gister, if the voter were wrongly named in the register, as Joseph Brown for John Brown, the voter ought to answer the question and say, "I am the described." person so Bribery oath.] No oath against bribery is now required to be taken by any voter at any election in the United Kingdom. This change was introduced by the "Corrupt Practices Prevention Act, 1854." Among other statutes and parts of statutes which are repealed by the recent act, are those which imposed upon a voter the necessity of taking the oath against bribery, when so required. The 2 Geo. 2, c. 24, commonly known as the Bribery Act, is repealed, with the exception of those provisions which require the returning officer to take the oath already mentioned. This was the act which imposed the bribery oath in England. The 33rd section of the 16 Geo. 2, c. i1, extended the operation of the Bribery Act to Scotland. That 33rd section is now repealed. The 26th section of the Scotch Reform Act also gave a form of oath against bribery, which was to be put by the sheriff when required. This also has been abolished. The oath in Ireland is also done away with by the repeal of the 48th section of 4 Geo. 4, c. 55, and of so much of the 54th section of 2 & 3 Wm. 4, c. 88, as relates to the administering the oath or affirmation against bribery. No inquiry, therefore, can now take place at the time of the election as to whether the voter has received any corrupt inducement to give his vote, either in England, Scotland, or Ireland. The only oath that can now be put to an elector in England and Ireland, is that with regard to his identity, and his not having already voted. In Scotland, the oath comprises the further declaration that the qualification remains unchanged. If a person, who is not the elector, comes to the poll and says that he is, or swears that he is when so required, the returning officer has no discretion, he must accept the vote. If a voter were to say that he had not voted already, when in truth he had voted, as the returning officer might see on turning back to the page where his vote was recorded whether he had voted, it would be the duty of the officer to refuse the vote when tendered a second time. If the voter declared that he had not himself voted in his own name, the officer ought to receive the vote as one tendered, in the way which will be described in cases of personation. Personation.] The returning officer is bound to receive the vote tendered by a man personating another, even when the facts of such personation are known to him. The law, however, has provided a summary mode of proceeding with persons guilty of such flagrant offences. If the person tendering the vote is objected to at the time, and is charged with the personation, the vote should be entered in the poll book as one "protested against for personation" (a). Agents may now be appointed by candidates for the express purpose of detecting personation; every such agent must give his name and address to the returning officer or his deputy, and he will then be allowed to attend in the booth. (a) 6 Vict. c. 18, s. 86, and 13 & 14 Vict. c. 69, s. 93. The enactments in this Irish Act are identical with those in the English Act. Whenever such agent is firmly persuaded of the fact of the personation, he may declare to the officer at the poll, either before or after the man has voted, but before he shall have left the booth, that he verily believes, and undertakes to prove, that the person voting is not, in fact, the person in whose name he assumes to vote. Upon such a representation being made to him, the returning officer or his deputy must forthwith order, by word of mouth, any constable or other peace officer to take the person who has so voted into custody. The act gives no power to deal with the man summarily unless he has actually voted. If a person were to come into the booth and answer the question as to his identity falsely, or take a false oath to that effect, unless he also recorded his vote, he could not be thus apprehended. Not that he would escape punishment for so gross an offence; for the giving a false answer to the question is in itself a misdemeanor (sec. 81), and the taking a false oath would of course subject the offender to the penalties of perjury. When the person charged with personation has been taken into custody, he must be brought at the earliest convenient time, before two justices of the peace for the county, city, or borough within which such person shall have voted; but if the attendance of two justices cannot be obtained within three hours after the close of the poll, on the day on which the voter is taken into custody, he may at his own request be taken before one justice, who may liberate him on his entering into a recognizance with one surety, to appear before two justices, to answer the charge, at a time and place to be specified (a). If one justice cannot be found within four hours after the closing of the poll, the man must be discharged out of custody; but a warrant may be issued afterwards for his apprehension. If on the hearing of the charge, supported by the evidence of not less than two witnesses, the justices are satisfied of the truth of the charge, they must commit the offender for trial in the usual way, and bind over the witnesses to appear and give evidence (b). Should the justices consider the charge to be unfounded, and made without reasonable or just cause, or, if the agent originating the charge should not appear to support it, then, the justices must make an order for such agent to pay the party accused a sum not exceeding 107., nor less than 57., by way of damages and costs. If the party aggrieved consents to accept this compensation, and all the money ordered to be paid shall be paid or tendered to him, no other action or proceeding, civil or criminal, can be taken in respect of the charge and apprehension. If the money ordered to be paid, is not paid within twentyfour hours after the order, the goods and chattels of the agent may be distrained, and sold to levy the amount; if no sufficient goods of the agent can be found, the goods of the candidate appointing the agent may be distrained; and if the sum is not paid, or levied, the party aggrieved may bring an action in (a) 6 Vict. c. 18, s. 87; 13 & 14 Vict. c. 69, s. 94. any of the Superior Courts of Westminster or Dublin (as the case may be) to recover the amount (a). In both the English and Irish acts, the personating a voter, and falsely assuming to vote in the name of a person on the register, whether such person shall be living or dead, is a misdemeanor, punishable with two years' imprisonment and hard labour. It will be obvious that the agent making the charge of personation, exposes himself and the candidate by whom he was appointed, to serious responsibility. As the returning officer can exercise no discretion in the matter, when once the charge has been formally made, it behoves the agent not to act precipitately, but to be well assured of the fact before he makes the charge. The object of the Legislature, in giving this summary manner of proceeding, is to prevent the recurrence at the election of so mischievous an offence. Any man who has committed personation at an election, if not apprehended at the time, may of course be taken up on a magistrate's warrant, and be committed for trial as in the case of any other misdemeanor. If the voter who has been personated should afterwards come to the poll and tender his vote, the returning officer cannot receive the vote as one to be reckoned in the poll; but he must enter the vote as one tendered for the candidate in whose favor the voter intended to vote. The 6 Vict. c. 18, s. 91, provides for this case at English elections, and the 13 & 14 Vict. c. 69, s. 98, as to Irish. The returning officer must take care not to reckon such votes when he afterwards casts up the (a) 6 Vict. c. 18, s. 88; 13 & 14 Vict. c. 69, s. 96. |