The Sun.
London, England, 1842-05-11 00:00:00

ELECTION COMMITTEES.

Mr. ROEBUCK rose to move for a Bill to indemnify
those parties who should give evidence before the Read-
ing, Nottingham, Harwich, Lewes, and Falmouth Com-
mittees.

Sir V. BLAKE said, that when the Committee was
appointed, he would move, " That it be an instruction
to the Committee of Privileges, to be appointed on the
motion of the Honourable and Learned Member for
Bath, to inquire and report whether the tenants of
Lords of Parliament and of spiritual persons are not,
by the Act 12 Richard 11., c. 12, exempted from the
payment :of the expenses of Knights in Parliament—
(Laughter)—upon the principle that such tenants
were, by the law and usage of Parliament, inca-
pacitated from exercising the elective franchise. To
report whether the said Act, and also the Act of
23 Henry VI., c. 10, for levying the wages of knights of
the Parliament of England, or either of the said Acts,
are not still in force and unrepealed.—(Laughter.) Also
to report whether annual Parliaments and universal
suffrage ever formed a practical ingredient of the Par-
liamentary representation, by means of which authentic
information thus communicated, parties feeling them-
selves aggrieved will neceasarily avoid the mixing up
of vital and fundamental principles—(Great laughter)--
of shortening the duration of Parliament and extending
the franchise with matter unknown to the ancient land-
marks of the Constitution, which may be insidiously
introduced into their petitions to this House by
designing persons, in order to prevent any concession,
lest such concession should have the effect of appeasing
the public mind, and of averting an incurable breach
between the Parliament and the people."
SAVINGS BANKS.

Mr. HUME postponed the motion of which he had
given notice, respecting Savings Banks, till the 2d ofJune.
MAYNOOTH COLLEGE—PRIVILEGE.

Mr. SHIEL said that he perceived the Hon. and Gal-
lant Officer opposite had presented a petition this evening
from Liverpool, very numerously signed, with regard to
the College of Maynooth. The petition was couched in
very strong language, which induced him to read it, and
he observed that the names were written in
the same hand. It was wrong to attach
names to a petition without the authority of
those whose signatures were attached. He therefore
wished to know whether the attention of the Hon. and
Gallant Officer had been directed to the names,
and whether the names attached to the petition were ap-
pended by the authority of those who signed it ?
Sir HOWARD DOUGLAS begged leave to say
that the petition was put into his hands: on coming into
the House, and he had not time to scrutinise
the names. But there was the petition itself, and
he recommended the ight Hon. and Learned Gen-
tleman to look over the names himself.—(Cries of
" Oh, oh !") His (Mr. Shiel's) well known acuteness
and ability made him much more competent to execute
that task than he (Sir 11. Douglas).—(" Oh, oh !")
But he knew there *was a strong feeling in Liverpool on
the subject.
Mr. SHIEL then gave notice that he would to-morrow
move that the petition be referred to the Committee of
Privilege, for the purpose of ascertaining and reporting
to the House whether there was not a breach of privilege
apparent in the form of the petition.—(Hear.)
BRIBERY AT ELECTIONS.

Lord J. RUSSELL gave notice that he would on Friday
move for leave to bring in a Bill for preventing bribery
and corruption at elections.
SUDBURY ELECTION.

• Mr. REDINGTON rose to move for leave to bring
in a Bill to exclude the borough of Sudbury from
sending burgesses to Parliament.i (There prevailed great
noise and confusion in the House owing to Members
leaving their places at the commencement of the Hon.
Member's speech.) He said he had to call the attention
of the House to another chapter in the history of corrup-
tion.— (Continued interruption.) He hoped he should be
able to arrest the attention of the House, and that the
Right Hon. Baronet (Sir R. Pe6l) would not disregard the
question, because it was brought forward by one so humble
as himself, and who so long breathed the impure air of a
Southampton Election Committee. He was well aware that
of all privileges, the franchise was the most important,
and that it was one which ought not lightly
be taken away. But at the same time time that he re-
garded it in that light, he always thought it was due to
those who honestly exercised their right, to protect their
suffrage from being neutralised or nullified by those
who used theirs corruptly.—(Hear. hear.) It was
with that view the House had always marked its dis-
pleasure at corruption on the part of a Member, or of a
constituency. He thought he should be able to show
that the case to which was now calling the atten-
tion of the House was one which ought to
be marked with the greatest severity. 'lt was
true that even after Election Committees had
recommended . the disfranchisement of a bo-
rough, the House had always been unwilling
to take away the franchise, without having
first ascertained all the facts in the fullest
manner, and the Report of the Election Com-
mittee had been referred to a Select Committee.
Not many years ago a measure had been brought in by
the Noble Lord, the Member for the City of London, fur
the repression of bribery at elections. In the debate on that
Bill the Right Hon. Baronet, the Member for Tamworh—
and he (Mr. Redington) would not wish for a more ar-,
dent advocate for the suppression of bribery than the
Right Hon. Baronet—in that debate the Right Hon.
Baronet had said that what the House would require in
every instance of bribery, before proceeding to a measure of
disfranchisement, would be to be well satisfied of the exist-
ence of the fact, and that the evidence required would be
such as should not only be satisfactory to this House, but
to the other House of Parliament also. • The Right Hon.
Baronet had also stated that in his opinion the Committee
for the conducting of any investigation on such questions
ought to be nominated by the Speaker ; and that a Bill
founded upon the Report of the Committee, should be
sent up to the other House of Parliament. lii the case
of the borough of Sudbury, all these conditions had been
almost literally complied with. The Committee had
been nominated under the provisions of the Right Hon.
Baronet's own measure for the trial of controverted
elections, so that it might be said to have been
nominated by the Speaker, who appointed the Com-
mittee of Selection by which the Election Committee
was chosen. He would now proceed briefly to narrate
to the House the circumstances which had occurred at
the last election for Sudbury. The nomination took
place on a Monday, and the election on the Tuesday follow-
ing. Up to six o'clock on the preceding Sunday night,
neither of the candidates who were returned had made
their appearance in the borough. One arrived on the
Sunday evening and the other on the Monday morning,
end within 36 hours after their arrival they were both re-
turned as the Members for Sudbury. In some cases of
bribery certain corrupt individuals were em ployed,and they
endeavoured to tempt others into corruption. In Sudbury
there was no necessity to have recourse to such mea-
sures. The votes were bought openly in the market.
There were the hustings and two public-houses, and
tile stream of corruption could be traced uninterruptedly
from the one to the other during the whole election.
He would now endeavour to show how many of the
voters of Sudbury appeared to have acted in this man-
Dee. One of the first witnesses examined was a con-
stable of the borough of Sudbury. On the morning
the polling this man stated that he saw a great
number of people run up to the hustings ; that he saw
also as many as two hundred electors come from the
Black Boy, go up to the hustings, and vote for the late
Members. Now, what took place at that inn ? Why,
the number of persons there was so great that the stairs
nearly broke down, and when the parties were asked what
they wanted, they said they were going for their money.
He thought after this the House would entertain
but little doubt whqt the course adopted had
been. That with respect to the Swan Inn,
the money was handed out to the electors
at that place by a person who had not yet been dis-
covered, because nothing more was seen of him than his
hands. The same crowd of people surrounded that