In the burghs the franchise was conferred by the same Act on all inhabitant occupiers of dwelling-houses, whether owners or tenants, including the occupiers of parts of dwelling-houses separately rated to the relief of the poor, and expressly on lodgers occupying premises of a clear yearly value, if let unfurnished, of £10 or upwards. Twelve months occupancy prior to 31st July in each year was required of all claimants.

The Act of 1868, for the first time, created an University franchise, conferring it on all members of the General Councils of the respective universities. A slight alteration on this franchise, or rather on the persons qualified to exercise it, was made by § 2 (16) of the Universities Elections Amendment (Scotland) Act, 1881, referred to infra, p. 40, and printed in the Appendix.

Such is a brief statement of the legislation in regard to the Parliamentary franchise prior to 1884.1 We shall now explain, under several heads, the changes which have been introduced by the Representation of the People Act, 1884.

1. Household Franchise.

The most important provision of the Act of 1884 was the extension to the counties of the household franchise estab

1 Anticipating the provision in the Act of 1884 in regard to the Service Franchise, the Education (Scotland) Act, 1878, contained the following enactment :-'Whereas doubts have arisen as to the right of a teacher of a public 'school under a school board, who holds office at the pleasure of the boards ' and who occupies, as part of the emoluments of his office, lands and heritages 'under the school board, to be registered as a voter, and to vote at elections 'for a member or members to serve in Parliament, in respect of the qualifica⚫tion afforded by such lands and heritages: And whereas it is expedient that 'such doubts should be removed, be it enacted that from and after the passing of this Act it shall be no objection to the name of any such teacher being placed on the register of voters for the burgh or county within which such 'lands and heritages are situate that the lands and heritages occupied by him, and on which his claim to the franchise rests, are held as part of the ' emoluments of his office, and at the pleasure of the school board: Provided 'that the rental of such lands and heritages, according to the valuation roll, 'shall be of sufficient annual value to qualify a voter.' As to the construction of this section, see Murray v. Morton, 9th Nov. 1878, 6 R. 26; Nicolson, 39. The provisions of 41 & 42 Vict. c. 5, and 43 & 44 Vict. c. 6, in regard to the effect of letting the qualifying premises as furnished houses for part of the qualifying period, not exceeding four months in the whole, will be noticed infra, pp. 8, 19.

lished in the burghs by the Reform Act, 1868. Section 2 enacts: A uniform household franchise . . . at elections 'shall be established in all counties and boroughs throughout 'the United Kingdom, and every man possessed of a house' hold qualification . . . shall, if the qualifying premises be 'situate in a county in . . . Scotland, be entitled to be registered as a voter, and when registered to vote at an 'election for such county.' Then under § 7 (4), 'The 'expression, "a household qualification," means, as respects 'Scotland, the qualification enacted by the third section of 'the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act, 1868, and 'the enactments amending or affecting the same, and the 'said section and enactments shall, so far as they are con'sistent with this Act, extend to counties in Scotland, and for the purpose of the said section and enactments, the expression, "dwelling-house" in Scotland, means any house 'or part of a house occupied as a separate dwelling, and this ' definition of a dwelling-house shall be substituted for the 'definition contained in § 59 of the Representation of the 'People (Scotland) Act, 1868.'

In order to make clear the effect of these enactments, it is necessary to explain in some detail the nature of the household franchise as it was established in the burghs by the Act of 1868.

By § 3 of that Act it was provided that 'every man shall, ' in and after the year 1868, be entitled to be registered as a ' voter, and, when registered, to vote at elections for a 'member or members to serve in Parliament for a burgh, 'who, when the sheriff proceeds to consider his right to be 'inserted or retained in the register of voters, is qualified as 'follows, that is to say

1. Is of full age, and not subject to any legal incapacity; C and

2. Is, and has been for a period of not less than twelve calendar months next preceding the last day of

July, an inhabitant occupier as owner or tenant of any dwelling-house within the burgh:

'Provided that no man shall under this Section be entitled 'to be registered as a voter who, at any time during the said period of twelve calendar months, shall have been

'

exempted from payment of poor-rates on the ground of inability to pay; or who shall have failed to pay on or before 'the 1st day of August in the present, or the 20th day of 'June in any subsequent year, all poor-rates (if any) that 'have become payable by him in respect of said dwelling'house, or as an inhabitant of any parish in said burgh, up to the preceding 15th day of May; or who shall have been in the receipt of parochial relief within the twelve calendar ' months next preceding the said last day of July: Provided also, that no man shall under this section be entitled to be registered as a voter by reason of his being a joint-occupier ' of any dwelling-house.'

It is unnecessary to enumerate the personal (e.g., as minors, women, &c.) or official (e.g., as sheriffs, sheriff-clerks, town-clerks, assessors, &c.) disqualifications which affect claimants for the household franchise either in counties or burghs. These are explained at length in Election treatises. (See Nicolson, 20-28, 83-86.) But recently the Corrupt Practices Act, 1883, further disqualifies all persons guilty of corrupt or illegal practices (§ 36, 37), and also all paid election agents, sub-agents, polling agents, clerks, and messengers (First Schedule, Part I.). By § 10 of the Act of 1884 it is expressly provided, 'Nothing in this Act shall confer on any man who is subject to any legal incapacity to be registered as a voter or to vote, any right to be registered as a voter or to vote.'

The qualifications for the household franchise under the Act of 1868 consisted in being 'the inhabitant occupier as owner or tenant of any dwelling-house within the burgh.'

The expression inhabitant occupier' implies actual residence for the statutory period of twelve months within the county or the burgh. In regard to burghs, the provision in § 11 of the Reform Act, 1832, which permitted residence within seven miles to qualify for a vote in a burgh, does not apply to the household franchise. The leading inquiry is, What will constitute residence' or 'inhabitant occupancy'? which are practically synonymous terms. Where a claimant has only one dwelling-place in which he and his family live, eat, and sleep throughout the year without the interruption of a single day or night, there can, of course, be no doubt

that the condition of residence is satisfied. (See Nicolson, 111). But such cases are not common either among the wealthy or the working classes. It is necessary, therefore, to explain what considerations will probably be looked to in determining as to the sufficiency of the residence of a claimant for this franchise. First, The residence must be personal. As was remarked in regard to the old burgh franchise, it will not suffice that the claimant has a residence within the burgh, if he does not reside in it (Cay, 431). Perhaps the best way of describing what is necessary in order to satisfy this condition of residence in a dwelling-house, is to say that the claimant must have his home there. Secondly, The residence must be continuous, but it need not be absolutely uninterrupted, provided that in leaving there is the intention to return. Thirdly, Absence not to destroy residence must be voluntary- that is to say, must not be the necessary consequence of the claimant's occupation or mode of life. Here the distinctions become somewhat nice. It would probably be held that the absence of a sailor or artisan, or labourer, taking work in a different district would disqualify, while the stated absences of a commercial traveller would not. Fourthly, It is expressly provided by 41 & 42 Vict. c. 5, that a person may be registered as an inhabitant occupier'notwithstanding that during a part of the qualifying period, not exceeding four months in the whole, he 'shall by letting or otherwise have permitted the qualifying ' premises to be occupied as a furnished house by some other person.' Fifthly, In every case of absence an animus revertendi must be proved. If, therefore, a tradesman or artisan, or farm servant were to quit his house with the intention of residing elsewhere, he would be disqualified although he changed his mind almost immediately and returned to his former place of abode. Sixthly, It is not probable that double residence,' as it was called-that is to say, where a person had two houses, in each of which he spent a part of his time,—will be recognised under the recent legislation. Seventhly, Absence for the whole twelve months would, it is thought, disqualify in any case. (See Nicolson, 111-113.)

Under the Act of 1868, and now under the Act of 1884,

it is only the inhabitant occupancy of a dwelling-house which confers the franchise. An important change, however, has been made by the later Act in regard to the definition of a 'dwelling-house.' By § 59 of the Reform Act, 1868, it was provided: "Dwelling-house" shall include any part of a house occupied as a separate dwelling, and (in any parish in which poor-rates are levied) the occupier of which is 'separately rated to the relief of the poor, either in respect thereof or as an inhabitant of such parish.' By § 7 (4) of the Act of 1884 it is provided: "The expression " dwellinghouse" in Scotland means any house or part of a house occupied as a separate dwelling, and this definition of a dwelling-house shall be substituted for the definition contained in § 59 of the Representation of the People (Scotland) 'Act, 1868.' It is, therefore, no longer necessary in order to qualify the occupier of " part of a house " for the household franchise either in a county or burgh that he should be separately rated to the relief of the poor. It will be necessary again to refer to this question of rating, but meantime it is sufficient to say that even under the new definition it will still be necessary for a claimant to show that the 'part of 'a house' on which he claims is occupied by him and his family (if any) separately from all others. The premises may be very poor and small, even a single room, but for the period of occupancy claimed on the tenant must be entitled to exclude all other persons from them. This is necessary to prove the existence of a household,' which is the foundation of this special franchise.

By § 3 of the Act of 1868, incorporated as we have seen by § 7 (4) of the Act of 1884, it is expressly provided: ‘That ' no man shall under this section be entitled to be registered as a voter by reason of his being a joint-occupier of any 'dwelling-house.' The effect of this is to prevent not only strangers, but members of the same family from claiming as the joint-occupiers of a dwelling-house or part of a dwellinghouse. It would not, however, disqualify a person who was the sole tenant of a single-roomed dwelling-house, that he had the use of a washing-house in common with other tenants. It is not necessary that persons claiming the household franchise should have occupied the same dwelling-house