ELECTION. 



but' if he take the goods, and these should 

 be found inadequate to his demand, he 

 may afterwards take the body. 



ELECTION of bishops. See BISHOPS. 



ELECTION of ecclesiastical persons. If any 

 person having a voice, take any reward 

 for an election, in any church, college, 

 school, &c. it shall be void : and if any 

 such societies resign their places to 

 others for re ward, they incur a forfeiture 

 of double the sum ; and the party giving, 

 and the party taking it, are thereby ren- 

 dered incapable of such place. 31 Eliz. c. 

 6. See BISHOPS. 



ELECTION of members of Parliament. 

 Qualification of the candidates. A mem- 

 ber cannot sit in parliament until twenty- 

 one years of age ; and must not be alien 

 born; nor one of the twelve judges, 

 who sit in the lords as attendants upon 

 the house ; but persons who have judi- 

 cial places in the other courts, ecclesias- 

 tical or civil, are eligible ; the clergy are 

 not eligible, because they might sit in the 

 convocation ; nor persons attainted of 

 treason or felony. 



By the 30 Charles II. st. 2, c. 1, and 1 

 Geo. I. c. 13, in order to prevent papists 

 from sitting in either house of parliament, 

 no person shall sit or vote in either house 

 till he hath, in the presence of the house, 

 taken the oaths of allegiance, supremacy, 

 and abjuration ; sheriffs of counties, and 

 mayors and bailiffs of boroughs, are not 

 eligible in their respective jurisdictions, 

 as being returning officers ; but a sheriff 

 of one county may be chosen knight of 

 another. 



By several statutes, no person concern- 

 ed in the management of any duties or 

 taxes, created since 1692, except the com- 

 missioners of the treasury; nor any of 

 the officers following, viz. commissioners 

 of prizes, transports, sick and wounded, 

 wine licenses, navy and victualling ; se- 

 cretaries or receivers of prizes ; comp- 

 trollers of the army accounts; agents for 

 regiments ; governors of plantations ; of- 

 ficers of Minorca or Gibraltar; officers 

 of the excise and customs ; clerks or de- 

 puties in the several offices of the trea- 

 sury, exchequer, navy, victualling, admi- 

 ralty, pay of the army or navy, secreta- 

 ries of state, salt, stamp, appeals, wine- 

 licenses, hackney-coaches, hawkers and 

 pedlars, nor any persons that hold any 

 new office under the crown, created since 

 1705, are capable of being elected. But 

 this shall not extend to, or exclude, the 

 treasurer or comptroller of the navy ; se- 

 cretaries of the treasury ; secretary to 

 the chancellor of the exchequer : secre- 



VOL. IV 



taries of the admiralty ; under secretary^ 

 of state ; deputy pay-master of the army; 

 or any person holding any office for lite, 

 or so long as he shall behave himself well 

 in his office. 15 Geo. II. c. 22. 



By 6 Anne, c. 7. s. 26, any member ac- 

 ceptingan office of profit under the crown, 

 except an officer of the army or navy 

 accepting a new commission, his election 

 shall be void : but he may be re-elected. 

 Persons having pensions from the crown 

 during pleasure are incapable of being 

 elected. 6 Anne, c. 7. s. 25. 



By the 22 Geo. III. c. 45, no contractor 

 with the officers of government, or with 

 any other person, for the service of tke 

 public, shall be elected, or sit in the house, 

 as long as he holds any such contract, or 

 derives any benefit from it ; but this does 

 not extend to contracts with corporations, 

 or with companies, which then consisted 

 often partners ; or to any person, to whom 

 the interest of such a contract shall ac- 

 crue by marriage or operation of law, 

 for the first twelve months ; and if any 

 person disqualified by such a contract 

 shall sit in the house, he shall forfeit 

 SQGl. for every day ; and if any person, 

 who engages in a contract with govern- 

 mennt, admit any member of parliament 

 to a share of it, he shall forfeit 5001. 

 to the prosecutor. No person shall sit 

 or vote in the House of Commons for a 

 county, unless he has an estate, freehold 

 or copyhold, for his life, or some greater 

 estate, of the clear yearly value of 600/. ; 

 nor for a city or borough, unless he have 

 a like estate of 3001. ; and any other can- 

 didate, or two electors, may require him 

 to make oath thereof at the time of elec- 

 tion, or before the day of the meeting of 

 parliament ; and before he shall vote in 

 the House of Commons, he shall deliver 

 in an account of his qualification, and the 

 value thereof, under Kis hand, and make 

 oath of the truth of the same ; but this 

 shall not extend to the eldest son or heir 

 apparent of a peer, or of any person quali- 

 fied to serve as knight of a shire, nor to the 

 members of either of the two universities. 

 9 Anne, c. 5. 33 Geo. H. c. 20. Qualifica- 

 tions of electors. No person shall be ad- 

 mitted to vote under the age of twenty- 

 one years : this extends to all members, 

 as well for boroughs as counlies. 7 and 

 8 Will. c. 25. 



Every elector of a knight of a shire shall 

 have freehold to the value of 40s. a year 

 within the county, which is to be clear of 

 all charges and deductions, except parlia- 

 mentary and parochial taxes. No per- 

 son shall vote in right of any freehold 



