Sect. 25.

Appendix. or witness in respect of a claim to vote as a lodger in the name of any other whether that person is living or dead, or person, in a fictitious name, or sends as genuine any false or falsified declaration knowing the same to be false or falsified, or knowingly and wilfully makes any false statement of fact in any declaration of the nature aforesaid, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and punishable by fine or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, and the revising barrister shall have power to impound the declaration.

Notice of objection to state specific grounds of objection, &c.

6 & 7 Vict. c. 18, ss. 17, 20.

28 & 29 Vict. c. 36, ss. 7, 8.

Revision of

Objections may be withdrawn.

26. The notice required by the seventeenth and twentieth sections of the Parliamentary Registration Act, 1843, to be given to persons objected to in boroughs for the purposes of the revision of the lists of voters for a parliamentary borough and the burgess lists for a municipal borough whose burgess lists are revised under this Act, shall state specifically the ground or grounds of objection, and sections seven and eight of the County Voters Registration Act, 1865, shall extend to such objections.

See the 17th and 20th sections of the Parliamentary Registration Act (6 & 7 Vict. c. 18), ante.

The 7th and 8th sections of the County Registration Act, 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. 36), are as follows:

No person objected to under the provisions of this Act shall be required to give evidence before the revising barrister in support of his right to be registered, otherwise than as such right shall be called in question in such ground or grounds of objection.

Every separate ground of objection shall be treated by the revising barrister as a separate objection; and for every ground of objection which, in the opinion of the revising barrister, shall have been groundlessly or frivolously and vexatiously stated in a notice of objection, he shall, on the application of the person objected to, or any one on his behalf, and upon production of the notice of objection, award costs against the objector to the amount at least of two shillings and sixpence, and this though the name of the person objected to be expunged upon some other ground of objection stated in the same notice of objection.

27. For the purposes of the revision of the lists of voters for lists of voters. a parliamentary borough, and the burgess lists for a municipal borough whose burgess lists are revised under this Act(1.) An objection may be withdrawn by a notice to that effect in writing, signed by the objector, and given to the person objected to and to the town clerk not less than seven days before the day which shall be appointed for the holding of the first court of revision of the list to which the objection relates:

(2.) Any objection by a qualified objector may, after his Appendix. death, be revived by any other person qualified to Sect. 27. have made the objection originally by a notice to that Reviver of effect in writing signed by him, and given to the objections person objected to and to the town clerk at or before the time of the revision of the entry to which the objection relates:

A person reviving an objection shall be deemed to have made the objection originally, and he shall be responsible in respect thereof, and the proceedings thereon shall be continued accordingly:

on death of

objector.

(3.) Where objection is made otherwise than by an overseer Costs of to any person whose name appears on a list of voters objections. or burgesses and the name is retained on the list, the revising barrister shall, unless he is of opinion that the objection was reasonably made either because of a defect or error in the entry to which the objection relates, or because of a difficulty in verifying or identifying the particulars comprised in such entry, or unless the objection is duly withdrawn, or unless for some other special reason he otherwise determines, order costs not exceeding forty shillings to be paid by the objector to the person objected to.

of Duties and
a of

powers
revising

28. A revising barrister shall, with respect to the lists voters for a parliamentary borough and the burgess lists for municipal borough which he is appointed to revise, perform the barrister. duties and have the powers following:

(1.) He shall correct any mistake which is proved to him to

have been made in any list:

The word "shall" in this paragraph is imperative. (See Pickard v. Baylis, L. R. 5 C. P. D. 235).

(2.) He may correct any mistake which is proved to him to have been made in any claim or notice of objection:

It is not obligatory on the barrister to correct or amend, only discretionary. (See Pickard v. Baylis, L. R. 5 C. P. D. 235.)

An objector described himself in the notice of objection as "on the list of parliamentary voters for the parish of H.," but omitted to insert his place of abode. He was a solicitor practising at H., and had resided at H. all his life. It was admitted that the insertion of the words "of H.," would have sufficiently described the objector's place of abode, and the barrister found

Appendix. as a fact, that no one had been misled or deceived by the omission. It was held that under the circumstances the omission was a "mistake" within the Note s. 28. meaning of this sub-section. (Adams v. Bostock, L. R. 8 Q. B. D. 259.)

(3.) He shall expunge the name of every person, whether

objected to or not, whose qualification as stated in any

list is insufficient in law to entitle such person to be included therein :

(4.) He shall expunge the name of every person who, whether objected to or not, is proved to the revising barrister

to be dead:

(5.) Where an entry in any list and an entry in a return made
to the overseers of deaths appear to relate to the same
person, the revising barrister shall inquire whether
such entries relate to the same person, and on proof
being made to him that the entries relate to the same
person, shall expunge the entry in the list therefrom:
(6.) The revising barrister shall expunge the name of every
person, whether objected to or not, whose name or
place of abode, or the nature of whose qualification, or
the name or situation of whose qualifying property, if
the qualification is in respect of property, or any other
particulars respecting whom by law required to be
stated in the list, is or are either wholly omitted or in
the judgment of the revising barrister insufficiently
described for the purpose of being identified, unless
the matter or matters so omitted or insufficiently
described be supplied to the satisfaction of the revising
barrister before he shall have completed the revision
of the list in which the omission or insufficient descrip-
tion occurs, and in case such matter or matters shall
be so supplied, he shall then and there insert the same
in such list:

(7.) He shall expunge the name of every person, whether
objected to or not, where it is proved to the revising
barrister that such person was, on the last day of July
then next preceding, incapacitated by any law or
statute from voting at an election for the parlia-
mentary borough, or an election for the municipal
borough, as the case may be, to which the list relates:

The last day of July in this sub-section appears to be at variance with the 7th section, which mentions the 15th of July.

The incapacity referred to in this sub-section means such incapacities as Appendix. those mentioned in Stowe v. Jolliffe, not a mere temporary disqualifica

tion by reason of the receipt of parochial relief during the disqualifying Note s. 28.
period. In absence of a notice of objection, the barrister is not bound to
expunge the name of a person who had been in the receipt of parochial
relief. (Hayward v. Scott, L. R. 5 C. P. D. 231.) The incapacities men-
tioned in Stowe v Jolliffe, L. R. 9 C. P. 731, are the following:-Persons
who for some inherent, or for the time being irremovable quality in them-
selves, have not, either by prohibition of statutes, or at common law, the
status of parliamentary electors, such as peers, women, persons holding cer-
tain offices or employments under the Crown, persons convicted of crimes
which disqualify, or the like.

(8.) Before expunging from a list the name of any person not
objected to, the revising barrister shall cause such
notice, if any, as shall appear to him necessary or
proper under the circumstances of the proposal to
expunge the name, to be given to or left at the usual
or last known place of abode of such person:
(9.) Subject as herein and otherwise by law provided, the
revising barrister shall retain the name of every person
not objected to, and also of every person objected to,
unless the objector appears by himself or by some per-
son on his behalf in support of his objection:

See Hayward v. Scott, in note to sub-sect. 7.

(10.) If the objector so appears, the revising barrister shall require him, unless he is an overseer, to prove that he gave the notice or notices of objection required by law to be given by him, and to give primâ facie proof of the ground of objection, and for that purpose may himself examine and allow the objector to examine the overseers or any other person on oath, touching the alleged ground of objection, and unless such proof is given to his satisfaction shall, subject as herein and otherwise by law provided, retain the name of the person objected to:

An objection made under this Act by overseers shall be deemed to cast upon the person objected to the burden of proving his right to be on the list:

The prima facie proof shall be deemed to be given by the objector if it is shown to the satisfaction of the revising barrister by evidence, repute, or otherwise, that there is reasonable ground for believing that the objection is well founded, and that by reason of the person objected to not being present for examination,

Appendix.

Sect. 28.

or for some other reason, the objector is prevented from discovering or proving the truth respecting the entry objected to:

(11.) If such proof is given by the objector as herein prescribed, or if the objection is by overseers, then, unless the person objected to appears by himself or by some person on his behalf, and proves that he was entitled on the last day of July then next preceding to have his name inserted in the list in respect of the qualification described in such list, the revising barrister shall expunge the name of the person objected to:

The last day in July in this sub-section is at variance with the provision in sect. 7.

(12.) Where the matter stated in a list or claim, or proved to

the revising barrister in relation to any alleged right to be on any list, is in the judgment of the revising barrister insufficient in law to constitute a qualification of the nature or description stated or claimed, but sufficient in law to constitute a qualification of some other nature or description, the revising barrister, if the name is entered in a list for which such true qualification in law is appropriate, shall correct such entry by inserting such qualification accordingly, and in any other case shall insert the name with such qualification in the appropriate list, and shall expunge it from the other list, if any, in which it is entered:

(18.) Except as herein provided, and whether any person is objected to or not, no evidence shall be given of any other qualification than that which is described in the list or claim, as the case may be, nor shall the revising barrister be at liberty to change the description of the qualification as it appears in the list except for the purpose of more clearly and accurately defining the same:

The appellant's qualification being described in a list of voters as a "house," "8, Birley Place," he made and sent in a declaration for amending misdescription, and that the correct description was "houses in succession," "8, Birley Place, and 9, Birley Place." It was held that the barrister was right in expunging the appellant's name from the list, for there had been an alteration in the nature of the qualification, and to substitute "houses in succession" for "house" would be such a change in the descrip tion of the qualification as was not authorized by this section. (Porrett v. Lord L. R. 5 C. P. D. 65,)