When to be presented, if arising of the expiration or session or on one of the last 14 days of a session. When to be presented, if Parliament be in the return and sit 14 days afterwards. the said House in such last mentioned case shall not have entered upon and gone through with such head or division of the said daily routine on such last day, that then, and in every such case, such Petition shall be so presented upon the first day thereafter upon which the said House shall have entered upon and gone through with such head or division of the said daily routine as aforesaid. III. And be it enacted, That in the case of every such Election Petition arising out of any Election held otherwise than in consequence of the expiration or dissolution of any Parliament, if the day on which the Return upon such Election shall be brought into the office of the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery shall be a day on which Parliament shall not be in Session, or shall be one of the last fourteen days of any Session, then, and in every such case, such Petition shall be so presented within the first fourteen days of the Session of Parliament which shall commence and be held next after the day on which such Return shall have been so brought into the said office of the said Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, provided the said House shall on the last of such last mentioned fourteen days have entered upon and gone through with that head or division of the daily routine of the business thereof which consists in the presenting and bringing up of Petitions; and if the said House, in such last mentioned case shall not have entered upon and gone through with such head or division of the said daily routine on such last day, then, and in every such case, such Petition shall be so presented to the House upon the first day thereafter upon which the said House shall have entered upon and gone through with such head or division of the said daily routine as aforesaid. IV. And be it enacted, That in the case of every Election Petition arising out of an Election held otherwise than in consequence of the expiration or dissolution of any session at the time of Parliament, if the day on which the Return upon such Election shall be brought into the office of the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery shall be a day on which Parliament shall be in Session, but not one of the last fourteen days of any such Session, then, and in every such case, such Petition shall be so presented within the first fourteen days next after such return shall have been so brought into the said office of the said Clerk of the Crown in Chancery as aforesaid, provided the said House shall on the last of such fourteen days have entered upon and gone through with the said head or division of the daily routine of the business thereof which consists in the presenting and bringing up of Petitions; and if the said House, in such last mentioned case, shall not have entered upon and gone through with such head or division of the said daily routine on such last day, then, and in every such case, such Petition shall be so presented upon the first day thereafter upon which the said House shall have entered upon and gone through with such head or division of the said daily routine as aforesaid. Petition may be up at any period of the day, as a matter of privilege. V. And be it enacted, That nothing herein contained shall preclude the presenting presented and brought and bringing up of any such Election Petition, as a matter in which the privileges of the House are concerned, during any part of any day on which such Election Petition might be presented and brought up, according to the provisions of the next preceding three sections of this Act, by reason merely of the routine period for presenting and bringing up such Petition for such day having passed, provided the same shall be so presented and brought up at a time and in the manner agreeable in other respects to the orders and practice of the said House. What shall not be a Session within the meaning of this Act. Longer periods petitions complaining of bribing or corruption. VI. And be it enacted, That no Session of Parliament which shall not have lasted for fifteen days at the least, including the day of its meeting and the day of its prorogation, shall be deemed a Session thereof within the meaning of the second, third and fourth sections of this Act or any of them. VII. And be it enacted, That if any such Election Petition shall contain any allegation allowed for presenting of bribery or corruption, with a specific allegation of any payment of money or other reward having been made by any Member, or on his account, or with his privity, since the time of the return of the Writ under which such Election shall have been held, in pursuance or in furtherance of such bribery or corruption, then, and in every such case, twenty-eight days shall be allowed instead of fourteen days for the presenting of such Petition, which twenty-eight days shall in all such cases be reckoned from the day of such paymen payment exclusive of such day, and in all the cases in which by the next five preceding sections of this Act, a further time is allowed beyond the fourteen days therein and thereby limited for presenting and bringing up Election Petitions not containing any such charge of bribery or corruption as aforesaid, a like further time shall be allowed beyond the said twenty-eight days herein and hereby limited for presenting and bringing up Election Petitions containing any such charge of bribery or corruption as aforesaid; and all the provisions hereinbefore contained for such purpose in the second, third, fourth and fifth sections of this Act, shall apply as if the same had been here repeated mutatis mutandis, in respect of Election Petitions containing any such charge of bribery or corruption as aforesaid, and the said twenty-eight days hereby allowed for the presenting and bringing up of the same as aforesaid. VIII. And be it enacted, That no Petition, although otherwise within the description of an Election Petition contained in the first section of this Act, shall be deemed to be an Election Petition within the meaning of the same, unless it shall have been presented to the said Commons House of Legislative Assembly within the time for that purpose limited, with respect to such Petition, by the provisions contained in the six next preceding sections of this Act. IX. And be it enacted, That the Petitioner may at any time after the presentation of every such Election Petition, withdraw the same upon giving notice in writing under his hand or under the hand of his agent to the Speaker, and also to the sitting Member or his agent, and also to the party who may have been admitted to oppose the prayer of such Petition, that it is not intended to proceed with the Petition, and in such case the Petitioner shall be liable to the payment of such costs and expenses as may have been incurred by the sitting Member or other party complained of in such Petition, and also by any party admitted to oppose the prayer of such Petition, to be taxed as hereinafter provided. 2. RECOGNIZANCES. X. And be it enacted, That before any Election Petition shall be presented to the House, a Recognizance shall be entered into by one, two, three or four persons, as sureties for the person subscribing such Petition, for the sum of Two Hundred Pounds in one sum, or in several sums of not less than Fifty Pounds each, for the payment of all costs and expenses which under the provisions herein contained shall become payable by the person subscribing the Petition to any witness summoned in his behalf, or to the sitting Member, or other the party complained of in such Petition, or to any party who may be admitted to defend such Petition as hereinafter provided, or to any person who on the application of such Petitioner for the issue of a Commission to take evidence on such trial, may be appointed a Commissioner for that purpose, or to any Clerk, Bailiff or other Officer employed by such Commissioner in or about, or in any way relating to the execution of the Commission issued to him in that behalf; and such Recognizance may be in the form or to the like effect as is set forth in the Schedule to this Act annexed marked A (1,) with such alteration as may be necessary to adapt such form to the circumstances of the case. XI. And be it enacted, That before any application shall be made to any Select Election Committee appointed under this Act, on the part of any sitting Member interested or concerned in any such Election Petition, for the issuing of a Commission to take evidence upon the trial thereof, a Recognizance shall be entered into by one, two, three or four persons, as sureties for such sitting Member, for the sum of One Hundred Pounds in one sum, or in several sums of not less than Twenty-five Pounds each, for the payment of all costs and expenses which under the provisions herein contained shall become payable by such sitting Member to any Commissioner who may be appointed for taking such evidence for such trial, or to any Clerk, Bailiff or other Officer employed by such Commissioner in or about, or in any way relating to the execution of such Commission, which Recognizance shall be entered into before the Speaker or a Justice of the Peace, as is herein provided with respect to other Recognizances Parties entering into recognizances to justify their sufficiency on oath. Sureties to be mentioned by their Recognizances to be entered into under this Act, and shall be accompanied by Affidavits of the sufficiency of the sureties as is provided with respect to the same, or a deposit of money may be made in lieu of such Recognizance, or a deposit of money in lieu of some part of the amount required to be so secured, and a Recognizance for the residue thereof shall be made and entered into as is hereby provided with respect to such other Recognizance, and such Recognizance may be in the form or to the like effect as is set forth in the Schedule to this Act annexed marked A (2), with such alteration as may be necessary to adapt such form to the circumstances of the case. XII. And be it enacted, That any person who enters into any such Recognizance shall testify upon oath in writing, to be sworn at the time of entering into the said Recognizance, and before the same person by whom his Recognizance is taken, that he is seized or possessed of real or personal estate (or both) above what will satisfy all his just debts, of double the clear value of the sum for which he is bound by his said Recognizance, and every such Affidavit shall be endorsed upon or annexed to the Recognizance, and such Affidavit may be in the form or to the like effect as is set forth in the Schedule to this Act annexed marked A (4), with such alterations as may be necessary to adapt such form to the circumstances of the case. XIII. And be it enacted, That in every such Recognizance and Affidavit of sufficiency names and additions. of sureties, shall be mentioned the christian and surnames in full, and the usual places of residence or business of the persons becoming sureties as aforesaid, with such other description of the sureties as may be sufficient to identify them easily. XIV. And be it enacted, That every Recognizance hereinbefore required, shall be entered into, and every Affidavit of sufficiency of sureties hereinbefore required shall be sworn before the Speaker of the said House, or a Justice of the Peace; and the said Speaker, and also every Justice of the Peace, is hereby empowered to take the same, and every such Recognizance and Affidavit taken before a Justice, being duly certified under the hand of such Justice, shall be delivered to the said Speaker, who shall thereupon cause the same, as well as all such Recognizances and Affidavits taken before himself, to be filed in the office of the Chief Clerk of the said House, for the information of the House and its Committees, and of all parties concerned or interested in the same. XV. And be it enacted, That any person by whom an Election Petition is signed, or any such sitting Member by whom an application for the issue of a Commission to take evidence as aforesaid is about to be made, may, instead of procuring a Recognizance for the amount or the full amount of the sums of Two Hundred Pounds and one Hundred Pounds respectively hereinbefore required for such purpose, pay into the hands of the Chief Clerk of the Commons House of Legislative Assembly of this Province, for the like purposes for which such Recognizance is hereinbefore required, either the whole or any part of such Two Hundred or One Hundred Pounds, as the case may be, which he thinks fit, not being less than Fifty Pounds, and in such case such person shall, if the whole of such sum be paid in, be required to find no sureties for such purpose, and if a part only of such sum be paid in, he shall then be required to find sureties for so much only of the said sum of Two Hundred Pounds or of One Hundred Pounds respectively, as the sum paid into the hands of such Chief Clerk as aforesaid falls short of such Two Hundred Pounds or One Hundred Pounds, as the case may be; and every sum so paid into the hands of such Chief Clerk as aforesaid, shall be carried by him to the credit of an account to be opened by him with the Speaker of the said House by his name of office, and shall be paid out by such Chief Clerk for the time being, from time to time, in discharge of such Warrants as may from time to time be issued for that purpose upon him by the Speaker of the said House for the time being, in pursuance of the provisions of this Act; and the said Chief Clerk shall preserve in his books a remembrance of the Petition upon which every such sum of money shall have been paid into his hands as aforesaid, as the same shall have been stated by the party paying in the same, and shall grant to such party a receipt or certificate for the same, and no money shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to have been paid into the hands of such Chief Clerk until such receipt or certificate shall be procured and delivered to to the Speaker of the said House, who shall thereupon cause XVI. And be it enacted, That no Election Petition shall be received unless, at the time it is presented to the House, it be endorsed with a certificate under the hand of the Speaker of the said House, that the Recognizance hereinbefore required has been entered into and received by him, with the required Affidavit of sufficiency of sureties thereunto annexed or endorsed, or that the Chief Clerk's receipt or certificate for the amount of such Recognizance has been delivered to him, or that a Recognizance with Affidavits of sufficiency for part, and the Chief Clerk's receipt or certificate for the residue of such amount, has been so delivered to him as aforesaid. What must be before an application for a commission to XVII. And be it enacted, That no application shall be entertained by any Select Election Committee under this Act, on the part of any sitting Member interested or concerned in any such Election Petition, for the issue of any Commission to take such trial, unless, at the time of such application, there shall be produced evidence upon to such Select Committee copies,-certified under the hand of the Speaker or the Chief entertained. Clerk of the Commons House of Legislative Assembly to be true copies of the same,-of the Recognizance herein required, to be entered into on behalf of such sitting Member,— of all Affidavits by which the sufficiency of the sureties in such Recognizance shall have been established,-or of the Chief Clerk's certificates of the deposit of money in lieu of such Recognizance,-or of such Recognizances and Affidavits for any part of such amount,―and of the Chief Clerk's certificates for the residue thereof, as the case may be, together with an Affidavit from such sitting Member that he is acquainted with the persons who have entered into such Recognizance, if any have been given as aforesaid, and that he has reason to believe irrespective of having the same sworn to by such persons, and that he does verily believe that such persons are worth the amounts respectively stated by them in their said Affidavits of sufficiency respectively; and every such Recognizance shall have the same requirements as to the names and description of parties and the manner of taking the same, as is hereinbefore provided with respect to the Recognizances required of Petitioners. XVIII. And be it enacted, That in case, at the time of any such application on the part of the sitting Member for the issue of any such Commission as aforesaid, it shall be objected on the part of the Petitioners in such Election Petition, that the sureties of such sitting Member, or any of them, are not really worth the amounts stated in their Affidavits of sufficiency respectively, or that such Recognizance is objectionable upon similar grounds to those hereinafter mentioned in the twentieth section of this Act or any of them, or any other that shall appear to such Select Committee to require explanation or correction, it shall and may be lawful for such Select Committee, if upon hearing the parties they shall deem it just to do so, to give time to such Petitioner to make good such objection, and to make such orders from time to time as to the same, and as to the putting in of new Recognizances or a deposit of money in lieu thereof or part thereof, and as to the justification of the sufficiency of the persons entering into any such Recognizances, as to such Select Committee shall appear just in the premises; and all such orders shall be binding upon the parties interested or concerned in such Election Petition, and the neglect of any party to obey the same shall be attended with such consequences in respect of the same, and the prosecution or defence of his case before such Select Committee, and the payment of costs to the party or parties inconvenienced or delayed, which shall be taxed and recovered as hereinafter provided for the costs and expenses of prosecuting or opposing Election Petitions, as such Election Committee shall think fit to order and direct in that behalf, or the payment of such costs and expenses may be made a condition to allowing the party to proceed with 224 his Objections to recognizances of or on Member how to be Names of sureties, &c., to be entered by the Clerk in book. Objections to recognizances of Petitioners may be taken by sitting Member or Electors supporting his election. Proviso, Proviso. Proviso. Notice of objections, to be posted up. Speaker to decide on objections. Provision in case of the death of any surety. his prosecution or defence if such Select Committee shall think fit so to order and direct; Provided always nevertheless, that no such sitting Member shall obtain the benefit of any evidence taken on his behalf, under any such Commission until he shall have perfected the security hereby required in that behalf, either by Recognizance or deposit as hereinbefore provided, and shall have obtained an order of such Select Election Committee allowing the same as sufficient. XIX. And be it enacted, That on or before the day when any such Petition is presented to the House, or when notice of the intention of any sitting Member to apply to the Select Committee for the trial of such Election Petition for the issue of a Commission to take evidence upon such trial, shall have been served on the Petitioners, the names and descriptions of the sureties, where there are sureties, as set forth in the Recognizance, and the amount of the Chief Clerk's receipts or certificates of deposits in lieu of the Recognizance, shall be entered in a book to be kept by the Chief Clerk of the said House in his office, and the said book, and also the Recognizance and Affidavits, and the Chief Clerk's said receipts or certificates, shall be open to the inspection of all parties concerned. XX. And be it enacted, That any sitting Member petitioned against, or any Electors petitioning and admitted parties to defend the election or return, may object to any such Recognizance on the ground that the same is invalid, or that the same was not duly entered into or received by the Speaker, with the affidavit thereunto annexed or endorsed as hereinbefore required, or on the ground that the sureties or any of them are insufficient, or that a surety is dead, or that he cannot be found or ascertained for the want of a sufficient description in the Recognizance, or that a person named in the Recognizance has not duly acknowledged the same: Provided always, firstly, that the ground of objection shall be stated in writing under the hand of the objecting party or his agent, and shall be delivered to the Speaker of the said House, within ten days, or not later than twelve o'clock at noon of the eleventh day after the presentation of the Petition; and provided also, secondly, that if such eleventh day happen to be a Sunday or other Statutory Holiday, it shall be sufficient, if such notice of objection be delivered to the Speaker not later than twelve o'clock at noon of the following day, or of the first day thereafter which shall not be a Sunday or Statutory Holiday; and provided also, thirdly, that the said Speaker shall thereupon cause the said objection to be forthwith filed in the office of the Chief Clerk of the said House, for the inspection of the House and its Committees, and of all parties concerned or interested in the same. XXI. And be it enacted, That as soon as any such statement of objection is received by the said Speaker, he shall cause the Chief Clerk of the House to put up an acknowledgment thereof in some conspicuous part of his office, and shall appoint a day for hearing such objections, not less than three nor more than five days from the day on which he received such statement; and the Petitioner and his agent shall be allowed to examine and take copies of every such objection. XXII. And be it enacted, That at the time appointed, the Speaker of the said House shall enquire into the alleged objections, on the grounds stated in the notice of objection, but not on any other ground; and for the purpose of such enquiry, he may examine upon oath any persons tendered by either party for examination by him, and may also receive in evidence any Affidavit relating to the matter in dispute before him, sworn before him, or before any Justice of the Peace, and the said Speaker may, if he thinks fit, adjourn the said enquiry from time to time until he decide on the validity of such objection, and he may, if he thinks fit, award costs to be paid by either party to the other, which costs shall be taxed and recovered as hereinafter provided for the costs and expenses of prosecuting or opposing Election Petitions, and the decision of the Speaker shall be final and conclusive against all parties. XXIII. And be it enacted, That if any surety die, and his death be stated as a ground of objection before the end of the time allowed for objecting to Recognizances, the Petitioner may pay into the hands of the Chief Clerk of the Commons House of Legislative Assembly of this Province on the account of the Speaker, the sum for which the deceased surety |