1 



COMMONS, HOUSE OF. 



COMMONS, HOUSE OF. 



Inbnul. The act ol union made DO alteration In the parliamentary 

 tnftVafce of the Irish countie*. The qualification <>f i> freeholder n- 

 maincd the mine M before, a dear annual forty nhillin* interest for a 

 life : and aa it was customary in Ireland to grant lease* on liven, free- 

 holder* were thn created whose votm. from their extreme i 

 and consequent inability to dinchargr their legal obligation* 

 landlord, were disposable by him ai a matter of ooune. Thin 

 i multiply inn freeholds for election purposes merely was carried to 

 iin excessive and most mischievous extent, reducing the f< 

 almost to universal suffrage, among individuals who, by the very 

 instrument by which they were professedly made free, were reduced 

 to the most abject state of political Imndage. Thus ninny of the 



e, in choosing their repreMntatirea, Isy \mder the absolute 

 dk-Ution of gome great territorial proprietor; ami there were few in 

 which a coalition of two or three f the prinoipal landowner)! would 

 not determine the election according to their own wishes. t'nder 

 these circumstance*, the provision of the Koman Catholic ! 

 pation Act of 1829, which raised the freehold qualification in the 



M of Ireland from 40. to 101., can hardly be regarded as a 

 rirtual disfranehisement. 



The whole civil organisation of Ireland baring been introduced 

 directly from Kngland, and the system of tenures in particular being 

 the same in both countries, tho provisions of the Irish Hrfonu Act 

 which have reference to the territorial franchise are more 

 analogous to those of the act for England than those of the Scottish 

 act could well be made, at least in appearance. The existing freehold 

 rights being preserred here, as in the other two divisions <.f thr empire, 

 to their individual possessors, aud tho 10'. freehold franchise being 

 already established by the above-mentioned provision of the act of 

 1829, the classes of the electors newly created were : 1. The 10/. ,-..;. \ 

 holders. 2. Lessees or assignees having a clear yearly interest of lo/. 

 in a leasehold crested originally for 60 years or upwards, or of 20/. in a 

 leasehold of not less than 14 years, whether in their actual occupancy 

 or not. 8. Sub-lessees or assignees of any underlease in cither of the 

 two cases just mentioned, actually occupying. 4. The immediate les- 

 sees or assignees, and they only, having a Id/, yearly interest in a 20/. 

 lease, and actually occupying. The like provision is made as in the 

 English act, against any title to the county franchise being derived 

 from any holding whatever that would entitle to vote for a city or 

 borough. 



nail B'irnugJu. England and Wales. The want of any 

 uniform basis of suffrage hi the parliamentary boroughs, the endless 

 diversity of the claims to its exercise derived from the various 

 political as well is local influences that had operated upon them in the 

 course of ages, a diversity which the numerous, various, and often 

 conflicting decisions of election committees of the House of Commons 

 had Additionally complicated and confused was one of the boll 

 grievous defect* of the old representative system. The generally pre- 

 vailing custom, too, that the non-residence of borough voters entailed 

 no disqualification, was one of the most serious evils comprised under 

 this head. The Reform Act prepared the way for sweeping off all the 

 chums to the franchise founded on the old and long-abused t i 

 borough freedom, by establishing a uniform qualification, 

 chiefly on the basis of inhabitancy. 



It provided, that in every city or i hidi shall return 



ntcml ers, every male person of full age and not subject to air 

 incapacity, who shall occupy, within such city or borough, or within 

 any place sharing in elections with it, as owner or tenant. ;m . 



use, counting-house, shop, or other building, either separately or 

 jointly with any land, of the clear yearly value of not less than 101., 

 .-hall, if duly registered, as directed in another part of the Act, be 

 entitled to vote in the election of members for such city or borough ; 

 provided always, that no such person shall be so registered in an 

 unless he shall have occupied such premises for twelve calendar months 

 previous to the last day of July in that year ; nor unless such person, 

 where there shall be a rate for the relief of the poor, shall have been 

 rated to all rates for the relief of the poor made during such his occu- 

 pation ; nor unless such person shall have paid, on or before the 20th 

 of July in the same year, all the poors' rates and assessed taxes due 

 i.im previously to the 6th of April preceding; provided also. Hut 

 no such person shall be so registered unless he shall have resi' 

 six calendar months previous to the last day of July within the city or 

 borough, or within the place sharing in the election, or withi; 

 miles thereof. The premises in respect of the occupation of which any 

 person shall be entitled to be registered as a voter, need not be always 

 the same premises, but may bo different premises occupied irr imme- 

 diate succession by such person during the twelve calendar mn'li- 

 previous to the last day of July : such person having paid, on or 

 the 20th of July, nil the poorr ratal and rwHteasnd taxes due 1>. i 

 Cth of April preceding, in respect of all such premises so occupi. d by 

 him in succession. Furthermore, when any premises in any such 

 city or l'!ii.-li. . r place sharing in the election, shall bo jointly 

 occupied liy more persons than one, each of such joint occupiers shall 

 be entitled t vote, in case the clear yearly value of such premises shall 

 be of an amount which, when divided by the number of such 01 

 shall give a sum of not leas than 101. for each occupier. And iu c\ cry 

 city, borough, or place sharing In the election.it shall be lawful for 

 any person occupying as above specified in any parish or township in 



which there shall be rate for the relief of the po -r. to claii 

 rated; and u|>on --i h 01 -cupier so claiming, and actually paying or 



ng the full amount of the rates, the overseers are to put tin- 

 name of sueh occupier upon the rates ; and 111 case such overseers 

 shall neglect or refuse *o to do, such occupier shall nevertheless be 

 deemed to have been rated. 



The formerly anomalous portion of cities aud towns which are 

 counties of tbemaelvei, a* regards the possession of the elective fran- 

 chise, was rectified by the Act , ties aud towns are 

 now included, for the purj,we of county election*, in 

 counties at large, or divisions of Bounties, in which tht-v are 

 sittiated with thia resti as regards freeholds fo'r lif, 



'M shall 1-e entitled to vote in the election of knights of the 

 shire, or of members for any i i i ounty of itself, iu : 



of nny freehold whereof such person may be seised f 

 for the life of another, or for nny lives, except such i 



ual occupation, o; same shall have < uTiage, 



marriage settlement, devise, or promotion to any 1> 

 office, or except the same shall be of the clear yearly value of not less 



"'. It was further provided that in every city or t 



of itself, in the election for which < 

 tenants, either with or without any superaddo I 

 viously a right to vote, every such fn -hould 



tied to vote, if duly registered : but no sued be go 



registered in respect of any freehold nr burgage tenement, un 

 sh.ill have been in actual possession thereof, or in receipt ,,f t! 

 and profits for his own use, for twelve calendar months pi. 

 lost day of July (except where the same shall have con . to him, 

 within such twelve months, by descent, succession, marriage 

 riage settlement, devise, or promotion to any benefice or orhV 

 unless he shall have resided for six calendar months previous to the 

 last day of July within such city or town, or within seven 

 the limits of such city or town a county of itself, bcinir. for the pur- 

 poses of this enactment, those settled by the general par-Ham 



i ry Act for England and Wales. Simil i as to length 



pancy, &c., is made in the case of persons having a pi 

 freehold qualification to vote for any of the boroughs ofAyleebury, 



lade, East Retford,or New Shoreham. 

 Such are the provisions which constitute what is popularly called, 



i once to their most prominent feature, " the ten-pound house- 

 holder qualification." 



But as in the settling of the places which #eTB then. 

 elect, and in apportioning the members, the new Act made a large 

 compromise with the old system, so also it made no h, 

 one, for a seasonal hast, iu sparing to a certain extent the i 

 parliamentary franchise grounded on the old tit 



In all such cases, however, it imposed the very important condition of 

 It provides that every pcr.son who would ha\. 



i to vote in the election of members for any city or loroi,_ 

 burgess or freeman, or in the city of London as a freeman and livery- 



i dl In' entitled to vote if duly registered ; ami thai 

 viousto the Act. a right to vote in tin 



any city or borough by virtue of any other qualification than (hose 

 already mentioned, shall retain such right so long as he shall l>n 

 qualified as an elector according to the usages and customs of su 

 or borough, or any law in force at the passing of the Act, and shall lie 

 entitled to vote if duly registered ; but in both of the above ca.- 

 enacted that no such person shall be so .inless he shall, on 



t. day of July, be qualified in such manner as would entitle 

 him then to vote if such day were tin 



for six calendar months previous to that day he shall have : 

 within such city or borough, or within seven miles from tin 



ihe poll shall heretofore Lai . -ise of 



ilmtory borough, with. . As 



regards the second class of voters last mentioned, it is further 



'11 shall for ever cea-'e to ciijov 

 right of voting if lu's name shall have been omitted for two sucr 



from the register of parliamentary voters for such Bit 

 borough, unless he shall ha\< lifted hi consequence 



having received parochial relief within twelve calendar mom 

 to the last day of July in any year, or of his absence on na\al or 

 mill tUu 



The expedientto which, to serve party purposes during the agi 1 

 of the Reform measure, many of the governing bodies of corporations 

 had resorted, of admitting unusually large numbers of t>. 

 sioned the following limitation 



'-is of freemen to be introduced irr .i.imely: 'If 



who shall have been e! admitted a burg' 



March 1st, 1831. otherwise than in n -thor 



.servitude, or who shall hercafl : that 



-on shall be entitled as a burgess or ft. . m .u in 

 liirth, unless his right be originally derived from or tin 

 person who was a burgess or freeman, 01 d to be admitted 



as such, before the said 1st of March, 1831, or from some person who 

 since that time shall have bee. 



or freeman in respect of servitude; and that no person sli 

 entitled to vote for any city or borough (except it be a county of 

 in respect of any estate or interest in nny burgage tenement or free- 



