and the petitioner further shewed, that persons. not residing in the said city, whose petitions had been previously rejected because of their non-residence, were, at the said council, held on the said 23d day of July, then admitted as of right; and the said council were so zealous to promote the views of the said IV. C. Alcock, as to admit those in his interest, claiming on any pretence of right, however ridiculous or absurd, and several persons were then admitted to their freedom, under derivative titles, in right of birth, marriage, and apprenticeship, before the original titles, under whom they respectively claimed, were completed; and that many persons, claiming in right of apprenticeship, served to the most noble the marquis of Waterford, in various parts of Ireland, to learn the art of music, were, upon the said 23d day of July, improperly enrolled among the freemen of the said city; that most of those occasional freemen were non-residents; that the claims of all of them were either unfounded or uninvestigated; which illegal conduct of the council, in admitting non-residents, and in creating occasional voters as aforesaid, was highly prejudicial to the petitioner, and the legal electors of the said city, at the said last election; and that the said J. D. and E. W. the sheriffs of the said city, and returning officers as aforesaid, illegally received the bad votes of persons, illegally admitted and created as aforesaid, for the said W. C. Alcock, and also illegally permitted minors and freeholders, who had not been duly registered, and persons who pretended to be freeholders, and Roman catholics, not producing a legal and proper certificate of qualifications to

vote at the said election, on behalf of and for the said W. C. Alcock; and that, in consequence of the aforesaid partial and illegal conduct of the said council, so injurious to the rightful electors of the said city, a motion was made on their behalf in his majesty's court of king's bench in Ireland, in the month of February, 1802, for liberty to file an information, in the nature of a writ of quo warranto, against the mayor, sheriffs, and citizens, of the said city, to shew by what authority they claimed to admit persons, not residing or inhabiting therein, to the freedom of the said city; and that a conditional order was then obtained, when, after great delay on the part of the corporation, cause was shewn against making the same absolute, which cause the court thought fit to disallow, and make the said rule absolute; and though one information has been filed since the month of June, 1802, it has not as yet been pleaded to by the counsel, nor has it deterred or prevented them from proceeding in the illegal manner complained of; and further, that the aforesaid counsel have also illegally refused to admit many persons to their freedom, who claimed to be admitted, in the several rights of birth, marriage, and servitude, and were then actually residing within the said city, or the liberties thereof; and who, in support of such rights, had, according to the usual and known customs of the said city, previously presented their petitions, claiming to be admitted to the freedom of the said city, to S. M. esq. then mayor, who illegally rejected, or declined to examine, such petitions and claims, although repeatedly called upon by them, and by the petitioner, and other members of the corporation,

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in council, to take the same into consideration; and further, that in consequence of the conduct of the said mayor and council, in rejecting or declining to investigate the petitions and claims of many persons legally, and of right, entitled to their freedom, and who had demanded the same, according to the usage and custom of the said city, writs of mandamus were obtained from his majesty's court of king's bench in Ireland, and served upon the mayor in the months of June and July, 1802, in order to compel the admission of the several persons, who had respectively sued out such writs, to their freedom, but without effect, their admission being hitherto withheld by the mayor and council, through the aforesaid undue influence of the said W. C. Alcock; and that the council, on the aforesaid 23d day of July, and on the several preceding council days, peremptorily refused to take into consideration the petitions of rightful claimants, so duly presented, or to attend to the several writs of mandamus, which, previous thereto, were in the hands of the mayor, commanding them to admit and swear the several persons named therein; and that a great number of persons, who were of right entitled to their freedom, who had duly petitioned and claimed to be admitted to the same, and many of whom had also sued out writs of mandamus as aforesaid, commanding their admission, and all of whom had previously offered to perform the usual requisites, and pay the usual fees, upon such admissions, did, at the said election, tender their votes for the petitioner to the said returning officers, who illegally rejected their said votes, and refused to receive them on the poll, on behalf of the petitioner, contrary to

their rights, and in defiance of the law and freedom of election, and to the prejudice of the petitioner, and the legal franchise of the electors of the said city; and that the said returning officers also illegally rejected the votes of several other freemen and freeholders of the said city, on behalf of the petitioner, on pretence of minority, of defect in the form of their admissions, want of qualifications, and undue registry, all which pretences were utterly false and groundless; and that, independent of objections to individual votes, given for the said W. C. Alcock, the petitioner conceived that, on every possible view of this case, the petitioner was legally entitled to the return; for, if the votes of all the non-resident freemen, who were illegally received on the poll, on behalf of the said IV. C. Alcock, were struck off, there would remain a majority in favour of the petitioner ; or, if all the persons unduly, partially, and occasionally, admitted to their freedom, upon the said 23d day of July, and whose votes were illegally received on the poll, on behalf of the said IV. C. Alcock, were struck off, the petitioner would have a majority of forty-six; or, if all the persons clearly entitled to their freedom, who had petitioned, in due time, to be admitted upon the corporation books, and who exerted themselves to have their claims considered by the councils, which sat previous to the election, or who had sued out writs of mandamus to compel their admission, and who tendered their votes for the petitioner, had been received upon the poll, the petitioner would have a majority of sixty-five; and further, that the said I. C. Alcock, by himself and his agents, after the dissolution of the last parlia

ment, and the issuing of the writ for the said election, and previous to and during the poll, was guilty of bribery, corruption, and undue influence, and did unduly pervert the powers and patronage of the corporation to election purposes, in order to procure himself to be returned as the person duly elected; and the petitioner, therefore, submitted to the house, that the said election and return of the said W. C. Alcock, is an illegal election and return, and that the petitioner was entitled to be returned as the legal representative of the said city of Waterford; and therefore prayed, that he might be heard by his counsel, touching the several allegations and matters complained of in that his petition, and have such relief in the premises as to the house might seem meet.

Petition of Persons claiming to have had a Right to vote at an Election, to be admitted Parties in the Room of a Member having given Notice of his Intention not to defend his Seat, under the 28 Geo. 3. c. 52. § 2, 3, & 4. (a)

THAT your petitioners are, and at the last election of knights of the shire for the county of S., were freeholders of the said county, and claim to have had a right to vote at the said election, wherein J. F. esq. was elected and returned to serve in parliament, as one of the knights of the shire for the said county.

(a) Ante, ccccxix. ccccxx.