The Sun.
London, England, 1831-08-26 00:00:00

of their rent to the period mentioned, they' would not be
entitled to exercise their franchise. This part of the clause
would be to them, therefore, a source of great disappoint-
ment and entharrassment.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL Raid that the ease put by the
Right Hon. Baronet explained the nature of the different
kindA of qualification specified in the clause, and supported
tie propriety of the alterations proposed since the intro
duction of the Bill. If a 10/. householder was able to
show, either from the payment of his assessment or of
poor rates, what was the yearly value of his tenement, it
would be sufficient that these rates or taxes were paid up
•to the Ist of July. If, however, the person who claimed
to vote could not show the yearly value of his house
through his payments of rates or taxes, the only method
through which he could prove his right to vote was by the
payments of hi.: rent ; and in that case they certainly did
require, although it might be a cause of some jealousy,
that the rent should be paid up to the time specified in the
clause.

Sir ROBERT PEEL thought that the clause would
present the greatest opening to bribery which could well
be devised. What was the qualification required by the
Noble Lord ? The payment of the tates and taxes. An in-
solvent tenant, therefore, who did not pay his tent, but
who might raise the means of paying his rates, would be
entitled to the exerciie of the franchise.—(Hear, hear.)
If that was to be the qualification, any tenant who held a
houie of 101. rent, which he was not able to pay, mik;lit
vet the candidate to pay his totes and so entitle him to vote.
If the Bill did not destroy bribery altogether, this part of
the clause would greatly increase it.
' Mr. C. WYNN said that about thitteen or fourteen
years ao the practice of prying rates to entitle a house-
holder to vote was carried to a most shameful extent in
the city of Westminster. With respect to that part of
the clause which prescribed the time fur the payment of
the rates, he begged to say that be believed there were
scrrcely any rates collected in the metropolis between July
and the end of August.
Lord ALTHORP was touch surprised to hear the Right
Hon. Baronet say that the clause would increase bribery.
Undoubtedly there was bribery under the present system,
and rates were paid in order to qualify householders to
vote. These rates were, however, paid at the moment the
vote was carried. Now, under the Bill it would be neces-
sary that the candidate should p the rates and taxes every
year previous to the Act of Registration—(Hear)—in
order to have the vote ready at the time of election. The
candidate must, in fact, be able to tell when an election
would commence, and to have all the rates paid by his
voters beforehand in anticipation of that election.—
(Hear.) He ( Lord Althorp) did not mea❑ to contend
that bribery of this kind would be rendricd impossible;
but he must say that in his opinion it would be much less
frequent and practicable.—(hear.)
Sir R. PEEL said that according to the wording of the
clause, the person who got his name on the registry would
not be entitled to vote till the end of the following year ; so
that in point of fact, the candidate would have to pay- but
one year's rates to qualify his voters for the poll. This
was called bribery; but was it se? Ile doubted very
much whether the practice of paying rates and taxes to
enable a voter to qualify was bribery; an I he believed
that no Election Committee of that House had ever de•
tided it was so.

After some conversation between Mr. Wynn, Lord Al-
thorp, Colonel Davies, and Sir Charles Wetherell, on this
suhjeer,

ALTHORP said, he had already explained the
clause three times in the best way he could, and he did
nut think it necessary to say anything further.—( Hear.)
Sir E. SUGDEN said, the Noble Lord did not seem to
b, aware of the fact, that a lain lord who possessed a num-•
her of 101. houses, and who had any reason to believe his
ten ints would not vote as he pleased, might refuse to receive
his rent at the time specified, and thereby disqualify his
tenants.

Lord ALTHORP replied, that the landlord, in the ease
put by the Hon. and Learned Gentleman, mu►t be pos-
sessed of the power of foretelling the approach of all new
elections, and at the same time determine to injure himself
by not receiving his runt.—(Hear, and a laugh.) That
would be a very pool' thing for the tenant; but very bad,
he thought, for the landlord.

Sir E. SUGDEN reminded the Noble Lord that the
nidlord had the power to recover afterwards, whenever
:le plesed. If the Noble Lord confined himself to the
payments for assessments or taxes as the test of value, he
would at once get rid of all the objections arising front the
pa)ment of rent.—(Hear.)
Tie words of the clause under discussion were then
agreed to.

Colonel WOOD took that opportunity of obsoiving,
that he withdrew his opposition on the question arising
out of the pont of registry at that moment; but he begged
to be understood, as reserving himself for a future stage of
the Bill if tl.e registry ;at of it should be agreed to.
On that pact of the clause which requites that the taxes
and poor-rates be paid up—
Mr. WYNN complained thst a longer period than six
weeks was not allowed for that pnrpose. There were a
number of reapecttble pet sons in the metropolis who did not
attend to the payment of their taxes at the time mentioned,
and who would, therefore, run the risk of being disqualified.
Lord J. RUSSELL said, that from the strictest inquiry,
Le was able to state that the assessed tixts, although leg :11),r
dLe every quarter, were generally paid twice a year. Now,
by naming the 1-t day of July, the clause specially excluded
those taxes due on the half-year ending the s:h of July, vo
that all the taxes title on the sth of January, would be paid
at the time the qualification for registry became necessary;
and a;I the taxes due on the sth of July would, although
due, not be in process of collection.
Mr. WILKS having observed, that in all the counties of
Engin:Ad the rates were ptid quarterly-,
Mr. HUNT said that the twor rags were always in
course of payment, and that there was no period of the

year in which a rate might not be nude or demanded. He
themzht that the Government, in this plan of qualification,
gal hit on a vet y good fiscal measure, hotvever obj-etion-
:tile it night be in other respects. The people would find
t! ..t the Government had found out an excellent pl to Mr
exacting a steady payment of the rates and taxes, as a qua-
ification under the Reform Bill.

After a few words from Mr. WiLirs, Mr. Hum-, arid
Lord A urnoßr,

Sir C. WETHERELL ruse, and was received with loud
(lies of " Question." Ile observed that those who thus
cried " Quotion" could not he R,-foriners. Ile appeared
before them as the supporter of Reform. He ruse to speak
on this ques ion al anticus populi. llc wished to point
out tie d ifficulries under which the people would find thou-
, Ives in establishing their qualifications on the threefold
i-oint of t.ixes, rate,,, and rent.

Lotd ALTHMIII), having observed Lgain that the qua-
lification by rent would be required only un the absence of
qualific,tiou from rates and taxes,
Mr. F. LEWIS said, that in all the counties where the
tenantry were in the habit of p tying one half year's rent
under the other—that is, paying the Midsummer rent at
the time the Chi htinas became due, the clause, as it was
now worded, would be exceedingly vexatious. It would,
in fact, deprive them of the power of exercising the fran-
chise at all, unless they made the greatest sacrifices. To be
rated for ten pounds was to give a vote. But was that
equivalent to living, in a house of the rent of ten pounds ?
It was well known that many houses were rated at half
their value—many at not a tenth of their value. That
mode, thertfore, of ascertaining the qualification of voters
would be encumbered with numerous difficulties. The
other mode of qualification was Ly the payment of the house
t,x. Now, many hou‘es having land did not pay the
Lot ; and the lie:laity of the tax must be imposed to enable
the occupiers to vote. Tee greatest resort must he had to
that which was the most objectionable mode of qualifica•
tion, namely, the abstract valua,ion of the prpnises. To
that op•-rxi ,n the valuer, the overseer, and the Barrister,
would he neee,sary, making it in every respect complicated
and inconvenient.

Lord AL'I•IIORP explained, and maintained that the
varion4 qu❑lificatins had been introduced tot• the purpose
of preventing any one from being disqualified to whom it
whs intended by the Dill tltht a vt,to should he given.
Sir E. B. SuGnEN and Lord ALTlumr mutually ex-
plained.

.Mr. HUNT was so sati,fied of the injurious nature of
the clause in its present shape, that he would propose the
omission of the word " rent." To nialie the voter pay
the rent up to the day rn which he was to vote, would be
toast unjust and most unpopular.—(Coughing.) It would
be to render the Bill a Landlord', Bill.--( Great e.nuhing.)
The peop'e would perfectly know what !hat coughing was
; and he would divide the House on his amenden,nt, in
ordt r that the people might see who were friendly to tl.eir
interest*, and who were not so.

Mr. W. HAIIVEV was sure the Hon. ;limber fur
Preston tneant wcll ; but his amendment wt;uld defeat his
object. If the qualifications by rent were excluded, it would
throw the qu:lification on the ptynient of assessed taxes
or of poor rates. The. effect of that weuld he to limit the
!Ott of voting to persiMs paying a rent of 151 or 201. a
year. He beggtal the attention of the lion. Member for
Preston.

Mr. HUNT—No!udy would listen to me. Hem
Hcm ! That was the way I was tre,ted.—(ollh-r, older,
chair, chair.)
The CHAIRNIAN ,aid, i.e was sure the Hon. Gentle.-