The Express.
London, England, 1853-04-14 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—WErritEsDAT, APRIL 13.
The Sri:tem; took the choir at 12 o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.
BRITISH ELECTRIC 'EELEGRAPII COMPANY.
Mr. FAIR It ER. moved that the minutes of evidence taken
before the committee en this bill last session be refs reed to
the committee this session.—Agreed to.
Btu:, CussilrElSEU.—The fallowing amended hills were
considered : lbe Bognor Railway Bill, the Irwell Volley
Waterworks Bill, and the Se ipley Gas Bill.
Bents READ A SELONLS TIME.—The Swoffliam and
Dtttisham Drainage (Ni. 2) Bill, end the S aith Eastern
Railway (Canterbury and Whitetails, &c.)
PUBLIC BUSINESS.
f ITIONS PRESENTED.
ADM DISION OF JEWS TO PARLI . . By Mr. CHRIS•
TOPHUIt, from places in Lineolnehire; Mr. DOD, from
Whitehureh, Slims ; Mr. FARNHAM, from places in
leekedieredro ; stand.
Over: / E eItI4IAL PALACE ON Serenave.—By
Mr. W ILLIAMS, from the shoemakers of the metropolis,
in favour of. Mr. SPOONER, from Birmingham ; Mr.
W. PAT'T EN, from Lancaster ; again's.
AnvenTISSZX ENT Dryv.—By Sir GEO. STRICKLAND,
from Messrs. Livesay, propel( tors of the Prete'', Guardia.;
Mr. HADFIELD, from Shtffield ; Mr. SCOBELL, from
Bath ; for the repeal of.
Illaysexertt.—Mr. FARNIIKNI, from places in Leices-
tershire ; Atoned GORDON, from Aberdeen ; molest.
COCNTY Hats Execs:lit re ate.—By Mr. O.MOROAN,
hem a rtftee in Mmmnuthshire ; against.
PARLIAMENTARY PAP 1.00.—8 y Sir G. E. WELBY,
from Grsntham Phinasophtual Institution, and Grantham
Public. Lit rare Institution, for ; Mr. COBBETT, from the
members of the Oldham Lyceum. praying to have parlia-
mentary papers.—Referred to Parliamentary Papers Cum-
=Mee.
Petittellorsis (SCOTLAND) BII.L.—By Mr. BOUVE-
RIE, from (Haltom and other places; against.
COUNTY ELECTIONS POLLS (SCOTLAND) BILL.
On the motion that the house do go into committee on
this bill,
Mr. DUNLOP moved that it be an instruction to the
committee to extend to the elections in burghs the provi-
sions of the said bill tar repealing so much of the act 2 & 3
Wm. IV., a. fe-s, as rustled that no poll should be directed
to been on a Saturday; and also the provision that no poll
should begin on a Monday, soil the provisions as to the
vets r oral manner of polling. By the Scotch Retina Mt
the time, fur taking the poll was conlined to two days in
counties and one in boroughs. While the poll occupied
two day% *here w o an obvious propriety in forbidding the'
poll to commit nee on ;a Saturday ; but the time haring been
redueed to nue day, there was no reason why it should not
takes place ou that day. The object of his motion, then,
was to pl tee boroughs on the same footing in this respect
as counties.
Mr. F. MACKENZIE thought the proposal was beyond
the scope and bile of the bill.
The SPEAKER said the effect of the motion would he
to give the committee power, if they thought fit, to intro-
duce boroughs. If they did so, of course the title of the
bill would DS mitered.
The motion was agreed to, and the house went into coin-
age...
Mr. DUNLOP Own moved the insertion of words to
Garry leis proposal into 'M.o.
Agreed to.
On clause 1,.
Mr. ELIOTT proposed after the word "days," in line
13, to insert so much of the twenty-seventh section of the
same act as enacts that every voter shall poll at the polling
places of the district within which the premises, or any
part of them, in respect of which be claims to veto may
be situate, except only where such ponied places shall be
In au telnad,distant more than ten voiles from the main-
land of any county, in which else the voters not re-
sident in such island may poll at tha polling place
for the district in which the county town is included ;
and also so much of the 'same a. etion as enacts that polling
places shall in no case be more in number than fifteen for
WV one county.
Mr. F. MACKENZIE thought that if voters were
allowed to poll met of the district in wl•iett their property
ems sitseted. the do r wwuhl be opened to personatiou.
Mr. ELIOTT did ant propose to go even so far as the
Bogliels law went; for he confined the permission to
the district in which Use elector resided. He thought
th it that would he found a sufficient rattle sly against the
danger of preventing personation.
Too amendment was then agreed to, and the clause was
passed.
On elau'e 2,
Mr. F. MACKENZIE moved the omission of the words
5, with the consent of the Lord Advocate." lle thought
that the sheriffs ought to he permitted to fix the polling
plant a without refe•ring to the Lord Advocate.
After con•iderattle discussion the committee divided.
Fur the amendment 53
Against it
The amendment was therefore lost, and the clause was
then agreed to.
Uo ti.u.e 4, which provided that the poll should not be
tats n on Monday,
Mr. HUME soid that he really did not see any reason for
leaking a distinction in this respect between England and
Scotland.
Mr. DUNLOP replied that if the poll commenced at 8
o'clock nit Monday morning, the Lord's-day previous must
be spent la making preparations, and even in travelling.
This was no mere matter of feeling, but one of terious im-
port, and he earnestly trusted the bon. gentleman (Mr.
Bijou) would pen with the clause.
Mr. HUME would move that the provision be omitted.
(Hear, hear)
Mr. I.OOKIIART reminded the committee that in Scot-
land persons could not teasel by railway on Sunday as they
could in England.
Ma E—That is your own fault. (Cheers.) There were
people in Glasgow to foolish that he (Mr. Hume) believ-d
they would soon not allow themselves to eat and drink oa
Sunday. (Meer.) Persons should bear in mind that in
stopping the railways on Sunday they were not deciding for
thenentlets only, but were interfering with the rights and
the tree-will et others.
The committee then divided:—
For the amendment 6O
Against
The chum was then agreed to.
Mr. F. DI:NDAS moved the following proviso on clause
4, which was agreed to. Provided always. that in respect
of the remote situation of certain parts of the county of
Orkney and Shetland, and the occasional difficult intercom-
munication therein, nothing in this act contained shall alter
the previsions of the said recited act so far as relates to the
keeping open of the poll for two consecutive days as hereMe
fore ; but nothing in this proviso contained shall be ow
atrued to exclude the said county of Orkney and Shrills&
from any of the benefits or oblitatioas of the
.other portions
of this act.
Clause 5 was agreed to.
On tho motion of Mr. ELIOTT, the following new
clauses were added:—That every county voter (except
as hereinafter provided) shall poll at the polling place of the
district within which the premises, or any part of them, in
respect of which he claims to vote may be situate ; pro-
vided that nothing herein contained shall be held to repeal
or alter the ninth section of the seventy-eighth chapter of
the statute passed in the fifth end sixth years of his said
Majesty, respecting freeholders in counties. Any county
voter not being a freeholder, and not resident in the district
containing the premises in respect of which he claims to vote,
may make application in person or by writing to the sheriff,
at the Registration Court of the county, to be entitled to
poll at the palling place nearest to his residence ; and the
sheriff, on being satisfied of the truth of the statements of
such voter, shall insert in the list against the name of the
voter making such application, the name of the polling
place at which such person shall be registered to vote, and
such voter shall thereafter be entitled to vote at
such polling place; and shall not be at liberty to
poll at any either poking place for the same county.
Where the polling place for a district containing the pie-
miles in respect of which any voter claims to vote shall be
in an island distant more than ten miles from the mainland
of the county, such voter not being resident in the island
may poil at the polling place for the district in which the
oounty town is included. With respect to Section 33 of
the said fire-mentioned statute, be it enacted, that where
the sheriff shall not have received the poll-hooka, trans-
mitted from any island, within the time therein limited for
the opening thereof, the sheriff may adjourn the point for
the declaration of the state and result of the poll from
day to day. omitting Sunday, and shall at the first of such
adjourned courts after the receipt of such poll' books proceed
to declare the poll, and make proclamation and a return in
the manner therein mentioned.
Mr. DUNLOP proposed an addition to the preamble, the
object of which was to repeal the present low, which pre-
vents polls f. eon being held on Saturday.
Agreed to.
The bill was then reported.
EXCLUSION OF JUDGES BILL.
Lord 110TIIAM moved the second reading of this bill.
Lord PALMERSTON said he wished to state briefly the
grounds on which it appeared to him that good and valid
objections were to be urged against this bill, however sound
in the abstract might be the reasons on which it was sub.
witted to the house. He considered that on general princi-
ples, and in accordance with the st,nerous principles of the
constitution, that the doors of the Howse of Commons ought
to be thrown open as widely as possible to those persons
who might be of use in assisting them in its business.
(Hear, bear.) That principle had been acted on for a long
time. Persons representing all religious sects, all interests,
and all professions ; all persons capable of giving informa-
tion eel...ding the various interests affected by the laws
that they passed were freely admitted. No doubt there
were grounds on which this general principle was departed
&counted why peewees holding particular situations were
dumeslified from gin that house. There might be per-
sons holding official situations, the nuties of which would
prevent them from attending that boom. These per-ons
could not be in two places st the same time; they must,
therefore, either neglect the dub. s of their office, or
their donee we members of that house. (Hear, beer.)
'lbis, therefore, was a eulticient reason for the exclusion of
such Peewee. Persons were al.n 'citadel who were sup-
posed to be 04 moth ander the influence of the crown that
"bey were net Wady to be independ.Lt and telt-willed
Sie‘her, of th. souse. On these grounds a great number
of peewees holdinat joaditial offi. Wen very properly
qualified from eittinsr in the House of Commons. Did
thew, olma i•mt tell to the oHi .! et the Master of the
Roue, for that was the unite to which this Lill wig meant
particularly to anis. Tony had had Masters of the Roll-
fiernsbere of then ouse fo long time, csel many of them
bed bees rasa saluteak.., etaescats vi the bombe,