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same may relate to the election or return of any member or No petition to members who shall, since the same shall have been pre- unless the sented, have vacated his or their seat by death, or in any member's seat other manner.

be withdrawn

shall have

been vacated.

of a select committee,&c.

chequer.

9. AND be it enacted, That if the petitioner or petitioners, who shall have entered into such recognizance as aforesaid, shall not appear before the house by himself or Recogthemselves, or by his or their counsel or agents, within one nizances of hour after the time fixed, in pursuance of the above recited petitioners not acts, and of this act, for calling in the respective parties, fore the house appearing betheir counsel or agents, for the purpose of proceeding to the at the time fixed for proappointment of a select committee; or if the select commit- ceeding to the tee, appointed in pursuance of the said acts, and of this act, appointment for the trial of such petition, shall inform the house that such person or persons did not appear before the said com- to be certified mittee, by himself or themselves, or by his or their counsel to the exor agents, to prosecute their said petition: or if such person or persons shall neglect to renew their said petition within four sitting days after the day of the commencement of every session of the same parliament, subsequent to that in which such petition was first presented, and until a select committee shall have been appointed for trial of the same, or until the same shall have been withdrawn by the permission of the house, in every such case such person or persons shall be held to have made default in his or their said recognizance; and the speaker of the house of commons shall thereupon certify such recognizance into the court of exchequer, and shall also certify that such person or persons have made default therein, and such certificate shall be conclusive evidence of such default, and the recognizance being so certified shall have the same effect as if the same were estreated from a court of law: provided always, That such recognizance and certificate shall in every such case be delivered, certificate to by the clerk or clerk assistant of the house of commons, in- be delivered by the clerk to the hands of the lord chief baron of the exchequer, or of assistant, into one of the barons of the exchequer, or of such officer of the the exchequer, court of exchequer as shall be appointed by the said court to receive the same.

Recog

nizance and

10. AND whereas, by several provisions contained in the above recited acts, made in the 10th and 11th years of the reign of his present majesty, Sunday and Christmas-day ire excepted from the general regulations of the said acts Good Friday to be it hereby enacted, That in every such case, Good Friday be excepted hall also be excepted therefrom, in the same manner as if from the regulations of he same had been specially excepted in the said acts. the recited 11. AND be it also enacted, That if, on the day imme- acts. liately preceding any of the three following days that s to say, Christmas-day, Whit-Sunday, or Good-Friday, If on the day preceding fter reading the order of the day for taking any such pe- Christmas-day, ition as aforesaid into consideration, it shall be found that &c. there shall here are not one hundred members present, or that the members preumber of forty-nine members, not set aside or excused, sent, or 49 not cannot be completed, it shall and may be lawful for the ouse, if they shall think fit, any thing in the above recited cts to the contrary notwithstanding, to direct that the said

not be 100

excused can

not be completed, the or. any such pe

der for taking

tition into

consideration,

order shall be adjourned for any number of days, and the and the house house shall then immediately be adjourned to the hour and day to which such order shall be so adjourned.

may be ad

journed for

any number of days.

pointed for

taking petitions into consideration, reports from select commit

12. AND whereas it is enacted, by the said act passed in the 11th year of the reign of his present majesty, that on the day appointed for taking such petition into consideration, the house shall not proceed to any other business whatsoever, except the swearing of members, previous to the reading of the order of the day for that purpose; be it On days ap hereby enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for the house, previous to reading such order, to receive any report from any select committee appointed in pursuance of the above-recited acts, or of this act, and to enter the same tees, &c. may upon their journals, and to give the necessary orders and directions, thereupon; and that previous to reading the said order, the clerk of the crown may be admitted to alter or amend any return, in pursuance of an order made on a preceding day, or on that day; and also that it shall and may be lawful for the house, previous to reading the said order, to postpone the same, for the purpose of attending his majesty, or his majesty's commissioners, in the house of lords, in consequence of any message from his majesty, or from his majesty's commissioners, signified to the house in the usual manner.

be received

previous to reading the

order of the day.

If petitioners

within an hour

fixed for ap

committees, the order for taking such

13. AND be it also enacted, That if, within one hour after do not appear the time fixed in pursuance of the above-recited acts, after the time and of this act, for calling in the respective parties, their counpointing select sel or agents, for the purpose of proceeding to the appointment of a select committee, the petitioner or petitioners, or some one or more of them who shall have signed any such petitions into petition, shall not appear by himself or themselves, or by his or their counsel or agents, the order for taking such petition into consideration shall thereupon be discharged, and such petition shall not be any further proceeded upon in the manner directed in the above-recited acts, and in this act.

consideration to be discharged.

Regulations

for trial of the

merits of petitions, where

no party ap

pears to oppose them.

14. AND be it enacted, That if, within one hour after the time so appointed as aforesaid, the sitting member or sitting members, or other party or parties opposing the petition, shall not appear by himself or themselves, or by his or their counsel or agents, or if, at the time so appointed as aforesaid, there shall be no party before the house opposing the petition, the house shall proceed to appoint a select committee, to try the merits of such petition, in the following manner; (that is to say), That the names of forty-nine members shall be drawn, in the manner prescribed in the above recited acts, but in reducing the list of such names to thirteen, the place of a party opposing the petition shall be supplied by the clerk appointed to attend the said committee, who shall, as often as it shall come to his turn as supplying the place of the party opposing the petition to strike out a name, strike out that name which then shall be first in the said list; and in every case where the party opposing the petition would be impowered, by the above-recited acts, to nominate one member to be added to the said thirteen, the said thirteen shall from among the persons present in

the house at the time of drawing the names of the members, choose one person to supply the place of the member to have been so nominated, in the same manner as is directed by the above-recited act made in the 11th year of his majesty's reign, in the case where there are more than two parties on distinct interest.

15. AND be it further enacted, That the same method The aforeof reducing the list of members drawn to thirteen, and of going method of reducing nominating a member to be added to the thirteen remaining the list to 13 on the said list, shall be respectively followed, when- members, &c. to be followed ever any party shall wave his right of striking off names when any from the said list, or of nominating a member to be added to party shall the said thirteen.

wave his right to do it.

Witnesses not

tee, or giving

be committed.

16. AND be it further enacted, That if any person summoned to attend the said select committee, by the warrant attending the of the speaker of the said house or by order of the said select commitcommittee, shall disobey such summons, or shall give false false evievidence, or prevaricate, or otherwise misbehave in giving, dence, &c. to or in refusing to give, evidence before the said committee, the said committee shall have power, by a warrant to be signed by the chairman, and directed to the serjeant at arms attending the house of commons, or to his deputy or deputies, to commit such person (not being a peer of the realm or a lord of parliament) to the custody of the said serjeant, without bail or mainprize, for any time not exceeding twenty-four hours if the house shall then be sitting, or if not, then for a time not exceeding twenty-four hours after the hour to which the house shall then be adjourned.

17. AND whereas it is enacted by the said act made in the 10th year of his majesty's reign, That if more than two members of the said select committee shall, on any account, be absent therefrom, the said select committee shall adjourn in the manner in the said act directed, and so from time to time, until thirteen members are assembled; and that no such determination as in the said act is mentioned shall be made, nor any question be proposed, unless thirteen members shall be present; and that no member shall have a vote on such determination, or any other question or resolution, who has not attended during every sitting of the said select committee; and that, in case the number of members able to attend the said committee shall, by death or otherwise, be unavoidably reduced to less than thirteen, and shall so continue for the space of three sitting days, the said committee shall be dissolved, and another chosen to try and determine the matter of such petition, in the manner in the said act before provided. Be it hereby enacted, That whenever any com- If a committee shall have sat for business fourteen days, not in- mittee shall cluding those days on which they shall have adjourned on business 14 account of the absence of any member, nor including days, 12 memSunday, Christmas day, or Good Friday it shall and may ceed therein; be lawful for them to proceed to business, if a number of members not less than twelve be present; and in such case, the committee shall not be dissolved by reason of the absence of the members, unless the number of members able

have sat for

bers may pro

If 25 days, 11 members may proceed

Committees in their reports to mention

to attend the same shall, by death or otherwise, be unavoidably reduced to less than twelve, and shall so continue for the space of three sitting days; and whenever any committee shall in like manner have sat for business twenty-five days, it shall and may be lawful for them to proceed to business, if a number of members not less than eleven be present; and in such case, the committee shall not be dissolved by reason of the absence of the members, unless the number of members able to attend the same shall, by death or otherwise, be unavoidably reduced to less than eleven, and shall so continue for the space of three sitting days.

18. AND be it further enacted, That every such committee, at the same time they report to the house their whether peti- final determination on the merits of the petition which they tions, &c. appear to be fri- were sworn to try, shall also report to the house whether volous or vex- such petition did, or did not, appear to them to be frivo

atious.

reported vexa

lous.

lous or vexatious; and that shall in like manner report, with respect to every party or parties who shall have appeared before them in opposition to such petition, whether the opposition of such party or parties respectively did, or did not, appear to them to be frivolous or vexatious; and that if no party shall have appeared before them in opposition to such petition, they shall then report to the house whether such election or return, or such alledged omission of a return, or such alledged insufficiency of a return, as shall be complained of in such petition, according as the case shall be, did, or did not appear to them to be vexatious or corrupt.

Parties oppos19. AND be it enacted, That whenever any such coming petitions mittee shall report to the house, with respect to any such tious or frivo- petition, that the same appeared to them to be frivolous or vexatious, the party or parties, if any who shall have appeared before the committee in opposition to such petition, shall be entitled to recover, from the person or persons, or any of them, who shall have signed such petition, the full costs and expences which such party or parties shall have incurred in opposing the same: such costs and expences to be ascertained in the manner herein-after directed.

And petition-
ers reported
to have been
vexatiously or
frivolously
opposed to be
entitled to

20. AND be it also enacted, That whenever any such committee shall report to the house, with respect to the opposition made to such petition by any party or parties who shall have appeared before them, that such opposition appeared to be frivolous or vexatious, the person or persons costs and ex- who shall have signed such petition shall be entitled to recover from such party or parties or any of them, with respect to whom such report shall be made, the full costs and expences which such petitioner or petitioners shall respectively have incurred in prosecuting their said petition; such costs and expences to be ascertained in the manner herein-after directed.

pences.

Where no

party appears in opposition to any such petition, the

21. AND be it also enacted, That whenever, in any case where no party shall have appeared before such committee in opposition to such petition, such committee shall report to the house, with respect to the election or return, or to

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pences to be

the alledged omission of a return, or to the alledged in- costs and exsufficiency of a return, complained of in any such petition, paid by the that the same appeared to them to be vexatious or corrupt, sitting mem the person or persons who shall have signed such petition bers, &c. shall be entitled to recover from the sitting member or sitting members (if any) whose election or return shall be complained of in such petition, such sitting member or sitting members not having given notice as aforesaid of his or their intention not to defend the same, or from any other person or persons whom the house shall have admitted or directed to be made a party or parties to oppose such petition, the full costs and expences which such petitioner or petitioners shall have incurred in prosecuting their said petition such costs and expences to be ascertained in the manner herein-after directed.

pences are to

22. AND be it enacted, That in the several cases herein- How such before mentioned, the costs and expences of prosecuting or costs and exopposing any such petition shall be ascertained in manner be ascertained. following; (that is to say), That on application made to the speaker of the house of commons, by any such petitioner or petitioners or party or parties, as before-mentioned, for ascertaining such costs and expences, he shall direct the same to be taxed by two persons, of whom the clerk or clerk assistant of the house shall always be one, of the following officers, not being a member of the house shall be the other; (that is to say), masters in the high court of chancery, clerks in the court of king's bench, prothonotaries in the court of common pleas, and clerks in the court of exchequer; and the person so authorized and directed to tax such costs and expences shall, and they are hereby required to examine the same, and to report the amount thereof to the speaker of the said house, who shall, on application made to him, deliver to the party or parties a certificate, signed by himself, expressing the amount of the costs and expences allowed in such report; and the persons so appointed to tax such costs, and report the amount thereof are hereby authorized to demand and receive, for such taxation and report, such fees as shall be, from time to time, fixed by any resolution of the house.

&c.

23. AND be it enacted, That it shall and may be lawful If costs, &c. for the party or parties entitled to such costs and expences, be not paid on demand, or for his, her, or their executors or administrators, to de- they may be mand the whole amount thereef, so certified as above, from recovered by any one or more of the persons respectively, who are herein- action of debt, before made liable to the payment thereof, in the several cases herein-before mentioned: and in case of non-payment thereof, to recover the same by action of debt, in any of his majesty's courts of record at Westminster; in which action it shall be sufficient for the plaintiff or plaintiffs to declare that the defendant or defendants is or are indebted to him or them (in the sum to which the costs and expences, ascertained in manner aforesaid, shall amount) by virtue of this act; and the certificate of the speaker of the house of commons under his signature, of the amount of such costs and expences, together with an

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