shall be appointed by the sheriff of the county in which the 48 & 49 Vict. largest part of such parliamentary borough in extent is situate. * c. 23. If possessing two mayors. p. 464. Writ as accus tomed, or to mayor of most populous borough. (4.) Whereas by the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, it is enacted that if there are more mayors than one within the boundaries of a parliamentary borough, the mayor of that municipal borough to which the writ of election is directed shall be the returning officer: Be it therefore enacted thatIn any such case the writ of election shall be directed to the mayor of that one of the municipal boroughs to the mayor of which the writ has before the passing of this Act been directed, or if it has not been directed to any such mayor, then to the mayor of that one of the municipal boroughs which has the largest population according to the last census for the time being, and in any such case the town clerk of the municipal Town clerk. borough, the mayor of which is the returning officer, shall be the town clerk who, under the Registration Acts, is to receive the revised lists of parliamentary voters from the revising barrister, and is to copy and print them and to deliver the register of voters to the returning officer, and the council of the same borough shall be the council to allow the expenses of such town clerk. (5.) In any new borough constituted under this Act, the For Westwhole or the larger part of the area of which was before the minster. passing of this Act comprised in the parliamentary borough of Westminster, the high bailiff of Westminster shall be the returning officer for the new borough, and also the town clerk for the new borough within the meaning of the Registration Acts, and may, by writing under his hand, appoint a fit person to be his deputy for all or any of the purposes relating to Deputy. parliamentary elections in any such new borough, and anything in relation to a parliamentary election authorized or required to be done by, to, or before the returning officer, may be done by, to, or before the high bailiff himself or such deputy. (6.) Every such deputy shall, in so far as he acts as returning officer, be deemed to be included in the expression "returning officer" within the meaning of the law relating to parliamentary elections. See note to s. 11 of the Reform Act, 1832 (p. 398). The parliamentary boroughs of the Strand and St. George's, Hanover Square, were comprised in Westminster before the passing of this Act. 13. Where a parliamentary borough is divided into divisions, the returning officer of such borough shall be the returning officer for each division, and may, by writing under his hand, appoint a fit person to be his deputy for all or any of the purposes relating to a parliamentary election in any such division, and anything in relation to a parliamentary election anthorized or required to be done by, to, or before the returning officer (except the fixing of the day for taking the polls), may Deputies of returning officers in divided boroughs 48 & 49 Vict. be done by, to, or before the returning officer himself or such c. 23, ss. 13-16. deputy. Divided Divisions, one borough for certain purposes. Dividing registers. One election. Voting and nomination as if divisions separate. Divided boroughs to be one to prevent agents, &c., voting. p. 504. Place of election in divided counties. (2.) Every such deputy shall, in so far as he acts as returning officer, be deemed to be included in the expression "returning officer" within the meaning of the law relating to parliamentary elections. (3.) For the purpose of determining the distance of the residence of any voter, and for all purposes of and incidental to the registration of voters in a parliamentary borough divided into divisions, and for the purpose of the enactments respecting the division of any such borough into polling districts, all the divisions shall be deemed to form the same parliamentary borough: Provided that the lists and register of voters for the borough shall be framed, printed, and arranged in parts so as to correspond to the divisions thereof; and the voters in each division shall be numbered in a separate series. (4.) In a borough divided into divisions, the election for two or more of such divisions shall be deemed to be the same election within the meaning of the enactments relating to personation and to voting, and the question which may be asked of voters at the poll shall be, "Have you already voted here or elsewhere at this election for the borough of either in this or in any other division?" (5.) Subject to the provisions of this Act, where any parliamentary borough is divided into divisions, the members for each division of such borough shall be elected by the persons registered in such division as voters for the borough, and the nomination and other proceedings at parliamentary elections for such division shall be conducted in the same manner as if such division were a separate constituency, and the law relating to parliamentary elections shall apply to each division as if it were a separate parliamentary borough. For deputy returning officers in divided counties, see s. 8 of the Ballot Act, 1872, p. 436. The deputy is a returning officer within the meaning of the Returning Officers Act, 1875 (p. 457). [14. Registration of freemen in divided boroughs. See p. 236.] 15. For the purposes of the provision of the schedule to the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act, 1883, with respect to the voting of any paid election agent, sub-agent, polling agent, clerk, or messenger, a parliamentary borough divided into divisions shall be deemed to form one borough, and any such agent, clerk, or messenger employed for payment at an election for any division may not vote in any other division of the borough. 16. (1.) The place of election in the case of a divison of a county at large shall be in such town situate in the said county at large, or in a county of a city or town adjoining the said county at large, as the local authority having power to divide the division into polling districts, or in default of any deter- 48 & 49 Vict. mination by such local authority the returning officer, may c. 23, ss. 27, 28. from time to time determine, as being, in their or his opinion, the most convenient for the purposes of the election. Provided that in Ireland the place of election, in the case of a division of a county at large, shall from time to time be fixed by the returning officer, and shall be situate within the division or within a county of a city or town adjoining that division. (2.) The place of election, in the case of a parliamentary In boroughs borough or any division of a parliamentary borough, shall be and divisions. such room or rooms in the said borough as the returning officer may from time to time determine, as being, in his opinion, the most convenient for the purposes of the election. [27. Repeal of Acts disfranchising certain persons. p. 72.] [28. Disfranchisement of certain persons. See p. 72.] See c. 56. 48 & 49 Vict. c. 56. An Act to amend the Law with 48 & 49 Vict. respect to Corrupt Practices at Parliamentary Elections. [6th August, 1885. "Whereas doubts have arisen as to whether or not it be lawful for an employer of labour to permit electors in his regular employ to absent themselves from their employment for the purpose of recording their votes at any parliamentary election, without making a deduction from the salary or wages of such electors for the time reasonably occupied in recording their votes: And whereas it is expedient to remove such doubts: : give leave of absence to employés to record their votes without deducting 1. Nothing in the law relating to parliamentary elections Employer may 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 the business wages. of the employer, given equally to all persons alike who are at the time in his employment, and if such 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. In Truscott v. Bevan, 44 L. T. 64, where a holiday was given to a candidate's workpeople, being voters and others, their wages were paid, and they were supplied with colours and conveyed to the poll, whereas on the previous occasion when the employer was not a candidate, the workpeople had a holiday but no wages, the return was declared void for bribery. That case does not decide that giving voters the time to vote without deduction from their wages is illegal, neither is there anything in the Election Acts so providing. The 2. This Act may be cited as "The Parliamentary Elections Corrupt Practices Act, 1885." 48 & 49 Vict. c. 62. An Act to amend the Law relating 1. This Act shall be construed, so far as regards England and Ireland, as one with the Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officers) Act, 1875, and together with that Act may be cited as the Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officers) Acts, 1875 and 1885, and this Act may be cited separately as the Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officers) Act, 1885. 2. In the Third Schedule to the Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officers) Act, 1875, "twenty-five pounds" shall be substituted for "one-fifth of the maximum according to the above scale" in the portion thereof (above recited) relating to elections where not more candidates stand nominated than there are vacancies to be filled up. 3. [Scotland.] 4. Notwithstanding the scale of charges laid down in the First Schedule of the Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officers) Act, 1875, it shall be lawful in any county constituency in England for the returning officer to charge four guineas for each presiding officer and thirty shillings for each clerk at a polling station. 5. [Scotland.] c. 125. 31 & 32 Vict. c. 125. Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868. 31 & 32 Vict. An Act for amending the Laws relating to Election Petitions, and providing more effectually for the Prevention of corrupt Practices at Parliamentary Elections. [31st July, 1868. "Whereas it is expedient to amend the laws relating to election petitions, and to provide more effectually for the prevention of corrupt practices at parliamentary elections:" BE IT ENACTED, as follows: Preliminary. 1. This Act may be cited for all purposes as "The Parlia- Short title. mentary Elections Act, 1868." Court. 2. The expression "the Court" shall, for the purposes of this Definition and Act, in its application to England, mean the High Court of jurisdiction of Justice, Queen's Bench Division (a), and such Court shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, have the same powers, jurisdiction, and authority with reference to an election petition and the proceedings thereon as it would have if such petition were an ordinary cause within their jurisdiction. As to amendment, the Court cannot amend a petition after the 21 days, so as to add a substantive ground of petitioning (Maude v. Lowley, L. R. 9 C. P. 65; 43 L. J. C. P. 145); but an amendment adding allegations of illegal practices may be made (p. 489). The powers conferred by this section must be read subject to ss. 25 and 26 (p. 530), and in the absence of rules there is no power to order interrogatories (Moore v. Kennard, 10 Q. B. D. 290; 52 L. J. Rep. (Q.B.) 285; 48 L. T. 236; 31 W. R. 610; Wells v. Wren, 5 C. P. D. 546; 49 L. J. C. P. 681), in which case the power to make rules for interrogatories was doubted. Publication in a newspaper of comments likely to interfere with the trial, held a contempt: Macartney v. Corry, 7 Ir. R. C. L. 242. (a) Originally Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, but see Judicature Act, 1881, s. 13, p. 554. |