COLONY OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 91 



regulations aforesaid to be a member of the said House of Assembly. 

 shall be competent and entitled to vote for the election of members of 

 the said Assembly, in and for the district within which the dwelling- 

 house so occupied as aforesaid may be situate. 



And it is Our pleasure that the votes for the members of the said 

 Assembly shall be taken by the said several returning officers at such 

 one or more place or places within each of the said districts as shall 

 for that purpose be appointed in the body of the writ addressed to 

 the returning officer of every such district respectively, and at or 

 within such time or times as shall for the purpose be therein limited ; 

 but inasmuch as by reason of the difficulty in internal communication 

 within Our said island, many persons entitled to vote might be pre- 

 vented from the exercise of such their franchise if in every case it 

 were necessary to attend in person for that purpose, We do therefore 

 declare Our pleasure to be, that in respect of any dwelling-house situ- 

 ate at the distance of more than fifteen miles from the nearest place of 

 election within any of the said districts, the vote of any householder 

 duly qualified as aforesaid may be given without his personal attend- 

 ance by a written notice subscribed by such voter in the presence of 

 two credible witnesses, and duly attested by their signatures; which 

 notices shall be in such form as Our Governor for the time being of 

 Our said island shall from time to time direct. 



And it is Our further pleasure that if any candidate or voter at 

 any such election shall object to any vote thus tendered, it shall be 

 the duty of the returning officer to hear such objection and what may 

 be alleged in support of or in answer to the same, and to examine on 

 oath the parties by or against whom such objection may be raised, 

 and any person or persons who may be adduced as a witness or as 

 witnesses on either side, and upon such hearing to admit or to over- 

 rule any such objection as may to such returning officer appear just 

 and right. 



And We further declare Our will to be that the persons in favor of 

 whom the greater number of votes shall be given in any such district 

 shall be publicly declared by such returning officer to be duly elected 

 to be the representatives thereof in the said General Assembly, and 

 shall thereupon be returned and take their seats accordingly: Pro- 

 vided always, that in cases of peculiar doubt or difficulty it shall be 

 competent to any such returning officer to make a special return set- 

 ting forth the grounds of such doubt, upon which the said House of 

 Assembly shall afterwards decide. 



And it is Our will, and We do further declare that the Assembly 

 so to be chosen as aforesaid, shall continue only during Our pleasure ; 

 and that the said Assembly shall not proceed to the despatch of any 

 business unless six members at least shall be present at and during the 

 whole of the deliberations of the said House thereupon. 



And whereas it may be necessary, in order to the complete execu- 

 tion of the several purposes aforesaid, that further regulations should 

 be made for the conduct of the said elections and the return of mem- 

 bers to serve in the said House of Assembly, We have therefore au- 

 thorized, and do hereby authorize, Our Governor for the time being 

 of Our said island, by any proclamation or proclamations to be by 



