The Sun.
London, England, 1857-06-04 00:00:00

VOTING PAPERS.

Lord R. CECIL moved for a select committee to
inquire into the expediency of collecting the votes at
elections in counties and universities by way of
voting papers. The noble lord entered at some
length into the question, and urged that it would
have the effect of preventing bribery and corruption,
and be the means of dispensing with the ballot. It
would also have the effect of increasing the number of
votes at elections, because a large number who did not
vote under the present system would by the mode he
proposed. It bad been tried with reference to munici-
psi elections, and the election of Beards of Guardians,
and was found to work well. It wool 1 also meet many,
of the objections of the noble lord the member for Middle-
sex relative to the expense of bringing voters to the poll.
Mr. M'CULLAGH opposed the motion, because,
from the advanced state of the session, it would be im-
possible for a committee to investigate properly the pro-
posed alteration, which struck at the root of our elec.
teral system. The present manly system of voting was
as bold as the constitution of the house itself, and to
that was opposed what he might term an " effeminate "
system, because under it at present women were al-
lowed to vote for certain officers. The difference in the
principles in use and proposed was this, that the law
was to give the franchise originally, and it now carried
out in practice the spirit and theory of the constitution.
Any man once placed on the registry could not be
divested of his right by any person, and it was his own
fault if he did not exercise it. He considered there were
five distinct contingencies to this mode of election, by
which the acts of other per:ons, without privity or com-
plicity of the voter, might prevent his exercising his right
to vote at all. The point was that it was possible the
voting papers might not be delivered to the voter at all,
' and he instanced the case of Swansea and Banbury,
where the elections of guardians were declared null and
void from that circumstance. Another point was that
of falsifying or forging the vapers, which he
illustrated by a circumstance of that kind that
occurred in 1855 in the borough of Lambeth,
where the parties were punished by crimieal
proceedings. There was the case of an indictment
against five agents at West Bromwich, who were found
guilty of tampering with voting papers, and were sen-
tenced to three months imprisonment, and when the
Poor-law Board Inspector went down and investigated
the matter, he found that 342 voting pipers had been
tampered with, and the majority of them found for-
geries. The honourable gentleman further proceeded to
Illustrate his argument by showing the abuse of power
on the part of collectors of these papers in elections for
hoards of guardians, and he proceeded to remark on the
faults and irregularities attending these papers at such
elections, which showed the system was a bad one, and
would not work, because the elections bad been
declared void in consequence by the Poor Law
Beard. (Hear, hear.) After some general remarks
he said that the Government ought not to consult the
interest of the few against that of the many who voted
under the present system. This was considered by many
as the half-way house to the Ballot, though repudiated
I,y the noble lord, but he differed from him, and he
moved the previous question.
Mr. BOWYER seconded the amendment.
Lord EBRINGTON, after some general remarks in
reply to the last speaker, said he should support the ori-

giiia-1 motion, becau e before a committee means might
be found for preventing the frauds complained of. One
objection to the proposed mode, was the bad pay-
ment of agents, instead of intrusling the delivery and
collection of the papers by the police. This subjact
ought to be incorporated into the reform bill of next ses-
sion. In Illarylebone election by voting-papers was gain-
ing in popularity.
Lord STANLEY. thought that the noble lord (Lord
Cecil) bad made a mistake in mixing up the two elections
f counties and universities. If the proposed alteration bad
been confined to universities he should have supported
the motion, but be could not in counties because the
rnea-
sure woul I have the effect of either going too far or not
far enough for such constituencies.
[LEFT SPEAKING.]