§ MR. ROUNDELL PALMERsaid, he had to present a petition from an individual, who complained of a petition in his name having been improperly presented to that House, which he did not sign, against the late return for the borough of Aylesbury. As the matter appeared to affect the privileges of that House, perhaps he (Mr. R. Palmer) would be allowed to deviate from the usual course, and bring under its attention the statements of this petition. The petitioner stated that he was an elector for the borough of Aylesbury, and was registered "Thomas Bradford, householder;" his real name being Thomas Hughes Bradford; and that there was no other person of that name in Aylesbury—that at the late election for the borough he voted for the unsuccessful candidate—that on the 25th of April last he received a letter from a Mr. Strutt, a solicitor in London, desiring him to come to London on the following day, and promising that Strutt would pay all the expenses—that the petitioner went to London on Saturday, the 29th of April, and met Strutt at the place appointed—that Strutt solicited him to sign a petition to that House, complaining of the return for Aylesbury, urging as a reason to induce him to do so, that a person of influence in the county (whom he, Mr. R. Palmer, would not name, because there was no imputation against him) was most interested in the matter, and was anxious that the petitioner should attach his signature—that on the petitioner refusing to sign the petition, he was desired to go to a place in London and see the gentleman who was named in the petition—that the petitioner went and did not succeed in seeing the gentleman the first time, but he called again, and then saw him, and he told the petitioner that he had nothing whatever to do with the matter. The petitioner said he returned the same day to Aylesbury, and at the railway station he saw Mr. Strutt, who endeavoured again to persuade him by a similar inducement and offers of reward to sign the petition, but this he again refused to do. On the same day a petition was presented to that House with 417 the signature of Thomas Bradford, of Aylesbury, and purporting to be the name of a burgess of that borough, but which signature the petitioner declared was not his, and he stated it to be a forgery. He (Mr. R. Palmer) would now move that the petition of Thomas Bradford be printed with the Votes, and taken into consideration on Monday next.
§ Motion agreed to.