MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS BILL. [H.L.] (Hansard, 21 June 1910)

§ LORD FARQUHAR
My Lords, I have already had the privilege of carrying, on my Motion, the Second Reading of this Bill, which proposes to amend the Municipal Election (Corrupt and Illegal Practices) Act, 1884, by applying the provisions of the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act, 1895, to municipal elections. The Bill is not contentious, and in the course of the discussion on the Second Reading when it was before your Lordships on September 16 last year the Lord Chancellor made a speech advocating its adoption by your Lordships' House. I shall not, therefore, on this occasion detain the House in moving the Second Reading. The Act of 1895 dealt with false statements in relation to the personal character or conduct of a candidate at a Parliamentary election. As the law now stands, slanders may be circulated about a candidate at a municipal election in a way that gives no opportunity for effective contradiction; all that the candidate can do is to bring an action for slander. This Bill will give in a municipal election the same rapid procedure for stopping the circulation of a slander as is available in a Parliamentary election, and will provide a penalty on summary conviction of a fine not exceeding £100, with incapacity for five years from registration as an elector within the constituency. An offence committed with the knowledge of the candidate would render his election void. I think your Lordships will agree that this Bill will be one step nearer to 943 securing that purity of elections which we all desire. I beg to move.

§ LORD JAMES OF HEREFORD
My Lords, I do not know that it is necessary to say anything in support of the Second Reading of this Bill, but I desire very earnestly to commend it to your Lordships' support. The history of this matter is somewhat interesting. When the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act passed through Parliament it was so heavily laden and so strongly opposed that, although this subject was considered, we thought it better not to include it within the terms of that Bill. Next came the Municipal Election (Corrupt and Illegal Practices) Bill of 1884, and we followed then the same principle, and decided not to go beyond the Parliamentary Corrupt Practices Act. Then there was the Bill of 1895. I cannot recollect now why this clause applying to municipal elections was not inserted in that measure. The Bill applied to Parliamentary elections only, and I believe we left municipal elections out because we wished to follow the precedents of 1883 and 1884 to which I have referred. That omission existing in an Act which has been found to work admirably in respect of Parliamentary elections, my noble friend has good cause for asking your Lordships to agree to this Bill as a natural extension of the law to meet the evils which have been found to exist in consequence of its absence in municipal elections. Therefore, seeing that this Bill embodies a completion of the work and believing it to be absolutely necessary, I could not refrain from thus speaking in its support and saying how indebted we are to my noble friend for its introduction.

§ THE EARL OF DUNMORE
My Lords, as this Bill has already received the support of your Lordships' House and is a non-contentious measure I shall be very brief in supporting it. An Act is in force for the protection of candidates at Parliamentary elections, and there is every reason to believe that some such Act is necessary for the protection of those who take part in municipal elections. Of late years municipal contests have been very keen. Although public interest in local government is a good thing in itself it does bring with it certain disadvantages, such as 944 extreme party feeling; and among the more unscrupulous this has sometimes led to attacks on candidates by the circulation of lying rumours on the eve of the poll in the hope that they may affect the result before contradiction could be made public. Under the ordinary law an action is difficult in such a case. Mr. Baron Pollock has given us an example of what would come within the meaning of the Act as regards Parliamentary elections. He says— Supposing any gentleman in a county constituency was to say of his adversary that he had shot a fox, and he said it for the purpose of working upon the minds of his constituency during an election, that would certainly come within the meaning of the Act. Very often in municipal elections accusations are made which seriously affect the character, integrity, and private life of individuals, and I happen to know that in some districts difficulties have arisen recently in finding candidates for the borough council elections owing to the cowardly attacks resorted to. Therefore I think it is very necessary that the protection which has been given to those taking part in Parliamentary elections should be extended to those taking part in municipal elections.
There is only one other remark I should like to make. The operative clause of this Bill is an example of legislation by reference, and it is, therefore, unintelligible to the ordinary mind. It is, I believe, a novel departure to set out, as is done in this case, a Memorandum to the Bill giving the exact effect upon the law which the passing of the measure would have. This House has had before it a considerable amount of legislation by reference emanating from Government Departments, who have not always been so considerate. I know that it is often impossible to avoid legislation by reference, but I think that a Memorandum of this sort is a great convenience; and therefore, as one who has spent some time and trouble in struggling with Bills which legislate by reference, I should like to congratulate the noble Lord on the form in which he has presented this Bill.