410 



GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



considered the action of the House invalid, the 

 order to the Sergeant-at-Arms to exclude him 

 was revived. He then, after an attempt to 

 enter the House, brought an action against the 

 Sergeant-at-Arms, as a means of having his 

 status determined by the courts. On the 9th 

 of April, in the case brought against Mr. Brad- 

 laugh to recover penalties for unlawfully sit- 

 ting and voting in the House of Commons, it 

 was finally decided that only the crown, not 

 a common informer, could sue for the penal- 

 ties. In December, Mr. Bradlaugh won his 

 suit against the Sergeant-at-Arms for unlaw- 

 fully ejecting him from the House on August 

 3d;" for, though the authority of the House is 

 absolute, it has provided no ordinance to pro- 

 tect its officers in carrying out such of its or- 

 ders as contravene the common law. 



Act against Corrnpt Practices at Elections. The 

 bill against corrupt and illegal practices at elec- 

 tions contains stringent provisions to check 

 treating, bribery, undue influence, and per- 

 sonation. The detection of corrupt practices 

 disqualifies the candidate for sitting in Parlia- 

 ment, voting, or holding an office, for seven 

 years, and for ever representing the constitu- 

 ency in which the offense is committed. Brib- 

 ery, treating, and undue influence, are mis- 

 demeanors, punishable with a year's impris- 

 onment. Mr. Parnell and his friends rais d 

 unavailing objections to the elastic character 

 of the latter offense. Personation is made a 

 felony. A maximum sum is set, beyond which 

 election expenses can not be incurred. The 

 legitimate expenses of election are minutely 

 regulated. Conveying voters to the polls in 

 vehicles is forbidden. Excessive payments, 

 employment, and hiring are prohibited in care- 

 ful terms. Mr. Broadhurst, the working-men's 

 representative, proposed to have election ex- 

 penses defrayed out of the rates, but Mr. Glad- 

 stone refused, on the ground that it would be 

 a breach of faith with the Opposition. The 

 expected effect of the measure is to reduce the 

 cost of a general election from 2,500,000 to 

 800,000. 



Compensation for Tenants' Improvements, The 

 agricultural-holdings bills encountered the op- 

 position of the land-owning interest and of the 

 liberal advocates of free contract. Several or- 

 ganizations for the remedy of defects in the 

 landlord and tenant laws pressed the subject 

 on the attention of the Government, notably 

 the Farmers' Alliance. Compensation for ten- 

 ants' improvements was recognized as a right 

 inalienable in ordinary cases by contract ; the 

 measure was to be the value of the improve- 

 ment to the incoming tenant. For the execu- 

 tion of permanent improvements the landlord's 

 consent was required ; temporary improve- 

 ments could be carried out without consent, 

 although for drainage-works the tenant was 

 required to give notice to the landlord, with 

 the option to the latter of executing the work 

 himself and charging interest on the outlav. 

 The Duke of Richmond's amendment, exclud- 



ing from the value of improvements to be as- 

 sessed whatever is due to the " inherent quali- 

 ties of the soil," was accepted. The Marquis 

 of Salisbury only yielded the last day of the 

 session on an amendment depriving tenants 

 of compensation for improvements undertaken 

 for the implied consideration of a reduction of 

 rent. The power of distress was limited by 

 the act to one year's rent, with exemption of 

 breeding-stock, etc. 



Bankruptcy Bill. The distinctive feature of 

 Mr. Chamberlain's bankruptcy bill ia the offi- 

 cial examination of the circumstances of in- 

 solvency. There are sixty official receivers, 

 created for the purpose of inquiring into the 

 conduct of the bankrupt, and exercising a su- 

 pervision over the collection and division of 

 the assets, so as to insure fair treatment to all 

 the parties concerned. 



Patent Law. For many years, unfavorable 

 comparisons with the American patent laws 

 have been common, and demands made for 

 measures better calculated to encourage inven- 

 tion. The new patent law, going into opera- 

 tion Jan. 1, 1884, reduces the charges from 25 

 for three years to 4 for four years. For the 

 full term of fourteen years, however, the fees 

 amount to 154. Instead of making seven 

 different visits to the patent-office, the inventor 

 need only file his declaration and provisional 

 specification, and then within nine months the 

 definite specification. The documents, with 

 1 stamp attached to the first and 3 to the 

 second, may be sent by post. The preliminary 

 specifications are officially examined as to pri- 

 ority and patentability, and the complete speci- 

 fications are made public, and rival claims 

 must be brought in before two months ; other- 

 wise the patent is issued. After the lapse of 

 the term of fourteen years, an extension for 

 seven or fourteen years may be obtained. 

 Foreigners can take out patents in their own 

 names. The jurisdiction of the Lord Chancel- 

 lor, Master of Rolls, and Attorney-General, who 

 as Commissioners of Patents had the direction 

 of the department, is abolished, except in ap- 

 peals on legal points. The business is intrusted 

 instead to a Controller-General of Patents, sub- 

 ordinated to the Board of Trade. If a pat- 

 entee is unwilling to work his invention, the 

 President of the Board of Trade can issue li- 

 censes to other parties, who remunerate the 

 inventor at rates assessed by valuers. A pat- 

 ent can be annulled on the establishment of 

 priority by another, but the contestant, in case 

 his suit fails, is liable for damages. A patent 

 can cover only a single invention. 



The patent law contains provisions for the 

 protection of designs, models, and trade-marks. 

 Protection for designs lasts five years from the 

 date of registration. A design which is in use 

 in a foreign country must be registered in Great 

 Britain within six months to obtain protection. 

 No distinction is made between ornamental 

 and useful designs ; but such of the latter as 

 consist in a mechanical action must be patented. 



