Lionel Lancelot Shadwell

“ 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. ”

“ Registration is carried out by local machinery, the common-law parish being taken as the registration unit; and the work of preparing and publishing the lists, which when revised are to form the register, is Committed to the overseers. The selection of these officers was no doubt due to their position as the rating authority, and to their consequent opportunities for knowing the ownership and occupation of tenements within their parish. They do not always perform the duties themselves, other persons being empowered to act for them in many parishes by general or local acts of parliament ”

“ The overseers do not select the names in the first and last of these lists; they take themas supplied in the register and claims. It is, however, their dut'y to write “ dead ” or “ objected " in the margin against the names of persons whom they have reason to believe to be dead or not entitled to vote in respect of the qualification described. The ownership and old lodger lists will be divided into two parts, if the register contains names of owners entitled to a parochial vote only, or if claims by owners or old lodgers have been made limited to that franchise. ”

“ Under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 the registration of burgesses, though on similar lines to that of parlia.mentary voters, was entirely separate from it. Since, however, the qualincation for the municipal franchise covered to a great extent the same ground as that for the parliamentary franchise in boroughs which sent members to parliament, a considerable number of voters in such boroughs were entitled in respect of the same tenement to be upon both parliamentary register and burgess roll. ”

“ The register of county electors in a county and the municipal register in a burgh form the registers of parish electors for the parishes comprised in each respectively. Inasmuch, however, as a man is entitled to be registered as a -parish elector in eve parish where he is qualified, duplicate entries are, when requireldj to be made in the register, with distinctive marks to all but one, to indicate that they confer the parish vote only. These distinctive marks and those previously mentioned are to be made in the lists by the assessors, subject to revision by the sheriff. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The registrars of births, deaths and marriages are required to furnish the overseers with returns of deaths, as must the assessed tax collectors with returns of defaulters; the relieving officers are to give information as to recipients of parochial relief. On or before the 31st of Jul the overseers are to make out and sign the lists of voters. These are the following: the list of ownership electors, consisting of the portion of the register previously published with a supplemental list of those who have sent in claims by the 20th of July ”

“ The occupier list contains the names of persons whom the overseers believe to be qualified, and no others, and therefore will be free from marginal objections. Except in the administrative county of London, it is made out in three divisions-division 1 giving the names of occupiers of property qualifying for both parliamentary and local government votes, ivisions 2 and 3 those of occupiers of property qualifying only for parliamentary and only for local government votes respectively. ”

“ The registrar. of the university of Dublin is to make out in December a list of the persons entitled to the parliamentary vote for the university, and to print the same in January, and to publish a copy in the university calendar, or in one or more public journals circulating in Ireland. ”