Mr. Justice Wright delivered judgment yesterday week on the petition
against the return of Mr. Chamberlayne and Sir Barrington Simeon, the sitting (Conservative) Members for Southampton, after a long investigation of seven days. The result was to dismiss the charges of general treating, to find that a single elector's railway expenses had been illegally paid, and on the whole case to leave Sir Barrington Simeon, the Member second on the poll, in the possession of his seat ; while vacating Mr. Chamberlayne's seat for having allowed his carriage to join in a party procession of costermongers who favoured his return, with two members of the procession seated on the hood,—the illegality being, we presume, that this associa. tion of Mr. Chamberlayne's carriage with a trade gave them ground for expecting favours of a substantial kind from him, if he should be returned. It seems a very slight reason for unseat. ing Mr. Chamberlayne, especially as it is said on his side that the identification of his carriage with the procession was a pure accident. But no Act could be conceived that would not produce a few hard cases, and the Corrupt Practices Act of Lord James (then Sir Henry James) appears to have pro- duced as few "hard cases" as any law on the subject we have ever bad. A new writ for Mr. Chamberlayne's seat at Southampton will be issued.
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