§ A Petition of Richard Graves and of Samuel Colleton Graves, of Hembury Fort, in the county of Devon, esquires, was presented and read; setting forth,
§ "That, at the last election of members to serve in this present parliament for the borough of Haslemere, in the county of Surrey, the right hon. Charles Long, Robert Ward esq., and the petitioners, were candidates; and that George Frederick Gordon, who then exercised the office of bailiff of the said borough, and acted as returning officer thereof, did, after a poll had been duly demanded at the said election, postpone the commencement thereof unnecessarily and illegally to the next day at 12 o'clock, under a false pretence, for the purpose of harassing the petitioners by delay; and that the said G. F. Gordon was, at and before, and during, the said election, guilty of gross and corrupt partiality in favour of the said C. Long and R. Ward, to the injury of the petitioners, and did, by himself or his agent, after the dissolution of the last parliament, and the issuing the writ for the said election, and previous to the closing of the poll, allow, or cause or procure to be given and allowed, by various ways and means, to divers persons who had or claimed a right to vote in the said election, money meat drink entertainment and provision, and did make, and allow to be made, promises to give and allow money meat drink and provisions to such persons, or to the use and benefit of such persons, in order to obtain their vote at 197 the said election for the said C Long and R. Ward; and that the said C. Long and R. Ward, by themselves or their agents, their friends or their adherents, after the teste of the writ, before and during the said election, by various ways and means, did give, allow, and promise and permit to be so given, allowed, and promised, money meat drink provision and entertainment to divers persons, or to and for the use of divers persons claiming a right to vote at the said election, in order to obtain their votes, contrary to the express law of the land; and that the said G. F. Gordon, as such returning officer, did illegally admit divers persons to vote at the said election for the said C. Long and R. Ward, who had no legal or good right to vote at such election, and rejected and disallowed the votes of several persons who had a good and legal right and title to vote at such election, and who tendered themselves to vote for the petitioners, and whose votes ought to have been received and entered on the poll; and that divers other persons, who were duly qualified to vote at the said election, and who were then and there present at the time and place of the said election, who were ready, willing, and desirous to vote for the petitioners, were intimidated by threats, and were thereby and otherwise prevented by the said C. Long and R. Ward, or their agents or others on their behalf, from giving their votes for the petitioners as they otherwise would have done; and that, by the aforesaid illegal and corrupt conduct of the said G. F. Gordon, as such returning officer, and by the said unlawful and corrupt practices of the said C. Long and R. Ward, by themselves, or by their agents or others on their behalf, the said C. Long and R. Ward obtained a colourable majority over the petitioners, and procured themselves to be returned for the said borough, to the prejudice of the petitioners, and in violation of their rights; whereas the petitioners allege that they had a majority of good and legal voters, who were willing to vote for them, and tendered their votes; and that the petitioners ought to have been returned for the said borough; and that the said C. Long and R. Ward were not duly and sufficiently qualified by law to serve in parliament for the said borough, and that they are also disqualified from being elected as members of the House by the pensions and places possessed by them or either of them, or to and for their use and 198 benefit, contrary to the usage and privileges of the House, and to the express law of the land; and praying, that the said C. Long and R. Ward may be declared not duly elected, and that the petitioners may be declared duly elected, and the return amended accordingly, and that the petitioners may be allowed such relief as to the House shall appear meet."
§ Ordered, to be taken into consideration upon the 18th of February.