V 300 M I N U T E S O F E V I D E N C E T A K E N B E F O R E T H E John F. Fosbery, houn went, and Mr. Hutton, Mr. Berwick, and Mr. Curran came; Mr. Smiley Esq. ' came down on the opposite side. , 13134. Mr. Doherty and you confer together, after he came down, on the 8 June 1838. line of conduct you were to pursue, either as to the test of qualification or any other points?— Not as to the test of qualification; we only agreed as to the mere details of the registry; we agreed to go through the list; he took so many persons in one court, and I took so many in the other, and when we finished the entire list, tve agreed to give them three or four days to bring up votes. The cholera pre- vailed, and we thought it unfair to shut out persons from the registry, and those persons were brought up, six into my court, and six into the other; but I had no communication with Mr. Doherty as to his decisions; we merely said in open court what we should do in our respective courts. 13135. Then, in point of fact, he and you acted independently of each other as to the result upon which you came upon the cases brought before you ?— Per- fectly ; even when wc dined together I never asked him anything about it. 13136. Did it appear to you, from the examination of Colonel White's tenants, that the object of Colonel " White was to give them an interest upon which thev could properly register as voters?— Yes; I was perfectly satisfied with their votes. 13137. The question is, whether you thought Colonel White's object was to give them such an interest as would entitle them to be registered as voters for the county ?— I cannot say that, except so far as the proof came before me ; I inferred from that; I considered their interest excellent. 13138. Mr. Curry.] So that, in point of fact, he did not extort from his tenants the utmost rent they were capable of paying?— I held so; for deducting what a solvent tenant would give, the county cess and charges, I considered he gave them a good interest. 13139. Do you considert he test of value to be, that a solvent tenant would give 10/. for a tenant's interest, over and above the rent he himself paid ?— Yes, deducting the charges ; if he paid il. cess, for instance, you deduct the 2/. 13140. What interpretation do you put upon the words " beneficial interest" in the Reform Act ?— I put the interpretation put upon them by the 12 Judges; what you would give as an additional rent, and not uhat would support a family. 13141. Do you consider that to be the proper meaning of the term " beneficial interest" ?— I do; and I acted upon it as such ; that which has been the meaning attached to it ever since the first Registry Act, and previous to the 35 Geo. 3. 13142. By legal meaning or the general meaning of the terms?— By legal meaning. 13143. That, according to your view, is the legal construction of the terms " beneficial interest" in the Reform Act ?— Unquestionably; and I was delighted, the Judges had to decide it, in order to relieve me from any imputation of im- proper feeling from the one side or the other. 13144. Do you not conceive, according to the general meaning of the terms " beneficial interest," the claimant might have an interest of that description, even to the extent of 20 I. a year, when he could not get a solvent tenant to give him 10/. a year over and above the rent he paid for his farm?— Unconnected with the legal view, I should say so ; if it were not at all coupled with the legal view of it. 13145- In point of fact, the tenant might, after paying his rent and paying all charges affecting his farm, have a beneficial interest by the gross produce of that farm of 15 7. or 20 /. in cases where he could not get a solvent tenant to give him 10/. over and above the rent?— Yes. 13146- After paying all the expenses of rent, labour, seed, interest of capital, and making allowance for the decrease in the value of stock, do you not conceive, according to the common understanding of the terms " beneficial interest," that he might have an interest of 15 l. or 20/. a year in his farm where a solvent tenant would not give him 10/. above the rent?— I consider the interest to be what you would have in your pocket at the end of the year; that is my notion of beneficial interest. 13147; What you have in your pocket at the end of the year from the produce of the farm after deducting all outgoings, is, according to your idea, beneficial interest?— Yes, a beneficial interest, but not the legal beneficial interest under the statute^; it would be a benefit to him, unquestionably. , 1i314.8- Mr- Lefroy.] A benefit however arising not from the intrinsic value of , and> but from the employment of capital upon it, and depending upon the successful