CHAP. 9.

Qualifications

of members; wath.

a return.

CHAPTER 9.

OF CONTROVERTED ELECTIONS.

1. Every member, before he assumes his seat or shall presume to vote in the house of assembly, if required by order of the house, shall deliver to the clerk a schedule containing the particulars of his qualification, and at the foot thereof shall subscribe the following oath, to be administered by the clerk:

"I, A. B., do swear that I am by law qualified to be elected for the house of assembly, and that the foregoing schedule doth contain a full, true, and particular account, to the best of my knowledge and belief, of the property in respect whereof I claim a right to be elected, and of my title thereto, and that the same hath not been conveyed or granted to me fraudulently on purpose to qualify me to be so elected."

And he shall also deliver to the clerk the title deeds or papers under which he claims title to the property in the schedule, or attested copies thereof.

Proceedings on 2. When a petition complaining of an undue election, or petition against return of a member to serve in the house of assembly, shall be presented to the house, a day and hour shall be appointed by the house for taking the same into consideration, and notice in writing shall be forthwith given by the speaker to the petitioner and the sitting member, or their agents, accompanied with an order to them to attend the house at the time appointed, by themselves, their counsel, or agents, and if at the time appointed none of the petitioners shall appear, either personally, or by counsel, or agent, the order for taking the petition into consideration shall be discharged, and the petition shall not be further proceeded in. No such petition shall be received after fourteen days shall have elapsed from the time that the member whose return is complained of shall have taken his seat.

Recognizance required.

Proceedings on

3. No proceeding shall be had on a petition unless at or before the time appointed for consideration thereof at least one of the petitioners shall enter into a recognizance to her majesty, with sureties, in the sum of two hundred pounds, for the payment of the costs and expenses that may become payable by the petitioners, under any report of committee on the petition; the recognizance, in case of non-payment, to be estreated for the benefit of the parties entitled to the costs and expenses.

4. If before the day appointed for considering the petiundefended re- tion the member whose return is complained of shall die, or accept the office of legislative councillor, or declare, under

turn.

Proceedings at

his hand, his intention not to defend his return, the speaker CHAP. 9. shall give notice thereof in writing to the sheriff of the county where the election was had, and shall also notify the same in two public newspapers, so that any of the freeholders of the county or township for which the member was returned may, if they think fit, petition the house to be admitted as parties in the room of the member, and they shall thereupon be so admitted as parties, and stand, as respects the controversy, in the place of the sitting member. 5. At the time appointed for considering the petition, the time for conand previous to reading the order of the day therefor, the sidering the pespeaker shall direct the sergeant-at-arms to go to the places adjacent and require the immediate attendance of members on the business of the house; and after his return the house shall be counted, and if there are less than thirty-three members present the order shall be adjourned to a particu lar hour on the following day, when the house shall proceed in the same manner, and so, from day to day, until there shall be in attendance thirty-three members at the reading of the order.

tition.

drawn.

6. When thirty-three members shall be present, the Committee how petitioners, their counsel or agents, and the counsel or agents of the sitting member, shall be ordered to attend at the bar, and then the door of the house shall be locked, and no member shall be suffered to enter into or depart from the house until the drawing shall be completed. The order of the day shall then be read, and the names of the members written on distinct pieces of paper, and, as nearly as may be, of equal size, and rolled up in the same manner, shall be equally divided, and put into two several boxes placed on the table, and shall be shaken together, and the clerk shall publicly draw out of the boxes alternately the pieces of paper and deliver them to the speaker to be read to the house until fifteen names of members then present be drawn.

7. If the name of a member who shall have voted at the election complained of, or against whose return a petition shall be depending shall be drawn, it shall be set aside. 8. If a member drawn shall verify, on oath, an excuse, the substance thereof shall be taken down by the clerk, in order that the same may afterwards be entered on the journals, and the opinion of the house shall be taken thereon, and if they shall resolve that the member is unable to serve, or cannot, without great detriment, serve on the committee, he shall be excused therefrom.

Names of memelection,or peti

bers voting at

tioned against, to be set aside.

Members how and when ex

cused.

on a committee

9. If the name of a member then serving on one elec- Members servtion committee be drawn, he shall be excused from serving to be excused. on a second.

excused other

10. When members are set aside or excused, others shall when members be drawn in their place, who may in like manner be set names to be aside or excused and others drawn in their place until the drawn.

CHAP. 9. whole number of fifteen members not liable to be set aside. or excused shall be complete.

Committee how struck; to be

journed.

11. When the drawing shall be completed the door of Sword; how ad- the house shall be unlocked, and lists of the fifteen members shall be given to each party, and they shall immediately retire with the clerk or his assistant, and each party, his counsel or agent, beginning on the part of the petitioners, shall alternately strike off one of the fifteen members until the number shall be reduced to seven; and the clerk or assistant, within one hour at farthest from the time of the lists being given, shall deliver into the house the names of the seven members then remaining. And the seven members shall be sworn at the table "well and truly to try the matter of the petition referred to them, and a true judgment to give according to the evidence," and shall be a committee to determine the election; and the house shall by order direct them to meet at a certain time, and the place of their meeting shall be in a committee room of the house, and they shall sit every day, and shall not adjourn for more than a day without leave of the house, upon special cause assigned.

Committee how

appointed and

fended coses.

12. If at the time appointed for considering the petition struck in unde- the sitting member shall not appear by himself, or his counsel or agent, the committee shall be appointed as fol lows: the names of fifteen members shall be drawn in manner hereinbefore prescribed, but in reducing the lists the clerk or clerk's assistant shall stand in the place of the sitting member; and the same method of reducing the number shall be followed whenever a party waives his right of striking off names.

Chairman how selected.

Powers and du

ay of committee

Committee may report specially

13. The committee shall, on meeting, select a chairman, and if in the selection the voices are equal, the member whose name was first drawn in the house shall have an additional casting vote; and the same course shall be pursued, if necessary, to elect a new chairman, on the death or necessary absence of the previous chairman.

14. The committee shall have power to send for persons and papers, and shall examine witnesses on oath, and shall consider evidence and proceedings duly had on a scrutiny, and referred to them by the house, and may admit additional evidence sworn to be material, and which in their judgment ought to be received; and shall determine whether the petitioner or the sitting member, or either of them, is duly returned or elected, or whether the election is void, or whether a new writ ought to issue; and their determination shall be final, and the house on being informed thereof by the chairman of the committee, shall order the same to be entered on the journals, and give the necessary directions for carrying the determination of the committee into execu tion.

15. If the committee shall come to any resolution other

than the determination above mentioned, they may report CHAP. 9. the same to the house for their opinion, and the house may confirm or disagree with the resolution, and make order thereon as they may think proper.

absenting Lim

16. No member of the coinmittee shall absent himself Committce-man therefrom without leave of the house, and the chairman self shall report the name of a member so absenting himself, who shall, for his neglect, be punished or censured at the discretion of the house; and the committee shall never proceed unless five members are present.

tee reduced to

17. If the members of the committee shall be unavoid. Where commitably reduced to less than five, and shall so continue for less than five. three days, the committee shall be dissolved, and another chosen in like manner; but the evidence already taken shall

be considered by the new committee.

Committee.

18. If persons summoned by the committee shall dis- Disobedience to obey the summons, or if witnesses before the committee summons of shall prevaricate or misbehave in giving or refusing to give evidence, the chairman may, by direction of the committee, report the same to the house for the interposition of their authority or censure.

and discretion

19. When the committee shall think it necessary to Their power deliberate among themselves, they may, after hearing the in certain cases. evidence and counsel on both sides, direct the room to be

cleared.

voices shall de

20. Decisions of the committee shall be made by a ma- A majority of jority of voices, and if the voices be equal, including the cide. chairman, he shall have an additional casting vote.

ministered.

21. The oaths by this chapter directed to be taken in Oaths how adthe house shall be administered by the clerk or his assistant, and those before the committee by the chairman.

gation while a

ting.

22. If the general assembly shall be prorogued while a Effect of prorocommittee shall be sitting, the committee shall not be dis- committee sitsolved, but shall be thereby adjourned to twelve o'clock on the fourth day following that on which the assembly shall meet again in session, and the former proceedings of the committee shall remain in force, and the committee shall meet at the time to which it shall be so adjourned, and continue to act as if there had been no prorogation.

Tepot whether

frivolous.

23. The committec when they report their final deter- Committee to mination to the house, shall also report whether the petition the petition was did or did not appear to them frivolous or vexatious, and also whether the opposition thereto did or did not appear to them frivolous or vexatious.

ported frivolous

24. When a petition shall be reported frivolous or vex- If a petition reatious, the sitting member shall be entitled to recover from expenses rethe petitioners, or any of them, the expenses of opposing coverable.

the same.

a petition re

25. When the opposition to a petition shall be reported If opposition to frivolous or vexatious, the petitioners shall be entitled to ported frivolous recover from the sitting member the expenses of prosecut- coverable. ing such petition.

Cxpenses re

CHAP. 10. Expenses how taxed.

Expenses how recovered.

A party paying may recover a

26. The expenses of prosecuting or opposing a petition shall include witnesses' fees as well as other costs and expenses, and shall be ascertained as follows:-The speaker, on application, shall direct them to be taxed by the clerk of of the house and a master in chancery, who shall tax the same and report the amount to the speaker, who, on the approval of the house, or of such part thereof as the house may allow, shall, on application, deliver to the parties a certificate under his hand, expressing the amount of the expenses allowed; and the persons appointed to tax the expenses and report the amount shall be entitled to such fees, to be paid by the parties for whom the bill is taxed, and included therein, as may be fixed by resolution of the the house.

27. The parties entitled to expenses, or their represen tatives, may demand the amount certified from any of the persons liable therefor, and on non-payment may recover the same by action of debt in the supreme court, wherein it shall be sufficient for the plaintiffs to declare that the defendants are indebted to them in the amount certified by virtue of this chapter; and the certificate signed by the speaker shall have the effect of a warrant to confess judg ment, and the court shall on motion, and the production of the certificate, enter judgment for the plaintiffs for the amount specified in the certificate in the like manner as if the defendants had signed a warrant to confess judgment in the action for that amount.

28. Where the expenses shall have been recovered from rateable contri- any person, he may recover in like manner from others, liable to the payment of the same expenses, a proportionable share thereof, according to the number liable.

bution.

Explanation of 29. The word "sitting member," when used in this the word sitting member. chapter, shall also comprehend parties admitted to oppose a petition.

CHAPTER 10.

Seats how vacated.

Offices which

vacate seats.

Vacancies how supplied.

1. Any member of the house of assembly may, by written notice to the speaker, vacate his seat.

2. If any member shall accept of any of the following offices, his seat shall become vacant, but he may be reelected, that is to say: the offices of attorney general, solicitor general, provincial secretary, receiver general, financial secretary, commissioner of crown lands, surveyor general.

3. Whenever a seat shall become vacant, the speaker