The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-03-08 00:00:00

THE IMA/ICHISE BILL

Mr. Gladstone's Franchise Bill has been issued,
kind is entitled "A Bill to Amend the Law Relating
to the Representation of the people of the United
Kingdom. The following are the principal clauses:
PRRLIMINARY.

1. This Act may be' cited as the Representation of
the People Act, 1881
EXTENSION OF THE HOUSEHOLD AND LODGER FRANCHISE.
2. A uniform household and lodger franchise at
elections shall be established in all counties and
boroughs throughout the United Kingdom, and after
the passing of this Act every man possessed of a
household qualification or a lodger qualification shall,
if the qualifying premises be situate in a county in
England or Scotland, be entitled to be registered as a
voter, and, when registered, to vote at an election for
such county, and if the qualifying premises be situate
in a county or borough in Ireland, be entitled to be
registered as a voter, and to vote at an election for
such county or borough.
3. Where a man himself inhabits any dwelling-
house by virtue of any office, service, or employment,
and the dwelling-house is not inhabited by any person
under whom such man serves in such office, service,
or employment, he shall be deemed, for the purposes
of this Act and of the Representation of the People
Acts, to be an inhabitant occupier of such dwelling-
house as a tenant.
PROHIBITION OF MULTIPLICATION OF VOTES.

4. Subject to the savinq in this Act for existing
voters, the following provisions shall, after the passing
of this Act, have effect with reference to elections:
(1) A man shall not be entitled to be registered as a
voter in respect of the ownership of any rent-charge
except the owner of the whole of the tithe rent-charge
of a rectory or vicarage. (2) When two or more men
are owners either as joint tenants or as tenants in
common of an estate in any land or tenement, one of
such men, but not more than one, shall, if his interest
is sufficient to confer on him a qualification as a voter
in respect of the ownership of such estate, be entitled
(in the like cases and subject to the like conditions as if
he were the sole owner) to be registered as a voter, and,
when registered, to vote at an election. Provided that,
where such owners have derived their interest by
descent, succession, marriage, marriage settlement, or
will, or where they occupy the land or tenement, and
are bond ficle engaged as partners carrying on trade or
business thereon, each of such owners whose interest
is sufficient to oonfer on him a qualification as a voter
shall be entitled (in the like cases and subject to the
like conditions as if he were sole owner) to be regis-
tered as a voter in respect of such ownership and
when registered to vote at an election. And the
value of the interest of each Buell owner where not
otherwise legally defined shall be ascertained by the
division of the total value of the land or tenement
equally among the whole of such owners.
ASSIMILATION OF OCCUPATION_ QUALIFICATION.

5. Every man occupying any land or tenement in
a county or borough in the 'United Kingdom of a clear
yearly value of not less than ten pounds shall be en-
titled, after the passing of this Act, to be registered
as a voter, and, when registered, to vote at an election
for such county or borough in respect of such occu-
pation, subject to the like conditions respectively as a
man is, at the passing of this Act, entitled to be regis-
tered as a voter and to vote at an election for such
county in respect of the county ocoupation franchise,
and at an election for such borough in respect of the
borough occupation franchise.
SUPPLIMINTAL PROVISIONS.
6. A man shall not by virtue of this Act be entitled
to be registered as a voter or to vote at any election
for a county in respect of the occupation of any dwel-
ling-house, lodgings, land, or tenement, situate in a
borough.
7. In this Act the expression "a household qualifi-
cation" means, as respects England and Ireland,sthe
qualification enacted by the third section of the Repre-
sentation of the People Act, 1867, and the enactments
amending or affecting the same, and the said section
and enactments, so far as they are consistent with this
Act, shall extend to counties in England and to
counties and boroughs in Ireland.
In the construction of the said enactments, as
amended and applied to Ireland, the following dates
shall be substituted for the dates therein mentioned—
that is to say, the 20th day of July for the 15th day
of July, the let day of July for the 20th day of July,
and the Ist day of January for the sth dafbf January.
The expression "a lodger qualification" means the
qualification enacted, as respects England, by the
fourth section of the Representation of the People
Act, 1867, and the enactments amending or affecting
the same, and, as respects Ireland, by the feurth
section of the Representation of the People (Irehmd)
Act, 1868, and the enactments amending or affecting
the same, and the said section of the English Act of
1867 and the enactments amending or affecting the
same, shall, so far as they are consistent with this
Act, extend to counties in England, and the said
section of the Irish Act of 1868 and the enactments
amending or affecting the same shall, so far as they
are consistent with this Act, extend to counties in
Ireland, and Sections 5 and 6 and 22 of the i'arlia-
mentary and Municipal Registration Act, 1878, so far
as they relate to lodgings, shall apply -o Ireland, and
for the purpose of such application the reference in
in the said Section 6 to the Representation of the
People Act, 1867, shall be deemed to be made to the
Representation of the People (Ireland) Act, 1868.
The expression "a household qualification" means,
as respects Scotland, the qualification enacted by the
third section of the Representation of the People
(Scotland) Act, 1868, and the enactments amending
or affecting the same, and the said section and enact-
ments shall, so far as they are consistent with this
Act, extend to counties in Scotland, and for the pur-
pose of the said section and enactments the expression
"dwelling-house" in Scotland means any house or
part of a house occupied as a separate dwelling, and
this definition of a dwelling-house shall be substituted
for the definition contained in section 59 of the Re-
presentation of the People (Scotland) Act, 1868.
The expression "a lodger qualification " means, as
respects Scotland, the qualification enacted by the
fourth section of the Representation of the People
(Scotland) Act, 1868, and the enactments amending
or affecting the same, and the said section and enact-
ments, so far as they are consistent with this Act,
shall extend to counties in Scotland.

The expression "county occupation franchise"
means, as respects England, the franchise
enacted by the sixth section of the Representation of
the People Act, 1867; and as respects Scotland, the
franchise enacted by the sixth section of the Repre-
sentation of the People (Scotland) Act, 1868; and as
respects Ireland, the franchise enacted by the first
section of the Act of the session of the 13th and 14th
years of the reign of her present Majesty, chapter 69.
The expression "borough occupation franchise"
means, as respects England, the franchise enacted by
the 27th section of the Act of the session of the
second and third years of the reign of King Wil-
liam IV., chapter 45; and, as respects Scotland, the ,
franchise enacted by the 11th section of the Act of the
session of the second and third years of the reign of
King William IV., chapter 65; and, as respects Ire-
land, the franchise enacted by Section 5 of the Act of
the session of the 13th and 14th years of the reign of
her present Majesty, chapter 69 and the third
section of the Representation of the People (Ireland)
Act, 1868.
Any enactments amending or relating to the county
occupation franchise or borough occupation franchise
other than the sections in this Act in that behalf
mentioned shall be deemed to be referred to in the
definition of the county occupation franchise and
the borough occupation franchise in this Act men-
tioned.
[Section 8 defines various expressions, and enacts
that the existing Registration Acts shall apply to this
Act, with the necessary alterations.]
9. In this Act the expression "the Rating Acts"
means the enactments for the time being in force in
England, Scotland, and Ireland respectively relating
to the placing of the names of occupiers on the rate-
book, or other enactments relating to rating in so far
as they are auxiliary to or deal with the registration
of persons entitled to vote at elections; and the ex-
pression "the Rating Acts" where used in this Act
shall be read distributively in reference to the three
parts of the United Kingdom as meaning in the case
of each part the Acts for the time being in force in
that part.
In Scotland section 15 of the Representation of
the People (Scotland) Act, 1868, shall apply to coun-
ties as well as to burghs, and in the application
thereof the word " tenant " shall include any inhabi-
tant occupier within the meaning of this Act, and it
shall be the duty of every person rated in respect of
any lands and heritages which comprise any dwelling-
house when applied to by the assessor to give an
accurate written list of the names and designations
of all men other than himself being inhabitant
occupiers of any dwelling-house forming part of such
lands and heritages, and if ho fail to do so he shall
be liable on summary conviction to a penalty not
exceeding £5, and the proviso in Section 2 of the
Act for the Valuation of Lands and Heritages in
Scotland, passed in the session of the 17th and 18th
years of the reign of Her present Majesty, chapter
91, shall be repealed.
In Ireland, where the owner of a dwelling-house is
rated instead of the occupier, the occupier shall never-
theless be entitled to be registered as a voter, and to
vote under the same conditions under which an occu-
pier of a dwelling-house in England is entitled in
pursuance of the Poor Rate Assessment and Collec-
tion Act, 1869, and the Acts amending the same, to
be registered as a voter, and to vote where the owner
is rated, and the enactments referred to in the first
schedule to this Act shall apply to Ireland accordingly,
with the modification in that schedule mentioned.
Both in England and Ireland where a man inhabits
any dwelling-house by virtue of any office, service, or
employment, and is deemed for the purposes of this
Act and of the Representation of the People Acts to
be an inhabitant occupier of such dwelling-house as a
tenant, and another person is rated or liable to be
rated for such dwelling-house, the rating of such
other person shall for the purposes of this Act and of
the Representation of the People Acts be deemed to
be that of the inhabitant occupier; and the several
enactments of the Poor Rate Assessment and Collece
tion Act, and IE6O, and other Acts amending the same
referred to in the first schedule to this .4,ct shall for
_ _ .

_
those purposes apply to such inhabitant ocetapier, and
in the construction of those enactments the word
'owner" shall be deemed to include a perm petuanj
'ated or liable to be rated 114 aforesaid.

Moth in England and in Ireland where a house is
let out or occupied in separate parts, and any of such
parts constitutes a separate dwelling-house within the
meaning of the Representation of the People Acts,
the overseers shall within twenty-one days after the
Ist of March in every year give notice in writing to
the person rated or rateable in respect of such house
requiring him within fourteen days after the service
of such notice to furnish in a form to be supplied by
the overseers an accurate list containing the name of
the occupier of every such part which constitutes a
separate dwelling-house, and the person applied to
shall furnish such list accorengly ; and if any over-
seer makes default in giving such notice as last afore-
said, or any person rated or rateable as aforesaid
makes default in furnishing the list so required to be
furnished by him, such overseer or person shall on
summary conviction be liable to a penalty not exceed-
ing 40s.
In any part of the United Kingdom where a man
inhabits a dwelling-house in respect of which no
person is rated by reason of such dwelling-house
belonging to or being occupied on behalf of the
Crown, or by reason of any other ground of exemp-
tion, such person shall not be disentitled to be
registered as a voter, and to vote by reason only that
no one is rated in respect of such dwelling-house,
and that no rates are paid in respect of the same, and
it shall be the duty of the persons making out the
rate-book or valuation roll to enter any such dwell-
ing-house as last aforesaid in the rate-book or valua-
tion roll, together with the name of the inhabitant
occupier thereof.
10. Nothing in this Act shall deprive any person
(who at the date of the passing of this Act is regis-
tered in respect of any qualification to vote for any
county or borough) of his right to be from time to
time registered and to vote for such county or
borough in respect of such qualification in like manner
as if this Act had not passed.
Provided that where a man is so registered in re-
spect of the county or borough occupation franchise
by virtue of a qualification which also qualifies him
for the franchise under this Act, he shall be entitled
to be registered in respect of such latter franchise
only.
Nothing in this Act shall confer on any man who is
subject to any legal incapacity to be registered as a
voter or to vote any right to be registered as a voter
or to vote.

•
[Section 11 is a definition clause.] ,• •
12. Whereas the franchises conferred by this Act
are in substitution for the franchises conferred by the
enactments mentioned in the first and Second parts of
the second schedule hereto, be it enacted that the
Acts mentioned in the first part of the second schedule
shall be repealed to the extent in the third column of
that part of the said schedule mentioned, except in
so far as relates to the rights of persons saved by this
Act; and the Acts mentioned in the secondspart of
the said second schedule shall be repealed to the
extent in the third column of that part of the said
schedule mentioned, except in so far as relates to the
rights of persons saved by this Act, and except in
so far as the enactments so repealed contain con-
ditions made applicable by this Act to any franchise
enacted by this Act.
[Then follow the Schedules.]
The Bill is prepared and brought in by the Prime
Minister, the Attorney-General, Mr. Trevelyan, and
the Lord Advocate. Thursday, the 20th inst., is the
day fixed by the Government for the second reading.
The price is three half-pence, and it bears the some-
what unusual endorsement that it is to be had
through any bookseller, as well as the usual authorised
agents for the sale of parliamentary papers.

Mr. Chaplin has been the first to give notice of art
amendment to the County Franchise Bill. The hon.
member intends to move as an amendment to the
second reading—" That this House is of opinion that
to largely increase the electoral franchise in Ireland
at a time when vast numbers of the Irish people are
bitterly opposed to the English connection; when the
aim and purpose, openly avowed, of their leaders and
representatives in Parliament is to sever that connection
and establish the national independence of Ireland, and
when her Majesty's Government dare not trust the Irish
people with the full enjoyment of their ordinary civil
rights, is inexpedient, unwise, and fraught with danger to
the State." Lord Randolph Churchill also intends to
move "the previous question." Lord J. Manners has
likewise given notice of an amendment to the effect
that the House declines to add two millions to the
electoral roll until the whole scheme of the Govern-
ment for the amendment of the representation of the
people is before it.