Star.
London, England, 1819-02-09 00:00:00

ELECTIONS.

The SPEAKER had to acquaint the Hoirc, that
on looking over the Election Petitions, he found one
presentel on Thursday last, as complaining of the Re-
turn for Dreigheda : it was in fact against the petition-
acv Candidate, and not the sitting Member. It %vas,
therefore, not an Election Petition, according- to the
Act. Under these circumstances, he would suggest
that a motion should be made for di 'charging the
order for referring that Petition to an Election Com-
mittee, and that the Petition should then be With. ith-
clr wn, without affecting the other Petitions presented
against the Return.
A motion was immediately made to discharge the
order, and the Petition ass withdrawn.
The SPEAKER had also to acquaint the House,
that Mr. J. Stuart, who had presented a Petition, on
the 22d of January, against the Return for the Bo-
rough of Camelford, had not entered into the neces.
sary recognisances required by law. When these
were not entered into within a certain time, it was
the duty of the Speaker to report the same to the
House, and then, on the Petition being taken into
consideration, the order for referring it to a Com-
mittee must be discharged.
The Petition was then taken into consideration. and
the order for referring it to an Election Committee
was discharged.
The SPEAKER had nog? to make a report to the
!louse respecting certain recognisances to be entered
into by those presenting Petition% complaining of
the Returns in Irish Elections. Before he spoke of
the particular cases to which he had alluded, he
thought it might be for the convenience of the House
that he should state precisely the situation in which
these Petitioners stood. By an Act of the 28th of
the King it was provided, that the Petitioners should
enter into certain recognisances within fourteen days,
and failing to do sr. it was imperative on the speaker
to report that these had not been entered into, and
thereupon the Petition being taken into considera-
tion, any order for referring it to an Election Com-
mittee was to be discharged. By an Act of the 48th
of the King it was provided, that if the Petitioners
were in Ireland, though no extension of the time for-
merly allowed for presenting Petitions was granted
in England, a further time should be allowed for
giving the Speaker notice of the recognisances having
been entered into, and fourteen days was allowed for
that purpose, making altogether twenty-eight days
from the opening of the first Session of Parliament
for entering into the recognisances, and giving notice
of the same. A subsequent Act of Parliament, passed
in the 53d of the King, called on the Petitioner to
enter into heavy recognisances for Counsel's fees, and
other expenses, and for entering into these the same
time was allowed as in the Act of the 28th of the
King, but by the same oversight no time had been
allowed over the fourteen days to Petitioners in Ire-
land to give notice of these recognisances having been
duly entered into. The provision made in this Act
of the 48th of the King, must, by some accident;
have been overlooked when that Bill was passed, or
the same arrangement would have been made with
respect to these recognisances that had been thought
necessary for others. If he had succeeded in explain-
ing the situation in which these Petitioners stood, he
thought there *mild be no difference of opinion on
the subject. •He would suggest that the time should