The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-02-14 00:00:00

BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION.

Lord J. RUSSELL moved for leave to bring in two bills
—one to consolidate and amend the laws relating to
bribery, treating, and undue influence at elections of
members of Parliament ; another to amend the law for
the trial of election petitions, and for inquiring into the
existence of corrupt practices at elections of members to
serve in Parliament. He stated the general nature of the
existing statutes upon the subject, and then proceeded to
explain the leading features of the two bills. After read-
ing the definitions of the offences of treating and undue
influence which he proposed to enact, he said, that instead
of keeping up the high pecuniary penalties for the offence
of bribery, he proposed, as a more effectual check to these
practices, to disqualify the party seeking by such means
to obtain a seat, and to deprive the corrupt voter of his
vote. He proposed that a person guilty of bribery should
be for ever incapable of being elected a member of Parlia-
ment, and that the name of a voter accepting a bribe
should be struck out of the register of voters. With re-
gard to the second bill, he observed that the fault of the
existing law consisted in its casting the onus upon private
parties, which caused a frequent failure of justice through
the inability of opponents to stand the litigation, delay
and expense. He proposed, therefore, that petitions
alleging that bribery, treating, corrupt practices, or undue
influence had been used at an election to procure a return
should go to a preliminary committee, in the nature of a
grand jury, who should hear evidence on the part of the
petitioners, and, if satisfied that there was a sufficient
case to go to an election committee, on their report to
that effect to the house an election committee should be
appointed in the ordinary course, which should investigate
the case ; and, if they found that the petition had been
based upon probable grounds, the costs should be defrayed
at the public expense, but if there was no such ground,
then that the petitioner should pay the expenses of the
sitting member. Beyond this he proposed that where
bribery and corrupt practices had been used during an
election, the election committee should have power to re-
turn the candidate who had on the poll two-thirds of the
number of the successful candidate. Further, that when-
ever an election committee reported that bribery had ex-
tensively prevailed in any borough, without an address to
the Crown, the Speaker should communicate the report to
the Home Secretary, and that the Crown should then
have power to issue a commission, and to nominate the
commissioners. The bill could contain a very consi-
derable alteration with respect to election committees.
There was reason to complain, he thought, of a want of
uniformity in the decisions of these tribunals, and of a de-
ficiency of legal knowledge on their part, and, in order to
remedy these defects, he proposed that, on the dissolution
of parliament, the crown should have power to appoint
barristers of ten years' standing as assessors to election
committees. Finally, in regard to prosecution for bribery,
he proposed that when a committee reported that any in-
dividual had been guilty of that offence, upon a commu-
nication from the Speaker, the Attorney-General should
be empowered to .commence a prosecution against the
party.
Mr. M. GII3SON considered that there was but one
remedy for intimidation—namely, the ballot, and that all
attempts to deal with undue influence by acts of parlia-
ment would be ineffectual.

Sir F. KELLY spoke in favour of the measures, which
Colonel SIBTILORP opposed.
After some further discussion, leave was given to bring
in the bills.

LAW OF SETTLEMENT.

Mr. BAINES, in moving for leave to bring in a bill to
amend the laws relating to the settlement, removal, and
chargeability of the poor, explained briefly the substance
of the present law of settlement and removal, the manner
in which it operated, and how the area of chargeability
was regulated; and he showed the effects of the existing
law, especially upon the productive industry of the coun-
try, and upon the character and residence of the labourers.
He insisted upon the hardship of compulsory removal--a
necessary incident of the law of settlement. The immense
amount of money wasted in those removals—squandered
in legislation—was a serious evil. The only real and ef-
fectual remedy for this state of things—a remedy recom-
mended by the committee of 1847—was to take away the
power of compulsory removal, and the Government pro-
posed in the bill he sought to introduce to prohibit such
removal. The next point was the area of chargeability,
which, under the present law, was the parish, and parishes
varied from 55,000 acres to five acres. The committee of
1847 suggested that unions under the Poor Law Amend-
ment Act should be substituted for parishes. To a national
rate he had an insuperable aversion, since it must lead to
fraud and jobbery, waste and carelessness, promote the
growth of pauperism, and sacrifice the advantage of local
self-government. The bill would, therefore, establish
unions as the areas of chargeability, instead of parishes;
the manner in which the contribution should be made
(which he proposed to equalize in ten years) was a matter
of detail. It was not intended to make any alteration in
the rating of parishes not included in any union ; and
that the principle of the bill was limited to the removabi-
lity of persons on the ground of settlement in England
and Wales.
In the course of the discussion which ensued,
Mr. HENLEY characterised the measure as a confiscation
of a large portion of the property of the country, and com-
plained of a union rating, as in some cases, where the
union district was large, weakening the controul of the
ratepayers.

After some further discussion leave was given to bring
in the bill.

IRrsK Tovnrs.---Sir J. YOUNG obtained leave to bring
in a bill to make better provision for the paving, lighting,
and rating of towns in Ireland.
The House adjourned at a quarter to one O'clQtko