing, etc., 94 printer's and publisher's name must be on, 106 BLUNDER, in a return does not make it no return, 129 BONA FIDES, in the case of an application for relief, how shown, 118 BOROUGH, number of clerks and messengers who may be paid in the case of a, 190 number of committee rooms which may be paid for in, 193 scale of maximum expenditure in a, 194 when costs ordered to be paid by the, 155, 156 BORROWING, of carriage, horse, etc., 101 BRIBERY, 89, 206—210 CABS, 101 CANDIDATE AT AN ELECTION, defined, 174, 175 expenses of, relating to an election, 119, 120, 175 when a man commences to be a, 119, 120, 175 expenses incurred before becoming a, 175 before dissolution, 175 punishment of, when found guilty personally of corrupt practices, 90 when foimd guilty of corrupt practices by agents, 90 when found guilty of illegal practices, 99 CANVASSING, defined, 74 as proof of agency, 73 CARRIAGES, 93, 101, 102 CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT, 163, 164 CERTIFICATE OF INDEMNITY, 170, 171 does not prevent incapacity, 171 CERTIORARI, 163 CHILDREN OF VOTER, effect of payment of, as messengers, 191 222 Index. CIRCULATION OF FALSE STATEMENT, candidate pay- ing for, is responsible for, 217 CLAIM, in respect of a matter to be included in election expenses when must be sent in, 121 taxation of, 124 may be left at election agent's office, 118 limitation of time for, 122 what happens in the case of a disputed, 123 CLERKS, maximum number of, who may be paid in the case of a borough, 190 in the case of a county, 190, 191 may be used in any district, 191 appointment of, to be made by election agent, 118 names and addresses of, necessary in election agent's return, 201 election agent employing his own, 190 CLUB, permanent political, use of as committee room, 108 COCKADES, when payment for, is illegal payment, 103 COMMITTEE, being on the as evidence of agency, 74 COMMITTEE ROOM, defined, 178 contracts for in excess of permitted number, effect of, 93 what premises may not be used for, 108 use of schoolmaster's house for, 108 persons liable for illegal use of, 108, 109 how many may lawfiilly be paid for, 193 COMMON LAW, how election may be avoided at, 86, 87, 88, 217 parliamentary, as to agency, 69, 82 COMPENSATION to voter for loss of hat, 199 CONSENT of candidate or election agent to false statement, 217 CONTINUATION OF TRIAL of an election petition, 150 CONTRACTS, making of through election agent, 118 CONVEYANCE OF VOTERS TO THE POLL, 93, 101, 162 contracts for, 101 where necessary to cross an arm of the sea, 162 Index. 223 CORRUPT INDUCEMENT TO WITHDRAW CANDIDA- TURE is illegal payment, 102 CORRUPT MOTIVE, essential to constitute offence of treating, 84 a case of drunkenness discussed with regard to, 52 — 54 CORRUPT PRACTICES, defined, 89 punishment of candidate found personally guilty of, 90 punishment of candidate found guilty by agents of, 90 pimishment of any person guilty of, 91 incapacities of any person guilty of, 92 report to Speaker as to, 98 not a sufficient description of off'ence in indictment, 91 proof of, before agency is established, 82 CORRUPT PRACTICES LIST, 143 CORRUPT PRACTICES PREVENTION ACTS, Act of 1854, incorporated sections of, 206 — 208 Act of 1883, text with notes, 83—213 Act of 1895, text with notes, 214—218 table of the Acts called, in schedule, 205 COSTS, defined, 180 rules of Supreme Court applied to, 157, 158, 159 sohcitor and client, 158, 159 higher scale, 158, 159 of relief, 157 apportioned when judges differ, 157 how recovered, 170 when petition oppressive, 157 of the Public Prosecutor, 154, 155 when petition withdrawn, 154 when petitioner impecunious, 157 COUNSEL, cannot be heard on behalf of person showing cause why he should not be reported, 136 COUNTY, number of clerks and messengers who may be paid in the case of a, 190, 191 number of committee rooms which may be paid for in a, 193 scale of maximima expenditure in a, 195 when costs ordered to be paid by the, 155, 156 224 Index. COURT, " Election" defined, 176, 177 " High " defined, 177 "of Summary Jurisdiction " defined, 177 CREDITOR, ignorant, protected, 107, 108 CRICKLADE, special provision as to Borough of, 191, 195 CRIMINAL CAUSE OR MATTER, every proceeding under the Act of 1883 is not a, 91, 97 DECLARATION, must accompany return of election agent, 128 inspection of, 134 forms of, for candidate, 197, 203 form of, for election agent, 198 DEPOSIT, where costs ordered to be paid out of, 157 DEPUTY ELECTION AGENT, nomination of as sub-agent, 116. See " Sub-Agent " DIFFERENCE OF OPINION between judges, effect of as to costs, 157 DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTOR. See "Public Prosecutor" DISCRETION, of Court to give relief, 110, 111, 112 of Public Prosecutor. 150, 151 DISPUTED CLAIM, 123 leave for payment of, 124 taxation of, 124 DISQUALIFICATION OF VOTER, 96, 135 procuring vote in case of, 96 DISTRIBUTION OF DOCUMENTS, payment for, 106, 192 DIVISIONS, voting for two, in a borough, 135 DRINK, when the giving of, is corrupt treating, 84 DRUNKENNESS in relation to the corrupt motive of an agent, 52 — 54 DURATION OF AGENCY, 79 DURESS, when undue influence, 88 I Index. 225 DUTY, not payable by reason of cairiagc used without pa^'- ment to take voters to poll, 102 EAST RETFORD, special provision as to the Borough of, 191, 195 ELECTION, defined, 176 ELECTION AGENT, nomination of, 115 candidate may name himself as his own, 115 object of Act as to, 115 observations as to how he ought to conduct a contested election, 39 — 45 office of the, 117 when to be appointed, 115 duties of, 115 name and address of, to be sent to Retm-ning Officer, 116 one only to be appomted, 116, 190 revocation of the appointment of, 116 making of contracts through, 119, 120 employing his own clerks, 190 insufficient return of election expenses by, 129 may be an elector, but must not vote, 191 ELECTION COMMISSIONERS, defined, 177 not to inquire into ofiences before Act, 162 ELECTION COMMISSIONERS ACT, 1852, extended to illegal practices, 99, 100 ELECTION COURT, defined, 176 ELECTION EXPENSES, commencement of expenditure which must be included in, 95 return of, 126—130 scale of maximum for, 194, 195 expenditure in excess of maximum, 94, 96 paj'ment by secretarj- of association not included in. 121 ELECTION PETITION, defined, 176 form of, 2 matters to be considered in dra^\•ing, 16 reason for preferring a fuU form of, 16 presenting of, 17 should be on parchment, 17 time for presenting, 17, 144 i.p. 15 226 Index. ELECTION VETITIO^— continued. illegal practices couiuiitted after the presentment of, cannot be included in the particulars, 17 notice of presentation of, to be served on the respondent, 18 particulars of, 18 — 35 withdrawal of, 146—149 ELECTOR, defined, 178 paid election agent may be, but must not vote, 191 paid sub-agent may be, but must not vote, 191 paid polling agent may be, but must not vote, 191 paid clerk may be, but must not vote, 191 paid messenger may be, but must not vote, 191 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, public, premises of, when not to be used as a co mmittee room, 108 EMPLOYMENT, illegal, 105, 106 result of illegal, 109 for purposes other than those named in schedule, 105 for payment, who may lawfully have, 190 ENTERTAINMENTS, when are corrupt treatmg, 85, 86, 87 EVIDENCE, of what passed before dissohition, 175 rules of with regard to agency, 82 of husband and wife, 166, 216 EXCUSE AND EXCEPTION, from corrupt practices, 110, 111 from illegal practices, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116 authorised, for non-compliance witli the provisions of the Act as to the return and declaration as to election expenses, 130 EXHIBITION OF BILLS, payment for, 93, 94 EXPENSES, incurred before candidature, 174, 175 registration, 96 of a newspaper, 97 period for claims and payments, 122 IXDKX. -i-i? FACT, false statement as to, wheu a corruijt practice, 214, 215 FALSE STATEMENT, when a corrupt practice, 214, 215, 216 as to the withdrawal of a candidate, 97 FINES, 92, 97, 109 FOECE, when the use of, is undue influence, 87 FORFEIT, for sitting in the House of Commons before return and declaration, 129 FORMS, of an election petition, 2 of declarations and retm-ns of election expenses, 197 —204 FLAGS, when payment for, is illegal payment, 103 FRAUDULENT DE^T:CE, 88 GENERAL CORRUPTION, when avoids election, 86 GENERAL INTIMIDATION, when avoids election, 88 GENERAL PERSONATION, does not avoid election at common law, 89 GENERAL SESSIONS, 167 GENERAL TREATING, 86 GOOD FAITH, 113, 132 GROUNDS, what ai"e reasonable for beUeviug a false state- ment to be true, 216 HACKNEY CARRIAGES, 101 HANDBILLS, 192 HAT, cards for, avoidance of election by illegal pa\-ment for, 103, 104 compensation to voter for loss of, 179 HEARING, opportunity given before person is reported, 136 but not by counsel or solicitor, 130 HIGH COURT, defined, 177 15 2 228 Index. HIRING, of ctirriages, horses, etc., to convey voters to poll, 93, 101 illegal, 108, 109 HONORARIUM, subsequently paid for services of sub-agent who had voted held an illegal practice, 191 HORSES, hiring of, to convey voters to poll, 93, 101 HOUSE OF COMMONS, forfeit for sitting in, when there is a failure as to return and declaration, 129 HUSBAND, evidence of, 116, 216 IGNORANCE, creditor protected in case of, 107, 108 of law, when "inadvertence," 112 ILLEGAL EMPLOYMENT, 105, 106 result of, 109 ILLEGAL HIRING, 108, 109 of persons to keep order, 120 of school-house as conunittee-rooui, 108 of schoohuaster's house as comuiittee-room, 108 of vehicles, 101 result of, 109 ILLEGAL PAYMENT, 100, 101, 102. 103, 104, 105 by any person, 109 by a candidate, 109 result of, 109 ILLEGAL PRACTICE, what is, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97 report to Speaker as to, 97, 98, 99 extension of Election Connnissioners Act, 1852, to, 99, 100 relief in case of, 110 — 115 cti'ect of relief as to, 115 refreshment to workers, 105 INADVERTENCE, when a ground for rcHef, 112, 131 INCAPACITIES, of candidate found personally guilty on election petition of corrupt practices, 90 of candidate found on election petition guilty by agents of corrupt practices, 91, 92 Index. 229 INCAPACITIES continued— of persons convicted of illegal practice, 97 of candidate found guilty of illegal practice by report of election coui-t, 99 certificate of indemnity shall not prevent, 171 removal of, on proof that conviction or report was based on perjury, 160 INCRIMINATING QUESTIONS, 170 INDICTMENT, defined, 180 INJUNCTION, when may be granted against repetition of false statement, 216 INNUENDO, whether the law of, applies to corrupt " false statements," 215 INQUIRY BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, 159 INSPECTION OF ELECTION AGENT'S RETURN, by any person on payment of a shilling, 134 INTERIM INJUNCTION, when may be granted against re- petition of false statement, 216 INTERLOCUTORY PROCEEDINGS, 36 INTIMIDATION, when undue influence, 87, 88 spiritual, 87 avoidance of election at common law by general, 88 IRELAND, application of Act to, 186—189 JOINT CANDIDATES, scale of maximum expenditure, etc.. apj^lied to the case of, 195, 196 coalition of, still lawful, 196 agency in case of, 78 JOINT COST, hiring of carriages, etc. , by electors at their, for convevance to poll, 102 JUDGES, effect of difference of opmion of, 157 duty of, to hear petition out, 146, 147 power of, to call witnesses themselves, 151 JUDICIAL OFFICE, defined, ] 79 230 Index. JURISDICTION OF JUDGE NOT ON THE ROTA, 168 JURY, right to a, on trial for corrupt and illegal practices, 153 JUSTICE OF THE PEACE, report of, to Lord Chancellor when giiUty of corrupt practice, 138 KNOWLEDGE, cases in which is essential to an offence, 94, 96, 100, 105, 106, 123 LAWFUL DAY, 150 LEAVE, for paj'ment of disputed claim, 124 LENDING OF CARRIAGES, etc., when illegal, 101 LETTING OF CARRIAGES, etc., when illegal, 101 LICENSED PERSONS, when bribing or treating on their premises is proved, result to, 139 — 141 LICENSED PREMISES, when must not be hired as com- mittee rooms, 108, 109 LICENSING ACTS, defined, 180 LIMITATION, of time for prosecution of offence under these Acts, 164 for suing candidate or election agent, 122 LIMITED CHARACTER, of offences, when one of the con- ditions of relief. 111 LIST, the Corrupt Practices, 143 MAINTENANCE, 67, 68 MAGISTRATE. See " Justice of the Peace." MARKS OF DISTINCTION, when payment for illegal, 103, 104 hat cards, 103, 104 banners, 103 payment for damage to rope of banner, relief in case of, 113 MATERIALLY ASSISTING election, what is, 318 MAXIMUM, expenditure in excess of, effect of, 94, 95, 96 scale of, 194, 195 for miscellaneous matters, 194 Index. 231 MEAT, giving of, when treating, 84 MEETINGS, public, expenses of, lawful, 193 MESSAGES, expenses of, lawful, 193 MESSENGEES, appointment of, by election agent, 118 number of paid, lawful in borough, 190 in county, 190, 191 may be employed in any district, 191 names, addresses, and businesses of, necessary in election agent's return, 201 MISCALCULATION, accidental, 112 MISDEMEANOUR, 91 MISTAKE in name on register, 135 MUCH "WENLOCK, special provision for the borough of, 191, 195 MUSIC, bands of, when payment for illegal, 103 NEWSPAPER, started by candidate, 96 NOMINATION, election agent must be appointed on or before day of, 115, 116 NOTICES, of name and address of election agent to be sent to return- ing officer, 116 of name and address of sub-agents to be sent to returning officer, 117 all may be sent to the election agent's office, 118 of hearing before being reported, 136 where relief sought, 113, 132 by returning officer, 173 expenses of, lawful, 192 OFFICE, of election agent, 117, 118 of sub-agent, 117, 118 ONUS, on candidate or election agent seeking relief to prove reasonable care. 111 232 Index. PARLIAMENTARY LAW AS TO AGENCY, 69—82 PARTICULARS, what usually ordered, 19 time for deliver^' of, 18 rule as to vexatious, 19 precedent of actual, from Montgomery Boroughs case of 1892, 20 PAYMENT, defined, 180 illegal, what is, 100—105 of expenses through election agent, 119 for conveyance of voters to poll, 93, 101 for exhibition of bill, 93 on account of connuittee-rooms, 93 in excess of maximum, 100, 101 persons who may be legally employed for, 190 by candidate or election agent for circulation of false state- ment, 217 PENALTIES, 129 ; and see Fines. PERIOD, for claims and payments, 122 PERJURY, removal of incapacity on proving that it was obtained by, 160 PERPETUAL INJUNCTION, when may be granted against repetition of false statement, 216 PERSON, includes association, etc., 178 PERSONAL EXPENSES, 127 defined, 179 may be otherwise than through election agent up to lOOZ., 121, 124, 125 may be unlimited, 125 are lawful, 192 candidate nmst send a list of, to the election agent, 125 PERSONATION, 89, 210 proof of agency essential in cases of, 89 general, cannot avoid election at common law, 89 voting in two divisions of a borough is not necessarily, 135 punishment for, 92 Index. 233 PETITION, form of, 2 matters to be considered in dra-nang, 16 reason for preferring full form of, 16 presenting of, 17 should be on parchment, 17 time for presenting illegal practices committed after presentation of, cannot be included in the particulars, 17 notice of presentation of to be served on the respondent, 88 particulars of, 18 — 35 amendment of, refused, 36, 94 withdrawal of, by leave, 146 — 149 costs of, where oppressive from multiplicity, 157 proceedings on, 144 PETTY EXPENSES, 121, 125 PLACARDS, printer's name must be on, 106, 107 POLITICAL CLUB, permanent, as committee room, 108 POLLING AGENT, defined, 178 if paid must not vote, 191 appointment of, to be made by election agent, 118 one in each polling station, 190 what may be done by, 190 POLLING DISTRICTS, 160—162 one sub-agent only may be paid in each of the, 190 POLLING PLACES OR STATIONS, 150—162 one pollmg agent only may be paid for each of the, 190 POSTAGE, 125, 193 POSTER, printer's and publisher's name must be on, 106 PREMISES, what may not be used as a committee room, 108 PRESIDING OFFICER, 123 PRIESTS, undue influence by, 54—59 PRINTER, name of. must be on bills, etc., 106, 107 PRINTING, expenses of, are lawful, 192 234 Index. " PROCURING," election, 218 PROFESSION, when person belonging to, is guilty of corrupt practice, 139 PROHIBITED PERSON, voting, 96 who is a, 96 common law disabilities not touched, 96 PROMISE TO TREAT, a charge requiring an answer, 86 PROSECUTIONS, 152 PROVISION, giving of, when corrupt treating, 84 PUBLIC CARRIAGE, 101 PUBLIC ELEMENTARY_SCHOOL, premises of, as committee room, 108 PUBLIC HOUSE. See "Licensed Premises" PUBLIC MEETINGS, premises ordinarily let for, when can be used as a com- mittee room, 108 expenses of holding are legal, 193 PUBLIC OFFICE, defined, 179 PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, duties of the, 150, 159 representation of, 154 when the, has right to call witnesses, 150 has no right to cross-examine to prove agencj', 150 has a right to copy of election agent's return, 134 notice of appeal to be given to, 137 affidavits to be sent to, on apphcation for withdrawal of petition, 148 when persons belonging to professions are found guilty of corrupt practices, 139 prosecution b}-, 152 costs of, 155 PUBLISHER'S NAME to be on bills, etc., 107 PUBLISHING, expenses of, are lawful, 192 PUNISHMENT, of candidate found personally guilty of corrupt practices, 90 of candidate found guilty of corrupt practices by agents, 90 on conviction for illegal practices, 97 Index. 235 PUNISHMENT continued— for illegal payment, employment, or hiring, 109 for false declaration of candidate or election agent, 129 QUARTER SESSIONS, appeal to, 167 RAILWAY FARES, 93 REASONABLE GROUNDS, for belief that false statement is true, 216 REFRESHMENTS, when constitute corrupt treating, 85, 86 premises where, are sold ordinarilj' for consumption on premises, must not be used as committee rooms, 108 REGISTER OF ELECTORS, defined, 178 mistake in name on, 135 list of incapacitated persons in, 141 — 144 to apply to enumeration for the purpose of maximum scale, etc., 195 REGISTRATION EXPENSES, payment of by candidate, effect of, 96 REGISTRATION OFFICER, defined, 177 duties of, 141—144 breach of duty b}-, 173 RELIEF, when granted, 110, 115, 130—134 efi'ect of, in cases of illegal practices, 115 on ground of inadvertence, 112, 131 what notice required, 113, 114, 132 REMUNERATION OF ELECTION AGENT, 125 REPEALS, 181, 211 REPETITION OF FALSE STATEMENT, injimction against, 216 REPORT TO SPEAKER, of corrupt practices, 90, 97 of illegal practices, 99 REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT, 1867 section incorporated from, 208 236 Index. REPEESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE (SCOTLAND) ACT, 1868 section incorporated from, 209 RESTRAINT, when undue influence, 87 RETFORD, EAST, special provision as to the borough of, 191, 195 RETURN OF ELECTION EXPENSES, 126—130 payment by secretary of association not included in, 121 inspection of , bj'any person on payment of one shilling, 134 public prosecutor entitled to copy of, 134 form of, 199—203 RETURNING OFFICER, charges of, 126, 192 expenses of, need not be paid through election agent, 121 breach of duty by, 172, 173 name and address of election agent to be sent to, 116 must give public notice thereof, 116 likewise as to sub-agents, 117 must publish summary of return of election expenses, 134 REVISING BARRISTER, duties of, 143 REVOCATION OF APPOINTMENT, of election agent, 116 of sub-agent, 117 RIBBONS, when payment for, is illegal payment, 103 RIOT, see "General Intimidation." ROTA, 168 SACRAMENTS, refusal of, when undue influence, 87 SCHOOL, public elementary as committee-room, 108 SCHOOL FEAST, whether provision for is corrupt treating, 84 SCHOOL HOUSE, use of, as committee room, 108 SCHOOLMASTER'S HOUSE, use of, as committee room, 108 SCOTLAND, application of the Act to, 181—186 SEA, conveyance of electors to poll when it is necessary to cross the, 162 Index. 237 SECRETARY OF ASSOCIATION, payiueut by, not included in return of election expenses, 121 SESSIONS, general or quarter, appeal to, 167 SHOREHAM, special provision as to the borough of, 191, 195 SMALL EXPENSES, explained, 121 SOCIAL POSITION, to be considered in corrupt treating, 84 SOLICITOR, when guilty of corrupt practices, 139 not heard on behalf of person showing cause why he should not be reported, 136 election agent being a, and employing his own clerks, 190 SPEAKER, report to the, 90, 97, 98, 99 SPIRITUAL UNDUE INFLUENCE, 54—59, 87 STATEMENT OF FACT, false, when a corrupt practice, 214 as to withdrawal of candidate, 97 STATIONERY, 125, 193 SUB-AGENTS, nomination of deputy election agents as, 116 number of paid, permitted, 116 defaults of, are equivalent to those of the election agent, 116, 117 office of, 117 revocation of appomtment of, 117 if paid umst not vote, 191 only one paid m each poUiug district, 190 honorarium paid after election to sub-agent who had voted, efi'ect of, 191 SUBORDINATE AGENT, law of agency as to, 72, 73 SUMMARY JURISDICTION ACTS, 103, 113 SUMMARY TRIAL, 167 SUMMARY OF RETURN OF ELECTION EXPENSES, to be published by the returning officer, 134 SUMMONSES, may be delivered at election agent's office, 118 •238 Ini.ex. SUNDAY, 140, 150 TAXATION OF DISPUTED CLAIM. 124 TELEGRAMS, 125, 193 THREATS, when undue influence, 87 TICKET ENTITLING HOLDER TO REFRESHMENTS, when corrupt treating, 85, 86 TIME FOR PRESENTATION OF PETITION, when corrupt practices alleged, 17 when illegal practices alleged, 17 TORCHES, when payment for, is illegal payment, 103 TREATING, what is corrupt, 83 — 87 corrupt motive essential to offence of, 84 general, when it avoids election at common law, 86 when entertainments are, 85, 86 promise to treat, 86 TRIVIAL CHARACTER, one of the conditions of relief that offences are of a, 111 TRIAL, continuation of, 150 UNDUE INFLUENCE, what is, 87 spiritual, 54—59, 87 UNIMPORTANT CHARACTER, one of the conditions of relief that offences are of a. 111 UNIVERSITIES ELECTION AMENDxMENT, SCOTLAND, ACT, 1881, section incorporated from, 209 UNPROVED CHARGES, costs when there are many, 157 USING CARRIAGE, HORSE, ETC.. for conveyance of voters to poll, 101 VEHICLES, 93, 101, 102 voter using cah without payment, 101 illegal hiring of, 101 Index. 239 VIOLENCE, when tlie use of, is undue inliuence, 87 VOLUNTEER, employment of, to keep order not illegal, 120, 121 VOTER, using cab without payment, 101 employment of, 191 employment of children of, 191 conveyance to poll of, 9B, 101, 102 VOUCHERS, when necessary', 122 WATCHING BRIEF, 151 WIFE. Evidence of, 166, 216 WITHDRAWAL OF CANDIDATE, false statement of, 97 corrupt inducing of, 102. WITHDRAWAL OF PETITION, 146—149 costs on, 154 WITNESS, obligation of, to answer, 170 when entitled to certificate of indcmnitj', 170, 171 incriminating questions put to, 163 ordered out of court, 91, 92 called by court, 151 husband or wife as, 166, 216 WORKERS, refreshments for, 10."> WRITS, may be served at election agent's office, 118 THE END. )NK», A CO. IJJ., PKIM KKS, l.dNl.o.v AM) TOSBKIDGE. I the Judges. By F. Stroud, of Lincoln's Inn, Barrister-at-Law. Three Vols. Second Edition. £4 4s. 1903 Sweet's Dictionary of English Law. By Charles Bweet, of Lincoln's Iim, Barrister-at-Law. Price £2. 1882 Easements. — Gale's Treatise on the Law of Easements. Seventh Edition. By G. Cave, of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law. Price 26s. 1899 Equity. — Kelke's Epitome of Leading Cases in Equity. Founded on White & Tudor. By "W. H. Hastings Kelke, Barrister-at-Law. 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