§ The Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868, and
§ The Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Acts, 1883.
§ To the Right Honorable the Speaker of the House of Commons.
§ We, the Honorable Baron Pollock and the Honorable Mr. Justice Bruce, Judges of Her Majesty's High Court of Justice, and two of the Judges on the rota for the time being for the trial of Election Petitions in England, do hereby, in pursuance of the said Acts, certify that upon the 14th day of January 1896, we duly held a Court at the Shire Hall, Lancaster Castle, in the County of Lancaster, for the trial of, and did, on the said and following days, try the Election Petition for the Lancaster Division of the said County, between Thomas Bradshaw and Alfred Wilkes Kaye, Petitioners, and William Henry Foster, Respondent.
§ And, in further pursuance of the said Acts, we report:—
§ That, at the conclusion of the said trial, we determined that the said William Henry Foster, the Member whose Election was complained of, was duly elected.
§ And whereas charges were made of corrupt and illegal practices having been committed at the said Election, we, in further pursuance of the said Acts, report as follows:—
§ 1. That no corrupt or illegal practice was proved to have been committed by or with the knowledge and consent of any candidate.
§ 2. And whereas we found that the return transmitted by James Henry Bottomley, the Election Agent of the said William Henry Foster, to the Returning Officer of the Election expenses of the said William Henry Foster, did not duly comply with the form set forth in the second Schedule of The Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act, 1883: And whereas the said William Henry Foster and the said James Henry Bottomley applied to us sitting as an Election Court, and showed that the failure to transmit the said return in due form arose by reason of inadvertence and not by reason of any want of good faith on the part of the said William Henry Foster or the said James Henry Bottomley: We, after due notice of the said application in the said division of the said county, and on the production of evidence before us of the grounds stated in the said application and of the good faith thereof, did make an order 219 allowing an authorised excuse for the said failure to transmit in due form the required return. And did further order that the amended return and declarations handed to us in Court, together with the receipts in respect of items numbered 72, 73, 74, and 76, respectively, in the Petitioner's detailed particulars, filed the 23rd November 1895, should be delivered by the said Election Agent, James Henry Bottomley, to the Returning Officer within three days from the 24th January 1896.
§ 3. And whereas we found that the said James Henry Bottomley, Election Agent as aforesaid, was guilty of the illegal hiring as committee rooms for the purpose of promoting Election of the said William Henry Foster, of the premises of two public elementary schools in receipt of an annual Parliamentary grant: And the said William Henry Foster and James Henry Bottomley applied to us sitting as an Election Court, and by such evidence as seemed to us sufficient, showed that the said acts of the said James Henry Bottomloy in hiring the said school premises arose from inadvertence and did not arise from any want of good faith. We, after due notice of the said application given in the said Division, made an order allowing such acts to be an exception, from the provisions of The Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act, 1883.
§ 4. We further report that the Reverend James Cardwell Gardner was examined as a Witness before us, and admitted that he had been guilty of an illegal hiring, and we have furnished the said James Cardwell Gardner with a certificate of indemnity.
§ 5. That there is not reason to believe that corrupt or illegal practices have extensively prevailed at this Election.
§ C. E. POLLOCK.
§ GAINSFORD BRUCE.