e by barony; temp. John or Henry III., baronies by writ at the King's pleasure 1387, peerages are first created by Letters Patent. They are now created by 3. Clerks in Orders, e.g., Mr. Horne Tooke, when returned for Old Sarum, was declared disqualified 1801. 4. Judges (including the Master of the Rolls since 1875). 5. Holders of pensions, government contracts, or offices created since 1705. By the Act of 1708 (6 Anne), if a member accepts an office created before 1705 he has to offer himself for re-election. 6. Insane persons. 7. Bankrupts (1869). 8. Persons convicted of treason or felony or attainted, e.g., Smith O'Brien 1849, O'Donovan Rossa 1870, John Mitchell 1875. This disqualification is removed by serving the sentence, or by a pardon under the Great Seal. 9. Peers of England and Scotland, and Irish representative Peers. The eldest son of a Peer can sit in the Commons; the first instance is the son of the Earl of Bedford, 1549. 10. Persons convicted of Bribery. There were formerly other disqualifications, such as non-residence, repealed 1774; and lack of property, repealed 1858. See also Roman Catholics, admitted 1828; and Jews, admitted 1858 (ch. vii.) Sheriffs could not sit for their own shires; in 1372 Edward III. forbade lawyers to to sit in Parliament, and in 1405 they were entirely excluded from the "Unlearned Parliament," whilst up to a very recent date lawyers were not supposed to sit as knights of the shire. Members. Bribery of members was a method largely em- Bribery of ployed by the Crown, after the Revolution, to influence Parliament. Direct. Indirect. (a) Direct bribery by means of money was first employed by Lord Danby temp. Charles II.; it was continued under William III., Anne, and the Hanoverians, and was reduced to a regular system by Walpole and Sir Henry Pelham. Under George III. the abuse increased, and in 1762 during Lord Bute's ministry £25,000 was spent in one day in buying the votes of members; the practice was continued by Lord North, but ceased after the American war. (b) Indirect bribery, by giving pensions, places, and titles, was much employed by William III. In 1693 the Commons passed a Bill to the effect that no member subsequently elected could accept any office under the crown. This was rejected by the Lords, but passed by them in the following year; William, however, refused the royal assent. In 1701 the Act of Settlement provided that "no person who has an office or place of profit under the King, or receives a pension from the crown, shall be capable of serving as a member of the House of Commons." This was repealed 1706 (4 Anne), and by 6 Anne c. vii., 1708, it was enacted that no one holding an office created after October 25, 1705, could sit, whilst members accepting an office which had existed before were to vacate their seats, and offer themselves for rePlace Bill, 1742. election. In 1742 the Place Bill, passed after great opposition, disqualified clerks and many other Government officials, and in 1782 the number of places available for members was still further reduced by Lord Rockingham's Civil List Act (ch. v.). Subsequently indirect bribery was carried on by State loans and lotteries, shares in which were given away to members, whilst in 1782 Contractors' Act. Lord Rockingham found it necessary to pass the 1782. Contractors' Act to disqualify Government con tractors. Electors. Westbury, 1571. 1695, 1729. Bribery at Elections. The first known instance Bribery of is that of Thomas Long, who, in 1571, bribed the borough of Westbury to return him (p. 114.) Bribery Borough of of electors was first systematised temp. Charles II., and increased rapidly owing in great measure to the prizes to be obtained in Parliament. The Bill of Rights in 1689 declared that the election of members ought to be free, and Acts were passed to Bribery Acts, check the abuse 1695 and 1729 (2 George II.), but it increased to an enormous extent under George III. The sale of seats was effected quite openly; if the voters were independent they were bribed individually, if the borough was a "nomination " borough, or in the hands of the Corporation, it was bought out right; there were regular borough brokers, the price of a seat ranging from £2,500 to £9,000. Bribery' at county elections was also notorious, e.g., in 1768 Cumberland cost £40,000, and in 1779 Gloucestershire cost £30,000. The growth of the abuse was due to the " Nabobs," or Indian merchants, (who had amassed large fortunes, and came home with the idea of buying a seat), and to the encouragement of the King. In 1762 bribery was declared punishable by fine, and subsequent Bills were proposed to remedy the evil 1768 (Alderman Beckford), 1782 and 1786 (Lord Mahon), but were not passed. In 1782 the revenue Disfranchisement officers who controlled seventy elections were Officers, 1782. disfranchised, and in 1809, the sale of seats was checked by an Act (49 George III.) Bribery1 how 1 Subsequent laws against bribery were passed 1842, 1852, 1854, 1858, and the Corrupt Practices Act, 1854, provided that Candidates should pay all election expenses through authorized agents, and that the accounts of election expenses should be published. of the Revenue |