23 8 MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE TIIE , „ 60 AA Mr Serjeant Jackson.] But you have not made out any list of those ; Mr. John Casey. the names of pers0ns appearing upon the register, but » March produced fc deli- vered in the same; vide Appendix.'] Martis, 13° die Martii, 1838. Mr. J. C. Besnard. 13 March 1838. Mr. Curry. Mr. F. French. Mr. Serjeant Jackson. Mr. Lef'roy. MEMBERS PRESENT. Mr. Litton. Mr. Lucas. Mr. M. J. O'Connell. Lord Granville Somerset. LORD GRANVILLE SOMERSET, IN THE CHAIR. Mr. Julius Caesar Besnard, called in ; and further Examined. 6246. Mr. Serjeant Jackson.] YOU were upon a former day requested to sug- gest some remedies for the evils that exist in the present state of the registration, and you suggested in general terms that an assimilation of the Irish law to the law as it exists in England would in your judgment tend to remedy this evil ?— I did, but I of course meant that with some qualification. Where the institutions of the country, or the circumstances peculiar to one country, made the exact terms of the law not suitable to the other, there should be some variation ; but I recommended that the principle of the English law should in all cases be adopted, and the terms as far as practicable. ( 1247- 8. Will you suggest to the Committee some of the particulars in which it would not be expedient exactly to follow the English law ?— The first observa- tion 1 would make relates to a class of cities and towns in England and Ireland in which the same rule is laid down for both, but operates differently in the two countries : I mean as to counties of cities and counties of towns. 6249. Will you explain how that is ?— In the instructions with respect to England for the boundaries of boroughs, given by Lord Melbourne to Lieutenant Drummond on the 8th of August 1831, I find this passage: " When the city or borough has 300 such inhabitants as aforesaid," ( those are householders,) " or more, then the inquiry will relate to the proper boundary to be assigned for such city or borough. In fixing such boundary it will be proper, as far as possible, to take the known limits of parishes, wards, townships or chapelries, or other divi- sions of known denomination ; but if any such division or divisions, in which any city or borough ' having an ample constituency' is situated, extends considerably beyond the portion covered or nearly covered with houses, the boundaries must be assigned as nearly as possible, comprising the city or borough, and little or no portion of the country." 6250. Those are the instructions given in England ?— They are. Then there came a qualification to this effect: " No part of the old borough, when connected with the elective franchise, is to be excluded by the new boundary, the limits of jurisdiction on the other hand need not be regarded unless otherwise suitable." Those were the English instructions. G251. Is there any corresponding document with regard to Ireland ?— Yes. \ he instructions of the Chief Secretary of Ireland to Captain Gipps is dated the 29th of October 1831, and they contain these words : " Where the town extends beyond the existing limits of the borough, you will mark those limits upon your plan, and you will also draw such a line as, taken from one known point to ano- ther, may comprise the whole of what may be fairly considered as part of the town or its suburbs, together with as little as possible of land not occupied by houses. But this also contains an exception in these words : " You will not in any case propose to restrict the limits of any borough when connected with the present elective franchise " Now what I say is, that those passages which for- restricting the limits of a borough where the elective franchise was to be