The Sun.
London, England, 1841-02-20 00:00:00

EVEN ING EDITION.

Chemists and druggists related to trade, and, therefore,
the Bill ought to have originated in Committee.—(A
augh.) It would be more in order if the Hon. Mem-
ber were to withdraw the Bill, and reintroduce it in a
new shape.
Mr. HAWES would be most happy to follow the
course pointed out by the Speaker.
Mr. HUME, seeing the Under-Secretary for the
Colonies in his place, wished to put a question to him.
He held in his band a letter from Quebec, in which it
was stated that Lieutenant-Colonel Lester had died
there as it were in the service, and the officers or the
Guards were anxious to raise a tablet to his memory,
but were refused permission to do so by the Bishop,
on the ground that the Gallant Colonel had not been a
regular communicant there. If this was so, he thought
it was persecution.—(Cries of " Order.")
Mr. V. SMITH had not been made aware that the
question was to be put, or he would have made in-
quiries on the subject. All he could say was that- he
believed there was no official information on the subject.
Mr. GISBOR NE gave notice of his intention to
move several clauses in the Registration of Voters
(England) Bill.
Mr. URIMSDITCH gave notice that in Committee
on the Poor law Continuance Bill he would move
the omission of clause 8, and substitute the words re•
strieting the size of unions.
Mr. E WART gave notice that on Thursday, 4th of
March, he would move for a Committee to inquire into
the necessity of a public prosecutor in all criminal cases.
Mr. V. SMITH moved for a return of the corres-
pondence which bad taken place between her Majesty's
Government and the Commissioners for emigration.—
Ordered.
Mr. MILES moved for Returns of the Accounts of
Treasurers of Counties.—Agreed to.
Mr. HUTTON moved for certain Returns from the
Commissioners of Wide Streets, Dublin.—Ordered.
Mr. HUME moved for n continuation of Returns re-
lative to the laalf.pay received last year by officers,
both civil and military.—Ordered.
Mr. F. MAULE moved for leave to bring in a Bill
to amend certain local turnpike Acts.—Granted.
On the motion of Lord J. RUSSELL it was ordered
that the House at its rising do adjourn till Monday.
REGISTRATION OF VOTERS (ENGLAND.)
The Order of the Day for the second reading of the
Registration of Voters (England) Bill having been
read,
Sir E. SUGDEN said, before he called the atten-
tion of the House to the various provisions of that im-
portant Bill, he would observe that the other side of the
House was not more anxious than those on his side to agree
to any provisions which would be necessary to correct
fictitious voting, and facilitate the registration of bonajide
electors. There were many things requiring correction
in the present system, namely, the publication of the
lists, and the nature of the objections made to voters.
As regarded the first there was great difficulty as the
lew stood, because if the overseer, or other officer whose
duty it was to attend to the due publication of the
lists, neglected his duty, or improperly exercised it, a
constituency might be deprived of their franchise
through his misconduct, and the same would take place
if there was any error or mistake en the past
of the Revising Barrister.—(Hear, hear, hear.) It
appeared to him that with regard to the
other point there was some difficulty to be encountered,
but it might be met by not allowing a party to object to
an otherwise good vote, merely because the claimant
could not attend ; and also by compelling bias
to give security for the costs, in the event of
his not being able to support his objections. Ha
thought he might venture to say, that on that side
of the House not the slightest impediment would be
thrown in the way of any of the clauses which had for
their object the forniation of a bona fide registration
within the intention of the Reform Act. In esta-
blishing a Court of Repeal, they were establishing
a tribunal to correct those errors which it was stated
could not be corrected under the present system. The
leading provisions of the Bill were, Ist, to form a new
Court of Registration ; 2d, to establish a Court of Re-
peal, which of the two had not been established at all,
as regarded registrations ; 3d, to alter the franchise,
both by diminishing the length of time during which
rates and taxes were to be paid, and by taking away
one great class of burdens, which at present by law
it was necessary for a man to ply to entitle him
to vote ; and, lastly, there was a provision, and a most
important provision : it was to draw, hereafter, a dis-
tinction between voters—to have one class of
voters who might be objected to, and to have
another who might be called established vo-
ters, and to whom, after certain ceremonies, no
objection could be made. Now before they spoke of the
advantage resulting from the formation of new
Judges they must consider the nature of the pre-
sent Courts, and the objections which had been
made to them. One great object of the Reform
Bill was to establish at an easy cost Courts
which should travel round the country, and simul-
taneously, and at a convenient time of the year,
register all the voters of England. The great
advantage of the present system wee, that they bad
the Coluti siffng at a_ce t tizassi-perind,
a time of the year when other business of an agricul-
tural or commercial nature did not intervene. The Judges
now nominate I the Barristers, and sent them at the same
time on the different circuits in England. The great
advantage of that system was, that ad the claims were
considered at the same period, and that that period was
tl,e most favourable which could be chosen. The
barristers chosen were not certainly men of gee at ex-
perience in their profession ; and perhaps it would be
impossible to obtain men of greater experience,
as the remuneration offered to these gentlemen
was very limited ; and they could not obtain
men of long standing at the Bar to fulfil such
duties, unless, indeed, they made choice of parties
who bad failed in their profession. He believed, there-
fore, it would be difficult to improve the system in
that respect. Teem was another great benefit in
the present plan, which they could not enjoy if they
established permanent Judges of Registration. The
duties cf the Revising Barristers occupied but a small
perlion of their time, and these Barthters afterwards
returned to the ordinary labours of the profession ; they
again returned to Westminster Hall, where, to use a
common expression, if they bad not fairly discharged
their duties at the Revising Courts they were sure to
get " well rowed." There were great difficulties, no
doubt, a-ising from the changes at present proposed, as
it was hard to draw up a law in that general way which
would not be found to break down On its application to
certain individual ca-es. There was no complaint
against the Revising Barristers, except that some of
them were too young ; that was a matter which could
be easily remedied, Now if they appointed new Judges
and sent them round England to revise the claims pre-
ferred before them, he did not suppose that these new
Judges could settle all the difficulties, because the
Noble Lord proposed an Appeal Court from the new
tribunal. What was wanted with al Appeal Court, if
the new Judges were to be so perfect? The Noble
Lord should take care to propose such Judges as would
not require an appellant court. The Noble Lord pro-
posed that fifteen Judges be appointed, who were to
perambulate England, and register all the electors of
England. Now these fifteen Judges, taking the number
of days occupie 1 by the Revising Barristers, would be
employed about 213 days each year in revising cla;ms.
The Right Hon. and Leaned Gentleman then pro-
ceeded to show that the Judges proposed to be ap-
pointed by the Noble Lord, being thus occupied almost
the entire year, would be wholly withdrawn from West-
minster Hall, and could attend to no other concern but
that of revising claims, and would be therefore in qua-
lity of discharging their duties, infinitely below the pre-
sent Revising Barristers, who, frequenting Westminster
Hall, and thus having opportunities of rising in their
profession, had every inducement to act with integrity,
and with a view to raising their professional character.
The Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman also con-
tended that if the objection urged against the giving
to the Judges of the land certain jut isdiction in those
cases—namely, that they would become political
Judges—held good, similar objections must exist
against the Judges proposed; who would be solely en-
gaged in those cases. If the Judges of the land, who
would decide only some 20 cases in a year—to whom
those cases would be merely incidental in the discharge
of various other duties—were likely to be contamina-
ted, he did- not understand bow it was more safe to
giie jurisdiction in those matters to the Judges proposed,
who would have nothing else to decide upon. If the
Judge of the land, who heard twenty cases, was likely
to be affected by political bias, what would be the effect
upon the JUdge who decided upon no other description
of case? Would he not decide according to political
bias ? He would next draw the attention of the House
to a most important part of the subject under conside-
ration ; namely, the authority by which those Judges
were to be constituted, and what would be the effect
of that constitution. What was at present proposed
was that 15 Judges be selected out of forty-five barris-
ters, of a certain standing, by the Speaker of the House
of Commons, to constitute a tribunal, to register votes
throughout the country. The Court of Appeal was to
consist of three Judges, also selected by the Speaker of
that House—not out of a list furnished, but out of any
portion of the Bar he'chose. The Right Hon. and
Learned Gentleman next, proceeded at some length to
point out the inconvenience arising from that arrange-
ment, and the impropriety of putting, in the present e
.asc, so much power in the hands of the Speaker of
the House, who was generally nominated on the ground
of his agreeing in political opinions with the majority of
the Members of that House, which majority
was always supposed to entertain the same
political opinions as the existing Government.
Those duties require the greatest impartiality, and
a:though be had no doubt that any Speaker who was
called to fill that chair would mean to act impa
yet as they all had a very strong political bias, and as
their bias would, in spite of the greatest honesty of in-
tention, lead them to do acts which their cooler judg-
ment would condemn, he could not but foresee that the
case might arise in which the Speaker, thinking that
there were as good men on one side of the House as
.tlioother,- would choose men of the political opinions