5. 6. 100 members for Ireland. 40 Geo. 3, c. 38. Jr. the other royal boroughs divided into fourteen districts, the sheriffs or stewarts of the several shires and stewartries, on the receipt of their writs, shall direct their. precepts to every royal borough,, reciting the contents of the writ, and the date thereof, and commanding them forthwith to elect each of them a commissioner, and to order the said commissioners to meet at the presiding borough of their district, (naming the borough) upon the 30th day after the teste of the writ, unless it be Sunday, and then the day after, and then to choose their burgess for the parliament; and the common clerk of the presiding borough shall, immediately after the election, return the name of the person elected to the sheriff or stewart of the slure or stewartry wherein such presiding borough is, who shall immediately annex it to his writ, and return it; and in case a vacancy shall happen in time of parliament by the decease or legal incapacity of any member, a new member shall be elected in his room, conformable to the method herein appointed; and in case such a vacancy be of a representative of any one of thie said fourteen districts of royal boroughs, that borough which presided at the election of the deceased or disabled member, shall be the presiding borough at such new election. By s. 6. upon the issuing writs of summons for the election of a new parliament, if any shire or stewartry wherein a royal borough is, hath not then a turn or right to elect, a commissioner or knight of the shire for that parliament, it shall be omitted out of the writ directed to such sheriff or stewart, to cause a commissioner for that shire to be elected. The 4th article of the act for the union of GreatBritain and Ireland, 40 Geo. 3. c. 38. Ir. & 40 Geo. 3. c. 67. Eng. enacts, that one hundred commons (two for 40 Gco. 3. 67. each county of Ireland, two for each of the cities of Eng. Dublin and Cork, one for the university of Dublin, and one for each of the thirty-one most considerable cities, towns, and boroughs (which are particularly specified in the eighth article, and in the representation act, 40 Geo. 3. c. 29. Ir. which preceded the act of union) shall be the number to sit and vote on the part of Ireland in the house of commons of the parliament of the united king 40 Gec. 3.c.29. tr. dom. dom. ! And by the 8th article of the act of union above referred to, and 40 Geo. 3. c. 29, s. 7. Ir. it is provided, 40 Geo. 3. c. 29. that whenever the king shall by proclamation under the . 7. Ir. great seal of the united kingdom summon a new parliament, the chancellor of Ireland shall cause writs to be issued to the several counties, cities, the university of Dublin, and the boroughs of Ireland, as specified in these acts respectively, for the election of the one hundred members; and whenever any vacancy of a seat for any of said counties, &c, shall arise by death or otherwise, the chancellor upon such vacancy being certified to him by the proper warrant, shall forthwith cause a writ to issue for the election of a person to fill up such vacancy; and such writs, and the returns thereon, being returned into the crown office in Ireland, shall be transmitted from thence to the crown office in England, and certified to the house of commons, in the same manner as such returns have been usually or shall be hereafter certified: and copies of such writs and returns attested by the chancellor of Ireland for the time being, shall be evidence of such writs and returns in case the originals shall be lost. E. & 1. V. As to the laws respecting the elections of members $ 5. to serve in parliament, those which relate to the qua- Qualifications lifications of the electors are first for consideration. The for electors, 8 Hen. 6. c. 7. E. & I. as amended by the 10 Hen. 6. 8 Hen. 6. c. 7. c. 2. E. & I. has provided that the knights of all coun- 10 Hen, 6. c. 2. ties, within the realm, shall be chosen by the people, E. & 1. whereof every man shall have freehold to the value of 40s. at least by the year above all charges, within the proper counties; but so much of these acts as related to the residence of persons to be elected members to serve in parliament, or of the persons by whom they are to be chosen, was repealed by the 14 Geo. 3, 14 Gen. 3. c.59. c. 58. Eng. which statute also repeals the 1 Hen. 5. c. 1. ་་ Eng, 1 Hen. 5. c. 1. E. & I. E. & l. * Of the 513 members for England and Wales, 35 have been added by ane thority of parliament, viz. 27 for Wales, by 27 Hen. 8. c. 26. Eng. 4 for the bounty and city of Chester, by 34 Hon. 8. c. 13. Eng, and 4 for the county and city of Durham, by 25 Car. 2. c. 9. Eng, c. 1. Ir. Residence. 1 E. & I, which had previously required the residence of knights, citizens, and burgesses, within their respective shires, cities, and boroughs, as a qualification for their election. These statutes of Henry V. and Henry VI. became in force in Ireland by virtue of the 10 Hen. 7. c. 22. 33 Hen 8. st. 2. Ir. and the 33 Hen. 8. st. 2. c. 1. Ir. contains also the same provision in respect to requiring the knights, citizens, and burgesses for every parliament in Ireland to be resident and dwelling within the respective counties, &c. and to be chosen and elected by the greater number of the inhabitants of said counties, &c. and that every elector of said knights shall dispend and have land and tenements of estate and freehold in their said counties, to the yearly value of 40s. at the least, over and above all charges; and any inhabitants electing a representative in any other manner than as aforesaid, thereby incurs a forfeiture of 100s. and a penalty of £.100 is imposed upon any sheriff or other officer who shall return any knight, &c. as well as upon any knight, &c. who shall take upon himself to be knight, &c. contrary to the above provisions of this act, one moiety to the king, and the other to the informer, &c. to be recovered in any court of record by action of debt, &c.-No Irish act has directly repealed the provisions of this act of Henry VIII. or of those of Henry V. or Henry VI. whick made residence a necessary qualification for electors. Quantum of estule. s. 5. Eng. In respect to the quantum of estate necessary to qua18 Geo. 2. c. 18. lify, electors to vote for knights of the shires in England, and Wales, the. 18 Geo. 2. c. 18. s. 5. Eng. also provides, in like manner as the statutes of Henry VI. above mentioned, that no person shall vote in any such election without having a freehold estate in the county for which he votes, of the clear yearly value of 40s, above all charges payable out of the same; but by s. 6. no public or parliato mentary tax, county, church, or parish, rate or duty, or any y other tax, rate, or assessment, to be assessed or levied on any county, &c. shall be deemed a charge within the meaning of this act. The election law of Ireland distributes freehold into three classes, viz. of 405,,, £.20, 3. 6. No public tax be deemed a charge. or £.50 yearly value, and contains distinct provisions in respect to each. By assessed to some 30 Geo. $. c. 35. Eog. By the 20 Geó. 3. c. 17. Eng, amended by the 30 Freeholds in Geo. 3. c. 35. Eng. no person shall vote for electing a counties to be knight of the shire in England or Wales in respect of land-tas aid. 20 Geo. 3.0.17. any messuages lands or tenements which have not been Eag charged or assessed, for 6 calendar months next before such election, towards some aid granted or to be granted to the king (in case any such aid be then granted and assessable,) in the name of the person claiming to vote; or in respect of any messuages, &c. to which the person claiming to vote shall have become entitled by descents marriage-settlement, devise, promotion to a benefice in a church, or promotion to any office, within 12 calendar months next before such election, which messuages, &o. shall not have been, within 2 years next before such elec tion, charged or assessed to the land tax in the name of the person through whom the person claiming to vote shall derive title, or some predecessor of such person claiming to vote, but it shall not be necessary that the name of the tenant actually occupying such messuages, &c. shall be inserted in such assessment according to the form prescribed by the 20 Geo. 3. c. 17.; and by the 30 Geo. c. 35. s. 1. Eng. any person who shall have been charged, &e. towards some aid granted, &e. by a land tax in the name of a tenant actually occupying the same at the time of such assessment, shall be in like manner qualified to vote, although the name of the person so claiming to vote, or the name of the person through whom he derives title, or of the predecessor of the person so claiming to vote, shall not be inserted in the assessment according to the form annexed to the 20 Geo. 3. c. 17.; but annuities or fee-farm rents (duly registered) issuing out of any messuages, &c. rated or assessed, are excepted by the 20 Geo. 3, c, 17. s 2. This statute 20 Gea. 3. 200eo. J. c. 17. s. 2. Eng. c. 17. prescribes the duty of the commissioners of the land tax in respect to delivering to assessors a printed form of assessment, who are to deliver a duplicate thereof to one of the chief constables of the hundred, who is also required to give the same upon oath to the elerk of the peace, at the next quarter sessions in court the first day of such sessions, to be filed amongst the records * Or for burgesses for Cricklade, Wilts. 30 Geo. 3. c. 35. s. 1. Eng. Duty of clerk of the peace. cords of such sessions; and the clerk of the peace is .13. thereby also required s. 13. to permit such duplicate to be inspected at all seasonable times, and to give copies thereof or any part thereof on payment of 6d. for every 300 words or figures, and so in proportion for any lesser s. 14. number; and by s. 14. such clerk of the peace or his deputy is required to attend at every election of a knight of the shire, upon reasonable notice, at the request of any candidate or his agent, who shall pay him two guineas a day for his attendance, and I's. 6d. a mile for his travelling charges; and the clerk of the peace or his deputy is also 15. required by s. 15. after issuing any writ or precept for the election of a knight of the shire, to attend gratis from day to day, from 9 in the forenoon to 3 in the afternoon on each day, at the place where the records of the county are kept, from the time of the delivery of such notice to the day immediately preceding the day of election, for the purpose of receiving applications for the inspection of such duplicates and for making copies of them; these several duties of the clerk of the peace and his s. 16. 18, 19. deputy are enforced (s. 16, 18, 19.) by a penalty of £.500 to be recovered by the party grieved by action of debt, &c. Penalty for de- in any court of recordi at Westminster, provided such action is brought within 2 months after the offence shall have been committed, or otherwise by such person as shall sue within 12 calendar months for the same; and such clerk of the peace, &c. shall upon conviction forfeit his office, and be incapable of being a clerk of the peace, &c. for s. 17. such county, &c. or of acting as such; and by s. 17. final judgment upon any verdict obtained against such clerk of the peace, &c. shall be deemed a sufficient conviction. fault. Freeholds in counties of ci The 19 Geo. 2. c. 28. s. 3. Eng. also provides that no perties or towns to son shall vote for the electing a member for any city or town being a county of itself in England, in respect of be assessed. 19 Geo. 2. c. 28. s.3. Eng. any freehold messuages lands or tenements of the yearly value of 40s., where the right of voting therein shall require the freehold to be of the yearly value of 40s., which have not been assessed towards some aid granted to his majesty by a land tax, 12 calendar months next before such election, provided that nothing herein shall restrain any |