The Sun.
London, England, 1838-05-11 00:00:00

THE APPROPRIATION CLAUSES.

Sir T. ACLAND gave ' that on Monday next, on the motion
that the Speakef do leave the chair, for the purpose of considering the
ITish Tithe Resolutions he would move as an amendment that the reso.
lution3, of the ith and 6th of April, 1835, be read from the Chair, for
the putlose of being rescinded.—(Loud Tory cheers.)
THE BUDGET.
' •

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER gave notice that he
shou'd postpone his Financial Statement to Friday, 18th May.
RAILWAY MAILS.

In answer to a question from Lord G. SOMERSET,

Mr. LAI3OUCHERE said he had no doubt that in the course of the
present S.2ssion the Government would introduce a measure for con-
vey:rig the correspondence of the country by railways. But he could
not state whether that measure would be exactly in accordance with the
recommendations of the Committee of which he was Chairman.
CONTROVERTED ELECTIONS.

Sir R. PEEL said that he now rose for the purpose of fulfilling an
assurance that he had made to the House some weeks since,
and should conclude the motion he was about to make with
asking for leave to bring in a Bill to amend the jurisdiction
in respect to Controverted Elections. He did not proceed upon
the assumption that the House would necessarily determine
its jurisdiction altogether, but he proceeded upon the assump-
tion that the House would consider a proposition to amend
existing defects. He confessed that he approached the subject
with great diffidence—he confessed that he was not willing to consent
to such changes without its being shown that there was a necessity
for them, as it would be impossible to foresee the difficulties that
might arise upon the House adopting some other tribunal to that which
at present existed—he confessed that he could not devise what the na.
ture of the tribunal ought to be—should it be a single Judge, with-
out a Jury, or a Judge acting with a Jury; should the Judge
be completely independent or not ? In his opinion, if a Judge were
made entirely independent, and having a summary jurisdiction in
the cases of elections without the power of appeal, it would be
creating another estate in the country, to exercise powers of the greatest
importance. It would be giving a single Judge a most enormous
power, and one perhaps that would be attended with bad effects. If
they selected that all such cases should be taken before a Jury, he begged
to inquire how they were to secure an impartial one? It had been pro-
posed that Juries should be taken from one part of the country for the
purpose of trying Controverted Elections which had taken place
in parts distant from them. That might be a very good plan in order to
inure the absence of all local prejudice. Supposing they were to bring
a jury from Devon in order to try a Controverted Election in Kent,
was it ,not just as likely that they would be as deeply embued
with political and party feeling as the tribunals which were then corn.
plained of ? He certainly did not wish to see the House of Commons
denude itself of a power which was exercised by every popular assembly.
If justice could not be obtained—if it were impossible that parties could
obtain justice from the House—he did not say that they might come to
that at last ; but do not let them go before the country and say that in
that House it was impossible to obtain justice, in consequence of the
great partiality and political bias of the Hon. Members composing it.
Their whole influence was founded upon opinion, and to make such an
admission as they would do by parting with that power, would tend
greatly to the loss of that influence which it was necessary for them to
possess, while they had the power of dealing with private as
well as public property.—(Bear, hear, hear.) He did believe that
by a different mode of selection Gentlemen might be ap-
pointed ,and would serve upon Election Committees with strict impar-
tiality. By the new mode of appointment introduced by the Gran-
♦ille Act, they had given satisfaction for a considerable time.—(Hear.)
Mr. Granville, the author of the Act by which Election Com-
mittees were now governed, thus drew the character of the
administration of justice before those tribunals, when he
brought forward that measure. " How often, Sir, when the merits
' of a contested election have been trying within these walls have the
benches been almost empty during the whole examination ; but
the moment the question approached, how have we seen Mem-
bers crowd eagerly to their seats, and confidently pronounce upon
a subject on which they had not heard a syllable, but in private
from the parties themselves. This is not all. We have frequently
seen—l blush while I declare it--justice sacrificed to party, and
oppression exalted upon the shoulders of a giddy majority,
into the sacred chair of legislation." The Right Honourable Baronet
proceeded to state that in 1784, at the close of the great
struggle between Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox upon the India Bill,
Mr. Fox presented a petition to the House of Commons, connected with
the Westminster Election, aad upon that occasion, speaking 14 years

after the Granville Act had been passed, he said that all he desired was
to he tried by an Election Committee, where he was certain to have
justice. But he would advert to more recent times. Up to a recent
period Committees on Petitions on Private Bills were a worse than use-
less ceremony; but according to the highest authority, naniely, that of
the Speaker himself, they were now of the greatest benefit. The Right
Hon. Baronet proceeded to read the evidence given by the Speaker be-
fore the Committee or; the subject of Private Bills. There were three
great objections to the present system of deciding Election Petitions.
In the first place, a practice had grown up of discussing
the Petition upon some trivial point—respecting the recog-
nizance/ for instance—and so the example was set by the
House itself ; for the Committee to whom the Petition was
afterwards referred saw that the House had decided this trivial point
upon party grounds. It would be well, in his opinion, if the House
of Commons were altogether to relinquish all preliminaries with re-
spect to election petitions.—(Hear.) In the inquiry into recognizances,
the solvency of the party was all that was to be in?luired into, and
any man of sound practical sense was perfectly fitted for the business
done by the present complicated system. The enquiry now took place
before one of the Clerks of the House and a Master in Chancery.
The latter having his judicial duties to attend to during
the morning, generally appointed four o'clock for the pun.
pose of inquiry, and frequently from ten to fourteen were appointed
on the same day—so that parties often complained of not being
allowed sufficient time for the inquiry. Surely, then, it would
be better to appoint one man under the authority of the Speaker who
could devote his whole time to the business, and so be able to fix
such hours for the consideration of the matter convenient to all.
Not to give an undue advantage to the rich, however, he (Sir R. Peel)
should propose that a poor man be at liberty to find securities for three
sums of 2501. each, and be required to deposit only the remaining '250/.
A great defect of the present system was the entertaining by the House
of preliminary questions connected with Controverted Elections. He
should propose therefore that the House should lose all control
over these points, and that they be committed to the decision of
a tribunal apart from the influence of party feeling. It was also a defect
of the present system that it very frequently happened that young Mem-
bers were chosen upon Committees, and compelled to serve, without the
aid of the older and more experienced Members. These de-
fects, it would be his (Sir R. Peel's) object to remedy.—(Cheers.)
There was another thing that ought to be noticed. Professional men,
who came into Parliament, generally evaded serving on a Committee ;
that, he thought, was net right—they ought to serve on Committees. He
thought certainty ought to be put in the place of chance, and for that
purpose he proposed that the experiment should be for a limited dura.
Lion. He proposed that the Speaker should have the power of ap-
pointing a limited number of individuals to form a general Committee.
To that Committee he proposed to entrust the power of nomi-
nating all other Committees for the trial of Controverted Elections.
He did not intend to exclude Members of the Government, but where
the service of the Government might be interfered with they
might decline to serve Members who had attained the age of
sixty—Members petitioned against—aud Members who voted at
elections, would be those disqualified to serve. He would propose
the election Committees to consist of seven, and discontinue altogether
the system of strikes—(Hear, hear)—but he would not take away the
power of challenges for good cause; having voted at elections, being peti-
tioned against, or relationship within certain degrees. He should propose
a system of publicity with regard to the proceedings of the Committee,
and that the whole of the proceedings should be laid upon the table of
the House. He did not mean, of course, where the proceedings ran to
a great length that all the mass of evidence should be printed, but every
question upon which a division took place should be laid before the
House, with the names of the Members and the way in which they had
voted. These were the principal features of the Bill, and he did not think
it necessary to enter into further details at present. (Hear, and
cheers.) He believed the measure would be found to contain the
materials for a proper and judicious exercise of the privileges of
that House ; and it would, if properly carried into effect, render the
exercise of the judicial functions of that House more equitable, ho-
nourable, and advantageous to all parties. The Right Hon. Baronet
concluded amid loud cheers, by moving for leave to bring in his Bill.
Mr. O'CONNELL did not rise for the purpose of opposing the in
troduction of the Bill, but to express his doubt that it would be produc-
tive of the advantages which the Right Hon. Baronet had pointed out.

It appeared to him that the Right Hon. Baronet had in reality taken
the jurisdiction out of that House, and placed it in the hands of a sin-
gle individual —(Hear.) The Right Hon. Gentleman too, he thought,
might have been a little more explicit on the subject of the evils of the
present system. When they talked of the House maintaining its cha-
racter, what was that character but the opinion entertained of it by
the public, and it would be idle to talk of bringing in any Bill unless it
were known that the public would be satisfied with it. But what did
the Right Hon. Gentleman propose to do ? Why, to form a tribunal
out of the same materials as before—(Hear)—as if there was anything
in such a mode that would make men, acting as they did at present, act
otherwise under it.— (Hear.) Let the House consider how many con-
tradictory decisions on cases of bribery alone there had lately been come
to by the Committees under the Grenville Act, which was once so much
praised.—(Hear.) Nobody, however, praised that Act now. What
had been the case that day ? Did the House observe the number of
Hon. Gentlemen opposite that had come down to the ballot on the
Gloucester Petition ? With respect to the power given to the Speaker
under the Right Hon. Gentleman's plan, he must say that he had seen a
Speaker in the chair In that House to whom he would not like to see any
such power entrusted—(Cries of "Oh, oh")—nor would Hon. Gentle-
men opposite, unless their party interests were concerned.—(Laughter )
Why not simplify the franchise? Why not make the register final ?
Why not give them vote by ballot ?—(Hear, hear.) Let them have a
Committee of five to try all the legal questions.