Schedule 1.

RULE 64.

is questioned, shall be substituted for an order of the House of Commons, or of one of Her Majesty's Superior Courts; hut an appeal from such county court may be had in like manner as in other cases in such county court;

(b.) The regulations for the inspection of documents and the fees for the supply of copies of documents of which copies are directed to be supplied, shall be prescribed by the council of the borough with the consent of one of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State; and, subject as aforesaid, the town clerk, in respect of the custody and destruction of the ballot papers and other documents coming into his possession in pursuance of this Act, shall be subject to the directions of the council of the borough:

(c.) Nothing in this schedule with respect to the day of the poll shall apply to a municipal election.

Municipal election includes an election of county councillors. Register of voters at the latter election means the division register, i.e., that part of the roll of county electors which relates to the electoral division.

The other modifications above-mentioned have been noticed in the notes to the several rules.

SECOND SCHEDULE.

Note.-The forms contained in this schedule, or forms as nearly resembling the same as circumstances will admit, shall be used in all cases to which they refer and are applicable, and when so used shall be sufficient in law.

Note.--The number on the ballot paper is to correspond with that in the

counterfoil.

Directions as to Printing Ballot Paper.

Nothing is to be printed on the ballot paper except in accordance with this schedule.

The surname of each candidate, and if there are two or more candidates of the same surname, also the other names of such candidates, shall be printed in large characters, as shown in the form, and the names, addresses, and descriptions, and the number on the back of the paper, shall be printed in small characters.

Form of Directions for the Guidance of the Voter in voting, which shall be printed in conspicuous Characters, and placarded outside every Polling Station, and in every Compartment of every Polling Station.

The voter will go into one of the compartments, and, with the pencil provided in the compartment, place a cross on the right-hand side, opposite the name of each candidate for whom he votes, thus X

The voter will then fold up the ballot paper so as to show the official mark on the back, and leaving the compartment will, without showing the front of the paper to any person, show the official mark on the back to the presiding officer, and then, in the presence of the presiding officer, put the paper into the ballot box, and forthwith quit the polling station.

If the voter inadvertently spoils a ballot paper, he can return it to the officer, who will, if satisfied of such inadvertence, give him another paper. If the voter votes for more than candidate or places any mark on the paper by which he may be afterwards identified, his ballot paper will be void, and will not be counted.

If the voter takes a ballot paper out of the polling station, or deposits in the ballot box any other paper than the one given him by the officer, he will be guilty of a misdemeanor, and be subject to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months, with or without hard labour.

Note. These directions shall be illustrated by examples of the ballot paper.

Form of Statutory Declaration of Secrecy.

I solemnly promise and declare, That I will not at this election for

do anything forbidden by section four of the Ballot Act, 1872, which has been read to me.

Note. The section must be read to the declarant by the person taking the declaration.

Form of Declaration of Inability to Read.

on the register of voters for the do hereby declare that I am unable to read. A.B.,

I, A.B., of county [or borough] of

being numbered

day of

his mark.

polling station

do hereby certify, that the above

declaration, having been first read to the above-named A.B., was signed by

him in my presence with his mark.

Schedule 2.

FORMS.

day of

Signed, C.D.,

Presiding officer for

polling station

for the county [or borough of

The accounts

taxed.

PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS (RETURNING
OFFICERS) ACT, 1875.

(38 & 39 VICT. CAP. 84.)

An Act to regulate the Expenses and to control the Charges of
Returning Officers at Parliamentary Elections.

[13th August, 1875.]

WHEREAS it is expedient to amend the law relating to the expenses and charges of returning officers at parliamentary elections:

Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

This Act is set out so far as it is incorporated by the Local Government Act, 1888, s. 75 (18) (19), ante, p. 147. It is amended by the 48 & 49 Vict. c. 62, in a small particular mentioned in a note to Sched. 1, Part I., of this Act, post, and by the 49 & 50 Vict. c. 57, which is set out post.

*

4. Within twenty-one days after the day on which the return is of a returning made of the persons elected at the election, the returning officer officer may be shall transmit to every candidate or other person from whom he claims payment either out of any deposit or otherwise of any charges in respect of the election, or to the agent for election expenses of any such candidate, a detailed account showing the amounts of all the charges claimed by the returning officer in respect of the election, and the share thereof which he claims from the person to whom the account is transmitted. He shall annex to the account a notice of the place where the vouchers relating to the account may be seen, and he shall at all reasonable times and without charge allow the person from whom payment is claimed, or any agent of such person, to inspect and take copies of the

vouchers.

The returning officer shall not be entitled to any charges which are not duly included in his account.

If the person from whom payment is claimed objects to any part of the claim, he may, at any time within fourteen days from the time when the account is transmitted to him, apply to the court as defined in this section for a taxation of the account, and the court shall have jurisdiction to tax the account in such manner and at such time and place as the court thinks fit, and finally to determine the amount payable to the returning officer and to give and enforce

judgment for the same as if such judgment were a judgment in an action in such court, and with or without costs at the discretion of the court.

The court for the purposes of this Act shall be in the city of London the Lord Mayor's Court, and elsewhere in England the county court, and in Ireland the Civil Bill Court, having jurisdiction at the place of nomination for the election to which the proceedings relate.

The court may depute any of its powers or duties under this Act to the registrar or other principal officer of the court.

Nothing in this section shall apply to the charge of the returning officer for publication of accounts of election expenses.

The expenses of the returning officer are payable by the county council out of the county fund as general expenses, and not by the candidate, and claims must be made accordingly. See s. 75 (17) (19) of the Local Government Act, 1888, ante, p. 147, 148.

The period within which application for taxations may be made in the case of a county council election is one calendar month instead of fourteen days as provided by the above section. See s. 75 (19) of the Local Government Act, 1888.

It was held that where the accounts of a returning officer had been taxed by the registrar of a county court, under the above section, the county court judge had no discretion to review the registrar's taxation. R. v. Lambeth (County Court, Judge of), 17 Q. B. D. 96. But see now 49 & 50 Vict. c. 57, post. An application made within the specified time to the registrar of the county court when the judge is not sitting is properly made within the above section. R. v. Bloomsbury (County Court, Judge of), 17 Q. B. D. 788; 55 L. J. Q. B. 443 ; 56 L. T. (N.S.) 321; 51 J. P. 212.

A returning officer at a parliamentary election is not entitled to remuneration for personal services rendered by him in the conduct of the election, under the heading of professional or other assistance, which he has not, as a matter of fact, employed. Ex parte Walker, re Shoreditch (Hoxton Division) Parliamentary Election (1886), 56 L. T. (N.S.) 529.

At a parliamentary election the high sheriff was the returning officer, the duties being performed on his behalf by a firm of solicitors, one of whom was under-sheriff. The returning officer's charges included a charge for professional assistance rendered to him by the under-sheriff's firm, which was disallowed on taxation, on the ground that no detailed account was sent in to the returning officer within fourteen days of the return, as required by s. 5 of the Returning Officers Act, 1875. Held, that the charge was wrongly disallowed on the above ground, the section not being applicable as between the returning officer and the candidates to charges made for work done for the returning officer by his own agents. The right of a returning officer under s. 2 of the same Act to be paid his reasonable charges and expenses is not limited to such charges only as have been vouched under ss. 4 and 5 of the Act, nor is a charge made by him to be disallowed merely because in the account sent in by him to candidates it appears under a wrong heading. A returning officer is not limited to charging for such services and expenses as come verbatim et literatim within the descriptions of the schedule to the Act, if they are services and expenses of one of the kinds mentioned in the schedule. A charge for storing ballot boxes from one election to another, in order to

Sect. 4.

Sect. 4.

NOTE.

Claims against a officer.

Use of ballot boxes, etc.

provided for municipal elections.

Notices to be given by returning

officers.

avoid the expense of procuring fresh ones, was therefore allowed, although no such charge is expressly provided for in the schedule to the Act. In re Election for South-Eastern Division of Essex, 19 Q. B. D. 252; 56 L. J. Q. B. 365; 57 L. T. (N.s.) 104; 36 W. R. 44.

5. Every person having any claim against a returning officer for work, labour, materials, services, or expenses in respect of any contract made with him by or on behalf of the returning officer for the purposes of an election, except for publication of accounts of election expenses, shall, within fourteen days after the day on which the return is made of the person or persons elected at the election, transmit to the returning officer the detailed particulars of such claim in writing, and the returning officer shall not be liable in respect of anything which is not duly stated in such particulars.

Where application is made for taxation of the accounts of a returning officer, he may apply to the court as defined in this Act to examine any claim transmitted to him by any person in pursuance of this section, and the court after notice given to such person, and after hearing him, and any evidence tendered by him, may allow or disallow, or reduce the claim objected to, with or without costs, and the determination of the court shall be final for all purposes, and as against all persons.

6. In any case to which the fourteenth section of the Ballot Act, 1872, is applicable, it shall be the duty of the returning officer, so far as is practicable, to make use of ballot boxes, fittings, and compartments provided for municipal or school board elections, and the court, upon taxation of his accounts, shall have regard to the provisions of this section.

7. There shall be added to every notice of election to be published under the provisions of the Ballot Act, 1872, the notification contained in the second schedule to this Act with respect to claims against returning officers.