PARLI 
committee. No lord lhall have more than two proxies, 
(i. e. be a proxy for more than two abfent lords.) If a 
peer, after appointing a proxy, appears perfonally in par¬ 
liament, his proxy is revoked and annulled. 4 Injl. 13. 
By the orders of the houfe, no proxy lhall vote upon a 
queltion of “guilty or not guilty and a fpiritual lord 
lhall only be proxy for a fpiritual lord, and a temporal 
lord for a temporal. Two or more peers may be proxy 
for one abfent peer; but Coke is of opinion, that they 
cannot vote, unlefs they all concur. 4 Lift. 12. i Wood. 4.1. 
Whenever the fenate lhall be ferioully difpofed to re¬ 
form whatever may be confidered as capable of amend¬ 
ment in its own cultoms or condudt, we truft the voting 
by proxy will be done away. It is truly painful to re¬ 
flect, that noblemen Ihould depute others to carry their 
voice or vote, for or againft a meafure, before they have 
heard its merits difculfed, or the arguments which other 
fenators may offer for rejecting it. It is not a little fur- 
priling, that a well-conftrudted mind can confent to pin 
its faith upon the lleeve of another in any cafe, much 
more fo in what concerns legillation affeCting the lives, 
liberties, and properties, of their fellow-men. 
Each peer has alfo a right, by leave of the Houfe, 
when a vote palfes contrary to his fentiments, to enter 
his dijfent in perfon, on the journals of the houfe, with 
the reafons for fuch dilfent, which is ufually ffcyled his 
protcjl. 1 Comm. c. 2. All bills likewife that may, in 
their confequences, any way afreCt the right of the peer¬ 
age, are by the cuftom of parliament to have their frit 
rife and beginning in the houfe of peers ; and to fuller 
no changes or amendments in the houfe of commons. 
Conlidered in its judicial capacity, the houfe of peers 
is the fupreme court of judicature in the kingdom ; 
having at prefent no original jurifdidtion over caufes, 
but only upon appeals and writs of error ; to reCtify any 
injultice or millake of the law' committed by the courts 
below. But this houfe has original criminal jurifdidtion 
in the cafes of impeachment by the commons, and of the 
trial of peers. On appeals and writs of error, the houfe 
of peers is the court of laft refort, from whofe judgment 
no further appeal is permitted ; and every fubordinate 
tribunal mult conform to their determinations ; but in all 
dubious cafes they refer themfelves to the opinions of the 
judges, who are fummoned by w'rit to advife them ; fmce 
upon their decifion all property mull finally depend. 3 
Comm. c. 4. 
As the houfe of lords feems to be politically conftitu- 
ted for the fupport of the rights of the crown, fo the 
province of the houfe of commons is to ftand for the pre- 
fervation of the people’s liberties. The commons, in 
making and (repealing laws, have equal power with the 
lords. It is the ancient indifputable privilege and right 
of the houfe of commons, that all grants of fubfidies, or 
parliamentary aids, do begin in their houfe, and are firft 
beftow'ed by them; although their grants are not effec¬ 
tual, to all intents and purpofes, until they have the 
afient of the other tw'o branches of the legiflature. And 
fo reafonably jealous are the commons of this valuable 
privilege, that herein they will not fuffer the other houfe 
to exert any power, except that of rejecting. They will 
not permit the lead alteration or amendment to be made 
by the lords to the mode of taxing the people by a money- 
bill; under which appellation are included all bills by 
which money is directed to be raifed upon the fubjedt, 
for any purpofe, or in any mode whatfoever; either for 
the exigencies of government, and collected from the 
kingdom in general; or for private benefit, and collected 
in any particular diftridt, as by turnpikes, parifh rates, 
and the like. This rule is even extended to all bills for 
canals, paving, provifion for the poor, and to every bill 
in which tolls, rates, or duties, are ordered to be collected ; 
and alfo to all bills in which pecuniary penalties and 
fines are impofed for offences. 3 Hatf. no. In any cafe 
where a money-bill is remanded to the commons, all 
amendments in the mode of taxation are fure to be re- 
Vot. XVIII. No. 1268. 
A >1 E N T. GI3 
jedted. And, even if the commons defire to agree with 
the amendment, the form is to rejeCt the bill fo amended 
by the lords, and to bring in a new bill containing thofe 
amendments, folely for the purpofe of preferving the pri¬ 
vileges of commons. 
In the election of knights, citizens, and burgeffes, to 
reprefent the counties, cities, and boroughs, of the king¬ 
dom, confifts the exercife of the democratical part of the 
Britifh conftitution : the J'overeignty of the people being 
fhown in their choice of their reprefentatives. 
To confider, therefore, firft, the qualifications of 
electors of Knights of the Shire, or, as they are more 
commonly termed. Members for the Counties, in Great 
Britain. By flats. 8 Hen. VI. c. 7. 10 Hen. VI. c. 2. 
(amended by ftat. 14 Geo. III. c. 58, which made the 
refidence of the electors and the eleCted in their refpedtive 
counties, cities, and boroughs, no longer neceffary,) the 
knights of the fliire ftiall be chofen by people, w'hereof 
every man fhall have freehold to the value of 40s. by the 
year within the county ; which, by fubfequent ftatutes, 
is to be clear of all charges and deductions, except par¬ 
liamentary and parochial taxes. The ftat. 7 & 8 Will. III. 
c. 25, requires, that every freeholder lhall take an oath, 
that he is a freeholder of the county, and has freehold 
lands or he'reditaments of the yearly value of 40s. lying 
at fuch a place, within the faid county, and that lie hath 
not before polled at the election. The voter’s evidence of 
the value muft, therefore, be received at the poll ; but it 
is not conclufive, and may be contradicted by other evi¬ 
dence, upon a Jcrutiny, or before a committee. 
The knights of Ihires are the reprefentatives of the 
landholders or landed intereft of the kingdom; their 
eledlors muft therefore have eftates in lands or tenements 
within the county reprefented ; thefe eftates muft be 
freehold, that is, for term of life at leaft. This freehold 
muft be of 40s. annual value ; becaufe that fum w-ould, 
at the time of palling the ftatutes, with proper induftry, 
furnilh all the necefiaries of life, and render the freeholder, 
if he pleafed, an independent man. 1 Comm. 172. 
The other lefs important qualifications of the electors 
for counties in England and Wales, are—That no perfon 
under twenty-one years of age lhall be capable of voting 
for any member. This ektends to all forts of members, 
as well for boroughs as counties,*as does alfo the next; 
viz. That no perfon convidled of perjury, or fubornation 
of perjury, or of having alked or received any bribe, lhall 
be capable of voting in any election. 2 Geo. II. c. 24. § 
6, 7. That no perfon lhall vote in right of any freehold 
granted to him fraudulently, to qualify him to vote. 
Fraudulent grants are fuch as contain an agreement to 
re-convey, or to defeat the eftate granted ; which agree¬ 
ments are made void, and the eftate is abfolutely veiled 
in the perfon to whom it is fo granted. And every perfon 
who lhall prepare or execute fuch conveyance, or who 
lhall give his vote under it, ftiall forfeit 40I. 10 Ann. c. 
23. § 1. To guard the better againft fuch frauds, it is 
further provided, that every voter ftiall have been in the 
adlual potleftion or receipt of the profits of his freehold, 
to his own ufe, for twelve calendar months before ; ex¬ 
cept it came to him by defeent, marriage, marriage-fet- 
tlement, will, or promotion to a benefice or office. That 
only one perfon ftiall be admitted to vote for any one 
houfe or tenement; to prevent the fplitting of freeholds, 
and multiplying votes for eledtion-purpofes. But this 
does not extend to cafes which arife from operation of 
law, as devifes, defcejits, See, As, if an eftate Ihould 
defeend to any number of females, the hulband of each 
would have a right to vote, if his intereft amounted to 
40s. a-year. That no eftate lhall qualify a voter, unlefs , 
the eftate has been, at all events, aflefled to fome land-tax 
aid for at leaft twelve months next before the eledtion ; 
and, for fix months before the eledtion, either in the 
name of the voter, or his tenant, or of the tenant actu¬ 
ally occupying the fame ; but, if he has acquired it by 
marriage, defeent, or other operation of law, in that 
7 R cafe 
