THIRD EDITION THE LAW EELATINfi TO COKEUPT AND ILLEGAL PRACTICES PARLIAMENTARY, MUNICIPAL AND OTHER ELECTIONS. MILES WALKER MATTINSON STUART CUNNINGHAM MACASEIIE. WATERLOWA SONS LIMITED. LONDON WALL.LONDON .»'■ -^r UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES SCHOOL OF LAW LIBRARY THE LAW RELATING TO COREUPT AND ILLEGAL PRACTICES AT PAKLIAMENTAEY, MUNICIPAL AND OTHER ELECTIONS, AND THE PRACTICE ON ELECTION PETITIONS, WITH AN APPENDIX OF STATUTES, RULES AND FORMS. BY MILES WALKER MATTINSON, OF GRAY'B inn, BARRISTER-AT-LAW ; JOINT AUTHOR OF PRECEDENTS OF PLEADINGS, STUART CUNNINGHAM MAOASKIE, OF gray's inn, BARRISTER-AT-LAW ; AUTHOR OF "LAW OF EXECUTORS AND ADMINISTRATORS," AND A "treatise ON BILLS OF SALE." THIRD EDITION. LONDON : WATEELOW AND SONS LIMITED, LONDON WALL, E.G. 1 892. LONDON : WATEELOW AND SONS LIMITED, LONDON WALL. I ^ PREFACE TO THE THIED EDITION. TN offering the Third Edition of this work to the Profession and the Public, the Authors have only to say that they have sought to bring the treatment of the subject down to date by such additions to, and amendments of, the text as late eases and late statutes render necessary. The recent establishment of County Councils in England and Wales, and the application of the Corrupt Practices Acts to the elections of all County Councillors has widened still further the area of interest taken in the matters discussed in this book. M. W. M. S. C. M. 1, Garden Court, Temple, E.C, Wh June, 1892. A HANDBOOK OF THE LAW RELATING TO THE MANAGEMENT OF PARLIAMENTARY, COUNTY COUNCIL AND MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS. A statement of the Law relating to the machinery of Electiona. Second Edition. By H. Stephen, Barrister-at-Law. In cloth, Is. PREEACE TO THE EIEST EDITION. THE sweeping changes in the Law for the Prevention of Corrupt Practices at Elections effected by the Act of 1883 have rendered obsolete existing works on the subject, at the same time that the increased stringency of punishment enacted has heightened the importance of a clear comprehension of the whole subject by all persons concerned in the conduct of elections. In these circumstances the Authors present to the Profession and the Public this work, in which they have sought to engraft what has been newly enacted by the Legislature upon such of the old learning as has been retained, and so to offer a complete view of the whole law relating to Corrupt Practices at Elections as it will prevail throughout the TTnited Kingdom on the 15th of October, 1883. The Act of 1883 is not a code of the Laws against Cor- ruption : it is only an Amending Act. To grasp the subject resort must' be had to four distinct sources, viz., the Common Law of Parliament, che unrepealed sections of the Acts for the Preven- tion of Corruption prior to the legislation of this year, the Act of 1883 itself, and the reported decisions of the Election Judges. There were two methods open to the Authors in treating of the Laws relating to Corrupt Practices at Elections. One was to vi PREFACE. follow a course, not uncommon, of nierelj editing the Act of 1883 and presenting it with notes appended to its sections explanatory of their meaning and indicative of the changes in the law. But the Authors felt that this would be but an inadequate and con- fusing treatment of a subject of great inherent complexity, and would have the necessary effect of making their work a sealed book to aU save lawyers. They accordingly discarded this method, and, instead, arranging and methodising the whole learning of the subject in what has seemed to them the most intelligible order, they have Inserted the provisions of the new Act in those parts of the Statement into which they seemed naturally to fall. The Authors hope it will be found that a discussion of no part of the law has been omitted by them, and that they have not failed to note in its appropriate place any decision of authority ; while they trust their anxiety to give all the references in contemporary reports to cases quoted will add to the practical usefulness of the book in the hands of the Profession. M. W. M. S. C. M. September, 1883. CONTENTS. PAGB Table I xi Showing the Offences which avoid a Parliamentary Election. Table II xii Showing the Offences which avoid the Election of Councillors. Table III xiii Showing the Punishments, Incapacities, and Penalties inflicted on Offenders at Parliamentary Elections. Table IV xiv Showing the Punishments, Incapacities and Penalties inflicted on Offenders at the Election of Councillors. Table of Cases xv PART I. THE FORFEITURE OF THE SEAT. Chapter I 3 Corrupt Practices. Section 1. — Bribery 4 Section II.— Treating 41 Section III. — Undue Influence 56 Section IV.— Personation, and Aiding and Abetting Personation ........ 64 Section V. — False Declaration 66 Chapter II ^'^ Illegal Practices which avoid a Parliamentary Election. Section I.— When committed by the Candidate or any Agent 67 Section II.— When committed hy the Candidate or the Election Agent 76 CONTENTS. Chapter Hi Illegal Practices which avoid a Municipal Election. Section I. — When committed by the Candidate or any Agent Section II. — When committed by the Candidate, or ^vith his knowledge and consent Chapter IV. . . . The Employment by the Candidate at a Parliamentary Electiou of a Corrupt Agent. Chapter V. General Corruption. 90 90 92 98 101 Chapter VI. 106 The General Prevalence of Illegal Practices at a Municipal Election. Chapter VII 109 The Candidate's Agents within the meaning of Chapters I., II. and III. Chapter VIII • . . . The Office and Duties of the Election Agent at a Parliamentary Election, and Parliamentary Election Expenses. Section I. — His Appointment ..... Section II. — The Nature and Amount of the Expenses at an Election ........ Section III. — The Payment of Election Expenses . Section IV. — The Return and Declaration of Election Expenses ......... Chapter IX. Election Expenses at Municipal Elections. Chapter X. Practice and Procedure. Section I. — On Apphcation for Relief . Section II. — On Election Petitions Section III. — On a Scrutiny Section IV. — Evidence on Election Petitions Section V. — The Awarding and Taxation of Costs 131 131 137 149 154 159 164 164 172 193 201 213 CONTENTS. PART II. THE PUNISHMENT OF OFFENDERS. PAGE Chapter 1 227 Their Detection and Prosecution. Chapter II 233 Their Punishment. Section I. — By Election Commissioners . . . 233 Section II.— By the Election Court .... 237 Section III. — By a Com-t of Summary Jurisdiction . . 246 Section IV. — By the Court of Assizes .... 250 Section V.— By the High Court in Suits for Penalties . 254 PART III. THE APPLJOATION OF THE ACT OF 1884 TO CERTAIN OTHER ELECTIONS IN ENGLAND AND WALES. Chapter I. 258 Elections of Mayor, Alderman, Elective Auditor, or Revising Assessor in any Borough. Chapter II. . . . 260 Elections of Members of Local Boards, Improvement Commissioners, Poor Law Guardians, Members of School Boards, and Members of County Councils. Chapter III 267 Municipal Elections in the City of Lond^^ii. THE FRANCHISE ACTS, 1884-5, being the Eepresentation of the People Act, 1884 ; Registration Act, 1885 ; Parliamentary Elections (Redistrihution) Act, 1885, and Medical Relief Disqualification Removal _Act, 1886, with introduction and Notes. By Miles Walker Mattinson, Barrister-at-law, Joint Author of " Mattinson and Macaskie on Corrupt Practices." In boards, 2s. 6d, N OQ H w H O 55 ►-4 02 O 1— 1 ^ H M o H Hi ^ H H tH P^ 02 <1 N fH W d ^ i^ « H Eh O S <1 1— 1 « W ^ < S a Ph w 2 ^ a O „ ^ Eh Ci3 CO H ft 1— 1 H Ph ^ Oh H H !C ^ ■< P5 H <(1 P4 H M o tf_. S2-2 ^ S"-! ^'■S '3 c'SS" a" BgSSS . «3; :j H b k ^ in u'-S a ■ •:sa*^'S,ai Paying e tion expe excep throng electio agent -III ill IS a& o g fct "5 r^ 2 =^ oo .a.2" O t.'g__j o s'a S'S ^S aS'S^-gS 6"- ■ o i J Ml . c a Tr&e^ — ga^-|Si>S-. 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Berwick 178, 180, 193 185, 196 . 191 65 . 27, 30, 52 . 245 . 222 47, 48, 71, 83, 88 . 182 .31,40 182, 193, 194, 197, 199, 200, 215 Beverley .... 13,208 Bewdley . 43, 48, 111, 115, 117, 119, 125, 182, 214 Blackburn 8, 10, 60, 109, 112, 120, 208 Bodmin . . . . 54, 112 Bolton . . .22, 68, 183, 215 Boston . . . .17, 35, 214 Bradford , 13, 47, 48, 101, 204, 209 Bradlaugh v. Clarke . . .158 Brecon . . . .13, 50, 180 Bridgwater . . . 128, 206 Bristol ... 15. 183, 188 Brett V. Robinson . . .15, 46 Buckrose . 70, 73, 77, 83, 84, 155, 166, 178, 215, 231 Dudley Durliam . 104 18, 112, 113 Cambridgeshire . Carrickfergus . Carter v. Mills . Cashel Clark, ex p. Clark V. Wallond Clark's Case Cheltenham Chester Chorlton v. Lings Cooper V. Slade . Coventry . . 142 . 20, 35 . 173 119, 211 . 165 178, 182 65 . 8, 25, 210, 204 184, 204, 212 87 . 21, 43 22, 39, 65, 183, 202, 213,215 Darlington, ea; 7?. Dover Down Drinkwater v. Deakin Drogheda . Dublin . 169 . 210 . 57, 63 . 199 102, 209, 215 22, 112 Earl of Beauchamp v. Overseers of the Parish of MadresHeld . 87 Evesham .... 183,202 Galway . 59,100,104,174,211 Gloucester . . .63, 65, 180, 194 Goodwin's Case .... 208 Gravesend . 25, 32, 124, 193, 213, 214 Greenock 202 Guildford . . . .8, 203, 215 Hackney . Harwich . 113, 114, Hartlepool. Hargreaves v. Scott . Hargreaves v. Simpson Hastings . . 14, Hempson, ex ]^. . Hereford . Hill V. Peel Hindle v. Waring Horsham . Hughes V. Meyrick . Huguenin v. Baseley. Hutchinson, ex p. . 2, 107, 215 117, 118, 122, 183, 207, 210 . 180 . 221 . 257 21, 23, 30, 208 . 165 118, 176, 181 220, 222 . 173 22 . 223 61 . 168 Ipswich . 18, 22, 73 Ives, ex p. James v. Henderson . Joyce V. O'Donnel Kennington . 140, Kidderminster . King's Lynn Kingston-upon-HuU . Kirkwood v. Webster Knaresborough . Launceston Lenanton . . 88, Lenham v. Barber Lichfield . Limerick . Line v. Warren Longford 83, 103, 240 . 169 194 . 196 186, 220, 224 8, 46, 174 205, 206, 210 177 220 202 27 32 164, 166, 168 . 182 57, 101, 205 103, 126 191, 192 46, 61, 102, 182, 215 TABLE OF CASES. Lord Rendlesham v. Haward . 87 Londonderry 116, 124, 205, 206, 211 Louth . . . . . 46, 49 Mackley v. Chillingwortli Malcolm r. Parry Malhun v. Bear Mallow Maidstone Maude v. Lowley Marshall v. James Mayo McLaren v. Home Moore v. Kennard Moore v. Scully Morton v. Mitchell Neild V. Batty North Durham North Norfolk Northallerton Norwich 11 Nottingham Oldham Oxford . 223 28, 197, 200 . 181 . 8, 185 52 . 178 . 173 . 215 189, 223 . 181 . 199 . 173 . 196 61, 103, 104, 179, 180, 206 58, 59, 60, 63, 98, 112, 127, 130,204,210 . 61, 62, 209 , 18, 45, 71, 73, 99, 103, 112, 120, 127, 129, 138, 139, 155, 182, 196, 199, 208, 214, 224 104, 215 25, 197, 200 18 Pascoe V. Puleston Pease v. Norwood Pembroke, ex p. Penrhyn . Perry, ex p. Petersfield Pickering v Starlin Plymouth Poole Pontefract. R. V. Barnewell . R. V. Fox . R. V. Holl . R. V. Mansel-Jones R. V. Price. R. V. Riley. R. V. Shellard . R. V. Stroulger . Renfrew . Robson, ex p. RothweU's Case 10 . 224 173, 176 . 170 28, 214 166 60, 213 . 177 21, 36, 39 61, 103, 214 52 61 65 228 185, 236, 240 . 228 246, 250 . 246 . 251 . 197 . 154 65 Salford . 10, 103, 129, 174, 183, 209 Salisbury (1) . 103,117,181,212 18, 37, 117, 20 10,117, 177 21 11, 101 9, 14, 129, 196, 210, 221 33, 38, 63, 128, 129 . 102 . 21, 63, 116, 184 10,63, 64,65,81,138, 185, 186, 197, 199, 200, 215, 231 Steyens, ex p 165 . Stevens V. Tillett . . . 16 Stowe V. JollifEe . . 194, 198 Stroud 12, 13, 16, 25, 118, 184, 193, 212 10, 17, 32, 46, 102, 127, 209, 221 Salisbury (2) . Sandwich . Shrewsbury Simpson v. Yeend Sligo Southampton Stafford St, Ives Staleybridge Stepney Tamworth . Taunton (1) . Taunton (2) Tewkesbury Thirsk Thomas v. Wyhe Thornbury Tillett V. Stracey Tipperary Trench v. Nolan. TurnbuU v. Janson Tyrone Unwin v. Macmullen 23, 117, 122 117, 207 118, 183 193,211 . 176 . 105 220, 221 . 205 . 199, 221 . 223 . 194 . 192 Wakefield Walker, ex 2^- Wallingford Waterford Wells V. Wren Wentworth v. Lloyd West Belfast Westbury Westminster . 124 168, 266 44, 46, 48, 214 28, 184 . 181 . 220 183, 186, 188, 203, 206 31,49,58, 60, 112; 116, 121, 214 8,20,47,116, 119, 121, 184, 206, 207, 209 Wigan 37, 49, 121, 183, 204, 211, 214 Wigtown .... 199, 215 Wilks, ex p 165 Wills' Case .... 65 Windsor . 12, 32, 33, 34, 51, 56, 59, 112, 116,205,207,215 Woodward v. Sarsons . 199, 215 Worcester . . . 205, 215 Yates V. Leach . . . 172, 199 Yorkshire, S.W. Riding . 183, 196 Youghal . 33, 48, 49, 129, 172, 209 THE LAW RELATING TO COERUPT AND ILLEGAL PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. WE purpose treating- of the law relating to corrupt and PAELiAMiixiAuv illegal practice'^ at Parliamentary and Municipal — elections, first, with reference to the effect of corrupt and illegal acts upon the tSeat,. and, ^rcondly, with reference to their consequences to Individuals. PAET L THE FORFEITURE OF THE SEAT. A Parli.\mentary Blectio.n in England, Scotland, OR Ireland, upon petition, is avoided and the seat forfeited by : I. Any corrupt act committed by the sitting member or any one of his agents, or by — II. Any of the illegal practices enacted by ss. 7 and 28 of the Act of 1883, committed by the sitting member or any one of his agents, or by — III. Any illegal practice enacted by the Act of 1883, committed by the sitting member, or hy his ciretion acient, or by — IV. The employment, by the candidate perso)iany, of an agent convicted of or reported for corrupt practices, or by — V. General corruption by whomsoever committed ; subject, in some of these eases to the possibility of relief under ss. 22, 23, or 34 of tlie Act of 1883. 1 2 THE LAW RELATING TO parliameittakt The Election ov a Councuj.or in a Municipai, Borough & ilUNICU'AI,. . . . •11 111 [> p • ^ — IN England, upon petition, is avoided, and the seat torteited by: I. Any corrupt act committed by the sitting member, or any one of his agents, or b}' — II. Any of the illegal practices enacted by ss. 4 and o of the Act of 1884, whether committed by the sitting member, or any one of his agents, or by — III. Any illegal practice enacted by the Act of 1884, committed by the sitting member personally, or by — IV. General corruption by whomsoever committed, or by — V. The general prevalence of illegal practices, payments, hirings, or employments by whomsoever committed ; subject in some of these cases, to the possibility of relief under ss, 19 and 20 of the Act of 1884. Parliamentary and Municipal elections, held under the provisions of the Ballot Act, are also liable to be set aside, on the ground that they have not been conducted in accord- ance with the principles laid down in that Act and that the result of the election has been affected thereby (s. 1\\ of the Ballot Act, 1870, and the Hackney Case, 2, O'M & H., 77). Any discussion, however, of the circumstances under which the return will be invalidated on this ground is foreign to the scope of this work, v/hich relates to corrupt and illegal practices at elections. But the matter is mentioned here that the reader may have before him, in a single view, all the possible grounds upon which an election may be upset. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. CHAPTER I. CORRUPT PRACTICES. Corrupt Practices are thus defined by the Act of 1883 : — ^a^muni^pI" " The expression * corrupt practice/ as used in this Act, Definition of means any of the following offences, namely : Treating and gorrupt •^ 1 • A / 1 1 -1 1 iractiof'3. undue influence, as defined by this Act, and bribery and personation as defined by the enactments set forth in Part 3 of the 3rd Schedule to this Act, and aiding find abetting counselling and procuring the commission of the offence of personation, and 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" (s. 3). A later section of the same Act makes it a corrupt prac- tice for a candidate at a Parliamentary Election knowingly to make a false declaration accompanying the return of election expenses (s. 33). The Act of 1884 relating to Municipal elections expressly adopts the above definition of corrupt practices given in s. 3 of the Act of 1883 (s. 2), and further, its 21st section con- tains a provision similar to the 33rd of the earlier Act, con- stituting the act of knowingly making a false declaration a corrupt practice. The result is that so far as the definition of corrupt practice is concerned the law relating to Parliamentary and Municipal elections is the same ; and an election — Parlia- mentary or Municipal — is liable to be defeated, and the sitting member to lose his seat, if any one of the following acta is proved against him, viz., either 1. Bribery ; 2. Treamng : 3. Undue Influence ; 4 THE LAW RELATING TO PABLiAMENTAiiY 4. Personation AND AiDiNG, Abetting, Counselling, AND Procuring ttie Commission of Personation ; OK, 5. A False Declaration ; whether any of these corrupt acts is committed by him persunall}', or by anyone whom the law construefi as his agent for the purposes of the election. It is proposed, in the first instance, to examine the authorities as to the definition of the offences named, and later to discuss the meaning which has been given to the word " agent " in this connection. Section 1. — Bribery. The Acts of 1883 and 1884 contain no new definition of bribery. On the contrary, s. 3 of the Act of 1883 already quoted, expressly incorporates the definitions of bribery con- tained in former Corrupt Practices Prevention Acts into the statutory Act of 1883, and in the third part of the thir.l schedule definitions of ^j^Qse definitions are set out in detail. It is necessary in riribery, "^ 17 & 18 Vict., this place to give their full text. S. 2 of the Corrupt c. 102, 8. 2. pj.j^^^-(3gg Prevention Act, 1854 (the 17 & 18 Vict., c. 102), provides : " The following persons shall be deemed guilty of bribery, and shall be punishable accordingly — Sub-sec. 1. *' ]. Every person who shall, directly or indirectly, by him- self or by any other person on his behalf, give, lend, or agree to give or lend, or shall, offer, promise, or promise to procure, or endeavour to procure any money or valuable consideration 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 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 : Sub-sec. 2. " 2. Every person who shall, directly or indirectly, by him- CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTFONS. 5 self or by any other person on his behalf, give or P^Xl'»„1pir promise, or agree to give or procure, or offer, pro- mise, or promise to procure or to endeavour to procui-e 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 him- Sub-sec. 3. self 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 endea- vour to procure the return of any person to serve in Parliament, or the vote of aay voter at any election : "4. Every person who shall, upon or in consequence of Sub-sec. 4. any such gift, loan, offer, promise, or procurement or agreement procure, or engage, promise, or endea- vour to procure the return of any person to serve in Parliament, or the vote of any voter at any election : " 5. Every person who shall advance or pay or cause to Sub-sec. 6. be paid any money to or to the use of any other person with the intent that such money or any purt 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 repayment of any money wholly or in part ex- pended m bribery at any election. Provided always, that the aforesaid 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 bond fide incurred at or concerning any election. S. 3 of the same Act provides : Sec. 3. 6 THE LAW RELATING TO ^&^'"uNi«PAr " "^^^ following persons shall also be deemed guilty of — bribery, and shall be punishable accordingly — Sub-sec. 1. " 1. Every voter who shall, before or during any election, direclly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf receive, agree, or contract for any money, gift, loan, or valuable consideration, office, place or employment for himself or for any other person, for voting or agreeing to vote, or for refraining or agreeing to refrain from voting at any election : Sub-bee. 2. " 2. Every person who shall, after any election, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, receive any money or valuable con- sideration 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." 30 & 31 Vict.. Section 49 of the Kejjreseutation of the People Act, 1867 c. 102, s. 49. ^^j^g QQ ^ y^ y.^^^ ^ ^^^2) is as follows :— " Any person, either directl}' or indirectly, corruptly paying any rate on behalf of any ratepayer for the pm-pose of enabling him to be registered as a voter, t!iereby to in- fluence his vote at anj' future election, and 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 made, shall also be guilty of bribery and punishable accordingly." The Act of 1884 incorporates ss. 2 and 3 of the 17 & 18 Vict., c. 102, and s. 49 of the 30 & 31 Vict., c. 102, and applies them to municipal elections, so that a definition of bribery common to parliamentary and municipal elections is thus obtained. There are two other Acts further creating the offence of bribery. They have, however, no application to municipal CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 7 elections, and their practical importance with reference to ^^''^^Zf.lilJ parliamentary elections is not great. They are : 1st. The Representation of the People (Scotland) Act, 1868 (the 31 & 32 Vict., c. 48, s. 49), which contains a provision in the case of Scotch elections similar to the provisions of s. 49 of the 30 & 31 Yict., c. 102, and 2nd. The Universities Elections Amendment (Scotland) 44 & 45 Vict., Act, 1881 (44 & 45 Vict., c. 40, s. 2), which provides :—''• *^' "' "Any person, either directly or indirectly, corruptly pay- ing any fee for the purpose of enabling any person to be registered as a member of the general council and thereby to influence his vote at any future election, and any candidate or other person, either directly or indirectly, paying such fee on behalf of any person, for the purpose of inducing him to vote or refrain from voting, shall 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 mentioned, is made, shall also be guilty of bribery and punishable accordingly." Applying the statutory definitions of bribery given in the above sections to the subject under consideration, viz., the effect of bribery upon the seat, the general result is, that if a candidate or any one of his agents, gives or lends, or offers, or promises to procure, or to endeavour to procure (1) any money ; or (2) valuable consideration ; or (3) ofiice, place, or employment, to or for any voter or to or for any person Effect of on behalf of any voter, or to or for an// other person, in order Je'fiuS of to induce such voter to vote or refrain from voting, or if he bribery, shall corruptly do any of the above-mentioned acts on account of any voter having voted or refrained from voting at any election, then the offence of bribery is complete and the seat is lost. There are other special acts which are defined as amounting to bribery. They will be treated of in due course ; but the effect of the more material sections is as we have stated. It will be observed that to constitute the full offence of Bribery, bribery, it is not necessary that the person bribed should ^^^J?^„ actually have received anything. " Every person who received. THE LAW RELATING TO I'ARHAJIESTAnY gj^all & Mpnicipm Motive of the briber the test. yti'ougvi- evidence re- ijuisitc whi'u ufiFi r only. But offer may be bribeiT. . . . merely " ric/ree to give,^' &c., or even ^' oper, promise,''^ &c., is guilty of bribery. Nor is it even necessary that the person to whom the offer is made should accept the promise, or be in any way influenced by the corrupt overture " When bribery is alleged," said Martin, B., in the West- minster Case (20 L.T., n.s., 238 ; 1 O'M. & H., 89), " the question is as to the motive of the fjriber and not as to the effect on the bribed. Tt is whether the alleged briber in- tended to influence or induce the vote, not whether the vote was actually influenced." Therefore, to adopt the illustra- tion used by Willes, J., in the Blackburn Cane (I O'M. & H., 202; 20 L.T., n.s., 826), if a voter is bribed with half-a- crown and he accepts the bribe and then goes and votes (Ujainst the party from which he received it, still the corrupt act of giving the money (or promising it) will defeat the whole election. So it has been held that giving, or ofl'ermg to give, a bribe to a person who was on the register, but who, owing to a disqualification arising from non-residence, was not (as the law then stood) entitled to vote, and did not vote, is none the less bribery {Guildford Case, 1 O'M. & H., 15; 19 L.T., U.S., 729). It should be noted that, in one or two cases learned judges have pointed out that where the bribery charged is that of corrupt qfers merely, the evidence required to prove it should be stronger than where monej^ actually passed. {Cheltenham Case, 1 O'M. & H., 64 ; Mallow Case, 2 O'M. & II., 22.) This, however, is ouly a suggestion as to the light in which evidence, on a subject where misunderstanding is so possible, should be viewed, and it must not be taken as in any way infringing upon the well-established law that where the fact of a corrupt offer is once established, the consequence is the loss of the seat. The Kidderminster Case (2 O'M. & H., 170) affords a good illustration of a corrupt offer amounting to bribery, though the persons to whom it was made received nothing under it. There the respondent the night before the election, in the course of a speech, said : " When we have won the election we will have an entertainment together." He repeated this after the election, and in pursuance of his CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. ENTAKT SICIPAI,. promise sent down a larffe sum of raoiiev to be spent in parmvh I " - *■ & Musi organising afefe. The entertainment was not, in fact, held, — but Mellor, J., decided that the corrupt promise made on the night before the polling constituted bribery, and the respondent was unseated. It is not necessary that the bribe should be made Bnbe need not be given (llrectl;/ to the voter or to the person sought to be bribed, directly. The words of the section are : " Every person who shall .... give .... to or for any voter or to or for any person on behalf of any voter, or to or for any other pr'rson in order to induce any I'oter to rote or refrain from voting,''^ shall be guilty of bribery. If, though it be given or made to some third person, the Court is satisfied that through such third person it is intended that the voter shall be influenced by it, that is enough ; as where colourable payments are made to the children of voters for fancied services in order that their parents may be induced to vote in a particular way or to refrain from voting. Willes, J., in the Southampton Case i\ O'M. & H., 223), referred to such a ease and drew this distinction. If payments are made to young children form- Payments to iiig part of a family iu respect of services really rendered y^^ bribes to by them, the payments are to be regarded as made to their ^^^i^"' P^rent^, parents, and if the latter vote at the election, their votes must come oft" on a scrutiny. But if payments are made to young children who have rendered no services, or merely nominal services, with the view of influencing their parents who are voters, that will be bribery which will affect the seat. No doubt th'^ latter proposition is as sound now as when the learned judge laid it down some years ago ; but with regard to the first it must be remarked thats. 17 of the Act of 1883, makes it an illegal practice involving the loss of the seat, when committed by the candidate or his election agent, to employ for payment any persons over and above the limited number specified in the Schedule, l^'he Act of 1884 attaches a similar penalty to the payment of more than a limited number of persons iu connection with a municipal election, with this difference that the seat is only forfeited when it is shown that the payment was made with the knowledge or 10 THE LAW RELATING TO ^i^'^'/.f'.^TJ*''^ consent of the sittiuj? member. The prohibitions contained in these Acts against the employment of paid agents at elections are general in their terms, and would seem to include children and to affect the election when they are employed in excess of the number allowed. In the Stepnei/ Case (4 O'M. & H., 38), decided after the new legislation, it was held in accordance with the Southamjjton Case {supra) that, upon a scrutiny, the vote of a voter whose children had been employed and paid as messengers must be disallowed ; but there was no sugges- tion that the total number of messengers employed was in excess of the legal limit and no opinion was given upon the point above discussed. In another case it was laid down that treating (and a fortiori bribing) women with a view of influencing their husbands, brothers or sweethearts, who were voters, would avoid the election (per Willes, J., in the Tamioorth Case, 1 O'M. & H., 86 ; the Poole Case, 31 L.T., n.s. 171). The amount of the bribe is of no importance when the fact that it was given as a bribe is established. It is strange that there was once some doubt on this point. Martin, B., intimated in the Salford Case (1 O'M. & H., 142 ; 20 L.T., n.s. 127) that when the sum spent in bribery did not exceed half-a-crown and it was not brought home to the candidate pcrsonaUii, that such bribery would not be sufficient to forfeit the seat. The doubt which has arisen on the subject and crept into some works of authority is entirely founded upon this dictum, which, however, was obiter, as his lordship found the particular bribes suggested had not in fact been proved. On the other hand Willes, J., in the Blackburn. Case (1 O'M. & H., 202; 20 L.T., 823), distinctly stated that in his view a bribe of half-a-crown given to a voter, though it did not in fact influence his vote, would upset the election. Channell, B., in the Shrewsbury Case (2 O'M & H., 37), said that he agreed with Willes, J., rather than with Martin, B., and that in his opinion, when once the act of bribery is mado out, the Court cannot consider whether it is siffuificant in amount or insignificant. And in the Amount of bribe immatiriaL CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. H Norwich Case (2 O'M. & H., 41), Keatiug, J., decided that a P^^XI'Sr single act of bribery without reference to the sum given, avoided the election. Taking the plain words of the Act of 1854, which defines bribery as the giving, &c , oi any money or valuable consideration, and the current of authorities quoted above, it cannot be doubted that the law now is that if the sitting member or his agent has given a bribe, no matter how small the sum or comparatively valueless the thing, the election is defeated. This inference is the stronger since the passing of the Acts of 1883 and 1884, as it must be carefully noted that the 22nd section in the one case and the 19th in the other, which under very strin- gent conditions, relieve a candidate from the consequences of an agent's misconduct where the same is of a " trivial, unimportant and limited character," apply only to cases of treating, undue inllueuce and illegal practices, and have no application to a case of bribery. The above view, expressed in the earlier editions of this work, has been entirely confirmed by the Noricich Case (54 L.T., n.s. 625). There the Court (Denman and Gave, J.T.) held that a single act of bribery — the amount given was only 28. — brought home to an agent of the successful candidate avoided the election, and they held further that there was no power to grant relief under section 22 of the Act of 1883. With regard to the time at which the bribery is committed. Time when it is immaterial how long before the election the bribe is ^'^ ^ given, given, provided it was given with a view to the election petitioned against, or to an election of which it is the con- tinuance. The law on this point was stated emphatically and clearly in the Sligo Case (1 O'M. & II., 302) : Any act committed previous to an election, no matter at what distance of time, with a view to influence a voter at a coming election, whether it is one, two or three years before, is just as much bribery as if it was committed the day before the election ; nay more, if a man commits bribery in the first week of a immaterial Tarliament, and if he sues for the suffrages of that con- i^^Zf.^^^^ stituency in the last week of the seven years which -precede 12 THE LAW RELATING TO ^k^yivKil^ipt^^ '•^^ fiissolutiou, that act committed six years before can be given ill evidence against him, and his seat will not hold an hour." So, to adopt the case put by B ram well, B., in the Stroud Case (2 O'M. & H., 183), suppose " the respondent had said to a voter, ' Here is £5 for you if you will promise to vote for me when I am a candidate ' — if he does not come forward for the next ten years, his act will still be bribery within the Act of Parliament," and an election held many years after the corrupt practice might be invalidated by it. The same learned judge, in the Windsor Case (31 L.T., f-"^?^!*®*^ n.s. 136), suggested a limitation to the generality of this rule — viz., that a bribe given a long time before the election only invalidates the subsequent election if it is possib/e that it may still be operating on the mind of the voter. Therefore in the cases put by his lordship, where (1) a bribe is given to a voter and he dies before the election : or (2), where a bribe is given but before the election both the briber and the voter repent and the money is returned, he stated the election would not be avoided ; but having regard to the stringency of ss. 4 and 5 of the Act of 1883, which, without any qualitication whatever, incapacitate a person from sitting in Parliament for a term specified therein who has been guilty of any coirupt practice in reference to an election, it is doubtful whether in the cases put the seat would now be safe. Effpct of When something is given to a voter after he has voted, cftcr election, it must be noted that in the words of the Act the giving of the thing is only bribery where it is given "corruptly." The distinction which has been drawn is this : Where mone}^ or money's worth is given to a voter before he votes in order to induce him to do so, the law infers the corrupt act, which is the material element in bribery ; but where money or money's worth is given to a man after he has voted the burden of proving a corrupt arrangement or understanding between him aud the candidate or his agent prior to the voting is thrown upon those suggesting bribery. " If money is given to a man before an election to induce him to vote or refrain from voting, it is ipso facto bribery, and has the effect of disqualifying the candidate from being elected ; but if the CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 13 money is given after the man has voted it must be shown to ^^"^/^j^j^w^."' have been given corruptly." (Martin, B., in the second Bradford Case, 19 L.T., n.s. 723 ; Brecon Case, 2 O'M. & H., 44.) It may^%vell be doubted, however, whether in the practical conclusion to be drawn from tlie giving of money Little piacti- to a voter immediately after an election there is much dis- tinction between such a ease and the case where it is given before. Possibly the fact of the gift in the former ease may be explained consistently with the honesty of the giver ; but apart from some satisfactory explanation, the n:ere circum- stance that a voter received money or money's worth for voting would afford a very strong presumption that he received it in fulfilment of a corrupt bargain. In the case suggested by Bramwell, B., in the Stroud Case (2 O'M. & H., 184), the inference of a corrupt arrangement would not be drawn. " For instance," said his lordship, " sucli a thing as this migiit happen, if a man voted and got turned out of his situation and went to anybody for charity, and a man said, ' I am sorry for you, here is a sovereign," that would not be a corrupt payment, though it might be said to have been given on account of the man having voted a particular way. Nevertheless, in almost every case where a payment is made in consequence of a voter having voted, it would be a corrupt giving, unless some reason, such as I have suggested, could be given." Again, with reference to the time at which the bribe is given, an election may be invalidated by acts of bribery proved to have been committed upon the occasion of aiwt/ier, and even different hind of, election to that under investi- gation. Thus a parliamentary election may be upset l)y bribery at a municipal election, and it is presumed the Effect of converse case will equally liold. The test is— Was the bribe, ^'"^^'j^fpal though given at the municipal election and nominally with election, reference to it, really intended to influence the parliamentary election ? In the Beverley Case (1 O'M. & H., 143 ; 20 L.T , n.s. The Beverieii 792) there was little or no bribery suggested at the parlia- ^''*^- mentary election, but the case for the petitioners was that a 14 THE LAW RELATING TO parliam^ntart wholesale system of corruption prevailed at the munioipal & Municipal. _ " '- ^ ^ / — election, held a fortnight before the parliamentary election. It was proved that bribery at municipal elections in Beverley was so common and notorious that the price which votes brought upon such occasions was well known. The ordinary bribe was 5s. a vote, and the sum usually spent at a muni- cipal election in corruption was £130. At the election in question, however, it was shown (I) that sums three or four times in excess of the "ordinary bribes were paid to each voter ; (2) that about £800 was disbursed in this way ; (3) that nearly 1,000 persons were bribed ; and (4) that after the municipal elections were practically decided, the respondent's agents went on bribing as extensively as before. The learned judge held, that though these bribes were nominally given with reference to the municipal election, they wei'e really intended to influence the parliamentary election, which was known to be imminent, and indeed was held in a fortnight, and he unseated the sitting members accordingly. In this case the facts were clear, and the whole proceeding most flagrant and gross. It is necessary, however, to connect the two elections — the municipal and parliamentary — together, and to show that though nominallj^ they are two contests, in fact they are regarded by the parties bribing as one. And in the Southamjjfon Case (I O'M. & H., 22G), and the Hastings Case (1 O'M. & H., 217 ; 21 L.T., n.s.234), where the evidence .\;ust lifi failed on this point, bribery at a municipal election which between ^'^ preceded the parliamentary by a very short while, was held municipal and not to affect the validity of the latter. " These elections " eiectfon^^ ^^^ said Willes, J., in the former case, " are prima facie distinct ; there is no necessary connection between them, and it is not enough to show misconduct with reference to the municipal election without connectincj that election in some way with the parliamentary election. There have been cases in which it was clear that the municipal and the parliamentary election were part of one political contest, and tl)at corrupt action at the municipal election either was intended expressly to operate upon parliamentary elections, or that the necessary CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 15 result of what was done at the municipal election was to ^^""^^^^^.HIJ affect the parliamentary election ; where, upon the principle ,j,^^ ^;^;^_ being applied that persons must contemplate the natural amptou Case consequences of their acts, an intention to affect the parlia- mentary election ought to be attributed both to people who were shown to have misconducted themselves with reference to the municipal election, and to agents of the members who have been guilty of corrupt practices in the course of the municipal election, but with a view to the effect of such practices upon the parliamentary election. In such eases the judges have held that the two elections were, under the circumstances, really parts of one and the same political contest, and that the members in the parliamentary contests were bound by the acts of their agents in the course of the municipal contest " The principle that where two elections are sojgfcnnected as really to form part of a single contest, bribery at the one is bribery at the other has been applied to the case of corrupt practices at a test ballot preceding the formal election. The point arose nnd was decided in the Bristol Case (2 O'M. & H. 2), reported as Brett v. Robinson in the Common Pleas, (L.R. 5, C.P. 503 ; 39 L.J. C.P., 265 : 23 L.T., n.s. 188, 18 W.E., 866). The facts were that there being a vacancy in the representation of the city of Bristol, three Liberal candi- ^^j^^^. , ^^ ^ dates offered themselves. To avoid a split in the Party they test ballot. agreed that there should be a test ballot to determine who should stand at the election as the candidate of the whole Party. Mr. Robinson, one of the three, was at the head of the test ballot, stood at the election, and was returned to Parliament ; but it appeared, on petition, that his agents had given money to voters to vote for him at the test ballot, without, however, making any stipulation as to their votes at the election. It, was held by the Court of Common Pleas, upon a case reserved, that the corrupt acts at the test ballot were calculated to have so immediate an influence upon the election hold immediately afterwards, that they destroyed the validity of the latter. It is conceived that the principle of this decision will fully 16 THE LAW RELATING TO pakliamentart cover the ease of bribes g-iven to members of a Committee of k MrNiciPAL. ^ — Selection or other persons to secure the adoption of a person as the candidate of a Party at a particular election — at least where the Party is the dominant party in the Constituency. Bribery at So bribery at one parliamentary election may be fatal to previous ^j^^ return at another : but this is only where the two parliamentary "^ election. elections are connected, and form part of one contest in the sense that the seat was not filled by a good return at the first election, which thus has become abortive, and the second contest is held to supplement and complete it, and fill the original vacancy. This principle was fully acted upon in the Norwich Cme (reported as Sterens v. Tillett in the Common Pleas, L.U. 6, C.P. 147 ; 40 L.J., C.P. 58),' where the facts were that the respondent Tillett was a candidate for Norwich at the Greneral Election of 1868, and was defeated. His successful opponent was unseated upon petition, and for the vacancy thus created the respondent became a candidate and was elected. A petition was filed against his return, and the bribery relied on was bribery committed at the election of 1868. It was held by the Court that inasmuch as the contests were for the same seat, which had never been filled by a good return, they were so connected that bribery at the one was in law bribery at the other! See also the three Stroud Oases (2 O'M. & H., pp. 107, 179, and 181.) The form of The ,/brw in which the bribe is given is immaterial. If, tho bribe though the money is given under the name of a payment for services rendered, it is really a reward for voting, the offence is proved. The Court will look at the substance of the transaction, and not allow itself to be hoodwinked by a mere name. One common way in which the law against Paying voters bribery has been sought to be evaded has been by payments for services jj^q^^q ^q voters for Services alleged to have been rendered in may be _ " bribery. connection with the election, as where the voters or the relatives of voters have been appointed canvassers, messen- gers, watchers, clerks, and so forth, and paid at a rate generally in excess of the remuneration ordinarily given to persons in their station. From the earliest times the law CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 17 has been that this "colourable " employment of voters with ^i^^l.'^.fJt^'' the view of paying them for their votes was bribery. A leading case on this subject is the Boston Case (44 L.T., The Boston n.s. 288 ; -3 O'M. & H., 153). There the acts of bribery com- plained of in the petition consisted mainly of the employ- ment on the polling day of a large number of persons to act as watchers, the bulk of whom were voters. They were paid at rates varying from 10s. to 23. 6d. a day, and there appear to have been about 300 or 400 of them. The Court was of opinion, on the facts, that the object in em- ploying all these persons was not to obtain bond fide services from them but to influence their votes, and the sitting member was unseated accordingly. The judgment, which was given by Lush, J., with the concurrence of the Judgment of other judge (Mr. Justice Manisty), is worth a perusal as ^' ' ' well for the review of the authorities it contains as for the clear and emphatic language in which the law on the subject is expressed. " In view of all these circum- stances, can we come to any other conclusion than that the employment of this large body of voters was a colourable employment and a pretext for finding them a day's wages in order to induce them to vote ? It is immaterial whether the object was to gain over voters from the other side or to prevent them going over to that side. The Act forbids and makes penal any attempt to influence a vote by such means. We need hardly say that it is no answer to a charge of violating the Bribei-y Act in this way, that it is a common practice, or that it was resorted to in self-defence and as a means of counteracting illegal practices on the other side. Sitting here in a court of justice we cannot accept such a plea. We have reason to fear that the practice is too common, notwithstanding the warnings which have been given in previous decisions. In 1869, Blackburn, J., re- ported the employment of voters as watchers, who rendered no service of any value, as a corrupt practice. In the same year, in the Tamicorth Case, Willes, J., had to consider a case where the agent had been authorised to engage a few men, none of whom were to be voters, whereas the man on 2 18 THE LAW RELATING TO ^&*Mu»icip^^ ^^^® polling day engaged 130, of whom 29 only were voters. — He came to the conclusion that the agent employed them, not to advance the interests of his employer, but to gain popularity for himself ; but he emphatically said, that if he had arrived at the conclusion that the object was to engage one voter to vote for his employer, who would otherwise have voted for his opponent, he should have declared the election void. In 1874, Bramwell, B., deprecated the prac- tice as shown in the Durham Case^ and warned future candidates of the danger they incurred by following such a practice. And in 1875 I had to declare in the Norwich Case that the election was void, solely on the ground of the colourable employment of voters as messengers on the polling day." (See also the Oxford Case, 3 O'M, & H., 154.) In the Ipsicich Case (4 O'M. & H., 72 ; 54 L.T., N.S., 620) it was proved that a number of men were employed and paid to keep order at meetings. It was not necessary to decide whether the payments made to them were colourable bribes, because the Court held that their employment was illegal under the Act of 1883, and further that payments made to them were election expenses, which ought to have been returned, and upon that and a number of other grounds the election was declared void. On the other hand, the »?('>•(? employment and payment of a considerable number of voters in connection with an election, when there was bona fide work for them to do, and they were not paid substantially in excess of the ordinary remuneration, did not, ^;>'eo/' to the Act of 1883, invalidate the election. (The Salishurij Case, 4 O'M. & H., 23). Nor is it now a corrupt practice, defeating the election, when committed by any agent, though as will be seen later on (except under cer- tain strict limitations), it is an illegal employment, avoiding the election, when committed by the candidate or his election agent in the case of a parliamentary election {Ipswich Case supra), and in the case of a municipal election when com- mitted by the candidate p)ersonalIy. Prior to the new legislation, the law was this : If persons were colourably employed and paid for work they never did, Payment of voters not necessarily bribery. Law prior to Act of 1883. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 19 in order to influence their votes, this was bribery, and if done ^^^^{^^'^^,1^^ by any agent of the candidate, the election was defeated. But if persons were bond fide paid for work they really did, it was not bribery, though inasmuch, as by the 30 & 31 Vict., c. 102, s. 11, voters who have received any payment in con- nection with the election, are disqualified from voting, on a scrutiny, their votes were struck off. As the law now stands it is conceived that the colourable employment and payment of voters to secure their votes, is as much bribery as ever, and when it is committed by amj agent, the seat is lost. On the other hand, when the employment and pay- ment of voters is bond fide, and when they are not employed by the candidate himself or with Ms knowledge, or by ^^'^^^^^^l^^''^ election agent, though the votes given must come off on a scrutiny, and though the persons employing and the persons knowingly employed, are liable to certain penalties mentioned later on, it is submitted the seat will not be affected. But though this is so, it must be borne in mind that under the Acts of 1883 and 1884, to employ and pay any voters except the very limited number authorised by the express terms of these Acts, is an illegal employment. The punish- ment to the individual convicted of an illegal employment is the same, whether the election at which the offence was committed was a parliamentary or a municipal election ; but the effect on the election varies. In the case of a parliamentary election an illegal employment, when com- mitted by a candidate, or his ekction agent, becomes an illegal practice, and vitiates the election. In the case of a municipal election an illegal employment only becomes an illegal practice when committed by or with the knowledge of the candidate personally, and it is only, therefore, in such an event that the seat is lost. The way in which the law The present will now operate may be illustrated thus : Case I. A is an }*^ .'^ "^' agent of the sitting member at the election (though not his election agent) . He bond fide employs B, who is a voter, and pays him for work he really performs. The election, whether parliamentary oi municipal, is not defeated ; though on a scrutiny, B's vote must come off', and both A and B are 20 THE LAW RELATING TO ^& Mu^NiciPAi? liable to punishment. Case II. A is an agent of the sitting member at the election (though not his election agent). He pays B a sum of money under the name of wages, but really to get his vote. This is bribery, and any election is vitiated. Case III. A is the election agent of the candidate at a parliamentary election. He bond fide (but in excess of the proper number) employs B, who is a voter, and pays him for services he really rendered. This is an illegal practice, and the election is defeated. Case IV. A is an agent of the sitting member at a municipal election. He bond fide (but in excess of the proper number) employs B, who is a voter, and pays him for services rendered in connection with the election. This is an illegal employment, rendering A and B liable to punishment ; but unless it is proved that the offence was committed with the knowledge and consent of the sitting member, the seat is not affected. Bribery Other instances of bribery, cloaked under the pretence of cloaked under , in • • j- - 1 • i_ i . payments. payment, are payments ot excessive prices lor thmgs bought, and the hiring of rooms which are not wanted, with a view of influencing the votes of the persons who receive the money. Thus, in the Westminster Case (1 O'M. & H, 90 : 20 L.T., n.s. 238) it was suggested that the respondent through his agents had paid unusual sums for the right of placarding, in order to secure the votes of the persons paid. The Judge was not satisfied that the charge was made out, but he stated emphatically that if it were proved that money had been paid with such an object, it would be bribery. So, where cabs are colourably hired for the purpose of procuring the votes of their owners (the Cat rickfergus Case, 3 C'M. & H., 91) ; or as in the Sandicich Case (3 O'M. & H., 158) where a large number of rooms were hired in public-houses with a view of securing the vote and interest of the innkeepers, the offence of bribery is made out. " There is no difference," Hiring rooms said Lush, J., in the last case, "in substance between a iioiises "'" colourable hiring of the voter's room as a committee room and the colourable hiring of the voter himself as a messenger. The object in each case is to secure his vote. The only difference between the two cases is the form of CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 21 the disguise." It should be mentioned that the three cases ^^''^^^^'=^,^^7 last given are all specially dealt with by the Acts of 1883 and 1884. The hiring of windows and boards from electors, payments for cabs in connection with the conveyance of voters to and from the poll, and the hiring of committee rooms in excess of the limit allowed, are now illegal practices (s. 7 of the Act of 1883, and s. 4 of tlie Act of 1884), which avoid the election if committed by any agent. Analogous to bribery under the colour of paying wages Bribery to for work done, or the price of goods supplied, is bribery ^q^^^oT loss under the pretence of compensating a voter for loss of time of time, or for travelling expenses. It has always been held that promising to pay a voter his day's wages, so that he may be no loser by coming to vote, is an act of bribery (the Staleyhridge Case, 20 L.T., n.s., 75 ; 1 O'M. & H., 67 ; Eastings Case, 1 O'M. & H., 219 ; 21 L.T., n.s., 234). "It is clear that as the law is framed, and as the statute is worded, to pay a person for coming to vote, giving him his day's wages or making up to him his loss of ume for the purpose of voting at an election, would be a bribe. The words of the Act are clear beyond all question on this point." (Per Blackburn, J., in Hastings Case, quoted supra.) So it is bribery to promise a voter that he will be "remunerated for any loss of time" {Simpson v. Yeend, L.E. 4 Q,.B 626). Equally the payment of a substitute to Or pay for a do the voter's work while he is away voting is bribery, substitute. (The Plymouth Case, 3 O'M. & H., 107.) So with regard to travelling expenses, to promise to pay a voter his travelling expenses if he comes and votes for a particular candidate is bribery. This was decided in the case of Cooper v. Siacle. (6 H.L.C. 747; 27 L.J. Q.B., 442 ; 4 Jur., n.s., 791.) The action was brought to recover penalties from the defendant, who had been a candidate at the Cambridge election ; and the question which came Bribery to before the Lords for decision was whether a letter written promise to , . 1 . , I ii 1 1 T V^y travelling to an outvoter requestmg him to come to the borough and expenses. record his vote, and adding in a postcript " your railway expenses will be paid," was an act of bribery. The House 22 THE LAW RELATING TO Pahhamkhtaht ft McirioiPix. But uncon- ditional pay- ment is not bribery. Now all payments for travelling ex- penses illegal, of Lords, after consulting the judges, held that such a promise amounted to bribery. In the Coventry Cane (1 0'M. & H., 109; 20 L.T., n.s., 405), Duhlin Case (1 O'M. &H., 273), i]xQ Horsham Case (3 O'M. & H., 54), and still more lately and since the new legislation, the Ipsicich Case (54 L.T., n.s, 620), this view of the law was acted upon ; and there can be no doubt that a promise to pay the bare travelling expenses of a voter if he will come and give his vote is an act of bribery. But when a circular was sent to an outvoter asking him to come over and record his vote and enclosing a railway pass, but annexing no condition to its use, it was held that this did not come within the doctrine of Cooper v. Slade, and though (as the law then stood with regard to borough elections) it was an illegal act, it was not bribery (the Bolton Case, 31 L.T., n.s. 194 ; 2 O'M. & H , 138). In giving his decision the learned judge (Mellor, J.) carefully distinguishefl the case before him from Cooper v. Slade. In the latter he pointed out the travelling expenses were promised conditionally upon the voter voting for Mr. Slade. In the case before him, the railway pass was sent and received by the voter without any condition. All control over the pass was gone after it left the office of the respondent's agent, and the voter if he liked could avail himself of it without being under any compul- sion to vote for the respondent. However, the Bolton Case {supra) has now ceased to bo of much practical importance on the question of the safety of the seat. No doubt the ruling of the learned judge in that case is still law to the extent that merely sending a railway pass to a voter, or giving him his .bare travelling expenses unconditionally, will be held to fall short of a corrupt practice ; but, as we have already stated, s. 7 of the Act of 1883, and s. 4 of the Act of 1884, make the payment of any money on account of the " conveyance of electors to or from the poll " an illegal practice, which if committed by a candidate, or any one of his agents, will avoid either a parlia- mentary or a municipal election. (The Ipsicich Case, 54 L.T., n.s., 620.) CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 23 We have seen that paying a voter for his loss of time m ^f ]i\^^^Xl^f attending to vote is bribery. On the other hand, paying him for his loss of time in attending at the Regis'-ration Court to claim and support his vote is not necessarii// bribery. It may or may not be so according to the time when, and the circumstances under which the money was paid, and the amount paid. The Taunton Case (1 O'M. & H., 353 ; 21 L.T., U.S., 129, where Blackburn, J., decided that payments in respect of loss of time at the Registration Court did amount to bribery, and the Badings Case (1 O'M. & H. 219 ; 21 L.T., U.S., 234), where the same learned judge held that such payments did not establish bribery, may profitably be ^^^^^f^J' examined in this connection. In the Taunton Case it was attending proved that the Registration Court was held in September. couSbribery. The election came off in November. The payments were not made till November and upon the eve of the election, and they were made without any precautions being taken that persons who had really attended the Registration Court alone got it. Under these circuiustances, it was held that the money was not paid bona fide to recoup the re- cipients for their loss of time at the registration, but to influence their votes at the election. " It may well be," said the learned judge, " that there The Taunton may be a payment for an attendance at the Barrister's ^'"^' Court, which should be bona fide for that purpose, and no other, and which is not meant by the Act of Parliament. From the fact of paying a person money for attending to be put upon the register, it is a matter of inference that doubt- less the persons who put the voter on the register expected him to vote for their party. No doubt that would be in their minds at the time. Doubtless, if you were to pay a man direct for being put upon the register, and to offer a reward for every person who would himself come and be registered by the Conservative Association or the Liberal Association, as the case might be, it would not be as a matter of law that would be a bribe for a vote ; but it would be a matter of very strong observation, and there would be reasonable grounds for inferring that those who paid people 24 THE LAW RELATING TO ^&^K^i^il'll^ belonging io any particular political party for coming and — being put upon the register did expect, as part of what they The teat is were paying for, that they were to vote for that party when whether pay- ^^^ election came. It would be a matter of fact, not of law, ment is really . . made for loss but the inference would be strong. When it is merely ReviTfon* repaying them what might be called money out of pocket, Court. the loss of a day's work, the inference is by no means so strong. It might be so, or it might not be. In each case it would be a matter of inference looking at the facts, and a very important fact would be whether or not an election was pennng or close approaching. It would require look- ing at that to see whether it was really paid to induce the votes, or whether it was really and bond fide a repayment for money out of pocket. I certainly think it would be a wise thing on the part of all people to avoid making such payments at any time, because, certainly it is always open to the observation and inference that it may be for the Or was corrupt practice of inducing the vote, and may, therefore, be intended to considered bribery. In the present case, however, we have at election, to go a great deal further than that. / think, where it tvas bond fide, it would not be a bribe ; where it ivas intended to induce a vote, which would he a matter to be collected from the whole of the facts, it would be a bribe." Tho MoMingi On the other hand, in the Hastings Case (quoted supra), '^'^*^' the payments were made at the time of the registration, they did not exceed the sums the voters were out of pocket, and some precautions were taken that only persons entitled got the money. The learned judge held that in this case the payments did not amount to bribes, pointing out that the important elements in determining whether the money was a payment for the vote were (1st), whether the payments were really and truly made contemporaneously with the registration ; and (2ndly), whether they were honestly intended to be merely a remuneration for what the man was out of pocket, so that he should not be a loser, or whether the intention was that he should make a profit. Although his lordship decided that the payments in that case fell short of bribes, yet, in concluding his judgment, he said that pay- CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 25 ments made for a registration, especially when the registra- ^^^l^^l'^^^l^l^ Hon is coming closely before an election, were suspicious things, and a very little additional evidence in such a case as that before him, would lead him to the conclusion that the intention of the payment was to influence the election. While on the subject of the payment of registration expenses, it is well to recall that by the express words of ^°"t"^f ^^s the 30 & 31 Vict., c. 102, s. 49, corruptly paying any rate is bribery. on behalf of a ratepayer for the purpose of enabling him to be registered as a voter, and for the purpose of influenc- ing his vote at any future election is bribery. The mere fact of paying the ratepayer's rates is not enough to con- stitute the offence. It must be proved that it was done to influence his vote (the Cheltenham Case, 1 O'M. & H., 64), though, apart from any evidence of a direct arrangement, the court will, when the surrounding circumstances point to it, infer the corrupt intention with which the thing was done. In the Oldham Case (1 O'M. & H., 165), it was proved that an alleged agent paid a voter's rates in order that he should get him on to the register ; but it was also proved as a fact that there was no arrangement or understanding as to how he was to vote. The learned judge held upon the particular facts of the case that this payment of rates was not corrupt. Payments made to a freeman, or on his behalf, to enable him to take up his freedom, and so bo placed upon the register, do not come within the provisions of the 30 & 31 Vict., c. 102, s. 49 ; and, therefore, whether or no such payments amount to bribery will turn upon the question of the existence of any arrangement or understanding as to the vote. Giving workmen a holiday on the polling day, and paying Giving a them as if they had worked, may be an act of bribery. In j^e brrbery*^ the Gravesend Case (3 O'M. & H., 84 ; 44 L.T., n.s.,' 64) it was held to amount to bribery. In the Stroud Case (2 O'M. & II., 181) it was held to fall short of it. In the former it was proved that on the day before the polling a communica- tion was made to all the workmen in the respondent's employment that they would have a holiday on the next day, but that they would be paid as usual, and that they ^'"'^^''-'^'^"'^ 26 THE LAW RELATING TO pakliamewtart must come the next mornins: and srive in their time. It was & Municipal. . ^ . -i ,• — also proved that on the occasion or previous elections a holiday had been given to the respondent's men, but no -pay- ment was made to them in respect of that clay. In giving judgment, Denman, J., said : " It was contended that Weeks (the respondent's ayent) made the above-mentioned com- munication to the men with the intention of influencing their votes. It was urged on -the other side that it was a mere act of benevolence or justice, and had no connection with the pending election. We cannot adopt this latter view. We think it beyond all question that Weeks had the election in view when he made his communication to the men on the night preceding the polling day, and intended it to influence the votes of all who might be doubtful." On the Stroud Case, other hand, in the Stroud Case (quoted supra), it was also proved that the men at certain mills belonging to the respondent's agents received a holiday on the polling day, and were paid for that day ; but, unlike the Qravesend Case, there was no evidence that previous to the polling day they were promised their wages. It was argued for the peti- tioners that there was an implied promise, inasmuch as at an election held three months before the men also had a holiday, and afterwards got their wages ; but Bramwell, B., held that a single instance of prior payment did not warrant the inference that payment would be made a second time, and he declined to hold that the act of paying the wages after the election, disconnected from any promise made before, was bribery. Since the above decisions, the 48 & 49 Yict., c. 56, has been passed, which in s. 1 enacts as follows : — '•' Nothing in the law relating to parliamentary elections shall make it illegal for an employer to permit parliamentary electors in his employment to absent themselves from such employment for a reasonable time for the purpose of voting at the poll at a parliamentary election, without having any deduction from their salaries or wages on account of such absence, if such permission is, so far as practicable, without injury to such business of the employer, given equally to all persons COBRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 27 alike, who are at the time in his employment, and if such paehambntaey ' . . & Municipal. permission is not given with a view of inducing any person — to record his vote for any particular candidate at such election, and is not refused to any person for the purpose of preventing such person from recording his vote for any particular candidate at such election." The conditions under which it is safe to grant a holiday to voters to record their votes would seem to be: (1) that the time allov/ed is reasonable ; (2) that the holiday is given equally ; and (3) that it is not given with a view of inducing the voter to vote in any particular way. (See the Aylesbury Case, 4 O'M. & H., 59.) The principle of the Gravesend Case seems to be that a Promising an promise of some advantage to an elector, made with a view bribery, of influencing: his vote, is bribery, though it is not proved though no ,. . . , , r ir^i , .condition that any express conciition is annexed to the lumlment or annexed. the promise. And in full accordance with this principle is the decision in the Launceston Case (2 O'M. & H., 129 ; Zannceston 30 L.T., U.S. 823). There it was proved that the re- ^''''' spondent was a large landowner in the borough. During the progress of the contest some clamour was raised with reference to his preservation of the rabbits on his estate. A night or two before the polling the respondent, addressing a public meeting, said : " I give authority for you, everyone of you, to kill every rabbit upon my estate ; kill them, ferret them, shoot them, trap them, do whatever you like, send them to market." At other meetings the respondent and his agent used similar language, and they took special measures to secure the wide circulation of a local paper containing the public declaration of the respondent's views on this subject. Mellor, J,, who tried the case, decided that this was an otfer of a *' valuable consideration " within the statutes, and that an act of bribery had been committed by the respondent personally. His lordship drew the distinc- tion between the case where the motive for the act was the bond fide desire of a landlord to give his tenants a privilege, and where the object was to influence the election, as he believed was the object in the case before him. 28 THE LAW RELATING TO PABLIASIENTAET & MnjriciPA.li, A promise to give an office bribery. The effect of a candidatd'a expenditure in the con- stituency. Bribery is not limited to the giving or lending of money or some valuable thing. It is, by the clear words of the statute, equally bribery to give or promise or to agree to endeavour to procure any office, place or employment, as an inducement to an elector to vote or refrain from voting. In the Waterfonl Case (2 O'M. & H., 25), it was held that an offer made by an agent of the respondent to vacate a seat in the town council in favour of a certain person if he would vote for the respondent was a bribe within the meaning of the Act. But to give a man hoiid fide employment uncon- nected with the election is not bribery, merely because the man happens to be a voter. " A man is not bound to refuse to take into his service a man of his way of thinking if he is going to set up for the borough. He must not do that as a reward for the vote he hopes to obtain, and he must not make the vote a condition of employment. But the employ- ment of persons to do work must go on in election times as well as in others ; the affairs of life cannot be brought to a standstill." {Per Willes, J., in the Penryn Case, 1 U'M. & H., 128.) But, of course,, paid employment at an election is a different thing, and, except to a very limited extent, it is now entirely prohibited by the Acts of 1883 and 1884. A question of practical importance is : To what extent does a candidate bring himself within the law against bribery by lavish expenditure or hospitality in his constituency, by subscriptions to institutions and public charities and political party objects, by charitable benefactions to individuals and classes of persons connected with the constituency. Profusion at an election is now under the ban of the Legislature. The expenditure of a candidate in connection with the election — i.e., with the conduct and management of the election — is circumscribed within the narrowest bounds, and any excess beyond the limit is fatal. Bat there is no statutory limit imposed upon his general expenditure in the constituency during the interval between elections. His liability for such expenditure remains to-day very much as it was prior to the new law. It is true there is increased punishment if he transgresses, but recent legislation has in CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 29 no way widened and enlarged the definition of the particular ^^^^^^l\f^ltlj offence of bribery now under consideration. And a candi- date can lawfully spend as much as he likes in his con- stituency before the election provided such expenditure is not made under circumstances amounting to bribery or treating, and provided also that it is not of such a character and made at such a time as to lead the Court to regard it • as an election expense. It is impossible to prevent wealth having a considerable weight in the determination of elections. A man may use his wealth in a manner to in- gratiate himself with a considerable portion of the con- stituency, and so powerfully influence their votes, and yet not bring himself within the law. Suppose a person of wealth to set up a great establishment in or near a constituency and spend large sums among the tradesmen in the place. In that way he will, in all probability, create an interest in his favour, which will be felt at the election. So if a man were to establish some form of industry in a town he aspired to represent which involved, in addition to the employment of the people, a considerable expenditure of money in the place. In that way again he would influence opinion in his favour ; but in neither of the cases mentioned would there be any violation of the law. To put even a stronger case. Suppose a man purchased all the house property in a con- stituency and became the employer of all the labour, with the distinct view and object of rendering himself more accept- able and securing his return Even io that case it is conceived there would be no breach of the law. The mere fact that a man holds a position in which it is in his power to confer great benefits upon the constituency — even though he acquired that position and keeps it in the belief that it will advantageously affect his election — matters nothing. If people are led spontaneously to support him from the desire of standing well with one who may advance their individual interests or the interests of their community, there is no violation of the law. But if directly or indirectly he approaches them and makes the distribution of his favours dependent upon political support, or by any act or word on 30 THE LAW RELATING TO PAHLiAirEXTAET his Dart croates the opinion in their minds that it will be the — better or the worse for them in their private affairs according as they support or oppose him, that will be evidence of bribery. Lavish The Only case in the books upon the subject of lavish expen i ure, expenditure and its effect upon an election is the Hastings . Case (lO'M. &H., 217; 21 L.T., n.s , 234). In giving judgment Blackburn, J., said : *' It was shown that Mr. and Mrs. Brassey had bills with the tradesmen and spent a very considerable sum of money in the town ; and it was said as part of the petitioner's case, that that expenditure had been increased and was the more lavish, because the election was coming on ; in shorty tj;iat there was a lavish household expenditure, with a view of influencing the elec- tion with the same intention and in the same way as would, if it had been an expenditure of meat and drink to influence the election, have come within the definition of treating Not neces- Bui there is no Iniv yet ichich says that any lavish expenditure san y eg . ^.^^ ^ neighbourhood ivith a tnew of gaining influence in the neighbourhood and influencing an election is illegal at all. In order to constitute anything that would be a corrupt practice in respect of expenditure of that sort, it must be made with a view of influencing a particular vote. If such an expenditure is made at a place with a tacit understanding of this kind, * I will incur bills and spend my money with you if you will vote for me, that being not the side on which you intended to vote,' if it is intended to produce that effect upon the vote, it amounts to bribery. In the present case there is nothing to show that in either of the cases there was such an under- standing or such an arrangement made. Whether or not the expenditure was more lavish than it would otherwise have been is no matter for me to enquire into, because that would not affect the election if it was made out. The law thus laid down fourteen years ago is, it is sub- mitted, law still. And, in a word, the result is this : There is no reason why a man who is a candidate for a constituency should not live and spend his money there. That is legal. (See the Aylesbury Case (4 O'M. & H., 59), which, though CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 31 strictly a case of alleged treating, is in accorrlance with thi< ^^^^^^^^'^^J^^^ view, and seems to cover the statement in the text.) But if he makes the spending of his money with any particular persons conditional on their voting for him, he is guilty of bribery. Again, a person who is a candidate may lawfully give Charitable subscriptions to institutions and charitable and other objects *" ^^^^ ^°°^' in his constituency, including subscriptions to political asso- ciations and clubs. On the other liand, subscriptions may unquestionably be given under circumstances which will amount to bribery. For instance, if a man gave a con- siderable sum, say to a burial club, on condition that all the members of the club voted for him, that would be as clear bribery as if he had distributed the sum in question among the individual members of the club upon a like con- dition. The common case, however, of a person subscribing to the philanthropic and public objects of a place without condition annexed to his gifts, or moderate subscriptions to political party objects (not in themselves illegal) is not struck at by the law as it now stands. There are only two reported cases where subscriptions were charged as corrupt acts. In the Wesfhunj Case (1 O'M. & H., 49) it was proved that one of the candidates had sent a cheque for £10 as a subscription to a dissenting chapel almost at the same time that he issued his address. Willes, J,, said : " I have myself often observed that people who mean to become candidates subscribe to things they would otherwise not have subscribed to ; but I think that is a step off corrupt practices ; it is charity stimulated by grati- tude or hope of favours to come." So, in the Belfast Case (1 O'M. & H., 282 ; 21 L.T., n.s., 475), where it was proved that the respondent had subscribed to an Orange Lodge, Subscriptions although his principles were not identical with those of the lodge, Baron Fitzgerald declined to hold that this was an act of bribery. In both these cases it is clear that the motive of the donor wab not an unmixed charitable inotive. He had in his mind the hope that some persons would be favourably 32 THE LAW RELATING TO Charities. PiEtiAMENTART affected towards him at the election by his liberality. But & Municipal. . . .^ — the court held that this desire to wm popularity with a certain section of the constituency by evincing a sympathy with the objects they supported was a very diJEferent thing to a corrupt influence brought to bear upon individual electors in their private affairs. So a person who is a candidate may lawfully give charit- able benefactions to individuals- or classes of persons in the constituency ; but it is obvious that he is treading upon dangerous ground here. Acts which candidates call acts of charity, may be interpreted by an Election Court as bribes. There is no case where an election has been upset merely by reason of a candidate's lavish expenditure, or the number and amount of his subscriptions ; but there are many cases where the seat has been forfeited by acts which were held to be bribes under the cloak of charity. It will be convenient here to review some of the authorities on this subject. In the Windsor Case (1 O'M & H., 2 ; 19 L.T., n.s., 613) the respondent gave a pound to a voter who had previously promised him his vote, and who subsequently came to him in distress, WiUes, J., held that upon all the facts this was not a bribe. This ease must not be misunderstood. It by no means settles that giving a pound to a voter who is in distressed circumstances is necessarily an innocent act. On the contrary, unexplained, it raises a strong presumption of bribery against the person who gives the money. In the Windsor Case it must be assumed that the learned judge who saw and heard the parties was satisfied that the respondent acted from motives of pity merely. In this view the case is an authority for saying that a gift of money by a candidate during an election is not necessarily bribery. If, however, several benevolences of the same kind were established against the respondent, he would seem to come within the Gravesend Case (44 L.T., n.s., 64 ; 3 O'M. & H., 84), and the Launceston Case (2 O'M. &, H., 129 ; 30 L.T., n.s., 823). In the Tamicorth Case (20 L.T., n.s., 181) it was proved that the respondent, on the night of nomination, visited one of the cottagas on his property, in company with a Tamworth Cote. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. B8 person whose name was not kuowu, for the purpose of ^4 Mr^,"^P.^'' canvassing the tenant. He saw the tenant's wife, who com- plained that she was in pain and distress and about to be confined, and that the roof of the cottage was out of repair and it was raining in. At the respondent's request hin companion gave her 5s. Willes, J., held that this was not a corrupt act, but charity, natural under the circumstances. The observations we have applied to the Windsor Case apply to this case. It is a dangerous, but not necessarily a fatal, thing for a candidate during the contest to give money to a person who appears to be in distressed circumstances. The Youf/hal Case (21 L.T , n.s., 307 ; 1 O'M. & H., 294) Yo^^hai c^c is a somewhat singular case. It was proved that on and immediately before the polling day, large sums of money were distributed in shillings and half-crowns lo poor people in the streets of the borough. As much as £160 was sn given away by one person, £130 by another, and £00 by u third. None of this money was given to voters. The learned judge unseated the respondent on other grounds, but as to this part of the case, suggested that bribery was not made out. It will be observed that this is only a dictum, and not a decision. It is diflBcult to criticise a judgment given in an abbreviated form and with only a bald summary of the facts. But the expression of opinion above cited should be accepted with great caution. It is hard to think that such a proceeding as the open distribution of money on the polling day among poor persons, though none of them may be voters would now pass with impunity. In the Stafford Case (1 O'M. & H., 230; 21 L.T., v^./orr/ 6'.«. n.s., 210) it was proved that at the Christmas before the election the sitting member, through his agent, distributed £720 in charit}-. At the corresponding period of the j-ear before — when the election was more distant— he only distri- buted £300 in this way. The election was avoided on other grounds, but in giviug judgment, Blackburn, J., said : " I do not for a moment mean to say that there may not be many excellent charities distributed to these amounts and more by many people, but where I find that charities are 3 34 THE LAW RELATING TO ^A^M'^x'^^pf"^ clistributed iu a borough, by thoae who are expecting to — contest it as candidates, and distributed, without check, b}' the election agent of the borough, I am not charitable enough to draw any other conclusion than that they do it with the intention of giving the voters money in the hope and expectation that it will influence the future election. And there is the further and great danger attending it, that the knowledge that they have been doing it will cause men at the future elections to give their votes in the expectation and hope that they will hereafter receive pay- ment. When that is brought home to any one, I think it would undoubtedly mean corruption." Windsor C'«« In the second Windsor Case (2 O'M. & H., 89 ; 31 L.T., n.8., 133) some Jong time before the election, and upon the occasion of distress caused by a flood, the respondent gave away about £100 among his tenants, some of whom were voters and some not, and who paid him altogether about i3,000 a year in rent. This money was spent in coals, beef, and tea, and the respondent on being asked whether, when he made these gifts, he had in view the election for the borough, hesitated to say that to a certain extent he had not. Bramwell, B., held that, under the circumstances, the gifts were not corrupt. He said, " It is certain that the coming election must have been present to the respondent's mind when he gave away these things. But there is no harm in it if a man has a legitimate motive for doing a thing, although in addition to that he has a motive, which if it stood alone, would be an illegitimate one. He is not to refrain from doing that which he might legitimately have done on account of the existence of this motive, which bj itself would have been an illegitimate one. If the respon- dent had not been an intending candidate for the borough, and yet had done as he has done in respect of these gifts, there would have been nothing illegal in what he did, and the fact that he did intend to represent Windsor, and thought good would be done to him, and that lie wuuld gaiu popularity by this, does not make that corrupt which other- wise would not be corrupt at all." These remarks of his CORRUPT PRAniCES AT EF.ECTKJXS. 35 lordship have aiven rise to a ffood deal of discussion, and PiRLiAjir.MvBT while some judges have expressed their approval of them, — others havo thought they were too wide, and calculated to mislead candidates into acts which would be held corrupt. The decision itself is probably sound enough, for it is to be observed (1) That the money was given a long time before election ; (2) upon a legitimate occasion ; (3) it was given merely to the respondent's tenants, from whom he received a large rental, and (4) the amount was not great. In tlie Cdrrickfrrtjuii Caf^c (3 O'M. & H., 90), Dowse, B., Approved in read the passage from the judgment of Bramwell, B., in rZil*^" the Windsor Cnf:/L„i ca^e. oonnection. There it was proved that the respondent, who lived in the neighbourhood of Boston and had been in the habit of giving largely to the local charities through the medium of other persons, and of entrusting sums of money to the clergy to distribute among the poorer classes, in the December preceding the general election of 1880 directed his agent to distribute 150 tons of coal among the poor ot Boston. DiHtiuiiiitiou The person to whom the i-espondent entrusted the distribu- ^^ e]e,^tiou tiou of the coal had cards printed with these A\ords on them, " Please deliver cwts. of coal to for Thomas Parry (the respondent), B. B. Dyer (the agent)," and on the back of the cards the words " With Mr. Parry's compliments." The cards were distributed among the electors and non-el< ctors of Boston, and the coals were obtained upon them. Grove, J., held, that having regard to the circumstances under which the charity was conferred, there was on the part of the respondent's agent an intention to influence the votes of the recipients. Hi.s lordship said, " It has been over and over again held that an judgment of unfair and improper donation with the view, motive, and ^^- J"^*^'^^ intention of securing a vote, is corrupt within the meaning of the Act of 1854. It might be a doubtful question (and it is one which was discussed in the Windsor Case) wliether assuming two motives to exist, the one being pnre and the 36 THE LAW RELATING TO paeliamentari other with the inteutiou to corrupt, you coukl exclude the A MuiflCIPAT.. . _ A ' »< — corrupt intention and rely wholly upon the pure intention. I think that must be rather a question of degree. A man may wish to be charitable in a neighbourhood, but at the same time he may have an eye to his own interests, and there must be in fact some limiting line, incapable of being de- fined in words, where the two things come to a nearh- equal balance. We know, for instance, that persons looking forward to be candidates for Parliament are generally pretty liberal to the charities in the district, and such liberality, so far as 1 am aware, has never been held to vitiate the elec- tion." His lordship then proceeded to say that if it had been known that Parliament would be dissolved upon the Charities 26th of January, and these gifts of coal had been made on the 14th of January with that knowledge, he would have had great difficulty in holding that the respondent was not personally guilty of bribery. He thought, however, that at the time the respondent did not think the election was imminent, and though his agent had carried out the dis- pensing of the charity in a way which showed that he meant to influence votes and the seat must be forfeited, yet he would refrain from reporting him as guilty of personal bribery. Plymouth Caie. In the Plymouth Case (3 O'M. & H., 107) it was proved that the respondent ever since he was returned as member had been in the habit of sending to the mayor and other persons in the borough sums of from £250 to £500 to be distributed among the poor. These gifts were usually made on occa- sions like that of the marriage of one of his children, and they were made in other districts with which the respondent was connected as well as Plymouth. One such distribution was made in 1874 and another in 1876. On the election being called in question, in 1880, it was argued that the gifts were merely colom-able charity and were intended to influence votes. The court (Lush and Manisty, JJ.) refused to draw any such conclusion from the evidence. They said they were of opinion that the respondent was a man of large-hearted benevolence, whose disposition was to CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 37 Parliamiktaet IPiL. share his large means among the poor and needy of the a^iu>-ic' places with which he was connected, and that in making these gifts he acted from a laudable sense of duty. But at the same time the learned judges were emphatic in pointing out that charitable gifts may be nothing more than a specious and subtle form of bribery, a pretext adopted to veil the corrupt purpose of gaining or securing the votes of the recipients, and " if this is found to be the object of the donor it matters not under what pretext or in what form, to what persons, or through whose hands the gift may be bestowed, or whether it has proved successful in gaining the desired object or not." The W/'gan Case (4 O'M. & H., 14) is one in which TFiffun Case treating, rather than bribery, un ler the pretext of charity, was suggested ; but the following remarks made by Bowen, J., are of general application : " Charity at election times ought to be kept by politicians in the background. No doubt the distress was great in Wigan at the time, and there was, probably, many a fireless and breadless house throughout the town, but the persons who ought to have relieved the distress were not the politicians of Wigan ; they ought to have stood aloof, they had another daty to dis- charge on that day, and they could not properly discharge both duties on the same day. In truth, I think it will be generally found that the feeling which distributes relief to the poor at election times, though those who are the distri- butors may not be aware of it, is really not charity, but party feeling following in the steps of charity, wearing the dress of charity and mimicking her gait." The second Salisbury Case (4 O'M. & H., 21) is the last Saiubury Cn^e- authority on thf subject. There it was proved, that very shortly after the election the respondent gave £100 to be spent in coals and blankets among the poor ; but it was also proved, that after the election of 1880, when he was defeated, he gave a similar gift, and that it was a tradition in the borough for each of the membeirs to give £100 a year for distribution among the poor. < )n these facts the court (Pollock, B., and Manisty, J.) held that the fair inference to 38 THE LAW REI>ATING TU 'a MuNi^rAL.' ^® drawn was, that the gift was not given with tlie intention of corrupting the minds ol' futm-e voters, or as a reward for past voting, but that it was done honestly as a matter of charity, and with the view of keeping up that sort of good feeling which it is desirable should exist between the rich and the poor. Pollock, B., referred to the dictum of Bramwell, B., in the Windsor Cane already quoted, and remarked : " If it were necessary to consider this as a new matter, I am not quite sure that I should be prepared to go so far as Lord Bramwell went in that proposition. I should prefer, myself, to say we must take the whole of the evidence into con- sideration, and consider whether the governing principle in the mind of the man who gave such gifts was, that he was doing something with a view to corrupt the voters, or whether he was duing something which was a mere act of kindness and charity." Result of tie ^Ve have set out the authorities on this subject at some autliorities. length, but at no greater length than the difficulty and im- poiiance of the question discussed warrants. The conclusions to be deduced, it is submitted, are as folIoAvs : — 1. Bond jide charitable benefactions in a constituency which a person re})resents, or aspires to represent, do not constitute bribery. 2. But benefactions made under the colour and name of charity, with the view of influencing the votes of the recipients, or other persons through them, are bribes. The iiiotiveoi '3. What was the morive of the donor in each case is a the donor the question of fact to be determined by the court from an examination of all the evidence. But, in determining such question, attention must be paid to the time when, with refer- ence to the election, the gifts were made, the habit and practice of the donor with regard to charities elsewhere and before he became a candidate, even to the traditions of the constituency, and to the amount of the gift. If the distribution of charity is made shortly before an election, a strong presunjption of a corrupt motive arises (the Boston Case and the Stafford Case, quoted supra) : if, on the other hand, it is made some CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTION'S. 39 time before, there is no such presumption (the PJymoHth Case ^^^''^Ji^^™^".'' aud the Windsor Case, quoted supra). S. 2 of the 17 & 18 Vict., c. 102 (already quoted) makes it bribery for any person, directly or indirectly to make any ffift, loan, offer, promise, procurement or ag-reeraeut. to or To pay for With any person m order to induce such person to procure or bribery. rndeavour to procure the return of any person to Parliament or the vote of any voter at any election, " provided always that the aforesaid 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 bond fide incurred at or con- cerning any election." This provision, which is substantially a re-enactment of a statute of Greorge III., was primarily devised to strike against corrupt arrangements by which patrons of close boroughs sold their influence in them. But it. would seem to have a larger scope than this, and to make it an act of bribery to pay or promise anything to any person (though a stranger to the borough) with a view of securing that person's assistance or influence in the election unless such payment was in the nature of "legal expenses bond fide incurred at or concerning the election." The only case in which this section has come before any of the judges was the Cocentrtj Case (1 O'M. & H., 97 ; 20 L.T., n.s., 405). Oovevu-y Ca»^, In that case there were two respondents, and it was proved that there was an arrangement between them by which one of them agreed, in the event of the other consenting to stand in conjunction with him, that he would pay all the other's expenses. The latter had previously contested the con- stituency and, it was said, was popular in it. It was suggested that this promise to pay the election expenses was within the section. Wille^ J., said that t!ie question for him was, whether the one respondent intended by this promise to purchase the influence of the other in the constituency, or was the promise merely made with the view of serving the party. His lordship came to the latter Judgment of conclusion, and refused to avoid the electiori ; but his ' ' ' language was very precise ;is to thf^ operation of the section in a case which really comes within it. " It would 40 THE LAW RELATING TO '^'MuKioiFir ^® bribery in the case of the perBon who gave, as well as — in the case of the person who received the benefit, and if the respondent E agreed to give the respondent H £5, I may say a farthing in point of law — if he agreed to give him anything, if only a peppercorn, for the purpose of purchasing any influence which the respondent H had witli the electors of Coventry, and of advancing the respondent E's interest as a candidate at -the election— that would be bribery within the statute." The last sub-section of the 17 & 18 Yict., c. 102, s. 2, makes it bribery to advance or pay any money with the intent that such money should be expended in bribery or to knowingly pay any money in repayment of any money, wholly or in part, expended in bribery at any election. iSubscripiioiis This provision in no way strikes at subscriptions towards expenses of defraying the expense of any particular candidate or of can- candidates didates belonging to a particular party. Sucli subscriptions legal. j^j.g ^^^,y common. They have never been called in question, and in the Belfast Case (1 M. & H., 285 ; 21 L.T., 475) Fitzgerald, B., intimated an opinion that they were perfectly legal and constitutional. There are cases in the reports of the proceedings before Election Committees where the latter have held that a bet made by a voter on the event of an election invalidates his vote and necessitates its being struck off on a scrutiny. (Rogers on Elections, 12th edition, 386.) It is difficult to understand these decisions on the facts presented in the meagre reports preserved. But, apart from authority, if the court is satisfied that a bet or wager made by a candi- be bribes. ^^^^^ o^' ^^J ^^^ 0^ ^^s agents is merely a corrupt contrivance to influence a voter, and to induce him to cast his vote in one direction or another, or to abstain from voting, that is bribery which will defeat the election. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 41 Section II. — Treating. PieUameniabt ICIPAL. Treating is the second of those corrupt acts, which if ^"muk committed by a candidate or any one of his agents, will avoid either a Parliamentary or a Municipal election. Various statutes from the 7 and 8 Wm. III., c. 4, onwards, have prohibited the giving of meat, drink and entertainment with the view of influencing votes, and there are innumerable cases where the seat has been forfeited for corruption of this description. Those statutes were all repealed by the Corrupt Practices Act, 1854 (the 17 & 18 Vict,, c. 102), which in its 4th section enacted as follows : — " Every candidate at an election who shall corruptly by Old definitiui himself, or by or with any person, or by any other ways °^ treating. and means on his behalf, at any time, either before, during, or after any election, directly or indirectly give or provide, or cause to be given or provided, or shall be accessory to the giving or providing, or shall pay, wholly or in part, any expenses incurred for any meat, drink^ entertainment or provision, to or for any person, in order to be elected, or for the purpose of corruptly influenciug such person, or any other person to give or refrain from giving his vote at sucli election, or on account of such person having voted or refrained from voting at such election, shall be deemed guilty of the offence of treating, and shall forfeit the sum of £50 to any person who shall sue for the same, with full costs of suit ; and every voter who shall corruptly accept and take any such meat, drink, entertainment or provision, shall be incapable of voting at such election, and his vote, if given, shall be utterly void and of non-effect." And by the joint operation of the Act of 1854, s. 36, and the 46th section of the 31 & 32 Vict., c. 125, the election of any person who was guilty by himself or his agent of treating was avoided. S. 23 of the Act of 1854 also made it an illegal act, rendering the person guilty of it liable to a penalty of 40s. (though the seat was not affected), merely to 42 THE LAW RELATING TO Parhamewtabt i .^rl•^•ICIPil/. Definition of treating in Act of 1883. ISo material alteration between old and new definition. give any dk^iI, diiiik, &c., to any voter on the nomination day or the polling day. S. 1 of the Act of 188;5 repeals 8. 4 of the Act of 1854, and by s. 66 of the same Act the 23rd s. is also repealed, and in lieu of the provisions of the old ]a\v the following section is substituted : " Whereas, under s. 4 of the Corrupt Practices Act, 1854, persons other than candidates at Parlia- ujeutary elections are not liable to any punishment for treating, and it is expedient to make such persons liable ; be it therefore enacted : Any person who eorruptl}^ by himself, or by any other person, either before, during, or after an election, directly or indirectly, gives or provides, or pays wholl}' or in part the expense of giving or providing, any meat, drink, entertainment or provision to or for any person lor the purpose of corruptly influencing that person, or any other person, to give or refrain from giving his vote at the election, or on account of such person, or any other person having voted or refrained from voting, or being about to vote, or refrain from voting at such election, shall be guiltj' of treating. And every elector who corruptly accepts or takes any such meat, drink, entertainment or provision shall also be guilty of treating." The Act of 1884 applies to municipal elections the above definition of treating, and it may be taken that whatever is treating at a Parliamentary election is treating at a Municipal election. Although the wording of s. 1 of the Act of 1883 is different from the wording of s. 4 of the Act of 1854, there no material alteration in the definition of the offence of The latter section includes in its definition the causing to be given or provided meat, &e., but inasmuch the former forbids the giving or providing directly or indirectly of any meat, &c., and it is a principle of law that a man does that himself which he does through another, it would seem that the words of s. I are comprehensive enough to include every act in this connection which the rejiealed section was directed aguinst. Again, s. 4 of the old Act contained the words, " or shall be accessory to the giving or providing." IS treating CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ET-ECTIONS. 43 Those words are omitted from s. 1 , but evidence that a p^kliamewiabt ' « AlV^ICtPAI.. candidate knew that meat, &c., was to he given and consented to tiie giving, which would constitute him an accessory, would also be evidence that he actually gave it within the meaning of 8. 1. Towards the end of the definition in s. 1 some words are added which were not in s. 4. It is treating to give . . . "• on account of such person or any other person liaving voted." The words in italics are new, and they somewhat enlarge the sweep and scope of the description of the offence. But subject to the minor ^ariations we have mentioned, the old definition of treating is preserved, and substantially all that the legislature has done is to increase the penalties for the offence, and make subject to tlieni classes of persons who before escaped. It will be noted that in the definition of treating ecmtained in the Act of 1854 the wor\ O'M. & H., 59; GIonc€!^fe)',2 0'll. & H., 63 ; Sffjme// Circ, 4 0']\[. &1I., 43.) But if the act is an innocent one, the person voting- believing til at he was the person on the register, the vote should be attacked in the petition and particulars, as being- given by a person not on the register. To treat the ease merely as one of personation maybe insufficient. [Atliloue, supra.) If two persons are improperly on the register in respect of the same premises both of them may vote, and the offence of personation is committed by neither (20 L.T., 315). If A, who is entitled to vote, chooses to be called B, and so votes, that does not vitiate his vote, ( WiUs's Case, 20 L.T., 310.) If an agent of the candidate returned should knowinglj' instigate the commission of the offence of personation it would seem that the cloctiou would be bad at common law as well as under the statute. {Coventri/, 1 O'M. & H., 100 ; 20 L.T., 405 ; Ghaceder, 2 O'M & H.,' 64.) It is important to remember that the offence of personation When ofTonce is complete upon i\\Q applicalion for a l)allot paper being '^'""' made. 5 G6 THE LAW RELATING TO Section Y. — A False Declaration. PAiiT.iAMEXTART S. 33 of tlio Act of 1883 renulros tho election ao'cnt of tho — candidate to transmit a true return of the election expenses A false to tlio returning officer within a time specified. This return :i\:rrxTAr.Y the Act, of 1883, and one in s. 28 ; and by s. 11 of the same Such illegal Act, if tlie Election Court reports that a candidate at any P^"='^'*iccs four election has been guilty by /ris ar/etits 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 Parlia- ment for which the election was held, and if he has been elected, his election shall be Yoid." S. 7 is as follows : — *' (1.) No payment, or contract for payment, shall for the Section 7 of purpose of promoting or procuring the election of a candidate "^^* ^^ ^^^'''' at any election be made, " {ft.) On account of the conveyance of electors to or from the poll, whether for the hiring of horses or carriages, or for railway fares, or otherwise ; or " (/'.) To an elector on account of the use of any house, land, building, or premises for the exhibition of any addres.s, bill, or notice, or on account of the exhibition of any address, bill, or notice ; or " (('.) On account of any committee room in excess of tlie number allowed by the first schedule to this Act. " (2.) Subject to such cxcejjtion as mny bo allowed in pursuance to this Act, if any payment or contract for payment is knowingly made in contravention of this section eitlier before, during, or after an election, the person making 68 THE LAW RELATING TO PiBLiAiiENTAKT g|2c]i payment or contract shall be guilty of an illegal practice, and an}^ person receiving such payment, or being a party to any such contract, knowing the same to be in contravention of this Act, shall also bo guilty of an illegal practice. Sub-3. 3 " (3.) Provided that where it is the ordinary business of proM 0. ^^^ elector, as an advertising agent, to exhibit for payment, l)ills 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." Illegal to pay The first offence consists in actually paying, or contracting ance of vot'rs ^^ V^J (whetlior to an elector or a non-eloctor) any money on to the poll, account of the conveyance of electors to or from the poll, and it is specifically stated that the offence is complete, whether the payment or contract for payment relates to the hiring of horses or carriages, or is for railway fares, or of/icncise. This is a material change upon the old law. Prior to the new Act, in count i/ clrcfions it was lawful to convey electors The old law to or from the poll in hired carriages, or to bring tliem from on thesuhjeet ^ jigtance by means of free passes on the railway, or other- wise ; and the almost uniform practice was for both sides to avail themselves to the full of this right. In the ease of horoiifjh elections, while the conveyance of voters to or from the poll in hired conveyances was legal within the limits of the boroughs themselves (43 & 44 Vict., c. 18, s. 2), any payment on account of their conveyance outside the boroughs was illegal, though it did not avoid the election. (The Bolton Case, 2 O'M. & II. ; 31 L.T., n.s., 194.) Now, counties and boroughs are placed upon exactly the same footing, and not only is the conveyance of electors at the candidate's expense to or from the poll in hired con- veyances, or upon the railway, made illegal ; but if any agent Contract with of the candidate makes any payment, or contract for payment, men for'^oi- '^'i^^ ^ view to their conveyance, the election is avoided. veyanre r.f That is unquestionably the general effect of the first part of ^*^^^"" the s. 7. The wording of a later section raises, however, a question wliether tin's is so in every case. S. 14, sub-s. 1 CUIUJL'PT PEACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 69 forbids any person to let, lend, or employ for the conveyance ^'-^"j-i-^MfyiABv of voters to or from the poll, any carriage, horse, or animal, ichich he keeps or uses for tJtc purpose of let It mj out to hire, and the second sub-section goes on : ''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 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.^' An illegal hiring is treated in the Act as a less heinous offence than an illegal practice, and does not avoid the election, unless it is com- mitted by the candidate personally, or his election agent ^ Now, suppose a person who is held to be an agent of the candidate, though he is not an election agent, hires all the carriages and horses in the stables of a livery stableman, and uses them for the conveyance of voters to and from the poll, is he only guilty of an illegal hiring ? If so, the election will stand. On the other hand, if he hires a single horse, '^^^ ^Sect of from a person who is not a livery stable keeper, he clearly with livery comes within s. 7, sub-s. 1, and committing an illeg^al stablemen for • I 1 Tf 1 1 . conveyance of practice, the election is avoided, it this be so, the result is voters. curious, for then, to make a contract for the hire of carriages ^s* 7 & M. with persons whose business it is to supply horses and carriages, and who can supply them wholesale, would not defeat the election, but to make a contract with other persons u-oidd. It can hardly be supposed that the legislature meant this, but it is open to argument that it has enacted it. S. 7 contains a merely general prohibition against entering into contracts for the hire of conveyances, and annexes a heavy penalty to any breach of it. S. 14 specifically deals with the hiring of conveyances from one class of persons, and prohibits this under a lighter penalty. Unless the view is adopted that tho penalty under s. 14 is cumulative and that, therefore, the persons mentioned in it are guilty both of an illegal practice and an illegal hiring, the other construction is that the latter section qualifies the former, and takes the persons specifically dealt with by it out of the general words of s. 7. However this may be, it should be noted in connection 70 THE LAW EELATING TO PAHLiAMEjfTAKi- witli tliG pi'oliibitiou coutainecl in s, 7 against payments I'roviso fo and contracts for the conveyance of voters to the poll, that eno-'iaftcd ou sub-s, 3 of the 14th s. provides that ' nothing in this Act s- 7. shall prevent a carriage, horse, or other animal being let to, or /tired,ov employed, or used by an elector, or several electors, at their joint cost, for the purpose of being conveyed to or from the poll." In the Biiclnmc Case (4 O'M. & H., 117) it was held that where a voter had driven to the poll in a cab, paying nothing to the driver, and being ignorant that the use of the cab was prohibited by law, no offence had been committed and that his vote was good. But query whether his use of the cab was prohibited by law. See s. 14 (3). Illegal to pay The second offence consists in paying to any elector, or con- placa/dino-. tracting to pay to him, any sum 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 address, bill or notice, with the proviso that if it is the ordinary business of an elector as an advertising agent, to exhibit them, any payment to him shall not be illegal. This section speaks for itself. It strikes at a form of corruption suggested in the Westminster Case (referred to at p. 20), where it was charged that the respondent sought to influence voters by paying them sums of money for the privilege of exhibiting his placards in their windows or upon their shutters. That was held to be a corrupt practice only lint net where the payment was made with the corrupt view of illegal la case influencing the vote of the person who got the money ; but electors. under this section it is an illegal practice to make these payments to any elector without reference to tlie motive which dictates the payment. It would seem, however, that it is lawful to pay non-electors for the right of exhibiting jdacards, &c., unless it be shown that by excessive payments to such persons it is sought to influence the votes of electors connected with them. Then it would probably be bribery. Schedule I., Part II., makes it lawful to pay "the expenses of printing, the expenses of advertising and the expenses of publishing, issuing and distributing addresses COnKUl'T PKACTICi:S AT ELECTIONS. 71 aud uolices." It is, thorefore, permissible to employ persons ^'■^"^'"'"'^''■^" to distribute and post ordinary election bills and placards. See the Barrow C(t>ie (4 O'M. & H., 7G) where the documents printed were copies of a letter written by a distinguislied statesman and exhortations to "Vote for D ." But it would be illegal for a volunteer to make such payments, except, perhaps, to the extent of a few shillings, for by s. 28 no election expense may be paid except by or through the election agent. The Norwich C''!/ii>cnt others." What the Act strikes at is paijinent for additional ^oomaTilelS Committee rooms. There is apparently no objection to a candidate using as many committee rooms as his friends are content to lend him, subject to a restriction on the kind or description of premises employed to be presently mentioned. Illegal to S- 28 of the Act of 1883 creates another illegal practice, pay election ^vhich, if committed by any agent, will avoid the election. expenses ex- ,-ii t i -jiii ccpt through It declares that no payment and no advance or deposit shall election agent. 1^^ made, whether by the candidate or any other person, before, during, or after an election, in respect of tlic expenses incurred on account of the election, except through I he rrovisoto election arjent, acting in person or by a sub-agent. There ia ^^ ^^ ^' a proviso to the effect that this section shall not apply to— (1.) any payments made by the returning officer ; or (2.) any sum disbursed by any person out of his own money for any s)nall expenses legaUij incurred by himself, if mch sum is not repaid to him. The design of this section is to secure the payment of all election expenses through the OOIUIUPT PKA.CTICES AT ELECTIONS. 73 ^VKt,l^ME^ 1 AKY medium of a responsible election agent, who is bound to i'-» make a return of every farthing silent. No other person is now allowed to make any payment on account of them, and if any one does his vote is bad. (The Buchrosc Cane, 4 O'M. & H., 116). If any person, other than the election agent, «"^;'-l su|"3 does disburse any sum in promotion of the election it must person other be for a small expense merely, and he cannot recover it back I^o^5it°"ifts?^ from the candidate: What is " a small expense" within the meaning of the proviso has yet to be decided. It will probably receive a very strict construction, because the latter portion of s. 28 provides — "All money provided by any person other than the candidate for any expenses incurred on account of or in respect of the conduct and management of the election, whether as gift, loan, advance or deposit. shall be paid to the candidate or his election agent, and not otherwise." Unless, therefore, the permission given in the proviso is strictly limited, it will convert s. 28 into a dead letter. In the Noricich Case, 4 O'M. & H., 81, the Court suggested that the proviso might, perha2)s, excuse the expenditure of half-a-crown. This section effectually prevents the expenditure of any but such a small sum in promoting the election of a candidate by any of the numerous political and trade asso- ciations or clubs which have been founded for the purpose of impressing the views of their members upon rarliauiont, or upon the constituencies. " If any agent of a candidate chooses to expend money illegally in the promotion of that candidate's return, whether the money came from a great political club, or from a subscription of well-wishers, or from an enthusiastic supporter, such expenditure will bo fatal to the candidate who succeeds by its help." (Per Dcnman, J., in the Ipswich Case, 4 O'M. & H., 74.) An important question next arises — to what extent is it Tho possi- posHible for a candidate to obtain relief against the conso- ^'^''^'^^'"^^ quences of an illegal practice committed by himself or an agent ? One penalty of an illegal practice is — and it is the only one with which we are now concerned — the loss of the seat. Can this be averted in auv case? It will be 74 THE i.Aw j;i;lating to pahlia^iewtaki remembered that tlie qualified relief giveu under s, 22 of the rossibiiiiy Act of 1883 applies to illegal practices as well as to treating aud undue influence, when they are committed by any person except the candidate personally or his election agent. Therefore, if any of the illegal practices mentioned in this chapter be committed by any of the candidate's agents Under 8. 22. (except his election agent), relief against the forfeiture of the seat ntay be given under g. 22. But the next section of the Act of 1883 — viz., the 23rd — carries the posHibiliti/ of relief still further, and even extends it to cases where the illegal practice has been com- mitted by the candidate himself or Inn election agent. This section is in the following terms : — Uud-.r 5. 22. " Where, on application made, it is shown to the High Court or to an election court, by such evidence as seems to the Court sufficient : '' {a.) That any act or omission of a candidate at any election, or of his election agent, or of any other agent or person, would, by reason of being a 2)ay- menty engagement, emploijincnt or contract in con- travention of this Act, or being tlw jMigment of a sum or the incurring of eji'j)ense in excess of any waximinn amount alloiced hy this Act, or of othennse tjeing in rrovisious of contravention of any of the provisions of this Act, s- 23. ic^ ii(t for this section, an illegal practice, payment, employment, or hiring ; and " {b.) That such act or omission arose from inadvertence or from accidental miscalculation, or from some other reasonable cause of a like nature, and in any case did not arise I'rom any want of good faith ; and " (c.) That such notice of the application has been 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 bo just that the candidate or such election or other agent or 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 allowing such act or omission to be an exception from the provisions of this Act, which rORIiUPT I'D.ACTICES AT ELEf'TIOXS. 7J would otherwise make the same au illegal practice, paymeut, i^aeuambkiaht cmploj'meut or hiring, and thereupon such candidate, agent, or person shall not be subject to any of the consequences under this Act of the said act or omission." When, in the next section, we treat of illegal practices generally, the majority of the olfences pointed at by the above section will appear ; but the words " contract in contravention of this Act " seern clearly to embrace the three classes of acts mentioned in s. 7, and the general words of the section are sufficient to cover the offences struck at in 8. 28. If this be so, the result is that there is no case of au No case of illcfjal practice (as distinguished from a corrupt practice), practiclwhcro where the unlawful act of a candidate or a candidate's agent, election I ;i ;i 1 !• I ii J ■; necessarily whether the election agent or any other agent, neces'iariiy avoided, means the forfeiture of a seat. For au illegal practice committed by the candidate or the election agent there is the possibility of relief under s. 23, if it is shown on application to the High Court or tlie Election Court that the act or omission arose from inadvertence, or from accident miscal- culation, or from other reasonable cause of a like nature, and " not from any want of good faith." On the other hand, for an illegal practice committed by an agent (other than the election agent), there would seem to be the possibility of relief both under s. 22 and under s. 23. In the case of an application for relief made to the High Court under the latter section, the applicant is not, in so many words, required affirmatively to prove tlie facts which arc conditions precedent to relief under the former section, but it is entirely in the discretion of the Court whether it makes an order under s. 23 or not, and it is probable that it would not do so unless the applicant satisfied it that — [a.) the Tdins on offences committed were of " a trivial, unimportant, and unliej!^/"2'f* limited character ; " {h.) that the candidate and his election viii !>» agent took all reasonable means for preventing the com- ^^'^^ *' * mission of corrupt and illegal practices ; and (c.) 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. The principles on which the Court acts in giving or refusing relief, will be further discussed hereafter. THE LAW KELATING TO Section II. — When Committed by the Candidate or the Election Agent. pAKLivMEMirT The general provision of s. 11 of the Act of 1883 is, that any illegal practice committed by the sitting member or any of his agents, will avoid the election. The four classes of acts dealt with in the last section, come under that rule. But in addition, numerous other offences are created by the Act of 1883, which the Legislature has thought right to say shall only become illegal practices when committed by the candidate or his election agent ; or which, through illegal practices, by whomsoever committed, only affect the validity of the election when brought home to the candidate personally, or to his election agent. Those offences are scat- tered with little method all over the Act. We group tliem together in this chapter, and for greater clearness it is pro- posed to divide them, as above indicated, into, first, offences which only become illegal practices Avhen committed by the candidate or his election agent; and secondly, offences which are illegal practices ah initio, but which only avoid the election when committed by the candidate or his election agent. In this chapter we would remind the reader we treat exclusively of the law as it relates to parliamentary elections. FurLhor division of illegal practices. Illegal payment. Sub-section I. — Offences which become Illegal Pkac- TICES when committed BY THE CANDIDATE OR THE Election Agent. (A.) S. 13 of the Act of 1883 enacts that where any person knowingly provides money for any payment which is con- trary to the provisions of the Act, or for any expenses incurred in excess of the maximum allowed by the Act, or for replacing any money expended in any such payment or expenses, except where the same may have been previously allowed in pursuance of this Act to be an exception, such person shall be guilty of illegal imynient , Illegal payment is CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 77 a new offence and generally falls short c)i illegal pradke : but parllimen-tart by s. 21 (sub-s. 2) a candidate or the election aejent of a candidate who is personally guilty of an offence of illeejal Il't^sal pay- pai/iiioit, cinploi/menf, or hiring, shall be guilty of an illegal practice. Therefore, an illegal payment becomes an illegal practice when committed by the candidate or his election agent, and it then avoids the election. The object of s. l^i is in keeping with the main design of the Act of 188;J, which is to discourage profusion at elections, and to restrain the cost of a contest within the narrowest limits. As will be shown at greater length hereafter, a sliding scale of maximum expenditure, regulated by the number of electors and the character of the constituency, is contained in the first schedule ; and to enforce compliance with it, and other provisions of the Act directed against prodigality, s, l^} is framed. 8. 8, to be jiresently mentioned, forbids a candidate or his election agent, to pay or incur an}' expense whatever above the maximum amount allowed. The section under consideration is of somewhat wider scope. It forbids any person to do what the candidate and his election agent have already been prohibited from doing, and it also prohibits any person from providing money for any payment contrary to the provisions of this Act, though it be witliin the maximum allowed. (B.) Tlie first sub-section of s. 14 makes it an illegal hiriitg Illogal hiving, for any person to let, lend or emploi/, for the purpose of the conveyance of electors to or from the poll, any public stage Letting, or hackney carriage, or any horse or other animal kept or ^''"*','°"- "^" J f 1 • iU • 1 ,1 employing used tor drawing the same, or any carriage, horse or other hackufiy animal which he keeps or uses, for the purpose of lotting out ''''"^"'^s^^* for hire, where he knows that the same are to be used for the conveyance of voters to or from the poll ; and by the second sub-section any person who hires, borrows or uses, for the purpose of the conveyance of voters to or from the poll, any carriage, horse or other animal which he knows the owner thereof is prohibited by this section to let, lend or employ for that purpose, is also guilty of illegal hiring. If he does not know, no offence is committed. (The Buch-roHc Case, 78 THE LAW RELATING TO riRLiiMENTir.Y 4 O'M. & H. 117.) By s. 21 (sub-s. 2) a candidate, or an election agent of a candidate, who is personally guilty of an offence of illegal payment, employment or hiring, shall bo guilt}' of an illegal practice. Three The prohibitions in s. 14 are threefold. It is an offence pohibitions ^.^j^^^^ ^^ ^j^ ^_^ ^^ j^.^^^^ ^2^ ^^ j_^^^j ^^ borrow, or (3) to mc or emj)lot/ a horse or carriage u-/iic/i is hpffor the purpose o/being iWogaMo lire let oiit to hire. So far as regards the prohibition against cania"?"^^' letting or hiring, it has already been pointed out that s. 7, sub-s. 1, which makes it an illegal practice to make, or con- tract to make, any payment with or to any person on account of the conveyance of electors to or from the poll, amply provides for the mischief sought to be restrained by this section, unless it be held that the effect of s. 14 (sub-s. 1 and 2) is to take out of the operation of the former section the class of persons mentioned in the latter. It is difficult to think this was intended. On the other hand, why were the words " let " or " hire " introduced into the section ? How- ever, this much is certain : It is, at least, an illegal hiring, and it may be an illegal practice for jobmasters and others who keep horses and carriages which they let out to hire to let any of them for the purpose of conveying voters to or from the poll, except under the circumstances allowed in Proviso as to sub-s. 3. It is there enacted : " Nothing in this Act shall lining. 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." But for this proviso it would hardly have been safe for any jobmaster to have had a single cab on the stand on the polling day, and it would certainly have been an offence for an elector to go to the poll in a hansom at his own expense. The sub-section authorises the latter pro- ceeding, but it is submitted that it will be an illegal act for a person who has hired a cab to pick up another elector on the way and give him a lift to the poll, unless the latter shares the cost of the cab. "Joint cost " is the expression used in the Act. There is no definition of this term given, and it seems open to doubt whether if three electors knowing CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 79 of the proliibition, drive up to the poll in a hackney cab the i'ari-iameniaux failure of any one of them to make up his quota of the fare, though lie pay something, will render the whole three ""^"'"* ^^'*^" electors and the owner of the cab guilty of an illegal hiring. Probably if the Court was of opinion that there was a ho}id fide intention to share the cost, and each elector paid a substantial part of it, such a case would be held to bo within the protection of the sub-section. On the other hand, if it were shown that a number of electors went together to tlio poll in a conveyance hired from a liver}' stableman, and tliat tlio fare was really paid by one or two of tliora, tlio otliers contributing a nominal sum, there can be little doubt it would bo held that sueli a case was not protected by sub-s. 3. The same section also prohibits the lending of any horse or Illegal to hnd carriage which is kept for the purpose of being let out to hire, p^rrfj^p/^ It must be observed that the general use of conveyances in connection with the bringing up of voters to the poll is not forbidden by the Act of 1883 ; it is the employment of hired conveyance which is struck at. As a rule, a candidate or A^ ''^'■"^^^''^"' his agent may accept the loan of horses and traps from any use'iiorrowe.l quarter where he can get them ; but this section introduces ^^-'^i^^- an exception to the rule. It expressly prohibits the persons mentioned in it from even lending tlieir horses and carriages. Livery stablemen are certainly within the scope of the section. No matter how keen and disinterested their parti- zanship may be, they are forbidden to lend the horses and carriages used in the way of their business for the piu'pose of conveying voters to and from the poll. But the section is not limited to livery stablemen. The prohibition is against lending " any carriage, horse or other animal which any Exception to person keeps or uses for the purpose of letting out for hire." t^-''^ti'»ie. Whether these words would cover the case of a person who kept a horse and trap, which he generally used for his own purposes, but which he occasionally let out for hire, may well be doubted ; but it would certainly comprehend the case of a publican who, it may be, keeps a siugle liorse and trap for the purpose of letting it out. 80 THE LAW RELATING TO pakliasientarv The section not merely forbids the lending of a horse or Illegal to Ksc carriage of the description mentioned, it also prohibits its nse c;in^a»"!^ or cmplot/mcut in the conveyance of voters to and from the Iilogal to me t^q\\^ ^ liorse Or trap kept for the pnrpose of being let out carnage iii an for hire, must not, under any circumstances, be used on the election. polling day to bring up voters, unless in the case excepted by the 8rd sub-section. Thus, a job master cannot himself, or by his servants, convey voters to the booths, nor can lie give a friend or acquaintance a lift. S. 48, it should be mentioned here, allows voters to be conveyed by sea to and from the polling place at the candidate's expense under cer- tain circumstances. *' "Where the nature of a county is such that any electors residing therein are unable at an election for such comiUj to reach their polling place without crossing I-egal to pay the sea, or a brancli or arm thereof, this Act shall not for ir<( prevent the provision of means for conveying such electors some cases, by sca 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 the Act." Tho result is, that with regard to the conveyance of voters to or from the poll, it is still legal to carry them in horrowcd carriages unless the carriages or horses employed are usually let out for hire ; but it is in no case lawful to hire conveyance or any other means of carrying voters, except some provision of Hca carriage in the cases within S. 48. Illegal to (C.) S. 10 provides that any person who corruptly induces comiptbj ^^ procures any other person to withdraw from being a randidate to candidate at nn 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. An illegal payment becomes an illegal practice when committed by a candidate or his election agent. Therefore, if a can- didate or his election agent becomes a party to any corrupt arrangement forbidden by the section, his election is liable to be defeated. Illegal to pay (D.) By s. 16 all payments, or contracts for payments, on ^•rbLonT^ie fvccount of bauds of music, torches, flags, banners, cockades, CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 81 ribbons, or other marks of distinction are forbidden, where PiELiAMEsxAET they are made for the purpose of promoting the return of a candidate, and all persons concerned in making such pay- ments or in receiving them are declared guilty of an illegal payment. It is difficult to say why payments or contracts for payment on account of exhibiting placards, &c., consti- tute an illegal practice (s. 7) and the class of payments in the section under consideration are only illegal payments ; but the distinction is made. In the Steimey Cane (4 O'M. & H., 89), a flag for which no payment was made was suspended across the street by ropes attached to the roofs of two houses, one of the roofs was injured by the rope, and a voter was paid for repairing the injury. This was held not to be within the section, and the vote stood. (E.) S. 17 declares that no person shall, for the purpose of illegal to i^'/y promoting or procuring the election of a candidate at any gf cess of the election be engaged or employed for paiiment or promise o/'number .e ' -^ X. i \ allowed, payment tor any purpose or m any capacity whatever except as authorised by the schedule of the Act, and if any person is engaged before, during or after an election in contraven- tion of this section the person engaging or employing him shall be guilty of an illegal employment, and the person so engaged or employed shall also be guilty of illegal employ- ment, if he knew that he was engaged or employed contrary to law. It becomes, therefore, material to enquire what persons can be legally employed and^jra*^ in connection with a parliamentary election, and here care must be taken to distinguish the case of county from the case of borough constituencies. Schedule I. (Part I.) in the case of counties allows : — Number of One election agent. ^ ^ _ ""^^^l^^ One sub-agent in each polling district. One polling agent in each polling station. In counties. One clerk, and ) p ji ^ i •, , ■, «T,« w^^c.o^^,^^^ [ io^ the central committee-room when one messenger ) the number of electors does not exceed 5,000, and where it does exceed 5,000 one additional clerk and messenger for each complete 5,000, and if 6 82 THE LAW RELATING TO PlKLIAJIENTAKT Illustration. Number of paid agents allowed. In boroughs. there is a number of electors over and above any complete 5,000 or 5,000's, then another clerk and messenger may be employed for such number, although not amounting to a complete 5,000. In addition, One clerk, and j ^^^ ^^^^ .^. ^.^^^.^^ ^^^ ^^^^ one messenger ) i o ' the number of electors exceed 500 in any polling district one clerk and one messenger for every complete 500 or complete SOO's of electors, with this provision, that if there be a number over and above a complete 500, one clerk and one messenger shall be allowed for such number. Suppose a county constituency with 11,000 voters, and polling districts A, B, C, D, and E, having respectively 2,000, 3,000, 300, 700, and 5,000 voters, and twelve polling stations. It is assumed the allowance of paid agents will be as follows : The election agent, five sub-agents, twelve polling agents, three clerks and three messengers for the central committee-room ; four clerks and four messengers in poll- ing district A ; six clerks and six messengers in B ; one clerk and one messenger in C ; two clerks and two messen- gers in D ; and ten clerks and ten messengers in E. It may be stated here that there is a proviso in the schedule that the number of clerks and messengers so allowed in any county, may be employed in any polling district where their services may be required. In the case of boroughs the number of paid allowed is less, viz. : — One election agent. One polling agent in each polling station. One clerk and one messenger for every complete 500 electors, and if there is a number over and above any complete 500, or complete 500's of electors, an additional clerk and messenger may be employed. A regular clerk of the election agent employed without increase of salary or payment to address envelopes and do other work in connection with the election is not a paid agents CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 83 clerk, and need not be so returned. (The Buckvose Case, pakliamextaey 4 O'M. & H., 116.) The purposes for which and the capacities in which persons may be employed are indicated by the description given in the schedule. Thus, it is illegal to employ persons, for hire, to keep order at a candidate's meetings, although the services of volunteers may lawfully be used for that purpose. (The Ipsicich Case 4 O'M. & H., 72.) An illegal employment, by s, 21, is made an illegal l^egal to practice when committed by the candidate, or his election volunteers, agent. It must be noted that this section is merely directed against the employment of any paid agents in excess of the number allowed. The employment of volunteers is perfectly legal under the new law. But nothing must be given to such volunteers. In the Barrow Case (4 O'M, & H.) certain persons gave their services on the polling day gratuitously. But each of them received a meal — a pork pie, a sandwich, and a cup of coffee. It was held that these things constituted " payment," and that, al- though they did not amount to a corrupt practice, the sitting member must be unseated. It has been already stated that it is an illegal practice to pay for any committee-rooms in excess of the number allowed in the schedule (s. 7, sub.-s. 3). That section, however, does not place any restrictions upon committee-rooms which are lent to the candidate. The section we now proceed to discuss, viz., section 20, does, and it adds to the restrictions jRestrictions upon those hired, by forbidding certain premises being used upon com- .,, •L^ I p I ,^ !• n mittee rooms as committee-rooms, witliout rererence to the question ot whether they are lent or hired. Section 20 prohibits the /tire held— or use as a committee-room for the purposes of an election of (1) any premises on which the sale by wholesale or retail of (i) Dn licensed any intoxicating liquor is authorised by license (whether the Premises, license be for consumption on or off the premises), or (2) any (2) Nor any premises where any intoxicating liquor is sold, or is supplied ^'j^'^'^^H^ . to members of a club, society, or association other than a sold except permanent political club, or, (3) any premises whereon refresh- (3)^'i'of where ment of any kind, whether food or drink, is ordinarily sold refreshment sold. 84 THE LAW RELATING TO paelia«entaky fQj, consumption on tlie premises, or (4) the premises of any (4)Norschool- public elementary school in receipt of an annual parliamen- tary grant ; provided that nothing in the section shall apply to any part of such premises v/hich is ordinarily let for the purpose of chambers or offices,- or the holding of public meetings, or of arbitrations, ifmchpart has a sqmrate entrance^ and no direct conimunication with any part of the premises in ■which any intoxicating liquor or refreshment is sold or supplied as aforesaid. In the JBiichrose Case (4 O'M. & H., 113) the dwellinghouse of a schoolmaster of a public elementary school in receipt of an annual parliamentary grant had been used as a committee room, and, although the house was severed from the school, as it was within the same curtilage, it was held that the use of the house was illegal. In the same case the decision was otherwise, where it appeared that the school house was provided rent free by a subscriber to the school who was the owner of the premises and paid the rates. Every member of the committee who uses the prohibited room commits the offence. (The Buckrose Case, supra.) Any breach of this section, whether on the part of a person hiring or using any part of the prohibited premises, or on the part of the person letting, is made an illegal hiring. The main object of the section is to discourage treating by diminishing the facilities for it. And no doubt those facili- ties are lessened in view of this rigorous prohibition against having committee-rooms on licensed premises, or in clubs other than jjermanent political clubs, or in any place where refreshments are sold. All hotels, inns, grocers' licensed premises, temperance hotels, refreshment-rooms, eating- houses, coffee and cocoa taverns, social, literary, or pro- fessional clubs, will come within the prohibition of the statute. The section contains an absolute prohibition against the use of any such places as committee-rooms, and one of the penalties when the candidate or his election agent is a party to the breach of the law, is the loss of the seat. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 85 Sub-section II. — Illegal Practices which avoid the Seat only when committed by the Candidate or HIS Election Agent. (A.) By s. 8 of the Act of 1883, no sum shall be paid and PAELiAMrNiAEr no expense incurred by a candidate at an election or his Illegal to pay election agent in respect of the conduct and management of excess^of ^^ the election in excess of the maximum amount specified in maximum. the schedule and applicable to the particular constituency, and if any candidate or his election agent knowingly acts in contravention of this section he is guilty of an illegal prac- tice. It has been stated already that one of the ways in which the Act strikes at corruption is by prohibiting pro- fusion. This section and s. 13, given before, are auxiliary to this object, and they forbid all persons interested in the election to exceed the maximum sums allowed in the schedule. It will be observed, that by the express words of the section only the candidate or his election agent can be guilty of this particular illegal practice. (B.) The first sub-section of s. 9 makes it an illegal prac- inegal to tice for any person to vote or to induce or procure any ^°^f ^^,^'® other person to vote at an election, knowing that he or such against person is prohibited from voting whether by this Act or any ^° ^^^' other Act. In view of this provision it becomes important to inquire what persons are prohibited from voting within the meaning of this section. And first as to persons prohibited by the Act itself. They are as follows : — (1.) " Every person who, in consequence of conviction or of Persona the report of any Election Court or Election Commissioners from v-otiug under this Act, or under the Corrupt Practices (Municipal ^y the Act Elections) Act, 1872, or under Part IV. of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, or under any other Act for the time being in force relating to corrupt practices at any election for any public office, has become incapable of votingatany election, 86 THE LAW RELATING TO Paid agents forbidden to vote paeliamentary -whether a parliamentary election or an election to any 8. 37. public office, is now prohibited from voting at any such elec- tion" (s. 37 of the Act oE 1813). (2.) " Every person guilty of a corrupt or illegal practice, fc>. 36. or of illegal employment, payment or hiring at any election is prohibited from voting at such election " (s. 36). It will be observed that there is a material difference between the prohibitions enacted in ss. 36 and 37. In the case of a cor- rupt practice, &c,, committed at a pending election, the elector committing it comes at once — as soon as he is guilty of the act and before he is convicted of it — under the pro- hibition against voting at such election ; but where the corruj)t practice has been committed at some other election the prohibition does not come into operation until he has either been convicted of the offence or reported by an Election Court or Election Commissioner. (3.) The election agent, sub-agents, polling-agents, clerks and messengers authorised by the 1st Schedule, lohere they are ixiid, are forbidden to vote at the election (1st Schedule, Part I.), either in the division in which they are emploj'ed, or in any other division of the same borough (s. 15 of the Eedistribution of Seats Act, 1885). There is no objection whatever to unpaid agents voting. Persons prohibited by other Acts of Parliament from voting include : — (1.) Any elector who, at or within six months before the election, shall have been retained, hired, or employed for any by other Acts, of the purposes of the election for reward (30 & 31 Vict., c. 102, s. 11 ; 31 & 32 Vict., cc. 48 & 49, s. 8). It should be noted that by the principal Act it is an illegal employment to employ any one for the purpose of promoting or procuring an election, except for the purposes indicated by s. 17 of the Act of 1883. (2.) Any convict, until his term of punishment has ex- pired, or he has obtained a free pardon. (The 33 & 34 Vict., e. 23, s. 2.) (3.) Persons under the age of twenty-one years. (7 & 8 Will. III., c. 25, s. 11.) Persona prohibited from voting CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 87 (4.) A returning officer at a parliamentary election, unless parliamentary there is a tie. (35 & 36 Vict., c. 33, s. 2.) The prohibition against police officers voting at parlia- mentary elections has been repealed by the Police Disabilities Eemoval Act, 1887. Peers of England and Scotland {Earl of Beauehamp v. Persons pro- Overseers of the Parish of Madresfield, 42 L.J. C.P., 32), peers by^ih^cmi^ of Ireland, when not Members of the House of Commons mon law. {Lord Rendlesham v. Haward^ 43 L.J. C.P., 33), women {Chorlton v. Linrjs, L.E. 4, C.P. 374 ; 38 L.J. C.P., 25), and aliens are also prohibited from voting ; but the prohibition in these oases arises by the common law of Parliament and not by statute, and it is submitted therefore that it is not an illegal practice for any of these persons to vote, nor is it an offence within the meaning of the section we are con- sidering to induce them to do so. But if anyone who is prohibited by anij statute votes, or anyone induces anybody else who comes under a statutory prohibition to vote, knowing that such person falls within any of the above prohibitions, an illegal practice is committed. The knowledge referred to must be, not a knowledge of the statute which creates the disability, because every person is supposed to know the law, but a knowledge of the facts in relation to the person's status or past conduct which bring him within the statute. When the illegal practice mentioned in this section is committed by a candidate or his election agent, the election is avoided : but when it is committed ,by any other person, though he may be an agent of the candidate to bind him by any corrupt act, the election is not defeated (sub-s. 2 of the 9th s.). (C.) By the 2nd sub-s. of s. 9 it is enacted that any person who, before or during an election, knowingly publishes a false statement of the withdrawal of a candidate at such election, for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of another candidate, is guilty of an illegal practice, and if the offence is committed by the candidate or his election agent, but not otherwise, the election is avoided. The essence of this offence is — {a.) the publication THE LAW RELATING TO Paeliamentaet Publishing false state- ment of with- dra-wal of a candidate. Illegal to issue bill 'without printer's tamo. Illegal to pay election billfi except -within specified time. of the false intelligence, knowing that it is false ; and {b.) publishing it with the object stated in the section — viz., to promote the return of another candidate. (D.) " Every bill, placard or poster having reference to an election shall bear upon the face thereof the name and address of the printer and publisher thereof ; and any person printing, publishing, or posting, or causing to be printed, published or posted, any such bill, placard, or poster, as aforesaid, which fails to bear upon the face thereof the name and addi-ess of the printer and publisher, shall, if he is the candidate or the election agent of the candidate, be guilty of an illegal practice " (g. 18). This section is directed against anonymous libels, but election agents will require to take great care that every bill and placard they issue in connection with the election, no matter how innocent and businesslike it may be, complies with the provisions of the law. " Bill is a very large word indeed " — per Field, J., in the Barroic Case, 4 O'M. & H. 78— but it is submitted it does not include election addresses sent by post or distributed by hand, although, as to this, see Ex i). Ives^ 5 Times, L.E., 136. And it has been decided the section does not include circulars. Barstou; 5 Times, L.E. 159.) The court has no power to relieve the printer of the bill, placard or poster {Ex j). Lenanton, 5 Times L.E., 173), who is liable to a fine of £100. (E.) By s. 29, sub-s. 2, it is made an illegal practice for an election agent to pay any claim against a candidate arising out of the election, which is barred by not being sent in within the time specified in the Act, and by sub-s. 4 the election agent is forbidden to pay any claim after the time specified by the Act for payment, under the penalty of being guilty of an illegal practice. But, for the protection of an honest candidate, sub-s. 6 provides that where the election court reports that any payment made by an election agent in contravention of this section was made without the sanction or connivance of the candidate, the election shall not be void, and the candidate shall be subjected to no incapacity. The CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 89 whole duties and functions of the election agent are treated PAELiAMgyiABY of in Chapter VIII., and it will be more convenient to leave until then the fuller discussion of the circumstances under which disobedience of s. 29 on the election agent's part will constitute an illegal practice. (F.) An election agent is required by s. 33 to make a return of the election expenses within thirty-five days of Illegal not to the declaration of the poll, accompanied by the declaration ^/J^peng^'er given in the schedule. By sub-s. 6, failure to comply with within any of the requirements of s. 33 is made an iUegal practice. tfm°e. ^ And by the following sub-s., hnoicinghj io make a false return or a false declaration is a corrupt practice. It has already been explained in treating in the last section of the illegal practices which avoid the election when committed by any agent, that there is the possibility of relief against the consequences of such acts under s. 22 as well as s. 23 of the Act of 1883. In regard to the illegal practices T^e possi- described in both sub-sections of this section, s. 22 has no ^ application ; but in a proper case, the Court may grant relief under s. 23. Candidates and election agents cannot, however, be too emphatically warned against any reckless ^' ^^* expenditure or employment in reliance upon the chance of indulgence being extended to them under the terms of this section, because on its plain reading, it is only to apply where the slip has been the result of inadvertance or accidental miscalculation, and where the applicant has not been wanting in good faith. 90 THE LAW RELATING TO CHAPTER III. ILLEGAL PRACTICES WHICH AVOID A MUNICIPAL ELECTION. Section 1. — When Committed by the Candidate or ANY Agent. MuNiciPAi. The illegal practices -which avoid a municipal election if committed by the candidate or any agent are also four in number. Three are contained in s. 4, and the fourth in s, 5 of the Act of 1884. Illegal to pay g, 4 of the Act of 1884 corresponds with s. 7 of the Act of lor C0IIV6V" ance of voters, 1883, and in identical language it declares that any payment or contract for payment in promotion of the election of a candidate at a municipal election, (1) on account of the con- veyance of electors to or from the poll, whether in carriages Or for or by rail, or (2) to an elector for the use of any house, &c., placards, £qj, ^^q exhibition of placards, &c., or (3) on account of any committee-room in excess of the number authorised shall be Or for com- an illegal practice. All the remarks we have made in the mittee-rooms gj,g^ section of Chapter II., with reference to the application certain of s, 7 of the Act of 1883 to parliamentary elections, apply number. ^^ ^^^ application of s. 4 of the Act of 1884 to municipal elections. The number of committee-rooms allowed in the case of a municipal election is less than the number allowed in any kind of parliamentary election. And so far as is necessary to secure this result the language of the two sections differs. But subject to this their language is exactly the same and a similar interpretation must be given to them. The number of committee -rooms which may be lawfully paid for is regulated by the size of the borough or ward in which the election is held. " If the election is for a borough one committee-room for the borough, and if the election is CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 91 for a ward one committee-room for the ward, and if the muxicipal. number of electors in such borough or ward exceeds two thousand, one additional committee-room for every two Number of thousand electors and incomplete part of two thousand rooms which electors, over and above the said two thousand." (S. 4, ^^y ^® ^^'^'^ sub-s. 1 (e) of Act of 1884.) It will be noted that while in the case of a borough parliamentary election a candidate is permitted to hire one committee-room for each 500 electors, in the ease of a municipal election he may only hire one for each 2,000 electors. The other illegal practice which avoids a municipal election if committed by any agent is created by s. 5 of the Act of 1884, and consists in the candidate or any one of his agents Illegal to pay knowingly paying any sum, or incurring any expense in re- oxce?s^of ^° spect of the conduct or management of a municipal election maximum. in excess of the maximum amount authorised by the Act. There are also sections of the Act of 1883 rendering payments in excess of the maximum amounts mentioned in the schedule illegal in the case of parliamentary elections, but there is this important difference, that a payment in excess of the maxi- mum is an illegal practice, by whomsoever committed, in the case of a municipal election, but in the case of a parliamentary election it is only an illegal practice when committed by the candidate or the election agent. S. 5, sub-s. 1, fixes the maximum sum which may lawfully be spent over a municipal election. " The sum of twenty-five pounds, and, if the number of electors in the borouo-h or ward exceeds five hundred, an additional amount of threepence for each elector above the first five hundred electors." It is also The maxi- provided that where there are two or more joint candidates ™^°^- at an election, the maximum amount of such expenses shall, for each of such joint candidates be reduced by one- fourth, or if there be more than two joint candidates by one-third (s. 5, sub-s. 3). The next sub-section enacts that where two or more candidates hire or use the same committee- rooms for the election, or employ or use the same clerks, messengers or polling agents, or publish a joint address, or joint circular or notice, these candidates shall be deemed 92 THE LAW RELATING TO Municipal. Possibility of relief. to be joint candidates, subject to this : that the employment or use of the same committee-room, clerk, messenger, or polling agent, if accidental or casual, or of a trivial and unimportant character, shall not be deemed of itself to con- stitute persons joint candidates (s. 5, sub-s. 4). A candidate at a municipal election may obtain relief against the consequences of an illegal practice committed by him or any one of his agents, under the same conditions as a candidate at a parliamentary election may obtain relief. S. 20 of the Act of 1884 is in substance the same as s. 23 of the Act of 1883, and applying its provisions to the illegal practices under discussion, the result is that upon application to the High Court or an Election Court and after giving Buch notices in the borough of the application as may be directed, a candidate upon satisfying the Court that the particular act arose from (1) inadvertence or accidental miscalculation, or from some other reasonable cause of a like nature, and (2) did not arise from any want of good faith, may obtain an order allowing such act to be an exception from the provision of the Act, and relieving him from all penal consequences. Section II. — "When committed by the Candidate or with HIS knowledge and consent. Illegal pay- ment. The acts which have this effect are very similar to the offences treated of in the second section of Chapter II., which avoid a parliamentary election when committed l^y the candidate or his election agent. (A.) S. 9 of the Act of 1884 is word for word the same as 6. 13 of the Act of 1883, and it enacts that where any person knowingly provides money for any payment which is con- trary to the provisions of the Act, or for any expense in- curred in excess of the maximum allowed by the Act, or for replacing any money expended in any such payment or expenses, except where the same may have been previously allowed in pursuance of this Act to be an exception. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 93 Eucli person shall be guilty of illegal payment ; and by the iicNiciPix. Act of 1884, s. 17 (2)/' where an offence of illegal payment . . . . is committed by a candidate or with his know- ledge and consent, such candidate shall be guilty of an illegal practice." The remarks we made in the last chapter upon s. 13 of the Act of 1883 apply to the section under considera- tion, and to avoid repetitions the reader is referred to them. (B.) The employment of hackney carriages, or of carriage and horses kept for hire at a municipal election is forbidden by s. 10 of the Act of 1884. The prohibition is contained in illegal hiring, precisely the same language as is employed in s. 14 of the Act of 1883, and everything we have said with reference to the meaning and interpretation of that important section is strictly applicable to s. 10 of the Act of 1884, with this diiference only, that the letting, lending, or employing for the conveyance of electors to or from the poll at a municipal election, of a hackney carriage, &c., only becomes an illegal practice affecting the validity of the election when the can- didate himself is a party to it. (C.) S. 11 of the Act of 1884, following the precise terms Corrupt with- of s. 15 of the Act of 1883, makes it an illegal practice in a ^^""^^^^ candidate at a municipal election to corruptly induce or pro- cure any other person to withdraw from being a candidate in consideration of any payment or promise of j)ayment. (D.) Again, s. 12 of the Act of 1884 is a reproduction of s. 16 of the Act of 1883, and an application of its terms to every municipal election,with the result that if any payment Bands of or contract for payment is made by a candidate, or with J^rchcs &c his knowledge or consent, on account of bands of music, torches flags, banners, cockades, ribbons, or other marks of distinction, the election is liable to be avoided. (E.) The Act of 1884 contains a similar prohibition against employing and paying agents in excess of the number author- ised by the Act to that contained in the Act of 1883. It is an illegal employment to employ and pay more than the number limited (s. 13), and an illegal employment becomes an illegal practice when committed by the candidate or with his knowledge or consent (s. 17). The persons whom a 94 THE LAW RELATING TO MryiciPAL. Paid agents ia excess of maximum . The maxi- mum. Committee- rooms, &c., as licensed premises. candidate is permitted to employ and pay must come under the denomination of clerks, messengers, or polling agents, and their number is regulated, in the case of clerks and messen- gers, by the size of the constituency as fixed by the burgess roll, and in the case of polling agents by the number of polling stations. It is no objection to the persons employed, that they are electors ; but if they are paid for their services they must not vote (s. 13, sub-s. 3), and in this connection it may be mentioned in anticipation of what will be stated later on, that to induce any person to vote who is forbidden by the Act to vote, is an illegal practice, avoiding the elec- tion when committed with the candidate's knowledge or consent. The persons whom a candidate at a municipal election may pay are as follows : — ( 1 .) Tu^o clerks or messen- gers in any case, and if the number of electors in the borough or ward, as the case may be, exceeds two thousand, one addi- tional person may be employed for every thousand electors and incomplete part of a thousand electors over and above the said two thousand. Tims, to illustrate what is meant, if there were 4,001 names upon the burgess roll, five persons might be lawfully employed and paid either as clerks or messengers. (2.) In addition, one polling agent may be employed in each polling station. (S. 13 sub-s. 1.) (F.) S. 16 of the Act of 1884 is in many respects analogous to s. 20 of the Act of 1883. They both forbid the use of licensed premises for the purposes of a committee- room ; but the section in the Act of 1884 goes beyond the corresponding section in the Act of 1883. The latter only prohibits having committee-rooms upon premises where intoxicating liquors or refreshments are sold, and introduces an important exception in the case of the premises of a permanent political club. S. 16 of the Act of 1884, how- over, forbids, in connection with a municipal election, the use of any premises on which drink or refreshments are sold, irrespective of the question of whether they belong to a jjcrmanent political club or not, either as committee-rooms or for the holding of meetings. The stringency of this provision must be noted, and a candidate must bear in mind that if he CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 95 addresses a meeting iu the assembly room of an hotel, ^trxiciriL. though that maybe the place at which meetings of .all lunds Committee- are usually held, his election is liable to be upset. There is meetings on one minor respect in which this section ffives a license to the licensed • •! . .. • premises, candidate at a municipal election which is denied to a can- didate at a parliamentary election. The latter may not have a committee-room on the premises of any public ele- mentary school in receipt of an annual parliamentary grant. There is no corresponding provision in the Act of 1884, and it is conceived, therefore, that it is lawful for a candidate at a municipal election either to have a committee-room or hold a meeting on the premises of a school in receipt of the Grovernment grant. (Gr.) It is an illegal practice for a candidate to vote at a municipal election if he is a person prohibited from voting, and it is equally an illegal practice for him to induce or pro- Prohibited cure any other person to vote, kno^oing that such person is voting^ prohibited, either under the Act of 1884 or any other Act. from voting at such election (s. 6 (1) of the Act of 1884), There is a similar enactment in case of parliamentary elections (s. 9 (I) of the Act of 1883). It is important to inquire who are the persons prohibited, either under the Act of 1884 or any other Act, from voting at a municipal election. As to those prohibited by the Act of 1884, they are exactly the same descriptions of persons as are prohibited by the Act of 1883 in iha case of parlia- mentary elections, viz. :— (1) persons who, by reason of conviction or of the report of any Election Court or Election Commissioners, or the judgment of any Court in an action for penalties, are incapable of voting ; (2) persons guilty of any corrupt or illegal practice, or any illegal employment, payment or hiring at the election in question ; and (3) all paid agents. The persons who are prohibited by other statutes from voting at a municipal election do not seem so considerable in number as in the case of a Parliamentary election. A returning officer at a municipal election may vote, and there is no express statutory prohibition against a minor voting 96 THE LAW RELATING TO Municipal, if he IS Oil the buTgess roll, nor against an elector who has been employed for reward within sis months of the election voting ; but it would seem that police officers are still prohibited, and there is a similar prohibition in the case of convicts. (33 & 34 Vict., c. 23, s. 2.) False state- (H.) A candidate who is privy to the publication of a false drawal ola " statement of the withdrawal of a candidate for the purpose candidate. ^f promoting or procuring the election of another candidate, is guilty of an illegal practice, whether at a municipal or a Parliamentary election. (S. 6 (2) of the Act of 1884.) Placard with- (I.) Again, it is provided by s. 1-4 of the Act of 1884, out printer's foUo^inj^ the terms of s. 18 of the Act of 1883, that every name. o « , i -• i n bill, placard or poster, having reference to an election shall bear on the face thereof the name and address of the printer and publisher thereof ; and it is then enacted that if a candidate at a municipal election is a party to the publication of any bill, &c., without the printer's name, he shall be guilty of an illegal practice. Failing to (K.) A candidate at a municipal election is required to make tSrexplnVes. ^ detailed return of his expenses, and such return, accom- panied by a declaration according to a form set out in the schedule, must be sent to the Town Clerk of the borough in which the election was held, within twenty-eight days of the election. (S. 21, sub-s. 3.) And by a later sub-section, "If the candidate without such authorised excuse as is mentioned in this Act fails to make the said return and declaration, he shall be guilty of an illegal practice." (Sub-s. 5.) Paying i^-) So a candidate at a municipal election is forbidden to claims after ^^j g^^j expense incurred in connection with the election, tSe! ^ ^ unless the claim is sent in within fourteen days after the day of election. (S. 21 (1).) The same section also provides that expenses incurred in connection with a municipal election shall be paid within twenty-one days after the day of election and not otherwise, " and any person who makes a payment in contravention of this section, except where such payment is allowed as provided by this section, shall be guilty of an illegal practice." {Ibid.) The section proceeds that if CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 97 such payment was made without the sanction or connivance Municipal. of the candidate, the election shall not be void. A candidate may obtain relief against the consequences I'ossibility of of any one of the illegal practices mentioned in this section, ^^ '^ ' by applying to the Court under s. 20 of the Act of 1884. That section has already been referred to, and it is not proposed to repeat its provisions here. It is obvious, how- ever, that where the candidate is personally implicated in the illegal practice in question, the Court will require very clear evidence that the act or omission arose from inadvertence or accidental miscalculation, and not from want of good faith, before it makes an order relieving him. 98 THE LAW RELATING TO CHAPTER IV. THE EMPLOYMENT AT A PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION BY THE CANDIDATE OF A CORRUPT AGENT. ment on the subject. parliamentarx S. 44 of the 31 & 32 Yict., c. 125, provides : " If on tlie The enact- trial of any election petition under this Act any candidate is proved to have personally engaged at the election to which such petition relates, as a canvasser or agent for the manage- ment of the election, any person, knowing that such jjerson has, within seven years previous to such engagement, been found guilty of any corrupt practice by a competent legal tribunal, or been reported guilty of any corrupt practice by a Committee of the House of Commons, or by the report of the judge upon an election under this Act, or by the report of Commissioners appointed in pursuance of the Act of the Session of the fifteenth and sixteenth years of the reign of her present Majesty, chapter 57, the election of such candidate shall be midJ' The 31 & 32 Vict., e. 125, applies to Parliamentary elections only ; and there is no provision similar to that contained in the above section in any Municipal Elections Act. It must be remembered, therefore, that the law laid down in this chapter has no application to municipal elections. The employment of a person as agent who has within corriTtao-ent^ seven years of his employment been scheduled for any corrupt practice only avoids the election where the candidate, knowing that he is a scheduled person, employs him person- ally. That is what the section says ; but the authorities Meaning ot establish that the word " personally " is not to be taken in '."P^'^^^^^^^'y" a too literal sense, and that a candidate's liability is not limited to the case where he actually appoints the agent by word of mouth or by writing to him. The North Norfolk Case (21 L.T., n.s., 265 ; 1 O'M. & H., 23S) was the first Personal em- COERUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 09 case in which this section came under discussion. There a rAHLiAMEsiiET person who had been scheduled in connection with corrupt practices at Yarmouth was proved to have taken a prominent ^J^'J^* Norfolk part in the election on behalf of the respondents. He acted as chairman of a district committee ; but the respondents denied that they knew he held this position, though it was admitted that one of them asked him to propose him on the nomination, and he did so. Blackburn, J., held that the act of asking another to propose you at the election does not constitute an employment for the purpose of the manage- ment of the election, and that though an appointment as chairman of a district would be such an employment, there was no evidence that either of the respondents personally made it. His lordship, in the course of his judgment, laid down (1) that it was not necessary that the appointment should be personal in the sense that the candidate must have an interview with the agent, it was sufficient if it was proved that the appointment was made by another " with the knowledge and consent of the candidate ; " (2) that the agent need not be a paid agent ; (3) that he need not be an agent for the management of the icJiole election, it was enough if he was actually employed to manage a portion of it ; and (4) that if it were proved that th(> candidate hnd reason to believe that a scheduled person would be appointed, and wilfully shut his eyes in order that he should know as little as possible, that would be equivalent to actual knowledge. In the Nomich Case (2 O'M, & H., -38), Keating, :i .., NorwUh Ca,r. fully adopted the construction placed upon the statute in the North NorfoJk Case. In this case it was proved that a person who had been scheduled for bribery five years before took a public and ostentatious part in lorwarding the respondent's candidature. The learned judge said that the circumstances in evidence were such that, but for the fact that the respondent was called and swore that he had no knowledge whatever of the efforts made by the alleged agent on his behalf, and that he never intended to recognise him as an agent, he wOuld have held that the case was made out. 100 THE LAW RELATING TO PABLixMEHTiKT jjj the SGCond Galway Case (2 O'M. & H., 196) the facts were that two years before the election the Eoman Catholic Bishop of Galway was reported by an election court as guilty of a corrupt practice, viz., undue influence. It was proved that shortly before the election, the return at which Galway Case was in question, the respondent called upon the bishop, who said that his hands were tied by the report of the election court, and that he would not have act or part in the election ; at the same time, he did not conceal his approval of the respondent's candidature. The clergy of the city, who lived in the same house with the bishop, and over whom it was admitted that he had the fullest control, how- ever, met, and, adopting the respondent as their candidate, organised a canvass in his behalf. It was not proved that the canvass was by the direct orders of the bishop, but it was clear that he was aware of and fully approved it. There was evidence likewise that a letter, written by one of the clergy with the view of driving the petitioner out of the field, was revised and corrected by the bishop before it was issued. The learned judge (Lawson, J.), though he was satisfied that the bishop was at the bottom ol: the whole movement in favour of the respondent, and could have stopped the canvassing of the clergy at any moment, and though affairs were so arranged that the public were led to understand that the bishop approved of everything which was being done in the respondent's interest, did not think there had been such a personal engagement of the bishop by the respondent as brought the case within the section. It must be noted that a person scheduled for corruption is only under disability for seven years. After the expiry of that time it is no offence for the candidate to employ him in connection with the management of the election. {Galicaif Case, 2 O'M. & H., 51.) CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 101 CHAPTEE V. GENERAL CORRUPTION AND GENERAL INTIMIDATION. An election, whether Parliamentary or municipal, will be PAHi.riiiEMAUT ' 1 1 1 Jl • n 1 1 M 1 i J.' & ilUXICIPM,. avoided by the existence of general bribery, general treating, — general intimidation, or undue influence, although there be conaption. no evidence whatever that the candidate retui'ned, or any of his agents, is in any way cognisant of any corrupt practice. An election must be free, and when it takes place amidst general corruption it ceases to be free, and is bad at common law, independent of any statute. " If there were general bribery, no matter from whatlCreneia! fund, or by what persons, and although the sitting member' and his agents had nothing to do with it, it would defeat an' election, on the ground that it was not a proceeding pure and free, but that it was corrupted and vitiated by an influence which, coming from no matter what quarter, had, defeated it, and shown it to be abortive," per "Willes, J.* {Lkhfield, 1 O'AL & H., 22; 20 L.T., 11) ; and at Bradford (1 O'M. & H., 30), Martin, B., said, " If it had been proved that there existed in this town generally l)ribery to a large extent, and that it came from unknown quarters, but tliat people were bribed generally and indiscriminately ; or il' it could be proved that there was treating in all directions on ceueittl purpose to influence voters — iluit homes mere fhrou-n open ^''^^^&- ichere people could get driidc icifliout ))U]i'mg for ii ; by the common law such election would be void." And it is no answer that the general corruption took place some time before the election. (S'/Z^o, 1 O'M. & H., 300.) In order to avoid an election for general bribery, general treating, or general intimidation, it is not necessary to show thht a majority of those wlio polled, or a majority of the 102 THE LAW RELATING TO General treating ^& MI^^crp\^''' coiistituency was SO corrupted. It is enougli to show an — organised system of bribery, treating, or intimidation, " spreading over such an extent of ground, and permeating through the constituency to such an extent that freedom of election has ceased to exist in consequence." {Drogheda, 1 O'M. & H., 252 ; 21 L.T., 402.) General drunkenness at or about the time of the election is evidence of general treating. {Tamivorth, 1 O'M. & H., 75 ; 20 L.T., 181. St. Ives, 3 O'M. & H., 13.) In the Longford Case (2 O'M. &H., 7) a considerable sum of money was spent in giving drink to non-voters, related to voters. In some cases the electors participated in these free drinks. As one witness, a publican, put it : " Anybody might have had the drink without distinction." The election was declared void. In the Brogheda Case (21 L.T., 403 ; 1 O'M. & H., 252), the same principle was enunciated by Keogh, J. " Take, then," he said, " the case of an organised system of treating. I am speaking now of cases in which nothing could be traced to the candidate or his agents, But suppose that at the head of every street, food and drink were provided in large quanti- ties, and places for eating and drinking opened, as to which it was known that every voter who wished to go thither, and seek for food or for drink, would receive it, provided he was on the side of a particular candidate, and that there was an organised system for the purpose of debauching the voters of a particular borough, though all the while not traceable to the member or his agents, so as to disqualify him at future elections, is it to be supposed for a moment that that organ- ised system would not defeat the election ? " Such a case could admit of no doubt, but we think that mucli less bribery or treating than the learned judge there described would be equally fatal. The test must always be. Has the corrupt practice prevailed to such an extent as to affect the result of the election? If it has, it is fatal. It would seem, on principle, that the same test must be applied in cases of alleged general bribery, or treating, as in cases of alleged general intimidation, i.e., Can it be shown that the gross amount of corruption could not have affected the result ? "What is the test? CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 103 Unless that can be shown, or from the facts inferred, the ^l^^\'^,l'i'^^^J election ought to be declared void. {JVorth Durham, 2 O'M. & H., 152 ; 31 L.T., 383.) The observations of Willes, J., in the Tanmorth Cane (1 O'M. & H., 75; 20 L.T., 181), do not contravene this proposition. Tlio learned judge did not deny that the same rule applies to general treating as to general bribery. He only insisted that the treating should be shown to be operating upon the minds of the electors at the time of the ppll. (See also the ' Noncich Case, 19 L.T., G15 ; 1 O'M. & H., 8.) If that condition be complied with, lavish treating by publicans themselves, without any reason for expecting payment, would be sufficient to avoid the election. {Poole, 31 L.T., 171;2 0'M. &H., 123.) In the Ipmich Case (4 O'M. & H., 71) Denraan, J., sug- gested, as a limitation to the generality of the proposition, that an election must be declared void where general cor- ruption is found to have prevailed in the constituency at the time of election, that the election should not be declared void " if one found that the bribery which had been com- mitted had not been in favour of the persons who had been elected — there must be that qualification always — for it would be impossible for a person who had been fairly elected to be unseated merely because his opponents had been largely guilty of bribery." It cannot be doubted that this is both good law and good sense. As to general intimidation, it may possibly, in extreme General cases, be allowable to organise a band of stalwart persons to intimidatioc protect voters against the violence of strangers introduced by the other side ; but it must always be a dangerous thing to do {Longford, 2 O'M. & H., 7), and a thing at almost any • cost to be avoided. {Limerick, 21 L.T. 567 ; 1 O'M. & H., 260. SaHshnr!/, 4 O'M. & li., 25. Salford, 29 L.T., 120.) And they may not be paid. {Lpswick, 4 O'M. & H., 72.) It would bo an answer to a petition by a defeated candidate, that all the violence and rioting was instigated by the petitioner or his agents, and that the result was not affected. But where not the unsuccessful candidate but an elector 104 THE LAW RELATING TO ^& MuNicmv^!'^ complains of general rioting, it is no answer to say that the defeated party were chiefly responsible for it. {Dudlei/, 2 O'M. & H., 115.) In order to affect the election, the rioting must be serious. It must be such as to deter ordinary men, of ordinary courage from recording their votes. {NottitujJiam, 1 O'M. & H., 245. Gahmy, 2 O'M. & H., 196. Salford, 1 O'M. & H., 133 ; 20 L.T., 120.) The general rioting and violence in the Drogheda Case were too great to allow the case to be profitably discussed. The general intimidation there went far beyond that proved in the North Durham Case, infra. But the former case establishes the proposition that if voters are deterred from voting by a prevailing terror, but without undue influence being brought to bear upon them individually, the election will be declared void. It was said for the respondent in that case, that he went to voters who were opposed to him and offered to give them his escort to the poll, they being afraid to go, notwithstanding there were military and constabulary in the streets, but the Court considered that this was con- clusive evidence out of the respondent's own mouth, that there was not freedom of election in the borough. Its effect f.n As to the amount of the violence and rioting which will the poll. vitiate the election, it is very material to observe the state of the poll. If it is a close poll, a less amount of violence will justify an election court in avoiding the election than would be the case if it were quite clear that the rioting and violence had not affected the result. {North Durham., 2 O'M. ;t H., 152; 31 L.T., 383.) If the rioting were local and partial, andtlie majority large, the election would not be set aside {ilrid.) " But where it is of such a general character that the result mai/ hare heoi. affected, it is no part of the duty of a judge to enter into a kind of scrutiny to see whether possibly, or prohahh/ even, or as a matter of conclusion upon the evidence, if that intimidation had not existed, the result would have been different. What the judge has to do in that case is to say that the tmrden of proof is cad upon the constitaeiieii whose conduct is incriminated, and unless it can CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 106 be shown that the gross amount of intimidation coiihl not ^^^^^l possiblij have affected the result of the election, it ought to be declared void." (Per Bramwell, B., at North Durham, ibid.) And it must be declared void if it is uncertain whether the result was affected {ibid.). The Thornbury Cam (4 O'M. & H., 66) is in entire accord- ance with the North Durham Cane. It was proved that there was great rioting in three out of the twenty-three polling districts into which the constituency was divided. On the other hand, it was shown that there were 789 persons on the register in these three polling stations, and all but 87 of them voted. In these circumstances the Court came to the conclusion that they could not hold that any such intimi- dation and violence was used as practically prevented any considerable number of persons from voting, and they declined to avoid the election. MENTAUY IC1PA1-. 100 THE LAW RELATING TO CHAPTER VI. THE GENERAL PREVALENCE OF ILLEGAL PRACTICES, &c., AT A MUNICIPAL ELECTION. Municipal. Prevalence of illegal practices. Meaning of the enactment S. 18 of the Act of 1884 enacts :— " Where upon the trial of an election petition respecting a inunicipal electioit for a borough or ward of a borough it is found by the elec- tion court that illegal practices or offences of illegal payment, employment, or hiring, committed in reference to such election for the purpose of promoting the election of a candidate at that election, have so extensively prevailed that they may be reasonably supposed to have affected the result of that election, the election court shall report such finding to the High Court, and the election of such candidate, if he has been elected, shall be void, and he shall not, during the period for which he was elected to serve, or for which, if elected, be might have served, be capable of being elected to or holding any corporate office in the said borough." It must be carefully observed that the election is avoided upon the establishment of the facts set out in the above section, though it is not shown that the respondent or any of his agents were in any wise privy to them. The offences, however, must have been committed in the interest of the respondent. They must have been done by persons who, though they had no authority from him, were anxious to secure his return. The Court must be satisfied, to use the language of the sections, that they were committed with reference to the election " for the purpose of promoting the election " of the respondent. As soon, therefore, as it is established that illegal practices, employments, hirings, and payments have been committed at an election by persons seeking to promote the respon- dent's election, the next enquiry will be, To what extent did they prevail ? Offences of this kind not brought CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 107 home to the respondent or his agents do not avoid the unicip" return, unless they so extensively prevailed that they may be reasonably supposed to have affected the result of the election. No attempt is made to define what general prevalence of illegal practices will be regarded as fatal. Indeed it would be impossible to do so. Each case must be left to be dealt with by the Election Court with reference to its particular facts. Much will turn upon the size of the borough or ward and the number of the electorate. Illegal practices may be regarded as extensive in a small ward, which would be rightly viewed as insignificant in a large one. But whether the ward is a small or a large one the illegal practices whicli are fatal must have so generally pre- Effect on the vailed that they " may be reasonably supposed to liave P"^'- affected the result " of the election. A question may arise as to the meaning to be given to these words, " the result of the election," and therefore it will be well to set out in this place the interpretation which Grove, J., placed upon similar words in the 13th section of the Ballot Act :— " I am very strongly inclined to think," said his lordship, in the Ilackncii Case, " that the expression, ' the result of the election,' does not necessarily mean the result as to another candidate having been elected at the poll. The result may be of various kinds. The result of the election would, in my judgment, be affected, if instead of a majority of 500, there was a majority of only 10 or even 100. Upon a scrutiny the matter might be very different. Other causes miglit also produce a very considerable change of relation between the parties, and might have a very important eff'ect upon the ultimate, if not upon the then present representation in Parliament, that effect depending upon the magnitude of the majority. It will also be observed that the words used in the section are not ' did not alter the result of the elec- tion,' but ' did not apect the result of the election.' Does not the word ' aft'ect ' mean substantially ' bear upon the result?'" (2 O'M. & H., 84.) It, must be noted that s. 18, of the Act of 1884, applies 108 THE LAW RELATING TO McKicipii.. ojiiy to municipal elections. There is no similar provision in the Act of 1883 or in any other statute relating to corrupt or illegal practices at parliamentary elections; and it is apprehended therefore that the general prevalence of illegal practices, employments, hirings and payments, when not brought home to the candidate or his agents will not affect the validity of a parliamentary election. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 109 CHAPTER Vll. THE CANDIDATE'S AGENTS WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE RULES LAID DOWN IN CHAPTERS I., II. AND III. It has been the law from the earliest times that no matter rAKUAMEsuKi & Municipal. how well a member may have conducted his election, so far — as regards his personal part in it, no matter how clear his character from any imputation of corrupt practice, yet, if any agent of his has been guilty of a corrupt act, the elec- tion cannot be upheld, and the law in this respect applies equally to parliamentary and municipal elections. "The amount of the injury done by the agent is immaterial. If candidate an agent bribes one voter with 2s. 6d., and the voter always liahle taking -the 2s. 6d. with the purpose, expressed or implied, agent, of voting accordingly, should break his promise and vote for the other side, still the election is void." (Per Willes, J., in the Blackhirn Case, 1 O'M. & H., 202 ; 20 L.T., U.S., 826.) In these circumstances, the question, what constitutes a person a candidate's agent within the meaning of this rule, is one of the greatest importance. It is, moreover, one of much delicacy and difficulty. Learned judges have Impossible to again and again stated that it is impossible to give a precise jcfiniK'S and exhaustive definition of agency which may bo safely agent. applied to the infinite variety of cases which arise ; and the Legislature itself has designedly refused to attempt anything in the nature of a definition, on the ground, no doubt, that if a hard-and-fast rule were laid down the ingeuuitv of electioneers would evade it, and so the laws against cor- ruption be frustrated. Parliament, it is true, has by the Act Responsibility of 1883, defined accurately enough ouc cla.^^. of the candi- ^olcir^/'^ date's agents in the case of parliamentary elections and election agent. made him liable to the fullest extent for their acts ; but it cannot be too clearly stated, that while a candidate at a no THE LAW RELATING TO The election aorent. ^'fc^MuNiciPAL^ parliamentary election, is responsible for the acts of the agents created by and mentioned in the Act of 1883, his liability is not limited to a responsibility for their acts, and he is still liable for the misconduct of a large number of other persons whom the law in certain circumstances will regard as his agents. It will probably be the more convenient course when, in a later chapter, we proceed to deal in detail with the functions of the election agent, there to set out the full text of the sections creating his office. It is" sufficient to say here, that by the 24th and 25th sections of the Act of 1883. a candi- date at a parliamentary election is empowered, to appoint, for the purposes of the election, one election agent in each borough constituency, and, in the case of counties, in addition to the election agent, one sub-agent for each polling district. The name and address of the election agent must be declared in writing by the candidate on or before the nomination day, and it is the duty of the returning officer forthwith to give public notice thereof, Sub-agents. Where sub-agents may be appointed, the election agent is required, one clear day before the polling day, to declare in writing their names and addresses ; and there is this most important provision as to the extent to which sab-agents may bind the candidate in the districts to which they are appointed. S. 25 (sub-s. 2), of the Act of 1883, provides : — "As regards matters in a polling t/idricf, the election agent may act by the sab-agent for that district, and anything Extent of done for the purposes of this Act by or to the sub-agent shall their authority |^g deemed to be douc by or to the election agent, and any in their own '^ i-i-ci iii^- district. act or default of a sub-agent which, if he were the election agent, would be an illegal practice, or other offence against the Act, shall be an illegal practice and oifence 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 deen the act or default of the election agent." The full significance of this section is realised upon a careful con- sideration of the long list of illegal practices which avoid CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. Ill the election when committed bv the candidate or his election PAELiAMENTiRT -^ & Municipal. agent, for it is presumed that the effect of the above words — is to make every sub-agent, tohiie acting within his own dis- trict, an election agent within the meaning of the sections creating those offences. There is no provision in the Act of 1884, for the appoint- ment of an election agent in connection with municipal elections, It must be remembered therefore that the above remarks with reference to the election agent and sub-agents have no application to municipal elections. The first schedule of the Act of 1883 (Part I.) provides that except the election agent, and in the case of counties the sub- agents, and a strictly limited number of polling agents, clerks and messengers, no other persons shall be employed in con- nection with any parliamentary election for paijmcyd. And by the 13th section of the Act of 1884, the number of persons who may be employed and paid in connection with municipal elections is strictly limited. It is not, however, the design of either of the Acts to prohibit the employment of voluntary agents ; and in that respect the law is entirely ^°y num^ipr unaltered. But if a candidate or his authorised agents do agentrinav^ appoint persons to take a part in the management of the ^^ appointed. election and depute authority to them, they make those persons, while performing the particular class of duties entrusted to them, the candidate's agents within the meaning of the rule that a corrupt or illegal practice by a candidate or any one of his agents defeats the election. The fact that But if the agents are not paid makes no difference whatever, for it ^PP"!"^'^"^' ^ ^ _ ' canuioate has long been settled that a candidate is as much bound by iJ'itlu for the acts of his agents who give their services for nothing as ^'^ * '"" ^' by the acts of those who are paid, {liewdlfy Case, 1 O'M. & H., 17; 19 L.T., U.S., 677.) The only question is — Have they, in fact, received authority from the candidate or some undoubted agent of his to do acts of a certain class for the furtherence of his elections ? If they have, then the candi- Candidato date is liable for any corrupt or illegal act vvhich they may I'^bje for act be led into committing while engaged in performing the agents, particular duties assigned to them. Thus, in ihe common 112 THE LAW RELATINC4 TO Authority lo canvass constitutes agency. T, imitations of agent's aiilhoritv. ^&^uvsK^^L^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^ organised canvass in a constituency where a number — of persons are selected by the candidate, or, as happens much more frequently, by his principal agents, to canvass each district, there can be no doubt that all those persons are, by express appointment, the candidate's agents while engaged in canvassing the particular districts allotted to them (the Dublin Case, 1 O'M. & H., ^72), for "authority to canvass constitutes a person an agent while he is canvassing, and authority for the general management of the election involves authority to canvass." (Per Willes, J., in the Windsor Case, 19 L.T., n.s., 613 ; 1 O'M. & H., 2 ; also the mrwich Case, 19 L.T., U.S., 617.) In this connection, however, an important limitation of responsibility must be borne in mind. An agent appointed with express powers can only bind the candidate within the scope of his authority — Le., while he is actually performing (though, it may be, in an improper and unlawful way) the particular work assigned to him. An agent appointed to do work of one kind does not bind the candidate if he officiously assumes duties of an entirely different kind, and, while he is doing the latter, commits a corrupt or illegal act. Thus, a person commissioned to do subordinate work, as a mere messenger (whether paid or not), and having no authority, express or implied, to do anything except act as a messenger, is not an agent for all purposes so as to fix the candidate with liability for acts done by him while carrying on an unauthorised canvass. ( Windsor Case, 19 L.T., n.s., 613 ; 1 O'M. & H., 2 ; the Durham Case, 2 O'M. & H., 137.) " There are many persons who are employed at an election, and who, in one sense, are agents of the candidate, but who are not agents in the sense that the election would be con- sidered void by their misconduct." (Per Willes, J., in Dodmin Case, 1 O'M. & H., 119 ; 20 L.T., n.s., 989.) So, when a person is asked to canvass a particular class of voters — as a master to canvass his workmen ( Westbury Case, 1 O'M. & H., 47 ; 20 L.T., n.s., 17 ; Blackburn Case, 1 O.M. & H., 199 ; 20 L.T„ n.s., 823), or a landlord his tenants {North Norfolk Case, 1 O'M. & H., 236 ; 21 L.T., n.s., 264), CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 113 NTART IPAL. he is an agent only while he is engaged in canvassing them ^^''^^l!^^^ and the candidate is not bound by his unauthorised acts at other times, and while canvassing other persons. Equally, where a person is authorised to canvass in a particular district, and there is nothing to show he had authority, express or implied, to canvass anywhere else, the candidate is not bound by his acts in other districts. {Harwich Case 3 O'M. & H., 69 ; 44 L.T., n.s., 185 ; Durham Case, 2 O'M. & H., 136.) But if it be shown that the agent at the time when he Candidate committed the corrupt act was engaged upon the particular agent dis- ° kind of work assigned to him, the candidate is not exonerated ?^^7^ \]^ . instructions. from the consequences of his agent s act by merely provmg that the latter in doing the corrupt act in question was acting against his express instructions and in defiance of his honest Wishes. (The Harwich Case, 3 O'M. & H., 69 ; 44 L.T., n.s., 189.) This rigorous rule involves no little hard- ship to an honest candidate, and in this respect the liability of a principal for the act of an agent is carried beyond the ordinary maxims of the common law ; but it is founded on a principle of public policy, that no election which is tainted by the corrupt act of any agent of the sitting member can stand. The distinction made which exonerates a candidate, where Distinction his agent at the time he offends is acting beyond the scope ^here c.indi- of his authority, in the sense that he has assumed duties ^^^^ bound which do not belong to him, hut which binds him, when the bound, agent, while keeping within the general line of his duty, disobeys his express instructions to the extent of committing a corrupt act, as he thinks to further the candidate's interest, is somewhat fine, but is now well settled. A simple illustra- tion of how it works is this : A is specifically authorised to canvass street X, and he has no other authority, express or implied, to act in any other way in connection with the election. He bribes a voter in street P. The candidate is not bound. A ia authorised to canvass in street X, and expressly instructed in writing by the candidate, who honestly wishes his election conducted fairly, not to commit 8 lU THE LAW RELATING TO Pakliamentaey & Municipal. When agent actually ap- pointed only question is extent of his authority. Implied agency. Agent either by employ- ment or recosnition. any corrupt act. Nevertheless A, in street X, bribes, or treats, or intimidates a voter. The candidate is bound and the seat is forfeited. So far we have dealt with the comparatively simple case, where it is proved that the persons who are charged with some corrupt act were expressly appointed by the candidate, or his authorised agents, to take some part in the election, and then the only question can be — Was the agent at the time he offended acting within the scope of his authority i' But we now come to the much more difficult and more common case in election inquiries, where there is no evidence of any direct appointment by the candidate or his authorised agents, but where the alleged agent is proved to have been more or less openly and actively working in the candidate's interest. There the question arises — Are the circumstances such that the Court can im2ylij he had authority from the candidate, or has the latter approved and ratified his action on his behalf? <'The difficulty," said Lush, J., in the Harwich Case (quoted supra), " always is when there is no express appoint- ment, to determine whether the wrongdoer did or not stand in the relation of agent to the candidate in respect of the particular matter of the complaint. An agent is a person employed by another to act for him and on his behalf, either generally or in some particular transaction. The authority may be actual or it may he implied from circinnstances. It is not necessary, in order to prove agency, to show that the person was actually appointed by the candidate. If a person not appointed were to assume to act in any depart- ment of service as election agent, and the candidate accepted his services as such, he would thereby ratify the agency. So that a man may become the agent of another in either of two ways by actual employment or by recognition and acceptance. The next question is, if agent, what is he agent for ; what is he appointed to do, or what does he profess to do ? If a person were appointed or accepted as agent for canvassing generally, and he were to bribe or treat any voter, the candidate would lose his seat. But if he were CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 115 employed or accepted to canvass a particular class — as if a ^^"^^f^'i^ip^L^ master were asked to canvass his workman, and he went out of his way and bribed a person who was not his workman, the candidate would not be responsible, because this was not within the scope of his authority. And for the same Candidate reason, if a person whom the candidate had not in any way ^^j. ^^^^g ^j authorised to canvass at all for him were to take upon him- unauthorised self to bribe a voter, the candidate would not be responsible for that wrongful act. No candidate could ever secure a seat if he were made answerable for the acts of unauthorised persons." '* No one," said Blackburn, J., in the Beicdlcy Case (1 O'M. & H., 17; 19 L.T., U.S., 677), "can lay down a precise rule as to what would constitute evidence of being an agent. Every instance in which it is shown that, either with the knowledge of the candidate himself, or to the knowledge of his agents^ a person acts at all in furthering his election /.y ev/'deuce, tending to show that the person so acting was authorised to act as his agent. It is by no means Agent need essential that it should be shown that a person so employed, ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^'^' in order to be an agent for that purpose, is paid in the sliglitest degree. And I take it that the question for tlie court sitting to try the case comes ultmiately to be, whether upon the aggrrycdc of all t/icsc t/iiin/s taken together, of which each in itself is little, but is certainly some evidence, the person is shown to have been employed to such an extent as to make him an agent for whom the candidate would bo responsible. I "take it that in each case the judge must bring common sense to bear upon it, and satisfy himself whether it is sufficient or not." It will be observed that the question, whether the wrong- Agency a doer was the candidate's agent at the time of the offence ? "//^'"^ ^^ is treated by the learned judges entirely as a question of fact, to be determined by a reference to the circumstances of each case. Such facts as proof that the alleged agent was canvassing in the candidate's interest, that he had a canvass book with him, that he f^pokc at the candidate's meetings, that ho was seen in the candidate's company in the street. 116 THE LAW RELATING TO tarliamentart are evidence, but no more than evidence, that he had authority & Municipal, — to canvass and bind the candidate. The mere fact that a person is actively working for the candidate does not necessarily make him an agent. *' I can- not concur in the opinion that any supporter of a candidate Merc fact of -^ho chooses to ask others for their votes and to make speeches not cDouo-h. in his favour can force himself upon the candidate as an agent, or that the candidate should be held responsible for the acts of one from whom he actually endeavours to disas- sociate himself." {Londom'en'ij Case, 1 O'M. & H., 278 ; 21 L.T., U.S., 709. Stalojhfidge Case, 1 O'M. & H., 67 ; 20 L.T., U.S., 75.) The circumstance that a person canvassing on behalf of a candidate had a canvass book with him would Mere fact of not be Sufficient to make him an agent (the Bolton Case, canvassing 3 O'M. & H., 141 ; 31 L.T., U.S., 194) ; unless, of course, it does not prove ' ' . , . „ , agency. could be proved he got it from an authorised agent ot the candidate, which would be the strongest evidence of his appointment to canvass. Nor does the mere fact that a person is one of a large committee whose names are published as the Greneral Com- Xor mrre fact mittee, but which committee is purely ornamental and has ono^of ^r e ^^ "0 P^^^ whatever assigned it in tlie conduct of the election, Committee, make him an agent. This was first decided by Martin, B., in the Westminster Case (1 O'M. & H., 89 , 20 L.T., n.s,, 238), when, at the same time, he took care to point out that if the committee, to which the alleged agent belonged, had been more than a nominal one, had been, in fact a com- mittee within the ordinary meaning of the term, to which some portion of the management of the election had been confided, the decision would have been the other wa}'. In the Wcsthunj Case (20 L.T., n.s., 24), Willes, J., acted upon the Wcstminsier Case, but he added, " If I see a person's name on the committee from the beginning, if I find that ho attended meetings of the committee, that he canvassed and his canvass was recognised so far as it went, I shall require considerable argument to convince me he is not an agent.'' (See also the Windsor Case, 2 O'M. & II., 89). Norbareactof Again, the hare act of accompanying the candidate on his CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 117 canvass is not sufficient evidence of agency to make a candi- ^^'"it\^^.\ciJtr^ date liable for bribery committed by such person upon an . '' _ . . accompinying occasion when the candidate was not in his company. (The candidate. first Salisbury Case, 3 O'M. & H., 131 ; 44 L.T., n.s., 193 ; the second SaUshur;/ Cane, 4 O'M. & H., 21 ; Ilanvich Case, 3 O'M. & H., 69; 44 L.T., n.s., 189; Shreivsbur;/ Case, 2 O'M. & H., 36.) It must be observed, however, that the recognition of a person involved in inviting him to accom- pany the candidate on his canvass is an important link in the chain of facts which go to make up agency, and com- bined with very little more would in most cases be held to establish it. It need hardly be said that any corrupt act done by a person accompanying a candidate and in Iiit presence is strong evidence against the candidate unless repu- diated by him at the time. (Fir-si SaJisbury Case, siqyra ; Bcwdley Case, 1 O'M. & H., 17.) But while the law is that if a person, no matter how ^^}l^\ '^ 1 .1 1 . . • 1 p 1 • sufficient zealous a partizan he may be, is acting entirely of his own evidence of motion, the candidate is not bound by what he does, on the '•^S^'^'^y- other hand, if he is found carrying on his operations in concert with the candidate's organisation, or if the Court is satisfied that the candidate, or any one of his principal agents, has full knowledge of his efforts and approves and sanctions them — then he is an agent. In the second Taunton Case (2 O'M. & li. 74), Grove, J., l^. mere von- intimated that mere non-interference by the candidate with s'uffieiontr persons who were to his knowledge actively exerting themselves in his interest would not be enough to consti- tute agency. But this ruling must be considered with reference to the particular facts before his lordship, because the decision of Blackburn, J., in the first Taunton Case (1 O'M. & H., 181 ; 21 L.T., n.s., 169) shows that there are cases where mere non-interference with the notorious action of partizans will make the latter the candidate's agents. It is obvious that if a candidate, knowing that certain persons are actively working in his behalf, lies by, and accepting the full benefit of their services, does nothing to repudiate them, it will take a very slight additional 118 THE LAW RELATING TO ^&°ir^-icipxu'' eirciimstcance to lead to the conclusion that he sanctioned their proceedings. Especially is this so where the persons who are so acting are proved to have been working in close concert with him in political matters immediately prior to the election. It is suggested that an intelligible distinction Suggested which will reconcile the two Taunton cases (quoted mpra) poTnL *^'' and make them accord with the Harwich Case (3 O'M. & H., 6, 69 ; 44 L.T., n.s., 189) is this : Where the alleged agents are found in intimate communication with the can- didate prior to the contest, and during its course work in his interest openly but to all appearance independently, and there is no evidence that, knowing of their efforts, he hondfldc repudiated them, they are to be taken as prima facie his agents ; but where no privity is established between the candidate and the alleged agents either before or during tlie election, the mere fact that he does not repudiate them will not bi/ itself make them his agents . Cases where Iq the Teicliesburf/ Case (3 O'M. & H., 99 ; 44 L.T., n.s. agency helcl "' to be proved. 192) the alleged agent was seen'frequently in the candidate's committee room, going out of it in the company of bodies of men who divided themselves and canvassed in different dis- tricts. He had a canvass book, and on one or two occasions (though not at the times when the corrupt acts were com- mitted), had canvassed in the candidate's company. It was held in these circumstances that his agency was established. In the Hereford Case (1 O'M. & H., 195) it was proved that the person who was charged with bribery had, at the request of an agent, canvassed two voters, that on one occasion he canvassed in the respondent's company, and that after the election was over he received a letter of tJianls for /lis exertions from the respondent. It was held that tlie agency was established. In the Stroud Case (3 O'M. & H., 11), the alleged agent w as proved to have canvassed three times a week, though he did not have a regular canvass book, he was attending con- tinually at the committee room, and was bringing up voters on the polling day, and after the election he was employed in connection with the petition. It was proved that the CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 119 respondent's principal agent had told the alleged agent that PAnnAMEyTAitY he would not employ him in connection -with the election? — ■ but inasmuch as the learned judge, Piggott, B., was satisfied on the facts that other agents of the respondent, working side by side with the principal agent, had countenanced and employed him, the decision was that he was an agent for whose acts the candidate was responsible. His lordship laid down the law of agency in the terms in which it has generally been expressed. " It is clear that a person is not to be made an agent by his merely acting, that is not enough ; he must act in promotion of the election, and he must have authority, or there must he circumstances from which we can infer aiithoritijy There he held there were such circumstances. A person who is an agent may have implied authority to Agent may appoint sub-agents necessary to carry out the work assigned agenJy^" to him, and in that case the candidate is bound by the acts of those sub-agents, though he may never have seen them or had any communication with them. (The Bcxedley Case, 1 O'M. & H., 17 ; 19 L.T., n.s., 677.) On this principle, when the wife of an agent bribed, it was held that inasmuch as an agent may use the instrumentality of another, the candidate was bound. (The Cashel Case, 1 O'M. & H, 288). In iheWesf minster Case (1 O'M. & H., 89 ; 20 L.T., n.s., 238) the son of an agent bribed, and it was held the candidate was not bound. These two cases have been quoted in at least one work of authority as sustaining the proposition that a candidate is boimd by the acts of his agent's wife, but not of his agent's son. It is submitted they give no support to such a distinction. The wife as well as the son can only bind on the principle of delegated authority ; and all that the two cases quoted show is that on the facts the Court was satisfied that in one case authoritv had been delegated by the agent to a sub-agent, and in the other it had not. A very important question next arises, as to what extent LiuLility of is a candidate liable for the acts of political and other fQ^^'^l.'^g'i^f associations in sympathy with his candidature, and exerting political themselves to promote it. It need not bo said that this is a " 120 THE r.AW RELATING TO rinr,iiMENTART subi'ect of increasine: interest ; and its practical importance & Municipal. '' ... p ., ,1 •,• Txri ^-^ — warrants some examination oi the authorities. When tuo candidate adopts the committee of the association as his committee, avails himself openly of its organisation, and carries on the work of the election in concert with it, no question can arise. In such a case the authorised agents of the association are to the fullest extent his agents. This TheBlacHiirn was what happened in the Blackburn Case (20 L.T., n.s., ^''"'' 823; 1 O'M. & 11., 198). There, a month before the election a circular was issued by the Conservative Associa- tion, addressed to every millowner, manager and overlooker, Liable wluii calling upon them to use personal efforts to secure the return he adopts ^f the respondents. This circular was afterwards adopted ass^dation^as by the respondents, and the association which had issued it his election ^^g accepted bv them in place of a committee for the man- agement of the election. Willes, J., held that the circular must be taken to be the act of the respondents just as much as if each of them had written a letter to the same purport to the persons mentioned in it. And as to its effect he said : " It appears to me that the effect of this circular was to make an agent of every person having authority, down to the last grade, that of overlookers over the hands, and to request, and therefore authorise each such to influence the hands who were under him for the purpose of inducing them to vote for the candidates upon whose behalf this document was issued ; and any overlooker, and consequently anybody in that or any higher grade, who bond fide took up the Tory side, and who acted upon this circular, and did canvass for the sitting members, became their agent, and his acts did bind them to the extent and under the circum- stances which I have already explained." But in the Noncich Case (4 O'M. & H., 87), where a somewhat similar circular was sent to a very large number oi persons who had joined in a requisition to the respondent asking him to stand, the Blackburn. Cisc {siqjra) was distin- guished. It was pointed out that in the latter case the circular was sent to certain selected persons, who were known to have exceptional influence, and the Court (Denman CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 121 and Cave, J J.), came to the conclusion that the mere fact i;a'^^Yc™alJ of sending this circular did not make every person who received it the agent of the respondent. In the great majority of cases, however, the operations ^^ ^^'^^-jj^^fg^ff^j. the association are carried on independently of the candi- political date's organization ; and then the material points to be con- associations. sidered in determining the question of agency would seem to be the previous relations of the candidate with the asso- ciation, the source whence it derives its funds, and the extent or character of the connection between it and the candidate during the course of the contest. The Westminster Case (1 O'M. & H., 89; 20 L.T., n.s., We^tmimter 23S) is a somewhat curious case, and, opposed as it seems to be to the current of authority, it is respectfully doubted whether it is now law. There it was proved that the alleged agent was an official of an association which had actively exerted itself in the respondent's interest. The latter had been its president, and he and his partners supplied a very large portion of its funds. During the progress of the con- test the canvass books of the association (which liad been suppiicd by the respondenf s election agent) were compared with the canvass books kept at the respondent's committee- Submitted it rooms, and there was an interchange of information in ^^ ^^^ ^^'''•'■ relation to the election between the two organizations. On these facts Martin, B., held that the officials of the associa- tion engaged in the election were not the respondent's agents. It is obvious that if this case were a governing authority on the subject there would be an open door to the most flagrant evasions of the law against corruption. In the Wcstbunj Case (3 O'M. & II., 78) bribery was ■fjr^.^tliiryCase. suggested on the part of the responsible agents of a political association in sympathy with the respondent, but inasmucli as though he was invited to stand by this association, no communication whatever was established between him and it during the election, it was held that its acts did not bind him. In the Wicjan Case (1 O'M. & H., 188 ; 21 L.T., n.s., wigan Case. 122) it was proved that some months before the election a 122 THE LAW RELATING TO Ilanvich Case, pauliamentakt sub-agent of a political association of which the respondent & Municipal. & i i — was a member, and to the funds of which he subscribed, was guilty of a corrupt act. It was held that there was no such privity between the respondent and the association as would avoid the election. The Harwich Case (3 O'M. & H., 69 ; 44 L.T., n.s., 189) is an instructive one. There it was proved that a poli- tical association (1) invited the respondent to contest the seat ; (2) its committee considered and revised his election address; (3) it met during the election from time to time at rooms for which the respondent paid ; and (4) several of its leading members attended him in his canvass. It was suggested that one of the latter had been guilty of bribery, and the question of the relation established between the respondent and the association became material. The Court held that the facts above stated afforded j;;-/»2« facie evidence of the agency of the association, but upon the respondent proving that at the outset of the contest heboiul fide declared his determination to canvass the constituency personally without the aid of any committee, and publicly announced that determination^ the ultimate decision was that the proof of agency failed. This case is an authority for the proposi- tion that a candidate may protect himself against the mis- deeds of persons whom the law would otherwise construe to be his agents by taking the w^hole burden of the manage- ment of the election upon himself, and expressly forbidding all other persons to take any part in it upon his behalf. Turning to the cases where a candidate has been fixed with responsibility for the acts of a political association, the first case in order of time carries the liability a long way. In the TuHHiou Case, fusf Taunion Case (1 O'M. & H., 181 ; 21 L.T., n.s., 169) it was proved that there had been formed in the borough a body called " The Conservative Association," for the purpose of conducting the registration in September, and the election in the following November ; that during the election people met at the rooms of the association, and that papers and cir- culais were sent out from it ; that the association canvassed actively and did all those things which would be commonly When caadi date takes conduct of election him self, not bound. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 123 done by a committee for promoting an election, and that parliamentaiit ,1 , , , .-,,•■ ^ Municipal. they were done openly and over a eonsidable time ; that at — the time of the registration the agents of the respondent were aware of the association and acted in concert with it, and that both the respondent and his agents knew that the association was actively canvassing on his behalf. The acts of bribery suggested were, that about the first week in November and on the eve of the election, the association gave 58. a-piece to a number of voters who attended the registration in September, as a day's pay for their loss of time in so doing, and that these sums were practically paid to everyone who came forward and asked for them with- out precautions being taken tliat those who got the money had done anything to earn it. In these circumstances, Blackburn, J., held that the association was the agent of the respondent. " When things," said his lordship, " are thus openly done, which would not be done in the ordinary course of things, except with the cognizance of a candidate, ir/io sanctioned fhem, the natural inference in the absence of proof to the contrary would be, that they were done by a person acting as agent for the candidate. The respondent and his agents might have shown that they had had no communication with that body, that tliey repudiated it, and if that repudia- tion was bond fide they would not have been responsible for wiiere u^ui its acts. The respondent might have shown that a bodv.-^-"''' ^'-'i^"'^';'" ... , ji-iiyi tion,candidate acting in such a way as this body acted, was actnig officiously not liable. for him, as I may call it, that it was not with his consent and against his will ; but the presumption does arise, I think, that it was done in his favour, done for him, unless there bo something to show the contrary. I think, in this case, such a degree of benefit was derived from their assistance, that their assistance was so important to the candidate that it fairly establishes this, that if betook their assistance and did not hold them off, or repudiate them, lie must abide the consequences and be responsible for their malpractice." Blackburn, J., must not be understood as layin"- down as a matter of law, that when an association is acting openly on behalf of a candidate ho is necessarily liable, unless he 124 TPIE LAW RELATING TO paeliamextaet publicly repudiates its action. A.11 he lield was, that havinj? — regard to the facts of the ease before him, and the very intimate connection which subsisted between the candidate and the association immediately prior to the election, there was, in the absence of evidence of repudiation, in fact, a presumption that he sanctioned what was being done. So regarded, the decision is in conformity with the more recent Hurn-ich Case already quoted. TTahef^M In the Walcofield Case (2 O'M-. &, H., 102) the facts were that the respondent was a vice-president of a political associa- tion, that he spoke at meetings of the association, that many of the members of the association were to his knowledge actively canvassing on his behalf, and that the committee rooms of the association were placarded with his election bills, and used for iJie purpose of promotiny his ekctioii. Using rooms Grove, J., held that these facts prima facie brought the case cia ion. ^j^|-jjj^ ^]^Q jjj^^ q£ agency and were (in the absence of evidence of boud fide repudiation) sufficient to satisfy the Court that the respondent "had put himself, or allowed himself to be in the hands of certain persons, or had made common cause with them." Londonderry In the Loudonderri/ Case (21 L.T., n.s., 709) the alleged briber was a principal official of the Liberal Registration Association. It was proved that the respondent was the adopted candidate of the association, and had subscribed largely to its funds. The work of registration, with the re- spondent's approval, had been conducted by the association, and when the revision was completed, the funds and staff of the society, with Peacock (the alleged briber) as the principal of the staff were, with the respondent's assent, used for the purpose of promoting the election. The learned judge held upon these facts, that the respondent was clearly liable for the acts of the association. Gravcs.ml In the Gravcseud Case (44 L.T., n.s., 64), where it was ^'"*^* proved that the respondent gave a political association a sum of money, large in proportion to its normal funds, and this money was spent by the association in treating Denman, J., intimated that the agency of the association was established. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 125 The Bcicdiey Case (3 O'M. & H., 145 ; 44L.T., n.s., 283) p^^ri.iamen '^ \ ' ' ' ' ^ & Munich TAKT CIPAL. is an important case on this subject. There it was proved ' j. ,, (I) that an association had been formed before the election to promote the candidature of the respondent ; (2) that it was in constant communication with the respondent's chief election agent ; (3) that the chief election agent supplied it with minute books and communicated with its secretary as to its progress, and reported the progress of the respondent's candidature to it ; and (4) that during the progress of the contest he used in common with it a marked register contain- ing an account of the favourable, adverse, and doubtful voters. The Court (Denman and Lopes, JJ.) held that the agency of the association had been established, and in giving judgment the latter learned judge made the following pertinent re- marks. , " I desire shortly to allude to the position of political Judgment of associations and the liability of candidates. There appear to be persons who think that a candidate may escape the responsibility attaching to the acts of an agent by the employ- ment of the active members of a political association, instead of an individual or individual agents ; if this could be done the Corrupt Practices Act would become a dead letter. There may be, doubtless, in a borough a political association existing for the purpose of a political party, advocating the cause of a particular candidate and largely contributing to his 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 unjust, against common r.ense, and opposed to law. There may on the other hand be a political associa- tion in the borough advocating the views of a candidate, of which that candidate is not a member, to the funds of which ho does not subscribe, and with which he personally is not ostensibly connected, but at the same time in intimate relation- ship icith his agents, ntitiscd l)ij them for the purpose of earnjinrj out his election, interchanging communication and infonnation irith his agents respecting the canvassing of voters and the con- duct of the e/rction, and largely contributing to the result. 126 TPIE LAW RELATING TO rARLiAMENTAET To saj tliat the candidate is not responsible for any corrupt — ' acts done by an active member of such an association would be repealing the Corrupt Practices Act, and sanctioning a most effective system of corruption." Kesuit of the The result of the authorities would seem to be this : The authorities. ^^-^^^^ £g^p|. ^]^j^^ ^^ political association in sympathy with the respondent is actively working in his favour does not, taken bi/ itself, establish agency; but, though there is no original request to the association to give its services, if the respondent or his principal agents, knowing what it is doing, approves and sanctions its proceedings, then agency is made out. It is not necessary to show that the approval or sanction was over given in so many words. The Court will generally infer it from the fact that communications in relation to the election have during the contest passed between the respondent and the association ; and where the connection between the two was very intimate immediately before the election, and the services rendered at the latter are real and public, it may even infer it without proof of actual communication after the contest began. On the other hand, it is open to the respon- dent to exonerate himself by showing that ho never had any connection with the association, and that it was acting officiously, or that he bond fide repudiated its action at the time. An oiganiz-i- The principles which have been laid down with reference lion of the ^Q j.|-^(, responsibilitv, under certain conditions, of a candidate clerffvmay he '^ ^ ",. . , .... ,i •;! i • agents. for the acts of a political association in sympathy wath him, apply equally to every other kind of association or combina- tion which may espouse the cause of a candidate and render him active assistance, which he accepts and adopts. In this connection the Limerick Case (21 L.T., n.s . 567 ; 1 O'M. & H., 262) is worth consulting. There Fitzgerald, B., inti- mated a strong opinion that if the clergy in a given con- stituency make the cause of a candidate their own, and if the latter represents that his cause is identical with that of the clerg}', and publicly gives out that the question between him and his adversaries is wdiether the clergy shall be put down or raised up, and if ho is accompanied in his canvass CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 127 by certain of the clergy — in such a case the organisation of ^^^^^^^[1^^^^ the clergy in the various districts of the constituency becomes — an agency of the candidate. Another question that presents itself is the extent to which, Agency in . 1 Till ^^^^ '^^ jomt where two or more candidates coalesce and stand together^ as candidature, it is called, the agents of the one candidate bind the other. The law on this point was laid down in the clearest terms by Blackburn, J., in the North Norfolk Case (1 O'M. & II., 240 ; 21 L.T., n.s. 2G4). " It happens that in this case the respondents have stood jointly. They have chosen to what we commonly call coalesce. They united in a canvass, and, in fact, have made each an agent for the other, and they have chosen to stand or fall together ; consequently if any corrupt act is shown to be done by an agent appointed by one member it will affect both Such are the consequences of a coalition. If, therefore, a corrupt act is brought home to one, both are unable to hold their seats." In a later case, the Norwich Case (2 O'M. & H., 39), it was suggested that in giving a particular bribe the agent of one of two can- didates who had coalesced, gave the bribe exclusively in the interest of his immediate principal. Upon this contention Keating, J., observed : " I think if it were clearly established that Ray (the agent) had gone to a voter and, wishing to exclude the respondent, had said, * I give you this bribe to vote for Sir W. R , but not to vote for T., because my object is that you should not vote for T.,' it might be successfully argued that he was thereby determining the joint agency and no longer acting in the bribery as the respondent's a.gent. But that has not been proved." It may be taken. Agency therefore, that during the continuance of a joint candidature T^'^i-j''?''^^ ' o J candidature. each candidate is liable to the fullest extent for the misdeeds of the duly-authorised agent of the other. It is otherwise, however, with respect to acts committed by agents prior to the commencement of the coalition. In the Tamirorth Case (1 O'M. & II., 82; 20 L.T., n.s., 181), it was decided that joint attention to the registration by two persons, who subsequently became candidates, did not neces- sarily imply joint action at the election ; and in Malcolm 128 THE LAW RELATING TO rAKii.Mn.vrAKTv. Prt;T^ (L.R. 10, C.P. 168; 44 L.J., C.P. 121; 31 L.T., & Municipal. ^ \ ' ' j j » — U.S., 845 ; 23 W.E., 322) the full Court of Common Pleas decided that where a candidate has been guilty of bribery by his agent, and siilsequently to such acts of bribery another candidate coalesces with him, in ignorance of any previous corruption, and having no reason to suspect its existence, the latter is not liable by reason of the joint candidature to be unseated in respect of such prior acts of bribery. As to what will and will not constitute evidence of a joint candidature, where it is denied, see the Bridfjicater Case (1 O'M. & H., 113), and also consider the Act of 1883, first schedule (Part V.), and the Act of 1884, s. 5, sub-s. 4). Candidate not It has been stated already that a candidate is liable for liable for a |.]^q ^^^^^ ^f ^i^Qgg persous whom the law construes to be his agent. agents, although he has expressly forbidden. them to commit any corrupt act, and though in committing it they are flying in the teeth of his honest wishes in the matter. But while this is so, it has been decided, for the necessary protection of candidates against treachery, that the candidate is not liable where the corrupt act was done by the agent with Stafford Case, the view of betraying his principal. This is the effect of the judgment in the Staford Case (1 O'M. & H., 231 ; 21 L.T., n.s., 210), where Blackburn, .T. said, " I wish to point out the distinction which I make, that according as the law stands at present, if a member employs an agent, and that agent, contrary to his wish and contrary to his direction, commits a corrupt act, the sitting member is responsible for it ; but where he employs an agent and the agent treacherously or traitorously agrees with the other side, then if he does a corrupt act it would not vacate the seat unless it is proved that the corrupt act was at the special request of the member himself or some untainted and authorised agent of the member, who directed the act to be done. I say if Machin was a treacherous agent he loses the power of upsetting the seat by reason of his unauthorised acts of corruption, as it would require actual proof of authority. It is a very different CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 129 afPair if a man, beinff an affeut, has been tricked by the parliambntart ,1 ; . ; . . 1 1 • 1 n & Mu.NiciPir.. Other party into committing a corrupt act, he himseli — honestly still intending to act as agent." The last point we need consider is this : When does the Commence- authority of an agent to bind the candidate begin and when agencv. does it cease ? Where the agent has been expressly appointed, in the great majority of cases the appointment will itself fix the time over which the authority extends. But with regard to the agency which the law will infer from active service in promotion of a candidature sanctioned by the candidate, it would seem that it begins with the render- ing of the services which afford the evidence of the agency, and this whether at the time the election contest has actually begi;n or not (the Youghal Case, 1 O'M. & H., 294.) Just as a candidate may himself be guilty of a corrupt act before the occurrence of the vacancy in respect of which the election is held, so is he responsible at the like time for the corrupt act of any person who in fact is his agent. (Ibid.) And if a person is guilty of bribery, or any corrupt act, before he is expressly or implied appointed an agent, and afterwards the candidate, uit/i Icnoickd;/e of Jus iuisco nd uct, a-p-pointa him, his appointment relates back to the corrupt act or acts so as to make the candidate responsible for them. Agency may be terminated in various ways, chief among ^fj^Q^i ngency which are the following : ( 1) express repudiation and with- ceas.s. drawal of authority {Harwich Case and first laimton Case) ; (2) an act of deliberate treachery on the part of the agent {Stafford Case, quoted supra) ; (3) in the case of a joint candidature, where it is shown the agent of one candidate has acted solely in the interest of his principal and aqaimf the interest of the other candidate (JVor/cich Case, 1 O'M. & H., 10) ; and (4) the termination of the election. Martin, B., decided in the Salford Case (1 O'M. & H., 133 ; 19 L.T., U.S. 120) that the authority of an agent came to an end with the termination of the election, and that a corrupt act committed the day after the polling, did not affect the sitting member ; and this decision was acted upon by Willes, J., in the Southampton Case (1 O'M. & H. 222) 9 130 THE LAW RELATING TO P-^iaiAMr.i.-T\ET '"Phe agency at the election," said Blackburn, J., giving his — decision to the same effect in the North Norfolk Case (21 LT., n.s., 270; 1 O'M. & H., 243), "which was solely from the canvassing before the election, expires with the election," It must be borne in mind, however, that if the bribe was given after the election, in pursuance of a promise made or an understanding arrived at (hiring the election^ then the act of bribery is committed at the latter period, and while the candidate is bound by the misdeeds of the agent : and, of course, if the act of bribery is committed even after the election by the express direction of the candidate, that would confer a fresh authority upon the agent, independent of his previous employment. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 131 C H A P T E E VIII. THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF THE ELECTION AGENT AT A PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION. Section I.— His Appointment. The Act of 1883 creates in cases of Parliamentary elections Pakliamkntabt a new officer, the election agent, with difficult and important The election duties, upon the due fulfilment of which the validity of the election largely depends. This officer bears no resemblance to any other agent kno^vn to the law, except the agent for election expenses, created by the statute 26 & 27 Vict., o. 29, s. 2, whose duties and many other duties ho will have to discharge. He is not to be confounded with the person who has hitherto borne the name of the election agent, meaning thereby the person to whose experience and intelligence the management and conduct of the election have hitherto been confided. In future, " the election agent," using the phrase in its statutory sense, may or may not be the person who plans and directs the operations of the campaign. As the election agent is to make all contracts and payments relating to the conduct of the election, and as the measure of the candidate's responsibility for his acts is greater than that for the acts of any other agent, it will be found safer, though perhaps inconvenient, to dissever these offices in future. A candidate will be at some disadvantage who imposes on his chief counsellor and manager the very anxious and difficult duties which the Act of 1883 thrusts upon " the election agent." If the offices should be dissevered, the person who manages the election for the candidate must do so gratui- tously. He cannot be legally employed for payment. (Schedule I., Part I, and s. 17 of the Act of 1883). It Should be a is proper to add that the " election agent " need not be a business solicitor, but, in view of the direct and immediate vesponsi- habits and bility of the candidate for his acts and omissions, it can with the law. 132 THE LAW RELATING TO PARMAMiKTAitT liarcllj 1)6 doubted that any candidate will do well to avail himself of the professional caution and legal training of a solicitor, if he can induce a solicitor to accept the office. If the candidate choose he may be his own election agent. In that event he will have only himself to blame for any slip on the part of the election agent. But, whether he choose to be his own election agent or to appoint some other person, it is of urgent necessity that the election agent should be a person of business habits, of experience in the conduct of elections, and intimately conversant with the provisions of the election law. The object The object aimed at by the legislature in requiring the legisbture. appointment of an election agent, through whose hands all money shall pass, and by whose hands all accounts shall be paid, is the regulation and diminution of election expenses. The evil of excessive expenditure at elections has been struck at by many statutes, beginning with the 7 & 8 Will. III., c. 4, which was directed against " the excessive and exorbitant expenses, contrary to the laws and in violation of the freedom due to the election of representatives for the Commons of England in Parliament, to the great scandal of the kingdom, dishonourable, and may be destructive to the constitution of Parliament." The st-^tute 17 & 18 Vict,, c. 102, with the same view, provided for the appointment of election auditors ; but the fruit being no sweeter than tlie tree, these were found useless ; and the Act of 1883 would imply a similar condemnation upon the agents for election expenses who were called into existence by the Act 26 & 27 Vict., c. 29, and through whom all payments for election expenses, other than the candidate's personal expenses, were to be made, under pain of fine and imprisonment. When and The appointment of the election agent is regulated by agluo b^ ^- 2^ 0^ ^^® ^^^ °^ 1^^^- '^^^ section does not prescribe named. any particular form of appointment, which should, however, be in writing ; but it provides that on or before the nomina- tion day the election agent shall be named by or on behalf of the candidate. As contracts relating to the election are to be made, and polling agents and clerks appointed by CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 133 the election agent (s. 27), it is obviously desirable that the pahlia^mentart election agent should be api)ointed and named as soon as the candidate takes the field. What will happen if the candidate should not name himself or some other person as election agent on or before the nomination day is not very clear ; but an inquiry on the subject is idle, for so flagrant a viola- tion of the Act of Parliament would involve the candidate in many difficulties and considerable danger, any payments made by him, except through an election agent, being illegal practices avoiding the election. If a candidate prefers to be his own election agent he must name himself as such. and thereupon he will be subject to the liabilities imposed by the Act on election agents, as well as to those imposed upon candidates. If a candidate be nominated in his absence, or without his consent, the election agent is to be named " on his behalf." One of the nominators or seconders had better name the election agent in such a case. In regard to naming the election agent, it is provided by Notice of his 8. 24 (sub-s. 3) of the Act of 1883, that on or before the ^PP^^'^t'^ent. day of nomination the name and address and the office of the election agent of each candidate shall be declared in ionting by the candidate, or some other person on his behalf to the returning officer, and the returning officer shall forthwith give public notice of the name and address of every election agent so declared. The " public notice " to be given by the returning officer is regulated by s. 62 of the Act of 1883, and the Ballot Act, 1872, Schedule I., Rule 46. He may give the notice " by advertisements, placards, handbills, or such other means as he thinks best calculated to afford information to the electors." A caaididate can only appoint one person to be his election changing the agent ; but any appointment, whether of the candidate him- election self or of any other person, can be revoked. If any ' appointment is revoked, or the election agent die before, during, or after the election, but before the requirements of the Act have been fully complied with, the candidate must forthwith appoint a new election agent, and in wnting ae:ent. 134 THE LAW RELATING TO PAaiilAMENTAKT Sub-agents in counties and certain boroughs Bisks of appointing Bub-agents. The candi- date's liability for sub-agent's acts. declare his uame and address and office to the returning officer, who will immediately give public notice of the fact. (Sub-s. 4 of s. 24.) In counties, but not in boroughs (Schedule I., Part I.), the election agent may and apparently nobody else may, appoint a deputy or sub-agent to act within each polling district. (S. 25 of the Act of 1883.) The number of these sub-agents is regulated by the first schedule of the Act. But the wisdom of appointing sub-agents where it is practicable to do without them seems extremely doubtful, for by 8. 25 (sub-s. 2) of the Act of 1883 the candidate is made responsible, and the return may be avoided for many acts done by the sub-ageut which, if committed by any other ageuts except the election agent, would not uffeot the seat. At all events it would be safer to delay the formal appointment of sub-agents until one clear day before the polling. Before that time the zeal of some friend may have outrun his discretion, in which case the injury to the candidate would not be so great as if he had been previously appointed a sub-agent. For the purpose of avoiding the seat every sub-agent, acting in his oivn district, is placed in the position of the election agent. If a remote sub-agent should employ and pay an assistant in excess of the number allowed, or issue a bill without the printer's name appended, the candidate's seat might not be worth an hour's purchase. In such a case the better opinion would seem to be that the candidate could have no relief under s. 22 of the Act of 1883 ; but in some instances he might have relief under s. 23 of the same Act. S. 25, sub-s. 2, enacts : " 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 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- ttgent shall be liable to punishment accordingly ; and the CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 135 candidate shall suffer the like incapacity as if the said act PAEnoiBwxARr or default had been the act or default of the election agent." If, notwithstanding these dangers, the candidate should direct the election agent to appoint sub-agents, he should, satisfy himself of the caution and ability of the persons to be appointed, and their knowledge of the law, and the election agent must at least one clear day before the polling declare in writing to the returning officer the name and address of each sub-agent and his office within his district, just as the candidate must in the ea.se of the election agent have previously done. The returning officer will then give public notice of the appointments in the usual way. It would seem from the language of s. 34, sub-s. 2, of Revocation of the Act of 1883, that the authority of the sub-agent does appointment. not come to an end with the poll or with the return. This view is strengthened by s. 25, sub-s. 2, which places him in the position of the election agent, so far as the candidate's liability for his acts is concerned. But it would be prudent on the part of the election agent to revoke the appointment of the sub-agents as soon as the poll has closed. By s. 25, sub-s. 4, it is provided : " 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 candidate, and in the event of such revocation or of the death of a sub- agent, another sub-agent may be appointee! , and his name and address shall be forthwith declared in writing to the returning officer, who shall forthwith give public notice of the same." Although there is no express provision on the point, it would be well to give the returning officer immediate notice in writing of the revocation. The election agent and sub-agents must have offices. By offices of the s. 26, sub-s. 1, it is provided that an election agent at an ^gg^^J^'^Qji election for a county or borough shall have within the county sub-agent. or borough, or within any county of^a^city or' town adjoining thereto, and a sub-agent shall have within his district, or 136 THE LAW RELATING TO parliamiintabt within a county of a city or town adjoining thereto, an office or place to which all claims, notices, writs, summonses, and documents raa}^ be sent, and the address of such office 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. Service of Service of any claim or document or notice by delivery at no ices. ^j^^ office, and addressed to the election agent or sub- agent, will be equivalent to personal service on the election agent or sub-agent, as the case may be, and if the agent should make himself personally liable to be sued by any person in respect of any matter connected with the election, then (s. 26) he may be sued in any Court having jurisdiction in the county or borough in which the office is. Polling Every polling agent, clerk and messengtr employed for Tadmee-^^^^ payment on behalf of the candidate is to be appointed, and sengerstobe every committee room hired in bis behalf is to be hired by efectionlgent the election agent, acting by himself or his sub-agent. It would not be a corrupt practice, nor apparently, notwith- standing s. 27 of the Act of 1883, would it necessarily be an illegal practice, although improper, for some other person to appoint a polling agent, cl^rk or messenger, or to hire ;i committee room, provided the statutory number was not exceeded ; but fo pai/ the person appointed or the lessor of a committee room, except through the election agent, would be an illegal practice. And no such contract could be enforced ag -inst the cmdidate. Persons asked to give credit in connection with an election have public notice of the and to be names of the persons who can pledge the credit of the can- paid by him. ^-^^i.^^ ^^^^ ^j^^^ g^Yg credit to other persons at their peril. By s, 28, sub-s. 2, it is provided that a contract whereby any expenses are incurred on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of an election shall not be enforceable 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 candidates shall not relieve the candidate from the consequences of any CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 137 corrupt or illegal practice having been committed by his part.iambittary agent. The word agent in the last line means any agent, constructive or otherwise. No election agent is provided for by the Act of 1884 in the case of municipal elections and therefore, none need be appointed. Section II. — The Nature and Amount of the Election Expenses at a Parliamentary Election. The statute insists on all payments for election expenses All payments being made by or through the election agent. The candidate ^he election may himself pay hia personal expenses up to £100, and any agent. person authorised in writinrj by the election agent may pay " any necessary expenses for stationery, postage, telegrams and other petty expenses," but only to the amount named in the authority (s. 31 of the Act of 1S83). Subject to Exceptions. these exceptions, neither the candidate nor any agent (except the election agent acting personally or through a sub-agent in the district of the latter) may pay any election expenses, under pain o± the consequences of an illegal practice, affecting the seat as well as the inilividual. S. 28 of the Act of 1888 provides: (1). " Except as permitted by or in pursuance of this Act, no payment and no advance or deposit shall be made by a candidate at an election, or by any agent on behalf of the candidate, or by any 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, otherwise than by or through the election agent of the candidate, whether ncfimj in person or by a siib-ayent ; and all money provided by any person other than the candidate for any expenses incurred Money on account of or in resi^ectof the conduct or management of the P^'^'^^'^'^'i *o ^ ° . pay expense?. election, whether as gift, loan, advance or deposit, shall be paid to the candidate or his election agent, and not other- wise ; '' Provided that this section shall not be deemed to apply to a tender of security to or any payment by the 138 THE LAW RELATING TO PiELiAMENTART retuFuiiig officei, or to any sum disbursed by any person out of his own money for any small expenses 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." The question, what are and - what are not " election ex- penses " within the meaning of the Act, bristles with diffi- culties. Doubts may arise whether a given item of expense is an " election expense," because of the time at which it is incurred, of the purpose with which it was incurred, or of the character of the service rendered for it. By s. 63of the Act of 1883, the expression " candidate " means " unless the context otherwise requires " —an expression which at once introduces uncertainty — a candidate returned and '' any person who is nominated as a candidate .... or is declared by himself or by others to be a candidate 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." That section cannot be read as relieving candidates of an obligation to return expenses incurred before the issue of the writ, or before the dissolu- tion or vacancy. It defines a candidate. It does not define an election or an election expense. In the Stepney Case (4 O'M. & H., 38), it was held that the expense of employing a voter before the candidate was actually selected, was an election expense. In other words, a candidate must return election expenses incurred before that date. (Per Denman, J., ini\ie Nor ivich Case, 4 O'M. & H., 85.) How long before cannot be exactly stated in the form of a rule. It is submitted that it must depend in each case upon the purpose with which a given item of expense was incurred, and the character of the service rendered lor it, and if this is the test there is probably nothing irreconcileable in the Noruich Cane (4 O'M. & H., 84, and the Stepney Case, 4 O'M. & H., 38). If a candidate should issue his election address a year CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 139 before the dissolution of Parliament, it could hardly be pasi-i^ibwtabt contended that the expense thereby incurred was not an election expense. We think that the time is only important as affording an " argument that a given item of expense is or is not incurred on account ot or in respect of the conduct or management " of an election. If a candidate should address the electors after the dissolution of Parliament, no one could doubt that the expense thereby incurred was an election ex- pense. But if he did the same thing years or months before the election, different considerations might arise, and much would, we think, depend on the answers to such questions as the following :— («) Was he then declared by himself or others to be a candidate ? (b) Was the election generally supposed to be near at hand ? (c) Was the object of the meeting to recommend him to the electors, or merely to persuade them that the Grovernment had earned the confidence or the disapprobation of the electors ? In the Norwich Case (4 O'M. & H., 84), the question was whether the expenses of a meeting at which it was resolved to invite the respondent to stand, and of a meeting at which he consented to become a candidate, were election expenses. Cave, J., said : " This is a new point, which arises under the Act of 1883 (46 & 47 Vict., c. 51), and if the petitioners were successful in their contention, it would, to my mind, in some cases seriously interfere with the power of a candidate to carry on the campaign. If he is to take into account ex- penses incurred before he ever started as a candidate at all, he may find himself beginning a campaign, which must cost some money, with all the money which under ordinary cir- cumstances he would use in carrying on the campaign already exhausted by preliminary expenses before he was in the field at all. In this particular case it was clearly established that in the first instance the respondent was unwilling to stand. On Sejitember 21st a meeting was called, and it was agreed to get up a requisition for signature. Now I myself am unable to see why that should not be done. It is most important to each party in a constituency that they should bring forward a caudidate likely to be successful. I do not 140 THE LAW RELATING TO pabmasientakx ggg g^jjy. reason wliy they should uot hold meetings among themselves for the purpose of selecting their candidate, and I cannot see how it can properly be said that expenses which are so incurred are the expenses of the candidate in procuring his election. To my mind there is a great distinction be- tween the expenses of getting a candidate, and the expenses of promoting his election after you have got him. If the primary and direct and real object is to get a candidate, I think that the expenses incurred in so doing are not within the Act, although indirectly they may promote the interests of the party. If the nominal object is to get a candidate, but the real object is to promote the election of the indi- vidual candidate, then, I should say, it would be within the Act." Then, as to the kind of expenditure permitted to be re- turned. Sections 16 and 17 make certain kinds of expen- diture at all times illegal if incurred " for the purpose of promoting or procuring " the election of a candidate. But the expenses which are to be returned are not those incurred " for the purpo&e of promoting or procuring " the election of the candidate. They are those " incurred on account of or in respect of the conduct or management " of the elec- tion. We think that these words are narrower than the others, and that there may be cases in which expenses in- curred " for the purpose of promoting or procuring " the election of a candidate are not incurred " on account of or in respect of the conduct or management " of an election. For example — A, a candidate intending to stand for the borough of B, buys or runs a party newspaper, with the intention that it should recommend his principles to the electors, or, to gain popularity, subscribes liberally to local chaiities, or paj's the registration expenses of his party in the borough. These expenses are incurred for the purpose of promoting or procuring A's election, but (hey are not, we think, generally incurred " on account of or in respect of the conduct or management " of his election. (Kennington, 4 O'M. & H., 94.) Still, every case must depend upon its own circumstances. A newspaper might, for example, be CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 141 nothing but a succession of A's election addresses and paewamextart speeches, and exhortations to vote for him. Part III. of the First Schedule to the Act of 1883 per- mits not more than £200 to be spent upon " miscellaneous matters," other than those mentioned in Parts I. and II. of the schedule. "Miscellaneous matters" have not been de- fined. The candidate and the election agent ought, at the begin- Candidate ning of the election, to estimate their election expenditure, estimnte his and reorulate the expenditure by the estimate, otherwise election " ■*• "^ . T, expenditure. thei'C will be some danger of the maxmium expenditure allowed by the Act of 1883 being exceeded. But as we have already indicated it is not to be assumed that only such expenses as are incurred after the dissolution or after the creation of a vacancy in the representation are election expenses within the meaning of the Act. The provisions of the Act limiting expenditure would be a nullity if con- what are tracts could be entered into and expenses incurred for the election , . . . expenses. purpose of promoting the return of an intending candidate before the dissolution or creation of a vacancy, and no account taken of them in the return of election expenses. It has been supposed that the stringeut provisions of the new legislation as to the amount and mode of payment of election expenses may be evaded by making payments to standing o^ffents, nominally, for refjistration work between elections, ^^"-^^"^^ *° ° ' J ' <- ^ ^ agents. upon an understanding that at the election time these agents shall work gratuitously for the candidate. But the arm of the law is long enough to overreach such transactions. Nor can these provisions be evaded by the work of the election being undertaken by a political association or the members of it. They may, indeed, work gratuitously for the candi- date of their choice, but payments made by tliem for expenses incurred by them in working the election, unless these expenses were their own personal expenses, or any small expense legally incurred by them and not repaid, would constitute an illegal practice. Thus, for a political club to engage and pay a canvasser would be clearly illegal. 142 THE LAW RELATING TO PARLIAMBNTArT What need not be in- cluded in the estimate, («) Costs of taking voters by sea. {b) Returning officer's expenses. (c) Personal expenses. Heads of election expenses. In estimating the expenses of the election, no account need be taken of the personal expenses of the candidate, nor of the charges of the returning officer, nor yet of the cost of the conveyance of voters by sea, where, under s. 48, that is allowed. They must be included in the returns made by the election agent, but they are not included in the maximum sums allowed by the Act (Schedule 1., Part IV.). But it would be illegal to pay to the returning officer any larger sum than is allowed by the earlier statute (38 & 39 Vict. c. 84). And in the Cambridgeshire Case {ex rel. edit.), since the Act of 1883 came into force, Mathew, J., at chambers, refase I an application on behalf of the sitting member, made with the concurrence of the unsuccessful candidate, for leave to pay to the returning officer sums in excess of those allowed by the statute, but which had, in fact, been bond fide spent upon the proper conduct of the polling. The expression " personal expenses," as used with respect to the expenditure of a candidate in relation to an election includes (s. 64 of the Act of 1883) his reasonable travelling expenses, and the reasonable expenses of his living at hotels or elsewhere for the purposes of and in relation to the elec- tion. We think that it should not be held to include the travelling or hotel expenses of his family or the hotel expenses of any guest invited by the candidate to stay with him during the whole or part of the election. The chief heads of expense to be taken account of and kept within the maximum allowed by the Act of 1883 are those indicated and limited by Schedule I. to that Act, Parts I. and II. They are : — (1.) The remuneration of persons legally employed for payment ; only one election agent may be employed, but in counties one sub-agent to act within each polling district may be also employed. The number of clerks and messengers who may be employed has already been discussed. (2.) The expenses of printing, the expenses of advertising CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 143 and the expenses of publishing, issuing, and dis- pari.iamb»tabt tributing addresses and notices. (3.) The expenses of stationery, messages, postage, and telegrams. (4.) The expenses of holding public meetings. (5.) In a borough the expenses of one committee-room, and if the number of electors in (he borough ex- ceeds 500, then of a number of committee-rooms not exceeding the number of one committee-room for every complete 500 electors in the borough ; and if there is a number of electors over and above any complete 500 or complete 500's of electors, then of one committee -room for such number, although not amounting to a complete 500. (6.) In a county the expenses of a central committee-room and in addition of a number of committee-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 500, one additional committee-room may be hired for every complete 500 electors in such polling district over and above the first 500. The number of committee-rooms allowed has already been discussed. It may be said here that in a borough an extra committee-room is allowed for any fraction of 500 electors, but in a county an extra committee-room is not allowed in any polling district for any fraction of 500 electors, but only for each complete number of 500 electors after the first 500. (7.) Miscellaneous expenses (not exceeding £200 in all, or less in case of a joint candidature), and not incurred in respect of anything prohibited by any Act of Parliament. As to the limitations upon miscellaneous expenses, see the first schedule to the Act of 1883, Part III. and Part V., para- graph (3.) 144 THE LAW RELATING TO parliameniart For iustanee (s. 16), payments for bands, torches, flags, Prohibited banners, cavalcades or ribbons are prohibited. Payments paymen s. |^^, chairing the candidate, or for horses and carriages for conveying voters, or for railway or steamboat passes, or for a right to exhibit placards, made to any elector, except to an ordinary advertising agent, or to persons to hrdd up their hands for the candidate at the nomination, when the show of hands was taken, have also been prohibited. The candidate and the election agent, in mapping out their expenditure, will do well to leave a margin for contin- gencies, otherwise they may find they have exceeded the maximum expenditure allowed by the Act, and so come within the perils of s. 8 of the Act of 1883. Themaximum ^£\^q maximum expenditure allowed is stated m the first schedule. Part IV., to the Act of 1883. It is to be remem- bered that, in all cases, the candidate's personal expenses and the returning ofiicer's charges, and the costs of conveying voters by sea, where allowed, under s. 48 are payable in addition. The scale is regulated by the number of electors on the register, and no deductions are to be made for dead men, double entries, or the like. In boroughs. The woids of the Act (Schedule I., Part IV.), limiting the maximum expenditure as to boroughs are these : — 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 £30 for every complete 1,000 electors above 2.000. Provided tliat in Ireland, if the number of electors on the register — The maximum amount siiall be — Does not exceed 500 . . £200. Exceeds 500, but does not exceed 1,000 . . . £250. Exceeds 1,000, but does not exceed 1,500 . . . £275. Since the Eedistribution Act of 1885 the special provision for constituencies containing less than 1,500 electors is of little moment. There are at present no constituencies witli so few electors. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 1 45 The words of the same schedule in regard to the maximum I'^klumextart expenditure in counties are these : — If the number of electors on the register — Does not exceed 2,000 Exceeds 2,000 . The maximum amount fshall bo — In counties. £650 in England and Scotland and £500 in Ireland. £710 in England and Scotland, and £540 in Ireland ; and an additional £60 in England, and Scotland, and £40 in Ire- land, for every complete 1,000 electors above 2,000, The following is the scale stands alone, and not jointly Number of Electors on the Register. 2.000 or under 2.001 to 2,999 3,000 to 3,999 4,000 to 4,999 5,000 to 5,999 6,000 to 6,999 7,000 to 7,999 8,000 to 8,999 9,000 to 9,999 10,000 to 10,999 11,000 to 11,999 12,0C0 to 12,999 Maxinuxm amount allowed, . £850 inclusive £380 „ . £410 . £440 „ . £470 . £500 . £530 . £560 . £590 . £620 „ . £650 ■ . £680 in boroughs where the candidate scale in all with another candidate : — English and Scotch boroughs and in Irish Number of Electors Maximum horouo-hs wilb on the Register. amount allowed, over 1,500 13,000 to 13,999 inclusive . £710 ^^'-^'^^o"- 14,000 to 14,999 15,000 to 15,999 16,000 to 16,999 17,000 to 17,999 18,000 to 18,999 19,000 to 19,999 20,000 to 20,999 21,000 to 21,999 22,000 to 22,999 23,000 to 23,999 24,000 to 24,999 . £740 . £770 . £80J . £830 . £860 . £890 . £920 . £950 . £980 £1,010 £1,040 and so on, adding to £380 an additional £30 for every complete 1,000 electors above 2,000 enumerated on the register. This scale applies to all boroughs except to Irish boroughs having less than 1,500 electors. The following is the scale in counties where the 10 Ul) THE LAW H ELATING TO rAKLiAMBNTAEY Candidate stands alone, and not jointly with another candidate ;— Scale ill counties. Xiimber of Electors on Register. Maximum amount allowed in England and Scotland. Maximiun amount allowed in Ireland. 2,000 or under .... £650 £500 2,001 to 2,999 inclusive £710 £540 3,000 to 3,999 £770 £580 4,000 to 4,999 ;, £830 £620 5,000 to 5,999 £890 £660 6,000 to 6,999 \, £950 £700 7,000 to 7,999 j £1,010 £740 8,000 to 8,999 ,, £1,070 £780 9,000 to 9,999 £1,130 £820 10,000 to 10,999 £1,190 £860 11,000 to 11,999 £1,250 £900 12,000 to 12 999 £1,310 £940 13,000 to 13,999 £1,370 £980 14,000 til 14.999 £1,430 £1,020 15,000 to 15,999 £1,490 £1,060 16,000 to 16,999 £1.550 £1,100 17,000 to 17,999 „ £1,G1U £1.140 18,CO0 to 18,999 £1,670 £1,180 19,000 to 19.999 £1,730 £1,220 20,000 to 20,999 £1,790 £1,260 21,000 to 21,999 £1,850 £1,300 22,000 to 22,999 £1,910 £1,340 23,000 to 23,999 £1,970 £1,380 24,000 to 24,999 „ . . £2,030 £1,420 and so on, adding, in England or Scotland, to £710, an additional £60 for every 1,000 electors over 2,000, and adding, in Ireland, to £540 an additional £40 for every 1,000 electors above 2,000. Further """^ "^^^^ frequently happen that candidates will stand restrictions on jointly. In that case (Schedule I., Part V., 3) the maxi- in case of mum expenditure allowed to each is to be reduced, if there are two joint candidates, by one-fourth, and if there are more than two joint candidates by one-third. The maximum expenditure allowed to two joint candidates is therefore one and a half times that which would be allowed to each if he stood separately, and the maximum allowed to three joint candidates is just twice as much as that allowed to each if he stood separated. joint candi dature. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS, U7 Having regard to that enactment, it is important to notice paeiiamektabt what constitutes a joint candidature for this purpose. A case of joint candidature arises (Schedule I., Part V., 4) ^^-of^t^^ when any one of the following events happen : — candidature, (a.) Two or more candidates appoint the same election agent. (5.) Two or more candidates by themselves or any agent hire or use the same committee room or rooms for the election. (c.) Two or more candidates by themselves or any agent employ or use the services of the same sub-agents, clerks, messengers, or polling agents at the election. It would seem that for both candidates by any agent to use, e.g., one committee-room or one messenger in common, although in all other respect the rooms used and persons employed by each candidate were different and separate, would constitute a joint candidature for the purposes of this section. {d.) Two or more candidates by themselves or any agent publish a joint address, or joint circular, or joint notice at the election. The severity of this enactment is modified by a provision which, however, affects (6) and (c) only. If the employment or use of the same committee-room, sub-agent, clerk, messenger, or polling agent is (1) accidental or casual or (2) of a trivial and unimportant character, a case of joint candidature will not be thereby created. (Schedule I., Part v., 4 {a).) Candidates may at any time cease to be joint candidates, Severance in which case they had better give public notice of the fact, candidature. In the event of a candidate ceasing to be a joint candidate or becoming a joint candidate after having begun to conduct his election as a separate candidate, he will occupy an anomalous position in regard to the maximum amount of expenditure allowed to him. It would seem that his election expenditure is to be regulated as if he had been a joint candidate throughout the election. Bftt ^e may 148 THE LAW RELATING TO Case of candidature partly joint and partly Boveral. paeliamektaet under certain circumstances get relief under the provisions of the Act of 1883, s. 23, and Schedule I., Part V., 4 {c), for any excess of expenditure above the amount allowed to a joint candidate if his total expenses do not amount to what the Act would have allowed him as a separate candi- date. That clause, 4 {c), provides: "Where any excess of the 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 election 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." The candidate who applies for relief under this clause must therefore prove to the Court the following things : — (1.) That the excess of expenditure has arisen from the candidate having ceased to be a joint candidate or from his becoming a joint candidate after having been a separate candidate, and (2.) That he began or ceased to be a joint candidate in good faith and without any intention to evade the provisions of the Act, a)id (3.) That the excess is not more than under the circum- stances is reasonable, and (4.) That his expenses do not exceed the maximum amount allowed to a separate candidate. If the application is made to the High Court, it must be by motion or by a judge's summons at chambers before judge on the rota for the trial of election petitions. ]'ividence on npplication for relief. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 149 Such previous notieo of tlie application as the Couit may rARMAMENTARv direct must be given in the constituency. Under s. 28, requiring all moneys provided for the election Subscriptions expenses to be paid to the candidate or his election agent, candidate's it would seem to be necessary that a fund raised by sub- ^-^P^"^""^- scription to defray A's election expenses be paid to A himself or to his election agent. The proviso in the same section only amounts to this, that ^'^^^^ ,.. ^ ^ _ •' . expenditure if any person, not intending to corrupt an elector, disburses by partisans any trifling sum for any small expense incurred bi/ himself ^° ^^^'^ * without thinking of repayment, and without the fact of repayment, no harm is done. Thus, if B, a partisan of A's, hires and himself pays for a carriage to enable him to can- vass for votes for A, that is unobjectionable. But still the amount disbursed must be small, otherwise the first sub- section of 8. 28 would be nullified. By sub-s. 2 of s. 28, contravention of the section by any agent, constructive or otherwise, would avoid the seat. Section III. — The Payment of Parliamentary Election Expenses. Subject to the trifling exceptions mentioned in s. 28, it By the is the business of the election agent to make all payments, ^wp*!'*^ He will do well to postpone the making of these payments, except in the rare cases in which credit is refused, until 14 days after the declaration of the result of the election, when he will know what is the total amount of the claims upon his candidate. There is nothing in the Act to make it Advertising obligatory on the election agent to advertise for creditors to ^'^^ claims. send in their claims. Creditors have public notice of the election agent's appointment, and they must be presumed to know the law that their bills must be sent in to the election agent within 14 days next after the declaration of the result of the election. But it may sometimes be convenient to advertise for claims, and there is nothing in the Act to forbid an advertisement. 150 THE LAW RELATING TO Faeliamentaet Wlif'n claims to be sent in. Account of candidate's personal expenses to be sent in. Personal expenses over £100 to be paid by the election agent. Particulars of petty dis- bursements. Every claim against a candidate at an election, or his election agent (which in counties includes sub-agents acting in their own districts), in respect of any expenses incurred on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of the election, must be sent in to the election agent by a bill, stating the particulars of the claim within fourteen days next after the day on which the candidates returned are declared elected (s. 29 of the Act of 1883). The time will run from the nomination day if there is no poll, and if there is a poll, from the day on v/hich the returning officer declares the result of the poll. In the case of petitions against the return for corrupt practices, the time runs from the day on which the return comes to the hands of the clerk of the Crown so that he can act upon it. As the Act speaks of the claims being " sent in," and not of the time of their receipt, it would seem that if the returning officer declares the result on the Ist of a month, the claims may be posted or other- wise " sent " at any time, so that ia the ordinary course of the post or other usual means of transmission adopted they will be delivered at the office of the election agent on or before the 15th of the month, i.e., within the fourteen days. It is to be remembered, that although a candidate is allowed (s. 31) himself to pai/ his personal expenses not exceeding £100 in connection with the election (which by 8. 64 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"), yet the candidate ;«^^sf, within fourteen days after the returning officer has declared the result of the election, send to the election agent a written statement of the amount of the personal expenses paid by him. Seemingly, the par- ticulars of the amount need not be stated. Any excess on account of personal expenses over £100 must be paid by the election agent (s, 31), and any person authorised under s. 31, sub-s. 2, to make petty disbursements for stationery, postage, telegrams, and other expenses, w«fs^ within the same time, send to the election agent a statement of the particulars of the payments made by him, and he must also send in a CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 151 receipted bill vouching the payment (sub-s. 3). The Act p^k^^^^^^y applies, so far as circumstances will admit, to the claims by the election agent for his remuneration and payment. He can hardly be bound to send his claim in to himself, but he Remuneration would do well to give notice of his claim within the fourteen lif^^^^'^^ days next after the declaration of the result to his candidate. His claim must then be satisfied by the candidate within the next fourteen days (s. 32), otherwise it will become a " dis- puted claim," and be dealt with accordingly. (Compare 8. 29, 6ub-s. 5, 7 and 8, and s. 30.) The returning officer must transmit to the election agent, Returning within Uventti-one days after the return, an account of the oncer's charges claimed by him (s. 32, sub-s. 2) . The account need not be sent to the candidate or anybody else. {Cf. the statute, 38 & 39 Yict., c. 84.) As to the power of the returning officer to require security for the payment of his charges and the amount of the security which can be required, and the amount of the charges, see the statutes 38 & 39 Vict., c. 84, and 48 & 49 Vict., c. 62. If a claim be not " sent in " within the proper time, the Late claims creditor will be barred of all right of action against the barred. candidate or the election agent. They are prohibited from paying any late claim, and if the election agent should pay any such claim he would be guilty of an illegal practice. But certain relief against this somewhat severe enactment may be obtained upon conditions, under sub-ss. 6 and 9 of s. 29 of the Act of 1883, which will bo dealt with presently. The election agent having received the claims against his Examination candidate will examine them, and separate those which are ^^ ^j^^^™^"^ in respect of contracts made or expenses incurred by the candidate or the election agent acting by himself or by a sub-agent. These, except in cases in which the candidate's liability is admitted, but the amount claimed is disputed, must be paid within a second period of 14 days, i.e., within 28 days of the day on which the candidates returned were declared duly elected. To pay them afterwards would be an illegal practice. By sub-s. 4 of s. 29 of the Act of 1883, it is enacted : " All expenses incurred by or on behalf of a 152 THE LAW RELATING TO paeliamextaet candidate at an election, which are incurred on account of or in respect of the conduct or management 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." Time of Probably it would be held that a payment was made in payment. good time if the money or cheque were posted or despatched to the creditor in such time that in the ordinary course of the post or other means of transmission it would be delivered at his address within the 28 days. It would not matter, wo think, that the payment was by a crossed cheque, which could not be cleared until after the 28 days had expired. All claims sent in within the proper time, disputed by the election agent, or which the election agent refuses ar fails to pay within the 28 days, become " disputed " claims within the Act, and are to be dealt with as such. (S. 29, sub-ss. 7 and 8.) Belief against The election agent may, by inadvertence or otherwise, payments out commit the illegal practice of paying a claim after the 28 days, or of paying a claim sent in after the 14 days. In that case he may be relieved under the provisions of s. 23 of the Act of 1883. The candidate may also be relieved. The High Court, under the powers of s. 23, and upon com- pliance with the somewhat stringent conditions of that section, might excuse him from the consequences of the Act, and thereupon it might possibly stay a petition presented ao-ainst his return, and based on the election agent's illegal practice in so paying, and (sub-s. 6 of s. 29) the judges at the trial of the petition 7naij report, in a proper case, that the payment made by the election agent in contravention of the section was made u-itJioat the sanction or connirance of the candidate. If they do so report, the election will not bo void on account of that payment, nor will the candidate be subject to any incapacity, but he may have to pay the costs of the petition. dispXd" As to all disputed claims, the election agent should await claims. ^]^q action of the persons making the disputed claims. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 153 If the claimant has made a slip by sending in his claim parliamentaet too late, or sending it to the candidate personally, he should Order of apply to the High Court, by a notice of motion served on i^J^ular*^^ the candidate, for an order giving leave for the payment of claim, the claim (s. 29, sub-s. 9). The application should be supported by an affidavit of the facts. Leave may then be given to make payment. As the claimant's slip occasions the application, it seems reasonable that he should pay the candidate's costs of appearing upon it. The candidate or the election agent may himself make the application if he think fit to do so. When the order ha3 been made, the sum specified in the order of leave may be paid cither by the candidate or his election agent, and when paid in pursuance of the order of leave is to be deemed to have been paid within the time limited by the Act. Any claimant whose claim is disputed, or left unpaid, Action for may, if he thinks fit, bring an action against the candidate, ^^^puted or the election agent, if the latter has made himself per- sonally liable (s. 29, sub-s. 8). If the candidate is the defendant, the action may be brought in any Court having jurisdiction, which will generally be the High Court or where the amount claimed does not exceed £50, the County Court holden in the district. If the election agent is the defendant, he may be sued in any Court having jurisdiction in the county or borough in which his appointed office is (s. 26, sub-s. 2), or in the High Court. When the action is brought it will proceed like any other action. It will be no defence to it that if the candidate were to allow or pay the claim he would thereby exceed the maximum amount of expendit^^re allowed him by the Act of 1883 (s. 19), unless when the contract was made the plaintiff was aware that it contravened the Act. If, therefore, a judgment or order goes against the defendant, ordering him to pay a sum of money to the plaintiff, although any sum paid in pursuance of the judgment or order is to be deemed (s. 29, sub-s. 8) to be paid within the time limited by the Act of 1883 (28 days after the declaration of the return), and to be an exception from the provisions of the Act requiring all claims to be paid by the election agent, yet 154 THE LAW RELATING TO referred to taxation. pahliamsktaet any excess thereby caused over the maximum expenditure allowed is nevertheless an illegal practice. If the candidate or the election agent should before judgment discover that the plaintiff 's claim was erroneously disputed, leave to pay the amount may be obtained on a motion in the High Court under s. 29, sub-s. 9. If amount On the other hand, if in the action the plaintiff's right of ^ay bi'^''**''^ action is not disputed, but only the amount of his claim, the question is to be referred to taxation, unless the Court on a summons taken out by the plaintiff or on the plaintiffs motion, otherwise directs. S. 30 of the Act of 1883 directs : " If any action is brought in any competent Court to recover a disputed claim against any candidate at an election, 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, oflBcial 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." Section IV. — The Return and Declaration of Parlia- mentary Election Expenses. The return of expenses. The duties of the election agent do not end with the exami- nation and payment of the claims sent in. Within seven days after the last day allowed for payment of the claims — that is to say, within 35 days after the declaration of the result of the election — he must transmit to the returning oflBcer a return of his candidate's election expenses. The return and declaration must be made and transmitted even though the candidate should have incurred no election expenses at all. {Ex p. Robsou, 18 U.B.D., 336.) CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 155 The return must contain (s. 33, sub-s. 1) — pabliamentaet (a) A statement of all payments made by the election Contents of agent, together with all the bills and receipts *^^ ''^*''™* (which bills and receipts are included in the ex- pression '" return respecting election expenses "). (b) A statement of the amount of personal expenses, 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. (/) 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 conduct or management of the election, with a statement of the name of every person from whom the same may have been received. The words of the section do not give a complete idea of Particulars the particularity and exactness required in the return. These will be appreciated by a perusal of the form of return contained in the second schedule to the Act given in the Appendix. In each case the name, address and business (the Nonvich Case, 4 O'M. & H., 91, the Buckrose Case, 4 O'M. & H., 117) of the person paid, and the nature of the goods, work, labour or services in respect of which he is paid, must be set out, and any room hired must be described so as to identify it. (The Buckrose Case, 4 O'M. & H. 118.) At the same time, the election agent mmt send to the Declaration returning officer, accompanying the return, a declaration to reYura "^ 15G THE LAW RELATING TO parliamentaky be made by him before a justice of the peacCy verifying the return. The declaration mmt be in the form set out in the second schedule to the Act. But if the candidate has had no election agent, and has been his own election agent, the declaration provided in the schedule for an election agent is not to be used. But, instead of it, the candidate mud make and transmit the declaration by the candidate respecting election expenses, as specified in the second schedule to the Act. (S. 33, sub-s. 3) In any case the candidate, whether he has had an election agent or not, mmt, at the time when the return of election expenses is transmitted to the returning officer, or u-ithin seven days qftericards, transmit Declaration ^0 the returning officer a declaration, made before a justice by candidate, qf ^/,g peace, respecting election expenses, and of general purity (s. 33, sub-s. 4). For the form see Schedule II. in the Appendix. Where It may happen that the candidate is out of the United candidate Kinffdom when the election agent sends in his return and declaration. In such a case, the time for the candidate to make his declaration will be extended until the expiry of 14 days after he returns to the United Kingdom, within which time it must be made. If the candidate were cruising in a yacht and touched at a port in the United Kingdom, that would probably be held to be a " return " to the United Kingdom within the meaning of the section (s, 33, sub-s. 8). The candidate's absence confers no right on the election agent to delay the transmission of liis return and declaration for an hour, and when the candidate on his return has made the required declaration, the latter must be forthicith transmitted to the returning officer. [Ibid.) If the candidate has been declared a candidate or nominated in his absence, and has taken no part in the election, he must send to the returning officer a special form of declaration as to expenses, in effect declaring that he has incurred no expenses, nor paid any money, with stated exceptions, and that he will not pay any expenses afterwards. (For the form see Schedule II., Part II. to the Act of 1883). CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 157 By s. 33, sub-s. 9, it is provided that when after the date rAELiAsiEsiAET at which the return respecting election expenses is trans- Return mitted, leave is given by the High Court for any claims to i^^^g^ukr ^ be sent in or paid (as to which see s. 29, sub-s. 9) ihe candidate claims paid. or his election agent shall, icithin seven days after the pay- ment 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 the section without authorised excuse, i.e.y he will thereby become guilty of an illegal practice, avoiding the election. We think that if the returning officer has ceased to be such since the election, and before a return or declaration is sent in, the proper person to whom to send the return or declaration will be the late returning officer, and not his successor. The latter would seem to be a stranger to the election. The safest course would be to transmit the return and declaration to both, and if the late returning officer has died, then to transmit them to his successor. If a bona fide mistake were made in this respect relief might be obtained under s. 23 of the Act of 1883. The penalties for any omission or failure to comply with rcnalties. the requirements of the law regarding the making and trans- mission of a proper return and declarations are very severe. In the first place, the omission or failure is an illegal practice, which, on a petitiou, avoids the seat, or, if the candidate has been unsuccessful at the election, renders him liable to the ordinary penalties imposed for an illegal practice. In the second place, even though no petition be presented, if the return and declarations be not transmitted within the proper time, the candidate shall not (s. 33, sub-s. 5), after the expiration of that time, sit or vote in the House of Commons for the constituency until («) the returns and declaration have been transmitted, or (b) until the date of the allowance by the Court of an " authorised excuse " for the failure to transmit them (cf. s. 34, sub-s. 4). If the candidate do sit or vote, he is to forfeit the sum of £100 for every day he so sits or votes, to any person who cares to sue 158 THE LAW RELATING TO Wilful false declaration. Relief on innocent mistake. PAELiiMENTAKY for it. TLg aotlou might be maintained by a common informer. {Bradlaugh v. Clarke, 8 App. Cas., 354.) If the candidate or the election agent should knowingly make the declaration falsely, he would commit a corrupt practice. (S. 33, sub-s. 7.) For such an offence the candi- date could have no relief under s. 23, or otherwise, because, for a corrupt practice, other than treating or undue in- fluence, there can be no relief under any section. In addition, the person, whether candidate or election agent, who actually made the false declarations would be liable, on conviction, to the punishment of wilful and corrupt perjury, which may be seven year^ lienal ser-vitude. The Court has power to relieve a candidate or an election agent from the consequences of an innocent mistake, either when the returns and declarations have not been trans- mitted as required by the Act, or when, being transmitted, they contain some error or misstatement. (S. 34 ot the x\ct of 1883.) The way to obtain the relief, in the Act called an *' authorised excuse,"' and the conditions on which it is granted, are treated of hereafter under the title of ''Pro- cedure." S. 34 also indicates the course to be adopted when the candidate and election agent cannot make the requisite return and declarations, owing to the default of some sub- agent. No sub-agent is required to send any return or declaration to the returning officer. Within ten days after receiving the returns respecting election expenses the returning officer (s. 35) must publish a summary of the returns in two or more newspapers in circulation in the constituency. For two years the returning officer must keep the returns and declarations open to in- spection, on payment of the fee of one shilling, by any person ; after that time he may destroy them, or, if required by the candidate or his election agent, he shall return them to the candidate. Or default of Bub-agent. Publication and inspection of return 8 and declarations. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 159 CHAPTEE IX. ELECTION EXPENSES AT MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS. The expenditure at elections to corporate offices in England municipal. has been for the first time regulated and limited by the Act Regulated by of 1884, s. 5. No limitation has been placed upon the ex- penditure permitted at elections of members of local boards, school boards, improvement commissioners or poor law guardians (s. 27 of the Act of 1884), possibly because the object of the Legislature has lately been to strike at the cost of elections fought on political grounds and that the excepted elections have seldom partaken of that character. But it seems to be the result of ss. 5 and 34 of the Act of 1884, the definition of the word " candidate " contained in 8. 77 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882 (45 & 46 Vict., 0. 50), and the definition of the term "corporate office" contained in s. 7 of the same Act, that no sum may be paid and no expense may be incurred by or on behalf of any candidate for the office of mayor, alderman, elective auditor, or revising assessor in any borough, before, during or after an election, on account of the conduct or management of such election. An election of a town councillor and an No expendi- election of a county councillor are, among elections to corpo- p^cept in^^ rate offices (except in the City of London), the only elections elections of at which any expenditure at all is legal, and in the case of an election of a councillor the maximum expenditure now permitted is the sum of £25 if the number of electors in the borough or ward for which the election is held is 500 or less, but if the number exceeds 500, there is also permitted the expenditure of an additional sum of three-pence for each elector on the roll above 500. (S. 5 of the Act of 1884). Sub-s. 3 of s. 5 is ill-expressed, but the effect of that sub-section and of the following sub-sections is to apply to 160 THE LAW RELATING TO MCNTCIPAL. Joint Candida turc. Penalty for unauthorised expenditure. No elccfion agent in municipal elections. Payment of expenses of elections of councillors the same provisions (excepting all references to the parliamentary election agent) as already exist in regard to parliamentary elections in regard to ■ (1) the reduction of the maximum expenditure in cases of joint candidature ; (2) the definition of a joint candidature ; and (3) the conditions on which a candidate who has incurred an excess of expenses through his having ceased to be a joint candidate, or through his having become a joint candidate after having begun to conduct his election as a separate candidate, may be relieved from the consequences of such excess. Anyone, whether candidate, agent, or other person, who at an election of a councillor knowingly pays or incurs any expenses in excess of the maximum, is guilty of an illegal practice, as is anyone who at any election to any other corporate office knowingly pays any expense on account of the conduct or management of the election (s. 5, sub-s. 2 of the Act of 1884). The word "knowingly" in that sub- section is not to be found in the corresponding section (s. 28) of the Act of 1883. With the view of cutting down the expenses of elections of councillors, the Legislature has made no provision in the Act of 188-1 for the appointment or creation of the " election agent " and his " sub-agents," upon whom so large a portion of the work of parliamentary elections will in future devolve. Generally speaking, the candidate at an election of councillors must be his own election agent. He may be assisted by voluntary and, to a limited extent, by paid agents, so long as he keeps within the limits of the maximum expenditure permitted to him, and he is not restricted, like a parlia- mentary candidate, to certain heads of expenses under which alone he can spend the permitted sum. But the small sum allowed for election expenses to the candidate will nearly always forbid the luxury of a paid agent. It will generally, therefore, be the business of the candidate himself to map out his expenditure when he enters upon the contest. "When the contest is over the candidate will have to receive the returns of his expenses from his agents, and the CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. IGl accounts of his creditors, to pay tliem and to make tlie McKiciPAt. return and declaration respecting election expenses required candidate for by the new law — duties which, in the case of a parliamentary election, are cast upon the election agent. By s. 21, sub-s. 1, of the Act of 1884, it is provided that every claim against any person in respect of any expenses by or on behalf of a candidate at an election of a councillor on account of or in respect of the conduct or manaorement of such election shall When claims ° . T . „ to be sent in . be sent in within 14 days after the day of election, and if not so sent in shall be barred and not paid. This seems to mean that the claims are to be sent in to the person to whom the claimant gave credit, not necessarily to the candidate. Then it is provided that all such expenses are to be paid within 21 days after the day of election, and that payment Leave to pay after the expiration of the 21 days, except by leave of the time.^^°^^^ Court, shall be an illegal practice. But in order to provide for accidental and innocent omissions, the High Court or an Election Court or the County Court for the district in which the election was held may (sub-s. 6 of s. 21), on the application of either the candidate or the creditor, give leave for any claim to be sent in or expense paid after the proper time, but a return of any sum so paid is immediately to be sent to the town clerk. Except that in elections of councillors, jurisdiction in this respect is given to the County Court, the effect of this section seems to be similar to that of s. 29, sub-s. 9, of the Act of 1883. By sub-s. 2 of the same section every agent is required to send to his candidate areturn in writing " of all expenses incurred by such agent " in respect of the conduct or management of the election, under the penalty of a fine of £50, but somewhat strangely, an agent may do this at any time within 23 days after the election, although the candidate must pay all expenses within 21 days. In regard to the making of payments after the 21 days, Parliament has provided by s. 21 of the Act of 1884, that if any such payment was made " without the sanction or connivance of the candidate," his election shall not be void, nor shall the payment subject him to any incapacity under the Act. 11 162 THE LAW RELATING TO MuxiciPAL. Having paid the election expenses, the candidate must, Return and within 28 days after the election, send to the town clerk expe'^nses!''' ""^ i^' ^l* sub-s. 3, of the Act of 1884) a return of all his ex- penses, vouched by bills, stating the particulars andTecei^^ts, except in the case of sums under 20s. In parliamentary elections the exception is of sums under 40s, The candidate must also send to the town clerk, accompanying the return, a declaration respecting the election expenses, made before a justice of the peace, and in the form given in the fourth schedule to the Act of 1884, or to the like effect. The words " and my agents " in the third line of the form make the declaration incomprehensible and should be omitted. After the expiration of the 28 days, the candidate elected a councillor, must not, until he has made the return and declaration or until the date of the allowance of an authorised Penalties for excuse, under s. 21, sub-s. 7, of the Act of 1884, sit or vote sitting in ^^ ^-^^ council, Under a penalty of £50 per day, to be recover- out comply- able by any person minded to sue for the same (sub-s. 4) ; and ing with Act. j^ -^ further provided that failure to make the return and Wilfully declaration, without an authorised excuse, shall be an illegal declaration, practice, avoiding the election, and that any candidate know- ingly making the declaration falsely, shall be guilty of a corrupt practice and liable to the same punishment as if he had committed perjury, i.e., seven years' penal servitude. By s. 21, sub-s. 7, of the Act of 1883 provision is made Allowance of for the allowance of an authorised excuse for failure to make f^i^^r^^'^ the return and declaration correctly, in cases in which the indulgence is allowed, but these provisions are more properly treated in the next chapter, under the title of "Applications for Eelief." The town clerk is to keep the return and declaration at his Inspection ^^^^ ^0^' 1^ months, open to inspection by anyone on pay- and destruc- ment of a fee of one shilling, and he is to furnish copies Lnddeclaia™ at the price of 2d. a folio. After the expiration of that tioii- time he may destroy the return and declaration, unless the candidate require them to be returned to him (s. 21, sub-s. 11). In cases of parliamentary elections, as already stated, the like documents are to be preserved for two years. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 163 The Act of 1884, and Part IV. of the Municipal Corpora- mcxicipil. tions Act, 1882 (45 & 46 Vict., c. 50), apply to municipal elections in the City of London, subject to certain exceptions Election which may be summarised as follows : — In the City of Lon- the City of don municipal elections are elections to the office of mayor, London. aldermen, common councilmen or sheriffs, and include the election of any officer elected by the mayor, aldermen and liverymen in common hall. In the ease of an election of aldermen or common council- men, the maximum election expenditure is the same as in the case of an election of town councillor, i.e., £25 for the first 500 electors, and an additional sum of 3d. for each elector beyond the first 500. In the case of an election by liverymen in common hall, the maximum election expenditure is £40 if no poll be demanded, and £250 if a poll be demanded. As to the time and mode of holding such elections see s. 35 of the Act of 1884. 164 THE LAW RELATING TO Parlumsntari Applications to the Court to relieve against illegal acts. How made. Upon what evidence. Parties to be heard. CHAPTER X. PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE. Section I. — On Applications for Relief. Sub-Section I. — Parliamentary Elections. Many candidates will probably discover, during or after the election, that more or less by inadvertence, illegal practices, payments, employments, or hirings, have been done, made or entered into by themselves or their agents. " Inadvertence " means negligence or carelessness when the circumstances show an absence of bad faith. {Ex. p. Lenanton, 53 J.P. 263, 5 Times L.E. 173.) As soon as the discovery is made, application should be made to the High Court (or, if the election court is sitting, to that court), under the proper section of the Act of 1883, to be relieved against the consequences and penalties incurred, as well in regard to the election as to the individuals. The procedure is to apply by motion to a Divisional Court in the Queen's Bench Division, but it may be made upon the appointed day by summons at chambers, or by motion in Court, before a judge on the rota for the trial of election petitions, or in eases in which a master has jurisdiction before a master at chambers. (S. 56 of the Act of 1883.) It should be made promptly. The application, if under s. 23, must be sup- ported by evidence that the act or omission in question arose from inadvertence, or from accidental miscalculation, or from some other reasonable cause of a like nature, and not from any want of good faith. (S. 23, sub-s. (i).) The provision in the section as to notice implies that, upon the application, any candidate or elector may be heard. Certainly, if a petition has been presented, it would seem highly con- venient to adjourn the application generally, or to refer it to the election court, which will hear all the witnesses. Any intending petitioner should oppose the application for relief. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 165 In Exp. {Willcs 16 Q.B.D. 114), where it appeared that a PiKLiAMENiAEx petition against the applicant's return was pending, the Court ordered the application for relief to stand over until after the trial of the petition. {Cf'. Ex p. Ifemjmn, 5 Times L.E.. 290.) But in Ex p. Clark (52 L.T. 260) relief was granted by the Court, although a prosecution against the applicant was pending. In Ex p. Stevens (5 Times L.E. 203), where a petition was only threatened, the Court, under special circumstances, granted relief. If the illegal practice, payment, employment, or hiring amount to bribery, no relief can be given to the candidate or other applicant. S. 22 of the Act of 1883, protecting innocent candidates, in certain cases, from the consequences of the commission of the offences of treating, and undue influence, and illegal practices by agents, can only be invoked at the trial of an election petition, and not upon any preliminary application for relief. By s. 33, sub-8. 6, of the Act of 1883, if a candidate, or Default his election agent, fails to comply with the requirements of the return of 8, 33, as to the making and transmitting of the return and expenses and declarations concerning the election expenses, he shall be guilty of an illegal practice, and the candidate's election will be avoided ; and if the return and declarations are not made and transmitted within the time provided by the statute, the candidate returned may not sit or vote in the House until they have been transmitted. (S. 33, sub-s. 5.) As soon as any such failure or delay is discovered, the candidate affected should apply to the High Court to be allowed an " authorised excuse " for the failure to transmit the return and declaration, or for any error or false state- ments. (S. 34 of the Act of 1883.) The order allowing an " authorised excuse " will prevent the omission or error being an illegal practice, and save the election in that respect, and protect the candidate (whether returned or not) and his agent against penalties. An election court has jurisdiction . ,. ,. to make the order ; but if a candidate applies to an election should be court for this relief, he will probably have to pay the costs ^lay.^^ °" 166 THE LAW RELATING TO Notice of the application . Evidence in support. PAKLiiMEifTAET of tho petltioii 111 QHy event. On the other hand, by an immediate application to the High Court, he may stall off a petition ; at all events, he may take a powerful weapon out of the hand of any petitioner, and save a great deal in the costs of litigation. The notices of the intended application usually required by the Court are advertisements in the local papers and placards, published in such a way as to ensure a reasonable certainty that all persons interested in the matter will have notice, and written notices to the ojiposing candidates and the returning officer. (JEx p. Perry, 48 J.P. 824 ; Ex p. Lenanton, 53 J.P. 263, 5 Times L.R. 173.) The Attorney- General need not be served with notice. The application must be supported before the Court or a judge at chambers by evidence (1) that due notice has been given ; (2) of the applicant's good faith ; and, if the applicant was a candidate (3) that the failure to transmit the return and declarations, or any of them, or any error or false statement in them, has arisen by reason of his illness, or of the absence, death, illness, or misconduct of some agent or agent's clerk or officer, or by reason of inadvertence, or of some reasonable cause of a like nature — e.g., by a slip — and not by reason of any want of good faith on the part of the candidate. The affidavit must show a reasonable cause for the alleged inadvertence. {Ex p. Perry, supra.) If the application for relief is made to an election court, no notice of the application is required. (The Buckrose Case, 4 O'M. & H., 89.) If the applicant be an election agent anxious to be relieved from the consequences of an illegal practice, he must give evidence in support of his application to the effect that his failure or error was caused by his own illness, or the death or illness of some prior election agent of the candidate, or the absence, death, illness, or misconduct of some sub-agent, clerk, or officer of the election agent, or by inadvertence or other reasonable cause, and not from want of good faith on the part of the applicant. (S. 34 of the Act of 1883.) If the evidence satisfy the Court or the judge, the order CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS 167 will then be made allowing an authorised excuse for the Pablumektaby failure to transmit the return and declaration, or for the error or false statement in question. If the return and declaration cannot be made and trans- Procedure wh.GrG mitted, owing to the refusal or failure of the election agent agent ia or a sub -agent, the Court, before making an order allowing default. an authorised excuse, will order the defaulter to attend before the Court, and unless he successfully show cause to the contrary, will, on his attendance, order him to do his duly by making the return and declaration, or by giving the necessary particulars, or may order him to be examined on oath. In default of compliance, the defaulter might be fined £500, and probably imprisoned for contempt of court. (S. 34, sub-s. 2, of the Act of 1883.) In any case, if the candidate proves that the act or omission When Court of the election agent regarding the return or declaration was without the candidate's connivance, and that he took all reasonable means to prevent it, the Court must relieve the candidate from the consequences of the election agent's act or omission. (S. 34, sub.-s. 3, of the Act of 1883.) In such cases the candidate may obtain relief without satisfying the stringent conditions which are precedent to the granting of relief against treating and undue influence, and other illegal practices by agents, under s. 22 ; but the Court, before exercising its discretion in other cases, may require similar evidence to that necessary under s. 22. Any order made under s. 34 may make the allowance of an authorised excuse conditional upon the making of the return and declaration in a modified form, or within an extended term, or upon other terms being complied wdth. (Sub-s. 3.) As to the practice, when relief is sought by a candidate against the consequences of an excess of expenditure caused by the candidate having been a joint candidate, sec p. 148, siq)ra. Applications to the High Court, under the jurisdiction conferred by the Act of 1883, may be made (s. bQ) — To whom " («) In criminal proceedings, to any judge of the JJ^e made! Queen's Bench Division ; 1(58 THE LAW RELATING TO Paeliamentarx Limits of master's jurisdiction. " {b) 111 other matters, (1) to any judge on the rota for the trial of election petitions, and either in Court or at chambers ; or (2) to a master, subject to appeal ; " except that a master has no jurisdiction at all on applica- tions under s. 23 or s. 34 ; that is, in regard to applications for (1) orders declaring any act or omission to be an excep- tion from the provisions of the Act with respect to illegal practices, payments, employments or hiring ; or (2) orders allowing an " authorised excuse " in regard to the return or declaration of expenses. Yet a master may make orders allowing the withdrawal of election petitions. The general practice is to move in a Divisional Court. In the case of municipal elections an appeal lies to the Court of Appeal from the refusal of the Divisional Court to grant relief. {E.>^ 7;. JFctlker, 22 Q.B.D. 384 ; 58 L.J., Q.B., 190 ; 37 W.E., 293 ; 53 J.P., 260.) It has not yet been decided whether an appeal lies in the case of Parlia- mentary elections, but we assume that it does. The Court has granted relief where the illegal act was due to the applicant's ignorance of the law — {JEx p. Hutchinson, 5 Times L.R. 136)— where a meeting had been held at a public-house. But the Courts will be stricter than they have been. It will be very difficult to excuse any one from penalties on the ground of ignorance of the law. {Exp. Walker, supra, per Lord Esher, M.E.) People who seek election to such offices ought to study the provisions of the Acts regulating these elections. It is an element to be considered in the granting of relief that the act was not one which was likely to influence the election. (Per Wills, J., in 5 Times L.R. 221. ) And the Courts will be less inclined to grant relief if the act was one morally reprehensible, as that the placard in respect of which relief was sought was libellous. (Per Wills, J., in Ex p. Lenanton, 5 Times L.R. 174.) Relief was granted in a case where the applicant's error was due to his studying a law book which did not accurately or sufficiently state the law (5 Times L.R. 221) ; where CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 169 an address was issued without bearing tlie printer's name PAELiiMExiAKY {Ex p. Ives, 5 Times L.R., 136) ; where too many messengers (twelve, instead of two) were employed {Ex p. Darlington, J.P., 71 ; 5 Times L.E.., 183), although Stephen, J., said the ease was very near the lino. The Court has no power to relieve the printer of a bill which ought to bear his name. {Ex }). Lenanton, supra.) Sub-Section II. — Upon Municipal Elections. The law relating to applications for relief against the con- muiocitai,. sequences of infractions of the election law in eases of Similar to municipal elections is almost the same as that applicable jng to parli^-' in parliamentary cases, except in so far as the fact mentary that in municipal cases there is no election agent makes a difference. The provisions of the Act of 1884, s. 5, for the allowance by the High Court, or an election court, of relief to a candi- date at an election of councillor, or, in the City of London, of an alderman, common councilman, or officer elected by the livery in common hall, in case there has been an excess of expenditure over the amount allowed by law, owing to the candidate having been in part a joint candidate, have already been adverted to. S. 19 of the Act of 1884 (which is in nearly the sameKeportby terms as s. 22 of the Act of 1883, relating to parliamentary exonerating'^ elections), makes provision for a report, hi/ tJic election court, candidate. exonerating the candidate in certain cases in which his agents have, without his consent been, guilty of {a) treating, {b) undue influence, and (r) illegal practices, but as relief under this section can only be obtained upon the trial of the petition, it will bo more properly referred to when the pro- ceedings upon the trial are discussed. Apart from these sections, there are two sections of the Failure to Act of 1884 under which relief can be given io a candidate. TdeclaratL S. 21, sub-s. 7 (which, mutatis mutandis, is nearly in the of expenses. same words as s. 34 of the Act of 1883), is the narrower of the two in its scope and application, for it relates only to the 170 THE LAW RELATING TO Evidence on application for relief. Municipal, obtaining of relief against the failure of the candidate to make his return or declaration of expenses, or against any error or false statement in the return or declaration. It only applies, therefore (s. 37 of the Act of 1884), to candidates for the office of councillor (whether town coun- cillor or county councillor), or, in the City of London, for the office of alderman or common councilman, or any office to which election is made by the liverymen in common hall. Such a candidate may at any time, although, of course, the courts would discourage anything in the nature of delay (re Pemhrohe, 5 Times L.E., 272;, apply to the High Court {i.e.y by motion or summons) or to the election court, at the trial of the petition, for an order allowing an "authorised excuse " for his failure to make the return and declaration of election expenses in the proper manner and within the proper time, or for an error or false statement in the return or declaration. The application must be supported by evidence, oral or by affidavit, showing that the failure or mis-statement for which an authorised excuse is sought, arose by reason of his illness or absence, or of the absence, death, illness, or misconduct of any agent, clerk, or officer, or by reason of inadvertence, or of any reasonable cause of a like nature, and showing that it did not arise by reason of any want of good faith on the part of the applicant, o>if^ showing what notice of the application has been given in the con- stituency. The grounds of the application should be stated in the notice of motion or summons. (S. 21, sub-s. 7.) Thereupon the Court may make the order sought, either unconditionally or upon compliance with such terms as the Court may think calculated to carry the objects of the Act of 1884 into effect. "When made, the order will relieve the orderallowing applicant from any liability or consequences under the Act in respect of the matters excused by the order. But if the order is conditional on certain terms being complied with, there will be no " allowance of the excuse " until those terms have been fully complied with, and the date of full com- pliance will be reckoned the date of the allowance of the excuse. Operation of CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 171 S. 20 of the Act of 1884 is of wider application both with mukiciph- regard to the applicants and the subject matter of the appli- Relief against cation. Under it relief may be granted to any candidate for tices, hirings, the oflSce of mayor, alderman, councillor, elective auditor, or ^^• revising assessor in a borough or ward, or member of a local board, member of improvement commissioners, poor law guardian, or member of a school board, or, in the City of London, mayor, alderman, common councilman, or sheriff or for any office to which election is made by the mayor, alder- men and liverymen in common hall. (See ss. 35 and 36 of the Act of 1884.) Any such candidate who finds that he has or any of his agents have done or omitted anything which would How obtained be an illegal practice, or an illegal payment, employment or hiring may apply to the High Court, by motion or summons, or to the election court at the trial of the petition for " an order allowing such act or omission to be an exception from the provisions of the Act (1884), which would otherwise make the same an illegal practice, payment, employment, or hiring." The application should be made as soon as the act or omission in question is discovered. The application Evidence in must be supported by evidence (a) that the act or omission in question arose from inadvertence or from accidental miscalculation or from some other reasonable cause of a like nature, and in any case did not arise from any want of good faith, and {b) that such notice of the application has been given in the borough as to the Court seems fit. The notices required have already been mentioned. (See p. 166, supra.) Otherwise the practice will be similar to that upon application for relief under the corresponding section (23) of the Act of 1883, as to which see the last sub-section. Upon application the Court may make the order relieving the can- didate, agent, or other person, or all of them, from the consequences of the act or omission in question. If the application fail, the candidate may still possibly escape at the trial under the provisions of s. 19 of the Act of 1884, upon compliance with certain stringent conditions. 172 THE LAW RELATING TO Section II. — On Election Petitions. Paeliamentaby Sub-Section I. — Parliamentary Elections. Election petitions. To what Courts presented. Who may petition. Several persons should join. How petition abated. The practice upon Parliamentary election petitions is now regulated by the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, and the rules thereunder of Michaelmas term, 1868, March, 1869, and January, 1875, and the Act of 1883, all of which are contained in the Appendix hereto. An election petition, which lies in England to the Uueeu'a Bench Division of the High Court of Justice, in Scotland to the Court of Session, and in Ireland to the Coui't of Common Pleas, may be presented by any one or more of the following persons : — (1.) Some person who voted, or who had a right to vote at the election to which the petition relates ; or (2.) Some person claiming to have had a right to be re- turned or elected at such election ; or (3.) Some person alleging himself to have been a can- didate at such election, i.e.^ one who has been nominated as, or has declared himself a candidate at such election. It is safer to join several petitioners, lest there should turn out to be some objection to one petitioner. The ques- tion has been raised, but not decided, whether a person who has been guilty of bribery at the election can himself petition. {Youglud, 1 O'M. & H. 291.) The respondent or respondents will be the person or persons whose return is impeached, and the returning officer if he is charged with misconduct ; but a person who claims to have been elected and acts as such may also be made a respondent. {Yate& v. Leach, L.E., 9 C.P., 605; 43 L.J., C.P., 337 ; 30 L.T., 790.) An election petition abates by the death of the petitioner or of the survivor of several petitioners, but not by the death of the respondent. Upon the respondent's death CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 173 another person may be substituted as respondent. {Morton PAKLiAJiENiiEY V. Mitchel, 9 Ir. B. C.P., 173 ; 3 O'M. & H., 20.) A petition may be presented, although the candidate returned die after the return and before presentation of the petition. (Ibid.) A dissolution of Parliament brings a petition to an end. (Carter Y. Mills, 9 'LM^C.V., 117; 43 L.J., C.P., 111 ; 22 W.R., 318.) But the successful party was declared entitled to his costs where the dissolution took place after the deci- sion of the petition, but before the judge's certificate reached the speaker. {Marshall v. James, 9 L.R., C.P., 702 ; 43 L. J., C.P., 281 ; 30 L.T., 559, 22 W.R., 738.) The petition must be signed by all the petitioners. If the petition question the return on the ground of corrupt within what practices, or on any other ground than an allegation of ^^^'^^^^ ^^ " illegal practices " under the Act of 1883, it must be pre- sented within 21 days after the return has been made to the Clerk of the Crown, " unless it question the return or elec- tion 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 date of such return, in pursuance or in furtherance of such corrupt practices, in which case the petition may be presented at any time within 28 days after the date of such payment." (Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, s. 6, sub-s. 2. As to subsequent illegal practices, see s. 40 of the Act of 1883.) The 21 days begin to run when the return has when the come to the hands of the Clerk of the Crown so that he can f'^''^ ^^s^ris act on it. Where, therefore, it was left at his ofiice with a housekeeper, on the evening of February 4, and was received by the Clerk of the Crown from the housekeeper on the morning of the 5th, the time began to run from the 5th. {Hindlc V. Waring, L.R., 9 C.P., 435 ; 43 L. J., C.P., 209 ; 30 L.T., 329 ; 22 W.li., 735.) Sundays do not count in any of the periods allowed for filing Parliamentary petitions. {Pease v. Norivood, L.R., 4 C.P., 235 ; 38 L. J., C.P., 161. S. 40, sub-s. 5, of the Act of 1883.) 174 THE LAW RELATING TO Parliament ART "When the corrupt act is after the election. Time for presenting petition for an oflFence against the Act of 1883. What Buch a petition may- charge . The provision that a petition may be presented within 28 days of a cori'upt payment made after the return, seems to apply only where the corrupt payment is made by the mem- ber, or with his privity. {Salford, 20 L.T., 120 ; 1 O'M & H., 133.) Whether on such a petition the petitioner would be confined to evidence of such corrupt payments made after the return, or would be allowed to charge and prove corrupt practices at or before the return, is doubtful. {Gal way , 1 O'M. & H., 303 ; Kidderminster, 2 O'M & H., 170.) These rules as to the limit of time for the presentation of a petition for corrupt practices, irregularities at the poll, mis- counting or improper return, are untouched by the Act of 1883. By s. 40 of that Act it is declared that that section shall apply where the illegal practice amounts to a corrupt practice. But as sub-s. 2 shows that the 21 days' rule is preserved in regard to petitions under the Act of 1868, it would seem that the limit fixed by s. 40 applies not in cases of corrupt pra^jfeices generally, but applies when the illegal practice charged — as, for instance, paying for the exhibition of election addresses — turns out to have been done with the intent to corrupt the payee or some elector. If this view is correct, a petition which might have been presented had the Act of 1883 not been passed, must still be presented within the 21 days. But if a petition is presented for an *' illegal practice " done under the new Act, it will be in time if presented before the expiration of 14 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. If the 21 days from the return be allowed to slip by, a petition subsequently and duly presented, complaining of an "illegal practice," may not charge any of the common corrupt practices chargeable under the Act of 1868. A petition should generally therefore be presented within 21 days after the return, and if any illegal practice be discovered within the 14 days after the returning officer receives the returns and declarations, the High Court may within these 14 days amend the petition. (S. 40.) The application for CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 175 leave to amend should be by motion or by summons at pari-iamentaey chambers to a judge on the rota (s. 56) or a master, upon notice to the other side and an affidavit speaking generally to the facts. Just as in regard to corrupt practices, so in regard to illegal practices, if (s. 40) the election petition Time for specifically alleges a payment of money or some other act to ^espect^oT have been made or done since the day when the returning acts done officer received the returns and declarations, by the member return of or any agent of the member, or with the privity of the expenses. 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 28 days after such payment or other act. The time for presenting a petition for illegal practices ^^^ ^^^ ti"^" counts, when the returns and declarations are received on under Act of different days, from the last of these days, or where there ^^^^• is " an authorised excuse " or excuses for failing to send in the returns and declarations, from the date of the *' allowance of the excuse " or the date of the allowance of the last excuse (s. 40, sub-s. 4.) By s. 34, sub-s. 4, of the Act of 1883, the date of the allowance of the excuse is the date of the order allowing it, or if conditions are to be complied with the date at which they are fully complied with ; and by sub-s. 5, for the purposes of s. 40, time is to be reckoned just as it is reckoned for the purposes of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, that is to say, the first day does not count, nor any Sunday, but the last day does count. If circumstances likely to invalidate an election transpire, and Practice on it is decided to present a p)etition, get the j^ctition settled by °^^^^^^°°' counsel, fair copied, and signed by all the petitioners. Draic the recognizance (Gen. Eules, Pari., 1868, R. 19, contains the form, j)Osty Appendix), and get it acknowledged by all the sureties. Within the 21 days (or 1'^ or 28 days, as the case may be) leave the original petition and a fair copy thereof, and the recognizance, and an affidavit by each of the sureties that he is j^ossessed of proj)erty above what will satisfy his debts of the clear value of the sum for which he is bound, at the office of the master {the election petition office in the Royal Courts of 176 THE LAW RELATING TO PAELIAMEIfTAET Filing petition during holidays. Service of petition. Demurralilc petition. Security for costs. Justice)^ and tahe the receipt of himself or his clerk for the petition ; at the same time leave a notice in icriting of the name and address {within three miles of the General Post Office) of the petitioner's agent. Note that if the last day for filing a petition (or anything else required to be filed in a given time) fall on a holiday, the petition must be put into the letter box at the Master's office on that day (or earlier), and an affidavit, stating when it was so delivered, must be filed on the first day after the expu'ation of the holidays. (Rule 4, 1875.) The recognizance must be acknowledged before a judge at chambers or the Master in town, or a justice of the peace in the country. A London magistrate in town will not do. [Shreu-shury, 19 L.T. 499). Within five days after piresentation of the petition, serve a cojjy of if 2)ersonally on the resjjondent or on his town agent if he has apjjointed one. If service cannot be effected, then within such five days apply to the judge at chambers for an order for substituted service. As to the necessary affidavit, see General Rules {Parliament), 1868, R. 14. A notice of the nature of the proposed security is to be served in like manner. Immediately after service of the petition and notice of the nature of the security given, file with the Master an affidavit of the time and manner thereof (Rule 2, 1875). The respondent does not enter an apjjearancc, but before service of a jjetition or at any time within a week after service^ lie or his agent must leave at the Master''s office a similar notice in icriting of the name and address of his town agent. If the petition is what may be called demurrable, the respondent should move the Court, or apply by summons at chambers, that it may be taken off the file or all proceedings under it stayed. Although the petition be against two or more respondents one surety for £1,000 will suffice {Hereford, 49 L.J., Q.B., 686). Under no circumstances can security for more than £1,000 be required. {Pease v. Norwood, L.R., 4 C.P. 235, 38 L.T., C.P. 161, 19 L.T., 648; Thomas v. Wylie, 19 L.T., 498.) CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 177 ;i,r \Mi;x rvKV If the respondent lias any objection to the recognizance, ^'^'•' notiee in n-ritina of the objedioii, stating the grounds of it, Objections ■^ -^ "^ ... to the must within five days after service of the petition, be served on recognizance. the petitioner's agent and left at the Master's offiee. At the same time, take out a JIasier's summons to declare the security insnfficienf, and support the f^ummons by affidavits or witnesses. {General Rules of 1868, 21 & 22). Give the petitioner's agent notice to produce the sureties for cross- examination. If the Master's decision is adverse^ within five days appeal to the judge at chambers by summons, and support the appeal in the same way. ( General Rules of 1868, rule 23.) An appeal will lie from the judge to the Court. {Kingston-npon-Eull, 19 L.T., 648 ; 38 L.J., C.P. 161.) If the security be declared insufficient, the order will Tf successful, declare the amount of the insufficiency. Within five days oou'rt to be from the date of the order, not including the day of the ^''*■^^^ date, the petitioner's agent must pay that amount into the Bank of England, to the account of " The Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, Security Fund," otherwise the petition will drop. If this is duly done the petition will then be at issue. The Master will give all parties 15 days' notice of trial. It is provided by General Eules (Parliament), 1868, R. 60, ^^^™J^^„^ that no proceeding under the Act shall be defeated by any formal objection, but it would be very unwise for any party to rely upon this provision. However, where the petition complained of the conduct of the returning officer, but no notice of the petition was given to him, nor did the petitioner name any town agent jit all. the Court refused to strike the } etition off the file. {Shrewsbury, 19 L.T., 499.) In the course of the proceedings new facts may come to Amnidment . . 1 . ■ 1 • 1 1 i 1 ot the petition the knowledge of the petitioner, making it desirable to amend the petition. The Court, or a judge at chambers, may allow the amendment, where it relates to a matter discovered upon the inspection of the ballot papers, or to a corrupt payment by the respondent or with his privity after his return. (Picherinqy. Startin, 28 L.T., HI.) But it seems that in 12 178 THE LAAV RELATING TO PABLtAMKNTAEY other casBS, except as provided by s. 40 of the Act of 1883, the Court has no jurisdictiou to allow new charges to be made, for that would be in effect to allow a new petition to be presented after the expiration of the proper time. {Maude V. Lowlerj, L.R. 9, C.P. 165, 43 L.J., C.P. 105, 30 L.T., 168 ; Clark v. Wallond, 52 L.J., a.B. 321, 31 W.R., 551.) The Court has power to allow an amendment alleging an illegal payment, employment, or hiring, as well as an amendment alleging an illegal hiring. (The Buckrose Case, 4 O'M. & H., 110.) It is competent to the Court to amend an election petition at any time by striking out allegations therein where it is satisfied that no injurious result, or a beneficial one, will follow, but the Court will not amend by striking out, after the lapse of the time limited by the Act for presenting it, that part of the prayer which claims the seat for the petitioner and the allegations applying to a scrutiny which would be dependent thereon, for that would affect the rights of the constituency. {Aldrklge v. Hurst, 1 C.P.D., 410 ; 45 L.J., C.P. 431 ; 35 L.T., 156 ; 24 W.R., 708.) In any case in which it is sought to amend, the procedure is by motion before a judge on the rota, or by summons before such a judge or a Master at Chambers, in either ease with affidavits in support. Withdrawal If it should become desirable to withdraw the petition, of petition. ^j^^ petitioner's agent must leave a signed notice of the ap])lica- tion for leave to ivithdraw at the Masters office and serve a copy upon the respondent, the returning officer and the Director of Public Prosecutions. How applica- The notice must state the grounds of the application. drawlTtobe' ((General Rules (Parliament) 1868, R. 45.) Not less than a made. week after the notice has Veen left with the Master, the Court will hear the application. The application must be supported by the affidavits of all the parties to the petition, and all their solicitors, that the withdrawal has not been brought about by any corrupt bargain (s. 41 of the Act of 1883). The Court may on special grounds dispense with any aflfidavit. In practice it never does. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 179 Ab to what the affidavits must state, see s. 41 of the Act Parli^«e!ti^bi of 1883, sub-ss. 2 and 3. Copies of the affidavits must be Copy delivered to the Director of Public Prosecutions a reasonable jj^ jgjt ^j^h time before the application for leave to withdraw is heard, 5^^®,*:*°'^ °^ ,. . . ... Public and he will be heard upon the apphcatiou m opposition, Prosecutions. and the Court may receive the evidence of anybody whose evidence the Director of Public Prosecutions may consider material (sub-s. 5). For the penalties for any corrupt bargain to withdraw a Penalties 1 . T IT,- •r•i^ •^ ^ i 1 j.1 for Corrupt petition, see sub-s. 4. In addition, it the withdrawai be t lie bargains for result of any arrangement prohibited by the Act, the Court witii.lrawai. may direct the £1,000 security given by the petitioner to remain as security for any costs that may be incurred by any substituted petitioner, and to the extent of the sum named in the security the original petitioner will be liable to pay the costs of the substituted petitioner (Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, s. 35). The Court reports to the Speaker whether the withdrawal is the result of any im- proper arrangement (sub-s. 7 of s. 41 of the Act of 1883). On principle, although not expressly named, an agreement to withdraw one petition in consideration of another petition not being presented, would be an illegal agreement. It would seem that the new enactment as to the with- drawal of petitions does not apply to an Election Court. If such an application be made to an Election Court, it may either adjourn in order that the High Court may be moved under s. 41, or, finding no evidence offered, declare the respondent duly elected, {North Durham^ 3, O'M. & H, 2.) AVhere there are more petitioners than one, no application to withdraw a petition can be made except with the consent of all the petitioners (Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, s. 35.) The n-4ice of intention to apy)ly for leave to withdraw is Notice of of statutory obligation, and essential. Therefore, where at g^g^^^^J^" the trial the petitioner informed the Court that he intended to withdraw the petition, it was held there must be an adjournment of the trial in order that the statutory notice of withdrawal might bo given, an J other persons substituted ^t the trial. 180 THE LAW REr.ATING TO PABtumyTATiY for the petitioners if tliey so desired. {Hartlepool, 19 L.T., S2l ) In the Brecon Case (2 O'M. & H. 33), where notice was given three days before the trial, the judge, when the case was called on and no evidence was offered in support of the petition, decided that the withdrawal must be in open Court, and in the Gloucester Caiiaiii 702; SaUshury, 19 L.T., 528). In a municipal ease {3InUam v. Bear, 51 J.P., 231) the petitioner having claimed the seat, the parties agreed to refer their dispute to arbitration. The arbitrator made his award in favour of the respondent, and ou applica- tion the Court allowed the petitioner to withdraw the petition. If the petition does not come to an end in any of these ways, either party may find it desirable to procure inspection of the ballot papers and counterfoils. But in Discovery proceedings under an election petition, interrogatories rogatories. cannot be administered {Wella v. Wren, 5 C.P.D., 546; 49 L.J., U.B., 681), nor can any order be made for inspection or discovery of documents {Moore v. Kennard, 10 U.B.D., 290 ; 48 L.T., 236; 31 W,R., 610). Evidence is not to be stated in the petition, but the Delivery of Court will order the petitioner to give particulars (Kule 6, 1868). These should be applied for by a judge's summons at chambers, that the petitioner may be ordered to deliver to Summons for the respondent, seven clear days before the day appointed for ^^^^J^^iars. trial, particulars in writing of the names, addresses and numbers on the register of the persons alleged to have bribed or to have been bribed, or to have treated or to have been treated, or to have intimidated or to have been intimidated, or to have been guilty of imdue influence, or to have incited any and what other person to personate any and what elector, or to have personated any and what elector, or to have practised, done, made or had any illegal practice, payment, employment or hiring, stating in each case by whom and where and when and with what consideration, thing, threat, promise or incitement, or by what other act, each person alleged to have been bribed, treated, intimidated, unduly influenced or incited to personate, was so bribed, treated, intimidated or incited, and particulars with dates and items of such illegal practices, payments, employments and hirings a' d the names, addresses, and numbers on the register of the persons in, to, upon, or with whom such illegal practices, /^e'-^U^ JrO / o/^jy 182 THE LAW RELATING TO PABtiAMBNTAET payuieiits, employments and hirings were respectively practised, done, made or had and that the petitioner may be precluded at the trial from giving in evidence any act, omission, matter or thing not comprised in such particulars so to be delivered. The words " so far as known " ought not to be inserted in the order for particulars. {Lenham v. Barber ^ infra.) Time for It is now the practice, in the absence of exceptional narticulars. circumstances, to order particulars to be delivered seven clear days before the hearing. {Lenham v. Barber^ 10 U.B. Div., ^^l^ 293, 52 L.J., Q B., 312, 31 W.R , 428 ; Clark v. Wallond, , J 52 L.J., Q.B., 321.) But as little as three days before trial i/^i>*'^ has been ordered for the delivery of the particulars {Beal v. V'S ^ . Simt/), L.E., 4, C.P., 145 ; 38 L.J., C.P. 145) ; on the other Q \^ hand in the Beicdley Case (1880), as much as fourteen days J ^P' . was allowed. Sundays, Christmas Day and Good Friday do ^^*1 ^ not count in the " so many days before the day appointed \^. f' 5 for trial." (Rule 3 of 1875.) Settling the ■^■'^ framing the particulars, two dangers are to be avoided, particulars. Jf they are made too voluminous and cases are introduced which fail of proof, the petitioner, although successful in the result, may have to bear the cost occasioned by the unsuc- cessful charges, or even the whole of his costs. {Berwick, 3 O'M. & n., 178, 44 L.T., 289 ; Hereford, 1 O'M. cV- H., 194, 21 L.T., 117 ; Norioich, 2 O'M. & H., 38.) On the other hand, the petitioner should mention ia the particulars every case on which he means to rely at the trial, otherwise he may be precluded from giving evidence of any case omitted. Where it is sought at the trial to give evidence of cases not in the particulars, the judges usually require an Amendment affidavit, before allowing the amendment, that the facts of particulars, j^ave come to the knowledge of the petitioner's agent since the delivery of the particulars, and that all due and reasonable inquiry was made before the delivery of the particulars {Longford, 2 O'M. & H., 7.) But the object of particulars is to prevent an unfair surprise upon the respon- dent, and therefore the judge's oi'der precluding the petitioner from going into cases not in the particulars, may CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 183 be disregarded at the trial, if the Court be satisfied that no pabliamentaey injustice is thereby done to the respondent. ( Wigan, 4 O'M. & H., 1, per Bowen, J.) We think that if tlie petitioner's agent discovers a corrupt or illegal practice not included in the particulars, he should immediately after the discovery notify to the respondent's agent tlmt application will be made at the trial for leave to go into the matter so discovered, giving particulars of the charge intended to be made. The Court is loth to allow an amendment where the respondent having had no previous notice has not had an opportunity before the trial of inquiring into the charge. (Per O'Brien, J., in the West Belfast Case, 4 O'M. & H., 107.) The leave to amend may be more readily granted if the new charge is one of general corruption and not one of corruption by an agent (ibid). Where the particulars were not delivered within the time limited by the order, Martin, B., would neither permit the cases not mentioned in them to be gone into, nor an amendment. {Yorkshire, S. W. Riding, I O'M. & H., 213.) But it is doubtful if this would be followed. It would seem to be more correct to adjourn the trial at the petitioner's expense if the omission has really damnified the respondent. {Bristol, 2 O'M. & H., 27, per Bramwell, B.) The tendency of the later cases is to let in evidence of cases not in the particulars, unless the omission be wilful, or the conseqaence of admitting the evidence be a surprise to the respondent. {Evesham, 3 O'M. & H., 95 ; Tewkesbury y 3 O'M. & H., 97 ; Wigan, 4 O'M. «& H., 1 ; West Belfast, 4 O'M & H., 106.) It is submitted that where the seat is claimed and the Particulars respondent delivers a list of objections to the petitioner's ^^ "^•'^"^^°'^** election (under Rule 8 of 1868^, the petitioner is entitled to similar particulars of such objections. Rule 6 & 7 are to be read together. {Salford, 19 L.T., 502.) The Court has jurisdiction to order the Post Ofiice autho- Production rities to produce specified telegrams. {Bolton, 31 L.T., 194 ; °^ t'^^'^srams. 1 O'M. and H., 139 ; Harwich, 3 O'M. & H., 61, 44 L.T., 188 ; Coventry, 19 L.T., 742.) 184 THE LAW RELATING TO Pi.icLi4Mi.Mo;v Before the trial, the usual notices to produce aud admit Notice to should be given. The notice to produce should specify the produce. documents intended to be referred to. It may be insufficient to refer to them in general terms. {Wedtninster, 1 O'M. & H., 89, 20 L.T., 238.) Commissiuu -^ Order may be made for a commission to examine a to examine witness alleged to be ill and unable to attend the trial on an affidavit that he is ill and unable to attend and that he is a material witness. {Staiez/bridge, 19 L.T., 702.) Procuring and The witnesses should be subpoenaed in the usual way. attendance of Sometimes they require to be watched. Everyone who is witnesses. familiar with election petitions is aware that important witnesses will mysteriously disappear shortly before the trial and fail to re-appear until after the trial. In such a case, Lush, J., declared he would adjourn, if need be, for six months. {Struud, 2 O'M. & H., 107.) If a witness is in another part of the kingdom, he may be subpoenaed on the special order of the Court or a judge (17 & 18 Vict. c. 84, s. 1). On proof of fruitless efforts to serve a subpoena the Court will issue an order for the attendance of a witness at the trial. (Waferford, 2 O'M. & H., 3.) To disobey such an order would be a contempt of Court (see Eules 41 and 42 of 1868). But where it was stated that some persons had evaded service, Lush, J., said the Court had no power to issue a warrant for their apprehension. (Chc-'ster, 44 L.T., 286.) In the same case, evidence that the clerk of the respon- dent's solicitor had offered an inducement to one of the petitioners to leave the city, was rejected. Taking proofs In conducting election petitions, it has been usual for the wi nesses. golicitors engaged to interview persons able to throw light upon the matter in dispute, to take down their statements, and to obtain the signature of such pei'sons to the statements. The practice is a very useful one, but in all cases evidence should be preserved that the witness was not threatened or unduly influenced when he signed the statement and was not ignorant of what he signed. In the Wigan Caso CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 185 (4 O'M. & H., 1), the Court disapproved of such statements Pakhameatakt being obtained after it was known that the witnesses were about to be called on the other side or durlmj the trial. (See also Ulu'Httr, 44 L.T., 268.) It would seem to be legal to otter rewards for evidence. Rewards for (Jfr///oyr,2 0'M. &H. 19.) '^'^''"''- Where the allegations of fact in a parliamentary election petition are not in dispute, but are specifically admitted by the respondent so as to render it unnecessary at the trial to call witnesses from the district in which the election took place, the Court may order the petition to be tried in London on the ground that " special circumstances " exist within the meaning of s. 11, sub-s 11, of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868 (31 & 32 Vict., c. 125), which render it desirable that the petition be tried elsewhere than in the county or division where the election took place. {Arch v. Benti)ick, 18 Q.B. Div. 548.) So far as practicable, the trial of an election petition Trial de die proceeds de die in diem, and the jurisdiction of the judges '" '^"^'"• trying the case is not affected by the expiration of the term of the judges on the rota (s. 43 of the Act of 1883). Where the seat is claimed the scrutiny of votes may be taken before the recriminatory case. {Stepney, 4 O'M. & H. 35.) The Act of 1888 has done something to lengthen the trial of election petitions, by directing new inquiries to be made upon the trial. But it is probable that so far as these inquiries may not concern the parties to the petition, they will not go to the expense of attending the Election Court while issues which may be indifferent to them are being considered. By s. 38 of the Act of 1883 before any person, not being Now inquiiies a party to the petition or a candid nte for whom the seat is ^^ *^® *"^^' claimed, is reported by an Election Court to have been guilty of any corrupt or illegal practice, he is to be summoned by the Court and heard by himself in his defence, and any evidence he may call, heard. In li. v. Maitsel-Joite>i (23 Q,.B. Div. 29), the Court held that this section excluded the right of a person charged with any corrupt or illegal practice to be heard 186 THE LAW RELATING TO pabliambntabt by his counsel or solicitor. The interest of the petitioner in such an inquiry will generally be remote. As to appeals from the report and special punishments, see s. 38 and Part II. infra. By 8. 43, the Director of Public Prosecutions, or his repre- sentative, is to attend at the trial of the petition, in order to summon and there examine such witnesses as the Court may direct, and of his own motion to summon witnesses and to examine them with the leave of the Court. But he will not be allowed to cross-examine witnesses called by other parties. {Stepney, 4 O'M. & H. 35 ) He is also to prosecute any person who appears to him to have been guilty of any corrupt or illegal practice, whereupon the Election Court may proceed to try any person so prosecuted, unless a trial before some other Court be ordered in the interests of justice. Except that the Court (s. 34, sub-s. 8) may order the costs of the Director of Public Prosecutions to be paid by any of the parties to the petition or may report any of the parties to the petition to the Speaker of the House of Commons, their interest in the action of the Director will generally be remote. The Court will not as a rule order the costs of the Public Prosecutor to be paid by the petitioner unless the petition is a groundless one {Kennington, 4 O'M. & H.), or unless the countercharges against the petitioner are successful (Stepnei/, 4 O'M. & H. 58, cf. West Belfast, 4 O'M. & H. 109.) No inquiry The Act of 1883 makes a complete amnesty in respect of electfoiDs *^® P^^^' ^^ future, no witness can be asked, or will be bound to answer, on the trial of an election petition or before Election Commissioners, any questions for the purpose of proving the commission of any corrupt practice at or in relation to any election prior to the passing of the Act, (s. 49). But if at an election, after the passing of the Act, A should pay B a sovereign, there can be no doubt that evidence tending to show a bargain made before the passing of the Act, that A should pay a sovereign to B for his vote hereafter, would be admissible as showing what the trans- action really was. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 187 Upon nearly every petition based upon allegations of pakliamentaet corrupt or illegal practices, the parties should be prepared Procedure with evidence at the trial upon the issues raised by s. 22 of relief sections the Act of 1883. B^ that section the Court trying the of the Act of petition is enabled to uphold the election, although the agents of the respondent may be proved to have been guilty of (a) treating, (b) undue influence, or (c) illegal practices, or all of these offences. The Court has no power to relieve where these offences, or any of them, have been committed by the candidate himself or his election agent, or where the agents, or any ot them, are or is proved guilty of bribery or of personation, or of instigating personation. It is exceedingly likely that in cases in which relief is granted to a respondent under s. 22 of the Act of 18^3, he will be ordered, unless it appears that the petition was frivolous and vexatious, or that other special circumstances exist, to pay the petitioner's costs of the petition. It is important to observe how stringent are the conditions Conditions to be complied with hy the party seeking relief before he relief under can be assisted. ^' ^^• He must satisfy the Court — for the burden is upon him to prove affirmatively — (1.) That the offences were of a trivial, unimportant, and limited character ; and (2.) That they were committed contrary to the orders, and without the sanction or connivance of the candidate, or the election agent. (3.) That no corrupt or illegal practice was committed at the election by the candidate or his election agent. (4 ) That both the candidate and his election agent took all reasonable means to prevent the commission of corrupt and illegal practices. (5.) That in all other respects the election was free from any corrupt or illegal practice by the candidate or any of his agents. It would seem that the candidate is not required to prove that he and his election agent took any means to prevent 188 THE LAW RELATING TO parhamentaey the cornmissiou of the offences of illegal employ ment, payments, and hirings by other agents of the candidate. Proof that the election was actually free from illegal employment, payment, and hiring, is not required. It will be difficult for a respondent to satisfy these stringent conditions, but it would seem that when he does satisfy them, the Court has no discretion — the election is saved. The petitioner, on his side, should be prepared with evidence to prove that the respondent cannot satisfy the statutory conditions. Respondent's When the respondent, finding the return cannot be dcclarauon of mippgrted, has surrendered, and the election is declared innocence. void for corrupt practices, it has been usual for him to go into the box and declare on oath his personal innocence of any corrupt practice. In one case the Court allowed the respondent's legal agents to declare their innocence on oath. {Wigcm, 4 O'M. & H., 1.) But in the Boston Ccm, 44 L.T., the Court held that the rule must be adhered to, that the sitting members only could be called after the seat had been vacated. If on the trial of the election petition the two judges trying the petition should differ in opinion as to whether the respondent was duly elected, the respondent will retain his seat (42 & 43 Vict., c. 75). On the same principle, if the judges differ as to the subject of a report to the Speaker, they are to certify the difference, and make no report on the subject in difference {ibid). The judges upon the trial of the petition may reserve any point of law for the consideration and discussion of the High Court (s. 12 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868). The usual manner of doing this is by the judges stating a special case for the opinion of the High Court. (The Bristol Case, 2 O'M. & H., 29). It has been held that the application for a case to be stated should be made before the decision of the Election Court has been given. ( We-^t Be/fast, 4 O'M. & H., 103. Sed qumre). Difference of opinion between the judges. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 189 When the trial is concluded, the registrar will ascertain rAiu.i.vMEKTARr and certify the amount to be paid to any witness whose Witnesses' expenses may be allowed by the Court (Eule 5 of 1875). ^e taxed by The registrar's certificate is not conclusive as between the Registrar, petitioner and the respondent. The registrar only taxes as between the witness and the party who subpoenaed him. {M'Larcn v. Home, 7 Q.B.D., 477; 50 L.J., Q.B., 658.) Sub-section II. — Upon Municipal Elections, By the combined effect of ss. 7 & 87 of the Municipal mumcipxi.. Corporations Act, 1882 (45 & 46] Viet., e. 50), ss. 25, 35 VVhat eiec- & 36 of the Act of 1884, and s. 7 of the Local Govern- tioned by " ment Act, 1888, an election to any of the following offices petition, on any of the grounds hereinafter mentioned can be questioned only by an election petition, i.e. — (1.) The office of mayor, alderman, councillor, elective auditor, or revising assessor in any borough ; (2.) In the city of London, the office of mayor, alderman, common councilman, and sheriff, and any office to which election is made by the mayor, alderman and liverymen in common hall ; (3.) The office of member of a local board, or of member of improvement commissioners, as defined by the Public Health Act, 1875 ; (4.) The office of member of a school board ; (5.) The office of poor law guardian elected under the Poor Law Amendment Act, 1834, subject as in section 36, par. {h) of the Act of 1884 mentioned. (6.) The office of county councillor. The grounds on which the petition may be presented are (s. 87 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882) : — {a.) That the eltction was avoided by general bribery And on what treating, undue influence, or personation ; grounds. {h.) That the election was avoided by a corrupt practice committed by the person elected, or. some of his agents ; 190 THE LAW RELATING TO MrNioiPit. Practice on parliamentary petitions followed. By whom petitions may be presented, (c.) That the person whose election is questioned was at the time of the election disqualified ; (d.) That he was not duly elected by a majority of lawful votes ; and (ss. 18 & 8 of the Act of 1884) (e.) That the election was avoided by the extensive prevalence of illegal practices, illegal employments, hirings, or payments, and (/.) That the election was avoided by an illegal practice com- mitted by the person elected or some of his agents. The law relating to the practice and procedure upon municipal petitions is contained in ss. 87 to 104 inclusive of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, ss. 2, 3, 8, 18, 25 to 29 inclusive, 32, 33 & 38 of the Act of 1884, and the General Municipal Election Petition Eules of 1883 (April 17), all of which are set out in the Appendix hereto. By s. 100 sub-s. 3 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, it is enacted that subject to the provisions of that Act and of the rules made under it [i.e., those of 1883) the principles, practice and rules for the time being observed in the case of parliamentary election petitions, and in par- ticular the principles and rules with regard to agency and evidence and to a scrutiny, and to the declaring any person elected in the room of any other person declared to have been not duly elected, shall be observed, as far as may be, in the case of a municipal election petition. The practice and procedure upon parliamentary election petitions have been already stated, supra, pp. 172-189, but there are certain differences which remain to be observed. One elector cannot present a municipal election petition. It must be signed by at least four persons who voted or had a right to vote at the election, or by a person alleging him- self to have been a candidate at the election (s. 88 of tlie Municipal Corporations Act, 1882). The petition must be presented within 21 days after the day on which the election was held, but a petition on the ground of a payment of money received, made, or promised, or an illegal practice committed, after the election, with the privity of the CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 191 person elected, may be presented within 28 days after the municipal. date of the payment or promise or act {ibid, and s. 25 of the And within Act of 1884). A petition complaining of illegal practices^ * ™®* must be presented within 14 days after the day on which the return and declaration respecting election expenses is received from the candidate whose return is questioned. In the computation of the 21 days within which a parlia- How time mentary petition is to be presented, Sundays are excluded, '" ^ ° ■ but in computing the number of days within which a municipal election may be presented ISundays and every other day are to he counted. But if the last of the days limited for presentation be a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday, or Monday or Tuesday in Easter week, or a day appointed for public fast, humiliation or thanksgiving, the petition may be presented on the next day. (See s. 230 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882. Archer v. McGirr, Pearson, J., at chambers, 2nd January, 1884.) An election petition may be presented against some only of the persons returned at a municipal election, although the ground of the petition is one aifecting the validity of the petition as a whole ; and the court can on the petition declare the persons petitioned against not to liave been duly elected. {Line v. Warren, 14 Q.B.D. 548.) The security to be given by the petitioner for payment of Security for costs and witnesses' expenses is to be not less than £300 ; on the application of the respondent the High Court or a judge may order the amount to be increased to £500 (s. 89 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, and General Rules (Municipal) of 1883, rule 26). The petition is heard by a barrister of at least 15 years' The trial, standing. He may reserve any question of law for the Court, but otherwise his decision cannot be appealed from, except that any fine inflicted or order of committal made by him mny be discharged by the High Court on motion (s. 92 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882). But orders made under s. 28 of the Act of 1884. cannot be discharged. Should he state a case for the opinion of the High Court, the decision of the High Court is final. No appeal 192 THE LAW RELATING TO MrMCiPAi- Witnesscs' expenses. General pro visions. lies to the Court of Appeal {Umcin v 31acmullen, 55 J.P., 582) unless leave to appeal be given by the High Court. {Line v. Warren, 14 Q.B.D. 548.) If the petitioner neglects or refuses for three months after demand to pay any costs or the expenses of any of his witnesses, which he is bound to pay, every recognizance given by way of security for costs and witnesses' expenses is forfeited (s. 98 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882.) S. 26 of the Act of 1884 makes the same stringent pro- visions regarding the withdrawal of municipal petitions as were enacted by s. 41 of the Act of 1888, in regard to the withdrawal of parliamentary petitions, and the provisions of the Act of 1883 (ss. 28 & 29) for the attendance of the director of public prosecutions 07i the trial of election petitions and for the prosecution by him of offenders, and enabling the Election Court to order payment by a peccant borough or individual of the costs of an election petition in whole or in part, are by ss. 28 & 29 of the Act of 1884, extended to municipal election cases. The General Rules of 1883 (Municipal) are, with the necessary verbal alterations, to the same effect as the General Rules relating to parliamentary election petitions, which have been already discussed, siqyra pp. 172-189. The Municipal Rules are set out at length in the Appendix hereto. By s. 19 of the Act of 1884, the Election Court is enabled to make a report exonerating the candidate in certain cases of corrupt and illegal practices by his agents. The similar section of the Act of 1883 is s. 22. On comparing the two Relief at trial sections it will be noticed that there are certain difPerenees. corrupt and The sectiou of the Act of 1884 necessarily omits all reference to •' the election agent." Under that section, too, the candi- date will not have to prove that the corrupt or illegal practices from which he seeks to be exonerated were com- mitted contrary to his orders ; but he must prove that no corrupt or illegal practice was committei with his knowledge or consent, and that all reasonable means lor preventing the commission of corrupt and illegal practices were taken by and on behalf of the candidate. General rules. illegal prac tices. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 193 Section III. — On a Scrutiny. — Parliamentary AND Municipal. A scrutiny takes place when the petition claims the seat PAEi,i.ofENTAKT for one or more of the defeated candidates as having: been ' — - duly elected. The seat is not often claimed by a petition gduthiy is because of the difficulty in wiping off any but the most incon- made, siderable majority upon a scrutiny, the cost of a scrutiny, and the fact that when the seat is claimed by the petition, it becomes permissible for the respondent to give recriminatory evidence against the candidate for whom the petition claims the seat (31 & 32 Vict., c. 53, and the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, s. 93sub-s. 10.) The practice and procedure upon a scrutiny in case of a municipal election are, except where otherwise specially provided, the same as upon a scrutiny following a parliamentary election (Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, s. 100, sub-s. 3.) Any person entitled to petition who entitled is entitled to claim a scrutiny of the votes given, upon an ^^ claim. allegation that a candidate other than the person returned was duly elected. But after such a petition has been pre- sented, the claim of the seat may be withdrawn with the withdrawal leave of the Court on motion or by a judge at chambers on *^* ^^^^^ summons (Stroud, 3 O'M. & H., 7). But, ordinarily, the Court will not allow the claim of the seat to be withdrawn [AMridge v. Hm-d, 1 C.P.D., 410; 45 L..T.. C.P. 431; 35 L.T. 156; 24 W.R. 708.) If the petitioner, at the trial, having estaldislied that Iho Kccrimina- respondent's election was void for corrupt practices, should ^hen'^^' then abandon the claim of the seat, recriminatory evidence exeluded. cannot be gone into {Gravcscnd, 44 L.T., 64 ; 3 O'M. & Tl . 81.) Indeed, if once it be ascertained that there is no claim laid to tbe seat, even the account of the election expenses of the unsuccessful candidate sent to the returning officer could not be called for {Thirsh, 3 O'M. & H., 113). For forms of petitions in cases in which the seat is claimed Forms of see the GoDoral Eules (Parliamentary), 1868, r. 5; SfroudllfSi^y^"' 3 0'M.&H.,7; and5mp?V'Z-,3 0'M.&H., 178; 44L.T.,289. 13 194 THE LAW RELATING TO Paeliamentauv it Municipal. Inspection of ballot papers, &c. Delivery of scrutiny lists In cases of cicrutinj and whenever questions oi" the im- proper rejection or reception of voting papers arise, it is generally desirable, before trial, to obtain inspection of the rejected ballot papers, the counted ballot papers, and some- times of the sealed packet of counterfoils. A judge at chambers may order inspection of the rejected ballot papers to be had, but only the Court can order inspection of the couuled ballot pa| ers and counterfoils. (The Ballot Act, 1872, s. 1. rr. 40 & 41.) The procedure is by summons or motion. In municipal cases an order of the county court, having jurisdiction in the borough or of any tribunal in which a municipal election is questioned {e.g. the High Court), will entitle the applicant to inspection. An appeal lies from the decision of the county court. (The Ballot Act, 1872, s. 1^ c. 64 ) In municipal cases the ballot papers and election documents are sent to the town clerk. Any application for inspection must be supported by affidavit. The Court will jealously preserve the secrecy of the ballot In the Tyrone Cane (21 W.E., 627 ; 7 I.R.,C.L,, 190), the Court would not allow either party to see the counterfoils or the backs of the ballot papers, but only their faces. This was followed in Stoicc v. JoUiffe, (L.R. 9, C.P., 447 ; 43 L.J., C.P., 173 ; 30 L.T., 299 ; 22 W.R., 946), but, in neither of these cases was it alleged that votes improperly marked had been received. In the Berwick Case (1880), the judge at chambers, by consent of both parties, ordered inspection of the counterfoils and all the ballot papers. Whether, upon a parliamentary petition, the Coui't can order inspection of the ballot papers used at a municipal election is doubtful. (See Glouceder, 2 O'M. & H., 60. All the other documents forwarded by the returning officer to the clerk of the Crown (or in municipal cases, to the town clerk), including ihe marked register, are open to public inspection ; Ballot Act, 1872, s. 1, r. 42 {James v. Henderson, 43 L.J , C.r., 238 ; 30 L.T., 527). It is immaterial that a scrutiny is not prayed {ibid.). The practice up to trial in scrutiny cases is similar to that CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 195 ID cases of ordinary petitions, except tliat the petitioner is ^'^"^'^j^'j^^p^* bound, in addition to particulars, to deliver scrutiny lists, ^^^ fj^of and the respondent must deliver scrutiny lists and a list of objections;, his objections to the election of the candidate for whom the seat is claimed. The rules are as follows : — Rule VII. (1868). — "When a petitioner claims the seat for an unsuccessful candidate, alleging that he had a majority of lawful votes, the party complaining of or defending the election or return, shall, six days before the day appointed for trial, deliver to the master and also to the address, if any, given by the petitioners and respondent, as the case may be, a list of the voUs intended to he objected to and of the heads of ohjection to each such rote, and the master shall allow inspec- tion and office copies of such lists to all parties concerned ; and no evidence shall be given against the validity of any vote nor upon any head of objection not specified in the list, except by the leave of the Court or judge upon such terms as to amendment of the list, postponement of the inquiry and pajment of costs as may be ordered " Rule VIII. (1868). — " When the respondent iu a petition under the Act, complaining of an undue return and claiming the seat for some person, intends to give evidence to prove that the election of such person was undue, pursuant to the fifty-third section of the Act, such respondent shall six days before the day appointed for trial, deliver to the master and also at the address, if any, given by the petitioner, a list of objections to the election upon which he intends to rely, and the master shall allow inspection and office copies of such lists to all parties concerned ; and no evidence shall be given by a respondent of any objection to the election not specified in the list, except by leave of the Court or judge upon such terms as to amendments of the list, postponement of the inquiry and payment of costs as may be ordered." The rules in municipal cases are almost in the same words. See the Municipal Election Petition Rules of 1883, rr. 7 & 8, set out in the Appendix. If the respondent's list of objections is vague and general, Application 196 THE LAW RELATING TO Paeliambntart & MCNiriPAL. for particulars. Time for delivery of lists. Order of proceeding at the trial. Practice not invariable. the petitioner should apply at chambers for an order for particulars. The Court has probably jurisdiction to make such nu order under Gen. Reg. (Pari.), 1868, r, 6, or m municipal cases under the Municipal Rules of 1883, r 6. The scrutiny lists and list of objections must be delivered six clear days before the trial, exclusive of Sunday, and of the day of trial and of the day of service {Joyce v. O'Donnel, 22 W.R., 655) ; and it the lists are not delivered within the time the Court cannot allow evidence to be given against the validity of votes or allow a list to be subsequently delivered {Niehlv. Batty, L.R. 9, C.P., 104; 43 L.J., C.P., 73; 29 L.T., 747; 22 W.R., 407). But if an imperfect list were delivered in proper time the Court could afterwards allow amendments in, or additions to it, to be made {ibid, per Deuman, J.) Under " special circumstances " the venue may be changed. In Arch v. Bentinck (18 Q.B.D. 548), the trial was ordered to be had in London. At the trial it has been usual for the petitioner to open his general case against the respondent (without going into a scrutiny) with the view of disqualifying the respondent, whether he be in a majority or no. Then the respondent answers the casti made against him, and proceeds to open his general case against the unsuccessful candidate, which is then answered. Afterwards the scrutiny will, if necessary, be gone into. The reason for postponing the scrutiny is, that if both parties be disqualified {e.g.^ for bribery by an agent) a scrutiny becomes useless. If the petitioner be so disqualified, his claim to the seat is gone, but the scrutiny may proceed for the purpose of unseating the other, by placing him in a minority, in which ease there • would be a new election. ( York, South- West Biding, 1 O'M. & JEI., 213 ; Southampton- 1 O'M. & H., 222.) If the respondent be so disqualified, he may continue his resistance to the petitioner's efforts upon a scrutiny to place himself in a majority, and if the resistance be successful, tliere must of course be a new election {Norwich, 19 L.T., 619, 1 O'lM. & H., 8.) the practice is not, however, invariable. In one case the CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 197 petitioner, having withdrawn his general charges, proceeded i'AKi.iAMEifTiEY with the scrutiny, and placed himself in a majority. Then — the respondent proceeded with his general recriminatory charges and the scrutiny, and finally placed himself in a majority. {Berwick, 3 O'M. & H., 178 ; 44 L.T., 289.) In another case the recriminatory case was postponed until after the scrutiny. (Sfepne//, 4 O'M. & H., 35.) When the scrutiny is opened it is for the petitioner to put himself (or the persons whom he alleges to have been duly elected) in a majority. For this purpose he may begin with any class of objections he likes, but it is usual to require him (and the respondent in his turn) to finish all his objections of the class he begins with before proceeding to any objection of another class. Thus, if the petitioner begins with a case of bribery, he finishes all the cases of bribery before opening any case of intimidation. In the Oldham Case (20 L.T., 302 ; 1 O'M. & H., 151), there were four candidates standing on the poll in the following order, H. P, C and S. The scrutiny proceeded in the first instance as between C and P, on the under- standing that when C had been placed in a majority over P, the scrutiny should then be proceeded with as between S and H. Upon a scrutiny a voter, whose vote is attacked, has no Elector has no loem dandi as a party, and is not entitled to be heard by his ^'"'"**^''«'^'- counsel. {Malcolm v. Parri/, L.R 9, C.P., 614; 43 L.J., C.P, 331; 31 L.T., 331.) The decision of the returning officer as to any question arising in respect of any ballot paper is final, subject to reversal on petition questioning the return. (The Ballot Act, 1872, s. 2). A petition may be presented on the sole ground that the returning officer has miscounted the votes, in which ease the ballot papers will be re-counted in the presence of the Court. [Renfrew, 2 O'M. & H., 213.) A petitioner is not entitled to a re-count as a matter of right, but a re-count will be ordered if the evidence tends to show that the countiuj? of the returning officer cannot be relied upon. {Stepney, 198 THE LAW RELATING TO ^4 McTc?p"7 '^ 0'^- ^ H., 51, in which ease Denman, J., himself re- counted the votes.) vT^s^'*^ °' If the returning officer at a parliamentary election finds the votes equal, and he is a registered elector, he may, but he is not bound to, give a casting vote. (Ballot Act, 1872, 8. 2.) If he gives no casting vote he will make a double return. On the other hand, in the case of a municipal election the returning officer can give a casting vote whether he is an eh dor or not. (Municipal Corporations Act, 1882» 8. 58 (5).) He is not bound to give a casting vote, but if he fails to do so the Queen's Bench will, by mandamus, direct him to hold a fresh election [North Maryport.) On a sciutinv tt i- i n i register " Upon a scrutiny only those persons whose names are on generally the register for the time being in force can be admitted as C0IlCluSlV6. having been entitled to vote, and the register is conclusive of the right of any person upon it to vote, although such person ought to have been struck off by the revising bar- rister. The Court, upon a scrutiny, will only strike off the votes of persons who ought not to be upon the register if from some inherent, or, for the time, irremovable quality in themselves, they have not the status of parliamentary electors — for instance, peers, women, persons holding certain offices or employments, and persons convicted of crimes which disqualify them from voting. (The Ballot Act, 1872, s. 7 ; Sto,ce V. Jolliffe, No. 2, 43 L. J., C.P., 265 ; L.E. 9, aP.,734.) Votes giyeu \g votes perversely given for a candidate who is incapable for a candi- of being elected after notice of his incapacity, are thrown of beki'^^^^^^^ away, they will be struck ofi' upon a scrutiny, and so the elected. candidate apparently in a minority may be returned. But if a candidate has been guilty of bribery he is not so incapa- citated that votes given for him after notice of. the bribery will be thrown away. It would be otherwise if notice were given that he had been found guilty of bribery. In order that votes given after notice may be .=;truck off, there must be something wanting in the candidate himself which cannot be supplied, the existence or non-existence of which is not dependent on argument or decision, but which the law insists shall exist in every one who puts himself forward as a CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 199 candidate. {Drinhmfer v. Deahin, L R., 0, C.P. 628 ; 43 ^^^-'^^^^l^^ L. J., C P., 355 ; 30 L T., 832 ; not following Trench v. Nolan, — Ir. L. Rep. 6, C.L. 464 ; or the Noncich Case, 19 L.T., n.B , 6] 9 ; ti.e Clitheroe Case, 2 P.R. & D., 276, 285 ; and Moore V. Scu/li/, 9 R.L Rep. C.L ,217.) If a case arises for giving notice of the disqualification of ^°^]?^^t^,g a candidate, the notice should be express and positive, and incapacity. it should be served personally upou as many electors as possible, and advertised generally. ( Yafes v. Leach, L.R., 9, C.P., 608, 609 ; 43 L.J., C.P.. 377, 30 L.T.. 790.) Another class of votes which will be struck off upon a Ballot papers „ , ill marked or scrutiny is those given by ballot papers open to any ot the defective. following objections : (1) want of official mark ; (2) voting for more candidates than entitled to ; (3) writing or mark by which the voter can be identified ; (4) unmarked or void for uncertainty. (Ballot Act, 1872, Schedule 1, r. 36.) On the other hand, ballot papers improperly rejected on any of these grounds may be added to the poll on a scrutiny. Generally ii the Court can infer that the voter intended to vote, and gather for whom he intended to vote, the vote will be admitted. As to what marks on the ballot paper will render it good or bad, see Wigtoivn, 2 O'M. & H., 215 ; Woodu-ard v. Sarmm. L.R., 10, C.P., 738 : 44 L.J., C.P., 293; 32 L.T., 867; Benrick, 3 O'M. & H.. 178; 44 L.T., 289 ; Stepney, 4 O'M. & H., 34. If the returning officer marked the paper with the voter's number on the register, as that might lead to identification of the voter the vote would be bad. ( Woodivard v. Snrsons, supra.) The votes of the following classes of persons are also bad Votes fltruck upon a scrutiny; (11 bribers; (2) persons bribed; (3) g^j.yt'jj*. treaters ; (4) persons treated ; (5) persons guilty of using undue influence ; (6) persons unduly influenced ; (7) persons procuring personation ; (8) personators ; (9) ]iersons guilty of any illegal practice ; (10) persons guilty of illefral employ- ment ; (11) persons guilty of illegal payment ; (12) persons guilty of illegal hiring; (13) paid agents employed for any of the purposes of the election ; (14) returning officer (unless but for bis votes there would be an equality of votes ; (15) 200 THE LAW RELATINli TO Paeliamemaet •.t MCHICIFAL, Rule as to striking off votes for persona corrupted. When the ballot paper of the corrupted voter will be examined. persons convicted of corrupt practices; (16) infants , (17) women; (18) imbeciles and lunatics ; (19) peers ; (20) aliens (see Berwick, 44 L.T., 289, 3 O'M. & H., 178; Oldham, 1 O'M. & H., lol ; 20 L.T., 302 ; and Stepneif, 4 O'M. & H., 45) ; (21) policemen at municipal but not parliamentary elections ; (22) traitors ; (23) convicted felons ; (24) the holders of certain ofiBces the subject of statutory prohibi- tions ; and (25) a person who has already voted in another division of the borough, it being a divided borough. (48 & 49 Vict., e. 23, s. 8, and Stepney, 4 O'M. & H., 45.) The vote of a person who has merely offered his vote for sale is not to be struck off {Mallow, 2 O'M. & H., 22). By the Ballot Act, 1872, s. 25, ''where a candidate, on the trial of an election petition claiming the seat for any person, is proved to have been guilty, by himself or by any person on his behalf, of bribery, treating or undue influence, in respect of any peison who voted at such election, or where any person retained or employed for reward by or on behalf of such candidate for all or any of the purposes of such election, as agent, clerk, messenger, or in any other employment, is proved on such trial to have voted at such election, there shall, on a scrutiny, be struck off from the number of votes appearing to have been given to such candidate, one vote for every per^son wiio voted at such election and is proved to have been so bribed, treated or unduly influenced, or so retained or employed for reward as aforesaid." Rule 41 in the first schedule of the same Act seems to contemplate that the Court shall ascertain how the voter bribed did vote, and that his vote shall be struck off the poll of the candidate for whom he voted. The question becomes important where a voter biibed to vote lor A votes against him. The section and the rule have been construed in the case of Malcolm v. Farry (L.R., 9, C.P., filO; 43 L.J., C.P., 331; 31 i.T. 331) with this result, that if a corrupt practice by a candidate, or hi^ agent, is proved in regard to a voter, and that voter voted then, upon a scrutiny, one vote in respect of such vuter will be struck off the poll of such candidate without regard to the CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 201 ,iuestion whether the voter so corrupteii voted for Mich candidate p^«^\,^^^/J;,\" or for hk upponent. If the corrapt practice was neither by a — caudidate nor his agent, the Court must look at the counter- foils to see how the voter voted, and strike a vote oil the poll of the candidate for whom he voted. In inch case proof that the voter acted corruptly is itecessary. W here on a scrutiny, one person (who voted) claims to be 1^^^^^^^^^ the person on the register, and it is alleged that another name— one person, who does not himself claim the vote, is the person J.'^gf^^''^^ *^^ on the register, the nature of the qualification may be inquired into for tlie purpose of deciding who is the elector. {Berwick, 44 L.T., 289.) When a marked register shows that a voter has already Tendered voted, it is prima facie sufficient for adding his subsequently ^ tendered vote to the poll that he swears that he did not Ijreviously vote, and that tlie marked register is wrong; and when the marked register shows that a voter did not vote, it is not conclusive on a scrutiny, but it may be proved that the voter did vote, and his vote, on a paper bearing tlie number of another elector, will be valid {ibid.). If the judges differ in opinion on the question whether a voter ought to be struck off' the poll, it remains on. If Difference , , . , , , 1 i. i. V of opinion they differ on the question whether a vote ought to be |jj.t^QeQ tj^^ 2mt on, it is not put on. Omnia presumantur pro neyante. judges. (See Berwick, 3 O'M. & K., 178 ; 44 L.T., 287.) As to when a recount of the ballot papers will be ordered, see the Stepney Case, 4 O'M. & H., 49. Section IV. — The Evidence upon Election Petitions. Sub-section I. — Parliamentary. With some few exceptions, the rules of evidence on the paeliambrtaet trial of election petitions are the same as those in force Generally the on the trial of actions at nisi prius. But the nature of J^J^^^^*]'^^^ the subject has caused the introduction of some special apply, rules of evidence, and there are certain other exceptions to the general law' derived from the practice of the House 205 THE LAW RE[.ATING TO parliambittart of Commons Committees which, until 1869, tried petitions against the return of members. It is enacted by section 26 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, " Until rules of Court have been made in pursuance of this Act, and so far as such rules do not extend, the principles, practice, and rules ou which committees of the House of Commons have heretofore acted in dealing with election petitions, shall be observed so far as may be by the Court and judge in the case of election petitions under this Act." The rules (of 1868, 1869 and 1875) which are set out in the Appendix hereto, do not deal with the subject of evidence generally. The Courts have faithfully followed the instructions contained in s. 26. One result, and that not a very happy result, of the section, has been the refusal of the High Courts to allow discovery of documents to be had or interrogatories administered on election petitions, following tlie practice of the committees of the House. The Ad of 1883 makes no change in this respect, and indeed does not affect the rules of evidence heretofore observed by the Court. As in other kinds of litigation, subject to the powers in the Court of amending the particulars, the petitioner must succeed secundum allegata et probata. Therefore, at Greenock (I O'M. & H., 247), Lord Barcaple rejected altogether evidence of the polling booth having been placed in an illegal position, there being no specific allegation of that fact in the petition. Witnesses The witnesses in the cause will be ordered out of Court ofljourt!""* on the application of either side, but the agent of neither party will be ordered out of Court, although he may be charged with personal bribery. {Knareshorourjh^ 3 O'jy. & H., 141.) If charges of personal misconduct are made against a candidate, the Court finds it " startling " if he is not called to deny them, and draws its own inference. (Evesham^ 3 0'M.&H., 19.) Formal proof Jt ig not usual to require formal proof of the holding of of election. ^^^ election and of the return. At Comitry (20 L.T., 406, CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 203 1 O'M. & TT., 97), Willes, J., said, "I shall not require the PAKi,,xM.»rA«v election to be proveii in any of the cases. I know, as a matter of public notoriety, that there has been a general election, and therefore an election for the town of Coventry. There was a return for this borough. If the respondents were not returned at that election I ought to reject them. The poll books are here, and they tell me that an election was held." Perhaps no more important deviation from the common improper 111 • ■> • J. ii- • i. adniission or law, SO far as regards the law of evidence, exists, tnan is to rejection of be found in the fact that if the Election Court should evidence. erroneously admit or reject evidence, no appeal or lew trial could be had (although the improper admission or rejection of evidence should have caused a miscarriage of justice) unless the judges should agree to reserve a case for the High Court under section 12 of the Parliamentary Elections Acr, 1868. At common law evidence cannot be given against a party of an act done or thing said by some other person until that other person has been proved to be an agent of the party sought to be affected But by the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, (31 & 82 Vict., c. 125), s. 17, it is provided that " on the trial of an election petition under this Act, unless the judge otherwise directs, any charge of a corrupt practice may be gone into, and evidence in relation thereto received before any proof has been given of agency on the part of any candidate in respeot of such corrupt practice." The judges are somewhat reluctant to avail themselves of the powers conferred by this section unless there is a reasonable prospect of proving agency afterwards. {Bristol, 2 O'M. & H., 29 ; Guildford, 1 O'M. & H., 14.) But in the West Belfast Case f4 O'M. & H., 107) evidence of conversations was admitted before evidence of the agency of the persons who conversed was given, even where the conversation was held after the declaration of the poll. The judges thought there might possibly have been general personation. Again, as the trial of a petition is something more than Discrediting a contest between the parties, and as the duties of the dieting a Court, especially under tlie Act of 1883, are in some sort witness. inquisitorial, the rule at nisi prius that evidence tendered to 204 THE LAW RELATING TO Hostile witness PAaLiAMENTARY coiitradict a witness upon some matter collateral to the issue is inadmissible, has not been very strictly adhered to in the trial of election petitions. In the North Norfolk Case (1 O'M. & H., 239), Blackburn, J., admitted such evidence. Witnesses called by a petitioner are in some cases un- friendly and often hostile. Therefore, where a witness is put into the witness-box to admit that he was bribed, has denied the fact, the party calling- him has been allowed to put into his hands his previous written statement admitting the bribery, not for the purpose of discrediting him as a witness become hostile, under the Common Law Procedure Act, 1854, but — and the effect is much the same — for the purpose of testing and probing his memory. {Chester, 44 L.T., 285.) But generally, the provisions of the Common Law Pro- cedure Act, 1854, section 22, are to be complied with. The circumstances connected with the making of the statement must be recalled to the witness's recollection, and he must, in the first instance, be proved to be hostile {Cheltenham, 1 O'M. & H., 62 ; Bradford, 1 O'M. & H., 30.) That done, he may be cross-examined as to previous statements made by him, and inconsistent with his evidence in the box. The attempt to read a previous written statement to one's own witness, and to put questions to him to show that the state- ment is true, has been discouraged. And it was laid down in the Wigan Case (4 O'M. & H., 1) that these written statements, which it has been common to procure from witnesses before the trial, are of little value. If a witness's signed statement is in direct conflict with his sworn testimony, the latter is not thereby invalidated. It is weakened, no doubt, but the judges must decide for them- selves from the probabilities of the case, the demeanour of the witness, and the other circumstances proved, on which side the truth lies. In the same case, Grove, J., severely reprehended the practice of getting persons who were known to be witnesses on the other side, to sign statements at all. He made the same objections to the obtaining of such state- ments during the trial. Previous statement of witness. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 205 Upon the principle of the North Norfolk Case {supra), p^^^ambnt^et where a man denied that he had been bribed, the Court Admissions by witness. allowed another person to be called to prove that the nrst had admitted the bribery in his hearing. {Lichfield, 1 O'M. & H. 22.) But in the King's Lynn Case (2'O'M. & H., 208), such evidence was rejected. It is quite clear that the declarations of the petitioner against the character of his own witness are admissible against him {Lo)ulonderry, P. & K., 277 ; C. & R., 253 ; Berivick, June 30th, 1820) ; and as each voter is in a sense a party to the case when the seat is claimed, what the voter admits about his vote, showing that it was an invalid vote, is admissible upon a scrutiny. {Tippcrary, 2 O'M. & H., 31.) There is all the dift'erence ^^^^"^Jiu*^^ in the world between a scrutiny and an ordinary petition, claimed. Yet in the Windsor Case (1 O'M. & H., 5), the question of the seat and of the scrutiny were considered to be, to a certain extent, one, so as to make evidence admissible if applicable to either issue, but only, we think, for the purposes of affect- ing the issue to which it should be applicable. Where it is sought to prove that a voter has made a statement of his having been bribed to a third person, and it is intended to fix the consequences ot the bribery upon a person other than the voter himself, e.g., the sitting member, the evidence of the person to whom the statement is alleged to have been made cannot be received until the voter himself has been called as a witness. {Guildford, 19 L.T., 733.) In the Worcester Case (3 O'M. .t H., 185), in support of discrediting an allegation that the poll was improperly closed before four o'clock, a witness was called to prove that he was refused a ballot paper by the returning officer. He was asked in cross-examination " Were you not bribed to vote ? " but that question was disallowed. The Court considered his right to vote was concluded by the register, except where the seat was claimed. (Aec. JCing's Lynn, 1 O'M. & H., 206.) Indeed, when the seat is not claimed, a witness may be put into the box to say ; " A B gave me a sovereign to vote for C D," subject to this, that the Court may, in its discretion, require the agency of A B to be proved first. 206 THE LAW RELATING TO Agency to be 22 first proved. liesnlt of canvass. p.RT.iAMK^TAEx {cf. Kinrfs Lynn, 1 O'M. & H., 208 ; Lichfield, 1 O'M. & H., cf. West Belfast, 4 O'M. & H. 107.) In the peculiar case of the death of the respondent before the trial of the petition and o" the substitution of another respondent by the Coiut in his stead, it has been held that the admissions of the former respondent may be given in evidence against substituted respondent. The latter steps into the shoes of the former. {Tippemry, 3 O'M. & H., 34.) In order to support a suggestion that the verdict of the constituency has been changed by bribery, the petitioner's election agent was called and asked what result was shown by the ca-nviiss books sent in to him by his sub-agents. The question has often been allowed without objection, but in this ease it was objected to, and the objection was sustained. The evidence would clearly have been hearsay. The proper course was to call the sub-agents to verify their canvass books and then to ask the chief agent, as an accountant, what the general result was. {King's Lynn, 1 O'M. & H., 206.) In the Westminster Case (1 O'M. & H., 95 ; 20 L.T., 238), a canvasser was allowed to be asked how many promises he had received, it being argued that his infor- mation on this point was, according to its character, likely or unlikely to discourage bribery by him. But where general intimidation was alleged, the general question was allowed to be asked whether the witness found any particular difficulty in getting promises in a particular district, and if so whether he could attribute it to any cause. {North Durham, 2 O'M. & H., 152, 153.) A married woman cannot be asked whether her husband told her that he had promised to vote for A {Lichfield, 1 O'M. & H., 22), but Blackburn, J., admitted the evidence of a married woman that her husband handed her money and told her that B had given it to him to vote for A. {Bridgumer, 1 O'M. & H., 113.) Bribery by a gift of a postal order may be proved with- out putting in the postal order. {Londonderry, 4 O'M. & H., 103.) Secrecy of rp|^^ question how a witness voted cannot l)e put, for it the ballot. ^ CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 207 tends to violate the secrecy of the ballot. On a somewhat PARHAMESTiEs similar ground a witness who did not vote cannot be asked, even in cross-examination, to what party he belongs. But there is some authority for saying that a voter who has openly avowed his opinions may be asked to what party he holds himself out as belonging. [North Durham, 3 O'M. & H., 1 ; Haricich, 3 O'M. & H., 63.) There has already been occasion to observe that the Act Acts done at •^ previous of 1883 proclaims an amnesty for past offences, and that a elections. witness may not be asked as to any corrupt practices at an election before the passing of the Act. But evidence that the respondent had employed an agent convicted of bribery at a previous election would seem to be undoubtedly admissible still. Evidence that the respondent had employed persons whom on a previous petition he had charged with bribery is irrelevant. {Taunton, 2 O'M. & H., 68.) Even under the old law the Court was very reluctant to connect the pending inquiry with what occurred at a previous election, and especially so where the respondent was not a candidate at that election. {Windsor, 1 O'M. & H. 9o ; 19 L.T., 615 ; Wesfminster, 20 L.T., 238.) Here, it seems, a distinction is to be taken. If the con- Distinction duct of the respondent at the previous election has already previously ^^^ been enquired into and adjudicated upon, the matter is closed adjudicated and no evidence in regard to it can be admitted. Thus in the Taunton Case (L.R. 4, C.P. 361), there were three can- didates at an election, B, C, and J. The returning officer returned B and C. Two electors presented a petition against C and claimed the seat for J. At the trial, C cross- examined the petitioner's witnesses with a view to prove bribery by J's agents, but the judge negatived that conten- tion and declared J duly elected and so certified. A petition alleging bribery, &c., was then presented against J's return, but the Court of Common Pleas held that the judge's previous decision was final and that the second petition must be taken off the file. Brett, J., suggested that if a Iraud were practised upon the Court, so that the inquiry into the conduct of J's agents upon the first petition had been a 208 THE LAW RELATING TO PAELtAMBWTAEY sliaiii and collusive inquiry, the judgment might not have been final. (And see Goodwin'.'^ Case, 2 State Trials, 91.) In tlie Taunton Case, it will be observed, the case against J was persisted in and the judge certified the result to the Speaker, Ti was otherwise in the Norwich Case (L.R., 6 C.P., 147.) There, A was a candidate at an election at which B was returned. A having petitioned against his return and claimed the seat, recriminatory charges were made. At the trial of the petition, B was proved guilty of corrupt practices by his agents, and decided by the judge not to have been duly elected, and after some of the matters contained in the recriminatory charges were gone into and not proved, B in'f/idrew the charge by permission of the judge, and A then abandoned Ms claim to the sea*", and the judge certified to :he House of Commons that B was not Distinction duly elected, and reported, amongst other things, that he ludle'Treport helieved the election on the part of A to have been perfectly and certificate pure. At the election which ensued, A was returned,- and a petition was presented against his return, alleging that he had been guilty of corrupt practices by himself and his agents at the previous election at which B had been returned, the matters intended to be relied on having been discovered since the former trial. On a rule to strike out these allegations from the petition on the ground that the matters alleged might have been given in evidence in support of the recriminatory charges at the previous trial, it was held that the report of the judge at an election trial is not final and conclusive like his certificate as to the matters contained in it, and that the present petitioner was pntitled to give evidence of the alleged corrupt practice. CoiTuption at But where it is suggested that bribery was committed at election ^ municipal election in order to influence the voting at the parliamentary election, evidence of the bribery at the munici- pal election is of course admissible. {Bever/e//, 20 L.T., 792, Blackhurn, 20 L T., 823 ; Hastings, 21 L.T., 234.) It would seem that the proper court and time to try an objection to the status of the petitioner is not the Election Court, but the High Court, some convenient time before CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTION'S. 209 the day appointed for trial of the petition, yet in the Youghal Vk-emmtntLnr Case (21 L.T., 307), the Election Court admitted evidence to show that the petitioner had no stah^s, rather than imperil the legality and regularity of the trial by rejecting it. In a case of intimidation the respondent himself gave Evidence of evidence that on the polling day he went to voters who were intimidation, opposed to him and offered to give them his escort to protect them to the poll, they being afraid to go, although there were military and constabulary in the streets. This evidence had the contrary effect to what was intended, for the Court treated it as conclusive evidence out of the respondent's own mouth to prove that there was not freedom of election in the borough. {Drogheda, 21 L.T., 402.) An unstamped document may be given in evidence upon xhc stamp an election petition without paying the penalty. ( Windsor, ^*'^- 21 O'M. & H., 6.) Documents in the possession of the other side, particular Production of notice to produce which has been given, may be called for, and when produced will generally be evidence. If not pro- duced, secondary evidence of them may be given. {Bradford^ 1 O'M. & H., 30.) If a party refuse to produce a document when called for, after due notice, the Court may refuse to allow him to put it in afterwards for the purpose of ex- planation. {Windsor, 1 O'M. & H., 5.) A notice to produce " all documents relating to the matters in question " will not entitle the party giving the notice to production of returns made by each or any canvasser to the candidate's committee. A general notice of that kind only covers docu- ments which ought to be filed and returned. {Westminster, 1 O'M. & H., 193. When the bank pass-book of the respondent and that of his agent were called for, it was held they must first be shown to be material to the issue. {Tainworth, 1 O'M. & H., 76.) Strictly, a bank account is not evidence but only a means of refreshing the memory of the witness, {SoJ/ord, 1 O'M. & H., 136.) When the respondent's canvass book was called for, Willes, J., said that any particular entry in it might be asked for. {Northallerton, 1 O'M. & H., 167.) 14 210 THE LAW RELATING TO PAELlAM«Sr*R'S- Agency ceases with the poll . Admissions by an agent. The practice as to the production of telegrams, and of ballot papers, marked register and counterfoils, has already- been discussed. A candidate is not responsible for the acts of his election agents (other than the election agent appointed under the Act of 1883) done after the polling. {North Norfolk, 1 O'M. & H., 243; 21 L.T., 264. Salford, 1 O'M. & H., 133 ; 19 L.T., 120.) It would be otherwise if it were pre- viously shown that the agent's act was done with the privity of the candidate. The relation of principal and agent, unless expressly continued, ends with the election ; evidence of an act of bribery committed after the election may be admitted, but only for the purpose of shedding light on what took place before the election. [Sont/ia/npfon, 1 O'M. & H., 222.) On the general principle that the agency is terminated by the election, the declarations and admissions made by an agent after the election are not admissible in evidence against the candidate. {Harwich, 3 O'M. & H., 61 ; Cheltenham, 3 O'M. & H., 86.) In the Dover Case (1 O'M. & H., 210) , it was ruled that a witness might be asked what directions an agent gave him during the election, but not what statements the agent made. But query as to this. " The act of an agent is evidence against a respondent, but, speaking generally, it is confined to that, although it is possible he may be such an agent as to make his state- ments evidence also. But clearly you cannot make use of a statement made by an agent upon a matter with which the agency is not connected, which is really nothing more than hearsay. {Kincfs Lijnn, 1 O'il. & H., 207, 208.) Probably the rule is no more than this, that statements made during the election by a person proved to be an agent are admissible if made at the time of the commission of the corrupt or illegal act, for then they are a part of the resgesta, or if made at any time during the electiou, in relation to the particular portion of the work of the election deputed to him. statements by As to the proof of statements by persons deceased, the ordinary rule applies, that they are admissible if made affaiust interest or in the course of business by persons poisons deceased CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 211 having a duty to make them, but a statement made. by A-.rARMA>«sunT deceased to B, and tending to show how he came by a sum of money, with the view of proving that A was an agent of the respondent, would appear to be inadmissible, {London- deny, 1 O'M. & H., 276.) "Where a respondent was asked in cross-examination what a previous election cost him, and whether he had not com- mitted bribery at a previous election, both questions were disallowed, apparently on the ground of irrelevancy. [Cashel, --;; 1 O'M. &H., 287.) If it is charged that the respondent or his agents have kept " open house " at public houses, the most convenient way of proving it is to call the publicans. (Tam>ro)ih, 1 O'M. & H, 83, 84.) Any account sent in to the respondent may be called for, and when produced and put in it becomes evidence, whether the liability upon it be disputed or not. The weight of it is another matter. (Bradford, 1 O'M. & H., 31.) Unless the seat is claimed recriminatory evidence is quite inadmissible. (TMrsk, 3 O'M. & H., 113.) Evidence of an intention by the respondent to pay bribes after the hearing of the election petition is also inadmissible, because in that case a fresh petition might be presented. (Galicaf/, 1 O'M. & H., 303 ; Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, s. 6.) Evidence that certain persons have been corrupted may ETidence of /• „ 1 J ■ intention to be given in order to make out a case or general corruption, pay bribes, although the names of such persons are not in the par- ticulars. {Wiga», 4 O'M. & H., 182.) By Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, s. 2, it is enacted : " On the trial of an election petition under this Act, the judge may, by order under liis hand, compel the attendance of any person as a witness who appears to him to have been con- Witn^saee f ,,,....„ , mav be called cerncd in the election to which the petition retcrs, and any by the Court- person refusing to obey such order, shall be guilty of contempt of Court. The judge may examine any witness so compelled to attenrl. or any person in Court, although such witness is 212 THE LAW RELATING TO Pi.Ei.iAMEyTAitT not Called and examined by any party to the petition. After the examination of a witness as aforesaid b}'- a judge, such witness may be cross-examined by or on behalf of the petitioner and respondent, or either of them." Under this section witnesses were called by the Court in the Salisbury Case (3 O'M. & H., 134), but the prevailing opinion has been that the duties of the judges are judicial and not inquisi- torial. {Chester, 44 L.T., 287 ; Stroud, 2 O'M. & H., 107.) by thKbHc ^^^ ^y ^^® ^^^ ^^ ^^^^' ^- ^^' '^^ ^^ provided : " On every Prosecutor, trial of an election petition, the Director of Public Prose- cutions shall, by himself or by his assistant, or by such representative as hereinafter 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. It shall also be the duty of such director, without any direction from the Election Court, if 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." As the Director of Public Prosecutions will have little knowledge of the constituency, will be regarded with disfavour by the class of persons who can give evidence of corrupt practices, and will not be allowed to see the inside of counsel's briefs, it may be doubted whether this section will be found to be very efficacious or far-reaching in its operation. MVKXCirAIi. Evidence in municipal election petitions. Sub-section II. — Municipal. The law relating to evidence upon parliamentary and municipal election petitions is the same, (See the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, s. 100, sub-s. 3.) We think that in the case of a municipal petition it would be convenient that CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 213 the Commissioner, by analogy to the Coceutry Case (1 O'M. muiocif^. & H., 97 ; 20 L.T., 406), should take judicial notice of the ^^Ydfn'^^ofthe holding of the election in question. But until this rule ©lection, is established it may be well for the petitioner's agent to ask the respondent's agent in writing to admit the fact of the election being held. If the admission be refused, the petitioner should subpoena the town clerk or other holder of them, to produce all the papers relating to the election, and the returning officer to prove the holding of the election. Probably a vexatious refusal to admit that fact would induce the Commissioner to order the respondent to pay all the costs necessarily incurred by reason of such refusal, what- ever the event. If inspection of the ballot papers, marked register or counterfoils, which are committed to the custody of the town clerk, should at a municipal election be required, the application for leave must be made to the County Court having jurisdiction in the borough. (Ballot Act, 1872, 1st Sch., rule 64. (The decision of the County Court is subject to appeal in the usual way. {Ibid.) Section V.— The Awarding and Taxation of Costs, Sub-section I.-— Parliamentary. The costs of election proceedings are in the discretion of pakliamkntakt the Court, which will disallow any costs occasioned by " vexatious conduct, unfounded allegations, or unfounded Costs in the objections," by cither party, and have regard to the J^^'^gJJJJ /* " discouragement of any needless expense " by throwing the same on the author of it. (Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, s. 41.) The general rule is that the costs follow the Usually event, but " the event " may be distributive when the seat ^^^^ ^^'* is claimed. Thus, where the petitioner succeeded in unseating the respondent and then withdrew his claim to the seat, he got no costs occasioned by the latter claim. {Gravesend, 44 L.T., 64, 3 O'M. & H., 81.) And in the Petersfiekl Case (2 O'M. & H., 94), where the charges of corrupt practices by agents failed, the petitioner had to 214 THE LAW RELATING TO Exceptions to the rule, where petitioner suceeedfl. paeliajibntakx pay the costs of those charges, irrespective of the result of the scrutiny. The petitioner, though successful, may be left to bear his own costs where (I) the petitioner is a man of straw, put up by others in order to avoid liability for costs {Poole, 2 O'M. & H., 123; 31 L.T., 171), but not where the petition is a bond fide petition by the petitioner, however poor he may be ( Wigau, 4 O'M. & H., 1) ; (2) where the particulars are exceedingly voluminous, and make many charges which foil {Westhunj 1 O'M. & H., 50; 20 L.T., 17 ; Noncich, 2 O'M. &H., 42; Norivich, 4 O'M. & H., 91), where Denman, J., described the petitioner's case as "a most terribly overloaded case ; it has been an oppressive case on the part of the petitioner " ; (3) where the petitioner has liimself acted illegally or improperly {Wallingford, 1 O'M. & H., 57 ; Longford, 2 O'M. & H., 7) ; (4) where much time is wasted in consequence of the petitioner's solicitor not getting up his case properly {IVallingford, 1 O'M. & H., 60). If the petitioner's particulars are insufficient he may be deprived of his costs or ordered to pay the costs of an adjournment necessitated by their insufficiency {Penrhyn, 1 O'M. & H., 128). Or a successful petitioner may be ordered to pay a part of the costs. At Be>vdlei/ (44L.T., 283, 3 O'M. & H., 145), he was ordered to pay the costs of unfounded charges of treating. (And see Londondcrn/, 1 O'M. & H., 279). At Boston (2) (44L.T., 289, 3 O'M. & H., 150), he was ordered to pay the costs of charges which he withdrew, and no costs were allowed on either side in respect of charges not proven. And the costs incurred through calling useless witnesses may have to be paid by a successful petitioner (SaNsburi/, 3 O'M. & H., 130, 131), who will also be ordered to pay the costs of charges of personal bribery which break down. {Ibid.) At Grrivcsend (44 L.T., 64, 3 O'M. & H., 81), where the eeat was claimed, and the election was avoided, and the claim to the seat abandoned, whereupon, by a mistake, the recriminatory charges were proceeded with, no costs of the CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTION'S. 215 recriminatory charges, or of the seruntiuy, or of charges PA»i.iiM«NtAtT not proven, were allowed on either side. A successful respondent has been deprived of his costs Where '^ Till respondent altogether, where there was reasonable and probable cause succeeds. for presenting the petition ; {Westminster^ 1 O'M. & H., 89 ; 20 L.T., 228; Guildford, 1 O'M. & H., 15; Coventry, 1 O'M. & H., 97, 20 L.T., 405 ; Salishunj, 4 O'M. & H., 30 ; Stepney, 4 O'M. & H., 58), or where the respondent or his agents had committed illegal acts 'not vitiating the election {Bolton, 2 O'M. & H., 138, 31 L.T., 194; Longford, 2 O'M. & H., 17); or improper acts, (Windsor, 2 O'M. & II., 92.) Where the respondent failed to prove some of his countercharges, but was successful on the whole, the petitioner was ordered to pay two-thirds of liis costs. {Bermck, 44 L.T., 289 ; 3 O'M. and H., 178.) In the Bdckro-sc Case (4 O'^I. & H.) tlie petitioner succeeded in obtaining the seat on a scrutiny. He was allowed the costs of the scrutiny. On the other hand, he was ordered to pay the whole costs of a recriminatory case made by the respondent, which failed ; but the feature of this case was that it only failed because the Court had, under s. 34, excused an irregularity in the return of election expenses, which, but for such excuse would have been an illegal practice which would have avoided the election. Where the petition is caused by the errors of the returning Whore officer, he is nnl, in the absence of wilful misconduct, ordered office^\n^ to pay costs. {ILiclniey, 2 O'M. & H., 77. Wigtown, 2 fault. O'M. & H., 232. Woodward v. Sarsons, L.E., 10 C.P., 738 ; 44 L.J., C.P., 293 ; 32 L.T., 867. Mayo, 2 O'M. & H., 192. Drogheda, 2 O'M. and H., 211.) But where the conduct of the returning officer is unsuccessfully impeached, the losing party will generally be ordered to pny his costs. {Worcester, 3 O'M. & H., 186.) Effect has been given to an agreement between the parties Agreement that, whatever the r«sult, neither shall ask for costs. ghaiiVe asked {Nottingham, 1 O'M. & H., 245.) for. The old rules relating to the incidence of costs wei'e found 216 THE LAW RELATING TO PABLIlMEMiaT Guilty persons and constituencies may be ordered to pay costs. When corruption general. When individuals largely engaged in corruption. In solitary to bear hardly upon innooent candidates, and the Legislature has introduced a new rule, which will, in many cases, go some way to relieve innocent parties of the burden of costs, and impose that burden on persons on whom it should in justice be placed. By s. 44 of the Act of 1883, it is enacted :— " (1.) Where upon the trial of an election petition respect- ing an election for a county or borough, it appears to the Election Court that a corrupt practice has not been proved to have been committed in reference to such election, by or with 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 cost of the petition as the Court may think right, as follows : — " {(i) 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 ** {0} 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 Id corrupt practices, or to have encouraged or pro- moted extensive corrupt practices in reference to such election, the Court may, after giving such person or persons an opportunity 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 tlio 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, and " (2.) Where any person appears to the Court to have been CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 217 guilty of the offence of a corrupt or illegal practice, the pabli^eniary Court may, after giving such person an opportunity of case of making a statement to show why the order should not m"^^ be made, order the whole or any part of the costs of, or Practice, 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." The order under this section may be made only by the By what judges who try the election petition, or by the High Court, ^^^^^' if the matter comes before the High Court.— (S. 64 of the Act of 1883.) But there is no jurisdiction to make an order under s. 44 at all, unless two events concur, namely that no corrupt practice, " by or with the knowledge of the respon- When juris- dent," is proved, and it is shown that the respondent took all ^^'^*^°'' ^"^^^• reasonable means to prevent corrupt practices. Apparently the jurisdiction would not be destroyed if the respondent had committed or encouraged illegal practices or illegal payments or the like, although in that event the Court would have little disposition to relieve an unsuccessful respondent of the liability to pay costs. The jurisdiction conferred by the section is not large. If corrupt practices extensively prevailed, the Court may throw the costs of the petition on the constituency. Having regard to the language of sub-s. 3 of s. 44, probably " costs of the petition " will be held to include the costs of both parties. If the author of extensive corruption can be ascertained, Inquiries the Court may order him to pay the costs of the petition, but order^*'''* ^" only after the propriety of making the order has been tried out with all the machinery of counsel, solicitors, examina- tion and cross-examination. In fact, after the petition has been heard there may be another trial to decide whether a third party is to pay the whole or any part of the costs, and as the petitioner and respondent will be deeply interested in the result of this latter trial, they will remain and see it out. In fact, being interested parties, they ought to be heard on it. The last case is that in which it shall appear to the Court 218 THE f.AW RELATING TO PARx-iiMsiTTiRT that 801116 stiangei* to the petition has been guilty of a corrupt or illegal practice, in which case he may be ordered to pay, not the costs of the petition, but only the costs of the pro- ceedings before the Court in relation to those offences, e.g., of his prosecution before the Court. Such a person cannot be heard by his counsel as of right, or examine or cross-examine witnesses with a view of preventing the making of the order. He is only entitled to make a statement. It is probable that in every case in which a respondent would have been ordered to pay the costs of a successful petition, he will still be ordered to do so in the event of a stranger to the petition ordered to pay them failing to comply with the order. Expenses of As between a witness whose expenses were allowed by the witnesses. judge and the party who subpoenaed him, the registrar, or if he is incapacitated, the judge of the Election Court will ascer- tain and certify the amount to be paid to the witness. Gen. Rules (Pari.), 1875, r. 5. Enactments The taxation of costs is regulated by s. 41 of the Pari. taSttn!/^' Elections Act, 1868, and by s. 44, sub-s. a, of the Act of costs. 1833^ The former section enacts, " That all 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 costs, charges 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 either of the petitioner or the 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 are not on the whole successful. The costs may be taxed in the prescribed manner, but according to the same principle as costs between attorney and client are taxed in a suit in the High CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 219 Court of Chancer}', and such costs may 1)e recovered in the rAHf-uMEKiAux same manner as the costs of an action at law or in such other manner as may be prescribed." By s. 44, sub-s. 3, of the Act of 1883 it is enacted : — " The rules and regulations of the Supreme Court of Judicature with respect to costs to be allowed in actions, causes and matters in the High Court shall in principle and so far as practicable apply to the costs of petitions and other proceedings under the Parlia- mentary Elections Act, 1868, and under this Act, and the taxing oflBcer 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 as between solicitor and client." It would seem that b. 44, sub-s. 3, has not materially "f^^^^^ggo^ altered the principle on which the costs are to be taxed. *' Charges and expenses " are still to be allowed, and the taxation is still to be as between solicitor and client. The only difference is that the costs are now expressly directed to be taxed on the higher scale, allowing, however, no more than would be allowed in an action of such importance, difficulty and complexity as the petition. What is included in the expression, " Costs as between Costs as solicitor and client?" "Costs as between solicitor and ^^A'^.t^^ , solicitor ana client, payable by one party to another, will not include all client. What costs to which the solicitor would bo entitled as against his ^^^ ' client. It is impossible to lay down with exactness any rule upon this subject, but generally it would seem that all such costs would be allowed as a solicitor would ordinarily incur in the conduct of his client's business, excluding those extraordinary costs which may have been occasioned, either by the default of the client, as by his incurring a contempt, or by his express instructions, as to employ an unusual number of counsel * ' [Morgan and Davey on Costs, p. 4.) Even as between party and party, a liberal scale of costs Costs to be is to be allowed on taxation, M-hen the action is one to which ifbexally the higher scale is applicable, and, as between solicitor and client, there must be an extension of this allowance. This was the intention of the Legislature. In a recent case the 220 THE LAW RELATING TO i-AiiLiAME-MAfcY Court said — " It appears to us that the parties entitled to their costs under the orders were entitled to an indemnity for all costs that were reasonably incurred by them in the ordinary course of matters of this nature, but not to any extraordinary or unusual expenses incurred in consequence of over caution or over anxiety as to any particular case, or from considerations of any special importance arising from the rank, position, wealth or character of either of the parties, or any special desire on his part to insure success. We think, also, that such extraordinary costs as an attorney would not be justified in incurring without distinct and special instructions from his client, ought not to be allowed, nor the costs of purely collateral proceedings upon which a party has failed, nor those which may have been occasioned by his default, negligence, or mistake." {Hill v. Feel, L.E., 5 C.P., 180 ; 39 L.J. CP., 89 ; 22 L.T., 98.) And in the Kennington Case (4 O'M. &H. 95), where the petition in the opinion of the Court was wholly unfounded, Field, J., said : *' I think in this case there should be a full indemnity," and an order was made directing taxation as between solicitor and client. In Pascoe v. Puledon (54 L.T., U.S., 733 ; 50 J.P. 134) it was laid down that under s. 44 costs of a petition will usually be allowed in the higher scale. When Court If the taxing master, in taxing, proceeds upon a wrong t^'xatSi^"^ principle, the Court will review his decision, but if he has not erred in principle, and has exercised his discretion so that it is only as to the amount to be allowed, the Court is generally imwilling to interfere. {Hill v. Peel, siqyra.) Number of As to the number of counsel to be allowed. In cases of ''°rowed unusual difficulty, complexity, or importance, three counsel may be allowed on taxation {Wentworth v. TAoyd, L.E., 2 Eq. 607, Kirhrood v. Webster, 9 Ch. Div. 239; 47 L.J., Ch. 880 ; 26 W.E., 812.) But in petitions in which the evidence is not voluminous, and the trial is not likely to con- sume more than two or three days, it is usual to allow only two counsel. The costs of two counsel are always allowed. {Tillet V. Stracerj, L.R 5, C.P., 185 ; 39 L.J., C.P., 93 ; 22 L.T., 101 : 18 W.R., 631.) CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 221 As to the amount of counsel's fees. In the Southampton PintiAMiKTABt Ca^e (L.E., 5, C.P., 174 ; 39 L. J., C.P., 89 ; 22 L.T., 98) ^^^^^^^^/^^^ the leading counsel received 200 guineas on his brief, and 50 guineas a day for refreshers, besides consultation fees. The junior received 150 guineas'on his brief, and 30 guineas a day for refreshers, besides consultations. The master allowed just half of each of these fees, and disallowed the consulta- tions. Looking at the difficulty and length of the case, the Court directed the taxation to be reviewed. Fees for con- sultations from day to day are to be allowed {TiUet v. Stracei/, supra.) In the Tamuwth Case (L.E. 5, C.P., 173; 39 L.J., C.P., 89 ; 22 L.T., 98) the leading counsel received 250 guineas with his brief, and 50 guineas a day for refreshers ; and the junior 100 guineas with his brief, and 25 guineas a day for refreshers. The master allowed 100 guineas and 25 guineas a day refresher, and 75 guineas and 15 guineas a day refresher respectively. The case being one of an ordi- nary description, the Court declined to send the taxation back to the master to be reconsidered. In the Pcnrhyn Case, reported with the Tamivorth Case, the master allowed each of the counsel 25 guineas extra on the brief, on account of the distance from town, and the Court declined to interfere. {Cf. Tillet V. Stracei/, L.R 5, C.P., 185 ; 39 L.J., C.P., 93 ; 22 L.T., 101 ; 18 W,E., 631 ; Hargreai-es v. Scott, 4 C.P.D. 21; 40 L.T., 35; 27 W.R., 323, a case of a municipal election.) The taxing master, in exercising his discretion as to the Eegard to number of counsel, the amount of their fees, the number of ^f ^^^ *o ,,. , „ 1 ,- p t p ^ Circumstances consultations, the amount or consultation tees and refreshers, ©f each case. and the expenses of subpoenas to witnesses, telegrams and messages, ought to have regard to the difficulty, magnitude and importance of the particular case. ( Trench v. Nolan {the Gahcay Case) 7 Ir. R., C.L., 445 ; 21 W.R., 640.) In that case the Court held that the successful petitioner on taxation was entitled to — (1) The sums actually paid by him for copies of the shorthand writer's notes ; (2) the expenses of witnesses bond fide summoned but not called (but compare 222 THE LAW RELATING TO PiBLlASIEyTAKt Instructions for brief and preliminary expenses. Master must examine the items. Number of witnesses allowed. Tillctt v. &iracey, L.R. 5, C.P., 185 ; 39 L.J., C.P., 93 ; 22 L.T,, 101 ; 18 W.R., 631) ; (3) the cost of an illustrated map of the county ; (4) a retainer of 10 guineas paid to each of the two leading counsel ; (5) the fees paid to the junior counsel on the hearing of a case reserved, as well as the fees of the leading counsel ; and (6) the cost of pro- ceedings to draw the fund deposited as security out of Court. As to instructions for brief and preliminary inquiries. In practice it will be found necessary, between the filing of the particulars and the delivery of the briefs, to make inquiries as to the evidence likely to be given, and generally to get up the ease. In the Tamivot'th Case, supm, £105 were claimed for " instructions of brief," and £90 for money paid to a solicitor to prosecute the preliminary inquiries. The master disallowed the £90, and, the items making up the £90 not being before the Court, the Court refused to interfere. In the Feiir/n/)i Case, siipi'a, £105 were charged for " instruc- tions for brief," and all the preliminary expenses in detail in addition. The master allowed £150 to include the pre- liminary' expenses, and the Court would not interfere. In the Southampton Case £1,000 was charged for preliminary expenses, and the master allowed £105 ; but having regard to the circumstances of the ease, the Court thought £105 insufficient, and sent it back to the master. The parties are entitled to have the master's judgment upon the particular items in the preliminary expenses, if they think fit, instead of their being included in the allow- ance of one sum in gross to cover the whole of what the master may think right to be allowed {HiU v. Peel, L.R. 5, C.P., 183 ; 39 L.J., C.P., 89 ; 22 L.T., 98). But the master may allow a lump sum for instructions for brief, provided the items making up the lump sum have been brought before him, so as to enable him to judge whether it represents reasonable and proper charges {Barnstaph Case, 44 L.J., C.P., 200). If an excessive number of witnesses be subpoenaed, and the master disallows the costs of some of them, the Court will not interfere [TiUett v. Stra€ei/, supra). The same crourse will CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 223 be taken if the successful party have all bis witnesses PiRLiiMEKtiiEt in attendance day by day, and not merely a sufficient number to occupy the Court for the day {M'Larvn v. Home, 7 Q.B.D., 447 ; 50 L.J., Q.B. 658j. The certificate of the registrar of the amount for witnesses is not conclusive of the amount as between petitioner and respondent. The master must still tax the witnesses' costs {ibid.). On an application to review the taxation, it is wise to have the briefs in Court {TUIett v. Stracei/, supra). As to the time at which costs should be incurred, the time appointed for the delivery of particulars is not analogous to notice of trial in an action. Before the particulars are delivered the respondent may reasonably incur costs in preparing the defence {Euyhes v. Mct/ricJ,; L.E. 5, C.P., 407 ; 39 L.J., C.P., 219. In that case the trial was appointed for At what time April 1. On March 22 an order for particulars was obtained, incurred. On March 23 and 27 briefs were delivered and witnesses sub- poenaed ; on March 29 notice of withdrawal of the petition was given. The master taxed the costs from £920 down to £63. He disallowed the subposnas and fees to counsel, and substantially the costs of drawing and copying briefs and all the expenses of preliminary inquiries. The Court decided that he was wrong, and sent the case back to him. The costs were then re-taxed at £700, including £288 for instructions for brief, £85 for drawing and copying briefs, and 100 guineas and 75 guineas on the briefs. In point of fact, £210 and £105 were paid on the briefs. As to the scale of fees to be allowed for witnesses, see Scale of fees TumhKi/ V. Ja>mn, 3 C.P.D., 264; 48 L.J., C.P., 384 ; *« ^^*°^««^^- 26W.R., 815; JIackki/ x. ChUlinrjivorth, 2 C.P.D., 273; 46 L.J., C.P., 484; 36 L.T., 514; 25 W.ll., 650; and M'Lam, V. Home, 7 Q.B.D., 477; 50 L.J., Q.B., 658.) With regard to the costs of the Public Prosecutor, whose representative must now attend the trial of every election peti- tion, s. 43,sub-s. 8, provides that in the first instance they shall be paid by the Treasury ; '' 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 cossts to be repaid t o the Commisaioner? 224 THE LAW RELATING TO PAStiAusiTTAfit of Her Majesty's Treasury by the parties to the petition, or such of them as the Court may direct." This power of ordering one of the parties to pay the costs of the Public Prosecutor is one which the Court has been very chary in exercising. In the Norwich Case (4 O'M. & H., 92) it was said it ought to be a strong case of misconduct to warrant an order being made. In the Kennington Case (4 O'M. & H. 95) it is to be assumed there was such a case, for there the order was made, Day, J., saying : " If this had been a well-grounded petition, I should have felt it unreasonable to put upon the petitioner these costs, but I think that it has been unfounded and that the public should be pro- tected. In Pascoe v. Puleston (54 L.T., n.s. 733), it was held that where a petition was withdrawn before trial there was no power to allow as against the parties the Public Prosecutor's preliminary costs, i.e., of inquiries made by them with a view to the hearing. Recovery of In regard to the recovery of costs, it is provided by s. 58 costs. Qf the Act of 1883: (1) "Where any costs or other sums (not being costs of a prosecution on indictment) are, under an order of an Election Court, or otherwise under this Act, to be paid by a county or borough, the Commissioners of Her Majesty's 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 Commis- sioners paid by them, and the Election Commissioners Expenses Acts, 1869 and 1871, 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." Payment of As regards the money (if any) deposited by the petitioner VuifiC 'urt ^ '^'^ Court, by way of security for costs and claims of witnesses. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 225 all claims to it will be adjudicated upon by the Court or a riKLiAMEirriKr judge. The person claiming to be entitled to it should give notice to the other side that he is about to apply for pay- ment out, and should so apply by judge's summons at chambers. The application must be supported by affidavits, proving that due notice of intention to apply has been given, and that all proper claims upon the fund have been satisfied or provided for. The judge, by his order, may direct payment either to the party in whose name the money was deposited, or to any person entitled to receive it. When the order has been made, drawn up and signed, it should be taken to the Clerk of the Lord Chief Justice of England, who will endorse on the order a draft on the Bank of England for the payment of the money. The bank will pay the amount on the presentation of the draft in the usual way. (Gen. Eules (Pari.), March, 1869). Sub-section II, — Municipal. The law relating to the taxation and awarding of costs ?^^^' similar incidental to municipal election petitions, is similar to that municipal relating to the same matter in parliamentary election peti- elections, tions. (See s. 98 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882.) Upon municipal petitions the costs are taxed on Ihe higher scale as between solicitor and client. (See s. 29 of the Act of 1884.) The taxing master generally has regard to the distance of the place of trial from Loudon and other circumstances. The scale, however, is less liberal than in in practice the case of parliamentary election petitions and in practice ^'^'^^'^ allowed is nearly assimilated to that in use in ordinary common law liberal, actions of an important class. By s. 29 of the Act of 1884 power is given to the Election Court upon a municipal elec- tion petition to saddle the borough or any person guilty of corrupt practices, with the costs of the petition or a part of them, just as is provided in reference to parliamentary petitions by s. 44 of the Act of 1883. It should be noted that under s. 29 of the Act of 1884 the power, upon proof 15 226 THE LAW RELATING TO MiNiciFAL. of the extensive prevalence of corrupt practices, is to throw No power to the costs upon the whole borough — not upon the guilty saddle guilty ward, ■ward with costs. S. 58 of the Act of 1888, iu regard to the payment Payment and and recovery of costs, is not re-enacted in the Act of costs.^^^ 1884, but, instead, it is provided by the latter Act, s. 32, " (1) Where any costs of a petition are, under an order of a Municipal Election Court, to be x)aid by a borough, such costs shall be paid out of the borough fund or borough rate. (2) AVhere 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 Treasury shall be a debt due to Her Majesty, and iu either case may be recovered accordingly." Expenses of rjij^g amount to be paid to any witness whose expenses ■witnesses to -^ . . *' . \ be certified, may be allowed by the commissioner trying the petition is to be ascertained and certified by the registrar, or if he becomes incapacitated by the commissioner. (li. 53 of the General Eules of April, 1883, under the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, Part 4.) The Court has power, " if for any reasonable cause it seems just," to order either of the parties to pay the costs of the Public Prosecutor attending the trial. (S. 28 (9).) CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 227 P A E T II. THE PUNISUMENT OF OFFENDEllS. The Acts of 1883 and 1884, with a view to the more PAKMAMENiiHr & Mtnicipal. enectual repression of offences against the election laws, — provide increased facilities for detecting offenders, a new machinery for their prosecution, and augmented penalties for their punishment. CHAPTER I. THEIR DETECTION AND PROSECUTION. One of the most efficacious means of unearthing corruption in a constituency has been found to bo the appointment of Election Commissioners, who visited the particular county or borough, and, armed with the largest powers, held an exhaustive inquiry on the spot. This procedure, however, is limited to the case of parliamentary elections and has no application as a means of detecting corrupt and illegal practices at a municipal election. Election Commissioners inquisitorial are appointed by the Crown under the 15th & 16th Vict., P^^^''." °^ conimiS" c. 57, and the 31st & 32nd Vict., c. 125, upon the joint sionera. address of both Houses of Parliament, representing that an Election Court has reported to the Speaker that corrupt practices have, or that there is reason to behevo that corrupt practices have, extensively prevailed at an election for the particular county or borough in question. Under the old statutes the Commissioners when appointed were restricted to an inquiry into the existence of corrupt practices only ; but now by s. 12 of the Act of 1883 they are directed to inquire into the prevalence of illegal practices as well as corrupt practices, and report to the House accordingly. 228 THE LAW RELATING TO Witneeses may be compelled to criminate themselves. parliamentaky Havinff regard to the fact that the Act of 1883 creates — ■ some fifteen or sixteen new oflences, which are called illegal practices, it is obvious that there is here a considerable ex- tension of the jurisdiction of the Commissioners. The latter have the largest powers of examining witnesses on oath, compelling their attendance, and the production of books and documents ; and witnesses examined before them aro not entitled to the common law right of refusing to answer questions which may tend to criminate them. They are bound to answer, though, if they answer truly, they become entitled to certificates of indemnity, which will protect thera against any criminal prosecution (except a prosecution for perjury). A Avitness's right to a certificate of indemnity is, however, entirely dependent upon his truly answering all the questions put to him, and the Commissioners are the sole judges whether or no he has done so. The Queen's Bench, upon an application for a mandamus, will not review the discretion of the Commissioners when they have refused a certificate on the ground that the witness has not given full and truthful answers. {B. v. Roll, 7 Q.B.D., 575 ; 50 L.J., Q.B., 45, throwing doubt upon B. v. Price, L.R. 6, Q.B. 41 1.) But even though a certificate has been granted, the persons who have received it may still be scheduled by the Commissioners as guilty of corrupt or illegal practices, as the case may be, and thereupon they come under the disabilities and incapacities to be presently mentioned. It is the duty of Election Commissioners to report the names of all persons who they are satisfied have been guilty of corrupt or illegal practices, and to state whether certificates of indemnity have been given to them. And by s. 60 of the Act of 1883, the reports of all Election Courts and of Election Commissioners shall be laid before the Attorney- General, " with a view to his instituting and directing a prosecution against such persons as have not received certifi- cates of indemnity, if the evidence shall, in his opinion, be sufficient to support a prosecution." But while there is this extension of the jurisdiction of Election Commissioners as to the c/r/w of qfoices into which CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 229 they may inquii-e, the Act of 1883 provides a remarkable ^^''^"^iciipIl^ limitation as to the time over which their inquii'ies may — range. By the 15th & 16th Vict., c. b7, the Commissioners were directed, if they found corrupt practices at the last ^^ amnesty election, to inquire if there were any at the election before, and if they found there were, they were to investigate the election before that, and so on ; but now, by s. 49 of the Act of 1883, it is provided : " Notwithstanding the provisions of the Act 15th & 16th Vict., c. 57, or any amendment thereof, in any case where after the passing of this Act any Commis- sioners have been appointed on a joint address of both Houses of Parliament for the purpose of making inquiry into the existence of corrupt practices at 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 Commissioners, 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 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." The extended jurisdiction of Election Commissioners is, The Director so far as parliamentary elections are concerned, one fresh pr^gecitione. means of detecting offences. Another, which is applicable alike to parliamentary and municipal elections, is the com- pulsory attendance at the trial of every election petition of a representative of the Director of Public Prosecutions. He attends there with two-fold functions. The one is, in proper His functions, cases, to prosecute offenders before the Election Court. Tho other is to protect the public interest and prevent, as the result of an arrangement between the parties or otherwise, any evidence being suppressed or withheld which may cast further light on the proceedings at the election under investigation. But, first, it should be observed that no election petition Withdrawal once presented can be withdrawn without the consent of °^ ^^^.1'.*:'°^' prohiDitea. 230 THE LAW RELATI^TI TO parliamxxtart the Court, and until the Director of Public Prosecutions has & MrNICIPAL. — been heard in opposition to its withdrawal. Very stringent conditions in regard to this matter are contained in s. 41 of the Act of 1883, and s. 26 of the Act of 1884. S. 43 of the Act of 1883, defines the duties of the Director of Public Prosecutions in aid of the detection of offences : " On every trial of an election petition the Director of Public Prosecutions shall by himself or by his assistant, or by such Attendance representative as hereinafter mentioned, attend at the trial, triS'orevery* ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^® *^® ^^^^ ^^ ^^°^ director to obey any direc- petition. tions given to him by the Election Court with respect to the summoning and examination of any witnesses 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 reporting him as guilty of any corrupt or illegal practice." And by sub-s. 2 : "It shall also be the duty of such director, with- out any direction from the Election Court, if it appears to He has power him that any person is able to give material evidence as to •witnesses. ^^^ 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." There are exactly similar provisions in the Act of 1884, with regard to the trial of a municipal election petition (s. 28). The hearing of an election peti- tion is, therefore, no longer a proceeding merely between the two parties, which can be brought to a conclusion when it suits their interest or convenience, but is a public investi- gation which can, to the extent of calling new witnesses and prosecuting offenders, be prolonged at the instance of the official attending in the public interest until either saoh dis- closures have been made as justify the Election Court in reporting that there is reason to beHeve that corrupt or illegal practices extensively prevailed, or until information to found criminal proceedings has been obtained or until the Court in the exercise of its summary powers has itself administered adequate punishment. But counsel for the Public Prosecutor has in general no right to cross-examine witnesses ; Sfepnei/ Ca>^c (4 O'M. & H., 37), CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 231 where Denman, J., said : " It would bo extremely inconve- ^"^u^'c^p^" nient and unfair to the parties by prolonging the inquiry, if the Public Prosecutor were allowed to interfere on his own mere motion with every witness. "We shall expect to have no application for leave to examine a witness made to us by the Public Prosecutor unless it is founded upon something substantial." And in the Buckrose Case (4 O'M. & H.), it was held that the Public Prosecutor was not entitled to address the Court upon the question whether a witness had been guilty of an illegal practice unless he was in a position to actually prosecute such witness before the Court. Coming next to the machinery for the prosecution of Private offenders, it must be observed that the right of a private Jtmpe"-*'"' prosecutor to institute proceedings is in no way interfered missible, with. Indeed ss. 10, 12 & 13 of the 17 & 18 Vict., c. 102— which in the case of private prosecutions for corrupt practices give the Court power : (1) when the prosecutor has duly entered into the recognizances mentioned in the s. 13 to order the defendant, if convicted, to pay him the costs and expenses to which he has been put, and which (2) direct that the defendant shall have his costs from the prosecutor when he is acquitted — are expressly extended to any private prosecution for the offence of a corrtcpt practice within the meaning of the new Acts (s. 53 of the Act of 1883, and s. 30 of the Act of 1884.) It LS, however, contemplated that, as a rule, prosecutions rrosecutiong will be instituted by the order of the Attorney-aeneral, or Sr of'^ ^'' by the Director of Public Prosecutions. S. 60 of the Act of (',') Attorney- 1883, which directs that all reports of Election Courts and '*'"''''"'' ' Election Commissioners shall be submitted to the Attorney- General, with a view to his directing prosecutions, has already been mentioned. The duties cast upon the Director or{h) Director as Director of Public Prosecutions are, however, more specific i.^secuHona and onerous. And first, by s. 45 of the Act of 1883 (made applicable to municipal elections by s. 30 of the Act of 1884), " When information is given to the Director of Public Prosecutions that any corrupt or illegal practices have prevailed in reference to ony election, it slinll be his duty, 232 THE LAW RELATING TO ^& Mu"'iciPAL^ s^M^ct to the regulations under the Prosecution of Offences — Act, 1879, to make such inquiries and institute such prosecutions as the circumstances of the case appear to him to require," and later sections provide that the costs and charges to which the Director of Public Prosecutions is put in connection with the prosecution of offenders against the election laws shall be provided in the same manner as the funds for the prosecution of felonies are provided. But he should not wait for information. He has to seek it, and as we have seen already, his duty is to attend in person, or by his deputy, every Election Court. He is bound to obey any instructions given him by the Election Court with respect to the prosecution by him of offenders (s. 43 of the Act of 1838, and s. 28 of the Act of 1844), and not only so but by sub-s. 3 of the same sections it is enacted in almost identical words " It shall also be the duty of the said Director, Director may without any direction from the Election Court, if it appears to before Elec- ^i^^ that any person who has not received a certificate of tion Court, 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 expedient in the interests of justice before any other competent Court." (See the Ijmcich Case, 4 O'M. & H. 7b). CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 233 CHAPTER II. THEIR PUNISHMENT. The tribunals which have jurisdiction to inquire into corrupt ^&^munic«al.^ and illegal practices, and to inflict penalties of a varying character upon offenders, are as follows : — 1. Election Commissioners, Courta .vhich may punish. 2. The Election Court. 3. A Court of Summary Jurisdiction. 4. The Court of Assize, or where the indictment is . removed by certiorari, the Central Criminal Court, or the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice ; and 5. The High Court of Justice or the County Court, in suits for penalties. It is proposed to consider what offences fall under the cognizance of each of these tribunals and the extent and kind of punishment which may be inflicted. Section I. — Election Commissionees. An Election Commission, which, as before explained, is PAia.iAMtxTir.T only issued to inquire into corrupt or illegal practices at a Pariiameniari/ election, is constituted of three members. The Commissioners must be barristers of at least seven years' standing, " not being members of Parliament, or holding any office or place of profit under the Crown, other than that of a recorder of any city or borough." (lO & 16 Yiet., 0. 57, s. 1.) Election Commissioners have no power to impose either The effect of fine or imprisonment upon any person who is shown to them commit- ^ to have committed an offence at an election. Their power is sioners. confined to reporting that he has been guilty of the particular 234 THE LAW RELATING TO PARLIiMENTAET The incapa- cities imposed by it. (1.) May not vote at any election. (2.) Nor hold office. (3.) Nor sit in House of Commons for seven years. (4.) Special severities against — (1.) Justices of the peace. (2.) Barristers and solicitors. corrupt or illegal practice in question, and then hy virtue of their report, certain disabilities attach, to him. S. 38 (5) of the Act of 1883, says : — "■ Every person who, after the commencement of this Act is reported by any Election Court, or Election Commissioners to have been guilty of any corrupt or illegal practice, shall, whether he obtain a certificate of in- demnity or not, be subject to the same incapacity as he would under the Act be subject to, if he had at the date of the report been convicted of the offence of which he is reported to have been guilty." This section at once raises the question —What are the incapacities imposed upon a person by a conviction of either a corrupt or an illegal practice ? First, in the case of corruj)t practices, by s. 6 (3) a person convicted on indictment of any corrupt practice is incapaci- tated for a period of seven years from [a.) 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. {h.) Holding any public or judicial ofl&ce, and if he holds any such office the office shall be vacated. {c.) Being elected to or of sitting in the House of Commons during the seven years next after his conviction : and if at that date he has been elected, his election shall be vacated from the time of such conviction. In addition to these incapacities, which result from the mere report of Election Commissioners, s. 38, sub-ss. 6, 7, 8 and 9, provide for other measures of severity against the particular classes of persons mentioned in them when they are reported for any corrupt practice. (1.) H the person re- ported is a justice of the peace, " whether he has obtained a certificate of indemnity or not," it is the duty of the Director of Public Prosecutions to report the case to the Lord Chan- cellor, with such evidence as may have been given of his guilt, and the Lord Chancellor, if ho thinks fit, may remove him from the bench. (2.) If the person reported is a barrister or a solicitor, or belongs to any profession the admission CORRUPT PRACTICES AT_ELECTrONS. 235 to which is regulated by law, " whether such person has PARi-iiiiENTiET obtained a certificate of indemnity or not," the Director of Public Prosecutions must bring the matter before the Inn of Court, High Court or tribunal having power to take cogni- zance 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." It would ("^-^ ^V^^ , ^ L r ^ submitted seem that the words " who belongs to any profession the also against admission to which is regulated by law," bring medical dentists' and practitioners (the 21 & 22 Yict., c. 56), dentists (the 41 & 42 clergymen. Vict., c. 33) and persons in the army, navy, and civil service, within the operation of the section. It is probable, also, that it applies to the case of clergymen of the Churches of England and of Scotland, the admission to whose respective professions is regulated by the ecclesiastical law. (3.) If Severities the person reported holds a license or certificate under the licensed Licensing Acts, and the particular corrupt practice for which Persons, he is reported is having " knowingly suffered any bribery or treating in reference to any election to take place upon his licensed premises," then, whether such person obtains a certificate of indemnity or not, it shall be the duty of the Director of Public Prosecutions to bring the report of the Commissioners before the licensing justices. The justices are bound to enter the report in the proper register of May lose their licenses, and they may, if they like, refuse to renew his '''^'-'"^'^^• license in consequence. Secondly, in the case of iUegal practices, the consequences which result from being reported by Election Commissioners are not so serious, though they are serious enough. Section 10 provides that " a person guilty of an illegal practice shall, on summary conviction, be liable to a fine not exceed- ing one hundred pounds, and be incapable during a po tod of Jive years from the date of his couvidion, 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 the Act), licld for or within the county or borough in which the illegal practice has been 23G THE LAW RELATING TO Paeliamestaet Effect of being reported for illegal practices. Person heard in his defence before reported. An appeal given. committed." Therefore, the effect upon a person of being echeduled for illegal practices is that for the nextjivc yean he is disqualified from being registered or voting — not generally, but in the county or borough in uhich he has ojf'ended. It has been said that all these incapacities result from the mere report of Election Commissioners or of the Election Court. They are in every case of a stringent, and in some cases of a ruinous character ; and, therefore, it is important to see what precautions are taken to prevent the great in- justice of the Commissioners reporting innocent persons. S. 38 (1) of the Act of 1883, so far as it is material to the action of Election Commissioners, provides — "Before any person is reported by Election Commissioners to have been guilty at an election of any corrupt or illegal practice . . . . the Commissioners . . . 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." In R. v. Mansel-Joncs (23 Q.B. Div. 29), the Court held that these words must be taken strictly, and that a person charged must make his defence in person, and cannot appear either by counsel or solicitor. The decision of the Commissioners is not final, for by sub-s. 2 of s. 38, every person reported by Election Conimis' sioners 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, that is, to the next assizes, in and for the county or place in which the offence is alleged to have been committed. The section contemplates the framing of rules to regulate the procedure incident to such appeals. But subject to such rules the sec- tion proceeds : Such appeal may be 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 jurisdiction, and the person so reported had been convicted by a court of summary jurisdiction for an offence CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 237 under this Act." Notice of the appeal, which must be in rARLUMEXTABY writing, is to be given to the Director of Public Prosecu- tions within a time to be directed by rules of court, and subject to such rules then within three days after the appeal is brought. There is a provision that if the trial of appeals under s. 38 appears to the Lord Chancellor to bo likely to interfere with the ordinary business of the assizes, ho may direct that they shall be heard by the judges on the rota for the trial of election petitions, and one of such judges shall then proceed to the place in which the offences are alleged to have been committed, and hear and determine the appeals. It is presumed that the appeals will be heard by a single Appsai judge without a jury, that counsel representing the Director of Com- of Public Prosecutions will support the report, and that the niissioners. appellant will appear in person, or by counsel. The appeal will be in the nature of a re-hearing, and the Court will decide whether the report of the Commissioners is to be affirmed, or varied, or disallowed. Section II. — The Election Coukt. Sub-Section I. — In the case of a Parliamentary Election, The Election Court consists of two judges of the Queen's Bench Division, selected from the rota of judges appointed every year to try election petitions. The primary object with which the Election Court sits, is to try a petition ; but what the in addition to this duty, it is now bound to report to the ^l^ot^^n CI 1 / \ 1 J 1 • Court must Speaker [a) whether any corrupt practice or illegal practice report to the has or has not been proved to have been committed by or ^i'^^'^^'^* with the knowledge and consent of any candidate at such election , and the nature of such corrupt or illegal practice • {h) the names of all persons, if any, who have been proved at the trial to have been guilty of any corrupt or illegal practice ; and (c) whether corrupt or illegal practices have or whether there is reason to believe, corrupt or jlleoal 238 THE LAW RELATING TO The effect of the report. (ff) When candidate guilty of corrupt practice. paeliamektiry practices have extensively prevailed at the election to which the petition relates. (S. 11 of the Act of 18813.) That is one duty cast upon the Election Court, in addition to the trial of the petition. Another duty is, subject to the important limitation on this jurisdiction to be presently stated, summarily to try all such persons as may be charged before it by the Director of Public Prosecutions with any corrupt or illegal practice committed at the election. The effect of the report of the Election Court must be con- sidered first, as it affects the candidate, and secondly, as it affects other persons. The incapacities imposed upon a candidate by the report differ materially, according as he is declared to have committed a corrupt practice personally, or by his agent, or an illegal practice personally or by his agent. These must be carefully distinguished. (A.) If the Election Court report that any corrupt practice (other than treating or undue influence) has been committed with reference to such election hy or icith the hnoivledge and comcnt of any candidate (whether the suc- cessful or the unsuccessful candidate at such election, or that the offence of treating or undue influence has been committed (^//any candidate, then such candidate, in addition to being unseated, is declared incapable {a) of ever sitting in the House of Commons for the said county or borough ; {li) of sitting in the House of Commons for ani/ comtituency for the next seven years ; {c) of being registered as an elector or voting at any election in the United Kingdom (whether a parliamentary election or any election for any public office) during a period of seven years ; {d) of holding any public or judicial ofiice for seven years ; and {e) if he happens to be a justice of the peace, or a licensed person, or belongs to any one of the professions mentioned in s. 38, his misconduct is ordered to be brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions under the cognizance of the Lord Chancellor, or the licensing justices, or any tribunal con- nected with his profession that takes notice of professional misconduct. (6) When m \ Q^ j-j^g other hand, the Election Court may merely candidate by ^ ' ' j j CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 239 report that a candidate has been guilty, by his ageiifs, of a rAKLUME.vTA.KY corrupt practice. In that case, in addition to losing his ^'«' «i'<«^ seat, if he has been elected, he is incapable for the next seven corrupt ^ears of sitting in the House of Commons for t/ie counti/ or practice. borough in ichich ilie offence urts committed. (C.) The third possible report which the Election Court (') Wheu may make, is that some illefjal pr((ctice has been committed guilty of hi/ or icith the knowledge and consent of the candidate, ^^'^sal^ In that case the candidate, besides losing his seat, if ho has been elected, is [a) incapacitated from sitting in the House of Commons for the county or borough in which the offence was committed for the next seven years ; and (Jj) is rendered incapable for the next five years of being registered as an elector, and voting at any election (whether a parliamentary election or an election to any public office) held for the county or borough in which the offence was committed. (D.) If, as the fourth alternative, the report is that the {d) "When candidate hy any agent has been guilty of an illegal practice, f^Vy by the seat is avoided if he fills it, and he is declared incapable ^gent of of being elected for the same place during the Parliament for ^n-actice. uhich the election was held. The Election Court also reports the names of all other ^^cct of •1 -11 1 • report 01 persons who have been guilty of corrupt or illegal practices. Election The disabilities which such report imposes upon those othTr persons persons are exactly the same as those imposed by the report of Election Commissioners. They have been set out in detail at page 234, and it is unnecessary to repeat them here. Before an Election Court reports any person as guilty of p^'^""^ to bo a corrupt or illegal practice, it is bound by s, 88 of the Act reported. of 1883, to cause notice to be given to such person, and if he appears in pursuance of such notice, ho sliull have an opportunity of being heard by himself, and of calliDg evidence in his defence to show why ho should not be reported. In the Ipswich Case (referrred to in the argument in M. V. Mansel-Jones, 23 Q.13. Div., 30), the Court allowed a 240 THE LAW RELATING TO rAELiAMENTAKY persoii cbaiged with bribery to appear by counsel ; but qucere, since the judgment of the Queen's Bench in B. v. Mansel- Jones (sKpm), whether that was right. In the latter case Lord Coleridge, C.J., said, " With great deference to the opinion of the judges who tried the Ipswich election petition, I doubt whether there is any reason for construing the words ' by himself,' occurring in the Act of 1883, with any greater laxity than I construe them in the Act of 1884. The Act of 1883 expressly gives a person reported by Election Com- missioners a right of appeal to the next Court of oyer and terminer or gaol delivery held for the county or place in which the oflfence is alleged to have been committed. Where summary proceedings are taken, the person accused may appear in any way he pleases. It seems to me toler- ably clear that, in the case of parliamentary election petitions, the proceedings before the Commissioners is merely initiatory to doing something further, and that the Legislature meant in the Act of 1883 what it has said, namely, that the person accused, and the person accused only, shall be heard on such a proceeding. Parliament must be taken to have had in view the extreme incon- venience, in the initiatory process of determining whether three or four hundred people should be sch eduled, of hearing counsel or solicitor for each person." Power of The other jurisdiction which the Election Court has, is the Election j-]^q summary trial of persons charged with corrupt or illegal offenders. practices. (S. 43,(4).) The Director of Public Prosecutions, or his representative, has a discretion whether a person charged with corrupt or illegal practices shall be tried before the Election Court, or by some other competent Court. And the Election Court itself has a discretion whether it will deal with the case summarily, or commit the accused for trial. Where illegal practices, illegal hii'iugs, employ- ments or payments merely are charged, the defendant has no right of trial by jur}^ and if the prosecution elects to proceed before the Election Court, and the latter determines to hear the ease he has no means of preventing its being disposed of summarily. Ou the other hand where the CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 241 charge is one of corrupt practices he is entitled to a trial PAEtiAMiKT^Br by a jury, and if he insists upon his right the Court can only commit him for trial. (S. 43 (4).) In determining whether he will prefer a charge of corrupt practices before an Election Court, the Director of Public Prosecutions will take this right of the defendant into consideration, and also bear in mind that in the event of the defendant consenting to the case proceeding and a conviction following, the Election Court cannot impose so heavy a sentence as the Court upon the trial of an indictment or information. If, however, the charge is preferred before the Election Application Court, " the Summary Jurisdiction Acts shall, so far as is Jurisdiction consistent with the tenor thereof, apply to the prosecution ■^^*^* of an offence summarily before an Election Court in like manner as if it were an offence punishable only on summary conviction, and accordingly the attendance of any person may be enforced, the case heard and determined, and any summary conviction 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 " (s. 55 of the Act of 1883). The effect of this is that the procedure on the trial of an offence before the Election Court is assimilated to the procedure in petty sessions. The accused is present, and is entitled to call, examine, or cross-examine witnesses either by himself or his counsel or solicitor, and to address the Court by him- self or by his counsel or solicitor. There is no jury upon a trial before an Election Court. The Court is the judge of the law and facts, and if it finds the charge proven it will proceed to pass sentence. Its powers, however, in this respect are strictly limited. Upon conviction for a corrupt, jjrartire it may impose a Punishments sentence of fine or imprisonment — the fine not to exceed \7, *^? r>oAA J iT • • Election i^UO, and tlie imprisonment not to be for a longer term Court. than six months, with or without hard labour. There is no power to imprison for an //legal practice, but a fine of £100 may be inflicted. In addition, the effect of the conviction 16 242 THE LAW RELATING TO Saddling guilty con- stituency or individual with C08t3, fakha.mentj.rt is to impose upon the persou convicted all those incapacities and disabilities which result from the report of Election Commissioners, which have already been slated. The Election Court, as well as the High Court, has power under s. 34 (2) to impose a fine not exceeding £500 upon any election agent who makes default in complying with an order directing him to deliver a statement of the particulars required to be contained in the returns and declarations of election expenses, or otherwise to do his duty in regard to the return of expenses. Another punitive jurisdiction vested in the Election Court consists in its power of saddling a constituency or an individual, other than the parties to the petition, with the costs occasioned by it. S. 44 (1) enacts that when it appears to the Court that no corrupt practice has been committed by or with the knowledge and consent of the respondent to the petition, and that he took reasonable means to prevent corrupt practices being committed on his behalf, and if it further appears that corrupt practices exten- sively prevailed in reference to the election, the Court may order the whole or part of the costs to be paid by the county or borough, or if it appears that any person or persons extensively engaged in or encouraged corrupt practices, the Court may order such person or pei'sons to pay the whole or part of the costs. By sub-s. 2 of the same section, if it appears that any person has been guilty of the offence of a corrujyt or illcyal practice, the Court may order " the whole or any part of the costs of or incidental to any proceedings before the Court in relation to the said offence, or to the said person, to be paid by the said person," Before any order is made under the last sub-s., the person against whom the order is made must have an opportunity of making a statement ; but before an order is made under the 1st sub-s. the Court must '* give the inculpated person " an opportunity of being heard by counsel or solicitor, and examining and cross-examining witnesses, to show cause why the order should not be made." (S. 44 (1).) The Election j3^f though the Election Court has absolute jurisdiction Court may ° CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 24:-i to summarily try any person charged with illegal practices PAKMiMENriST and a qualified jurisdiction to try persons charged with commit for corrupt practices, we have already stated it is not bound to summarily determine any case brought before it. It may direct that the accused shall be prosecuted on indictment, or before a court of summary jurisdiction, and it may commit him for trial. Accordingly (s. 43, sub-s. 5), in such a case, the Court makes an order, naming the tribunal before which the accused is to be tried ; and steps must forthwith be taken to bring him before such tribunal. If the offence is an indictable one, and the accused is present before the Election Court, the latter may at once commit him into custody to await his trial, or hold him to bail. If it is only an offence punishable on summary conviction, the Court may hold him to bail, or order him to be taken before the Court of Summary Jurisdiction before which he is to be tried. On the other hand, if the accused is not present, the Election Court may issue a warrant for his apprehension, or, in its discretion, a summons directing him to appear before a Court of Summary Jurisdiction. Sub-section II. — In the Case of a Municipal Election, The Election Court consists of a Commissioner selected Mr.vrcipiL. from the rota of barristers appointed by the Election Judges to try municipal election petitions, sitting without a jury. Election (S. 86 of the Act of 1884.) He must be of fifteen years' ^""^Hut'el standing at the Bar, and must not be a member of the House of Commons, or hold any office or place of profit under the Crown other than that of recorder. Further, he is incapable of constituting an Election Court in any borough of which he is recorder, or in which he resides, or which is included in the circuit upon which he practises. (S. 92 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882.) The primary object with which the Municipal Election Duties of the Court sits is to determine the validity of the election ; but, ^'°"^*- in addition, it is bound to report to the High Court all those particulars with regard to the existence of corrupt and 244 THE LAW RELATING TO MuiriciPAL. illegal practices at the election in question, their nature, and the persons guilty of them, which a Court for the trial of a parliamentary petition must report to the Speaker of the House of Commons, and in the next place, it has the same power of trying persons charged with corrupt and illegal practices and offences against the election laws. Efiectof The effect of the report of the election Court differs Court. ^ ^ according to the position of the person reported, and the offence for which he is reported. (A.) If the Election Court reports that any corrupt practice (other than treating or undue influence) has been committed with reference to such election by or with the knowledge and consent of any candidate, or that the offence of treating or undue influence has been proved to have been committed in reference to such election by any candidate at such election, then such candidate is declared (1) incapable of ever holding a corporate office in the said borough, and (2) he becomes subject to the same incapacities as if at the date of the report he had been convicted of a corrupt practice. (S. 3 (1) of Act of 1884.) By s. 2 (2) of the same Act " a person who commits any corrupt practice in reference to a municipal election shall be guilty of the like offence, and shall, on conviction, be liable to the like punishment, and suhjcet to ihe like incapacities, as if the corrupt practice had been com- mitted in reference to a parliamentary election." The effect of this section is to impose upon a candidate at a municipal election as the result of the report of an Election Court all the incapacities and disabilities set out. (B.) If the report of the Court is that the candidate Ijy his agent has been guilty of a corrupt practice, in addition to losing his seat, if he has been elected, he becomes incapable of being elected to or holding any corporate office in the said borough for three years. (S. 3 (2) of the Act of 1884.) (C.) If the report of the Court is that the candidate has himself been guilty of any illegal practice at the election, he becomes (1) incapable of being elected to or holding any corporate office in the said borough during the period for which he was elected to serve, or for which, if elected, he CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 245 might have served, and (2) incapable during a period of five MBiricn-ir,. years 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 the Act) held for or within the borough in which the illegal practice was committed. (Ss. 8 (2) and 7 of the Act of 1884.) (D.) If the report is that the candidate by any agent has Effect of been guilty of any illegal practice, he becomes incapable of Court, being elected to or holding any corporate office in the said borough, during the period for which he was elected to serve, or for which, if elected, he might have served. (E.) If, finally, the report is that illegal practices, or the offences of illegal payment, employment, or hiring have so extensively prevailed that they may be reasonably supposed to have afi'ected the result of the election, he becomes in- capable of being elected to or holding any corporate office in the said borough during the period for which he was elected to serve, or for which, if elected, he might have served. (S. 18 of the Act of 1884.) The Election Court also reports the names of all persons other than the candidates guilty of corrupt or illegal practices, and by virtue of such report they come under the incapacities mentioned already. But before any person is reported he is entitled to an opportunity of being heard and of calling witnesses in his defence — (S. 23 of the Act of 1884, and s. 38 of the Act of 1883) ; though in Precce v. Harding (24 Q.B. Div., 110 ; 59 L.J., Q.B., 82) it was held that where, after the trial of a petition, the commissioner has reported persons as guilty of corrupt practices the Queen's Bench has no power to set aside or amend his report on the ground that the notices provided by the Act had not been given to the person so reported. And generally it must be taken that there is no appeal to the Queen's Bench from the Commissioner except upon any point of law which he may in his discretion state for the opinion of the Court. {Ex.p. Ai/res, 54 L.T., n.s., 296.) The jurisdiction of a Municipal Election Court to sum- Jurisdiction marily try persons charged before it with corrupt and °^ *^° ^°'^' 246 THE LAW RELATING TO McMciPAL. illegal practices at the election iiuJer inquiry, and the punishments which may be imposed, are exactly the same as in the case of a Parliamentary Election Court. The Director of Public Prosecutions or his representative attends the Court, and it is in his discretion whether to proceed against offenders forthwith or upon indictment. The Court :,^ has to exercise a further discretion as to whether it will summarily dispose of each or any of the cases or commit for trial, and where a corrupt practice is charged the accused is entitled to a trial by jury. (S. 28 of the Act of 1884. And see E. v. S//cI/ard, 23 Q.B. Div. 273, where it was held that the Commissioner before committing or issuing a summons was not required to hear all the evidence relating to the particular offender over again.) A Commissioner may commit to the Assizes of an adjoin- ing county, and his order is sufficient without describing the particular corrupt practice. (E. v. Ei/et/, 59 L.J., M.C. 122.) Generally with regard to the summary trial, punishment, commitment for trial or apprehension of offenders, the powers of a Municipal Election Court are, by the Act of 1884, assimilated to those of a Parliamentary Election Court, and by s. 29 of that Act, following s. 44 of the Act of 1883, the Court can order the borough, or individuals, other than the parties to petition, to pay the costs of the petition, or some part thereof. Section III. — The Court of Summary Jurisdiction. pabi.iamfntaet a Court of Summary Jurisdiction within the meanins: of i MUlflClPAI — ' the Acts of 1883 and 1884 is constituted of any two justices of the peace sitting in Petty Sessions, or in the Metropolitan district, or in districts to which stipendiary magistrates have Powers of been appointed, of a stipendiary magistrate. Its functions Kummary ^^ regard to offences against the election laws are twofold, Jurisdiction, viz., to commit accused persons to take their trial where the offence is an indictable one, or, where it is an offence punishable on summary conviction, to hear and dispose of it. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 247 With ref^ard to indictable offences, where the Election PAEMAM£.vr4.EY " ' _ ^ & MOXICIPAL. Court has issued its warrant or summons directing the — accused to be taken before a Court of Summary Jurisdiction, the proceedings before the latter are purely formal. " That Court {i.e., Court of Summary Jurisdiction), if the offence is To commit 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 *' (S. 43, sub-s. 6 (c), of the Act of 1883, and s. 28, 8ub-s. 6 (c), of the Act of 1884 ; R. v. SheUard, 23 Q.B. Div. 273.) In other cases, where an indictable offence is charged against any person, and he is brought before a Court of Summary Jurisdiction in order that he may be committed for trial, it is presumed the procedure will be the same as in the common case of a charge made of an indictable offence before justices in petty sessions, with a view to the com- mitment of the prisoner. A summons or warrant will be issued by the justices in the first instance, the depositions of witnesses will be taken and signed, the prisoner by himself, his counsel or solicitor, will have the usual facilities for cross-examining, calling evidence, and addressing the Court, and if the justices are of opinion that there is a prinid facie case, they will commit him for trial, either remanding him into custody or admitting him to bail. The Acts of 1883 and 1884, however, contemplate that a Court of Summary Jurisdiction will itself hear and finally dispose of a considerable number of the offences created by them. Before we mention the classes of offences over which this Court has complete jurisdiction, it should be observed Timo within that all charges under any of the Corrupt Practices Pre- "^'^^"■^ P'"^" ° '^ ^ ^ _ c(!ed.ings must vention Acts must be made within a certain limit of time, be taken. If that time is allowed to go by and no prosecution instituted, it is too late after that to prefer a charge ; end this rule applies as much to any proceeding on indictment as to a summary proceeding before the Election Court or Justices. The limitation of time is given in s. 51 of the Act of 1883 (incorporated into the Act of 1884 by s. 30 of the latter). It enacts " A proceeding against a person in respect 248 THE LAW RELATING TO paeltimentart of the offence of a corrupt or illegal practice or any other — offence, under the Corrupt Practices Prevention 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 respect to which an inquiry is held by election commissioners it shall be commenced within one year after the offence was committed, or ivitkin three months after the report of such commissioners is made, whichever last happens, so that it shall be commenced icithin tico years after the offence ivas committed." The issue of a summons, warrant, writ, or other process, shall be deemed to be the commencement of a proceeding within the meaning of the above section, where service or execution of the same on or against the alleged offender is prevented by his absconding or concealing himself, or by any other act on his part, and in other cases the service of the writ, &c., is the commencement of the proceedings. OflFences with The offences at parliamentary or municipal elections with which Court which a Court of Summary Jurisdiction must deal, are : — of Summary t a ^^ ii -I'li Juriediotion I. All illegal practices, whether committed by the nTlileffal candidate, his election agent, or any other person. There practices. is no power of imprisonment upon conviction of any illegal practice, but a fine not exceeding £100 can be imposed, and there results from the fact of conviction, or from the fact of being reported by an Election Court or Election Commis- sioners, an incapacity to be registered as an elector, or of voting for the next five years in the county or borough in which the offence was committed. (S. 10 of the Act of 1883, and s. 7 of the Act of 1884.) (2.) Illegal II. All illegal payments, hirings and employments, payments, &c. fhese offences, it has already been explained, become illegal practices when committed by the candidate or his election agent, and they must be dealt with by the Court accordingly ; but committed by other persons they are something less than illegal practices, and subject those guilty of them to a somewhat less punishment. There is no power of imprison- ment, but a fine of £100 may be imposed. (S. 21 (1) of the Act of 1883, and s. 17 of the Act of 1884.) No CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 249 incapacity, however, results from conviction of an illegal ^^^^l^l'^^^l^^l^ payment, hiring or employment. III. By 8. 18 of the Act of 1883, and s. 14 of the Act of (3.) Publish- . . ■, -. 1 , I'll! 1 i. ini? billa, (See, 1884, it IS provided that every bill, placard or poster ^it^out issued in reference to the election shall bear upon the face printer's 1 T 1 name. thereof the name and address of the printer and publisher thereof. If a candidate, or his election agent, is guilty of a breach of this enactment he commits an illegal practice. Any other person infringing it is not guilty of an illegal practice, nor does the offence which he commits receive any particular denomination, but he *' shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100." (See Bettesworth V. Allingham, 16 Q.B. Div., 44.) In order to get rid as much as possible of technical objection to the form of the charge, and to the necessary evidence of the holding of the election at which the offence was committed, it is provided by s. 53 (3) of the Act of Rules as to 1883 (applied to municipal elections by s. 30 of the Act of Procedure. 1884) that it shall be sufficient to allege that the person charged was guilty of an illegal practice, payment, employ- ment or hiring, 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 sufficient evidence of the facts therein stated. The accused or the husband or wife of such person, may give evidence in the case. (S. 53 (2).) xlnd there is a provision that if, upon hearing the evidence, the Court is satisfied that, though an illegal practice merely is charged, in fact a corrupt practice has been committed, the accused may still be convicted of the former ; and so where an illegal payment, hiring or employment is charged, and a corrupt or illegal practice is proved, there may still be a conviction for the offence charged. Before a Court of Summary Jurisdiction the defendant Appeal to has, of course, no right to a trial by jury. If, however, a sessions, person is convicted, a right of appeal to Quarter Sessions is given him. " A person aggrieved by a conviction by a 250 THE LAW KELATIXG TO ^& MrlficfpAL^ ^'^^^^ ^^ Summary Jurisdiction for an offence under this Act may appeal to Quarter Sessions against such conviction." (S. 54 (2) of the Act of 1888, and s. 30 of the Act of 1884.) Where the summary conviction has been made in a city or borough which has an independent Court of Quarter Sessions, the appeal will go there and be heard by the recorder ; when it is made anywhere else it will go to the County Quarter Sessions. It is presumed that the procedure as to the time within which the appeal must be brought, the notices to be given and so forth, will be the same as in the case of an ordinary appeal to sessions from a summary conviction. The appeal will be in the nature of a re-hearing, and the Quarter Sessions will have power to quash the conviction or affirm or vary it. There is no appeal beyond the Quarter Sessions, but the latter has power, in the exercise of its discretion, when any difficult question of law arises, to state a case for the opinion of the Queen's Bench Division. Section IV. — The Court of Assize. Where All oftences whatever committed at a parliamentary or offences tried liiunicipal election, punishable by indictment, will, in the ordinary course, be tried at the next Assizes for the county in which they were committed (but see M. v. Riley, 59, L.J., M.C., 112, as to the power to order a prosecution elsewhere) unless the Election Court deals with them summarily, or unless, in the ease of misdemeanours, the Attorney-General files an information in the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice. The Quarter Sessions has no juris- diction at all in regard to indicfahJe oflFences. There is, Tennemay however, power of changing the venue and removing the be changed. ^^-^^^ either to the Central Criminal Court, or, when a special jury is ordered, into the Queen's Bench Division. (S. 50 of the Act of 1883.) The limitation with regard to the time within -which CORKUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 251 procecdiugs must be taken, the provisions as to the form of ^^^^^^^^^m^ the charge, the proof of the holding of the election, and the — right of a defendant, or his wife or her husband to give evidence, apply to a trial on indictment or on information as much as to trial before a Court of Summary Jurisdiction, and it is also provided that if, on an indictment for a corrupt practice, it is proved that an illegal practice only was committed, the defendant shall be acquitted of the former, but may be convicted of the latter. (S. 52 of the Act of 1883.) In IL V. SfrouJgcr (17 Q.B. Div. 327 ; 53 L. J., M.C., 137) upon an indictment for corrupt practices, it was held necessary to specify the particular corrupt practice with which the accused was charged. All corrupt practices within the meaning of the Acts of AH corrupt 1883 and 1884, are indictable offences. The punishment f^dicteble. is the same in the case of parliamentary and municipal elections, though it varies with reference to the offence charged. I. Any candidate or his election agent who makes a false False declaration as to the election expenses is by s. 33 of the Act ^^^ ^°°^ of 1883 and s. 21 of the Act of 1884, declared guilty of a corrupt practice, and upon indictment, is liable to the same penalty as if he were convicted of in'lful and corrupt perjury- The maximum penalty for perjury is t^oven years' penal servitude. Therefore, the Court lias power to sentence a candidate or his election agent, who knowingly makes a false declaration, to such a term of penal servitude. II. " A person who commits the offence of personation or rersonatiou. of aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring the commission of that offence, shall bo guilty of felony, and any person convicted thereof, on indictment, shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, together u-ith hard labour:' (S. 6 (2) of the Act of 1883 and 2 (2) of the Act of 1884.) The Court has no power to impose a fine for this offence. Upon conviction the punishment is imprisonment, and such imprisonment must be accompanied by hard labour. III. *' A person who commits any corrupt practice other Bribery, 252 THE LAW RELATING TO & MlTNICIPAL. treating and undue influence. Corrupt withdrawal of petitions. ^A^MnKToTJ"^ ^^^^ personation, or aiding, abetting, counselling or pro- euring the commission of the offence of personation, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and on conviction, or indict- ment, 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 £200." (S. 6 (1) of the Act of 1883 and s. 2 (2) of the Act of 1884.) The corrupt practices which come under this sub-section are bribery, treating and undue influence. It will be observed, that the penalty is appre- ciably less stringent than in the case of the other corrupt practices, viz., personation and a false declaration. There is a power to impose a fine instead of imprisonment, and where imprisonment is inflicted it is in the discretion of the Court whether it shall be with or without hard labour. IV. By s. 41 (4) of the Act of 1880 and s. 26 (4) of the Act of 1884, if any person makes any agreement or terms, or enters into any undertaking in relation to the withdrawal of an election petition and such agreement, terms or under- taking is, or are, for the withdrawal of an 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, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour and shall be liable on conviction on indict- ment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months and to a fine not exceeding £200. V. By the 30 & 31 Vict., c. 102, s. 50, "No returning ofiicer for any borough or county, nor his deputy nor any partner or clerk of either of them, shall act as agent for any candidate in the management or conduct of his election as a member to serve in Parliament for such county or borough; and if any returning officer, his deputy, the partner or clerk of either of them, shall so act, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour,"and as a misdemeanant he will be liable upon indictment to fine or imprisonment. It should be added, that in addition to suffering a term of imprisonment or a fine, any person convicted of a corrupt practice comes under all the incapacities and disabilities, which CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 253 have been already set out, and it may be repeated here, that ^^^^^^^^i^^^J though a person who has obtained a certificate of indemnity may not be proceeded against criminally in any court in respect of any corrupt or illegal practice, he is still liable to all the disabilities mentioned. There is no appeal against a conviction upon indictment No appeal tried at the Assizes or the Central Criminal Court, though miction oii the judge may reserve any question of law for the opinion indictment, of the Court for Crown Cases Beserved. On the other hand, if the case has been tried in the Queen's Bench Division, and the offence charged is only a niisdcmecutour, a new trial may be granted on the ground of misdirection, or improper admission, or rejection of evidence, or verdict against the weight of evidence, or, indeed, on any of the grounds upon which in a civil cause a new trial can be obtained. (See Arehbold's Criminal Evidence and Pleading.) In the common case, however, of a trial at the Assizes or the Central Criminal Court, the verdict of the jury is final, and, should the innocence of a person convicted be afterwards established, the only appeal is to the clemency of the Crown which may pardon the offence and remit any portion of the punishment still to be endured. AVith respect, however, to the incapacities which are nominally no part of the punishment of the offence, but result from the fact of the conviction, a person may apply to the High Court to have them removed. S. 46 of the Act of 1883 is as follows : — " Where a person has procedure either before or after the commencement of this Act ?o'"^^'*'^F^?^°^ become subject to any incapacity under the Corrupt Prac- tices Prevention Acts or this Act, by reason of a conviction or of a report of any election court or election commis- sioners, and any witness who gave evidence against such incapacitated person upon the proceeding for such convic- tion or report is convicted 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 tliat such incapacity shall thenceforth 254 THE LAW RELATING TO Paeliamehtaet ceaSG & MnNICIPAL. 30 Ex -officio information. S. aDd the same shall cease accordingly." (See also of the Act of 1884.) This section contemplates an independent application to the High Court by any person under incapacity who desires to be relieved from it. A condition precedent to such application is the conviction for perjury of the person who gave evidence against him in respect of the evidence he so gave, and the Court, if satisfied that the conviction of the applicant or the report against him was based upon such perjured testimony, " may order that such incapacity shall thenceforth cease and the same shall cease accordingly." It has been mentioned that instead of a proceeding by indictment the Attorney-General may file an information against any person accused of an indictable misdemeanour against the election laws, and then the trial may be had either in London or the information may be sent down to the assizes for trial. In all material regards the procedure on the trial of an information is the same as on the trial of an indictment. (For the law and practice with reference to ex officio informations see ArcJihohVn Criniiiui/ Evidence and Pleadings, 19th ed., p. 116.) Section V. — Civil Suit for Penalties. Pecuniary penulties. 408. for ghiug cockades. Under the old Acts directed against electoral corruption a common mode of punishing offenders was by exposing them to actions for penalties at the instance of any persons who chose to bring them. In practice it was found that this was a weak deterrent, and, in consequence, most of the enactments which gave suits for penalties have been repealed and more stringent punishments substituted. In a few cases, however, the liability to pecuniary penalties is still preserved. 1. By s. 7 of the Act of 18-34, applicable to Parliamentary elections only, it is provided, " No candidate before, during cr after any election shall in regard to such election, by CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 255 himself or his agent, directly or indirectly, give or provide ^'-^^'■^^^^^^I'^l'^ to or for any person having; a vote at such election, or to or — for any inhabitcnit of the county, city, borough, or place for which such election is held, any cockade, ribhon, or other mark of distinction ; and every person so giving or pro- viding shall for every such offence forfeit the sum of two pounds to such person as shall sue for the same, together icith full costs of suit." It will be remembered that by s. 16 (1) of the Act of 188'J, any payment or contract for payment made on account of, among other things, " banners, cockades, ribbons or other marks of distinction," is declared an illegal payment, imperilling the seat when committed by a candi- date or his election agent. S. 7 of the Act of 1854 strikes at the mere giving oi cockades to voters or inhabitants of the constituency in question, and though the seat is not affected by any violation of this enactment, any candidate or agent of a candidate who, at a Parliamentary election, gives a bit of ribbon or a cockade exposes himself to an action to recover the penalty of two pounds given by the statute. 2. Another case in which a person may be sued for an £ioo a day infringing of the election laws is under s. 33 (5) of the Act Commons^ '" of 1883, which provides that if the return and declaration of before election expenses for a county or borough required by the returned. Act are not transmitted within the time limited for that purpose, the candidate shall not sit or vote in the House of Commons as member for such county or borough "until either such return and declaration 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 icldch he so sits or rotes to any person iJio sues for the same." 3. The Act of 1884 contains a similar provision with reference to the failure to transmit the return and declara- tion of expenses in the case of a municipal election : but under this Act the penalty is only £50 a day, though it may be recovered by any person who sues for it. 2oG THE LAW RELATING TO £100 when returning officer guilty of misconduct £100 when registration officer guilty PxEMAMEKTAET 4. S. 61 (1) of ths Act of 1883 is as follows: " S. 11 of — the Ballot Act, 1872, shall apply to a returning officer or presiding officer or clerk who is guilty of any wilful misfea- sance or wilful act or omission in contravention of this Act in like manner as if the same were in contravention of the Ballot Act of 1872." A reference to s. 11 of the Ballot Act shows that if any returning officer, presiding officer, or clerk is guilty of any wilful misfeasance, wilful act or omission, he forfeits to the perso)i aggrieved a mm not exceed- ing one hundred pounds. 5. S. 61 (2) of the Act of 1883 provides that s. 97 of the Registration Act, 1843, shall apply to every registration of misconduct officer who is guilty of any wilful misfeasance or any wilful act of commission or omission contrary to this Act in the same manner as if the same were contrary to the Act of 1843. The section in question of the Act of 1843 exposes the persons mentioned in it (viz., every sheriff, under-sheriff, clerk of the peace, town clerk, secondary, returning officer, clerk of the crown, postmaster, overseer or other person or public officer required by tlie Act to do any matter or thing) to a penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds, to be re- covered by any person aggrieved, when it is proved that any one of such persons has been guilty of a wilful act of commission or omission contray to this Act. 6. S. 24 of the Act of 1884 directs the town clerk of every municipal borough to make out a list of persons who, though otherwise entitled to be on the burgess roll, have become incapacitated by reason of being convicted or scheduled for some corrupt or illegal practice, and the parish overseers are commanded to publish this list. The last sub-section then provides : " Any town clerk or overseer who fails to comply with the provisions of this section shall be liable to the like fine as he is liable to under s. 75 of the Municipal Corpora- tions Act, 1882, for any neglect or refusal in relation to a parish burgess list as therein mentioned." The fine given by the section named does not exceed £50, and a moiety of it, after payment of the costs of the action, is to be paid to the plaintiff. The action must be brought within three Publication of persona convicted on burgess roll. CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS, 257 months of the occurrinsr of the cause of action. (S. 75 of paelusiextaey " ^ & Municipal. the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882.) — Actions brought under any of these Acts must be com- menced by writ in the Queen's Bench Division, where the penalty claimed exceeds £50, but where a penalty of £50 or less is sought to be recovered, it is apprehended they may also be brought by plaint in the County Court. [Hargreaves V. Simpson, 4 Q.B. Div., 403), and they will proceed in the way in which actions of contract or tort ordinarily proceed, down to and including judgment and execution. 17 258 THE LAW RELATING TO PAKT III. THE APPLICATION OF THE ACT OF 1884 TO CERTAIN OTHER ELECTIONS IN ENGLAND AND WALES. CHAPTEE I. ELECTIONS OF MAYOR, ALDERMAN, ELECTIVE AUDITOR OR REVISING ASSESSOR IN ANY BOROUGH. Municipal. Application of Act of 1884. No election expenditure allowed. Consequential inapplica- bility of cer- tain sections. The Act of 1884 applies to elections to the ofiSce of mayor, alderman, elective auditor, or revising assessor in any borough (s. 34 of the Act of 1884). But the different modes in which these officers and town councillors are elected (as to which see Part III. of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882), and other reasons, render certain modifications in the application of the Act necessary. The law allows certain expenditure at an election of a councillor, but " no sum shall be paid and no expense shall be incurred by or on behalf of a candidate at an election " to the office of mayor, alderman, elective auditor, or revising assessor, " whether before, during or after an election on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of Buch election" (s. 5 of the Act of 1884). No candidate at any such election may incur any election expense at all, and if he do, he will commit an illegal practice, which, on petition (s. 8), will avoid his election. The incurring of any election expense by any agent of the candidate would equally avoid the election, subject, of course, to the possi- bility of relief under ss. 19 and 20 of the Act of 1884. It follows from what has been said that in the elections under consideration the provisions of the Act of 1884 relating to the time for sending in and paying claims, and those which relate to the maximum amount of election expenses or the CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 259 return or declaration respecting election expenses have no mdniupit-. application. As an election to the office of mayor or alderman is made by the members of the town council assembled together and voting otherwise than by ballot papers, the provisions of the Act of 1884, the Ballot Act, 1872, and the Municipal Cor- porations Act, 1882, relating to personation, polling agents, and disclosure of votes cannot apply to such an election. An election to the office of mayor, alderman, elective Petitions auditor or revising assessor can only be questioned by an a.?ainst return election petition, when the objection to the election is — (a) That the election was avoided by general bribery, treating, undue influence or personation ; or (bj That the election was avoided by corrupt practices ; or (cj That the election was avoided by any illegal practice, or by the general prevalence of illegal practices ; or (d) That the person whose election is questioned was at the time of election disqualified ; or (ej That he was not duly elected by a majority of lawful votes. (Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, s. 87 ; the Act of 1884, s. 8, and Summers v. Moorhouse, 9 Q.B. Div., 388). In other cases, Quo Warranto will still be the remedy. Qxo Warranto 260 THE LAW RELATING TO CHAPTER 11. ELECTIONS OF MEMBERS OF LOCAL BOARDS, IMPROVE- MENT COMMISSIONERS, GUARDIANS, MEMBERS OF SCHOOL BOARDS AND MEMBERS OF COUNTY COUNCILS. Section I. — Local Board and Improvement Commis- sioners Elections. Municipal. Local Boards and Improvement Commissioners are elected How elections in their respective districts by the resident ratepayers and the registered owners of property. The voting is by means of voting papers, which are delivered at the place of residence of the voter and collected within the ensuing two or three days. The voter is required to place his initials opposite the names of the persons for whom he votes and to sign the paper. After the papers have been collected the votes are counted by the returning officer in the presence of the candidates, if they choose to attend, and the result is declared. Prior to the Act of 1884 the only way in which the validity of the return could on any ground be impeached was by a quo u-arranto proceeding in the Queen's Bench ; but that remedy was costly, dilatory and altogether in- adequate. How electiong Now the election may be questioned by election petition ' filed within the same time and subject to the same conditions as to signature of the petition and security for costs and so forth as in the case of a municipal election petition, and the proceedings subsequently had upon the petition up to and including trial are exactly the same in both cases. (S. 36 (1) and the first schedule of the Act of 1884.) Ani on what The grounds upon which an election to a Local Board or groun s. ^ Board of Improvement Commissioners can be challenged are largely, though not entirely, the same as those upon CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 261 which a municipal election can be upset. Thus in both cases muxicipal. an election will be invalidated where any act of bribery, treating, undue influence or personation is brought home to On what the respondent, or any one of his agents ; or for flections the general prevalence of corruption ; or for the general questioned. prevalence of illegal practices, illegal employments, hirings or payments which may be reasonably supposed to have affected the result ; or where the illegal practices of paying for committee-rooms in excess of the authorised number, or paying electors on account of the exhibition of placards, addresses, &c., are proved against the respondent or his agents ; or where it is shown that he personally induced persons to vote who are prohibited by statute from voting, or published a false declaration of the withdrawal of another candidate, or entered into any corrupt arrangement to secure his withdrawal, or made any payments or contracts for pay- ment on account of bands of music, torches, &c., or published bills, placards, &c., without the printer's name appended thereto, or used as a committee-room licensed premises or premises on which refreshments are sold, or in the metropolis or within the area of any urban sanitary district, held a meeting upon any licensed premises. Upon proof of the commission of any one of the above enumerated offences, a local board election will, upon petition, be declared void, or if the petitioner claims the seat for the unsucessful candidate the latter may be seated if the result of a scrutiny is to show that he has a majority of legal votes. It must be carefully noticed, however, that there are several Provisions as grounds of obiection to a municipal election, which have no ^'^ election ° . , '' '- . expenses, &c. application to a local board election. (1.) It is expressly pro- vided that the provisions of the Act of 1884, whicli prohibit the payment of any sum and the incurring of an}' expense by and on behalf of a candidate at an election, on account of, or in respect of, the conduct or management of the election, and those which relate to the time for sending in and paying claims, and those which relate to the maximum amount of election expenses shall not apply to the case of Local Board or Improvement Commissioners elections (s. 37 of the Act 262 THE LAW RELATING TO McNic^PAL. of 1884). It follows therefore that a candidate at a local board election cannot be guilty of the corrupt practice of making a false return and declaration of election expenses, Illegal expen. oj- of the illegal practices of failing to make a return within the specified time, or failing to pay all bills within the speci- fied term, or expending any sum in excess of an authorised maximum. But though there is no limitation upon the mere amount which a candidate may spend over a local board election, if he spends any sum, however trifling, for any corrupt or illegal purpose, his election is avoided, subject to the possibility of relief under S3. 19 and 20. (2.) In the case of local board elections the poll is, so to speak, brought to the door of every elector. There is therefore no temptation to a candidate to expend money in the conveyance of voters to or from the poll, and it is accordingly provided that the provisions of the Act of 1884, which relate to the conveyance of voters, shall not apply to local board elections. (S. 36, sub-s. 1 (g) of the Act of 1884.) The return cannot therefore Conveyance ^^ questioned either on the ground of the illegal practice of of voters. paying or contracting to pay for the conveyance of voters to or from the poll, or the illegal practice of using carriages or horses commonly let^out for hire in the conveyance of voters. (3.) It is further provided by s. 36, sub-s. 1 (./') that it shall not be unlawful to hold a meefinr/ for the purpose of promoting the election of any person to a Local Board or Board of Im- provement Commissioners, on any licensed or other premises, Piosecutioa not situate in an urban sanitary district or in the metrojyoUs. tor offen( e'^. rjij^^ Director of Public Prosecutions, or his representative, will attend the trial of a local board election petition. He can prosecute ofi'enders before it or before any other competent court, and the court has, with an exception to be mentioned immediately, the same power of inflicting punishment, followed by the same incapacities, as in the case of a municipal election. The one exception to the rule that the punishment for off'ences in relation to a local board election are the same as the punishment for oflfences at municipal elections is in the case of personation. The full offence of personation is only committed when a ballot CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS. 263 paper is applied for ; and local board elections are conducted mivicipai by voting papers. The punishment prescribed by the Public Health Act of 1875 for personation was a fine of £20, or threee months' imprisonment with or without hard labour. (Rule 69, 2nd schedule of the Act of 1875.) That penalty is still in force, but in addition, personation in the case of any election which is taken by means of voting papers is now declared to be an illegal practice (s. 36 (1) r/ of the Act of 1884), subjecting the offender upon summary conviction to a fine of £100, and certain disabilities which have been already set out. Section II.— Board of Guardians Elections. Guardians of the Poor are elected by means of voting How elected. papers, which are sent out to the electors and collected iu the same manner as in the case of local board elections. The return could formerly only be questioned by quo warranto information or by application to the Local Government Board, which might send down one of its officials to enquire, and upon his report make such order as it thought right. The latter power is still preserved to the Local Government Board, but its exercise is much curtailed. S. 36, sub-s. 1 {h) of the Act of 1884, provides : " The Local Government power of Board shall have the same power as heretofore under s. 8 Q°^?j-^„^ej^t of the Poor Law Amendment Act, 1842, to determine Board. any question arising as to the rights of a person to act as guardian, except that the board shall not have power {a) to determine, until after the expiration of 21 days after the election of a person as guardian, any question which can be determined upon an election petition under this section : nor {h) to determine any question which is raised by an election petition under this section, and is either awaiting decision or has been decided by an election court ; nor {c) to determine any question of general corruption, or of any corrupt or illegal practice." Therefore the ordinary, and in most instances, the only How return method of challenging the election of a guardian is by l'^^s**°'^® ■ 264 THE LAW RELATING TO Municipal. Procedure. election petition, as in the case of a local board election, and the return may be questioned on exactly the same grounds It is unnecessary to repeat them here. The reader is referred to the last section. The procedure up to and upon the trial of the petition is identical in both cases, and there is no difference in the nature and amount of the punishments for corrupt and illegal practices at guardian and local board elections. Section III. — School Board Elections. How conducted. How questioned. Special grounds. A school board, where a contest takes place, is elected by ballot. (36 & 37 Vict., e. 86, s. 26.) But prior to the Act of 1884, the return could not be questioned by petition. [In re the West Bronwich School Board, 5 O.P.D., 191.) The only remedies were by quo warranto information, or by an application to the Education Department, under 8. 33 of the Education Act, 1870. Now the proper method is by election petition under the Act of 1884, and Part IV. of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, and the election can be questioned upon all the grounds set out in the first and second sections of this chapter as applicable to local board and guardian elections, with the addition of the folio icing : — (1.) It is an illegal practice avoiding the election, if com- mitted by the respondent or any agent, to make any payment or contract for payment on account of the conveyance of voters to or from the poll. (Ss. 4 (1) & 36 (1) ^ of the Act of 1884.) (2.) It is an illegal hiring invalidating the election if done with the consent of the respondent, to let, lend or employ any horse or vehicle commonly let out for hire in the conveyance of voters to or from the poll. (Ss. 10 & 36 (1) > <' GENERAL RULES (PARLIAMENTARY) M.T., 1868.*' The presentation of an election petition shall be made by leaving it at the office of the master nominated by the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and such master or his clerk shall (if requii'ed) give a receipt , which may be in the following form : — Received on the day of at the master's office a petition touching the election of A.B., a member for purporting to bo signed by [insert the names of petitioners']. CD., Master's Clerk. With the petition shall also be left a copy thereof for the master to send to the returning officer pursuant to Section 7 of the Act. II. An election petition shall contain the following statements : — 1 . It shall state the right of the petitioner to petition within Section 5 of the Act. 2. It shall state the holding and result of the election, and shall briefly Btate the facts and grounds relied on to sustain the prayer. III. The petition shall be divided into paragraphs, each of which, as nearly as may be, shall be confined to a distinct portion of the subject, and every paragraph shall be numbered consecutively, and no costs shall be allowed of drawing or copying any petition not substantially in com- pliance with this rule, unless otherwise ordered by the court or a judge. IV. The petition shall conclude with a prayer, as, for instance that some specified person should be declared duly returned or elected, or that the election should be declared void, or that a return may be enforced (aa the case may be), and shall be signed by all the petitioners. The following form, or one to the like effect, shall be sufficient : — In the Common Pleas. " The Parliamentary Elections Act, 1808." Election for \_sfate the place] holden on the day of A.D. The petition of A. of [or of A. of and B. of OS the case mcnj he] whose names are subscribed. 1. Your petitioner A. is a person who voted [or had a right to vote as the case ma\j he] 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. \liere state in like manner tJie right of each petitioner.] APPENDIX. 303 2. And your petitioners slate that the election was holden on the day of A.D. when A.B., CD. and E.F. were candi- dates, and the returning officer has returned A.B. and CD. as being duly elected. 3. And your petitioners say that [here state the facts and grounds on which the petitioners re!)/.] 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, or as the case may 6e.] (Signed) A. B. VI. Evidence need not be stated in the petition, but the court or a judge may order such particulars as may be necessary to prevent surprise and unnecessary expense, and to ensure a fair and effectual trial in the same way as in ordinary proceedings in the Court of Common Pleas, and upon such terms as to costs and otherwise as may be ordered. VII. When a petitioner claims the scat for an unsuccessful candidate, alleging that he had a majority of lawful votes, the party complaining of or defending the election or return, shall, six days before the day appointed for trial, deliver to the master, and also to the address, if any, given by the petitioners and respondent, as the case may be, a list of the votes intended to be objected to, and of the heads of objection to each such vote, and the master shall allow inspection and office copies of such lists to all parties concerned ; and no evidence shall be given against the validity of any vote, nor upon any head of objection not specitied in the list, except by tin leave of the court or judge upon such terms as to amendment of the list, postponement of the inquiry and payment of costs as may be ordered. VIII. When the respondent in a petition under the Act, complaining of an undue return and claiming the seat for some person, intends to give evidence to prove that the election of such person was undue, pursuant to the 53rd Section of the Act, such respondent shall six days before the day appointed for trial deliver to the master, and also at the address, if any, jriven Ivy the petitioner, a list of objections to the election upon whicii he intends to rely, and the master shall allow inspection and office copies of such lists to all parties concerned ; and no evidence shall be given by a respondent of any objection to the election not specihed in the list, except by leave of tiie court or judge, upon such terms as to amendments of the list, postponement of the inquiry and payment of costs, as may be ordered. IX. With the petition, petitioners shall leave at the office of the master a writing signed by them or on their behalf, giving the name cf some person entitled to practise as an attorney or agent in cases ol! election petitions whom they authorise to act as their agent, or staling that they act for themselves, as the case may be, and in either case ^'- 304 APPENDIX. giving an address within tiiree miles from the General Post Office at which notices addressed to them may be left ; and if no such writing be left or address given, then notice of objection to' the recognizances and all other notices and proceedings may be given by sticking up the same at the master's office. Any person returned as a member may at any time after he is returned send or leave at the office of the master a writing signed by him or on his behalf, appointing a person entitled to practise as an attorney or agent in cases of election petitions, to act as his agent in case there should be a petition against him, or stating that he Intends to_ act for himself, and in either case giving an address within three miles from the General Post Office at which notices may be left, and in default of such writing being left in a week after service of the petition, notices and proceedings may be given and served respectively by sticking up the same at the master's office. XI. The master shall keep a book or books at his office in which he shall enter all addresses and the names of agents given under either of the preceding rules, which book shall be open to inspection by any person during office hours. XII. The master shall upon the presentation of the petition forthwith send a copy of the petition to the returning officer, pursuant to Section 7 of the Act, and shall therewith send the name of the petitioner's agent, if any, and of the address, if any, given as prescribed, and also of the name of the respondent's agent, and the address, if any, given as pre- Bcribed, and the returning officer shall forthwith publish those particulars along with the petition. The cost of publication of this and any other matter required to be published by the returning officer shall be paid by the petitioner or person moving in the matter, and shall form part of the general costs of the petition. XIII. The time for giving notice of the presentation of a petition and of the nature of the proposed security shall be five days, exclusive of the day of presentation. XIV. Where the respondent has named an agent or given an address, the service of an election petition may be by delivery of it to the agent or by posting it in a registered letter to the address given at such tima that, in the ordinary course of post, it would be delivered within the prescribed time. In other cases the service must be personal on the respondent unless a judge on an application made to him not later than five days after the petition is presented on affidavit showing what has been done, shall bo satisfied that all reasonable effort has been made to effect personal service and cause the matter to come to the knowledge of the respon- dent, including, when practicable, service upon an agent for elecvion APPENDIX. 305 expenses, in which case the judge may order that what has been dojie Bhall be considered sufficient service, subject to such conditions as he may think reasonable. XV. In case of evasion of service, the sticking up a notice in the office of the master of the petition having been presented stating the petitioner, the prayer, and the nature of the proposed security, s^hall be deemed equivalent to personal service, if so ordered by a judge. XVI. The deposit of money by way of security for payment of costs, charges and expenses payable by the petitioner, shall be made by pay- ment into the Bank of England to an account to be opened there "by the description of " The Parliamentary Elections Act, 18G8, Security Fund," which shall be vested in and drawn upon from time to time by the chief justice of the Common Pleas for the time being, for the purposes for which security is required by the said Act, and a bank-receipt or certifi- cate for the same shall be forthwith left at the master's office. XVII. The master shall file such receipt or certificate, and keep a book open ;;, to inspection of all parties concerned, in which shall be entered from '' time to time the amount and the petition to wlaich it is appHcable. XVIII. The recognizance as security for costs may be acknowledged before a judge at chambers or the master in town, or a justice of the peace in the country. There may be one recognizance acknowledged by all the sureties, or separate recognizances by one or more, as may be convenient. XIX. The recognizance shall contain the name and usual place of abode of each surety, with such sufficient description as shall enable him to be found or ascertained, and may be as follows : — Be it remembered that on the day of in the year of our Lord 18 , before me \name, and descriptio7i] came A. B., of [name and description as above prescribed] and acknowledged himself [or severally acknowledged themselves'] to owe to our sovereign lady the Queen the sum of one thousand pounds [or the folloir'mg sums'] (that is to say) the said C. D. the sum of £ , the said E. F., the sum of £. , the said G. H. the sum of £ , and the said J. K., the sum of £ , to be levied on his [or their respective] goods and clmttels, land and tenements, to the use of our sovereign lady the Queen, her heirs and successors. The condition of this recognizance is that if [here insert the names of all the jKlitioners, and if more than one add, or any of them] shall well and truly pay all costs, charges and expenses in respect of the election petition signed by him [or them] relating to the [here insert the name of the borough, or county] which shall become payable by the eaid petitioner [or petitioners, or any of them] under the Parliamentary 20 •/ 306 APPENDIX. Elections Act, 1868, to any person or persons, then this recognizaneo to be void, otherwise to stand in full force. (Signed) [Signatures of sureties.'] Taken and acknowledged by the above-named [names of sureties'] on the day of at , before me, CD., A justice of the peace [or as the case may he.] XX. The recognizance or recognizances shall be left at the master's office, by or on behalf of the petitioner in like manner as before described for the leaving of a petition forthwith after being acknowledged. XXI. The time for giving notice of any objection to a recognizance under the 8th Section of the Act shall be within five days from the date of service of the notice of the petition and of the nature of the security, exclusive of the day of service. XXII. An objection to the recognizance must state the ground or grounds thereof, as that the sureties or any, and which of them, are insufficient, or that a surety is dead, or that he cannot be found, or that a person named in the recognizance has not duly acknowledged the same. XXIII. Any objection made to the security shall be heard and decided by the master, subject to appeal within five days to a jud^e, upon summons taken out by either party to declare the security sufficient or insufficient. XXIV. Such hearing and decision may be either upon affidavit or personal examination of witnesses, or both, as the master or judge may think fit. XXV. If by order made upon such summons the security be declared sufficient, its sufficiency shall be deemed to be established within the meaning of the 9th Section of the said Act, and the petition shall be at issue. XXVI. If by order made upon such summons an objection be allowed and the security be declared insufficient, the master or judge shall in such order state what amount he deems requisite to make the security sufficient, and the further prescribed time to remove the objection by deposit shaU be within five days from the date of the order, not includ- ing the day of the date, and such deposit shall be made in the manner already prescribed. APPENDIX. 307 XXVII. The costs of hearing and deciding the objection made to the security given shall be paid as ordered by the master or judge, and in default of such order shall form part of the general costs of the petition. XXVIII. The costs of hearing and deciding an objection upon the ground of insufficiency of a surety or sureties, shall be paid by the petitioner, and a clause to that effect shall be inserted in the order declaring its sufficiency or insufficiency, unless at the time of leaving the recogni- zance with the master, there be also left with the master an affidavit of the sufficiency of the surety or sureties sworn by each surety before a justice of the peace, which affidavit any justice of the peace is hereby authorized to take, or before some person authorized to take affidavits in the Court of Common Pleas, that he is seized or possessed of real or personal estate, or both, above what will satisfy his debts of the clear value of the sum for which he is bound by his recognizance, which affidavit may be as follows : — In the Common Pleas. " Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868." I, A. B. of [as in recognisance'], make oath and say that I am seized or possessed of real [or personal] estate above what will satisfy my debts of the clear value of £ Sworn, &c. XXIX. The order of the master for payment of costs shall have the samo force as an order made by a judge, and may be made a rule of the Court of Common Pleas, and enforced in like manner as a judge's order. XXX. The master shall make out the election list. In it he shall insert the name of the agents of the petitioners and respondent, and the addresses to which notices may be sent, if any. The list may be inspected at the master's office at any time during office hours, and shall be put up for that purpose upon a notice board appropriated to proceedings under the said Act, and headed " Parliamentary Elections Act, 18G8." XXXI. The time and place of the trial of each election petition shall be fixed by the judges on the rota, and notice thereof shall be given in writing by the master by sticking notice up in his office, sending one copy by the post to the address given by the petitioner, another to the address given by the respondent, if any, and a copy by the post to the sheriff, or in case of a borough having a mayor, to the mayor of that borough, fifteen days before the day appointed for the trial. The sheriff or mayor, as the case may be, shall forthwith publish the same in the county or borough. „-^_ APPENDIX. XXXII. The sticking up of the notice of trial at the office of the master shall be deemed and taken to be notice in the prescribed manner within the meaning of the Act, and such notice shall not be vitiated by any mis- carriage of, or relating to, the copy or copies thereof to be sent as ah'eady directed. XXXIII. The notice of trial may be in the following form : — "Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868." Election petition of county [or borough] of Take notice, that the above petition [or petitions] Mdll be tried at on the day of and on such other subsequent days as may be needful. Dated the day of By order, (Signed) A.B., The master appointed under the above.Act. XXXIV. A judge may from time to time, by order made upon the application of a party to the petition, or by notice in such form as the judge may direct to be sent to the sherifE or mayor, as the case may be, postpone the beginning of the trial to such day as he may name, and such notice when received shall be forthwith made public by the sheriff or mayor. XXXV. In the event of the judge not having arrived at the time appointed for the trial, or to which the trial is postponed, the commencement of the trial shall ipso facto stand adjourned to the ensuing day, and so from day to day. XXXVI. No formal adjournment of the court for the trial of an election petition shall be necessary, but the trial is to be deemed adjourned, and may be continued from day to day until the inquiry is concluded ; and in the event of the judge who begins the trial being disabled by illness or otherwise, it may be recommenced and concluded by another judge. XXXVII. The application to state a special case may be made by rule in the Court of Common Pleas when sitting, or by a summons before a judge at chambers, upon hearing the parties. XXXVIII. The title of the court of record held for the trial of an election petition may be as follows : — Court for the trial of an election petition for the [county of or borough of as may be] between petitioner and respondent. And it shall be sufficient so to entitle all proceedings in that court. APPENDIX. 309 XXXIX. An officer shall be appointed for each court for the trial of an election petition, who shall attend at the trial in like manner as the clerks of assize and of arraigns attend at the assize. XL. Repealed. XLI. The order of a judge to compel the attendance of a person as a witness may be in the following form : — Court for the trial of an election petition for \_compIete the title of the court] the day of To A.B. \_describe the persoi] You are hereby required to attend before the above court at [i^lace] on the day of at the horn- of [or forthwith, as the case may be] to be examined as a witness in the matter of the said petition, and to attend the said court until your examination shall have been completed. As witness my hand, A. B., Judge of the said court.. XLII. In the event of its being necessary to commit any person for contempt, the wan-ant may be as follows : — At a court holden on at for the trial of an election petition for the county [or borough] of , before Sir Samuel Martin, knight, one of the barons of her Majesty's Court of Exchequer, and one of the judges for the time being for the trial of election petitions in England, pursuant to " The Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868." Whereas A. B. has this day been guilty, and is by the said court adjudged to be guilty, of a contempt thereof. The said court does there- fore sentence the said A. B. for his said contempt to be imprisoned in the gaol for calendar months, and to pay to our lady the Queen a fine of £ , and to be further imprisoned in the said gaol until the said fine be paid. And the court further orders that the sheriff of the said county [or as the case may be] and all constables and officers of the peace of any county or place where the said A. B.may be found, shall take the said A. B. into custody and convey him to the said gaol, and there deliver him into the custody of the gaoler thereof, to undergo his said sentence. And the court further orders the said gaoler to receive the said A. B. into his custody, and that he shall be detained in the said gaol in pursuance of the said sentence. A. D. Signed the day of S. M. XLIII. Such warrant may be made out and directed to the slicriff or other person having the execution of process of the superior courts, as the case may be, and to all constables and officers of the peace of the county or 310 APPENDIX. place where the person adjudged guilty of contempt may be found, and such warrant shall be sufficient without further particularity, and shall and may be executed by the person to whom it is directed, or any or either of them. XLIV. All interlocutory questions and matters, except as to the suflSciency of the security, shall be heard and disposed of before a judge, who shall have the same control over the proceedings imder " The Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868," as a judge at chambers in the ordinary proceedings of the superior courts, and such questions and matters shall be heard and disposed of by one of the judges upon the rota, if practicable, and if not, then by any judge at chambers. XLV. Notice of an application for leave to withdraw a petition shall be in writing and signed by the petitioners or their agent. It shall state the ground on which the application is intended to be supported. The following form shall be sufficient : — " Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868." County [or borough] of Petition of [state petitioners], presented day of The petitioner proposes to apply to withdraw his petition upon the following ground [here state the ground], and prays that a day may be appointed for hearing his application. Dated this day of < (Signed) XL VI. The notice of application for leave to withdraw shall be left at the master's office. XL VII. A copy of such notice of the intention of the petitioner to apply for leave to withdraw his petition shall be given by the petitioner to the respondent, and to the returning officer, who shall make it public in the county or borough to which it relates, and shall be forthwith pub- lished by the petitioner in at least one newspaper circulating in the place. The following may be the form of such notice : — "Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868." In the election petition for in which is petitioner and respondent. Notice is hereby given that the above petitioner has on the day of lodged at the master's office, notice of an application to withdraw the petition, of which notice the following is a copy — (set it out.) And take notice that, by the rule made by the judges, any person who might have been a petitioner in respect of the said election may, within five days after publication by the returning officer of this notice, give notice in writing of his intention on the hearing to apply for leave to be substituted as a petitioner. (Signed) APPENDIX. XLVIII. 311 Any person who might have been a petitioner in respect of the election to which the petition relates, may, within five days after such notice ia published by the returning ofKcer, give notice in writing, signed by him or on his behalf, to the master, of his intention to apply at the hearing to be substituted for the petitioner, but the want of such notice shall not defeat such application if in fact made at the hearing. XLIX. The time and place for hearing the application shall be fixed by a judge, and whether before the Court of Common Pleas, or before a judge, as he may deem advisable, but shall not be less than a week after the notice of the intention to apply has been given to the master as herein- before provided, and notice of the time and place appointed for the hearing shall be given to such person or persons, if any, as shall have given notice to the master of an intention to apply to be substituted as petitioners, and otherwise in such manner and at such time as the judge directs. L. Notice of abatement of a petition, by death of the petitioner or surviving petitioner, under Section 37 of the said Act, shall be given ly the party or person interested in the same manner as notice of an application to withdraw a petition ; and the time witliin which appli- cat'.on may be made to the court or a judge, by motion or summons at chambers, to be substituted as a petitioner, shall be one calendar month, 0- such further time as upon consideration of any special circumstances, the court or a judge may allow. LI. If the respondent dies or is summoned to Parliament as a peer of Great Britain by a writ issued under the great seal of Great Britain, or if the House of Commons have resolved that his seat is vacant, any person entitled to be a petitioner under the Act in respect of the election to which the petition relates, may give notice of the fact in the county or borough by causing such notice to be published in at bast one newspaper circulating therein, if any, and by leaving a copy of such notice signed by him or on his behalf with the returning officer, md a like copy with the master. LIT. The manner and time of the respondent's giving notice to the court thit he does not intend to oppose the petition, shall be by leaving notice the-eof in writing at the office of the master, signed by the respondent, six iays before the day appointed for trial, exclusive of the day of leaving such notice. LIU. Upon such notice being left at the master's office, the master shall forthwith send a copy thereof by the post to the petitioner or his agent and to the sherifl: or mayor, as the case may ho, who shall cause the ame to be published in the county or borough. 312 APPENDIX. LIV. The time for applying to be admitted as a respondent in either of the events mentioned in the 38th Section of the Act shall be within ten days after such notice is given as hereinbefore directed, or such further time as the court or a judge may allow. LV. Costs shall be taxed by the master, or at his request, by any master of a superior court, upon the rule of court or judge's order by which the costs are payable, and costs when taxed may be recovered by execution issued upon the rule of court ordering them to be paid ; or, if payable by the order of a judge, then by making such order a rule of court in the ordinary way, and issuing execution upon such rule against the person by whom the costs are ordered to be paid, or in case there be money in the bank available for the purpose, then to the extent of such money by order of the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for the time being, upon a duplicate of the rule of court. The office fees payable for inspection, office copies, enrolment, and other proceedings under the Act, and these rules, shall be the same as those payable, if any, for like proceedings according to the present practice of the Court of Common Pleas. LVI. The master shall prepare and keep a roU properly headed for entaing the names of all persons entitled to practise as attorney or agent in cases of election petitions, and all matters relating to elections befcre the court and judges, pursuant to the 57th Section of the said Act ; whch roll shall be kept and dealt with in all respects as the roll of attorneys of the Court of Common Pleas, and shaU be under the control of that court, as to striking ofE the roll and otherwise. LVII. The entry upon the roll shall be written and subscribed by the p.ttorney or agent, or some attorney authorised by him in writing to sign on his behalf, who shall therein set forth the name, description aid address in full. LVIII. The master may allow any person upon the roll of attorneys for tie time being, and during the present year any person whose name, or the name of whose firm is in the Law List of the present year as a Paria- mentary agent to subscribe the roll, and permission to subscribe the roll may be granted to any other person by the court or judge upon affidavit, showing the facts which entitle the applicant to practise as agert ac- cording to the principles, practice and rules of the House of Commons in cases of election petitions. LIX. An agent employed for the petitioner or respondent shaU forthwith leave written notice at the office of the master of his appointment to act as such agent, and sei-vice of notices and proceedings upon such agent shall be sufficient for all purposes. APPENDIX. 313 LX. No proceeding under " The Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868," shall \ N . he defeated by any formal objection. MNjVK LXI. Any rule made or to be made in pursuance of the Act, if made in Term time, shall be published by being -read by the master in the Court of Common Pleas, and if made out of Terra, by a copy thereof being put up at the master's ofSce. "ADDITIONAL GENERAL EULE (PARLIA- MENTARY), Dec, 1868." That notice of the time and place of the trial of each election petition shall be transmitted by the master to the treasury, and to the clerk of the Crown in Chancery, and that the clerk of the Crown in Chancery shall on or before the day fixed for the trial, deliver or cause to be delivered to the registrar of the judge who is to try the petition, or his deputy, the poll-books, for which the registrar or his deputy shall give, if requii-ed, a receipt. And that the registrar shall keep in safe custody the said poll-books until the trial is over, and then return the same to tlie Crown office. 514 APPENDIX. "ADDITIONAL GENERAL HULES (PARLIA- MENTARY), March, 1869." I. All claims at law or in equity to money deposited or to be deposited in the Bank of England for payment of costs, charges and expenses payable by the petitioners pursuant to the 16th General Rule, made the 21st November, 1868, by the judges for the trial of election petitions in England, shall be disposed of by the Court of Common Pleas or a judge. II. Money so deposited shall, if and when the same is no longer needed for securing payment of such costs, charges and expenses, be returned or otherwise disijosed of as justice may require, by rule of the Com't of Common Pleas or order of a judge. III. Such rule or order may be made after such notice of intention to apply, and proof that all just claims have been satisfied or otherwise sufficiently provided for as the court or judge may require. IV. The rule or order may direct payment either to the party in whose name the same is deposited or to any person entitled to receive the V. Upon such rule or order being made, the amount may be drawn for by the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for the time being. VI. The draft of the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for the time being shall, in all cases, be a sufficient warrant to the Bank of England for all payments made thereunder. bated the 25th day of March, 1869. SAMUEL MARTIN. X J. S. WILLES. X COLIN BLACKBURN, x The Judges for the trial of Election Petitions in England. APPENDIX. 315 "ADDITIONAL GENERAL RCLES (PAHLIA- MENTAHY), January, 1875." I. A copy of every order (other than an order giving further time for delivering particulars, or for costs only), or if the master shall so direct, the order itself or a duplicate thereof, also a copy of every particular delivered, shall be f ortliwith filed with the master, and the same shall be produced at the trial by the registrar, stamped with the official seal. Such order and particular respectively shall be filed by the party obtain- ing the same. II. The petitioner or his agent shall, immediately after notice of the pre- sentation of a petition and of the nature of the proposed security shall have been served, file with the master an affidavit of the time and manner of service thereof. III. The days mentioned in Rules 7 and 8, and in any rule of court or judge's order, whereby particulars are ordered to be delivered, or any act y . ^ is directed to be done, so many days before the day appointed for trial, are ' ' "^ exclusively also of Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday, and any day set -— apart for a public fast or public thanksgiving. IV. When the last day for presenting petitions or filing lists of votes or objections, under Rules 7 or 8, or recognis;ances, or any other matter re- quired to be filed within a given time, shall happen to fall on a holiday, the petition or other matter shall be deemed duly filed if put into the letter box at the master's office at any time during such day ; but an affidavit, stating with reasonable precision the time when such delivery was made, shall be filed on the first day after the expiration of the holidays. V. Rule 40 is hereby revoked, and in lieu thereof it is ordered that the amount to be paid to any witness whose expenses shall be allowed by the judge shall be ascertained and certified by the registrar ; or in the event of his becoming incapacitated from giving such certificate, by the judge, VI. After receiving notice of the petitioner's intention to apply for leave to withdraw, or of the respondent's intention not to oppose, or of the abatement of the petition by death, or of the happening of any of the 316 APPENDIX events mentioned in the 38th section of the Act, if such notice be received after notice of trial shall have been given, and before the trial has com- menced, the master shall forthwith countermand the notice of trial. The countermand shall be given in the same manner, as near as may je, as the notice of trial. Dated the 27th day of January, 1875. G. PIGOTT. ROBT. LUSH. GEORGE E. HONYMAN. (fudges for ths time beinj on the rofa far the trial of Election Petitions in Englxni. APPENDIX. 317 MUNICIPAL COEPOEATIONS ACT, 1882.* 45 & 46 YicT. c. 50. PART IV. Corrupt Practices a\d Election Petitions. Corrupt Practices, 77. In this Part — Doflaitions. "Bribery," "treating," "undue influence," and "personation," include respectively anything done before, at, after, or with respect to a municipal election, which if done before, at, after, or with respect to a parliamentary election would make the person doing the same liable to any penalty, punishment, or disqualification for bribery, treating, undue influence, or personation, as the case may be, under any Act for the time being in force with respect to parliamentary elections : " Candidate " means a person elected, or having been nominated, or having declared himself a candidate for election, to a corporate office : "Voter" means a burgess or a person who votes or claims to vote at a municipal election : " Election court " means a court constituted under this Part for the trial of an election petition : "Municipal election petition" or "election petition" means a petition under this Part complaining of an undue municipal election : " Parliamentary election petition " means a petition under the Parlia- mentary Elections Act, 18G8 : " Prescribed " means prescribed by general rules made under this Part : " Borough " and " election " when used with reference to a petition mean the borough and election to which the petition relates : 81. A municipal election shall be wholly avoided by such general Avoidance of corruption, bribery, treating, or intimidation at the election as would by gcnc',!^" ""^ the common law of Parliament avoid a parliamentary election. corruption. 85. The votes of persons in respect of whom any corrupt practice is Strikinj? oS proved to have been committed at a municipal election shall be struck votes. off on a scrutiny. 86. The enactments for the time being in force for the detection Personation, of personation and for the apprehension of persons charged with per- sonation at a parliamentary election shall apply in the case of a municipal election. • The sections and parts of sections repealed by the Municipal Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Practices) Act, 1SS4, are omitted. 318 APPENDIX. Power to qties- tion nmnicipal election by pecition. Election Petitions. 87. (1.) A municipal election may be questioned by an election petition on the ground — (a.) That the election was as to the borough or ward wholly avoided by general bribery, treating, undue influence, or per- sonation ; or (6.) That the election was avoided by corrupt practices or offences against this Part committed at the election ; or (c.) That the person whose election is questioned was at the time of the election disqualified ; or ((7.) That he was not duly elected by a majority of lawful votes. (2.) A municipal election shall not be questioned on any of those grounds except by an election petition. Presentation of petition. 88. (1.) An election petition may be presented either by four or more persons who voted or had a right to vote at the election, or by a person alleging himself to have been a candidate at the election. (2.) Any person whose election is questioned by the petition, and any returning officer of whose conduct a petition complains, may be made a respondent to the petition. (3.) The petition shall be in the prescribed form and shall be signed by the petitioner, and shall be presented in the prescribed manner to the High Court in the Queen's Bench Division, and the prescribed officer shall send a copy thereof to the town clerk, who shall forthwith publish it in the borough. (4.) It shall be presented within twenty-one days after the day on which the election was held, except that if it complains of the election on the ground of corrupt practices, and specifically alleges that a pay- ment of money or other reward has been made or promised since the election by a person elected at the election, or on his account or with his privity, in pursuance or furtherance of such corrupt practices, it may be presented at any time within twenty-eight days after the date of the alleged payment or promise, whether or not any other petition against that person has been previously presented or tried. Security for costa. 89. (1.) At the time of presenting an election petition or within three days afterwards, the petitioner shall give security for all costs, charges, and expenses which may become payable by him to any witness summoned on his behalf, or to any respondent. (2.) The security shall be to such amount, not exceeding five hundred pounds, as the High Court, or a Judge thereof, on summons, directs, and shall be given in the prescribed manner, either by a deposit of money, or by recognisance entered into by not more than four sureties, or partly in one way and partly in the other. (3.) Within five days after the presentation of the petition the petitioner shall in the prescribed manner serve on the respondent a notice of the presentation of the petition, and of the nature of the proposed eecurity, and a copy of the petition. (4.) Witliin five days after service of the notice the respondent may object in writing to any recognisance on the ground that any surety is insufficient or is dead, or cannot be found or ascertained for want of a APPENDIX. ^1^ sufficient description in the recognisance, or that a person named in the recognisance has not duly acknowledged the same. (5.) An objection to a recognisance shall be decided in the prescribed manner. j. u (6.) If the objection is allowed, the petitioner may, within a further prescribed time not exceeding five days, remove it by a depositin the prescribed manner of such sum of money as will, in the opinion of the court or officer having cognisance of the matter, make the security sufficient. . . . ,, (7.) If no security is given, as prescribed, or any objection is allowed and is not removed, as aforesaid, no further proceedings shall be had on the petition. 90. On the expiration of the time Hmited for making objections, or. Petition at after objection made on the objection being disallowed or removed, issue. whichever last happens, the petition shall be at issue. 91. (1.) The prescribed officer shall as soon as may be make a list. Municipal in this Act referred to as the municipal election list, of all election election list, petitions at issue, placing them in the order in which they were pre- sented, and shall keep at his office a copy of this list, open to inspection in the prescribed manner. (2.) The petitions shall, as far as conveniently may be, be tried in the order in which they stand in the list. (3.) Two or more candidates may be made respondents to the same petition, and their cases may be tried at the same time, but for the purposes of this part the petition shall be deemed to be a separate petition against each respondent. (4.) Where more petitions than one are presented relating to the same election, or to elections held at the same time for difPercnt wards of the same borough, they shall be bracketed together in the list as one petition, but shall, unless the High Court otherwise directs, stand in the list in the place where the last of them would have stood if it had been the only petition relating to that election. 92. (1.) An election petition shall be tried by an election court constitutioTi ot consisting of a barrister qualified and appointed as in this section pro- election covut. vided, without a jury. (2.) A barrister shall not be qualified to constitute an election court if he is of less than fifteen years standing, or is a member of the Commons House of Parliament, or holds any office or place of profit under the Crown, other than that of recorder. (3.) A barrister shall not be qualified to constitute an election court for trial of an election petition relating to any borough for which he is recorder, or in which he resides, or which is included in a circuit of Her Majesty's judges on which he practises as a barrister. (4.) As soon as may bo after a municipal election list is made out the prescribed officer shall send a copy thereof to each of the judges for the time being on the rota for the trial of parliamentary election petitions. (5.) If a commissioner to whom the trial of a petition is assigned dies, or declines or becomes incapable to act, the said judges or two of them may assign the trial to be conducted or continued by any other of the commissioners appointed under this section. 320 APPENDIX. (6.) The election court shall for the purposes of the trial have the same powers and privileges as a judge on the trial of a parliamentary election petition, except that any fine or order of committal by the court may on motion by the person aggiieved be discharged or varied by the Uigh Court, or in vacation by a judge thereof, on such terms, if any, as the High Court or judge thinks fit. Trial of election 93. (1.) An election petition shall be tried in open court, and notice petition. of the time and place of trial shall be given in the prescribed manner not less than seven days before the day of trial. (2.) The place of trial shall be within the borough, except that the High Court may, on being satisfied that special cu'cumstances exist rendering it desirable that the petition should be tried elsewhere, appoint some other convenient place for the trial. (3.) The election court may in its discretion adjourn the trial from time to time, and from any one place to any other place within the borough or place where it is held. (4.) At the conclusion of the trial the election court shall determine whether the person v/hose election is comijlained of, or any and what other person, was duly elected, or whether the election was void, and shall forthwith certify in writing the determination to the High Court, and the determination so certified shall be final to all intents as to the matters at issue on the petition. (5.) Where a charge is made in a petition of any corrupt practice or offence against this part having been committed at the election the court shall, in addition to the certificate, and at the same time, report in writing to the High Court as follows : — (a.) Whether any corrupt practice or offence against this part haa or has not been proved to have been committed by or with the knowledge and consent of any candidate at the election, and the nature of the corrupt practice or offence ; (6.) The names of all persons (if any) proved at the trial to have been guilty of any corrupt practice or offence against this part ; (c.) Whether any corrupt practices have, or whether there is reason to believe that any corrupt practices liave, extensively prevailed at the election in the borough or in any ward thereof. (6.) The election court may at the same time make a special report to the High Court as to any matters arising in the course of the trial, an account of which ought, in the judgment of the election com't, to be submitted to the High Court. (7.) If, on the application of anj' party to a petition made in the prescribed manner to the High Court, it appears to the High Court that the case raised by the petition can be conveniently stated as a special case, the High Court may direct the same to be stated accordingly, and any such special case shaU be heard before the High Court, and the decision of the High Court shall be final. (8.) If it appears to the election court on the trial of a petition that any question of law as to the admissibility of evidence, or otherwise, I'equires further consideration by the High Court, the election court may postpone the granting of a certificate until the question has been deter- mined by the High Court, and for this purpose may reserve any such question, as questions may be reserved by a judge on a trial at nisi prius. (9.) On the trial of a petition, unless the election court otherwise APPENDIX. 321 directs, any charge of a corrupt practice or oflEence against this part may- be gone into, and evidence in relation thereto received before any proof has been given of agency on behalf of any candidate in respect of the corrupt practice or offence. (10.) On the trial of a petition complaining of an undue election and claiming the office for some person, the respondent may give evidence to prove that that person was not duly elected, in the same manner as if he had presented a petition against the election of that person. (11.) The trial of a petition shall be proceeded with notwithstanding that the respondent has ceased to hold the office his election to which is questioned by the petition. (12.) A copy of any certificate or report made to the High Court on the trial of a petition, and, in the case of a decision by the High Court on a special case, a statement of the decision, shall be sent by the High Court to the Secretary of State. (13.) A copy of any such certificate and a statement of any such decision shall also be certified by the High Court, under the hands of two or more judges thereof, to the town clerk of the borough. 94. (1.) Witnesses at the trial of an election petition shall be sum- Witnesses, moned and sworn in the same manner, as nearly as circumstances admit, as witnesses at a trial at nisi prius, and shall be liable to the same penalties for perjury. (2.) On the trial the election court may, by order in writing, require any person who appears to the court to have been concerned in the election to attend as a witness, and any person refusing to obey the order shall be guilty of contempt of court. (.3.) The court may examine any person so required to attend or being in court although he is not called and examined by any party to the petition. (4.) A witness may, after his examination by the court, be cross- examined by or on behalf of the petitioner and respondent or either of them. (9.) The reasonable expenses incurred by any person in appearing to give evidence at tlie trial of an election petition, according to the scale allowed to witnesses on the trial of civil actions at the assizes, may be allowed to him by a certificate of the election court or of the prescribed officer, and if the witness was called and examined by the court, shall be deemed part of the expenses of providing a court, but otherwise, shall be deemed costs of the petition. 95. (1.) A petitioner shall not withdraw an election petition with- withdrawal of out the leave of the election court or High Court on special application, petition, made in the prescribed manner, and at the prescribed time and place. (2.) The application shall not be made until the prescribed notice of the intention to make it has been given in the borough. (3.) On the hearing of the application any person who might have been a petitioner in respect of the election may apply to the court to be substituted as a petitioner, and the court may, if he thinks fit, sub- stitute liim accordingly. (4.) If the proposed withdrawal is in the opinion of the court induced by any corrupt bargain or consideration, the court may by order direct tliat the security given on behalf of the original petitioner shall remain as security for any costs tliat may be incurred by the 21 322 APPENDIX. substituted petitioner, and that to the extent of the sum named in the security, the original petitioner and his sureties shall be liable to pay the costs of the substituted petitioner. (5.) If the court does not so direct, then security to the same amount as would be required in the case of a new petition, and subject to the like conditions, shall be given on behalf of the substituted petitioner before he proceeds with his petition and within the pre- scribed time after the order of substitution. (6.) Subject as aforesaid, a substituted petitioner shall, as nearly as may be, stand in the same position and be subject to the same iiabihtiea as the original petitioner. (7.) If a petition is withdrawn, the petitioner shall be liable to pay the costs of the respondent. (8.) Where there are more petitioners than one, an application to withdraw a petition shall not be made except with the consent of all tlae petitioners. Abatement of petition. 96. (1.) An election petition shall be abated by the death of a sole petitioner or of the survivor of several petitioners. (2.) The abatement of a petition shall not affect the liability of the petitioner or of any other person to the payment of costs previously incurred. (.3.) On the abatement of a petition the prescribed notice thereof shall be given in the borough, and, within the prescribed time after the notice is given, any person who might have been a petitioner in respect of the election may apply to the election court or High Court in the prescribed manner and at the prescribed time and place to be sub- stituted as a petitioner ; and the Court may, if it thinks tit, substitute him accordingly'. (4.) Security shall be given on behalf of a petitioner so substituted, as in the case of a new petition. andsub^tifution ^^' v^O ^^ before the trial of an election petition a respondent of respondents. Other than a returning officer — (a.) Dies, resigns, or otherwise ceases to hold the office to which the petition relates ; or (h.) Gives the prescribed notice that he does not intend to oppose the petition ; the prescribed notice thereof shall be given in the borough, and within the prescribed time after the notice is given any person who might have been a petitioner in respect of the election may apply to the election court or High Court to be admitted as a respondent to oppose the petition, and shall be admitted accordingly, except that the number of persons so admitted shall not exceed three. (2.) A respondent who has given the prescribed notice that he does not intend to oppose the petition shall not be allowed to appear or act as a party against the petition in any proceedings thereon. CnsfR on election ^^' ^^'^ ^^^ costs, charges, and expenses of and incidental to the petitions. presentation of an election petition, and the proceedings consequent thereon, except such as are by this Act otherwise provided for, shall be defrayed by the parties to the petition in such manner and proportions APPENDIX. 323 as the election court determines ; and in particular any costs, charges, or expenses which in the opinion of the court have been caused by- vexatious conduct, unfounded allegations, or unfounded objections on the part either of the petitioner or of the respondent, and any needless expense incuired or caused on the part of petitioner or respondent, may be ordered to be defrayed by the parties by whom it has been incun-ed or caused, whether they are or not on the whole successful. (3.) If a petitioner neglects or refuses for three months after de- mand to pay to any person summoned as a witness on his behalf, or to the respondent, any sum certified to be due to him for his costs, charges, and expenses, and tlie neglect or refusal is, within one year after the demand, proved to the satisfaction of the High Court, every person who has under this Act entered into a recognisance relating to the petition shall be held to have made default in the recognisance, and the prescribed officer shall thereon certify the recognisance to be forfeited, and it shall be dealt with as a forfeited recognisance relating to a parliamentary election petition. 99. (1.) The town clerk shall provide proper accommodation for Reception of holding the election court ; and any expenses incurred by him for the and attendanra purposes of this section shall be paid out of the borough fund or court? ^ ^° ^°" borough rate. (2.) All chief and head constables, superintendents of police, head- boroughs, gaolers, constables, and bailifi^s shall give their assistance to the election court in the execution of its duties, and if any gaoler or officer of a prison makes default in receiving or detaining a prisoner committed thereto in pursuance of this Part, he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds for every day during which the default continues. (3.) The election court may employ officers and clerks as pre- scribed. (4.) A shorthand writer shall attend at the trial of an election petition, and shall be sworn by the election court faithfully and truly to take down the evidence given at the trial. He shall take down the evidence at length. A transcript of the notes of the evidence taken by him shall, if the election court so directs, accompany the certificate of the election court. His expenses, according to a prescribed scale, shaU be treated as part of the expenses incurred in receiving the court. 100. (1.) The judges for the time being on the rota for the trial of Rules of parliamentary election petitions, may from time to time make, revoke, P^'"^^':^*^!^^ "'"'^ and alter General Rules for the efEectual execution of this Part, and of the intention and object thereof, and the regulation of the practice, procedure, and costs of municipal election petitions, and the trial thereof, and the certifying and reporting thereon. (2.) All such rules shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament within three weeks after they are made, if Parliament is then sitting, and if not, within three weeks after the beginning of the then next eession of Parliament, and shall, while in force, have effect as if enacted in this Act. (3.) Subject to the provisions of this Act, and of the rules made under it, the principles, practice, and rules for the time being observed in the case of parliamentary election petitions, and in 324 APPENDIX. particular the principles and rules with regard to agency and evidence and to a scrutiny, and to the declaring any person elected in the room of any other person declared to have been not duly elected, shall be observed, as far as may be, in the case of a municipal election petition. (4.) The High Court shall, subject to this Act, have the same powers, jurisdiction, and authority with respect to a municipal election petition and the proceedings thereon as if the petition were an ordinary action within its jurisdiction. (5.) Tlie duties to be performed by the prescribed officer under this Part shall be performed by the prescribed officer of the High Court. (6.) The general rules in force at the commencement of this Act with respect to matters within this Part shall, until superseded by rules made under this section, and subject to any amendment thereof by rules so made, have efi;ect, with the necessary modifications, as if made under this section. Expenses of election court. 101. (1.) The remuneration and allowances to be paid to a com- missioner for his services in respect of the trial of an election petition, and to any officers, clerks, or shorthand writers employed under this Part, shall be fixed by a scale made and varied by the election judges on the rota for the trial of parliamentary election petitions, with the approval of the Treasury. The remuneration and allowances shall be paid in the first instance by the Treasury, and shall be repaid to the Treasur}"^, on their certificate, out of the borough fund or borough rate. (2.) But the election court may in its discretion order that such remuneration and allowances, or tlie expenses incurred by a town clerk for receiving the election^ court, shall be repaid, wholly or in part, to the Treasury or the town clerk, as the case may be, in the cases, by the persons, and in the manner following (namely) : (a.) When in tlie opinion of the election court a petition is frivolous and vexatious, by the petitioner : (6.) When in the opinion of the election court a respondent has been personally guilty of coiTupt practices at the election, by that respondent. (3.) An order so made for the repayment of any sum by a petitioner or respondent may be enforced as an order for payment of costs ; but a deposit made or security given under this Part shall not be applied for any such repayment until all costs and expenses payable by the petitioner or respondent to any party to the petition have been satisfied. Arts done pending a petition not invaliiiated. 102. Where a candidate who has been elected to a corporate oflBce is, by a certificate of an election court or a decision of the High Court, declared not to have been duly elected, acts done by him in execution of the office, before the time when the certificate or decision is cer- tified to the town clerk, shall not be invalidated by reason of that declaration. Provisions as to electioi'8 in the room of persons unseated ou petition. 103. Where on an election petition the election of any person to a corporate office has been declared void, and no other person has been declared elected in his room, a new election shall be held to supply the vacancy in the same manner as on a casual vacancy ; and, for the pur- poses of the election, any duties to be performed by a mayor, alderman, APPENDIX. 325 or other officer, shall, if he has been declared not elected, be performed by a deputy, or other person who might have acted for him if he had been incapacitated by illness. 104. A person who has voted at a municipal election by ballot shall Prohibition of not in any proceeding to question the election be required to state for '^'^ciosure of whom he has voted. Time. 230. (1.) Wliere by this Act any limited time fi'om or after any Computatioa date or event is appointed or allowed for the doing of any act or the °^'''™®« taking of any proceeding, then in the computation of that limited time the same shall be taken as exclusive of the day of that date or of the happening of that event, and as commencing at the beginning of the next following day ; and the act or proceeding shall be done or taken at the latest on the last day of the limited time as so computed, unless the last day is a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday, or ]Monday or Tuesday in Easter week, or a day appointed for public fast, humilia- tion, or thanksgiving, in which case any act or proceeding shall be con- sidered as done or taken in due time if it is done or taken on the next day afterwards, not being one of the days in this section specified. (2.) Where by this Act any act or proceeding is directed or allowed to be done or taken on a certain day, then if that day happens to be one of the days in tliis section specified, the act or proceeding shall be considered as done or taken in due time if it is done or taken on the next day afterwards, not being one of the days in this section specified. (3.) Where by this Act any act or proceeding is directed or allowed to be done or taken within any time not exceeding seven days, the days in this section specified shall not be reckoned in the computation of such time. 326 APPENDIX. 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51. Wh&t is treating. 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 4 of the Corrupt Practices Prevention Act, 1854, persons other than candidates at parliamentary elections are not liable to any punishment for treating, and it is expedient to make such persons liable ; be it therefore enacted in substitution for the said Sec- tion 4, as follows : — (1.) Any person who corruptly by himself or by any other person, either before, during, or 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 provi- sion to or for any person, for the purpose of corruptly influencing that person or any other person to give or refrain from giving his vote at the election, or on account of such person or any other person having voted or refrained from voting, or being about to vote or refrain from 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. What is undue influence. 2. Every person Mho shall directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, make use of or threaten to make use of any force, violence, or restraint, or inflict or threaten to inflict, by him- self or by any other person, any temporal or spiritual injury, damage, harm, or loss upon or against anj'- person in order to induce or compel such person to vote or refrain from voting, or on account of such per- son having voted or refrained from voting at any election, or who shall by abduction, duress, or any fraudulent device or contrivance impede or prevent 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. What is con-uiJi 3. The expression " corrupt practice " as used in this Act means any practice. of the following oflEences ; namely, treating and undue influence, as APPENDIX. 327 defined by this Act, and bribery, and personation, 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 every offence which is a corrupt practice within the meaning of this Act shall be a corrupt practice within the 31 & 32 Vict. meaning of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868. ^' 4. Where upon the trial of an election petition respecting an election Punishment of for "a county or borough the election court, by the report made to the j^^^^^l Speaker in pursuance of Section 11 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, election 1868, reports that any corrupt practice other than treating or undue Pl^go^^Ji^f'^ influence has been proved to have been committed in reference to such corrupt' ^ ° election by or with the knowledge and consent of any candidate at such practices, election, or that the offence of treating or undue influence has been ll^^f!^^'^^' proved to have been committed in reference 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 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 respecting an election for a Punishment county or borough, in which a charge is made of any corrupt practice ^^^"^''^0^^*^ having been committed in reference to such election, the election court election shall report jn writing to the Speaker whether any of the candidates at P^'^''^'°°^j|'^(jj'y Buch election has been guilty by his agents of any corrupt practice in cJ^rupt^ reference to such election ; and if the report is that any candidate at practices, 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 practice other than per- Punishment of sonation, or aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring the commission to PfJted o'n'^" the offenceiof personation, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and on con- indictment of viction on indictment shall be liable to be imprisoned, with or without ""^^'JPgg^ 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 personation, 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 parhamentary election or an election for any pubhc ofiice within the meaning of this Act ; or (6.) of holding any public or judicial office with tlie meaning of this Act, and if "lie holds any such office the office shall be vacated. 328 APPENDIX. (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 con- viction, and if at that date he has been elected to the House of Commons his election shall be vacated from the time of such conviction. Certain oxponditure to be illegal practice. Illegal practices. 7. (1.) No payment or contract for payment shall, for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of a candidate at any election, be made — (a.) on account of the conveyance of electors to or from the poll, whether for the hiring of horses or carriages, or for railway fares, or otherwise ; or (Z>.) 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 con- travention of this section either before, during, or after _ an election, the person making such payment or contract shall be guilty of an illegal practice, 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 be guilty of an illegal practice. (3.) Provided that where it is the ordinary business of an elector as an advertising agent to exhibit 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 in ex>es.-< of iri.aximum to he illegal pra tice. 8. (1.) Subject to such exception as may be allowed in pursuance of this Act, no sum shall be paid and no expense shall be incurred by a candidate at- an election or his election agent, whether before, during, or after an election, on account of or in respect of the conduct or manage- ment of such election, in excess of any maximum amount in that behalf specified in the First Schedule to this Act. (2.) Anv candidate or election agent who knowingly acts in contra- vention of this section shall be guilty of an illegal practice. Votinp by pro* hiliitcd persons and publishing of false >tate- ments of Trithdravral to be Uletjal. 9. (1.) If any person votes or induces or procures any person to vote at any election, knowing that he or such person is prohibited, whether by this or any other Act fi'om voting at such election, he shall be guilty of an illegal practice. . (2.) Any person who before or during an election knowmgly pubnshes a false statement of the withdrawal 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. APPENDIX. 329 10. A person guilty of an illegal practice, whether under the fore- Punishment going sections or under the provisions hereinafter contained in this Act, on conviction shall on summary conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred practice, 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 14 of Section 11 of the Parlia- mentary Elections Act, 1868, it is provided that where a charge is made in an election petition of any corrupt practice having been com- mitted at the election to which the petition refers, the judge shall report in writing to the speaker as follows : — (a.) " Whether any corrupt practice has or has not been proved to have been conmiitted by or with the knowledge and consent of any candidate at such election, and the nature of such corrupt practice : (6.) " 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 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 : — Sub-section 14 of Section 11 of the 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 cor- rupt 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 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 knowledge 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 election has been guilty by his agents of any illegal practice in reference to such elec- tion, 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 Report of elttCtion court respecting illegal practice, and punisli- ment of candi- date found guilty by such report. 31 & 32 Vict, c. 125. 31 & 32 Vict., 0. 125. 12. Whereas by the Election Commissioners Act, 1852, as amended Extension of by the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, it is enacted that where a c^gVrUT^'cUnc 330 APPENDIX. election com- missionerg lo illegal practices. 15 A 16 Vict. c. 57. 81 & 32 Vict. C. 57. IB & 16 Vict. c. S7. joint address of 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 ex- tensively prevailed 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 com- missioners 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 in- cluded illegal practices ; and the Election Commissioners Act, 1852, shall be construed 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. Providing of inoney for illeeal practice or payment to tie illesal payment. Illegal Payment, Employment, and Hiring. 13. Where a person knowingly provides money for any payment which is contrary to the provisions of this Act, or for any expenses in- cuiTed in excess of any maximum amount allowed by this Act, or for replacing any money expended in any such payment or expenses, ex- cept where the same may have been previously allowed in pursuance of this Act to be an exception, such person shall be guilty of illegal payment. Employment of hackney car- riages, or of carriages and horses kept for hire. 14. (1.) A person shall not let, lend, or employ for the purpose of the conveyance of electors to or from the poll, any public stage or hackney carriage, or any horse or other animal kept or used for drawing the same, or any carriage, horse, or other animal which he keeps or uses for the purpose of letting out for hire, and if he lets, lends, or em- ploys such caiTiage, horse, or other animal, knowing that it is intended to be used for the purpose of the conveyance 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 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. (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 any 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. Corrupt with- 15. Any person who corruptly induces or procures any other person APPENDIX. 331 to withdraw from being a candidate at an election, in consideration of drawal from a any payment or promise of payment, shall be guilty of illegal payment, candidature. and any person withdrawing, in pursuance of such inducement or pro- curement, shall also be guilty of illegal payment. 16. (1.) No payment or contract for payment shall, for the purpose Certain ex- of promoting or procuring the election of a candidate at any election, Piw^f^^!,^°^j^ be made on account of bands of music, torches, flags, banners, cockades, ribbons, or other marks of distinction. (2.) Subject to such exception as may be allowed in pursuance of this Act, if any payment or contract for payment is made in contra- vention 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 contract or receiving such pay- ment 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 promoting or procuring Certain employ the election of a candidate at any election, be engaged or employed ?{ieg^i^^° ^'^ for payment or promise of payment for any purpose or in any capacity Avhatever, 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. (2.) Subject to such exception as may be allowed in pursuance of this Act, if any person is engaged or emploj^ed 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 ha^nng reference to an election Name and shall bear upon the face thereof the name and address of the printer p^ntlfon and publisher thereof ; and any person printing, pubhshing, or posting, placards, or causing to be printed, 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 election 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 to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds. 19. The provisions of this Act prohibiting certain payments and Saving for contracts for pajnnents, and the payment of any sum, and the incur- creditors, ring of any expense in excess of a certain maximum, shall not ailect 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. 20. (a.) Any premises on which the sale by wholesale or retail of Use of com- any intoxicating liquor is authorised by a licence (whether the licence pittee roore be for consumption on or off the premises), or for sale of 332 APPENDIX. intoxicating liquor or re- freshment, or in elementary pchool, to be illegal hiring. Punishment of illegal pay- ment, employ- ment, or liiring. (h.) Any premises where any intoxicating liquor is sold, or is sup- plied to members of a club, society, or association other than a perma- nent political club, or (c.) Any 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 in receipt of an annual parliamentary grant, or any part of any such premises, or shall not be used as a committee room for the purpose of promoting or pro- curing the election of a candidate at an election, and if any person hires or 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 ofiSces or the holding of public meetings or of arbitrations, if such part has a separate entrance and no direct communication with any part of the premises on which any intoxicating liquor or refreshment is sold or supplied as aforesaid. 21. (1.) A person guilty of an ofEence of illegal payment, employ- ment or hiring shall, on summary conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds. (2.) A candidate or an election agent of a candidate who is per- sonally guilty of an ofEence of illegal payment, employment, or hiring shall be guilty of an illegal practice. Report exonerating candidate in certain cases of corrupt and illegal practice liy agents. roTTpr of H'gb Court and election court Excuse and ExceiMon for Corrupt or Illegal Practice or Illegal Payment, Employment, or Hiring. 22. Where, upon the trial of an election petition respecting an elec- tion 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 treating 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 candidate has proved to the court : (a.) That no corrupt or illegal practice was committed at such elec- tion 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 can- didate or his election agent ; and (&.) That such candidate and his election agent 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 con-upt or illegal practice on the part of such candidate and of hia 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. 23. Wliere, on application made, it is shown to the High Court or to an elex^tion court by such evidence as s^ems to the Court sufficient : i APPENDIX. 333 (a.) That any act or omission of a candidate at any election, or of his [^jfo^^'g®^*^^,. election agent or of any other agent or person, would, by frombems; reason of being a payment, engagement, employment, or con- illegal practice, tract in contravention of this Act, or being the payment of a '^• sum or the incurring of expense in excess of any maximum amount allowed by this Act, or of otherwise being in contra- vention of any of the provisions of this Act, be but for this section an illegal practice, payment, employment, or hiring ; and (b.) That such act or omission arose from inadvertence or from acci- dental miscalculation or from some other reasonable cause of a like nature, and in any case did not rise from any want of good faith ; and (c.) That such notice of the application has been 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 tlie 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 allowing such act or omission to be an exception from the provisions of this Act which would otherwise make the same an illegal practice, payment, employment, or hiring, and thereupon such candidate, agent, or person shall not be subject to any of the consequences under this Act of the said act or omission. Election Expenses. 24. (1.) On or before the day of nomination at an election, a person Nomination shall be named by or on behalf of each candidate as his agent for such °^^^\''_'''°'' election (in this Act referred to as the election agent). (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. (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, 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 can- didate himself or not, may be revoked, and in the event of such revoca- tion or his death, whether such eveni; 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, Avho shall forthwith give public notice of the same. 25. (1.) In the case of the elections specified in that behalf in the First ^°^^^^l;^"^^^^ Schedule to this Act an election agent of a candidate may appoint "ion ag"eni aa the number of deputies therein mentioned (which deputies are in this sub-agent. 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 334 APPENDIX. 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 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 writing the name and address of every sub-agent to the returning officer, 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 candidate, and in the event of such revocation or of the death of a sub-agent another sub-agent may be appointed, and his name and address shall be forthwith declared in writing to the returning officer, who shall forth- with give public notice of the same. OfiBce of election ageut and sub- agent. 26. (1.) An election agent at an election for a county or borough shall have within the county or borough, or within any county of a city Of town adjoining thereto, and a sub-agent shall have within his district, or within any county of a city or town adjoining thereto, an office or place to which all claims, notices, WTits, summonses, and documents may 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 document 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 connected 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. MaWner of contracts through elec- tion agent. 27. (1.) The election agent of a candidate by himself or by his sub-agent shall appoint every 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 management of an election shall not be enforceable 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. Payment of expenses through elec- tion agent. 28. (2.) Except as permitted by or in pursuance of this Act, no payment and no advance or deposit shall be made by a candidate at an election or by any agent on behalf of the candidate or by any 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 APPENDIX. 336 conduct or management of such election, otherwise than by or through the election agent 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 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 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 agent, whether by Period for smd- himself or a sub-agent, in respect of any expenses incurred on account mg m claims of or in respect of the conduct or management of an election, shall, payments^^ except where less than forty shillings, be vouched for by a bill stating for election the particulars and by a receipt. expenses. (2.) Every claim against a candidate at an election 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 contraven- tion 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 management 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 practic^ (5.) iixcept 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 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 conni- vance 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 scid 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 ; 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 336 APPENDIX. exception from the provisions of this Act requiricg clauns to be paid by the election agent. "^(9.) On cause shown to the satisfaction of the High Court, such court, on application by the claimant or by the candidate or his election agent, 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 afore- said, 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. E'^ference to taxation of claim asainst candidates. 30. If any action is brought in any competent court to recover a disputed claim against a candidate at an election, 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 other- wise directs, be forthwith referred for taxation to the master, official referee, registrar, or other proper ofiicer 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. Personal exp^'iis-'S of candidate and petty expenses. 31. (1.) The candidate at an election may pay any personal expenses incurred by him on account of or in connection with or incidental to such election to an amount not exceeding one hundred pounds, but any further personal expenses so incurred by him shall be paid by his election agent. (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 such candidate. (3.) Any person may, if so authorised in writing by the election agent of the candidate, pay any necessary expenses for stationery, postage, telegrams, 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 for the sending in of claims, and shall be vouched for by a bin containing the receipt of that person. Remuneration of election agent and retuminj? officer's expenses. 38 & 39 Vict. c. 8K 32. (1.) So far as circumstances admit, this Act shall apply to a claim for his remuneration by an election agent and to the payment thereof in Uke manner as if he were any other creditor, and if any dif- ference arises respecting the amount 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 returning officer m the case of a candidate and transmitted in pursuance of Section 4 of the Parliamentary Elections (Returning OSicers) Act, 1875, shall be transmitted within the time specified in the said section to the election agent of the candidate, and need not be transmitted to the can- didate. A APPENDIX. 337 33. (1.) Within thirty-five days after the day on which the candi- Return and dates returned at an election are declared elected, the election agent respecting of every candidate at that election shall transmit to the returning election officer a true return (in this Act referred to as a return respecting ^xpenfies. election expenses), in the form set forth in the Second Schedule to this Act or to the like eflEect, containing, as respects that candi- date : — (a.) A statement of all payments made by the election agent, together with all the bills and receipts (\vhich bills and receipts are in this Act included in the expression " return respecting election expenses " ) ; (b.) A statement of the amount of personal expenses, 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 conduct or management of the election, v/ith 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 accom- panied by a declaration made by the election agent before a justice of the peace in the form in th.e Second Schedule to this Act (which decla- ration 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, securities, 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 equivalent of money received by the election agent from the candidate ; and tlie declaration by an election agent respecting elec- tion expenses need not be made, and the declaration by the candidate respecting election 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). (5.) If in the case of an election for any county or borough, the said return 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 v ote in the House of Commons as member for that county or borough until cither 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 Jjp so sits or votes to any person who sues for the same. 338 APPENDIX. Anthoriscd excuse for non-compliance with provisions as to return and declaration respecting election expenses (6.) If without such authorised excuse as in this Act mentioned, ei candidate or an election agent fails to comply with the requii'ements 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 for wilful and corrupt perjury ; such offence shall also be deemed to be a corrupt practice within the meaning of tliis Act. (8.) When the candidate is out of the United Kingdom at the time when the return is so transmitted to the returning officer, the declara- tion 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 forth- with 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 declara- tion respecting election expenses. (9.) Where, after the date at wliich 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 respecting 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 con- tain 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 declara- tions, or any of them, or any part thereof, or any error or false statement therein, has arisen by reason of his 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 Uke nature, and not by reason of any want of good faith on the part of the applicant, or (h.) if the election agent of the candidate 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 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 application in the said county or borough, and on production of such evidence of the grounds stated in the application, and of the good faith of the application, and other- wise, as to the court seems fit, make such order for allowing _ an authorised excuse for the failure to ti-ansmit such return and declaration, or for an error or false statement in such retm-n and declaration as to the court seems just. APPENDIX. 339 (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 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 par- ticulars required to be contained in the return, as to the court seem just, and to make or deUver 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 com- pliance with any such order order him to pay a fine not exceeding five hundred pounds. (3.) The order may make the allowance conditional upon the making of the return and declaration 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 allowing an authorised excuse shall relieve the applicant for the order from any liabihty or consequences under this Act in respect of the matter excused by the order ; and where it is proved by the can- didate 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 sanction or connivance of the candidate, and that the candi- date took all reasonable means for preventing 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 terms are to be com- plied with, the date at which the applicant fully complies with them, is refeiTed to in tliis Act as the date of the allowance of the excuse. 35. (1.) The returning oflScer at an election, within ten days after he Publication receives from the election agent of a candidate a return respecting pgf™"^^T'^* election expenses, shall publish a summary of the return in not less than election two newspapers circulating in the county or borough for which the expenses, election was held, accompanied by a notice of the time and place at which the return and declarations (including the accompanying docu- ments) can be inspected, and may charge the candidate in respect of such publication, and the amount of such charge shall be the sum allowed by the Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officers') Act, 1875. (2.) The return and declarations (including the accompanying docu- 33 & 39 yjct^ ments) sent to the returning officer by an election agent shall be kept at 0. 84. 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 person on payment of a fee of one shilling, and the returning officer shall on demand furnish copies thereof or any part thereof at the price of two- pence for every seventy-two words. After the expiration of the said two years the returning officer may cau.se the said return and declara- tions (including the accompanying documents) to be destroyed, or, if the candidate or his election agent so require, shall return the same to the candidate. Disqualificutio'.i of Electors. 36 Every person guilty of a corrupt or illegal practice or of illegal Prohibition of 340 APPENDIX. of corrupt or illegal practices, &c., from voting. Prohibition of disqualified persons from voting. 35 X 36 Vict. c. 60. 45 A; 46 Vict, c, 50. Hearing of person before he is reported] guilty of corrupt or illegal practice, and incapacity of person reported guilty. employment, payraenl, or hiring at an election is prohibited from voting at such election, and if any such person votes his vote shall be void. 37. Every person who, in consequence of conviction or of the report of any election court or election commissioners under this Act, or under the Corrupt Practices (Municipal Elections) Act, 1872, or under Part IV. of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, or under any other Act for the time being in force relating to corrupt practices at an election for any public office, has become incapable of voting at any election, whether a parliamentary election or an election to any public office, is prohibited 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 bean guilty, at an election, of any corrupt or illegal practice, 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 commissioners 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 coui:;ty or place in which the offence is aUeged to have been committed, and such court may hear and determine the appeal ; and subject to rules of court such appeal may be 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 jurisdiction, and the person so reported had been convicted 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 Bection are interfering or are likely to interfere with the ordinary busi- ness transacted before any courts of oyer and terminer or gaol delivery, he may direct that the sakl 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 Elections Act, 1868, 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 of this Act is reported by any election court or election commissioners to have been guilty of any corrupt or illegal practice 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 APPENDIX. 341 to have been guilty : Provided that a report of any election commis- sioners 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 respecting 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 thfe Parlia- ment for wliich 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 remove 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 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 cognisance 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 (in this section referred to as a licensed person) the following provisions shall have effect : (a.) If it appears to the court by which any licensed person is con- victed of the offence of bribery or treating that such offence was committed on his licensed premises, the court shall direct such conviction to be entered in the proper register of licenses. (6.) If it appears to an election court or election commissioners that a licensed person has knowingly suffered any bribery or treating 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 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 license, and such licensing justices shall cause such report to be entered in the proper register of licenses. (c.) Where an entry is made in the register of licenses of any such conviction of or report respecting any licensed person as above in this section mentioned, it shall be taken into consideration by the licensing justices in determining whether they will or will not grant to such person the renewal of his license or certificate, and may be a ground, if tlie justices think fit, for refusing such renewal. (y.) Where the evidence showing any corrupt practice to have been 342 APPENDIX. committed by a justice of the peace, barrister, solicitor, or other pro- fessional person, or any licensed person, was given before election commissioners, those commissioners shall report the case to the Director of Public Prosecutions, 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, and the expression election shaU be construed accordingly. List in register ot voters of persons incapacitated for voting by corrupt or illegal practices. 4i & 16 Vict. C. 60. 39. (1.) The registration officer in every 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 parhamentary 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 parliamen- tary election or an election to any public office ; and such officer shaU state in the list (in this Act referred to as the corrupt and illegal prac- tices 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 parliamentarj^ 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 (6.) if he is the registration officer of a borough, in the county in Avhich such borough is situate, or in any borough in that county. (3.) The registration officer shall send the list to tlie overseers of every parish within his county or borough, together with his precept, and the 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 prac- tices 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 ciaim 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 re-v-ise 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 re\-ising 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 fi'om the list has or has not been made, but) after giving such person an opportunity of making a statement to show cause to tha APPENDIX. 3-13 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 has 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 pubhshed therewith wherever the same is printed or pubhshed. Proceedings on Election Petition. 40. (1.) Where an election petition questions the return or the Time for election upon an allegation of an illegal practice, then notwithstanding ^[e^i|ction°^ anything in the Parhamentary Elections Act, 1868, such petition, so far petitions as respects such iUegal practice, may be presented within the time prSf. following (that is to say) : 3i k 32 Vict, (a.) At any time before the expiration of fourteen days after the day c. 125. on which the returning officer receives the return and declara- tions 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 nioney, 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 further- ance 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 Parhamentary Elections Act, 1868, may for the purpose of questioning the return or the election upon an allegation of an illegal practice be 3^ & 32 vict. c. amended with the leave of the High Court, within the time within 125. which a 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 ofEence relating to the return and declarations respecting election expenses in like nianner as if it were an illegal practice, and also shall apply notwthstanding 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 (Jj) 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 purpose of this section, time shall be reckoned in like manner as it is reckoned for the purposes of the Parhamentary Elections Act, 1868. 41. (1.) Before leave for the withdrawal of an election petition is ^j^,Y^J;'',7g"J "* tion. 344 APPENDIX. granted, there shall be produced affidavits by all the parties to the petition and their solicitors, and by the election agents of all of the said parties who were candidates at the election, 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 the deponents' 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 agree- ment 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 solicitor 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 agreement, terms, or undertaking is or are for the vv'ithdrawal of the election petition in consideration of any payment, or in considera- tion 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 misdemeanour, and shall be liable on conviction on indict- ment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months, and to a fine 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 representative (appointed with the approval of the Attorney-General), in opposition to the allowance of the withdrawal of the petition, and shall have power to receive the evidence on oath of any person or persons whose evidence the director of public prosecutions or liis 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, terras, or undertaking pro- hibited by this section, the court shall have the same power with respect ^25* ^' ^^''*" '^' *° ^^^® security as under Section 35 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, where the withdrawal is induced by a corrupt consideration. (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 withdrawal of such petition was the result of any agreement, terms, or undertaking, or was in consideration of any piyment, or in con- sideration tliatthe seat should at anytime be vacated, or in consideration of the withdrawal of any other election petition, or for any other con- sideration, and, if so, shall state the circumstances attending the with- drawal. (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.) Where 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. Continuation of 42. The trial of every election petition so far as is practicable, con- petitioii?'^^'^°'^ sistently with the interests of justice in respect of such trial, shall be continued de die in diem on every lawful day until its conclusion, and I APPENDIX. 3-^5 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 ^re^^^'of^ °^ prosecutions shall by himself or by his assistant, or by such represen- public prosecu- tative as hereinafter mentioned, attend at the trial, and it shall be tions on trial of the duty of such director to obey any directions given to him by the l^d prosecution election court with respect to the summoning and examination of any by bim of witness to give evidence on such trial, and with respect to the prosecu- oSenders. tion 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, if 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. (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 expedient in the interests of justice before any other competent court. (4.) Where a person is prosecuted before an election 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 is rendered subject to under this Act upon con- viction, 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 l3y this Act for the offence ; Provided that, in the case of a corrupt practice, the court, before pro- ceeding to try summarily any person, shall give such person the option of being tried by a jury. (5.) Where a pei-son is so prosecuted for any such offence, 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 otiier 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 preliminary 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 peison 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 his trial for the said offence ; and 34(1 APPENDIX. (6.) 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 attend- ance, or a warrant 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 Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury may approve. There shall be allowed to the director and his assistant or representative, for the pur- poses of this section, such allowance for expenses as the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury may approve. (8.) The costs incurred in defraying the expenses of the director of public prosecutions under this section (including the remuneration of his representative) shall, in the first instance, be paid by the Commis- sioners 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, or such of them as the court may direct. Power to elec- tion court to order payment by county or borough or in- dividual of costs of election petition. 44. (1.) Where upon the trial of an election petition respecting an election for a county or borough it appears to the election court that a corrupt practice has not been proved to have been committed in refer- ence to such election by or with 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 pre- vailed 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 (6.) 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 encouraged or promoted extensive corrupt practices in reference to such election, the court may, after giving such person or persons an opportunity 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 APPENDIX. 347 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 coui-t to have been guilty of the offence of a corrupt or 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. (3.) The rules and regulations of the Supreme Court of Judicature with respect to costs to be allowed in actions, causes, and matters in the High Court shall in principle and so far as practicable 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, as between solicitor and client. Miscellaneous. 45. Where information is given to the Director of Public Prosecu- inquiry by tions that any corrupt or illegal practices have prevailed in reference to '^Jj'i';fic''^prosecu- any election, it shall be his duty, subject to the regulations under the tlonsinto Prosecution of Offences Act, 1879, to make such inquiries and insti- alleged corrupt tute such prosecutions as the circumstances of the case appear to him °fcgsf°* ^^^' to require. 46. Where a person has, either before or after the commencement Removal of in- of this Act, become subject to any incapacity under the Corrupt " j?^f'*7 °^. Practices Prevention Acts or this Act by reason of a conviction or of was procured a report of any election court or election commissioners, and any by perjury, witness who gave evidence against such incapacitated person upon the proceeding for such conviction or report is convicted 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 thenceforth cease, and the same shall cease accordingly. 47. (1.) Every county shall be divided into polling districts, and a Amendment of polling place shall be assigned to each district in such manner that, so -'^11 ^^^t*^' 1°''' far as is reasonably practicable, every elector resident in the county and polling sliall have his polling place within a distance not exceeding three miles places, 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 polling 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. (3.) The power of dividing a borough into polling districts vested in a local authority by the Representation of the People Act, 1867, and the enactments amending the same, may be exercised by such v^48 APPENDIX. 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 eifect, divide the borough into polling districts in such manner that : — (a.) Every elector resident in the borough, if other than one herein after 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 (6.) Every elector resident in the boroughs of East Retford, Shore- ham, Cricklade, Much Wenlock, and Aylesbury, shall be enabled to poll within a distance not exceeding three miles from his residence, so nevertheless that a polling district need not be constituted containing less than one hundred electors. (4.) So much of Section 5 of the Ballot Act, 1872, and the enact- ments amending the same as 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 cr 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, and those enactments, so far as is consistent with the tenor thereof, shall apply accordingly. Conveyance of voters by sea in certain cases. 48. Where the nature of a county is such that any electors residing therein are unable at an election 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. Election com- missioners not to inquire into elections before the passing of this Act. 49. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Act 15 and 18 "Vict. cap. 57, or any amendment thereof, in any case where, after the passmg of this Act, any commissioners have been appointed, on a joint address of both Houses of Parliament, for the purpose of making inquiry into the existence of corrupt 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 commissioners, 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 pur- pose of proving the commission of any corrupt practice 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. Trial in Central Criminal Court of indictment Legal Proceedings. 50. Where an indictment as defined by this Act for any offenco under the Corrupt Practices Prevention Acts or tliis Act is instituted in APPENDIX, 349 the High Court, or is removed into the High Court by a writ of certio- for corrupt rari issued at the instance of the Attorney-General, and the Attorney- P[^^^|f^f * ''"" General suggests on the part of the Crown that it is expedient for the Attorney- purposes of justice that the indictment should be tried in the Central General. Criminal Court, or if a special jury is ordered, that it should_ be tried before a judge and jury at the Royal 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. 51. (1.) A proceeding against a person in respect of the offence of Limitation of a corrupt or illegal practice, or any other offence under the Corrupt *^^t^fQn°oy^°**'" Practices Prevention Act, or this Act, shall be commenced within one offence, year after the offence Avas committed, or if it was committed in refer- ence to an election with respect to which an inquiry is held by election commissioners shall be commenced within one year after the offence was committed, or within three months after the report of such com- missioners is made, whichever period last expires, so that it be com- menced 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 Summary 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, war- rant, 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 absconding or concealment or act of the alleged offender, but save as aforesaid the service or execution of the same on or against the alleged offender, and not the offence thereof, shall be deemed to be the commencement of the proceeding. 52. Any person charged with a corrupt practice may, if the circum- -^j^^^^^^^ ^.j^ stances warrant such finding, be found guilty of an illegal practice corrupt prac- (which offence shall for that purpose be an indictable offence), and any tico may be person charged with an illegal practice may be found guilty of that uiegai^^adtice. offence, notwithstanding that the act constituting the offence amounted to a corrupt practice, and a person charged with illegal payment, em- ployment, or hiring, may be found guilty of that offence, notwithstand- ing that the Act constituting the offence amounted to a corrupt orille^-al practice. 53. (1.) Sections 10, 12, and 13 of the Corrupt Practices Prevention Act, 1854, and Section 6 of the Corrupt Practices Prevention Act, 18G3 (which relate to prosecutions for bribery and other offences under those Acts), shall extend to any prosecution on indictment for the offence of any corrupt practice within the moaning of this Act, and to any action for any pecuniary forfeiture for an offence under this Act, in like manner as if such offence were bribery within the meaning of those Acts, and such indictment or action were the indictment or action in those sections mentioned, and an order under the said Section 10 may be made on the defendant ; but the Director of Public Prosecutions, or any person instituting any prosecution in his behalf, or by direction of an Application of enactments of }7 & 18 Vict. c. 102, and 26 * 27 Vict. c. 29, relating to pro secutions for bribery. 17 Si 18 Vict. c. 102. 26 & 27 Vict. C. 2P. 350 APPENDIX. election court, shall not be deemed to be a private prosecutor, 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 prose- cuted 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 aforesaid 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 mimed in the certificate was a candidate at such election, shall be sufficient evidence of the facts therein stated. Prof3ecution on summary con- viction, and appeal to quar- ter sessions. 54. (1.) All offences under this Act punishable on summary con viction may be prosecuted in manner provided by the Summary Juris- diction Acts. (2.) A person aggrieved by a conviction by a Court of Summary Jurisdiction for an offence under this Act may appeal to general or quarter sessions against such conviction. Application of Summary Jurisdiction and Indictable Offences Acts to proceedings before election courts. 55. (1.) Except that nothing in this Act shall authorise any appeal against a summary conviction by an election court, the Summary Jurisdiction Act shall, so far as is consistent with the tenor thereof, app]}^ to the prosecution of an ofEence summarily before an election court, in like manner as if it were an oflEence punishable only on summary conviction, and accordingly the attendance of any person may be enforced, the case heard and determined, and any summary con- viction 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 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 to be prosecuted on indictment in Uke manner as if the court were a justice of the peace. Exercise of jurisdiction of High Court, and making of rules of court. 56. (1.) Subject to any rules of court, any jurisdiction vested by this Act in the High Court may, so far as it relates to indictments or other criminal proceedings, be exercised by any judge of the Queen's Bench Division, and in other respects 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 jurisdiction in the case either of an order declaring any act or omission to be an exception from the provisions 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 APPENDIX. 351 Act, 1868, and the Acts amending the same, by the same authonty by whom rules of court for procedure and practice in the Supreme Court of Judicature can for the time being be made. 57. (1.) The Director of Public Prosecutions, in performing any Director of duty under this Act, shall act in accordance with the regulations under {^^jj^g^aSfi^e®?"' the Prosecution of Offences Act, 1879, and subject thereto in accordance penses of proso- with the directions (if any) given to him by the Attorney-General ; and ^utions 42 & 43 any assistant or representative of the Director of Public Prosecutions, ic . . -. in performing any duty under this Act, shall act in accordance Avith 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 prose- cution 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 being costs of a Recovery of prosecution on indictment) are, under an order of an election court, or ^"^g^JJ^^^^or^ otherwise under this Act, to be paid by a county or borough, the borough or by Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury shall pay those costs or sums, person. and obtain repayment of the amount so paid, in like manner as if such costs and sums were expenses of Election Commissioners paid by them, and the Election Commissioners' Expenses Acts, 18G9 and 1871, 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 per- sons 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. 32 & 33 Vict. C. 21. 31 & 35 Vict. C. 61. Supplemental Provisions, Definitions, Savings, and Repeals. 59. (1.) A person who is called as a witness respecting an election Ohlisationof before any election court shall not be excused from answering any ques- ^""Ifr^and tion relating to any offence at or connected with such election, on the certificate of ground that the answer thereto may criminate or tend to criminate him- miiemmty. self 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 answer shall be entitled to receive a certifi- cate of indemnity under the hand of a member of the court stating that such witness has so answered : and (6.) 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 perjury in receipt of such evidence, be in any proceeding, civil or criminal, admissible in evidence against him : (2.) Where a person has received such a certificate of indemnity in relation to an slection, and any legal proceeding is at any time instituted 352 APPENDIX. against him for any offence under the Corrupt Practices Prevention Acts or this Act committed 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 re- ceiving a certificate of indemnity from any incapacity under this Act or from any proceeding to enforce such incapacity (other than a criminal prosecution). (4.) This section shall apply in the case of a witness before any elec- tion commissioners, 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 respecting 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. Submission of report of elec- tion court or commissioners to Attorney- General. 60. An election court or election commissioners, when reporting that certain persons have been guilty of any corrupt or illegal practice, shall report whether those persons have or 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 is based), with a view to his instituting or directing a prosecution against such persons as have not received certificates of indemnity, if the evidence should, in his opinion, be sufficient to suppoii; a prosecution. Breach of duty by otBcer. 85 .t 3« Vict. c. 33. 6 Vict. c. 18. 61. (1.) Section 11 of the Ballot Act, 1872, shall apply to a returning officer or presiding officer 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 97 of the Parliamentary Registration Act, 1843, 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 Registra- tion Act, 1843. Publicfition and service of notices. 35 &. 36 Vict. C.33. 62. (1.) Any public notice required to be given by the returning officer under this Act shall be given in the manner in which he is dii'ected by the Ballot Act, 1872, to give a pubhc notice. (2.) Where any summons, notice, or document is required to besei-ved on any person with reference to any proceeding respecting an election for a county or borough, whether for the purpose of causing him to appear before the High Court or any election court, or election commis- sioners, 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 document may be sei-ved 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 APPENDIX. 353 county or borough, or if the proceeding is before any court or commis- sioners, in such other manner as the court or commissioners 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 practice," shall be inserted after the words "or other corrupt prac- tices," and the words the " Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act, 1883," shall be inserted after the words " Corrupt Practices Pre- vention Act, 1854." 63. (1.) In the Corrupt Practices Prevention Acts, as amended by Definition of this Act, the expression "candidate at an election," and the expression candidate, and " candidate," respectively mean, unless the context otherwise requires, sons nominated any person elected to serve in Parliament at such election, and any without con- person who is nominated as a candidate at such election, or is declared ^^^^' by himself or by others to be a candidate, on or after the day of the issue oL' the writ for such election, or after the dissolution or vacancy in consequence of which such writ has been issued ; (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 ruch nomi- nation or declaration, or has been elected ; and (t.) 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 ht, make the declaration respecting elec- tion expenses contained in the second part in the second schedule to this Act, and the election agent shall, so far as circumstances admit, comply 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. General mter- pretiit-i'm of term». SI & 32 Vict, c. 125, 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 Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, as amended by this Act : The expression " election court " means the 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, 15 & 16 Vict 1852, and the enactments amending the same : '^" *^" The expression " High Court " means Her Majesty's High Court of Justice in England : The expressions "court of summary jurisdiction," "petty sessional court," and "Summary Jurisdiction Acts," have the same meaning as in the Summary Jvu-isdiction Act, 1879 : The expression " the Attorney-General " includes the Solicitor- General in cases where the office of the Attornev-General 42 & 43 Vict, c. 40. 23 364 APPENDIX. 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 par- liamentary electors : The expression "elector" means any person whose name is for the time being on the register 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 " means the said register roll or book : The expression "polling agent" means an agent of the candidate appointed to attend at a polling station in pursuance of the 35 & 36 Vict. Ballot Act, 1872, or of the Acts therein referred to or amending *• ^^- the same : The expression "person" includes an association or body of persons, corporate or unincorporate, and where any act is done by any such association or body, the members of such association 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 an}' room or building be deemed to be a committee room for the pur- poses of this Act by reason only of the candidate or any agent of the candidate addressing therein electors, committee men 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 to municipal corporations or to the poor law, 83 & 34 Vict. or under the Elementary Act, 1870, or under the Public Health b8 ' £ me"] . . . j 364 APPENDIX. Received of J.K. [jffere set out the vane and description of every person, club, society, or association, whether the can- didate or not, from whom any money, securities, or equivalent of money was received in respect of expenses incurred on account of or in connexion with or incidental 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 said >£ election . . . . • • • • • J Personal expenses of the said CD., paid by himself "k [or if the candidate is his own election agent, J-£ " Paid by me as candidate "] J Do. do. paid by me [or \ if the candidate is his own election agent, add > £ " acting as election agent "J • • _ • • -J Received by me for my services as election agent at "j the said election [or if the candidate is his own eke- > £ tion agent, leave out this item"] j Paid to G.H. as sub-agent of the polling district of . £ [The name and description of each sub-agent and the sum paid to him must be set out separately ."] Paid to as polling agent . . . & Paid to as clerk for days services . £ Paid to as messenger for days services £ [The names and descriptions of every polling agent, cleric, and messenger, and the sum paid to each, must he 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 supplied or work and labour done : To P.Q. (printing) £ To M.N. (advertising) £ To R.S. (stationery) £ [The name and description of each person, and the nature of the goods supplied, or the work and labour done by each, must he set out separately 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 ; find the name and description of erery person to whom APPENDIX. 365 any payment was made for each such 'room, together with the amount paid, must he 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 him, 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 election agent for CD., \or if the candidate is his mvn election agent, leave out " as election agent for C.D.^^] of the following disputed and unpaid claims ; namely — Disputed claims. BjT.U.toT . £ [Here set out the name and description of each person whose claim is disputed, the amount of the claim, and the goods, work, oi' other matter on the ground of which the claim is based.] 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. ByiJ/.O. for £ [Here state the name and description of each person to whom any such claim is due, and the amount of the claim, and the goods, worh, and lahowr or other matter on account of which the claim is due.] (Signed) A.B. Part II. Form of Declaration as to Expenses. Form for candidate where declared a candidate or nominated 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, pro- mised, or offered, ar\y reward, office, employment, or valuable considera- tion, or incurred any liability on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of the said election. 3t;G APPENDIX. 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 ao-ent at the said election, or to any other person, club, society, or association on account of or in respect of the conduct or manage- ment of the said election, and that [or with the exception of ] 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 in- curred on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of the oQir] plpcLion. 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, employ- ment, or valuable consideration for the purpose of defraymg 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 defray- ing 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 THIRD SCHEDULE. CoiiRUPT Practices Prevention Acts. Bession and Chapter. Title of Act. Enactments referred to as being the Corrupt Practices Prevention Act. 17 & 18 Vict. C. 102 . 26 & 27 Vict. c. 29 . 31 & 32 Vict. c. 125 . 36 & 36 Vict. c. a3 . 42 & 43 Vict. c. 75 . Part I. Temporary. The Corrupt Practices Pre- ventioQ Act, 1854. An Act to amend and con- tinue the law relating to corrupt practices at elec- tions of Members of Par- liament. The Parliamentaiy Elec- tions Act, 1868. The Ballot Act, 1872. The Parliamentary Elec- tions and Corrupt Prac- tices Act, 1879. The whole Act so far as unrepealed. The whole Act so far as unrepealed. The whole Act so far as unrepealed. Part III. so far as unrepealed. The whole Act so far as unrepealed. APPENDIX. M7 Session and Chapter. Title of Act. Enactments referred to as being the Corrupt Practices Prevention Acta, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 31 & 32 Vict. c. 48 , 31 & 32 Vict. c. 49 , 44 & 45 Vict. c. 40 . PART TWO. Fermanenf. The Eepresentation of the People Act, 1867. The EeprescQtation of the People (Scotland) Act, 1868. The Eepresentation of the People (Ireland) Act, 1868. The Universities Elections Amendment (Scotland) Act, 1881. Sections eleven forty- nine, and fifty. Sections eight and forty-nine. Sections eight and thirteen. Sub-section seventeen of section two. PART THREE. Enactments defining the offences of Bribery and Personation. [The full text of all these enactments is given in the body of the work. See pp. 3, 4, 5]. FOURTH SCHEDULES. Short Titles. Session and Chapter. Long Title. Short Title. 15 & 16 Vict. c. 67 26 & 27 Vict. c. 29 An Act to provide for more effectual inquiry into the existence of corrupt prac- tices at the election of Members to serve in Par- liament. An Act to amend and con- tinue the law relating to corrupt practices at elec- tions of Members of Par- liament. Election Commis- sioners Act, 1852. The Corrupt Practices Prevention Act, 1863. 368 APPENDIX. FIFTH SCHEDULE. Enactments Repealed. Note. — Portions of Acts Avhich have already been specifically repealed are in some instances included in the repeal in this Schedule in order to preclude henceforth the necessity of looking back to previous Acts. A description or citation of a portion of an Act is inclusive of tho 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 com- prised in the description or citation. Session and Chapter. 60 Geo. 3. & 1 Geo. 4 c. 11. 1 & 2 Geo. 4. c. 58. 4 Geo. 4. c. 65. 17 & 18 Vict. c. 102 . Title or Short Title. An Act for tl' e better regula- tion of polls, and for making further provision touching the election of Members to serve in Par- liament for Ireland. 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 Par- liament for the countit s of cities and counties of towns in Ireland. The Corrupt Practices Pre- vention Act, 1854. Extent of Repeal. Section thirty-six. The whole A ct except section three. Section eighty-two. Section one. Section two, from " and any person so offending " to " witli full costs of suit." Section three, from ' ' and any person so " offending " to the end of the section. Section four. Section five. Section six. APPENDIX. 369 Session and Chapter. 17 & 18 Vict. c. 102 21 & 22 Vict. 0. 87. 26 & 27 Vict. c. 29 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102. 31 & 32 Vict. c. 48 31 & 32 Vict. c. 49 31 & 32 Vict. c. 58. 31 & 32 Vict. c. 125 Title or Short Title. The Corrupt Practices Pre- vention Act, 1854, An Act to continue and amend the Corrupt Prac- tices Prevention Act, 1854. An Act to amend and con- tinue the law relating to corrupt practices at elections of Members of Parliament. The Representation of the People Act, 1867, The Representation of the People (Scotland) Act, 1868. The Representation of the People (Ireland) Act, 1868. The Parliamentary Electors Registration Act, 1868. The Parliamentary Elec- tions Act, 1868. Extent of Repeal. Section seven, irom '* and all pay- ments" to the end of the section. Section nine, section fourteen, section twenty-three, sec- tion thirty- six, sec- tion thiitj'-eight, from "and the words personal ex- penses" to the end of the section, and section thirty-nine and Schedule A. The whole Act. The whole Act, ex- cept sections ix. Section thirty- four, from " and in other boroughs the jus- tices " to " greater part thereof is situate " and sec- tion thirty-six. Section twenty-five. Section twelve. Section eighteen, from " the power of dividing their county " to the end of the section. So much of section three as relates to the definitions of "candidate." Section sixteen. 24 370 APPENDIX. Session and Chapter. ai & 32 Vict. c. 125 . Title or Short Title. Extent of Repeal. The Parliamentary Elec- tions Act, 1868. 85 & 36 Vict. c. 33. , The Ballot Act, 1872. 42 & 43 Vict. c. 76. 43 Vict. c. 18. . The Parliamentary Elec- tions and Corrupt Prac- tices Act, 1879. The Parliamentary Elec- tions and Corrupt Prac- tices Act, 1880. Section thirty-three. Section thirty-six. Section forty-one, from "but accord- ing to the same principles " to " the High Court of Chancery.'' Section forty-three. Section forty-five. Section forty-six. Section forty-seven. Section fifty-eight, from " The prin- ciples" down to "in the court of session," being sub- section sixteen. Section five, from the beginning down to " one hundred re- gistered electors." Section twenty-four, from ' ' The ofienee of personation, or of aiding," to *' hard labour," and from " The offence of personation shall be deemed to be" to the end of the section. Section three and schedule. The whole Act, ex- cept sections one and three. APPENDIX. 371 MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS (COERUPT AND ILLEGAL PRACTICES) ACT, 1884. 47 & 48 Vict. c. 70. An Act for the better Prevention of Corrupt and Illegal Practices at Municipal and other Elections. 14th August, 1884. 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 ; (that is to say,) 1. This Act may be cited as the Municipal Elections (Corrupt and Short title Illegal Practices) Act, 1884. Corrupt Practices. 2. (l.^ The expression " corrupt practice " in this Act means any of Definition and the following offences, namely, treating, undue influence, bribery, and P"Dishment of personation as defined by the enactments set forth in Part One of the at mun'icipaf'"^ Third Schedule to this Act, and aiding, abetting, counselling and pro- — curing the commission of the offence of personation. (2.) A person who commits any corrupt practice in reference to a niunicipal election shall be guilty of the like offence, and shall on con- viction be liable to the like punishment, and subject to the like incapaci- ties, as if the corrupt practice had been committed in reference to a parliamentary election. election. 3.(1.) Where upon the trial of an election petition respecting a incapacity of municipal election for a borough or ward of a borough it is found by candidate the report of an election court made in pursuance of section ninety-three of 'cw'rupf'^'^^^ of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, that any corrupt practice, other Practice, than treating and undue influence, has been proved to have been com- c°50*" '^'*"'" mitted in reference to such election by or with the knowledge and con- " ' eent of any candidate at such election, or that the offence of treating or undue influence has been proved to have been committed in reference to such election by any candidate at such election, that candidate shall not be capable of ever holding a corporate office in the said borough, 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 said report ho had been convicted of a corrupt practice. (2.) Upon the trial of an election petition respecting a municipal 372 APPENDIX. election for a borough or ward of a 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 High Court whether any of the candidates at such election has been guilty by his agents 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 a corrupt practice in reference to such election, that candidate shall not be capable of being elected to or holding any corporate office in the said borough, during a period of three years from the date of the report, and if he has been elected, his election shall be void. Certain expenditure to be illegal practice. Illegal Practices, 4. (1.) No payment or contract for payment shall, for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of a candidate at a municipal election, be made — (a.) on account of the conveyance of electors to or from the poll whether for the hiring of horses or carriages, or for railway fares or otherwise ; or (&.) 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 this Act (that is to say), if the election is for a borough one committee room for the borough, and if the election is for a ward one committee room for the ward, and if the num- ber of electors in such borough or ward exceeds two thousand, one additional committee room for fevery two thousand electors and incomplete part of two thousand electors, over and above the said two thousand. (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 of this section either before, during, or after a municipal election, the person making such payment or contract shall be guilty of an illegal practice, and any person receiving such payment or being a paity 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 business of an elector as an advertising agent to exhibit 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 in excess of maximum to be illegal practice. 5. (1.) Subject to such exception as may be allowed in pursuance of this Act, no sum shall be paid and no expense shall be incurred by or on behalf of a candidate at an election, whether before, during, or after an election, on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of such election, save that in the case of an election of a councillor a sum may be paid and expense incurred not in excess of the maximum amount following ; (that is to say,) The sum of twenty-five pounds, and, if the number of electors in the borough or ward exceeds five hundred, an additional amount of threepence for each elector above the first five hundred electors. APPENDIX. 373 (2.) Any candidate or agent of a candidate or person who know- ingly acts in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an illegal practice. (3.) Where there are two or more joint candidates at an election the maximum amount of expenses 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 two or more candidates at the election, by themselves or any agent or agents, hire or use the same committee rooms for such election, or employ or use the services of the same clerks, messengers, or polling agent at such election, or publish a joint address or joint cir- cular 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, clerk, messenger, or polling agent, if accidental or casual, or of a trivial and unimportant character, shall not be deemed of itself to con- stitute persons joint candidates. (6.) 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 election as a separate candidate, and such ceasing or beginning was in good faith, and such excess is not more than under the circumstances is reason- able, 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 tlie 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 prac- tice, and the candidate may be relieved accordingly from the consequences of having incurred such excess of expenses. publisbing of false statements of witbdiawal to be illegal. 6. (1.) If any person votes or induces or procures any person to vote Voting by at a municipal election, knowing that he or such person is prohibited, persons and whether by this or any other Act, from voting at such election, he shall be guilty of an illegal practice. (2.) Any person \\ ho before or during a municipal election knowingly publishes a false statement of the withdrawal 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 elec- tion be avoided, for any illegal practice under this section committed without his knowledfi-e and consent. 7. A person guilty of an illegal practice in reference to a municipal Punishment on election, shall on summary conviction be liable to_ a fine not exceeding ^ii^gai"'practice. 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 borough in which the illegal practice has been committed. 374 APPENDIX. Incapacity of candidate re;iortfd guilty of illegal pnictice. 45 & 46 Vict. C. 60. 8. (1.) An illegal practice within the meaning of this Act shall be deemed to be an offence against Part Four of the Municipal Corpora- tions Act, 1882, and a petition alleging such illegal practice may be pre- sented and tried accordingly. (2.) Upon the trial of an election petition respecting a municipal elec- tion for a borough or ward of a borough in which a charge is made of any illegal practice having been committed in reference to such election, the election court shall report in writing to the High Court whether any of the candidates at such election has been guilty by himself or hia agents of an illegal practice in reference to such election, and if the report is that a candidate at such election has been guilty by himself or his agents of an illegal practice in reference to such election, the candi- date shall not be capable of being elected to or of holding any corporate ofl&ce in the said borough during the period for which he was elected to serve, or for which if elected he might have served, and if he was elected, his election shall be void ; and, if the report is that such candi- date has himself been guilty of such illegal practice, he shall also be subject to the same incapacities as if at the date of the report he had been convicted of such illegal practice. Illegal PaTjmenf, Employment, and Hiring. Providi'ig of money foi' illegal practice or iiayment t > be illetfal payment. Employment of hackney carriages, or of carriages and horses kept for hire. 9. Where a person knowingly provides money for any payment which is contrary to the provisions of this Act, or for any expenses incurred in excess of any maximum amount allowed by this Act, or for replacing any money expended in any such payment, except where the same may have been previously allowed in pursuance of this Act to be an exception, such person shall be guilty of illegal payment. 10. (1.) A person shall not let, lend, or employ for the purpose of the conveyance of electors to or from the poll at a municipal election, any public stage or hackney carriage, or any horse or other animal kept or used for drawing the same, or any carriage, horse, or other animal which he keeps or uses for the purpose of letting out for hire, and if ha lets, lends, or employs such carriage, horse, or other animal, knowing that it is intended to be used for the purpose of the conveyance of electors to or from the poll, he shall be guilty of 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 the owner thereof is prohibited by tliis section to let, lend, or employ for that purpose, and if he does so he shall be guilty of illegal hiring. (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 conveying him or them to or from the poll. (4.) No person shall be liable to pay any duty or to take out a license for any 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. Oorr ipt with- drawal from n candidature. 11. Any person who corruptly induces or procures any other person to withdraw from being a candidate at a municipal election, in con- APPENDIX. 376 Bideration of any payment or promise of payment, ehall be guilty of illegal payment, and any person withdrawing in pursuance of such inducement or procurement shall also be guilty of illegal payment. 12. (1.) No payment or contract for payment shall, for the purpose Certain ex- of promoting or procuring the election of a candidate at a municipal ^g uie"af ° election, be made on account of bands of music, torches, flags, banners, pajment. cockades, ribbons, or other marks of distinction. (2.) Subject to such exception as may be allowed in pursuance of this Act, if any payment or contract for pajniient is made in contra- vention 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 contract or receiving such pay- ment shall also be guilty of illegal payment if he knew that the same was made contrary to law, 13. (1.) No person shall, for the purpose of promoting or procuring certain the election of a candidate at a municipal election, be engaged or empioymcut w employed for payment or promise of payment for any purpose or in ® ^ ®^^ • any capacity whatever, except as follows (tliat is to say),_ (a.) a number of persons may be employed, not exceeding two for a borough or ward, and if the number of electors in such borough or ward exceeds two thousand one additional person may be employed for every thousand electors and incomplete part of a thousand electors over and above the said two thousand, and such persons may be employed as clerks and messengers, or in either capacity ; and (h.) one polling agent may be employed in each polling station : Provided that this section shall not apply to any engagement or employment for carrying into effect a contract bona fide made with any person in the ordinary course of business. (2.) Subject to such exception as may be allowed in pursuance of this Act, if any person is engaged or employed in contravention of tliis section, either before, diu'ing, 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 employ- ment if he knew that he was engaged or employed in contravention of this Act. (3.) A person legally employed for payment under this section may or may not be an elector, but may not vote. 14. Every bill, placard, or poster having reference to a municipal Name and election shall bear upon the face thereof the name and address of the pria't^gr^n printer and publisher thereof ; and any person printing, publishing, or placards, posting, or causing to be printed, 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 a candidate, be guilty of an illegal practice, and if he is not the candidate, shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds. 15. Tho provisions of this Act prohibiting certain payments and ^^'^"^j.*"'" contracts for payments, and the payment of any _ sum, and the *"'® ^ °^^' incurring of any expense, in excess of a certain maximimi, shall not 376 APPENDIX. affect the right of aay creditor who, when the contract was made or the expense was incurred, was ignorant of the same being in con- travention of this Act. I) 80 of certain premises for committee rooms or meetitigs to be illegal niriiig. PunishTient of illegal payment, employment, or hiring. Avoidance of election for extensive illegal practices, &c. 16. (1.) (a.) Any premises, which are licensed for the sale of any intoxicating liquor for consumption on or off the premises, or on which refreshment of any kind (whether food or drink) is ordinarily sold for consumption on the premises, or (b.) Any premises where any intoxicating liquor is supplied to members of a club, society, or association, or any part of any such premises, shall not, for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of a candidate at a municipal election, be used either as a committee room or for holding a meeting, and if any person hires or uses any such premises or any part thereof in contravention of this section he shall be guilty of illegal hiring, and the person letting or permitting the use of such premises or part thereof, if he knew it was intended to use the same, in contravention of this section, shall also be guilty of illegal hiring. (2.) 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 communication with any part of the premises on which any intoxicating liquor or refreshment is sold or supplied as aforesaid. 17. (1.) A person guilty of an offence of illegal payment, employ- ment, or hiring shall, on summary conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds. (2.) Where an offence of illegal payment, employment, or hiring ia committed by a candidate, or with his knowledge and consent, such candidate shall be guilty of an illegal practice. 18. Where upon the trial of an election petition respecting a municipal election for a borough or ward of a borough it is found by the election court that illegal practices or offences of illegal payment, employment, or hiring, committed in reference to such election for the purpose of promoting the election of a candidate at that election, have so extensively prevailed that they may be reasonably supposed to have affected the result of that election, the election court shall report such finding to the High Court, and the election of such candidate, if he has been elected, shall be void, and he shall not, during the period for which he was elected to serve, or for which, if elected, he miglit have served, be capable of being elected to or holding any corporate ofiice in the said borough. Excuse and Exception for Corrupt or Illegal Practice or Illegal Payment, Employment or Hiring. Beport exonerating C"n(lKlate in certain cases of corrupt and 19. Where, upon the trial of an election petition respecting a municipal election, the election court reports that a candidate at such election has been guilty by his agents of the offence of treating and APPENDIX. 377 undue influence, and illegal practice, or of any of such offences, in reference to such election, and the election court further report that the candidate has proved to the court — (n.) That no corrupt or illegal practice was committed at such election by the candidate or with his knowledge or consent, and the offences mentioned in the said report were committed without the sanction or connivance of such candidate ; and (b.) That all reasonable means for preventing the commission of corrupt and illegal practices at such election were taken by and on behalf of the candidate ; and (c.) That the offences mentioned in the said report were of a trivial, unimportant, and limited character ; and (c?.) 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. 20. Where, on application made, it is shown to the High Court or to a municipal election court by such evidence as seems to the Court sufficient — (a.) That any act or omission of a candidate at a municipal election for a borough or ward of a borough, or of any agent or other person, would, by reason of being in contravention of any of the provisions of this Act, be but for this section an illegal practice, payment, employment, or hiring ; and (6.) that such act or omission arose from inadvertence or from accidental miscalculation or from some other reasonable cause of a like nature, and in any case did not arise from any want of good faith ; and (c.) that such notice of the application has been given in the said borough as to the Court seems fit ; and under the circumstances it seems to the Court to be just that the said candidate, 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 allowing such act or omission to be an exception from the provisions of this Act which would otherwise make the same an illegal practice, payment, employment, or hiring, and thereupon such candidate, agent, or person shall not be subject to any of the consequences under this Act of the said act or omission. illegal practice by ageuts. Power of High Court and election court to except inncceiit act from being illpgal practice. 21. (1.) Every claim against any person in respect of any expenses Sending in incurred by or on behalf of a candidate at an election of a councillor claims juid on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of such mrnts^or''^' election shall be sent in within fourteen days after the day of election, election and if not so sent in shall be barred and not paid, and all expenses expenses, incurred as aforesaid shall be paid within twenty-one days after the day of election, and not otherwise, and any person who makes a payment in contravention of this section, except where such payment is allowed as provided by this section, shall lie guilty of an illegal practice, but if such payment was made without the sanction or connivance of the 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 paj-ment having been made in contravention of this section. 378 APPENDIX. (2.) Every agent o£ a candidate at an election of a councillor shall, within twenty-three days after the day of election, make a return to t'ae candidate in writing of all expenses incurred by such agent on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of such election, and if he fails so to do shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds. (3.) Within twenty-eight days after the day of election of a councillor every candidate at such election shall send to the town clerk a return of all expenses incurred by such candidate or his agents on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of such election, vouched (except in the case of sums under twenty shillings) by bills stating the particulars and receipts, and accompanied by a declaration bv the candidate made before a justice in the form set forth in the Fourth Schedule to this Act, or to the like effect. (4.) After the expiration of the time for making such return and declaration the candidate, if elected, shall not, until he has made the r.'turn and declaration (in this Act referred to as the return and declara- tion respecting election expenses), or until the date of the allowance of such authorised excuse, as is mentioned in this Act, sit or vote in the council, and if he does so shall forfeit fifty pounds for every day on which he so sits or votes to any person who sues for the same. (5.) If the candidate without such authorised excuse as is mentioned in this Act fails to make the said return and declaration he shall be guilty of an illegal practice, and if he knowingly makes the said declaration falsely he shall be guilty of an ofEence, and on conviction thereof on indictment shall be liable to the punishment for wilful and corrupt perjury, and such offence shall also be deemed to be a con'upt practice within the meaning of this Act. (6.) The county court for the district in which the election was held, or the High Court, or an election court, may, on application either of the candidate or a creditor, allow any claim to be sent in and any expense to be paid after the time limited by this section, and a return of any sum so paid shall forthwith after pajonent be sent to the town clerk. (7.) If the candidate applies to the High Court or an election court, and shows that the failure to make the said return and declarj^tion, or either of them, or any error or false statement therein, has arisen by reason of his illness or absence, or of the absence, death, illness, or misconduct o£ any agent, clerk, or officer, or by reason of inadvertence, or of any reasonaljle 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 application and on production of such evidence of the grounds stated in the application, and of the good faith of the applicant, and otherwise as to the court seems fit, make such order for allowing the authorised excuse for the failure to make such return and declaration, or for an error or false statement in such return or declara- tion, as TO the court seems just. (8.) The order may make the allowance conditional upon compliance with such terms as to the court seems calculated for carryinginto effect the objects of this Act, and the order shall relieve the applicant from any liability or consequences under this Act in respect of the matters excused bv the order. (9.) The date of the order, or if conditions and terms are to he 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 APPENDIX. 379 (10.) The return and declaration sent in pursuance of this Act to the town clerk shall be kept at his office, and shall at all reasonable timea during the twelve months next after they are received by him be open to inspection by any person on payment of the fee of one shilling, and the town clerk shall, on demand, furnish copies thereof or of any part thereof at the price of twopence for every seventy-two words. (11.) After the expiration of the said twelve months the town clerk may cause the return and declaration to be destroyed, or if the candidate 60 require shall return the same to him. Disq^ualification of Electors. 22. Every person guilty of a corrupt or illegal practice or of illegal ProMbition of employment, payment, or hiring at a municipal election is prohibited ^f offences''*^ from voting at such election, and if any such person votes his vote from voting, shall be void, and shall be struck off on a scrutiny. 23. So much of sections thirty-seven and thirty-eight of the Corrupt Application of and Illegal Practices Prevention Act, 1883, as is set forth in Part Two ^g* i^Vict.^ of the Third Schedule to this Act, shall apply as part of this Act. c. 51. 24. (1.) The town clerk in every municipal borough shall annually List in bnrpees in July make out a list containing the names and description of all roll of pers^ons persons who, though otherwise qualified to be enrolled as burgesses of forvothig by such borough, have under this Act, or under the Corrupt and Illegal corrupt or Practices Prevention Act, 1883, or under any other Act for the time illegal practices being in force relating to a parliamentary election or an election to any public office, become after the commencement of this Act, by reason of conviction of a corrupt or illegal practice, or of the report of any election court or election commissioners, incapable of voting at a municipal election in such borough or any ward thereof, and the town clerk 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 respec- tively tried an election petition or inquired into an election where the election (whether a parliamentary election or an election to any public ofiice) was held in the said borough or in the county in which such borough is situate. (3.) The town clerk of any municipal borough shall, not less than fourteen days before the first day appointed by law for the publication of the parish burgess lists in such borough, send the corrupt and illegal practices lists to the overseers of every parish wholly or partly within the borough, and the overseers shall publish that list together with the parish burgess lists, 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 be enrolled as burgesses or to be elected councillors, or, as circumstances require, add " objected " before his name in the list of claimants 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 380 APPENDIX. 45 Si 46 Vict., object to any parish burgess list may object to the omission of the name of any person from such first-mentioned list. Such claims and objec- tions 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 enrolment of burgesses. (5.) The revising authority shall determine such claims and objec- tions and shall revise such list in like manner, as nearly as circum- stances admit, as in the case of other claims and objections and of any parish burgess list and list of persons entitled to be elected coun- cillors. (<5.) Where it appears to the revising authority that a person not named in the list is subject to have his name inserted in the corrupt and illegal practices 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 opportunity of making a statement to show cause to the contrary, insert his name in that list and expunge his name fi-om any list of burgesses or of persons entitled to be elected coun- cillors. (7.) A revising authority in acting under this section shall determine only whether a person is incapacitated by conviction or by the reportof any election court or election commissioners, and shall not determine whether a person has or has not been guilty of any corrupt or illegal practice. (8.) The corrupt and illegal practices list shall be appended to the burgess roll, and shall be printed and published therewith wherever the same is printed or published. (9.) Any town clerk or overseer who fails to comply with the pro- visions of this section shall be liable to the like fine as he is liable to under section seventy-five of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, for any neglect or refusal in relation to a parish burgess list as therein mentioned. Proceedings on Election Petitions. Pc liiion for iliegal practice. Time for presentation of petition allepring illegal practices. 25. (1.) A municipal election petition complaining of the election on the ground of an illegal practice may be presented at any time before the expiration of fourteen days after the day on which the town clerk receives the return and declaration respecting election expenses by the candidate to whose election the petition relates, or where there is an authorised excuse for failing to make the return and declaration then within the like time after the date of the allowance of the e.KCUse. (2.) A municipal election petition, complaining of the election on the ground of an illegal practice, and specitically alleging a payment of money or other act made or done since the election by the candidate elected at such election, or by an agent of the candidate, or with the privity of the candidate, in pursuance or in furtherance of such illegal practice, may be presented at any time within twenty-eight days after the date of such payment or act, whether or not any other petition against that person has been previously presented or tried. (3.) Any election petition presented within the time limited by the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, may, for the purpose of complaining APPENDIX. 38f of the election upon an allegation of an illegal practice, be amended 45 ^ ^g y^^^^ with the leave of the High Court within the time within which a c 50. petition complaining of the election on the ground of that illegal practice can, under this section, be presented. (4.) This section shall apply notwithstanding the illegal practice is also a corrupt practice. 26. (1.) Before leave for the withdrawal of a municipal election withdrawal ol petition is granted, there shall be produced affidavits by all the parties election to the petition and their solicitors, but the High Court may on cause P^t'tion. 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 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 v/ith respect to the v/ithdrawal of the petition, the affidavit ishall set forth that agreement, and shall make the foregoing statement subject to v/hat appears from the affidavit. (3.) The affidavits of the applicant and his solicitor 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 agreement, terms, or undertaking is or are for the withdrawal 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 misdemeanor, and shall be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months, and to a fine 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 representative (appointed with the approval of the Attorney-General), in opposition to the allowance of the withdrawal of the petition, and shall have power to receive the evidence on oath of any person or persons whose evidence the Director of Public Prosecutions or his assistant, or other representative, may consider material. (6.) V/here 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 ninety-five of the Municipal 45 * 4f) Vict, Corporations Act, 1882, where the withdrawal is induced by a corrupt «• so. consideration. (7.) In every case of the withdrawal of an election petition, by leave of the election court such court shall report in writing to the High Court whether, in the opinion of such election court, the withdrawal of such petition was the result of any agreement, terms, or undertaking, or was in consideration of any payment, or in consideration that the seat should at any time be vacated, or in consideration of the withdrawal of any other election petition, or for any other consideration, and if so, ehall state the circumstances attending the withdrawal. (8.) Where more than one solicitor is concerned for the petitioner or 382 APPENDIX. CoDtinuation trial of eleciion petition. Attendance of Director of Public Prosecu- tiiins on trial of election petition, and prosecution by him of offenders. respondent, whether as agent for another solicitor or otherwise, the affidavit shall be made by all such solicitors. 27. The trial of every municipal election petition shall, so far as is practicable consistently with the interests of justice in respect of such trial, be continued de die in diem on every lawful day until its con- clusion. 28. (1.) On every trial of a municipal election petition the Director of Public Prosecutions shall by himself or his assistant, or by such representative as hereinafter 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 pro- secution by him of ofEenders, and with respect to any person to whom notice is given to altend 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, if 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. (3.) It shall also be the duty of the said Director, without any direction from the election court, if he thinks it expedient in the interests of justice so to do, to prosecute, either before the said court or before any other competent court, any person who has not received a certificate of indemnity and who appears to himto have been guilty of a corrupt or iUegal practice at a municipal election. (4.) Where a person is prosecuted before an election 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 is subject to under this or any other 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 proceeding to try summarily any person, shall give such person the option of being tried by a jury. , (5.) Where a person is so prosecuted for any such offence, 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 pre- liminary and of and incidental to such prosecution the offence shall be deemed to have been committed within the jurisdiction of the court so named. APPENDIX. 383 & Upon such order being made, 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 his trial for the said offence ; and (6.) 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 attend- ance, or a warrant 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.) Any order or act of an election court under this section shall not be subject to be discharged or varied under sub-section six of section ninety-two of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882. (8.) The Director of Public Prosecutions may nominate, with the approval of the Attorney-General, any barristers or solicitors of not less than ten years' standing, one of whom shall, when required, act as the representative for the purposes of this section of such Director, and when so acting shall receive such remuneration as the 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 Treasury may approve. (9.) The costs incurred in defraying the expenses of the Director of Public Prosecutions under this section (including the remuneration of his representatives) shall, in the first instance, be paid by the 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, and shall be paid as the expenses of that court are directed by section one hundred and one of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, to be paid ; 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 Treasury by the parties to the petition, or such of them as the court may direct. 45 * 46 Vict, c. 50. ) & 46 Vict. 50. 29. (1.) Where upon the trial of a municipal election petition it Power to appears to the election court that a corrupt practice has not been f^' °J^°g^ *'°"'"* proved to have been committed in reference to the election by or payTnent by with the knowledge and consent of the respondent to the petition, })'>rou,ch or and that such respondent took all reasonable means to prevent corrupt "o^ts of^election practices being committed on his behalf, the court may make one or pttitiim. 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 384 APPf:XDIX. 45 A 46 Vict, c. 50. prevailed in reference to the said election, the court may order the whole or part of the costs to be paid by the borough ; and (i.) 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 en- couraged or promoted extensive corrupt practiceo in reference to such election, the court may, after giving such person or persons an opportunity of being heard by counsel or solicitor and of 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 re- covered from one or niore 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 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 to such person or persons as the court may direct. (3.) The rules and regulations of the Supreme Court of Judicature with respect to costs to be allowed in actions, causes, and matters in the High Court shall in principle and so far as practicable apply to the costs of petition and other proceedings under Part Four of the Muni- cipal Corporations Act, 1882, and this Act, and the taxing ofiScer 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, as between solicitor and client. Mis 'ellanemts. General provisions as to p- osecution of offence? under this Act. 16 S 47 c. 61. 30. Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the procedure for the prosecution of a corrupt or illegal practice or any illegal payment, employment, or hiring committed in reference to a municipal election, and the removal of any incapacity incurred by reason of a conviction or report relating to any such offence, and the duties of a Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to any such offence, and all other pro- ceedings in relation thereto (including the grant to a witness of a certificate of indemnity), shall be the same as if such offence had been committed in reference to a parliamentary election ; and sections forty- five and forty-six and sections fifty to fifty-seven (both inclusive) and sections fifty-nine and sixty of the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Pre- vention Act, 1883, shall apply accordingly as if they were re-enacted in this Act with the necessary modifications, and with the following additions : — (a.) Where the Director of Public Prosecutions considers that the circumstances of any case require him to institute a prosecution before any court other than an election court for any offence other than a corrupt practice committed in reference to a municipal election in any borough, he maj', by himself or his assistant, institute such prosecution before any court of summary APPENDIX. 386 jurisdiction in the county in wiiich the said borough is situate or to which it adjoins, and the offence shall be deemed for all purposes to have been committed within the jurisdiction of such court ; and (6.) General rules for the purposes of Part Four of the Municipal 45 & 46 Vict. Corporations Act, 1882, shall be made by the same authority as <>• ^<'' rules of Court under the said sections ; and (c.) The giving or refusal to give a certificate of indemnity to a witness by the election court shall be final and conclusive. g. 91. (7.) 31. If any person, in consequence of conviction or of the report Person of an election court under this Act, becomes not capable of being incapacUnfed elected to or sitting in the House of Commons, or of being elected to of reporMo"" or holding any public or judicial office, and such person, at the date vac-ate seat or of the said conviction or report, has been so elected or holds any such °^'^^' office, then his seat or office, as the case may be, shall be vacated as from that date. 32. (1). Where any costs of a petition are, under an order of a payment and municipal election court, to be paid by a borough, such costs shall be recovery of paid out of the borough fund or borough rate. costs. (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 Treasury shall be a debt to Her Majesty, and in either case may be recovered accordingly. 33. Where any summons, notice, or document is required to be service of served on any person with reference to any proceeding respecting a notieea. municipal election in any borough or ward of a borough, whether for the purpose of causing him to appear before the High Court or any election court, 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 such court, for any purpose of this Act, such summons, notice, or document 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 borough, or, if the proceeding is before any court, in such other manner as the court 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. 34. In this Act expressions have the same meaning as in the Definitions. Municipal Corporations Act, 18'-2, and in the Corrupt and Illegal 45 & 46 Vict. P.acticesPrevention Act, 1863 ; except that the words " borough," " elec- 4^ ^^ vict tion petition," " election court," and " candidate," shall, unless the context c. ei. ' otherwise requires, have the meaning given by the Municipal Corpora- tions Act, 1882, and not the meaning given by the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act, 1883 ; and except that " election " shall, unless the context otherwise requires, mean a municipal election. For the purposes of this Act the number of electors shall ba 25 386 APPENDIX. taken according to the enumeration of the electors in the burgess roll. 35. This Act and Part Four of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, Appiicauon to shall apply to a municipal election in the city of London, subject as of Act and'of'" follows :— Part Four of (1.) For the purpose of such application "municipal election" c^.50^^^^'^^' means an election to the office of mayor, alderman, common councilman, or sheriff, and includes the election of any officer elected by the mayor, aldermen, and liverymen in common hall, and the expression " corporate office " includes each of the aforesaid offices, and the expression " borough " shall be deemed to apply tn the said city : (2.) The expression " burgess " means, in relation to each municipal election, any person entitled to vote at such election : (3.) Any costs or expenses directed to be paid out of the borough fund or borough rate shall, if incurred in respect of the election of an alderman or common councilman for any ward, be paid out of the ward rate of that ward, and in any other case shall be paid by the chamberlain of the said city out of the city's cash : (4.) The enactments relating to personation, polling agents, and disclosure of votes shall not apply, save that if any person commits any offence under the City of London Municipal 80 Vict. c. 1. Elections Amendment Act, 1867, in relation to the declaration required by that Act to be made at the poll, he shall, in addition, be deemed guilty of a corrupt practice under this Act: (5.) A vacancy in any office created by the decision of an election court shall be filled by a new election, and every summoning officer is hereby authorised and required to summon the electors for such election : (6.) In the case of an election of an alderman and common councilman a sum may be paid and expense incurred not in excess of the maximum fixed by this Act for the election of a councillor. (7.) In the case of an election by liverymen in common hall a sum may be paid and expenses incurred, if a poll be not demanded, not exceeding forty pounds, and, if a poll be demanded, then not exceeding two hundred and fifty pounds, and, in tlie event of a poll being demanded, such poll shall take place on the third day after the demand for a poll be made, unless such third day be a Sunday, in which case the poll shall take place on the fourth day, and the poll shall last for one day only and commence at the hour of eight in the morning and close at six in the evening. (8.) The town clerk shall send the corrupt and illegal practices list, when made out by him, to the ward clerk of each ward not less than fourteen days before the daj' on which the list of persvins entitled to vote in such ward is required to be made out, and the aldermen and common councilmen of each ward shall omit from such last-mentioned list the names of all persons mentioned in the corrupt and illegal practices list, and the corrupt and illegal practices list shall be printed and appended to every copy of the list of persons entitled to vote in such ward. I APPENDIX. 387 Application of Act to other Elections. 36. (1.) Subject as hereinafter mentioned, the provisions of this Act and of Part Four of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, as amended by this Act, shall extend to elections for the offices mentioned in the first column of the First Schedule to this Act as if re-enacted herein and in terms made appHcable thereto, and petitions may be presented and tried, and offences prosecuted and punished, and in- capacities incurred in reference to each such election accordingly. Provided that in the application of the said provisions to any such election : (a.) The area, officer, and rate mentioned opposite to the office in the second, third, and fourth columns o£ the said schedule, shall be deemed to be substituted for the borough or ward, town clerk, and borough fund or rate respectively. (6.) The expression " corporate office " in the said provisions shall mean an office mentioned in the said schedule, and in relation to the election of a guardian of a union includes any such office in the union, and " a municipal election " shall mean an election to such office, and the expressions " municipal election court," "municipal election list," and "municipal election petition" shall be constructed accordingly. (c.) No corrupt and illegal practices list shall be made for any such, election. (d.) Vacancies created by the decision of an election court shall be filled by a new election. (e.) A petition relating to the election of a guardian of a union may be tried at any place within the union. (/.) Nothing in the said provisions shall render it unlawful to hold a meeting for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of a candidate to any office mentioned in the said schedule on any licensed or other premises not situate in an urban sanitary district or in the Metropolis ; {g.) Where the poll at any election to an office in the said schedule is taken by means of voting papers, such of the said provisions as relate to personation, polling agents, disclosure of votes and conveyance of voters, shall not apply ; but any offence in relation to voting papers or to personation or to voting at such election which is punishable on summary conviction (that is to say), the offences mentioned in section three of the Poor Law Amendment Act, 1851, and in rule sixty-nine of Schedule Two to the Public Health Act, 1875, shall, without prejudice to the punishment under such section and rule of a person guilty of such offence, be deemed to be an illegal practice within the meaning of the said provisions. (A.) The Local Government Board shall have the same power as heretofore under section eight of the Poor Law Amendment Act, 1842, to determine any question arising as to the right of a person to act as guardian, except that the Board shall not have power — (a.) To determine, until after the expiration of twenty-one days after the election of a person as guardian, any Application of tliis Act and Part Four of 45 & 40 Vict. c. 50, 1 1 other elections. 14 & 15 Vict. c. 105. 38 .t 39 Vict. C.55. 5 & 6 Vict. c. 67. S88 APPENDIX. question which can be determined upon an election petition under this section ; nor (b.) To determine any question which is raised l)y an election petition under this section, and is either awaiting decision or has been decided by an election court ; nor — (c.) To determine any question of general corruption, or of any corrupt or illegal practice, except so far as appears to such Board necessary for determining the validity of any vote. (2.) The judges for the time being on the rota for the trial of parliamentary election petitions, or any two of those judges, may annually appoint as many barristers, not exceeding five, as they may think necessary to be commissioners for the trial of election petitions under Part Four of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, and this Act, and shall from time to time assign the petitions (whether relating to a municipal election or to any other election to which this Act extends) to be tried by each commissioner. Exemption 37. The provisions of this Act which prohibit the payment of any '"''°f^ Sfov;'l\^^^ ''Um, and the incurring of any expense by or on behalf of a candidate as to maximum , i , • j r- • ^ i i , expenses. at an election, on account or, or m respect oi, the conduct or manage- ment of the election, and those vv-liich relate to the time for sending in and paying claims, and those which relate to the maximum amount of election expenses, or the return or declaration respecting election expenses, shall not apply to any of the elections mentioned in the First Schedule to this Act. Repeal. Repeal of Acta. 38. The Acts specified in the Second Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed as from the commencement of this Act to the extent in tho third column of that schedule mentioned, but such repeal shall not afEect anything duly done or suflEered, 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 under any enactment for which such repealed enactment was substituted, 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. Commencement 39. This Act shall come into operation on the first day of October, "f Act. one thousand eight hundred and eighty-four, which day is in this Act referred to as the commencement of this Act. Act not to extend to Scotland or Ireland. Duration of Act. Extent of Act. 40. This Act shall not extend to Scotland or Ireland. 41. This Act shall continue in force to the end of the year ouo thousand eight hundred and eighty-six, and no longer. APPENDIX. SCHEDULES. FIEST SCHEDULE. Section 36. ELECTIONS TO WHICH THIS ACT EXTENDS. In England. Office. Area. Officer. Rate. Member of local board, as de- fined by the Public Health Act, 1875. Local Govern- ment district or ward of such district. Clerk to the local board, or person per- forming like duties. The general di.s- trict rate. Member of Im- provement Commissioners, SB detined by the Public Health Act, 1875. Improvement Act district or ward of such district. Clerk to the Improvement Commissioners or person per- forming like duties. The general dis- trict rate or other rate out of which the expenses of the Improve- ment Commis- sioners are payable. Guardian elected under the Poor Law Amend- ment Act, 1834. Parish or ward of a parish or united parishes. Clerk to the guardians, or person per- f 01 ming like duties. The poor rate of the parish or united parishes. Member of school board. School district or division of the metro- polis. Returning offi- cer of school board. The school fund. 390 APPENDIX. SECOND SCHEDULE. Section 33. ENACTMENTS EEPEALED. A description or citation of a portion of an Act is inclusive of the words, section, or other part first and last mentioned, or otherwise referred to as forming the beo-inning or as forming the end of the portion comprised in the description or citation. As to England. 33 & 34 Vict. c. 75. 45 & 4G Vict. c. 50 The Elementary Edu- cation Act, 1870. The Municipal Cor- porations Act, 1882. Section thirty-three. Section seventy-seven, from " corrupt practice " down to " or persona- tion," and from "can- vasser" down to " candidate at a muni- cipal election." Section seventy-eight. Section seventy-nine. Section eighty. Section eighty-two. Section eighty-three. Section eighty-four. Section ninety-two, sub- section four, from " and those judg-es " down to the end of the sub- section. Section ninety-four, sub- sections five, six, seven, and eight. So much of section ninety- eight, sub-section two, as relates to the princi- ples of taxation. APPENDIX. 391 THIRD SCHEDULE. PART I. Enactments defining Corrupt Practices. [These are set out in full in the body of the work. See Part I., chapter I.] Section 2. PART II. Section 23. Enactments relating to Disqualijication of Electors, Tlie Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act, 1883, 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51, sections 37 and 38. S. 37. Every person who, in consequence of conviction or of the report of any election court or election commissioners under this Act, or under the Corrupt Practices (Municipal Elections) Act, 1872, or under Part Four of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, or under any other Act for the time being in force relating to corrupt practices at an election for any public office, has become incapable of voting at any election, whether a parliamentary election or an election to any public office, is prohibited from voting at any such election, and his vote shall be void. S. 38. (1.) Before a person, not bemg 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 * * * to have been guilty, at an election, of any corrupt or illegal practice, the court * ** * shall cause notice to be given to such person, and if he appears in persu- ance of the notice, shall give him an opportunity of being heard by him- self and of calling evidence in his defence to show why he should not be so reported. 9 « o « c- (5.) Every person who, after the commencement of this Act, is reported by any election court " * ^ to have been guilty of any corrupt or illegal practice 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 con- victed of the offence of which he is reported to have been guilty '-" <* (6.) Where a person who is a justice of the peace is reported by any election court * "^^ '- to have been guilty of any corrupt practice in reference to an election, whether he has obtained a certificate of indem- nity 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 Prohibition of disqualified persons from voting. 35 & 36 Vict. C. 60. 45 & 46 Vict. c. 50. Hearing: of person before be is reported guilty of cor- rupt or illegal practice, and incapacity of person reported guilty. 392 APPENDIX. 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 ehall have the same power to remove 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 solicitor, or who belongs to any profession the admission to which is regulated by law, is reported by any election court * * ** to have been guilty of any corrupt practice in reference to an election, whetlier such person has obtained a certihcate 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 uiay 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 license or certificate under the Licensing Acts (in this section referred to as a licensed person) the following provisions shall have effect : — (a.) If it appears to the court by which any licensed person is con- victed of the offence of bribery or treating that such offence was committed on his licensed premises, the court shall direct such conviction to be entered in the proper register of licenses : (6.) If it appears to an election court * * * that a licensed person has knowingly suffered any bribery or treating in reference to any election to take place upon his licensed premises, such court '' '■•' '•' (subject to the provisions of this Act as to a person having an opportunity of being heard by himself and pro- ducing 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 license, and such licensing justices shall cause such report to be entered in the proper register of licenses. (c.) Where an entry is made in the register of licenses of any such conviction of or report respecting any licensed person as above in this section mentioned, it shall be taken into consideration by the licensing justices in determining whether they will or will not grant to such person the renewal of his license or certificate, and may be a gi-ound, if the justices think fit, for refusing such renewal. APPENDIX. 393 FOTJUTH SCHEDULE. section 2u Form of Declaration by Caiididate as to Expenses. I, , having been a candidate at the election of councillor for the borough [or ward] of , on the day of [and my agents do hereby solemnly and sincerely declare that I have paid ] for my expenses at the said election, and that, except as aforesaid, 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, office, employment, or valuable considera- tion, or incurred any liability on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of the said election. And I further solemnly and sincerely declare that, except as aforesaid, no money, security, or equivalent for money, has to my knowledge or belief been paid, advanced, given or deposited by anyone to or in tht^ hands of myself, or any other person, for the purpose of defraying any expenses incurred on my behalf 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 at any future time make or be a 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 a party to the providing of any money, security, or equivalent for money for tho 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 394 APPENDIX. 1883. GENERAL RULES FOR THE EFFECTUAL EXECUTION OF PART IV. OF " THE MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS ACT, 1882," Sm CHARLES EDWARD POLLOCK, Knight , Sir HENRY MANISTY, Knight ; and Sir henry CHARLES LOPES, Knight ; THE JUDGES FOR THE TIME BEING ON THE ROTA FOR THE TRIAL OF PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION PETITIONS. 1. The presentation of a Municipal Election Petition shall be made by leaving it at the office of the Master for the time being nominated as prescribed officer under the Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, and such Master or his clerk shall (if required) give a receipt which may be in the following form : — Received on the day of at the Master's office a petition touching the election of A.B., alder- man, councillor [&c., as the case may 6e] for the borough of purporting to be signed by [inse7-t the names of iMitloners']. CD., Master's Clerk. With the petition shall also be left a copy thereof for the Master to send to the town clerk, pursuant to section 88, sub-section (3) of the Act. 2. A municipal election petition shall contain the following state- ments : — (1.) It shall stale the right of the petitioner or petitioners to petition within section 88, sub-section (1), of the Act. (2.) It shall state the holding and result of the election, and shall briefly state the facts and grounds relied on to sustain the prayer. 3. The petition shall be divided into paragraphs, each of which, as nearly as may be, shall be confined to a distinct portion of the subject, and every paragraph shall be numbered consecutively, and no costs ehall be allowed of drawing or cojDying any petition not substantially in compliance with this rule, unless otherwise ordered by the High Court or a judge thereof. 4. The petition shall conclude with a prayer, as for instance, that APPENDIX. 395 some specified person should be declared duly returned or elected, or that the election should be declared void, or that a return may- be enforced, (as the case may be,) and shall be signed by all the petitioners. 5. The following form, or one to the like effect, shall be suSa- cient : — In the High Court of Justice, "The Municipal Corporations Act, 1882." Election for [state the place and office for which election held] holden on the day of A.D. The petition of A. of [or oi A. of , and B. of as the case may fce] whose names are subscribed. 1. Your petititioner A. is a person who voted [or had a right to vote, as the case may be,] at the above election, [or was a candidate at the above election] ; and your petitioner B. [here state in like manner the right of each petitioner]. 2. And your petitioners state that the election was holden on the day of A.D. , when A. B., CD., and E.F. were candidates, and that A.B. and CD. have been in the usual manner declared to be duly elected. 3. And your petitioners say that [here state the facts and grounds on which the petiiioners rely]. Wherefore your petitioners pray that it may be determined that the said A.B. was not duly elected, and that the election was void [or that the said E.F. was duly elected and ought to have been returned, or as the case may be]. (Signed) A. B. 6. Evidence need not be stated in the petition, but the High Court or a judge thereof may order such particulars as may be necessary to prevent surprise and unnecessary expense, and to insure a fair and effectual trial in the same way as in ordinary proceedings in the said High Court, and upon such terms as to costs and otherwise as may be ordered. 7. When a petitioner claims the office for an unsuccessful candidate, alleging that he had a majority of lawful votes, the party complaining of or defending the election shall, six days before the day appointed for trial, deliver to the Master and also at the address, if any given by the petitioners and respondents, as the case may be, a list of tiie votes intended to be objected to, and the heads of objection to each such vote, and the Master shall allow inspection and office copies of such lists to all parties concerned ; and no evidence shall be given against the validity of any vote, nor upon any head of objection not spccilied in the list, except by leave of the High Court or a judge thereof, upon such terms as to amendment of the list, postponement of the inquiry, and payment of costs, as may be ordered. 8. When the respondent in a petition under the Act complaining cf an undue election, and claiming the office for some person, intends to give evidence to prove that the election of such person was undue, pursuant to the 93rd section of the Act, sub-section 10, such respondent shall, six days before the day appointed for trial, deliver to the Master, and also at the address, if any, given by the petitioner, a list of the objections to the election upon which he intends to rely, and tlie Master 396 APPENDIX. shall allow inspection and office copies of such lists to all parties con- cerned ; and no evidence shall be given by a respondent of any objection to the election not specified in the list, except by leave of the High Court or a judge thereof, upon such terms as to amendment of the list, postponement of the inquiry, and payment of costs, as may be ordered. 9. With the petition the petitioner or petitioners shall leave at the office of the Master a writing, signed by him or them or on his or their behalf, giving the name of some person entitled to practice as a solicitor in the High Court of Justice whom he or they authorise to act as his or their agent, or stating that he or they for himself or theniselves, as the case may be, and in either case giving an address, within three miles from the General Post Office, at which notices addressed to him or them may be left ; and if no such writing be left or address given, then notice of objection to the recognizances, and all other notices and pro- ceedings may be given by sticking up the same at the Master's office. 10. Any person elected to any municipal office may at any time after he is elected send to or leave at the office of the Master a writing, signed by liim or on his behalf, appointing a person entitled to practise as a solicitor in the High Court of Justice, to act as his agent in case there should be a petition against him, or stating that he intends to act for himself, and in either case giving an address v/ithin three miles from the General Post Office at which notices may be left, and in default of such writing being left in a week after service of the petition, notices and proceedings may be given and served respectively by sticking up the same at the Master's office. 11. The Master shall keep a book or books at his office in which he shall enter all addresses and the names of agents given under either of the preceding rules, which book shall be open to inspection by any person during office hours. 12. The Master shall, upon the presentation of the petition, forthwith send a copy of the petition to the town clerk, pursuant to section 88 of the Act, sub-section (3), and shall therewith send the name of the petitioner's agent, if any, and the address, if any, given as prescribed, and also the name of the respondent's agent, and the address, if any, given as prescribed, and the town clerk shall forthwith publish those particulars along with the petition. The cost of publication of this and any other matter required to be published by the town clerk shall be paid by the petitioner or person moving in the matter, and shall form part of the general costs of the petition. 13. The time for giving notice of the presentation of a petition and of the nature of the proposed security, shall be five days, exclusive of the day of presentation. 14. Where the respondent has named an agent or given an address, the service of a municipal election petition may be by delivery of it to the agent, or by posting it in a registered letter to the address given at such time that, in the ordinary course of post, it would be deUvered within the prescribed time. In other cases the service must be personal on the respondent, unless a judge of the High Court, on an application made to him not later than five days after the petition is presented on affidavit, showing what has been done, shall be satisfied that all reasonable effort has been made to effect personal service and cause the matter to come to the knowledge of the respondent, in which case the judge may order that APPENDIX. 897 what has been done shall be considered suflRcient service, subject to such conditions as he may think reasonable. An agent employed for the petitioner or respondent shall forthwith leave written notice at the office of the Master of his appointment to act as such agent, and service of notices and proceedings upon such agent shall be sufficient for all purposes. 15. In case of evasion of service the sticking up a notice in the office of the Master of the petition having been presented, stating the petitioner, tlie prayer, and the nature of the proposed security, shall be deemed equivalent to personal service if so ordered by a judge. 16. The deposit of money by way of security for payment of costs, charges, and expenses, payable by the petitioner, shall be made by payment into the Bank of England to an account to be opened there by the description of " The Municipal Corporations Act, 188i, Security Fund," which shall be vested in and drawn upon from time to time by the Lord Chief Justice of England for tlie time being for the purposes for wliich security is required by the said Act, and a bank receipt or certificate for the same shall be forthwith left at the Master's office. 17. The Master shall file such receipt or certificate, and keep a book open to inspection of all parties concerned, in which shall be entered from time to time the amount and the petition to which it is applicable. 18. All claims at law or in equity to money so deposited or to be deposited in the Bank of England shall be disposed of by the High Court of Justice or a judge thereof. 19. Money so deposited shall, if, and when the same is no longer needed for securing payment of such costs, charges, and expenses, bo returned or otherwise disposed of as justice may require, by rule of the High Court, or order of a judge thereof. 20. Such rule or order may be made after such notice of intention to apply, and proof that all just claims have been satisfied or otherwise Bufficiently provided for, as the Court or judge may require. 21. The rule or order may direct payment either to the party in whose name the same is deposited, or to any person entitled to receive the same. 22. Upon such rule or order being made, the amount may be drawn for by the Lord Chief Justice of England for the time being. 23. The draft of the Lord Chief Justice of England for the time being shall in all cases be a sufficient warrant to the Bank of England for all payments made thereunder. 24. The recognizance as security for costs may be acknowledged before a judge of the High Court or the Master in town, or a justice of tlie peace in the countrj'. There may be one recognizance acknowledged by all the sureties, or separate recognizances by one or more, as may be convenient. 25. The recognizance shall contain the name and usual place of abode of each surety, with such sufficient description as shall enable him to be found or ascertained, and may be as follows : — Be it remembered that on the day of , in the year of our Lord 18 , before me \_name and description'\ came A.B., of \_na7ne and description as above j^i'c scribed] and acknowledged himself [^or severally acknowledged themselves] to owe to our Sovereign Lady the Queen the sum of five hundred 398 APPENDIX. pounds [or the following sums], (that is to say) the eaid CD. the sum of £ , the said E.F. the sum of £ , the said G.H. the sum of £ , and the said J.K. the sum of £ , to be levied on his [or their respective] goods and chattels, lands, and tenements, to the UG3 of our said Sovereign Lady the Queen, her heirs and successors. The condition of this recognizance is that if [here insert the names of all the petitioners, and if more than one, add, or any of them] shall well and truly pay all costs, charges, and expenses in respect of the election petition signed by him [or them] relating to the [here insert the name of the borough^ which shall become payable by the petitioner [or petitioners, or any of them] under the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, to any person or persons, then this recognizance to be void, otherwise to stand in full force. Signed, [Signature of sureties.'] Taken and acknowledged by the above-named [name of sureties'] on the at , before me, CD. A justice of the peace [or, as the case way be] . 26. The recognizance or recognizances shall be left at the Master s office, by or on behalf of the petitioner in like manner as before pre- scribed for the leaving of a petition forthwith after being acknowledged. The security may (unless the High Court or a judge thereof shall otherwise order on summons), be given to any amount not less than £309 ; but the High Court or a judge thereof may, on summons taken out within five days from the service of the notice of the nature and amount of the security, order that the same shall be increased within a time to be fixed in the order by further security to be given in the manner directed by the Act, for a further amount, not exceeding with the amount for which security shall have been already given £500. And in default of compliance with such order, no further proceedings shall be had on the petition. 27. The tim3 for giving notice of any objection to a recognizance under the 89th section of the Act, sub-section (4), shall be within five days from the date of service of the notice of the petition and of the nature of the security, exclusive of the day of service, or in case of further security within five days after service of notice of the nature thereof, exclusive of the day of such service. 28. An objection to the recognizance must state the groimd or grounds thereof, as that the sureties, or any and which of them, are insufficient, or that a surety is dead, or that he cannot be found, or that a person named in the recognizance has not duly acknowledged the same. 29. Any objection made to the security shall be heard and decided by the Master, subject to appeal within five days to a judge, upon summons taken out by either party to declare the security sufficient or insufficient. 30. Such hearing and decision may be either upon affidavit or personal examination of witnesses, or both, as the Master or judge may think fit. 31. If an objection be allowed and the security be declared in- sufficient, the Master or judge shall in his order state what amount he APPENDIX. S99 deems requisite to make the security sufficient, and the further pre- scribed time to remove the ol)jection by deposit shall be within fivo days from the date of the order, not including the day of the date, and such deposit shall be made in the manner already prescribed. 32. The costs of hearing and deciding the objections made to the security given shall be paid as ordered by the Master or judge, and in default of such order shall form part of the general costs of tho petition. 33. The costs of hearing and deciding an objection upon the ground of insufficiency of a surety or sureties, shall be paid by tho petitioner, and a clause to that effect shall be inserted in the order declaring its sufficiency or insufficiency, unless at the time of leaving the recog- nizance with the Master there be also left with the Master an affidavit of the sufficiency of tlie surety or sureties sworn by each surety before a justice of the peace, v/hich affidavit any justice of the peace is hereby authorised to take, or before some person authorised to take affidavits in the High Court of Justice that he is seized or possessed of real or personal estate, or both, above what will satisfy his debts, of the clear value of the sum for wliich he is bound by his recognizance, which affidavit may be as follows : In the High Court of Justice. Municipal Corporations Act, 1882. 1 A.B., of [ai in rscognizancs] malte oath and say that I am seized or possessed of real [or personal] estate above what will satisfy my debts, of the clear value of £ Sworn, &c. 34. The order of the Master for payment of costs shall have the same force as an order made by a judge, and may be enforced in like manner as a judge's order in an ordinary proceeding in the High Court of Justice. 35. A copy of every order (other than an order giving farther time for delivering particulars, or for costs only), or, if tho Master shall so direct, the order itself or a duplicate thereof, also a copy of every particular delivered, shall be forth v/ith filed with the Master, and the same shall be produced at the trial by the Registrar, stamped with the official seal. Such order shall be filed by the party obtaining the same, and such particular by the party delivering the same. 36. The petitioner or his agent shall, immediately after notice of the presentation of a cetition and of the nature of the proposed security shall have been served, file with the Master an affidavit of the time and manner of service thereof. 37. The days mentioned in rules 7 and 8, and in any rule of court or judge's order, whereby particulars are ordered to be delivered, or any act is directed to be done, so many days before the day appointed for trial, shall be rv^ckoned exclusively of the day of delivery, or of doing the act ordered and the day appointed for trial, and exclusively also of Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday, and any day set apart for a public fast or public thanksgiving. 38. When the last day for presenting petitions, or filing lists of votes or objections, under rules 7 and 8, or recognizances, or any other matter required to be filed within a given time, shall happen to fall on a holi- day, the petition or otlier matter shall be deemed duly filed if put into the letter box at the Master's office at anj'- time during such day; but an affidavit, stating with reasonable precision the time when such delivery was made, shall be filed on the first day after the expiration of the holidays. 400 APPENDIX. 39. The Master shall make out the municipal election list. In it he shall insert the names of the agents of the petitioners and respondents, and the addresses to which notices may be sent, if any. The list may be inspected at the Master's oflice at any time during office hours, and shall be put up for that purpose upon a notice board appropriatec to proceedings under the said Act, and headed "Municipal Election List." 40. The time of the trial of each municipal election petition shall be fixed bj' the election judges on the rota or any one of them, who shall fiignify the same to the Master, and notice thereof shall be given in writing by the Master by sticking notice up in his oftice, sending one copy by post to the address given by the petitioner, another to the address given by the respondent, if any, and a copy by the post to the town clerk of the borough to whicli the petition relates, fifteen days before the day appointed for the trial. The town clerk sliall forthwith publish the same in the borough. 41. The sticking up of the notice of trial at the office of the Master shall be deemed and taken to be notice in the prescribed manner witliin the meaning of the Act, and such notice shall not be vitiated by any miscarriage of or relating to the copy or copies thereof to be sent as already directed. 42. The notice of trial may be in the following form : — Municipal Corporations Act, 1882. Election petition of Borough of Take notice that the above petition [^or petitions] will be tried at on the day of and on such other subsequent days as may be needful. Dated the day of Signed, by order, A.B., The Master appointed under the above Act, 43. A judge may from time to time, by order made upon the appli- cation of a party to the petition, or by notice in such form as tlie judge may direct to be sent to the town clerk, postpone the beginning of the trial to such day as he may name, and such notice when received shall be forthwith made public by the town clerk. 44. In tlie event of the barrister to whom the trial of the petition is assigned not having arrived at the time appointed for the trial, or to whicli the trial is postponed, the commencement of the trial shall ipso facto stand adjourned for the ensuing day, and so from day to day. 45. No formal adjournment of the court for the trial of a municipal election petiiion shall be necessary, but the trial is to be deemed adjourned, and may be continued from day to day until the inquiry is concluded. 46. After receiving notice of the petitioner's intention to apply for leave to withdraw, or of the respondent's intention not to oppose, or of the abatement of the petition by death, or of the happening of any of the events mentioned in the 97th section of the Act, if such notice be received after notice of trial shall have been given, and before the trial has commenced, the Master shall forthwith countermand the notice of trial. The countermand shall be given in the same man- ner, as near as may he, as the notice of trial. APPENDIX. 401 47. If till the respondents sluili give notice of their intention not to oppose the petition, and no other person shall be admitted as a respondent, the High Court of Justice, or a Judge, may either declare the election void or direct the trial to proceed. Notice of such order shall be forthwith given by the Master to the town clerk, and if the election be declared void the office shall be deemed to bo vacant from the first day (not being a dies non) after the date of such order. The court oi- judge may also make such order as to costs as may be just. 48. The application to state a special case may be made by motion in the High Court of Justice, or by a summons liefore a judge thereof. 49. The title of the court held for the trial of a municipal election petition may be as follows : — '' Court for the trial of a municipal election petition for the borough of [or as may be'\ between petitioner and respondent," and it shall be sufficient so to entitle all proceedings in that court. 50. An officer shall be appointed for each court for the trial of a municipal election petition by the election judges, at the time that they assign the petition to the barrister ; such officer shall attend at the trial in like manner as the clerks of assize and arraigns attend at the assizes. Huch officer may be called the registrar of that court. He, by him- self, or in case of need, his sufficient deputy, shall perform all the func- tions incident to the officer of a court of record, and also such duties as may be prescribed of him. 51. The Commissioner may appoint a proper person to act as crier and officer of the court. 52. The shorthand writer to attend at the trial of a petition shall be the shorthand writer to the House of Commons for the time being or iiis deputy, and the Master shall send a copy of the notice of trial to the said shorthand writer to the House of Commons. b'd. The amount to be paid to any witness whose expenses shall be allowed by tlie Commissioner trying the petition shall be ascertained and certified by the registrar ; or in the event of his becoming incapacitated from giving such certificate, by the Commissioner. 54. The order of the court to compel the attendance of a person as a witness may be in the following form : — Court for the trial of a municipal election petition for [conqjlete the title of the Court] the day of To A.B. [descrilje tlie per soil]. You are hereby required to attend before the above court at [place'] on day of at the hour of [or forthwith, as the case may he\ to be examined as a witness in the matter of the said petition, and to attend the said court until your examination shall have been completed. As witness my hand, A.B., The Commissioner to whom the trial of the said petition is assigned. 55. In the event of its being necessar}'- to commit any person for con- tempt, the warrant may be as follows : — At a court holden on at 2« 402 APPENDIX. for the trial of a municipal election petition for the borough of hefoi-eA.B., one of the barristers appointed for the trial of ihunicipal election petitions, pursuant to "The Municipal Corporations Act, 1882." Whereas CD. has this day been guilty, and is by th.e said court adjudged to be guilty, of a contempt thereof. The said court does therefore sentence the said CD. for his j^aid contempt to be imprisoned in the gaol for calendar months lo7' as may he] and to pay to our Lady the Queen a fine of £ , and to l)e further imprisoned in t!ie said gaol until the said fine be paid, and the court further orders that the sheriff of the borough [if any or as the case may h^], avA all constables and officers of the peace of any county, borur.gli or place where the said CD. may be found, shaU take the said CD. into custody and convey him to the said gaol, and there deliver liim into tlie custody of the gaoler thereof, to undergo his said sentence : and the court further orders the said gaoler to receive the said CD. into his custody, and that he shall be detained in the said gaol in pur- suance of the said sentence. A.B. Signed the day of A.B. 56. Such warrant may be made out and directed to the sheriff or other person having tlie execution of process of the High Court aa the case may be, and to all constables and officers of the peace of the countv, borough, or place where the peroon adjudged guilty of contempt may be found, and such warrant shall be sufficient without further ])articularity, and shall and may be executed by the persons to whom it is "directed or any or either of them. 57. All interlocutory questions and matters, except as to the suffici- ency of the security, shall be heard and disposed of before a judge, who shall have the same control over the proceedings under the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, as a judge in the ordinary pro- ceedings of the High Court, and such questions and matters shall be heard and disposed of by any judge of the High Court. 58. Notice of an application for leave to withdraw a petition shall be in writing and signed by the petitioners or their agent. It shall state the ground on which the application is intended to be supported. The following form shall be sufficient : — Municipal Corporations Act, 1882. Borough of Petition of [state petitioners] piesonted day of The petitioner j-iroposcs to apply to withdraw his petition upon the following ground [here state the y round], and prays that a day may be appointed for hearing his application. Dated this day of (Signed) 69. The notice of application for leave to withdraw shall be left at the Master's office. GO. A copy of such notice of the intention of the petitioner to apply for leave to withdraw his petition shall be given by the petitioner to the respondent, and to the town clerk, who shall cause the same to be published in the borough to which it relates. APPENDIX. 403 The following may be the forui of such notice : — Municipal Corporations Act, 1882. In the election petition for in which is petitioner and respondent. Notice is hereby given, that tiio above petitioner lias on the day of lodged at the master's ollice notice o£ an application to witlulraw the ])etition, of Avhich notice the following is a copy [set ;t oni]. And take notice that by the rule made by the judges, any persun who miglit have l)cen a petitioner in respect of the wiid election may, within five days after )mblieation liy the town clerk of this notice, give notice in writing of his intention on the hearing to applv for leave to be substituted as a petitioner. (Signed) ()1. Any person who might have been a petitioner in respect of the election to which the petition relates, may, within five days after such notice is published by the returning officer, give notice, in writing, signed by him or on Ins behalf, to the Master of his intention to apply at the hearing to be substituted for the petitioner, but the want of such notice sliall not defeat such application, if in fact made at the hearing. 62. The time and place for hearing the application shall be fixed by a judge, and whether before the High Court, or before a judge, as he may deem advisable, but shall not be less than a week after the notice of the intention to apply has been given to the Ma;;ter as hereinbefore provided, and notice of the time and place appointed for the hearing- shall be given to such person or persons, if any, as shall have given notice to the Master of an intention to apply to be substituted as petitioners, and otherwise in such manner and at such time as the court or judge directs. t»3. Notice of abatement of a petition, by death of the petitioner or surviving petitioner, under section 96, sub-section 1, of the said Act, shall be given by the party or person interested in the same manner as a notice of an application to withdraw a petition, and the time within which application may be made to the High Court, or a judge; thereof, by motion or sunmons at <;hambers, to be substituted as a petitioner, shall be one calendar month, or such further time as upon consideration of any special circumstances the High Court or a judge thereof may allow. 64. If the respondent dies, an\ person entitled to be a petitioner imder the Act in respect of the election to which the petition relates, may give notice of the fact in the borough by causing such notice to be published in at least one newspaper cir&ulating therein, if any, and by leaving a copy of such notice signed by him , Tlie judges for the time \^e'mg on the rota f or the trial lit Pailiamentarv Election Petitions. INDEX. Abateiik>t of petition, 173. Action for disputed claims, 153. Admission, by agent, 210. Admission, by witness, 204, Address, contract for exbibition of, when illegal practice, 70. Advertiskments for claims, 119. Advertising agent may be paid for bill posting, &c., 70. ' .\feect the election, " meaning of, 107. .\g«kement by one candidate to pay expenses of another, not bribery, 3S. Agency, Proof of at trial, 203. A question of fact, 1 15. In case of joint caudidatui-e, 127. Wlien it begins and ends, 129, 210. Constituted bv eniplovment or recogni- tion, 111. ■ Agent competed of corruption, employment of, avoids election, 98. A(;ents, Of candidate, 109 rl srq. Candidate liable for acts of, 109. Sub-agents, extent of their authority,! 10. Number of unpaid, not limited, 111. Authority to canvass, ett'ect of, 112. liiniitiitions of their authority, 112. Disobedient, candidat'» liable for, ]i;'.. Traplii'd, how constituted, 114. Need not be paid, 115. Canvassing does not necessarily consti- tute agency, IIG. Nor being on a large committee, 110. Sutticient evidence of being, what is, 117. May act by sub-f.gents, 119. Members of politi<'al associations, how far, 119 cf st:q. KfTcct of repudiation by candidate, 123. Candidate using political association makes its officers, 125. Responsibility of candidates for, whcji trpacherous. 12?*. Agents, When agency begins, 129. And ends, 129. With limited authority, candidate how far bound, 113. Alderman, election of, application of l;iw to, 258, 2.59. Aliens, cannot vote. 87, 200. Amendment of particulars, 182, 183. A.MENDMENT of petition, 177. Amount of bribe immaterial, 11. Appointment of election agent, 131. Assessor, election of. application of law to, 258. AsSOCLiTIONS, Political, 119. Political, repudiation of, 12'2, Political, effect of tubscriptious to, by candidates, 124. Attejipts, to corrupt, 8, 15. To intimidate, (i2. Auditor Electivk, apidicatiou of law to, 258 Ballot , Test, bribei'v and treating at, 15, (il. Advertising to be a sham, (v!. IJallot Act, Effect of violation of, 2. Ballot papers, when examined, 200. Ballot papers ill-marked, disallowed, 19!l. Ballot papers, inspection of, 194. Bands and banners, payments for, illegal, yO BANK-book, proof of, 209. Barrister's court money, payment of, when bribery, 22. Bakristers, special punishment of, 2."5. Bets on election, 40. JSvfU /^C*jv^- Ic^^rX^ ^-' -^. A^)6 JNDEX. Bill 2)ostinj,', contracts fur, when illt^gul practice, 70 ct scq. Bills to bear printer's name, 88. Boroughs, maximum expenclitni'c in, 144. Beibkry, By agent, avoids election, 1. Statutory deiinitiou of, 4, 5, G. Need not be direct, 9. Time when done, how far niateriul, 11. Effect of, when done after election, 12. Amoixnt given in, immaterial, 11. Form of, immaterial, 1(). Committed, although vote not affected, 8. By colourable payments, 9, 1(5, 20. At municipal election riiay avoid parlia- mentary election, 13, 14. At test ballot, 15. At former ejection, 16. After election, 12. By profuse household expenditiu'e, 2 -t. By charitable gifts, 29, 37. By purchasing influence, 27, 28, 37. By paying wages, 34. By paying travellin'j expenses, 21. No relief from consequences of, 11, .")4. General, 101. C.VBS, when illegal to hire, 77. Candidate, expenses of, agreement by another candidate to pay, 40. Candid.\te, Bribery by, 4 ef seq. Illegal practices by, 67 et seq. Illegal payment by, 76. Personal expenses of, 142. Election expenses of, 137. Subscriptions to pay expenses of, 149. To make declaration of purity, 1.55. Declaration by, when abroad, 156. False declaration by, 158. Liable for acts of agents, 110. Canvass, authority to effect of, 112. Authority to effect of, 112. Can~s'ass Book, contents, how proved, 209. Canvassers, colourable pavments to, briberv, 6, 19. Canvassing, illegitimate, 57. Certificate of judges, effect of, 208. CuANGE of Election Agent, 133. Charities, subscriptions to, 31, 32. Charitable gifts, 29, 38. Children, payments to, may be bribery, 9. City of London, application of Acts to, 267, 268. Claims for expenses, when to be sent in, 150 (i.O X^^ /I ^A CtAijis for expenses, when to be paid, 152. Claijis for seat, withdrawal of, 178, 179. Clerical organisation, when candidate responsible for, 126. Clergymen, intimidation by, 61. Special punishment of, 235. Clerks, to be appointed by Election Agent, 136. Colourable payments to, bribery, 16, 19. Number allowed, 81, 82. CLUiis, when use of, as Committee lioom>, prohibited, 83, 94. Coals, gifts to electors, 35. Coalition of candidates, bribery before, cflect of, 127. Cockades, payments for, illegal, 80. Colourable payments, bribery, 9, 16, 2(i. Commission to examine witness, 184. Committee, election, agency of, 116. Committee Eoom, what is, 72. CoanriTTEE Rooms, Hiving of, when bribery, 20. Excessive number of, contracts for, 71. Number allowed, 71. AVhat are, 72. In what places illegal, 79. Common Codncilman, application of Acts to, 267. Comstituency when ordered to pay costs, 216, 225. Convf.yance of Voters, Contracts or payment for, an illegal practice, 67. By sea, 80. To poll when bribery, 20, 22. Convicts may not vote, 87. '■ Corruptly," meaning of, 43. Corrupt Agent, employment of, 7, 93. Corrupt Practices, Defined, 3. How pimished, 233 et seq. Corruption, general, 101 et seq. Costs, On election petitions, 213, 224. Usually follow the event, 213. Exceptions to the rule where petition succeeds, 214, 215. Exceptions to the rule where petition fails, 215. AVben returning officer in fault, 215. Agreement not to ask for, 215. Where constituency or town may be ordered to pay. 216, 226. Where persons (not parties to pctitioni, to pay, 216, 217. IXDEX. 407 Costs, "Where third persons (ordered to pay), 216, 217. Expenses of witnesses, 218. Taxation of, 218. To be taxed on a liberal scale, 219. Counsel's fees, 220, 221. Instructions for brief, 222. Number of witnesses allowed, ^^2. When to be incun-ed, 2'23. How recovered, 221. Payment out of security fund, 225. Councillor, expenditure at election of, 159. Return and declaration of expenses by, 162. Penalties for sitting before rttura of expenses, 162. Applications for relief by, 169. Counsel, fees of, 220, 221. Counterfoils, inspection of, 194. Counties, conveyance of voters by sea where legal, 80. Counties, maximum expenditure in, 146. County Council Elections, application of Act of 1834 to, 159, 160, 170, 265, 266. Court, Attendance of director of public prosecu- tions at eltction court, 186. By what Courts offenders tried and punislied, 227 et seq. Election commissioners and their powers, 227. Effect of their report, 228. Appeal from election commissioners, 236. Report of election court, 237. liffeet of report of election court, 238. Power of election, to try offenders, 240. Sentences by election, 241. Ti-ial by Court of summarr jurisdiction, 246. Time for prosecuting before any, 247. Appeal from summary jurisdiction, 249. Prosecutions before assize, 250. Venue may be changed, 250, Actions in civil, for penalties, 254. AVitnesses ordered out of court, 202. Criminal L.iw, offences against. See Punish- ments. Custom, withdrawal of, 60. Deceased Persons, statements Ity, 210. Declaration, false, 66. Declaration of Election Expenses, 156. By election ugent, 156. Definition of Bribery, 4, 6. Dentists, special punishment of, 235. Dejiuukahle Petition, 176. Director of public prosecutions, his duties at trial of petition, 186 Prosecution by, 229 et seq. Discovery, 181. Discrediting one's witness, 203, 205. Disputed Cl.um, Action for, 153. May be taxed, 154. Dissenting Ministers, Intimidatii n by, 62. Intimidation of, 61. Doctors, special punishment of, 235. Documents, production of, 209. Drunkenness, general, evidence of general treating, 102. Ecclesiastics, Limits of their influence, 61. Undue influence by, 61. May select candidate, 61. And canvass for him, 62. Election, formal jn-oof of, 202, 212. Illegal practices, by avoiding election, 76. His ap|i(iintment and duties, 131. Who bliould be appointed, 131. Should Ije a solicitor, 131. \Yhen to be appointed, 132, 133. When to be named, 132. And to whom to be named, 133. Notice of appointment of, 133. May be changed, 133. Sub-agents of, 134. Oflices of, 134. Service of documents on, 135. Remuneration of, 151. To pay election expenses, 136. To make return of election expenses, 154. To make declaration, 155. Election Commissioners, 233. Election Committee, agency of, 120. Election Court (Parliamentary), 237. Election Court (Mmiicipal), 243. Election Expenses, Subscriptions towards, 40. Should be estimated in advance, 141. What need not be estimated or returned, 141. What are. 141. What kinds are allowable, 142. Maximum amount allowed, 144. Scale of, in boroughs and counties. 144, 116. ■U)>< INDEX. Elkctiox Exi'exsk!s, In case of joint caudidatui'e restricted, 147. Relief in case of limit bemg exceeded, 148. To be paid by election agent, 149. Claims for, to be sent to election agent, 149. When to be sent in, 150. Late claims for barred, 151. When to be paid, 152. Leave to pay out of time, how obtained, 152. Eeturn of, 154. Declaration, verifying return of, 155. Election Pp;titiox. See Petition. Election, avoided a', common law, when, 101. Employers, intimidation by, 60. Employment of Voters, When bribery, 16, 19. Employjient of Corrupt Agent avoids election, 98. When personal, 98, 99. Equality of Votes, 198. Estimate of Election Expenses, 141, Event, costs usually follow, 213. May be distributive, 213. Evidence, Admissions, 210. Cogent, of mere offer required, 8. Of agency, what is sufficient. 111. Of general corruption, 102. Evidence on Election Petitions, Not to be stated in petition, 181. How procured, 184. Rewards for legality of, 185. Rules of common law generally applv, 201. Exceptions, 201, 202. Witnesses ordered oiit of court, 202. Improper rejection or admission, 2U3. Discrediting witness. 203, 204. Cross examining hostile witness, 204. Use of witness's previous statements. 204. Admission by witness, 205. Court may require proof of agencv first, 206. Political opinions of mtness, 207 . Of acts done at previous election ;, 207. Of acts done at municipal elections, 208. Admissions by agent after poll, 210. Production of documents, 209. Unstamped documents. 2()9. On municipal election petitions, 212. Expenditure, Lavish household, not nece.ssarily bribery, 30. Expenses, Election, through whom to be jiaid, 72. As to petty expenses. 137. Of Election. See Election Exj'enses. Municipal election, 159. False Declaration, Punishment of, 158. Avoids election, 68. A coiTupt practice, 6S. Filing Petition, 176. Flys, payment for, illegal, 78. Forfeiture of the Seat, How caused, 1, 2. Form of Bribe immaterial, 16. Form of Summons, for particulars, 181. Form of Petitions, 193. Fraudulent devices to impede voting, 63. Freemen's Admission Fees, Payment of, when bribery, 24. General Corraption. 101. Bribery, 101. Treating. 102. Intimidation, 103. Intimidation, effect of on poll, 101. What araounts to, 103, 104. Gifts, To non-electors, may be bribery, 9. To children, may be bribery, 9. To women, may be bribery, 10. Guardians, poor law, elections of, law ap- plicable to, 263. Hackney Carriages, when illegal to hire, 78. Hiring, illegal, what is, 77 et sec/. Hiring, illegal, by candidate or any agent, 77 Holiday, gning, when briberj% 25, 27. Hotels not to be used as committee rooms, 83. Household Expenditure, lavish, not neces- sarily bribei-y, 28. Hospitality, not necessarily treating, 51, 52. Hostile Witness, examination of, 204. Illegal, Employments, 78. Hirings, 78. Payments, 76. Practices, prevalence of, 106. INDEX. 409 Illegal Prac'tices. Avoiding tli(' scat if done bv aiiv agent, 07. Avoiding the seat if done liy election a}?ent, 76 ft xeq. Do not necessarily avoid election, 75. ixkakts .may not votk, 87, '2()0. Implied Peomise to Treat, 50. Improvement Commissiosers, application of law to, 260. Individuals Gi'iltv, jiavnicnt of costs of, petition l.y, 21(5, 225. Infutence, Purchase of, may be bribery, 39. Undue. See I'ndi'C Infinence. Inspection, Of documents, 181. Of ballot i)apers, 194. Instructions for Brief, costs of, 222. Interrogatories not allowed, 181. Intimidation. See I'tidve Influence. Irish Constituencies, expenditure allowed in. 14t. Joint CANDinAiiHE, Afjeucy in case of, 127. Expenses restricted in case of, 1-47. What is, 147. Severance of, 147. Relief against excessive expenditure in, 148. Joint Co-st, conveyance to the poll at, 79. JrsTicE OF Peace, special punishment of, liANDI.OUDS, Undue influence by, 58. May select their tenants, 58. l^KfiiTiMATE Influence, 57. Lendinc; Caruiaoes for conveyance of voters, when illegal, 79. Liability, Of candidate for agents. 109 ft Sfq. Of ciiudidate for political associations, 121. Licensed Premises may not be used as committee rooms, 83. Lists of Ob.iections, 195. Livery Stahle Keeper, payments to, for carriages, itc, 77. Local Board ElkctioN'<, :ii)i)lication of law to, 200. Locks ■•ttaufU of elector at trial, 197. London, Act applied to municipal elections, 207. Citv of, expenses at miiniiipal elections ill, 267. Lord !Mayok of Londo, act applied to election of, 267. Loss OF Time, payments for, 21. Lunatic, vote of, bad. 200. Maximum, Expenditure, 85, 91, 144, 146. Mayor, election of, application of law to, 258. Messengers, Colourable payments to, briber}-, IC. 19. To be a]ipoiiited by election agent, 136. By whom paid, 180. Number allowed, 81, 82. Miscellaneous Expenses limited, 141. Misconduct of Registration Offici;k, 256. Mob Violence, ettect of, 104. Money, Provided for electioi: to be paid t) election agent, 149. Motive of Donor, test of bribery, 8, .'!0. Municipal Elections, Ertcct of bribery at, 13, 14. ]''.liect of treating lA, 40. Declaration of election expenses at, ](''2. Connnittee rooms allowed in, 90, 95, Election agent at, not provided for, lt>(). Expenses at, how legulated, 159. I'Jxpenses at, none except in election of Councillors, 159. Illegal payments, liirings and enijiloy- ments at, 90. Illegal practices which avoid, 90. Maximum expenditure u])on, 91, 159. Prevalence of illegal practices, 106 ct xci/. I'olitical clubs not always to be used at, 94. School rooms may be used as committee roonis, 95. Seit, liow foifeited, 2. Relief. ai>plications for, 169 ct scq. Jxctinn of election expenses at, 100. Voters prohibited from voting at, 95. B)il)erv at, eft'ect on parliamentarv elec- tion," 208. Municipal Election Court, 243. Municipal Election E.vpenses, 159. Municipal Election Petitions, 169 tt sc/. What elections (Jue^tiont■d by, 189. On what grounds, 189. Bv whom to be ) resented, 190. When to be presented, 190. Security furco ts of, 191. IsxpeiiM-s of witnesses upon, 192. Relief at trial of. 192. Evidence, 201. 27 410 INDEX. NoX-l'll.KCTORS, (iriftsto iiKiy he Lribery, 9, 31. Treating may be corrupt treating, 46. Notice of Trial, 177. Notice of appointment I if flection ;igont, !">?>. Objections to Return, particulars of, 1.S3. Offences. See Pi!Hi^Iiment-<. Oi' FENDERS, Their detection and piuiislinunt . '227. By what court> puni^lied, 233 et seq. Offer, Corrupt, may be bribery, S, io. Office, ofler of an, bribery, 28. Operative, threats, to avoid an election, must be, 59. Oi;.VNGE Lodge, subscriptions to, 31. Paid Agent?, Excessive number of, 81. May not vote, 86. Pairing, voting after, 63. P.iRTIClLARS. llr.w obtained, 1>^1. \VLen ordered, 182. How flamed, 182, lh3. Amendment of, 183. Particulars of objections, obtainable by pctiticmer, 183. Payjients to voters, when bribeiy, 16, 21. Payjients, illegal, 76 et seq. Peers may not vote, 87. Penalties, suits for, 2."ii. Pkr^^onation. 61. IJefined, 64. Imiocent, 6."). Ofl'ence of, when complete, G'>. No relief against, 54. Personal Expenses of Candidate, What aie. 142. To be returned, 150. Petition, AVlio may present, 172 et sfq. When to be presented, 173. How abated, 173. Practice on tiling, 17.'). Service of, 176. Security for <-(»ts of, 176. Olijectioiis to tlie security, 177. Payments into court, how made, 177. .Amendment of, 178. l'"orma! objections to. 178. Notice of trial, 180. Withdrawal of, 178, ISO. Corrupt bargain to withdraw, 179. Practice on withdrawal of, 180. AVithdrawing ,vpposition to, 130. Petitdn, Discovery and interrogatories, in aid of, 181. Speoii.l case upon, 180, 188. Inspection of ballot papers, 181. Particulars, delivery of, 181. Objections, particulars of, 1S3. Production of telegrams, 181. Commission to examine witn< ss on, 181. Otlering rewards for evidence, 185. lU'lief on hearing of, 187, 188. Taxatiini of witnesses' expenses, 189. Petty Expenses of Vounteers. 137. Placards, Excessive payments for, when bribery, 19. Contracts for, when illegal practices, 70, Policemen may vote at Parliam; ntary ebciions, 87. Not at Municipal elections, 96, 200. Political Associations, candidate when responsible for, 121. Political Club, premises of, may be used as committte rooms, 83. Not always in Municipal elections, 94. Political Societies, treating, 52. Polling Agents, to be appointed by election agent, 136. Posters issued without printer's name, 88. Practices, illeg.il, by eanlidate or election agent, 76. Practice. See Petition, IteHef, Scrutiny, and Criminal I jaw. Practice on application for relief, 164. Practice on election petitions, 172. Practice on a scrutiny, 193. Priests, nndne influence by, 61. Prevalence of illegal practices, liirings, etc. (Municipal', 106. Production of documents, 209. Profusion before elections, 27, 28. Prohibited P.wmests, 76, 140. Promises, difficulty in getting evidence of, 206. Procedure. See Petition, Scrutinij,Iielief, and Criminal Lair. Prosecutions, director oi public, his func- tions, 229. Private, 230. Public Houses, Opening, 48, Not to be used for committee rooms. S3. Public Meetings, exiienscs of, 139, 143. Punishments, 233 rf seq. By what courts awarded, 2.34 et .seq. Effect of report of commissiomrs, 234. INDEX. 411 PUXISHMKNT.-;, Of barristers rejiorted, 2H->. Of sdlicitors reported, 235. Of doctors, dentists, and clergymen rei)orted, 285. Befi)re report, party to T)c heard, 2:->G. Appeal upon repcrt, ^.SG. Bv election court. 237. Of candidate suilty l>y his agent, 238. Of candidate sniltv of corrupt practices, 23H. Eftcc" of report of election court upon otlier persons, 23ft. Conunittal for trial by election court, 240. By a court of suunuary jurisdiction, 248. Bv the cnurt of assize, 250. Ql'o AVari!.\nto, when available. 259, 264. Railway Fark. payment of, when bribery, 21. „ ,, ,, when illegal prac- tice, 67. Rates, corrupt payment of, bribery, 6, 25. Recovery of Costs, 224. Recocni.s.ixce, objections to, 177. Recriminatory Evidenck, 193. 196. Refresh.mexts to A(jexts, 47. Register, inspecti'm of, 194. ,, how far conclusive of right to vote, 198. Registrar, taxation of witnesses, expenses, 189. Registration Court, payments for attendin-;, when bribery, 23, 24, 2.S. Registration Expenses, 140. Registration Ofi'icer, misconduct of, 256. Relief, Against conse<[nenees of treating or undue inlhieiice, 53. None after liribery or personation, 54. Against couseijuences of illegal prac- tices, 74. Relief hy the Covrt. Against ettect of excessive expenditure, 14S. Procedure to f)btaiii, 164. Applications for, 164. Parties to be heard on, 164. On default coiu'crning I'etnrn of election expenses, 1(>5. Should be >ought without delay, 165. How obtained when agent in default, 167. On hearing of petition, 187. Report of Judge, eft* ct of, 208. Repudiation of .\(ii,Ms, 129. Retainer to Colxsel, 222. Retirement of Candidate, procuring, when illegal practice, 80. Returning Offi'Ter's Vote, 87. „ Charges, 151. Reiurn or Election Expenses, 154. Reviewing Taxation, 220. Revising Barrister's Court. Payment for attendance at, 22. Treating for attendance at, 46. Rewap.ds for Evidence. 186. Ribbons, payment for, 80. Rioting, general effect of, 104. Rooms. See Comuiittee lioomx. Scale of Expenditure at Election ALLOWED, 141. School Board Elections, law applicable to, 264. Schoolroom, whm use of, as committee room allowed, 84, 95. Scrutiny, where votes come off on a. 198. Scrutiny Lists, 194. Scrutiny of Votes, ■\Vhen made, 193. Recriminatory case upon, 19.T. Practice where claimed, 196. Delivery of scrutiny lists, 195. And list of objections, 195. Inspection of ballot pajiers, 194. Order of proceeding at trial, 196. Elector has no Jonai st(nu/i . 197. Register, how far conclusive on, 198. Ballot papers ill marked, 199. Votes struck oH', 199. When ballot papei-s examined, 200. Practice as to tendered votes, 201. Sea Conveyance of Voters, when legal, 80. Security for Costs of Petition, 177 et seq, 224, Secrecy of Ballot, 200, 206. Service of Notices and Documents, 135. ,, Election Notices, 135. ,, Petition, 176. Sheriff of City of London, Act applied t,), 267. Solicitor and Client, costs as between, 219. Solicitor should be chosen as election agent, 132. Solicitors, special punishment of, 235. Special Case 182. 412 INDEX. SpiHITt'AL Inti.miiiation". Gl <•? .<<■'/. Scb-Agents, How and ■wlicii appoiutoj, 134. Kevocation of their appotDtmeut, 134. t'andiilate's lialiilitv foi'. 134. Offices of, 136. Service of notices on, 136. Relief for default of, 167. Extent of their authority. 110. SuBPCEN.iS for witnesses, 1S5. Subscriptions, To charities, 30. Towards candiilates' expenses, legal. 40. Towards candidates' election expenses, how to he paid. 1-19. Suits for penalties, 2)4. SuMJioxs for pxitlculars, 181. T.iVERXS not to he nse.l as committee rooms, 84. Taxation- of costs, 213, 22.5. Taxatiox of disputed claims, 154. Tendered Votes, 201. Termixatiox of agenev, 12'.). Test Bvllot, Bribery at, 1-"). Treating at, 46. Threats, when undue uifluence, 59, 62. Time for Filing Petitions, How reckoned. 17-'). 191. For delivering scrutiny lists, 195. For deliverhig lists of objections, 195. Torches, payments for, illegal, 80. Tows Clerk, dociunents in custody of, 213. Trivellixg Expenses, Payment of. when brib(;ry, 21, 22. Payment of. now aLvays illegal, 22. Treachery r.v Aay costs, 225. Wagers on result of election, 40. ■Watchers, colourable jiavments to, briben'. 16-19. Withdrawal, Of cu-ti>m, undue influence by, 60. LO--S by, should be subst:intial, 6n. AViihdrawal of Petition, 178. Witness, Commission to examine, 184. Attendance of, 18 J, 185. Admissions by, 205. AViTNESSES. May be called by the Court, 211. Mav be called bv the Public Prosecutor, 212. Witnesses" Expenses, 189. On what scale allowed, 223. Words, hasty, not undue influeuce, 62. Workpeople, Holiday to, may be biibery, 25, 26. Intimidation of. 60. Iiitiniidatiiin by, 60. Women, Gilts to, may amount to bribery. 111. Treating, may amount to bribery, 46. May not vote, 87. II WATERLOW & SONS LIMITED, STATIONERS AND PRINTERS. ELECTION WORK. WATERLOW & SONS LIMITED Undertake every class of Printing and Stationery connected with Parliatnentary, County or Municipal Elections^ and with the large resources at their command can fulfil orders entrusted to the^n with the utmost despatch. CANDIDATES' ADDRESSES, POSTERS, NOTICES, CIRCULARS, CARDS OF SOLICITATION AND DIRECTIONS, POLLING CARDS, BALLOT BOOKS, BALLOT PAPERS, &c., &c. THE ELECTION ADDRESSES OF CANDIDATES PRINTED OR LITHOGRAPHED (FAC-SIMILE) IN A FEW HOURS, AND THE ENVELOPES OR WRAPPERS ADDRESSED FROM THE REGISTER, AND POSTED WITH THE UTMOST DESPATCH. WATERLOW Sc SONS LIMITED, LONDON WALL, LONDON, E.G. WATERLOW 8z SONS LIMITED, STATIONERS^AjTD_PRINTERS. 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Fitted with a word of 3 or 4 letters, or a design of between 50 and 60 pinholes. los. each. j£s- ^s. per doz. Any of the above altered for future Elections at a charge of from 3s. each. WATERLOW & SONS LIMITED, LONDON WALL, LONDON, E.G. WATERLOW & SONS LIMITED, STATIONERS AND PRINTERS. JUST PUBLISHED. THE LAW RELATING TO CORRUPT PRACTICES AT PARLIAMENTARY, MUNICIPAL AND OTHER ELECTIONS, AND THE PRACTICE ON ELECTION PETITIONS, With an Appendix of Statutes, Rules, and Foras; BY MILES WALKER MATTINSON AND STUART CUNNINGHAM MACASKIE, OF gray's inn, barristers-at-la\v. THIRD EDITION. Demy 8vo. In Cloth, los. WATERLOW & SONS LIMITED, LONDON WALL, LONDON, E.G. J WATERLOW &: SONS LIMITED, STATIONERS AND PRINTERS. 0pxnion$ of t^e ^rc^s^s; ON PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF THE WORK BY MESSRS. MATTINSON & MACASKIE, ON (( The Law Relating to Corrupt Practices." " Invaluable to Electioneerers and Party Agents We " recommend it not only to every Election Agent but to every Candidate."— Whitehall Review. " The difficult topic of Agency in particular is fully and clearly " treated. . . . The greater scope and careful workmanship of this boolc " make any comparison with other books yet published out of the question." — Law Times. "It is compiled upon an easy intelligible plan, and has evidently been "very carefully prepared. ... An invaluable guide to the Statutory *' standard of Parliamentary probity." — Globe. " A complete guide to the Election Law, and written with such a " masterful grasp of the subject and lucidity rarely to be found in law books." — Wednesbury Herald. " Gentlemen about to embark in the adventures of Electioneering had " better get this book promptly and study it carefully." — Western Times. " A valuable resume of the law under which future Elections will have " to be conducted." — Daily Chronicle. "A valuable, explicit, and carefully compiled compendium of Election " Law." — Tower Hamlets Independent. 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By Henry Stephen, Esq., of the Middle Temple, Barrister-at-Law, Second Edition. In Cloth, is. THE FRANCHISE ACTS, 1884-5 : BEING THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT, 1884; REGISTRATION ACT, 1885; PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION (REDISTRIBUTION) ACT, 1884; WITH INTRODUCTIONS AND NOTES. By miles walker MATTINSON, Barrister-at'Law. Joint Author of *' Mattinson and Macaskie on Corrupt Practices." In Boards, 2s. 6d. THE ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. Being Schedules 5, 6 and 7 of the Parliamentary Elections (Redistribution) Act, 1885. With Index. In Boards, 2s. 6d. WATERLOW & SONS LIMITED, LONDON WALL, LONDON, E.G. f*^^;r'K5' V ',y| •^^ <^^ '*Vlr-» *J»3 ?i iS^:^ r>l^ ■i(* t^*