§ Clause 10 (Qualification by occupation of premises in immediate succession in divided borough) agreed to.
§ Clause 11 (Provision as to Pembroke).
§ On the Motion of The Earl of KIMBERLEY, the following Amendment made:—In page 3, line 38, at beginning of clause insert as a separate paragraph: "The borough of Warwick shall be called Warwick and Leamington."
§ Clause, as amended, agreed to.
§ Clause 12 (Returning officers in new boroughs).
§ On the Motion of The Earl of KIMBERLEY, the following Amendment 1378 made:—In page 4, line 40, leave out "required."
§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY,in moving, as an Amendment, to insert, at the end of the clause, the first of the following sub-sections:—
(4.) In any new borough constituted under this Act, the whole or the larger part of the area of which was before the passing of this Act comprised in the Parliamentary borough of Westminster, the high bailiff of Westminster shall he the returning officer for the new borough, and also the town clerk for the new borough within the meaning of the Registration Acts, and may, by writing under his hand, appoint a fit person to be his deputy for all or any of the purposes relating to Parliamentary elections in any such new borough, and anything in relation to a Parliamentary election authorised or required to be done by, to, or before the returning officer, may be done by, to, or before the high bailiff himself or such deputy.(5.) Every such deputy shall, in so far as he acts as returning officer, be deemed to be included in the expression 'returning officer' within the meaning of the law relating to Parliamentary elections,said, the Amendment was merely part of a general proposal which he hoped the House would accept, and that was to restore the borough of Westminster to the condition in which it was left by the Boundary Commissioners. The case in question was somewhat peculiar. In the first instance, Westminster was to consist of three boroughs, returning one Member each; but when it was thought desirable to give a fourth Member, it was consolidated into one borough with four divisions. Afterwards it was thought undesirable that Westminster should have four Members, and then the plan of three Members was returned to. But the original plan of the Boundary Commissioners was only returned to in a halting fashion; because Westminster was left as a borough with three divisions, instead of being' divided into three boroughs. The great principle of single Membered constituencies was that each constituency should form a separate integral body, and should not be limited in the amount of votes it conferred by the condition of any other constituency near it. The position of a voter having property in more than one division of a borough was somewhat anomalous. If he had a qualification in two boroughs closely adjoining, he voted in respect of each qualification. But if, instead of two boroughs, he had qualifications in two divisions of one borough, he could 1379 only vote for one division, and in that arrangement there did not appear to be any justice. Again, he believed the arrangement he proposed was very much more agreeable to the inhabitants than was the arrangement as it stood in the Bill. They considered that if they could not have four Members, they would far rather revert to the original proposal of the Boundary Commissioners. Therefore, on the general principle of maintaining the single-Member system, and also on the principle of restoring the structure of the Bill to the state in which the Boundary Commissioners left it, he would venture to move a series of Amendments, of which, this was the first.
§
Amendment moved,
In page 5, line 2, at end of clause insert: "(4.) In any new "borough constituted under this Act, the whole or the larger part of the area of which was before the passing of this Act comprised in the Parliamentary borough of Westminster, the high bailiff of Westminster shall be the returning officer for the new borough, and also the town clerk for the new borough within the meaning of the Registration Acts, and may, by writing under his hand, appoint a fit person to be his deputy for all or any of the purposes relating to Parliamentary elections in any such new borough, and anything in relation to a Parliamentary election authorised or required to be done by, to, or before the returning officer, may be done by, to, or before the high bailiff, himself or such deputy."—(The Marquess of Salisbury.)
THE EARL OF KIMBERLEYsaid, he did not think there was sufficient difference between the views of the noble Marquess opposite (the Marquess of Salisbury) and the Government upon the point in question to justify him in asking the Committee to divide. He would, therefore, accept it.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ On the Motion of The Marquess of SALISBURY, remaining sub-section agreed to.
§ Clause, as amended, agreed to.
§ Clause 13 (As to boroughs divided into divisions).
§ On the Motion of The Earl of KIMBERLEY, the following Amendment made:—In page 5, line 9, leave out ("determination,") and insert ("fixing.")
§ Clause, as amended, agreed to.
§ Clause 14 (Registration of freemen in divided boroughs); and Clause 15 1380 (Adaptation of 46 & 47 Vict. c. 51 to divided borough), severally agreed to.
§ Clause 16 (As to place of election).
§
On the Motion of The Earl of KIMBERLEY, the following Amendment made:—In page 6, line 41, leave out the words ("Provided that this sub-section shall not apply to Scotland or Ireland,") and insert—
("Provided that in Ireland the place of election, in the case of a division of a county at large, shall be fixed by the returning officer, and shall be situate within the division or within a county of a city or town adjoining that division.")
§ Clause, as amended, agreed to.
§ Clause 17 (Saving of rights of voters on change of Parliamentary area if otherwise qualified); and Clause 18 (Detached part of parishes), severally agreed to.
§ Clause 19 (Transitory provisions as to registers of voters).
§
On the Motion of The Earl of KIMBERLEY, the following Amendment made:—In page 7, line 34, at end of line insert—
("Divisions of counties may be divided into polling districts at any time after the passing of this Act in like manner as they might be divided after the end of this present Parliament.
Where any act or thing has, before this Act came into operation, been done in pursuance of the Registration Acts, or in relation to polling districts or polling places, such act or thing shall be as valid as it would have been if this Act had previously thereto come into operation, and it had been done by the officer or authority and in the form and in relation to the constituency by whom, and in, and in relation to which it would have been done if this Act had previously thereto come into operation, and where any act or thing ought to have been done which if this Act had come into operation before the time for doing the same, the same shall be done forthwith after this Act comes into operation, and shall be as valid as if it had been done at the right time.
In England the clerks of the peace and town clerks shall, as soon as may be after the passing of this Act, send to the overseers on whom they have served precepts under the Registration Acts, such supplemental precepts as are necessary or desirable for instructing the overseers to carry into effect the Registration Acts in the constituencies as altered by this Act, and in municipal boroughs affected by this Act, and in particular shall, where necessary, instruct overseers as to the difference between the county and borough lists of voters, and shall direct the overseers of parishes situate in municipal boroughs, and included by this Act in Parliamentary boroughs, to prepare lists of burgesses in conjunction with the lists of parliamentary voters, and shall send the corrupt and
1381
illegal practices list containing the names of voters disqualified by this Act. Every such supplemental precept shall he served by the clerk of the peace or town clerk who would have served the former precept if this Act had come into operation before the time for the service of such former precept.
In Ireland the boundaries of any polling districts which have been formed in anticipation of the provisions of this Act shall have full effect; nevertheless, if the districts are inconsistent with the boundaries of any divisions of counties constituted by this Act, the Lord Lieutenant, by and with the advice of the Privy Council, may make such order as may be necessary for bringing such polling districts into conformity with the boundaries of such divisions.")
§ Clause, as amended, agreed to.
§ Clause 20 (Marking of boundaries where they do not follow well-defined lines); and Clause 21 (Adaptation of writs) severally agreed to.
§ Clause 22 (Election laws to remain in force) agreed to.
§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYsaid, he had an Amendment on the Paper, to insert, as a new clause, after Clause 22, the following:—
It shall be lawful for Her Majesty in Council to alter by Order in Council the names of any Parliamentary county, where it shall appear that the alteration is in accordance with the general wish of the people of the locality; provided that such order shall be presented forthwith to both Houses of Parliament.He understood, however, that the noble Earl opposite (the Earl of Kimberley) had drafted an Amendment with the same object, and, therefore, he should leave the matter in his hands.
THE EARL OF KIMBERLEYsaid, the clause which he proposed was that—
If, on a Petition to the Queen, of the registered electors of any division of a county, praying that an alteration maybe made in the name of such division, it appears to Her Majesty in Council that such alteration will be in accordance with the general wish of the inhabitants, it shall be lawful for Her Majesty, by an Order in Council, to make such alteration in the name of the division; and every order so made shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament.He hoped that it would meet the suggestion of the noble Marquess opposite (the Marquess of Salisbury).
§ VISCOUNT CRANBROOKsaid, he could not help expressing his surprise that, after what had already taken place on this subject, they should keep open a controversy for years to come with regard to so trivial a matter. He 1382 thought it would be better to settle the question now.
§ LORD NORTONsaid, he wished to point out that there would be difficulties in ascertaining the views of the electors, and it would be far better to decide at once to keep to the old and accustomed naming.
THE DUKE OF RICHMOND AND GORDONsaid, he quite concurred in the views of the noble Viscount (Viscount Cranbrook).
§ EARL GRANVILLEsaid, he would call their Lordships' attention to the fact that the Amendment was not at all owing to his noble Friend (the Earl of Kimberley), but was that of the noble Marquess opposite (the Marquess of Salisbury).
§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYsaid, that his impression was that there would be considerable discontent with some of these names, and it would be well to have some means of making alterations. On the other hand, it was quite true that, as the clause stood, it might be put in operation too easily. As the Conservative Party, however, appeared to be profoundly divided on the question, he thought the better course would be for him not to press the clause.
§ Amendment (The Earl of Kimberley) (by leave of the Committee) withdrawn.
§ Clause 23 (Definition in schedules).
§
On the Motion of The Earl of KIMBERLEY, the following Amendments made:—In page 8, line 38, leave out ("by which they are wholly surrounded,") and insert ("to which they adjoin"); in page 9, line 1, leave out ("or townland,") and insert ("townland or place"); in line 12, after ("by,") insert ("the whole or part of"); in page 9, line 23, after ("districts,") insert—
("Or, in the case of a borough in Ireland, by the town council or town commissioners, and in the case of a parliamentary division of a county in Ireland, by the Local Government Board for Ireland, by order made after local inquiry, and taking effect when made");
in line 35, leave out ("contents and boundaries,") and insert ("limits"); in page 10, line 6, before ("Act,") insert ("the"); in line 10, leave out ("the area comprised in,"); in page 15, column 1, line 42, leave out ("district,"); and in page 18, line 44, after ("and,") insert ("including.")
§ Clause, as amended, agreed to.
1383§ Clause 24 (Definitions) agreed to.
§ Application to Scotland.
§ Clause 25 (Application of Act to Scotland) agreed to.
§ Application to Ireland.
§ Clause 26 (Application of Act to Ireland) agreed to.