GUIDE TO ELECTORS.

THE first point to be settled is, who are the Electors? We shalt' therefore begin by stating, in as plain and intelligible terms as possible, the qualifications required in Counties and in Boroughs. In COUNTIES, the following classes are qualified to vote-

1st. Forty-shilling freeholders for a life or lives, who shall have been in possession of their freeholds previous to the passing of the Bill, or shall come into possession in future otherwise than by purchase or gift. 2d. Ten-pound freeholders for a life or lives, who shall have come into possession subsequent to the passing of the Bill. 3d. Forty-shilling freeholders in fee. 4th. Holders, for a life or lives, of lands or tenements by any description of tenure except freehold, of the yearly value of 10/. 5th. Lessees or assignees of leaseholds originally of a period of sixty years or more, and of the yearly value of 10/. 6th. Lessees or assignees of leaseholds originally of a period of twenty years or more, and of the yearly value of 50/. 7th. Occupying tenants of lands, &c., of not less than 50/. of rent.

8th. Occupying sub-lessees and occupying assignees of under- leases of the leaseholds described in 5th and 6th.

In cases 5th and 6th, the 10/. and 50/. respectively must be above all rents and charges; but public taxes, and church, county# and parish rates, are not accounted charges.

In all cases, trustees and mortgagees, in actual possession, have the same right that the proprietors would otherwise have. Freeholders of certain Towns being Counties in themselves, un- less when in actual occupation of their freeholds, and Borough free-. holders of the 1st and 3d classes, provided their freeholds respec- tively be not such as to entitle them, by themselves or their tenants, to a vote for such boroughs, are entitled to vote for the county where such cities and boroughs are situated. Such are the qualifications required in electors for Counties. The qualifications of BOROUGH electors are as follows-

1st Occupants of any building or buildings, of what description soever, or of any buildings and land, of the yearly rent of 10/.

The occupants may be tenants, or wholly or partly owners. If tenants, the buildings and land must be held of the same land-, lord.

Land without buildings is not sufficient. If two persons occupy a building, Sze., of 20/. rent, each has a vote ; if three occupy a building of 30., each has a vote ; and so on.

In all cases, the property from which a vote is claimed, must be rated to the poor, notwithstanding any local act to the contrary; and all poor 's-rates and assessed taxes accruing on it must be paid up to the 6th April of the year in. which a claim to vote is made. 2d. In Towns being Counties of themselves, freeholders and burgage tenants, that have at present a right to vote, will continue to enjoy it ; and those freeholds and burgage tenements that by the Boundaries Bill are included within such towns, will in like manner confer a vote.

3d. 'Liverymen and freemen of the City of London, and free- men and burgesses of corporate towns or boroughs, who may have become such previous to the 1st March 1831; and all persons whose claims to be liverymen, freemen, or burgesses, oliginate previous to the 1st March 1831, and who may in future make good such claims.

4th. All persons who now possess, on any other ground, the right of voting in any town or borough during their natural lives.

In electors for boroughs, residence is required ; but such resi- dence is not limited to the actual limits of the borough—it extends to seven miles round it.

Persons of the 4th class, if omitted in any two successive re- gistries, forfeit the right of voting in all future time.

Freeholds and burgage tenements in boroughs, if acquired by purchase subsequent to the 1st March 1831, will not confer a vote.

The receipt of parochial relief within twelve calendar months previous, will deprive a voter of the right to vote.

In Counties, it is necessary that owners, where they have come into possession by purchase, shall have been in possession for six months, and lessees and assignees for twelve months previous to the 31st July of the year when the claim to vote is made.

In Boroughs, the same premises must have been occupied six months; and successive premises must have been occupied twelve months previous to the 31st July, in order to entitle the occupant to a vote.

The two things which the County elector, who wishes to exercis& his rights at the ensuing election, must do, are-

1st. To pay, on or before the 20th instant, all poor's-rates and assessed taxes due by him up to the 6th April. 2d. On or before the same day, to give in his name to the officer appointed to form the registry of the parish or other divi- sion where the elector claims to vote.

It is not necessary to give any lengthened instructions touching the mode of paying poor's-rates or taxes,—that is an art which most persons are more capable than willing to practise - but it may be well for electors to know, that where the parish authorities Shall have omitted to rate, they may remedy this omission by simply tendering payment of the rate on any day previous to the 20th July. Evidence of the tender will serve precisely the same purpose as the actual rating and payment would have done. The Registry need not puezle even the simplest elector, if he pay attention to the following plain rules. . First—Notice of a claim to be enregistered, must be. made between the 21st June and the 20th July inclusive ; it will not he received earlier than the one day, nor later than the other. The form is this. The elector 'rites out a notice to the following effect- " To the Overseers of the Parish of Fulham.

" I hereby give you notice, that I claini to have my name inserted in the list Ina& by you of persons entitled to vote in tinn election of Members for the County of Aliddlesex ; and that :ny qualification consists of a house in the town of Fulham, with a piece of ground annexed thereto, held by me as lessee, on a lease of the original term of twenty years, and of tire clear annual value of La and upwards.

"Dated the 2d July 18.12."

This notice John Allen will convey, or cause to be conveyed, to the Overseers of Fulham; and pay, or cause to be paid, at the delivery of it, a fee of one shilling for the insertion of his name in the registry. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, this will be all that is necessary. When Sohn Allen comes to the poll, he has only to declare—or make cath, if required—that he is the same John Allen whose name is registered, and that he is still in posses- sion of the same qualification as when he claimed to be registered, and he may then give his vote. One registration will serve as long as he possesses the same qualification, though it were for fifty years. All that he has to do, is to see, when the list is annually published, that his name appears in it. If wilfully omitted, the Overseer is liable to a heavy penalty. To advert to the hundredth case. If the Overseer have any reason to suppose that John Allen c'eTs not possess the requisite qualification, he will, on receiving the notice, write against that person's name the words "objected to ;" and he will include the names of all persons thus objected to in a separate list, under such a title as this- " The following persons have been objected to as not being entitled to have their names retained on the list of persons qualified to vote in the election of Members for the county of Middlesex."

NAME. QuAotricAriox. PLACE WHERE SITUATE.

John Allen. 501. Leasehold Estate. Town of Fulham.

Or, supposing that the Overseer should not object, any elector may, by delivering to the Overseer a notice in the following terms :—

" To the Overseers of the Parish of Fulham.

" I hereby give you notice, that I object to the name of John Allen being re- tained in the list of persons entitled to VI4te in the Election 4,r Members for the County of Middlesex, and that I shall hying fiffward such objection at the time 4)/' the revising of such.List. Dated the 2 ti i,:y of August, in the year lti;k2. " Jon of the town of Pulliam."

The said John Bates must, at the same time, lodge a notice of his objection with the party objected to, or with his tenant. John Allen, whose name, in consequence of objections offered by the Overseer or by third parties, is thus excluded from the list of elec- tors, must attend the Court of the Barrister appointed to try such eases; and there the Overseer or third party will be examined re- specting the objections made by him, and the claimant heard in answer ; and the Barrister will give judgment according as the objectors or the claimant shall seem to him to make out his case.

Electors for Boroughs are not called on, in the first instance, to make any claim of registry. It is sufficient that they have paid their poor's-rates and assessed taxes, if any. The Overseers of parishes will of themselves, from the parish rate-book, make out lists of the several persons claiming to vote for houses of more than la rent; the Town Clerks will make out lists of freemen ; and the Clerks of the several Companies of London will make out lists of the Liverymen of their several Companies.

In the case, however, of two or more persons occupying the same premises, it will be necessary for each occupant, even in a borough, to lodge his claim, as the Overseer is not supposed to know all the individual joint occupants. The Act is not very clear in respect of such electors. The assessed taxes, in most cases, as well as the poor's-rates, are charged on one person only in each house. If that person should neglect to make payment, within the given time, it is not easy to see how a remedy for his neglect is to be found. As a means of obviating disputes, it will be best for each joint occupant to make tender of the poor's-rate on a rackrent of 10/. No assessed tax is leviable unless after notice of the amount served upon the party from whom it is due.

' If in any instance the name of a person who claims a right to vote be omitted, he must, on or before the 25th August, deliver to the Overseer, &c. a notice of the omission in the follow- ing form- " To the Overseers of the Parish of St. James, Westminster.

"1 hereby give you notice, that I claim to have my mine inserted in the list =de by you of persons entitled to vote in the Election of Members for the City a Westminster, and that my qualification consists of a house in Cambridge Street, in your parish. Dated this 24th day of August 1862. "-ARCHIBALD Scorr, of No. 6, Cambridge Street, Golden Square."

If this claim be objected to, it will be discussed before the Bar- rister, in precisely the same way as a county vote to which objec- tions have been offered.

In all cases, therefore, what the elector has chiefly to observe, is—lst, that his poor's-rates be paid; 2d, that the notice of his claim to registration in a county be lodged before the 20th July; 3d, that the notice of omission, where a name is omitted in ho roughs, be lodged before the 25th August; 4th, that he do not fail, if any (abjection be made to his claim in either case, which he may " JoirN ALLEN, Fulham." ascertain by inspection of the Oversees list, to attend the Bar- rister's Court to have the objection removed.

There is not the slightest necessity for employing an attorney in. any step of the process ; for the Barrister is empowered and di- rected to correct all verbal errors in theelists, so that no mere formal objection will weigh against one whe possesses a bona fide. qualification.

The foregoing remarks refer to England ; but, as it is our wish that the " Guide to Electors" shall be a Guide all over the island, we shall state also the Scotch qualifications, as they stand in the Bill at present, and also the steps which are necessary to render the exercise of them' effective in the ensuing election.

The future Electors of Scotch Counties will consist of the follow- ing classes- 1st. Owners in possession of lands, houses, feu-duties, or other heritable subjects, with the exception only of heritable debts, of the clear annual value of 10/.

If there be a life-renter and a liar interested in the property conferring a qualification, the right of voting vests in the life- renter.

2d. Lessees'of leaseholds for life, or for a period of sixty years or upwards, of the clear annual value of 10/.

3d. Lessees of leaseholds for a period of twenty years or up- wards, of the clear annual value of 50/.

4th. Sub-lessees and assignees of such 10/. or 5 01. leaseholds, provided they be in personal occupancy. 5th. Lessees, in personal occupancy, of leaseholds of not less than five years, of the annual rent of 50/. or upwards. 6th. Lessees, in personal occupancy, of any leasehold for which a consideration of not less than 300/. has been paid.

7th. All freeholders possessing, or who previous to the 1st March 1831 had a claim to, a vote in any county election.

The future electors of Scotch Boroughs will consist of two classes- 1st. Occupants, whether as owners or tenants, of any building or buildings and lands within the boundaries of any borough of the yearly value of 10/.

2d. Owners, who are-resident, if they possess property within the borough of the yearly value of 10/., although the part which they occupy is not of that value.

It is necessary, in all cases, that the Borou,o-h elector shall, on or before the 20th July of the year in which he claims to vote,. have paid the assessed taxes due by him on the 6th April next preceding.

Wherever, in County or in Borough, two persons jointly own or occupy a property (conferring a vote under the Act) of the yearly value of 20/., each will be entitled to a vote ; where three persons own or occupy such a property of the yearly value of 301., each will be entitled to a vote; and so on.

A husband may vote by virtue of property belonging to his wife, during her lifetime; or after her death, where he holds such property by the courtesy of Scotland.

Clergymen, and others holding office ad vitam aut culpam, will have a right to vote for the property annexed to such office, if it be of the annual value of 10/..

In Counties, owners of property must have had six months' and leaseholders twelve months' possession previous to registration ; in Boroughs, owners or tenants must have been in possession twelve months; but it is not necessary that the premises occupied shall have been the same—it is sufficient if they be of equal value. Per- sons actually residing within seven miles of a borough, are to be deemed occupants within the meaning of the Act.

The Registration in Scotland is extremely simple and expediti- ous. The parochial schoolmaster will, for a fee of 6d., deliver to each person claiming to vote for the county, a printed form of claim; and the receipt of this form, when filled up by the claimant, will be noted, by the schoolmaster; the same officer will, immediately after the 20th July, make up an alphabetical list of all such claim- ants, and affix it to the church-door, with a notice of the day on which the Sheriff of the county is to sit in adjudication of the claims.

Notices of objections, if any, are to be given in previous to the 25th August—the forms being furnished by the schoolmaster on payment of a fee of 6d.; and the receipt of the notice marked similarly to that of the notice of claim. These objections, and a copy of the list of claimants, will be transmitted to the Sheriff by the schoolmaster.

In Boroughs, claims and objections are to be lodged with the Towri-clerk, in the same way as in counties with the schoolmasters.

New claims or objections will be considered every year; but names once admitted to the register will not be disturbed, as long as the parties possess the qualification by virtue of which they were originally admitted. In polling, the only facts to be esta- blished, will be the identity of the 'voter; and his oath, if required, that he still possesses the qualification on which his claim is founded.

Persons whose claims to registration are rejected, may vote under protest ; and a Committee of the House of Commons may allow or reject such protested votes, as they see fit. The great points which persons claiming to vote in Scotland have to attend to are—lst, the payment of their assessed taxes; 2d, the preferring of their claims to vote, in due time—that is, on or before the 20th July; and to attend the discussion of any objec- tions made to them.

Touching the rest, they will be amply instructed by the Sheriff when sitting in adjudication of their claims.