tah & My

a ‘ 4 re | * Examiner]

xv

Charlottetown, Monday,

March 6, 1871.

2.

—————

~ — a ae

member of the Hovse of Commons, the quea-

OEBATES OF THE

1) SEOEASSEMBLD

a >

(Conitinued.)

.on. \rrorysy Generar considered it hia ler a few remarks epon the matter songideration. The High Sherif

, Nounty in his return of the Kirst ppPtirict said, that in three of the sidmeoc Decessary oaths bad not and eube Postly_the retorning i had mace a retutn 0 fects ; itive unequivocal retarn of at He (the Hon. Atty. General)

hat it was strictly legal for the ava returned absoiute y the can- ring @ majority of the votes re- the Poil Books, but the House of alone had the supreme power to ould take their seats. Had the wiately returned two men for the cot of Qusen’s County, they should awortn in, and allowed to take and it would then have been the

of the opposing candidate to have iter brought before the House in way. Ho (don. Atty. General)

» look at the return made by the

| inquire if it wasa legelone, gle

far @ moment doubt but that Shenff tended that it should be lega!, but hon, Committee bad then to do with the intention of the High

t with the return as made by him; king at it, the members of that mittee would find that the Sheriff

: merely returned the special facts and P oirsumestcnces connected with that election, 60 that the proceedings bad thereunder, sad hie said return might be dealt with in such manonet as might be deemed necexary. He {the Sheriff) bad returned the specie! tacts to oe dealt with; andby whom. What cid guch a return imply bus that there were cer- twin special feets and circumstances retain. ed for the House of Assembly to dispose of ss it might deem proper? It wae impcestb'c to egita the return made as & piaih ana un- quivoecal return of any of the candidates, i§ waa alo quite clear that the Sheriff bai mo authority to strike out the names of any \ voters, except in two cases special'y mentivn- jad ia the Election Laws, and his duty on ms Declaration Day was eleariy pointed out by @ Vie. 19, chap. 21, Sec. 52. The Election

) Laws were contained in two or thres Acts of ‘the Logislature, and when the Sheriff's Re- 37a was viewed in connection therewith, he ieved it would be seen that if the Return ounted to anything, it was that Messrs, isir and Camcron were the candidates ned. He had heard the hon. member feliaet say that the proceedings were r to those which had occurred to the trict of the hen. member from Fort ustus, but he (Hon. Att’y General) was of that opinio:, inasauch as in the arn then before thas Committee tha riff put tho qeaesiion hypothetically, and Blt it ior the Housys to decide. As all kinds of motives had been imputed to him (Hon. Att’y General) in reference to the matter, he had carefully refraiued from examining the Poll Books, and therefore did not know hether ths oaths of the returning officers s subscribed om—not—or whether those or had not, been sworn according mm. He had merely looked at the ifs Return, With respect to the | pinion given by Mr. Reddin and himself, he Rrwould oaly say he presumed that Sheriff m McGill’s Return for that D strict was illegal, in fact, that no candidates had beon return- ed, and that the Government had taken the proper course for dea!ing with the question, and bagged to observe that in considering it, they were apt to look upon it, to a great extent, as one which involved wholly the interests of the candidates, whcreas it was a question which morte immediately and se- viously coacerned thore of the oiectors, and therefore, if a certain officer omitted to dis- charge his duties, in some partieulars, as he ) shouid, eeriainly thet was not a reason why the views and expressed wishcs of the eleetcra should be disregarded. Assuming that the Sheriff bad returned Mr Laird, and that the House afterwards found tha; Mr. Cameron should have been returned, what advantage would it have been to Mr. Laird to have been ‘for a few days in a position where he could not ite: for if such a return had been made, it puld in no way have interfered with the ghts cf the opposing candidates, as was tar from 24 Vic., chap. 34, szc. 25, which

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|| © Whenever any vacancy or vacancies shal! © \bappen im the liouso of Aseombly, from any mentioned in the seventy eighth or eee section of the hereinbefore ie- d Act, relating to the E’ection Laws, the section or electicns to be held to supply such _ Yacancy or vacancies shall not in any manner effect the rights of any person or persons who ay be entitled to contest the previous elec- ion or elections by, or at which tho persin er perscns whoee seat or seats shall have been a0 vacated, may have been returned ; and the 5 of sny eleetion committee appointed ack persons’ election, shall determin: >» the member or members, whose Peeseehall have so become vacant, pwson, was duly returned or

which determination if od- Uro Of SCUIY micitives Tr

fin favor of any other candidate, bid the said previous election, and pdidate declared duly elected at the election, shali be entitled to take his ee +f no subsequens copy bad been bett.** What bo (Hon. Att'y Genera’) then wished to know was, what was tho injustice which : the Government did to Mr. Laird or anyone ; ty, adopting and following the course it LF did

é )

, The cass was new and peculiar, and % bad to bo dealt with without prejudice to either party. As matters thes elood, Mr. Laied had resigned Lis seat, and ae he, (Hon.

Att’y Genera!)read the law, it waa not neces- savy for lis Honor the Lieutenant Governor to accept that resignation, in order to render it valid. Mr. Liird did that by his own act, He (Hon. Ait’y Geserai) thought that a more tvchnicality shon!d not affect the real meritsof tho case. If Mr. Laird felt that he wee legally entitled to his seat, why did he m? Sf he considered himself sais, he d not likcly he ve done so, Mr. Sinc}air’s different, Unquestionably, thai bad a clear majority in his favor ;

ad returied them bot) ia mey Would have to stand cr

Hon, B. Davizs had listened atteatively “o what had fallen from the Hon Attorne > jeneral, and must sey, he had given a fair “jatement of the main features of tha, case. + %be election had been conducted fairly, and compulsion on the part of the then Gov- Ament had been used, but tho electors Were left at full liberty to exorcive the fran- hise as t choose, and did so in the moat _ ee and t manuer possib!e. In 60 ar, therefore, as the spirit of the law wont, it nad heen fuily and {roely curried out, which bad not always been so with some former Gov. The Election Lawes were framed so

the hts and ivi of the Honse rt sciieiat alee al! matters of : 5 Committee did:

i}

Ne Sencar esa epee nets ois

not allow the Sheriff to strike off from the Poll Booka any votes save those mentioned by the Hon, Attorney General. He (Mr. D.) was Sorprised on Declaration Day when be heard the eheriff state that he had struck owt those votes which had been polled in divisions of the District where the Returning Cficers bad not been sworn, and was oquaily astonished that tho Hon. Att’y General Gen- eral should then have given an opision favor-

able to such a procedure. ; Hon, Attorney General rose to a point of order, and begged to inform the Hon Gen- tlemen that he (Hop. Att'y General) gave no opinion at that time, but had merely ad- vised the Sheriil not to prejadge the case, and gave the same advice to Hon, Mr, Davies also. lion. B. Davies was going to observe that the opinion he (Mr. D,) then took of that qucstien coincided almost wholly with thet civen by the Hon. Att'y. General, and ete Sherif! should have coups

up ali the votes p > ae those candidates having the majority. The Law required that the Returning Officers should be sworn, and when the Sheriff took upon himself to strike cif from the Poll Books the names of those electors which were poiled in polling divisions of the district, where the Returning Officers had pot been sworn, he ex- ercised @ jurisdiction which was the peculiar prerogative of the House of Assembly. No doubt the Sheriff did so from a good motive, bat being in all probability guided more by the opinion of gentlemen learned in the Law than the spirit of the Election Laws, he wes led to commit an error, and assumed 4 jurie- diction which the Law did not give him, If the Sheriff had no authority to act as he did, he (Mr. D) would like to know by what suthority the Government acsumed jurisdic- tion in the matter? As that was a very im- portant point to be corsidered when dealing with the question, he hoped that hon. Com- mittee would not cverlook it, or allow any government to interfere in the slighest degree with the ecnstitutional privileges and rights of the House of Assembly, He thought that he ought not to have been faulted for the cn-

uiries he had mace yesterday, believing a3 he did, that he only did hie duty, ror did he believe that hon. Committee would transfer any privilege of the House to the Government. ln the Reign of Charles the firsi, the liberties af the peapie wera infringed upon and some of the greatest statesmen Engiand cycr saw arose to prevent its repitition ; but dark aad troubled as those days were, even that great tyrant never attempted to prevent any mean from taking his seat in Parliament who had been reterned by the pecple, and if they allowed such interference on the part of the Government, it was hard to say where it might end. He (Mr. D.) would particularly vish to impress upon the attention of that hon. Committee, that it should not fai! to enquire whether the Government had, or bad net, encroached upen the rights of the House of Assembly, when it withhe!d the

ho believ

FReturn of the Sheriff for the First Electoral District of Quceen’s County Hitherto it hed always boen held that the House of Assembly

was the only tribuna! that had any jurisdic- tion in such matters, and that power the Re- 1 always gnard-

highiy anc

* 3 ica

presentatives cf the people had

ed with jealous care. He hoped it would be so still. Ho regretted the Hon. Mr. Havi- land, who bad been removed to the Legisla- tive Council, was not present, for no man eyer held a ceat in the ‘lovee of Acsembly who guarded those rights with more care than he did, or whoss opinion cn constitu. tional questions was more highiy and justly respecisd, and he (Mr. D ) feit eatihed if hat hon. gentleman wae then a member of that House, he would agree with him (Mr. D.) on the main points to wi he (Mr. D.) had referred; and was giad to hear the learned Attorney Geacral sayz, ho thought the Sheriff had. no authcrity to . * . . . .

justify him in etriking out the votes of electors cver which the Elicticn Law gave bim no jurisdiction.

Hon. Attorney Grysrat. ~-The Hon- member for Belfast, in his admiration of the preceden's he bas found in the Reign of Charles the First, would, perhaps, in hia z2al for the caus3a-he advocates, follow an- other eximple afforded by the eventa of that period, and approve of taking off the head of the Lieutenant Governor. But he will find that that officer, so far from seeking to encroach in the slightest degree upon the privileges of the House, has expressly de~ clared hia opiaion that the mattcr is oma ex~- clusively subject te the desision of this tri- bunal, Had the Gorernment accepted the resignation of Mr. Laird, it might have then been said that we sought to interfere with the rights of the people's branch of the Leg- is!ature, and a new election, with al! itsenevi- table tarmoil and expense must have been the consequence. The charge against the Gov- ernment of haviog kept back the writ of eicction, is easly disposed of. There was mo return to that writ on which the Govern- ment could ect in sending down tho names of two of the candidates as having been duly elected. Suppose that tho Sheriff hed held a scrutiny in this case, and that the result of that scratiny had stown that each party hud an equal number of yo:es, how, in euch a case, could the Sheriff decide the right to a seat? Suppose the Government, ‘n the casa as it now etands, had taken epon themselves to advise the return cf Mesare Sinc'air and Cameron, there would then have been ample cause of complaint of infringement of the privileges of this House, and the hon. mem-

is only in accordance with coramon senee that the parties haying ® majority of votes shoald take their seate and record their votes in this House. No precedent to the contrary can be found, As to the opinion attributed to the Lieutenant Governor, I do not believo that it is bis, and I consider it unfair on the pert of hia advisers to put words into his mouth, conveying opinions of which his ad- yisers shon}d assume the full responsibility.

Mr. Munro —This is a subject the impor- tant pature of which requires that it shoul be approached with calmness. T shall deal with it in a few off hand remarks, and shzll not trouble the committee with any studied specc>, I must say, Mr. Chairman, that [ cannot perceive anything improper in the action of the Govoviment in this matter. There at Geen no return to this writ of elegfon. It appears that the Sheriff first mmed up all the votes given in the Firet electoral District of Queen’s County, the re- sult of which was that @ majority appenred in favor of Messrs. Sinclair aud Cameron, But, ia consequence of the oaths, in three polling divisions of the district, not having been entered according to Law, he had dcubia as to the legality of the votes given in these districts, and excluding thetn from his figures found Messrs. Cameron and Laird had a ma- jority. I believe that the Sheriff acted for the best; but if the law requires that the re- turning officers should be sworn, and their names subscribed to their affidavits in the Poll Books for the divisione in which they were to act, and that law has not been com- plied with, the Sheriff must make a special retern. It would be an absurdity to say that he should have returned threo members where the writ required bim to return but two. Wad he returned positively as elected Messrs. Sinclair and Cameron, Mr. Laird would bare felt himse!faggrieved, and would, I presume, have either demanded a ecrutiny or appealed to the House, The course pur- saed by the Government indicates, in my opinion, as well a due regard to the public interests as a proper respect for the rights and privileges of this House. I do not think it necessary to refer to some of the remarks made yesterday, further than to express my opinion that subsequent allusions to thom are in bad taste, and can be ore of no benefit. Agreeing with the Jegal opiniove which were furnished to the Vieutenant Gov- ernor, | approve o! the action in accordance therewith adopted by Government, which, I trust, will be sustained. H.

Hon. Leaner or tae Governugxt had stated, when the [louse went into Committee, that they ehould come to a resolution if they thought an investigation should be ordered. He would therefore move the following :—

Resolved, that the special matters contain- ed in the return of the writ of Election forthe First Electoral District of Queen's County, are such as to require an investigation under the laws relating to eluctions.

In moving the Resolution he did not think it necessary to enter into the matter at present ; bat when it is taken up, it must be discussed calmly and deliberately. A!!! the members of the Committee bad been sworn to investigate the sutject faithfally and honestly ; and in order to do eo, they ehould be froe from all party bias, Strong charges had been made agzinst the Government. The hoa. member for Belfast (hon. B. Davies) had aecueed them of interfering with ‘he rights and privileges of the Howse, because ceriain geatiomen alleged to have been re- turned by the Sheriff to represent the Firet Klectoral Districts of Qaeen’s County, had been detained from taking their seat?; He could assure the hon, membars of tho Op- position that the Government were determin-

ed to give the Election Raturns for that Dis-

trict an impartial investigation, when brought before the Hose. Tne kon member for Pe'fast bimself, believed that

there had been a fair election in the District. The Sheriff had no right to strike the namo of any voter cf the Poll Books, except where @ person had voted twice, and that offiser is beund to deciare which candidate is returned to the House of Assembly, In the present instance the Sheriff, no doubt, did what he conceived to be his duty, but he made a great misiake, If another election were ordered in ecvusequence of the offivers not doing their duty, the whole expense would have to be borne by them ; and the licrse conld order a new election if they thought proper, The Law positively de- clares that. the person who has the greater number ef votes shail be returned by the Sheriff. The Crown Law Officers wore of opinion that Mr, David Laird had not been returned by the Sheriff, and the Government had acted accordingly. The Government h-d been charged with interfering with the rights of that hon House; but he woald not shirk his responsibility ; he was prepared to justi- fy their conduct, Any person, who had no claim whatever to a seat in that House, might send in his resiznation to the Lieutenant Governor, Ia each cases what course would His Honor pursue? He would cousult dis Crown Law Officers. And in the present ease he has acted according to their advice. The Governor wou!d not order a new e'ection, because he wou!d not interfere with the rights and privileges of the House of As- sembly. In all cases where the votes are properly given, the law is clear; the Sheriff Shall ecunt up the votes, and return the person who has the larger nember; he has ro right to disfranchise four polline-dénieune.

The Housa-e2nid.ave no be sitancy in o1der-

ber would occupy @ more Constita tiQni—iemmmmrivestigaiion of this matter.

position than Le does at nrecagt. incsaoune- sug sue action of. the Crown. I assert, Sir, that the Sheriff's retarn is not according to Law. He bas returned no individuals as having been elected, but merely that if cer- tsin votes were illegal, Mesers Sinclair and Laird would have a majority, but that, if those votes were valid, thai then the ma- jority of suff. ages would be in favor of Mesers. Cameron sad Sinclair; and he therefore submitted the whole of the facts. Was that & return of any parties a3 eleeted ander the writ? The opinion which [ heve given, in conjunction with the Solicitor General, msy have been wrong, but there ig nothing in that opinion, or in the circumstances under which it was given, to subject me to the im- putation of improper smotives. I never saw nor knew the natere of the return until it was submitted to mo in my official capacity ag Iw officer of the Crown; and, if the Committee considers for a moment that the action of the Lieutenant Gcvernor is based upon the principle that the yuestion is cne in which the Executive hae no right to in- terfere, and that therefore it ehould be referred to the decision of this House, what nonsense is this clamor about Goverrment trampling on the privileges of the Commons? My duty was simply to fook at the return to the writ, and give my opivion on it, I did so, and [ did nothing more, I cou!d do no- thing less; and 1 had no consultation with the Sheriff on the eubject.

Hon. D. Davies —Mr, Chairman, I differ frota the Lon. member (fon. B. Davies) when he ceneures the Government for not having submitted the names of two of the eandidates as having been elected. There is ro absolute return to this writ, and had the Government ventured to have interfered with the return a3 made by the Shoriff, they would have afforded ground for the charge now made against them of trampling on the rights of this House.

Mr. MeNaius.—I agree with the hon. member for Belfast (Hon. B, Davies) and it

». ae # ®

Resolation agreed to.

Mr. Speaker then tock the Cha‘r and the Chairman reported the resolution agreed to,

Oa motion of the Hon, Leader of the Gov- ernment, the House resolved itself into a Committee of the whole to tske into consider- ation the question of privileges ard elections.

Hon. Mr. Perry in the Chair.

According to Law all the bon, members present, composing the Committee, were sworn to give an impartial decision on the Election Returns of the First District of Queen’s County,

The Speaker then took the Chair, the Chairman reported progress, and obtained leave to sit again.

House adjourned till ten o'clock to-morrow.

Fruvay, Feb. 17. FORENOON SESSION.

Hon. Mr, Mc¥acnen presented a petition from W. W. Sullivan, Eeq., against the re‘urn of Hoa, F, Kelly and Henry Beer, Esq., for the Third Electoral District of Queen's County. Petition received and read. To be made the Order of the day on Monday next.

On motion, absent Members were sent for.

The House then resolved itself into a Com- mittee of the whole to take into considera- tion the Election Returns for the First Dis- trict of Queen’s County.

lon Mr. Perry in the Chair.

The Hoi, Mr. Duncan not having been previously sworn on the question before the Committee, now took the cath, Wm. Mc- Lean, Assistant Clerk was sworn aa Clerk of the Committee.

Hon, L#apur or tite Governwsnt said that tha matter befors the Committee was something new, as no precisely similar sub. ject had evar been before any Parliament of this Island. He did not consider that it was necessary to cull in any witnesses to make the matter clearer, for the Returns made by the Steriff were all that was required for

that purpose. It appears that the Law re- qaiced tess the eases oath thall be taken and subscribed by the heturning Officer ; but in this case, the oath wag taken only, and not subscribed. It is not necessary [to subsoone ths Returning Officers to testify in reference to those Returns, for those books and documents show clearly how the matter stands, Itremained for the Committee to Cotermine whether they would eend for witnesses or not.

Hon, Mr. Wightman enid that from the nature of the petition of W. v. Sellivan, which had been read, it appeared to him (Hon. Mr. W.) thes there wa? a complaint made against the return of two mem hers who Row bold their seatsintbe Uonss. Whether it was proper for those two members to sit as judgea on the cese before the Committee was a question which should be settled before proceeding further.

Hon. Leaprr cr THE * tat the point spoken of by the hon. Lesder of the Opposition, was one which cou!d only be settled by the House with tho Spe aker in the Chair. The Chairman of that Committee bad not power tu decids the question,

Hon. Mr. Ketty believed that be was one of the members alluded to by the hon, member for Murray Harbor, (Hon. Me. Wightman). If he (Hon. Mr. KR) had known that his qualification to sit in that Committee would be questioned, ho would have requested to be excused ; and. if the Committee would shen excuse him, be would fee! relieved. ;

Hon, Leaprt oF tue Government said that no member of that Committee could legaily absent himself, They were like a jary sworn to do their duty, snd they wero bound to discharge it, The hon. wember for Murray Harbor (Hon. \.r. Wightman) was ontirely out of order in introducing the matter to the Committee. If the hon, member had intended to raise this question, it should have beon done while the Speaker was in the Chair.

Mr. Leer said thatas faras he was per- eonally concerned, he would rather not sit 02 tie Committee, He would mach rather be excused, and withdraw,

Hon ATTorneY Grneva said that those two hon. members had been retarned by the Sherif, and their votes did not nesessar ly affect the decision the Committee would come to in the case under consideration. They would nct be the jadges cr their own cage, nor would the decision of the Committee affect any judgment or conclusion cn thei: case. In the British House of Con mons, where & member has a pecuniary interest in such casee, he is not allowed to vote on them; but those two hon. members had no pecuniary interest whatever in the ease before the Coz:- mittee. The Committee had two election cases to decide ; but adozen petitions might yet be presented, aud if the principle of the hou, member tor Murray Hurbor wore car- ried out, the whole House would be dis- qualified. He understood the feelings of those two hon, mewbera, and he knew they would be glad to withdraw from the Com- mittee, if they could legally do so, but he ce.’ see no authority whatever, for it,

lion. Mr. Wicuraan said that there was a very distinct rule to guide the Committce on the matter. Mey, on Parliament, page 24, says ** In the Commons, it is a distinct rule that no member who bas a direct pecuni- ary interest ia @ qucstion shal! be allowed to voto upon it, but in order to operate as a dia- qualification, this interest must be immediate and personal, and not merely of a general or remote description.’ He (Hon. Mr, Wight- man) would, tf paced in the same position as the two kon, members for the Third electoral district of Queen’s County, withdraw from the Committee ; but be had no personal ob- jection to thos hon. members, for he believed they would act honorably on the question before the Committee, According to the hest authority, thcir sitting on the Com- miitce was contrary to law.

Hon. Mr. Hown:» thoaght it quite right fog the hon. Leader of the Opposition to take

jection to the acts of the Government ; but he (Hon, Mr. H.) could not see any analogy in the cases presented by the hon. member. May clearly says that, in order to dicquatify a member from sitting on sucd cases, there must be a direct pecuniary in- terest. There would be no pecuniary interest to the bon, members for the Third District of Quetn’s County in the election of either Mr. Laird or Mr, Cameron. He contended that those two hon. members for the fbhird District had a perfect right to sit on the Committec, and to vote ou the question be- fore it, Mr. Sallivan might be advised, and withdraw his petition betore Monday morn- ing. If Meeers. Kelly and Beer were pe- cuniatily interested in the case before the Committee, they bad a pecuniary interast in the election cf a Speaker, and a!) the other officers of the Honse. But they had no pe- cuniary interest ia the election of thcsa officers, nor had they in the caso ender con- sideration. No member of the Committee had a right to withdraw after being sworn, and the only time during which objection could be taken to any hon, member's sitting on the Committee, was when the Speaker

Government eaid

On motion of Hon. Mr. Pope the Commii- the ou Privileges and Elections to consider ihe Return of the Writ of Election for the First Electoral District of Queen's County was es i acai

Toa. Mr. Perr airman.

ion Coueiae Genskal.—As has been stated already, Mr, Chairman the case lies in a narrew compass, The Committee has to deal only with the matters disclosed by the Retara of the Writ. . By that return it @p- pears that in the second and thid polling die visions, the Returning Officers omitted to take the oaths. In the third and fourth the oaths had not been subscribed. One of the Poll Books shows that the oath to be taken by the presiding officer has been taken by that gentleman, but as the signature “ Geo. McKay, J. P.,” appears in the Jurat it is but fair to suppose that tie oath was administered, al. though the name of the deponent was not subscribed to it. The oath of the Poll Clerk, George McKinnon, is in a similar con- dition. In the third division, the oath re- quired to be taken by the poll clerk (teorge McKinnon) though signed by two electors, freeholders, as having been sworn before them, is net subscribed by the presid- ing offiesr, John Simpson. The primary duty of the Committee, ig to be satisfied that the onths to which I have referred have ac- tually been taken; and if doubts of that fact exist in the minds of hon, members, the proper course would be to summion the parties to depone to the facts at the bar of the House. The presumption in my mind is that they were duly taken, avd it would be unjust to assume the existence of frand. It is, how- ever, the duty of members te exercise their own judgments on the subject.

Hon. B. Davres.—I think, Mr, Chairman, that the Aon, Att’y General is somewhat pre- mature in the course he would have the House to parsux, There are two questions connected with this subject to be decided. The first, and by far the most important, is the right of the Government to witzhold two members from seats in this House. No party or Government has the right to encroach on the privileges of this House,and May on Par- liament is a high euthority to shew that the House of Commons is the sole judge of its own privileges, and any interference with their jurisdiction in matters of their own rights is beyond the constitutional functions of any Attorney General, Governor, aye, or of the Sovereign. Suppose the case of three or four writs of election, referred for his opinion tothe Hon, Att’y General, and he should give an opinion similar to that before the Com- mittee, in what state would the representation of the people be placed in the House? [ assert that the Sheriff, having proclaimed Messrs. Sinclair and Laird duly elected, the Government overstepped its duty in not sending down their names as members elect, ard their omission to do so was a gross viola- tion of the privileges of this House, and of the rights of the people, of which rights we are the guardians and sole judges, I cao refer the Hon, Att’y. General to the reigns of the istand 2nd Charles’, during which he well knows that the liberties of the people and the privileges of parliament were vindicated ayainst the enc.oachnients of the Crown. I will also request his attention to a case nearer home, in which the House of Assembly as- serted its exclusive right to decide upon its own privileges. I reter to the case of the Hon, Mr, Warburtoo, on his acceptance of a seat in the Executive Council in the year 1248, Previously to that time members of Assembly could not hold seats in the Execu- tive Council, even without office. The House dee’ared Mr. Wacburion’s seat vacant, and a writ for a new election, to supply the vacancy had to be issued. The thea Lieutenant Gov- ernor, advised by the Law Officera of the Crown, decided that Mr. Warburton’s seat was not vacated by his acceptance cf a seat at the Executive Council Board; and that, there- fore, no writ of election could be legally is- sued. The House of Assembly appomted a Committee to search for precedents as to the course proper to be pursued by the House under the circumstances, and the Report of that Committee to be found in the Journals of the year 1848, page 33, is as follows :

“The Committee appointed to search for Precedents on the subject of the Order of the House made on the Sth February, inst., de- claring the seat of the Hon. James Warburton, a Member cf the House for the First District of Prince County. to be vacant; and of His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor's Letter relative thereto, and laid before the House on the I4th February, inst., have to report as follows:

Your Committee deem it scarcely neces- sary to quote any authority in support of a Frinciple so anciently, and go firraly estabhish- ed by Parliamentary usage, as that which acknowledges the House of Commons to be the only proper tribunal to judge and decide upon questions affecting its own Members, touching the right to their seats,

‘*Tuat the two several Acts of the General Assembly of this Island, upon which the ques- tion under consideration of your honorable Hcuse depends, are the fcllowing, viz: The Act of the 6th W, 4th, cap. 24, intiiuled ‘An Act to consolidate and amend the Election

; ; : 24th section of which enacts as was in the Coair. May, on Parliamenta, pans eligi sectio 7

a distinct rule cn the matier. [t #this —And if snythine-shalie 2. gacetion touchine the-cvaiu or election of any mem-~- be. be is to withdraw during the time the mstter is in debaie.”’ He coutended thas nothing had beon advanced during the debats to show that Messrs. Kelly aod Beer were diequalified from sitting on the Committee, In re‘erence to the Third Electoral Distvict of Queen's County, W. W. Sullivan, Eeq-., had presented a petition against the return of Mee:rs, Kelly ani Beer; bat there was ro petition bzfore the Committes relating to the matter under consideration, there was no analogy between the two cases ; a petition might be vent in against the return of any hon. member of the Housa, bat that would net necessarily disqualify him from sitting on that Committee. If it would digaalify one, every member of the House might be disqualified in like maacer, When Mr. Sullivan’s petition comes up, Messrs. Keily and Beer cannot sit on the Committee ac- cording to the rules of Parliament. But there was, he contended, nothing in the matter under investigation which concerned the election of those two hon. inembera, Mesers, Laird, Sinclair and Cameron, were all opp: sed to the Government ; it made bat little difference, therefore, to the majority which of those gentlemen were elected. [he question wae, bad there been fair play in the election and rotarss, or not? ‘Lhe Hon. Leader of the Opposition might just as well say that be (Hon. Mr, Li.) had a pecuniary interest in the return of Hon. Mr, Kelly, as Commiasioner of Public Lands, as to state that the latter had a pecuniary interest in the return cf any of the candidates for the First Distriet of Queen's County.

Mr. Bagr was certainly very much obliged to the Hon. Leader of the Opposition for the remarks he had made in reference to him (Mr. B.). He could aseure that hon. momber that ho feit quite as sensitive on the matter as any hon. member of ths Committee; bat as he had been sworn to act on the Committee, he eould not see that he had — to retire, although he wou!d mach rather do so.

The Speaker then took the Chair, the Chairman reported progress, and ohained leave to sit again.

House adjourned. 5 ai;

lows: “~

“6+ That in case of a vacancy h@ppeauig ot the Assembly, by the death of any Member thereof, or by his being called to His Majesty's Council, or by resigning his seat on his re- moval trom the Isiand, or otherwise, on infor- ma‘ion thereof being giyen to the Speaker, by any Member rising in his place &e,’”’

** Also, the Act of the 7th W. 4th, cap. 13, intituled ‘Au Act for vacating the seats of Members of the Assembly, in certain cases therein me:tioned, and to repeal a certaia Act heretofore passed for that purpo e,” by the First section of which it is enacted:

“That any Member of the House of As- sembly who shall aecept any office of emolu+ ment under the Crown, shall be ineapable of taking or holding his seat in the General Assembly of this island while in such office, unless re elected after-his acceptance there- of"?

And by the Third seetion, as follows:

_*¢That when it shall be declared by the Hfouse of Assembly, that any Member thereof hath aceepted.an office of cmolument under the Crown, either during the Session or recess of the Legislatare, that then and in every such case, it shall be lawful for the Administrator of the Government for the time being, and he is hereby required, within seven days next after information thoreof shalf be by him re- ceived im writing, under the hand of the of the Speaker of the House of Assembly, to issue a Writ for the election of a Member or Members to fill the plate or places which may be so vacated as aforesaid,’ ”

“ Your Committee consider, that wherever @ doubt is raised a3 to the validity of the seat of any Member of your Honorable House, the

uestion involved must be determined by the

ouse, whether sach doubt arises from the meaning of any part of the Law of Parliament, the Common Law of the realm, cr from the construction of any Act of the Assembly.

** Your Committee have examined into the usage and practice of the British House of Commons, where the seats of the members of

that body have beecme affected by the Im- perial Statute of the 6th Anne, cap. 7, to which the above recited Act of Assembly of tne 7th W. 4th, cap. i3, bears the strongest Bnalogy, and thy find that in all cases whera Sny question has arisen apon the meaning or construetion of the arid seen Statute of the 6th Anne, as affecting the seat of auy

tion has been decided according to the coa- straction of the Statute as ascertained and dee te:mined by the House of Commons; and so exclusive is their jurisdiction or authority on thia point, that its decision is allowed to pre- vail 1n opposition to the declared opinions of the highest Law officers in the Kingdom. In coufirmation of which, your Committee would refer to the following cases: