SELECT COMMITTEE ON FICTITIOUS VOTES, IRELAND. 4,> 9 their own; they are clothed and maintained by the father; and under those circumstances, a presumption has arisen in my mind that they may be fictitious 15488. Was there any examination as to whether they are in the actual receipt of the rentcharge ?- There was a cross- examination, and they stated they were m the receipt of the rentcharge. 15489. How many years did they state they had received it?— The rent- charges of the Burdetts are of very recent creation, since 1837, as appears by the note I have made. 15490. Did any of those persons you have mentioned, on their cross- exami- nation admit they were not in receipt of the rentcharge ?— No; the case of Wetherelt is the strongest of the cases I have cited, as to the presumption of being occasional and fictitious. 15491. Then your objection to these votes is that the annuities are merely colourable ?—' That was the impression on my mind; the case of Alexander M'Mullan differed in its circumstances from the others, in this respect, viz. as it was a rentcharge granted to him by his uncle, out of the house in which the uncle resides. The uncle is a trader in the town of Tullamore, Alexander M'Mullan is his shop- boy, and he admitted he was clothed and maintained by the uncle; and, therefore, there was 110 necessity for such a grant being made to him, except for the purpose of creating him an elector. 15492. Is there any other case that you impeach?— These are the cases which occurred to me, founded upon rentcharges. 15493. I suppose it was admitted, in those cases, that 110 money or any other consideration passed?— It was merely love and affection, and consequently a stamp of 1/. 15s. was required. M'Mullan, I believe, was rejected the firs!; time lie appeared, on the ground of his rentcharge being upon a 1 /. stamp, and the consideration being love and affection, not a pecuniary consideration. He then came forward with a new title- deed, 011 a stamp of 11. 15s., which, according to the Stamp Act in Ireland, is the ad valorem duty required upon deeds of that description, where the consideration is merely nominal. 15494. Mr. Curry.] In your opinion, do any of the provisions of the present Reform Act in Ireland facilitate the creation of fictitious votes ?— In my opinion the provisions of the Reform Act, and also the old law, which I may say forms part and parcel of the electoral code of Ireland, do afford an opening for the creation of fictitious votes. 15495. In what case or cases?—- In the case of 50 I. freeholders. 15496. How does the electoral code in Ireland facilitate the creation of fictitious votes in respect of 50 I. freeholders?— A 50 L freeholder may make an affidavit before the going judge of assize, or before a judge of one of the superior courts in Dublin; 1 have been present when some of those affidavits have been sworn to; it struck me that the oath was administered by the crier, and that the only questions ( which are the usual questions put in cases of that kind) were these: " Is this your name and handwriting subscribed to this affidavit? Have you read this affidavit ? Are the contents of it true ?" Without the judge per- haps at all attending to those questions, and without the essential question, in my humble opinion, being put, viz. " How long have you been in possession ?" For the affidavit is silent as to the six months' possession. 15497. Then, according to your experience, the affidavits made by a 50 l. free- holder when sworn before the judge of assize, or before one of the judges of the superior courts, are administered in the common form in which ail affidavits taken before those persons are administered ?— Precisely. 15498. No examination takes place as to the possession of the elective fran- chise. except what appears in the affidavit itself ?— No ; and the affidavit omits all allusion whatever to possession. ) „ . 1 5499. The affidavit is entirely silent as to the fact of the length of time during which the claimant has been in possession of the premises, m respect of which he seeks to register ?— Yes; and what is a further, and I think a very essential circumstance also, is another omission 011 the face of the affidavit, viz. there is no recital of the deed, lease, or instrument in the case 01 a 50 I claimant. 15500. Is there any other class of persons besides the 50/. freeholders to whom a facility of acquiring the elective franchise is afforded by the election law of Ireland, to your knowledge ?— No other class occurs to me at present; but I would wish to make a further observation with respect to the o0 L claim- ants, viz. that when that affidavit is made it is left in the hands of the claimant; 643. 3 1 1 SPeak