AMENDMENT OF THE ELECTORAL REGISTRATION.

Tile Attorney-General's Bill " for the more effectual Registration or persons entitled to vote in the Election of Members t9 serve in Parliament for England and Wales," will do away with many of the objections which hue bees urged against the existing; sys- tem. Indeed, we coull ahnoet fancy, that as regards Counties, the framer of the mettreire bed taken the suggestions of our in- telligent correspondent, Mr. (Wien. of Lewes,* as his guide iti amending this portion of the Reform Act. Mr. Coorta recommended that, previous to the 26th of Jai .e in each year, the Clerk of the Peace should supply the 0Yetseere with printed notices to voters to ,etifl in their claims. Clause 3d of the Bill enacts, that the Clerk shall send them to the High Constables of Hundreds within the first week of June,—the Constables to send them to the Overseers. We agree with our correspondent, that the Clerk of the Peace shou',d communicate directly with the Overseers, without the useless intervention of the Constables of Hundreds ; and we hope that this very easy alteration will be made. It was also a suggestion of Mr. COOPER, that the Clerk of the Peace should send a printed copy of the register of voters to each Overseer, with a blank for the entry of the fresh names, so as to avoid the error; which arise in trans- cribing the whole list every year : and, as we understand the latter part of clause 3d, this plan has been adopted by Sir JOHN CAMPBELL.

Persons having changed their abode since the last reeistration, Mr. COOPER said, ought to send in a fresh claim : this is provided for by clause 5th.

"The payment of the shilling should in all cases be dispensed with," said Mr. COOPER: in future, by clause 48th, the com- pensation to Overseers, Returning-officers, and others, is to be made out of the poor-rates; so the shilling payment is to be dis- pensed with. Persons not residing in the polling district in which their qua- lifications are situated, are allowed (in accordance with Mr. COOPER'S suggestion) to poll in another district, upon making a claim to that effect before the Revising Barrister : this is pro- vided for by clause 18th.

" The notices of objection should specify the grounds on which it is intended to insist :" clause 9th enacts that this shall be done; and also, that when the party objected to does not reside in the district in which his name is registered, the notices may be sent by post. On referring to our correspondent's letter, it will be seen that he proposed both these alterations in November last.

" The objector, or the party objected to, should have power to compel the attendance of witnesses before the Revising Barrister, on tending reasonable expenses: " clauses 39th and 40th will effect this.

" To prevent frivolous claims and objections, the Revising Bar- rister should have power to award costs to the objector or claimant, enough to cover loss of time and necessary expenses: " clause 44th empowers the Barrister to give compensation to the extent of 10/.

By clause 5th the Overseers' lists are to be posted on "all the churches and chapels" in the parish or township. This, we pre- sume, will meet the objection mentioned by Mr. COOPER, that "chapel " has been sometimes interpreted to mean episcopal chapel only.

" The penalty on Overseers wilfully neglecting their duty, should be lowered from a certain penalty of 500/., to a vary- ing penalty, perhaps from 20/. to 5001.; and some easier means should be afforded for its recovery than the tedious and expensive course of an action." Sir JOHN CAMPBELL pro- poses, in clauses 41st and 42d, to give the Revising Barrister a power to fine delinquent Constables and Overseers in sums vary- ing from 20s. to 5/., and to order the payment of it at once to the poor-rate. Perhaps the maximum should be carried higher than 51.

The passages which we have marked as quotations are all taken from Mr. Cooesn's first letter, on County Registration ; and it appears that every one of his suggestions on this subject has been in substance adopted by the framers of the new Bill. On referring to Mr. COOPER'S second letter, on Borough Re- gistration,1 we find that many of the improvements he pointed out are to be met with in Sir JOHN CAMPBELL'S measure. The power

of the Barrister to award costs and impose fines, the abolition of the registration-shilling, the specification of grounds of objection in notices, the summoning of witnesses, and several other points, apply to boroughs and cities as well as to counties. In addition to these, it is enacted, in clause 51st, that the,occupation or hold- ing of two or more tenements, making up together the yearly value of 10/., shall confer the right of voting; provided (see clause 52d) that a tenement occupied with land must be of the value of Si. annually. This is one of our correspondent's proposals. Mr.

COOPER was of opinion, that in computing the distance from a borough (iii order to ascertain the fact of residence), the Ordnance

maps should be conclusive authority : this is decreed by clause 54th, in cases where there is or shall be an Ordnance map; in others, the distance is to be computed by the_ nearest public way. By clause 34th, Overseers, both for the present and past years, will be obliged to attend the Barrister? Courts with their books.

There are some improvements of minor consequence, which • See his Letter, at page 1103 of the Spectator for 1835. f See page 11 Y9 of last year'. Speen:dor. Sir JORMM CA Bill witl, we hope, receive in Conitnittee. 'For In-ttenees it ought to be enacted that the lists of voters, &c. should reintr.n twelve hours on each Sunday on the doors of churches.or chapels: acece-ding to the law as it now stands,—and the defie't is not remedied by the Bill,—twelve minutes might be '14'0'11(41 a sufficient time by the Overseers. No:ices of objection, in bweettehti ns its counties, should be given to the parties ob- Jee'zed to, as weli as to the. Overseers.

The removal of a voter from one house to another of the re- quirt-.1 value, within the year, ought not to be held as a disquali- fication.

The payment of rates by scot and lot voters ought not to be different ft om that of the ,en-pounders. At present, the former may be compelled to pay a rate made the very day before the election while the latter are only required to discharge by the 20th of July all rates and taxes clue on the Gth of April previous.

But this bring; us to the eratel objection against the payment of rates being required in any rese as a qualification for voting. As long as this condition is exacted from the elector, it is useless to talk of putting a stop to bribery ; it is eqnally vain to attempt to simplify the work of reeistration as long'as the ten-pound fran- chise is maintained. We agree entirely with those who contend for a household qualification, leavino the punctual payment of rates and taxes out of the question. This is what we must come to be- fore long—and the sooner the better—in counties as well as towns.: But in order to render this change safe and expedient, the de- pendent class of voters must have the protection of the ballot; otherwise, by extending the franchise, we shall only multiply the for bribery and intimidation,—except, indeed, in very large towns, where it would be hopeless to strive against the popular ft-el:ng.

We should think it impossible for any one to observe the im- proved intelligence and erowing prosperity of the great mass of non-electors, and avoid the conclusion, that to exclude them from participation in the franchise will not be practicable much longer.. It may be said that this very prosperity will enable them to oc- cupy a better class of houses, and thus the means of gradually extending the franchise are provided: but it should be recollected, . that this well-doing of the mass of the community arises mainly from low prices, and that during the last few years. in which the country has certainly made great progress, the rent of houses has in most places fallen considerably. Thus the prosperity argument

cuts two ways. To make a man's right to vote, in town or coun- try, depend upon the value of the house he inhabits, that value. rising or falling according to circumstances which he cannot control, is an absurdity, which the Municipal Bill is free from,. and which should be expunged from our Statute-book altogether..

Sir JOHN CAMPBELL'S measure will settle some points on which contradictory decisions have been given. Trustees and mortgagees, not in the actual receipt for their own benefit of the rents and profits of the trust property, will not be allowed to vote for it. The register at the time of the election is to be " final and conclusive," except as regards persons retained on it by the " special decision " of the Barrister, and such as have lost the right of voting between the 31st of July in any year and the period of the election (supposing it to occur before the revision of the lists), by reason of " personal incapacity," or by losing the qualification for which they were registered. From this it would seem that Sir JOHN has left Parliamentary Committees quite enough to do.

2 A letter on this subject by a well known Reformer. (which was in type last week ; but excluded by want of room at the eleventh boar,) will be found helm,.