SELECT COMMITTEE ON FICTITIOUS VOTES, IRELAND. sJ7' 24T Mr. J. C. and admitted to register his vote, and to obtain a new certificate under this \ ct without further proof or oath, unless cause to the contrary shall appeal ' 6272. Adverting to the circumstance of there being five places "' t which registration may be conducted, and referring to the peculiar Sn' o ha clause, namely, ' producing or causing to be produced'' a certificated 1° 3- u conceive that that ope'ns a door to fraudT^ S person can is no to putting upon the registry persons not entitled ?— I consider that a | JC1BU give a notice beginning at one of the towns, say Middleton, and if there 18 „ u opposition to him, if the witnesses are not there to oppose him, he is redstered as a matter of course; if there is opposition to him he retires, and he eives notice at another sessions for Fermoy, and so goes on till the opposite party whichever side it may be, ceased to be at the expense, which they could not afford, of carrying witnesses to the place in order to meet it, and then he pro- duces his certificate and is registered, and once there he will continue for eight years more. 5 6273. In short, he has only to go about and watch his opportunity, and when he finds the party interested in opposing him, no matter which party it may be, are not present or have not their witnesses, he then produces his certificate and gets registered ?— Certainly. 6274. That opens a door to fraud to either party that might be disposed to practise it ?— Obviously. 6275. Will you particularize what species of revision you would suggest? I think the first revision should be one such as is now in England, with a slight difference, which I shall mention. I think that every voter " should, at the first revising sessions, be at liberty to question the rights of any person appearing upon the registration. But I think he ought to be subject to be charged with costs if it should appear to the revising barrister that he did so without any reasonable cause. 6276. So that at the same time you give an opportunity of questioning the qualification of any individual voter, you would check the vexatious exercise of it by subjecting the party to costs, if the registering barrister considered it frivolous or vexatious ?— Yes. Then with respect to subsequent registrations, I think that no man who had gone through the ordeal, and had ascertained his qualification and obtained his certificate, should be questioned, unless there was a change in the circumstances under wrhich he was originally registered. 6277. That is, unless he should part with the whole or with part of his quali- fication, or unless something occurred subsequent to his being registered that gave occasion for questioning it ?— Yes, exactly so. 6278. It is part of your suggestion that there should be an appeal against improper admissions upon the registry, as well as against improper rejections ?•— Certainly ; that I will come to presently. I was contrasting the first registra- tion and subsequent ones. I was going on to say, that whenever a person had a right to register, there should be an appeal against that, and in the same manner that there should be an appeal by the party whose vote should be rejected. 6279. To whom would you suggest that appeal should be ?— I think to the judge of assize, as it is now. ( 59 80 Then, the law being altered so as to give an appeal against improper admissions as well as against improper rejections, you would preclude a party, as you have just now suggested, from questioning, at any subsequent revision, the right of a party who had been originally put upon the register, and you would confine him to matters subsequent to the registry ?— That is what appears to me to be judicious. 6081. And subject him to costs in case the judge or the revising barrister should consider his objection to be frivolous or vexatious ?— I think so. 6282. Would you have all persons who died or lost their fran^ se struck oft annually from the register ?- I would have an annual revision of the registration for that purpose. 6i in that. j, . wander about the country, or permitting those who may upon it without right, and putting those that oppose them to the expense sending witnesses to distant places, I would have it m L01K. 004