f. 1 j 1 ! Mr. . James Lane. 9 February 1838. 4O MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE THE that he 011( rlit not to be admitted to register; and that is what you mean when vou say tfiatpersons were admitted to register that were not qualified es } 8ooy But nt houhl turn out that when he swore that they were not worth 5 he swore what was not true, and that they were, in point ot fact, worth 10 I todd you conclude that he was not entitled to register ?- I would conclude that ' To" sf^ aVeVe^ hing depends upon the truth or falsehood of the statement that they were not worth 51, r—\ es. # 802. What are your political opinions?— I have no objection to say that I am what you would call a liberal. 803. Have you voted yourself ?— I have. 804 For whom did you vote?— I voted for Mr. Beamish and Mr. Callaghan ; I have voted for the liberal members ever since I recollect, almost. 805. Mr. Serjeant Jackson.'] You yourself possess some knowledge ot the tenements in these cases ?— In several cases- 806. And your own opinion and judgment, derived from your own observation of the premises, go along with what you have stated to be the fact, that the premises out of which the parties purported to register as of 10/. value were really not of that value ?— That is my opinion. 807. And you state that you are very much fortified in that opinion when you find the man himself coming forward and swearing, and believed by the grand jury in so swearing, that his premises were not worth 5 I. ?—\ es. 808. You have, therefore, very little doubt in your mind that, in point of fact, the premises in these instances were not worth 10 I. ?— I have scarcely any doubt upon it. 809. Do you feel any room for doubt about it?— I cannot say that I feel that there is any room for doubt about it. 810. When you said that the persons now enjoying the franchise were a better class than those who formerly enjoyed the franchise, did you mean to speak of what they were in point of fact, or did you mean to speak of what they ought to be, supposing the Reform Bill was bond fide acted upon ?— I believe that I stated it thus, if the Reform Bill was bona fide acted upon. 811. That was followed up by a question which seemed to import that, in point of fact, the present constituency of Cork are better than the former con- stituency; you do not mean to state that as matter of fact, but only as the result that would be if the Reform Bill were fairly carried out ?— If the meaning of the word " better" is, persons more entitled to use the franchise, I would say they are better under the Reform Act; that there are more persons who, I think, are entitled to vote possessing the franchise in consequence of the Reform Bill than there were before the Reform Bill. 812. Do you mean that the Reform Bill has added to those that previously possessed the franchise, a class of persons who are well entitled ?— Yes. 813. But are not all those who previously possessed the franchise still entitled to it under the Reform Bill?— Undoubtedly. 814. Therefore many of those who before were not so worthy of possessing' the franchise, still, nevertheless, continue to possess it?— Yes. 815. For example, do not the 40 5. freeholders who formerly enjoyed the fran- chise still enjoy it ?— They do. 816. Their right has been preserved to them ?— Yes. 817. Then if there was any defect formerly in allowing persons of that clas to enjoy the elective franchise, it still continues ?— Yes. 818. If there were any poor freemen formerly amongst the constituency, do not they still continue to enjoy the franchise ?— They do. 819. Then all you mean to say is, that there have been superadded to those that before the Reform Bill possessed the franchise, another class that did not possess it before, but whom you consider well qualified and entitled to enjoy it ? to ShP VlZ " A mT p f7 % in l, oiut of fact> thefe have not been added to the register under the Reform Bill a number of persons that ought not to saTisbXatPahlTn, t re/ lStf? 71 d° n0t mean t0 ^ ^ what I mean to saj is, that although the Act has been made a cloak for putting people I do not conceive were entitled to it, I think that the Act itsef/ does any improper franchise. s- that on not give 821. You