§ Lord Althorprose, pursuant to notice, to move "for leave to bring in a Bill for the Registration of Freeholders in England and Wales." He observed that a committee had been appointed last session to consider the mode of taking polls at elections, and a bill was printed by their directions for the use of the House. It would therefore be the less necessary for him to detain them at any length on the present occasion. He would, however, explain briefly the principle of the measure, and the reason upon which it was founded. The great object he had in view was to diminish the expense of elections, by having the poll taken at different parts of the county, instead of bringing the electors from various distances all to the place. The chief objection to the plan was, that it would be difficult to know who were voters and who were not, and that it would be necessary to 990 have, in those different places, the whole machinery of an election, with its counsel, poll-clerks, &c, which would operate as an increase, instead of a diminution, of the expense. It appeared, therefore, indispensable that some arrangement should be made to meet this objection—to settle who had the right of voting. The principle upon which the present bill was founded was to provide, that that which now took place at the election should in future take place before the election; so that the right of the voters should be as well proved and established before they were put on the list, as they were now, after the proofs were gone into on the objection of either party. This was a preparatory measure, and was, in fact, essentially necessary to the great object he had in view. A complete registry of voters would greatly assist in simplifying the business of elections. The principle of the bill was one which he thought likely to meet with general approbation: it was to apply the scrutiny of votes before the election, when men's passions were not engaged, and by that means to obviate the objection to taking the poll at different parts of the same county. The noble lord concluded with moving "for leave to bring in a Bill for the Registration of Freeholders in the different Counties of England and Wales."
Lord Lowtherthought it was right that those who were interested in the elections of counties should have time to examine into the provisions of the bill. For his own part, he was not so sanguine as the noble lord seemed to be with respect to the probable operation of the measure.
§ Leave was given to bring in the bill.