Lord Broughamthen rose and said, that in redemption of a pledge he had given last Session, he now proposed to bring in a Bill, to which no objection had been made in that House, through which it had passed in the last Parliament. He begged to re- 319 mind the House, that accident alone had prevented the Bill from having been the law of the land. When a Bill had been brought in in the last Session to prevent the practice of Bribery at Elections, it had been returned by that House to the other House of Parliament greatly improved; but those Members of the Commons who did not object to the Bill itself, nor to the Amendments it had undergone, did object to such important Amendments being passed without undergoing the stages of a whole Bill; and upon this ground, at that late period of the Session, the Bill had been rejected. He should now move the first reading of the Bill, which was similar in its provision to the Bill of last Session.
Lord Ellenboroughperfectly recollected all the proceedings which had taken place in the last Session with reference to the Bill in question, and he recollected that both sides of the house had been willing to perfect the measure. He would, however, suggest to the noble Lord, whether it were expedient that a measure for creating tribunals by which the election of Members of Parliament should be tried, should originate anywhere else than in the House of Commons. His opinion was most decided upon the subject.
Lord Broughamhad not the slightest objection to let the Bill proceed from the Lower House. He believed that the Commons had not the slightest jealousy on the subject, and he had brought it forward solely because of the usual complaint, that at the commencement of a Session the Lords had nothing to do, whilst the Commons were overburthened with business; whilst at the latter end of the Session the Commons were less engaged, and the Lords were overworked.
§ The Bill was withdrawn.