Page:EB1911 - Volume 23.djvu/60

Rh the whole of the parliamentary register. The occupier lists are consequently there made out in two divisions only, the names which would elsewhere appear in division 2 being placed in division I. The lists of freehold and burgage tenants in Bristol, Exeter, Norwich and Nottingham are to be made out and signed by the same date. The overseers have also to make out and sign a list of persons qualified as occupiers to be elected aldermen or councillors, but as non-residents disqualified from being on the local government register. By the same date also the clerks of the livery companies are to make out, sign and deliver to the secondary (who performs in the City of London the registration duties which elsewhere fall on the town clerk) the lists of liverymen entitled as such to the parliamentary vote; and the town clerks are to make out and sign the lists of freemen so entitled in towns where this franchise exists. On the 1st of August all the above lists are to be published, the livery lists by the secondary, lists of freemen by the town clerks and the rest by the overseers. In addition the overseers may have to publish a list of persons disqualified by having been found guilty of corrupt or illegal practices; this list they will receive, when it exists, from the clerk of the county council or town clerk with the precept. Publication of lists and notices by overseers IS made by affixing copies on the doors of the church and other places of worship of the parish (or, if there be none, in some public or conspicuous situation in the parish), and also, with the exception to be mentioned, in the case of a parish wholly or partly within a municipal borough or urban district, in or near every public or municipal or arochial office and every post and telegraph office in the parish. The exception is that lists and notices relating to ownership e ectors need not be published at the offices mentioned when the parish is within a parliamentary borough. Publication bg' the secondary is made by affixing copies outside the Guildhall an Royal Exchange; publication by town clerks is made by affixing copies outside their town hall, or, where there is none, in some public or conspicuous place in their borough. From the 1st to the 20th of August inclusive is allowed for the sending in of claims and objections. Those whose names have been omitted from the occupier or reserved rights lists, or the non-resident list, or whose names, place of abode or particulars of qualification have been incorrectly stated in such lists, may send in claims to have their names registered; lodgers who are not qualified as old lodgers, or who have omitted to claim as such, may claim as new lodgers; persons whose names are on the corrupt and illegal practices list may claim to have them omitted. Any person whose name is on the list of parliamentary, local governrnent or parochial electors for the same parliamentary county, administrative county, borough or parish, may object to names on the same lists. Notices of claim and objection in the case of liverymen and freemen are to be sent to the secondary and town clerk, and in other cases to the overseers; and notices of objection must also in all cases be sent to the person objected to. All notices must be sent in by the 20th of August, and on or before the 25th of August the overseers, secondary and town clerks are to make out, sign and publish lists of the claimants and ersons objected to. It remains to be added that any person on a list of voters (i.e. on one of the lists published on the 1st of August) may make a declaration before a magistrate or commissioner for oaths correcting the entry relating to him. In the case of ownership electors the correction can only deal with the place of abode; in the case of other lists it extends to all particulars stated, and is useful inasmuch as it enables the revising barrister to make corrections as to the qualification which he could not make in the absence of a declaration. The declarations must be delivered to the clerk of the county council or town clerk on or before the 5th of September. The next stage is the revision of the lists. Ifor th1s purpose revising barristers are appointed yearly. The period within which revision courts can be held is from the 8th of September Revising to the I2th of October, both days inclusive. The clerk of harris' the county council attends the first court held for each ers' parliamentary division of his county, and the town clerk the first court held for his city or borough; and they respectively produce all lists, notices and declarations in their custody, and answer any questions put to them by the revising barrister. The overseers also attend the courts held for their parish, produce the rate books, original notices of claim and objection, tgcc., and answer questions. The claimants, objectors and persons objected to appear personally or by representative to support their several contentions. Any person qualified to be an objector may also appear to oppose any claims, upon giving notice to the barrister before such claims are reached. The powers of the revising barristers are as follows: As regards persons whose names are on the lists of voters published on the 1st of August, he is to expunge the names, whether objected to or not, of those who are dead or subject to personal incapacity, such as infants and aliens, and for parliamentary purposes peers and women. If an entry is imperfect, the name must be removed, unless the particulars necessary for completing it are supplied to the barrister. All names marginally objected to by overseers must be expunged, unless the voters prove to the barrister that they ought to be retained. Objections made by other objectors must be supported by prima facie proof, and if this is not rebutted the name is struck out. Claimants must be ready to support their claims. The declaration attached to a lodger claim is indeed prima facie proof of the facts stated in it, but other claimants require evidence to make out even a prima facie case, and if they fail to produce it their claims will be disallowed. The barrister is required to correct errors in the lists of voters, and has a discretion to rectify mistakes in claims and objections upon evidence produced to him, although his power in this respect is limited. Lastly, the barrister has to deal with duplicates, as a voter is entitled to be on the register once, but not more than once, as a parliamentary voter for each parliamentary county or borough, as a burgess for each municipal orough, as a county elector for each electoral division, and as a parochial elector for each parish in which he holds a qualification. Consequently, he deals with duplicate entries by expunging or transferring them to separate parochial lists. The decision of the revising barrister is final and conclusive on all questions of fact; but an appeal lies from him on questions of law at the instance of any person aggrieved by the removal of his name from a list of voters, by the rejection of his claim or objection or by the allowance of a claim which he has opposed. Notice of the intention to a peal must be given to the barrister in writing on the day when £15 decision is given. The barrister may refuse to state a case for appeal; but if he does so without due cause he may be ordered by the High Court to state a case. The alppeal is heard by a divisional court, from whose decision an appea lies (by leave either of the divisional court gr cif the court of appeal) to the court of appeal, whose decision is na.

On the completion of the revision the barrister hands the county and borough lists (every page signed and every alteration initialled by him) to the clerk of the county council and the town clerk respectively, to be printed. With the following exceptions the revised lists are to be made up and printed by the 20th of December, and come into force as the register for all urposes on the 1st of January. In the boroughs created by the Loncffm Government Act 1899, the whole register is to be made up and printed by the 20th of October, and to come into force for the purpose of borough elections under the act on the 1st of November. In boroughs subject to the Municipal Corporations Acts, divisions I and 3 of the occupiers' list are to be made up and printed by the 20th of October, and come into force for the purpose of municipal and county council elections on the 1st of November. Corrections ordered in consequence of a successful appeal from a revising barrister are to be made by the officers having the custody of the registers, but a pending appeal does not affect any right of voting. The register in its final form will consist of the lists published on the 1st of August as corrected, with the claims which have been allowed on revision incorporated with them. It is printed in such form that each list and each division of a list for every parish can be separated from the rest for the purpose of making up the parliamentary, local government and parochial registers respectively. The alphabetical order is followed, except in London and some other large towns, where street order is adopted for all except the ownership lists and lists of liverymen and freemen. The parliament register for a parliamentary county will consist of the ownershiprfists for all parishes in the county, and of the lodger lists and divisions 1 and 2 of the occupier lists for parishes within the county and not within a parliamentary borough. The parliamentary register for a parliamentary borough will consist of the lodger lists, of the lists of freehold and burgage tenants (if any), and of divisions I and 2 of the occupier lists for all parishes within the borough, and also of the borough lists (if any) of liverymen or freemen. The local government register for an administrative county will consist of divisions I and 3 of the occupier lists for all parishes in the county, and the burgess roll for a municipal borough of divisions I and 3 of the occu ier lists for all parishes in the borough. It will be seen, therefore, tfiat, exce t in county boroughs, the burgess roll is also a part of the locai) government register of the administrative county within which the borough is situate. The register of parochial electors consists of the complete set of lists for each parish; but this does not include the lists of liverymen and freemen, which, as has been stated, are not parish lists. No one whose name is not on the register can vote at an election. The fact that a man's name is on the register is now so far conclusive of his right that the returning officer is bound to receive his vote. Only two questions may be asked of him when he tenders hIs vote, namely, whether he is the person whose name is on the register, and whether he has voted before at the election. The Reform Act 1832 allowed him to be asked at parliamentary elections whether he retained the qualification for which he had been registered; but the Registration Act 1843 disallowed the question, and made the register conclusive as to the retention of the qualification. When, however, a petition is presented against an election, the register, although conclusive as to the retention of the qualification, does not prevent the court from inquiring into the existence of personal in capacities, arising in connexion with the election or otherwise, and striking off on scrutiny the votes of persons subject thereto, e.g. aliens, infants, or in parliamentary elections peers, &c.

The City of London is not within the Municipal Corporations Acts, and 15 not subject to the general registration law in the formation of its roll of citizens for municipal purposes. But a register of parliamentary, county and parochial electors is made in