The Sun.
London, England, 1852-05-03 00:00:00

TO THE SECRETARY OF THE BRADFORD

REFORM ASSOCIATION. -
(CONTINUED ON MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS.)
Sir,-0a Wednesday the 98th, a few minutes after
the requisite number of forty Members bad been col-
lected in the Rowe, the Beer money to Voters Bill was
offered for First Reading. On division the numbers were
found to be 16 for and 18 against. Which (on adding
four for the Tellers and one to the Speaker) being one less
than the requisite number of forty, caused the vote to go
for nothing. So that the presence of one more Member
on either side of the Rouse would have caused the Biil
for supplying drink to Electors to be thrown out. •As it
was; the conductor on the Tory side adroitly postponed
his motion; and so the question ii to be tried again,
with a renewed chance for the beer-sellers. -

By way of showing what preceding legislators have
thought'on this subjnt, my dommtic AttOrney-General
supplies the following extracts from Rogers's " Law and
Practic:: of Elections."

The. Treating Act, 7 W.. 3. c. 4, entitled " An Act
" for preventing charge and expence in elections, of
" members to serve in parliament," enacts and declares,
that " no person hereafter to be elected, &c., after the
teste of the writ of summons to. parliament, or after
" the teste or issuing out or ordering of the writ or
" writs of election upon the calling or summoning of
" any parliament hereafter, or after any such place
" becomes vacant, &c., shall or do hereafter, by himself
" or themselves, or by any other ways and means on his
".or their behalf, or at his or their charge before his or
" their election, directly cr indirectly, give, present, or
" allow to any person or persons having voica or vote at
" such election, any money, meat, drink, entertainment,
" or provision, or make any present, gift, reward, or en-
" tertainceent, or shall st any time hereafter make any
" promise, agreement, obligation, or engagement to give
" or allow any money, meat, drink, provision, present,
" reward or entertainment, to or for any such person or
" persona in particular, or to any such county, city,
" town, borough, port, or place in general, or to or for
" the use, benefit, employment, profit, or preferment of
" any such person or persons, place -or places, in order
" to be elected, or. for being elected, to serve in parlia-
" went for such county," &c.—Shaftesbury, F. and F.
382.

By a. 2, " Every person or persons so giving, &c.,
" shall be disabled and incapacitated, upon such election,
" to serve in parliament for such county, &c., and shall
" be deemed and taken to be no member of parliament,
" and shall not sit, act, or vote, or have any place in
" parliament, but shall be, to all intents and purposes,
" as if he had never been returned or elected member
" for the parliament."
The only effect of this act, it is imagined, was to
enact and declare that all entertainment or refresh-
' meat given or allowed by a candidate, directly by him-
' self or his agents, or indirectly " by any other ways or
"means on his behalf, or at his charge ;" that is,
" ways or means," resorted to by others at his desire or
with his knowledge; without reference to the extent
or extravagance of the entertainment, or to any
corrupt intent, or to the effect -it might have Upon
the remit of the election, should, if given after the
tes te of the writ, or after a place became vacant,
avoid the election; the object being, by this stern and
inflexible provision, to put an end to treating at the
' election altogether, to estop candidates from setting up
the plea of moderate or even necessary refreshment, and
to take from the Committee of Privileges and Elec.,
tions, and from the liouie, all discretion as to their
judgments upon the intent and effects of treating at
such a time ; a discretion which, if not grossly abused
' from personal or political motives, had been, at that
period, to say the least, frequently exercised in an
arbitrary and unsatisfactory manner. In the Middlesex
case the committee seem to have acted up to the spirit
and meaning of the act; for it appears that they
neither regarded the extent of the treating, nor the
object for which it was given, nor the influence it might
have had
co
ett ,t 1 1 313 n. a ton.
re.le2c6ti47.fi' Vide
erefordsaislis.roe, Rriebebka.n V.
85 ;
• Radnorshire, semb. contra, i 6. [Semb. contra
means that there is an appearance of contradiction in the
place pointed out. Which should therefore be looked
at.]

Middlesex, 2 Peck. 31.—[In 1804] A considerable
quantity of provisions were provided for Mr. Main-
' waring's voters, by orders of persons proved to be Mr.
M.'s agents, who MO undertook for payment. The
entertainment was not proved to be by any moans ex-
' travagant, nor was it charged to have been given with
a view to, influence votes, but only for the necessary re-
' freshruent of such as came to the poll. The com-

mitttc decided, ihat Mr. 3.1. did, by his agents, commit
acts of treating, whereby he was incapacitated to serve
parliament upon such election; and vide Hereford-
' shire, 1 Peck. 136.' p. 261, ith Edition.
Although this was admitted to be the law, yet there
was difficulty in enforcing it; it was therefore thought
advisable to declare it in precise and authoritative lan-
' guage, at the same time extending the penalties against

' theoffence.'
The 5 and 6 Vict. c. 102, by sect. 22, recites that
the provisions of the Treating Act having been found
insufficient to prevent corrupt treating at elections, it
is expedient to extend its provisions, and then enacts

.bat,
Every candidate or member, who shall,
By himself or by or with any other person, or in
any manner directly or indirectly,
,` Give or provide, or cause or knowingly allow to
be given or provided, wholly or partly at his
expense,
Or pay wholly or in part any expenses incurred
For any meat, drink, entertainment, or provision
to or for any person,
At any time either before, during, or after, any
' such election,
For tee purpose of corruptly icflueneing such
person, or any other person, or for the purpose
of corruptly rewarding such or any other
person,
For having given or refrained from giving his
vote at any such election,
Shall be incapable of being elected, or of sitting
in parliament for the county, &a, where the
treating took place during the parliament for
which such election was holden.'
Upon this Act it may be observed that if a candi-
' date or member knows of any treating going forward,
and pays any portion of the expense, or, though he
' did not know of it at the time, yet contributes to the
cost of it afterwards, whether it took place before, at,
or after, the election, he will lose his seat for the place
where the treating took place_ for the whole paths-
' ment.'—p. 263.
Chester, C. & D. 63.—[In 1819] One Fletcher, an
opulent tradesman of the city, and an active supporter
of the sitting members, had distributed the following
tickets:—
" The bearer, A. 8., is to have such refreshment as
" he thinks proper, to the value of two gallons of ale, at
" the C. .D. public-house.—J. Fletcher.'
' Fletcher denied that the sitting members knew any-
' thing about these tickets; bat admitted that they had
been in the committee room whilst they were lying
about: that they had been circulated amongst the
freemen in the interest of the sitting members; that
they had not yet been paid, and that he consdered
himself responsible for the amount; that he hzd no ex-
' pectation of being repaid by the sitting members, for a
party of gentlemen, fi iendty to their interest, had
dertaken to pay the expellees of the election. A table
was laid out with cold meat every day at the hotel.
General U., one of the sitting members, on one eeca-
' sion, being in the room, desired the party to make
themselves comfortable, and ordered the waiter to bring:
more wine. The sitting members had lived nt this
hotel during the election. The landlord stated, that
he had received no instructions from either of tho sit
ting members about providing refreshments for
body, and had no ex
held duly elected
'of them.'—p. 267. [Sitting
there not being proof of agency.]
pectatio member paid by eintnh)e.;
he debate on Expences at
Serjeent Maynard,
I Hist. 753; 1 Whitelocke
.. a lay simony."-4 Cob.! _ _
Elections Bill, 1673-4, 'aiallipt This bribery by drink is
387 ; 2nd Southwark case, tillfforg, 156 2 p. 261.
This is the state of law which it
sets the Ors
t re distinct
up
getting twenty Liberal u brs
e oppose.lt is act of the Tory Restorationtoupte; arid the no
lite-
rally true, that on the first occasion there voted nine-
teen, and on the second eighteen, and one more would
have thrown out Serjcant Maynard's " 1;ly
altogether. The Tories had the genius to get a member
on the other side of the House to put his
rtshi tei eese
common
name to the
Bill; but the doing is theirs.
After this, came the order for Eecond reading of the,
fifty provinces in the empire, each of a dif.
Bill for removing Tests in the ['Rive • -
eS:o
tautlttnd
Of course, bigot stood by bigot, in
treestablished religion, and enacting vrilimerebsieglof tiniatliTo tchretrilenl tests against all
If
efrtehee
would support the tests
Reform .As we arc now in an Aie.'
against6tLto secure
helping the r e
his
monopoly forty-nine, as, the means of.
home.
c to winter, where everything
the spring-time of
reading of such a Bill tow
abse
eseibe
enirdre
byd tlh7a2t t
et secondhles7. e
backward, it is not in
produced
is
rapidlygoing
great majority either; considering that the sun was in
Capricorn.n
oThursday the motion ootfiotuh
efocry
for as Committee
~,"wtaos con-
sider the preservation
re-
jected by
221 against 103. The arguments of the Go-
vernment
were, that the building in Hyde Park had been
declared fit for so many things, that it was manifestly
fit for nothing but to be pulled down. And that the
Commissioners for the Building were under an ob-
ligation to the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, to
pull it down by a certain day; without establishing
valid reason why the Commissioners of Woods and Foe
recta should demand the execution of such an obligation,
any more than if the obligation had been to pull doe n St.
Paul's. Who and whet is behind the Woods and
Forests? An obligation to a public board, is only, au
chhgaticn to act it the public board demands. Thit why
is the public board to behave insanely ?
On Friday was produced the much-expected Budget.
The new Ceaneellor of the Exchequer began by prov-
ing most satisfactorily, that all the three forms of taxa-
tion, Import Duties, Excise, and Income-tax, were
equally unpopular. His struggleS to overcome the
ddliculties which old connexions imposed on the
discussion of some of these subjects, suggested the idea
of the spirit under strong control, our forefathers were
fond of introducing into the machinery of their romance.
But by degrees the resemblauce altered, and at last a
listener who sat beside me, buret out in the words
addressed to the Hebrew prophet, " I called
batheste
to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou
altogether blessed them." Never was such a frank
concession, of what for years had been in dispute.
" Punch" must not lose the countenances of the
unfortunates who were doomed to sit behind the
orator. " Glum" was a cold expression,
Which was
applied' by the Member for Montrose in commenting
upon the scene. Still there remained the winding-up,
which was to know what was Siasily to be, proposed.

.! The guess, in my neighbourhood, was that it was to be
r. rateable increase of all taxation. It was better; for it
proved to be, a continuance of the Income Tax for a
year, and everything else to remain as it was.
It is true, the proposal of continuing for a year con-
tains the principle of wrong on the holders of tempo-
rary incomes, which their ostensible defenders are
so incompetent to comprehend. Much was further
harped, by the same defenders, upon the necessity of ex-
tending the Income Tax to the lowest incomes for the
sake of symmetry; refusing to remember, that those
lowest incomes pay at tea or eleven times the
rate of the rich in indirect taxation. But the
conclusion on the whole is not a bad one. Time
has been gained for the holders of small and of tempo-
_ rary incomes, to find out what hurts them, and who is
on their side and %rho not. And a grand admission has
whrheant
is calledmade,
the
general prosperity of the country udder
the new regime of Fred Trade, which it
will be difficult ko get over or revoke.
Conservative
At the surge time the case is not without its dangers.
engagement
having been made, that the present arrangement should
-11 l
Memberunearly
rosehe eauncdc protested, d , theagdaei nbsatt e'a
an
be more than temporary and for the existence of the
present Parliament. This amounts to declaring the in-
tention of going to the elections on the present in-
viting statement, and pursuing a different course if sub-
sequently strong enough. Which it is for the country to
look after.
A friend of great experience and tact in such matters,
intimated to me his belief, that the upshot of the present
proceedings will be a union between the Ministry and
what are called the Peelites. If so, there will be
nothing left for the Lite leaders, but to take a further
" step into the right," in the direction of the , popular
wishes. There is a proverb on the subject of "an ill
wind," which will probably occur to your recollection.
On the whole the tune is very favourable, for raising the
old banner of Parliamentary Reform; the Silt step in
which, must be the keeping out the mock Liberals who
will swarm at. the Elections on the pretence that all dis-
putes are over.
I am, Sir, yours very sincerely,
AN OLD REFORMER.
Blackheath, 3rd May, 1852.