§ MR. VANCEwished to call attention to a matter affecting the character of the House, as well as the honour and the security of individuals. It would be in the recollection of the House that after the last general election in 1852, a large mass of petitions were presented, which, if their allegations were true, gave ground fur the belief that the constituencies were 2299 greatly demoralized by bribery and corruption. Many of these petitions went off upon some technical ground, but the majority met a different fate. Agents from the two great political parties conferred together, and agreed to pair off county petitions against borough petitions, a great number were thus got rid of, and many disappeared altogether. This practice was, however, improved upon in regard to Ireland, because not long after Parliament met every gentleman who had contested a borough or a county in that country, and had obtained a seat on that (the Opposition) side of the House, had a petition presented against him. These petitions could all be traced to the same laboratory. There was evidence to prove that they were the work of a man who had held a high position in that House—namely, the late Mr. John Sadleir, whose private solicitor, and the solicitor of the County Joint Stock Bank, were the dramatis personæ in the proceeding. Those two individuals used to exchange their parts, each acting as agent for the petitioners in one case and as surety for them in another. The result, as he had said, was that every Member on that side who had contested an Irish borough or county was petitioned against. This naturally produced a little retaliation, and petitions were also presented against nearly every Gentleman who had contested a seat on the other side. There was a meeting of the agents to arrange matters, when, and with two or three exceptions, the petitions were all amicably paired off, and not one against Gentlemen on his side of the House was proceeded with. His reason for bringing this subject forward was that they had no security against the same thing being repeated at the ensuing elections. It was most scandalous that every successful candidate for an Irish county or borough should indiscriminately be petitioned against; and he was, therefore, anxious to know whether Her Majesty's Government intended to propose any sessional order at the beginning of the next Session with a view to putting a stop to this system? Could they not either attach some penalty to the act of pairing off petitions, or obtain some security for their being proceeded with when presented? A remedy might be provided by rendering conduct such as he had described a misdemeanor at Statute Law.
§ Motion for adjournment by leave withdrawn.