HC Deb 29 March 1881 vol 260 cc147-8
MR. JACKSON

asked Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whether his attention has been called to the following paragraphs in the Report of the Royal Commissioners appointed to inquire into alleged Corrupt Practices in the Borough of Knaresbro':— We find that Corrupt Practices did not extensively prevail at the Election of 1874: We find that Corrupt Practices did not extensively prevail at the Election of 1880: We cannot close our Report, having regard to the conclusions we have arrived at, without expressing our regret that the expense of this inquiry should, under Statute 31 and 32 Vict. cap. 123, sec. 15, fall upon the ratepayers of Knaresbro'; and, whether, having regard to the unanimous finding of the Commissioners, he will recommend that the cost of the Commission be defrayed by money to be provided by Parliament?

MR. GLADSTONE

Before the Question was put on the Paper by the hon. Member, I had this subject introduced to me by my hon. Friend the hon. Baronet (Sir John Ramsden) very much in the sense of the Question of the hon. Gentleman—that is to say, indirectly conveying the regret that the inhabitants should be subjected to the burden which falls upon them. The hon. Member wishes to know whether I will recommend that the cost of the Knaresborough Commission be defrayed by money to be provided by Parliament? Well, this is not a question of mere administration, but is one which has to be determined by the law, and the cost of the Commission must, according to the law, be paid by the place concerned. There has been possibly—I do not give an opinion—some miscarriage or some error on the part of the Election Judges. At any rate, the circumstances before them led them to a conclusion which is not borne out by the facts. The case of Knaresborough appears to me to be analogous to that of suitors in Courts of Justice, who are brought there and subjected to charges and, perhaps, annoyance; but who, at the same time, are ultimately found to have committed no offence. Those are cases which we all very greatly regret; but it is not easy to discover a remedy for them.