ELECTION-COMMITTEES. The course of elections of members of the House of Commons from the issuing of the writs to the returns made to the Clerk of the Crown is briefly sketched under the head HOUSE OF COMMONS. The Clerk of the Crown certifies the re turns made to him to the House [CLERK OF THE Csows.] The mode of adjudi cating election-petitions is the subject of the present article.
Till 1770, when the act well known as the Grenville act was passed, questions of controverted elections were decided by the whole House of Commons : and every such question was made a party contest. The Grenville act introduced a plan, which, with several modifications, con tinued till 1839, of appointing committees for the trial of election petitions by lot. Since 1839 a different system has been in operation, under which the choice of members of election-committees has not been left to chance, and their individual responsibility has been increased by di minishing the number of members. By the 7 & 8 Viet. c. 103 (passed the year, 1844) the number of members of an election-committee was reduced from seven to five, including the chairman.
The 7 & 8 Vict. c. 103, now regulates the constitution and the proceedings of committees on controverted elections.
At the commencement of every session, the Speaker appoints by warrant six members of the House to be a General Committee of Elections. The General Committee of Eleetnels, when appointed, proceed to select, "in their discretion, six, eight, ten, or twelve members, whom they shall think duly qualified, to serve as chairmen of election-committees ; " and the members so selected for chairmen are formed into a separate panel, called the Chairmen's Panel. The members of the General Committee of Elections are excused from serving as members of election committees, and all members of the House of Commons above the age of sixty are also excused from this service. The House also allows other special grounds of exemption ; the principal ministers for instance are excused from serving on election-committees, so long as they hold their offices, on account of their official duties. After the General Committee of Elections have appointed the Chairmen's Panel, they divide the remaining members of the House who are not exempted from service, into five panels ; and members are chosen to serve on elections frovo these panels, in an order of succession determined by lot.
All election-petitions are referred by the House to the General Committee of Elec tions; and this General Committee give notice, as provided by the act, of the days on which particular election-committees will be appointed, and of the panel from which members will be taken. " The General Committee shall meet at the time appointed for choosing the committee to try any election-petition, and shall choose from the panel then standing next in order of service, exclusive of the chair men's panel, four members, not being then excused or disqualified for any of the causes aforesaid, and who shall not be specially disqualified for being ap pointed on the committee to try such petition for any of the following causes ; (that is to say) by reason of having voted at the election, or by reason of being the party on whose behalf the seat is claimed, or related to the sitting member or party on whose behalf the seat is claimed by kindred or affinity in the first or second degree, according to the canon law ." (§ 55.) At least four members of the general committee must agree in the ap pointment. On the same day on which the general committee choose the meta hers of an election-committee, the chair.
men's panel choose from themselves a chairman for the committee, and commu nicate the name of the chairman selected to the general committee. The names of the chairman and members selected are thus communicated to the petitioners and sitting member or members, who may object to any of the members on any ground of disqualification specified in the 55th section of the act, but on no other ground. If any member is shown to be disqualified, the general committee select another ; or if the chairman is disqualified, they send back his name to the chair men's panel, who proceed to choose an other chairman. The five members finally chosen are afterwards sworn at the table of the House " well and truly to try the matter of the petitions referred to them, and a true judgment to give accord ing to the evidence." Such is a general sketch of the present mode of constitution of election-commit tees : for other details the reader must refer to the act itself, or to Mr. May's Treatise on the Law of Parliament, pp. 341-373. It is a matter of practice for the General Committee of Elections to take the four members of an election committee equally from the two sides of the House.