inquiry is held by election commissioners shall be commenced within one year after the offence was committed, or within three months after the report of such commissioners is made, whichever period last expires, so that it be commenced within two years after the offence was committed, and the time so limited by this section shall, in the case of any proceeding under the Summary Jurisdiction Acts for any such offence, whether before an election court or otherwise, be substituted for any limitation of time contained in the last-mentioned Acts.

(2) For the purposes of this section the issue of a summons, warrant, writ or other process shall be deemed to be a commencement of a proceeding, where the service or execution of the same on or against the alleged offender is prevented by the absconding or concealment or act of the alleged offender, but save as aforesaid the service or execution of the same on or against the alleged offender, and not the issue thereof, shall be deemed to be the commencement of the proceeding.'

Evidence] See Privilege of Witnesses and Reed v. Lamb, 6 H. & N. 75, 1860: examined copies of the register, poll book, writ, return, &c., may be put in; Vaile, 6 Cox C. C. 470, 1853: personating a voter at an election; as the sheriff could not produce the writ, an acquittal was ordered; and Clarke, 1 F. & F. 654, 1859: an irregular but proved list of voters held admissible. See also 26-7 V. 29, 6, below.

Possible verdicts] S. 52. Any person charged with a corrupt practice may, if the circumstances warrant such finding, be found guilty of an illegal practice (which offence shall for that purpose be an indictable offence), and any person charged with an illegal practice may be found guilty of that offence, notwithstanding that the act constituting the offence amounted to a corrupt practice, and a person charged with illegal payment, employment or hiring, may be found guilty of that offence, notwithstanding that the act constituting the offence amounted to a corrupt or illegal practice.' An 'illegal practice' is not otherwise indictable: s. 10.

Not triable at Q. S.] S. 53, (1) S. 10 of the Corrupt Practices Prevention A. 1854, and s. 6 of the Corrupt Practices Prevention A. 1863,' which now (owing to repeals) only provide that Q. S. cannot try bribery or undue influence (s. 10) and that the certificate of the returning officer shall be good evidence of the holding of the election and of any one having been a candidate (s. 6), 'shall extend to any prosecution on indictment for the offence of any corrupt practice within the meaning of this Act, and to any action for any pecuniary forfeiture for an offence under this Act, in like manner as if such offence were bribery within the meaning of those Acts, and such indictment or action were the indictment or action in those sections mentioned ... but the director of public prosecutions or any person instituting any prosecution in his behalf, or by direction of an election court shall not be deemed to be a private prosecutor. .

(2) See Spouse Witnesses.

(3) is unrepealed, but its provisions for the forms of indictments and for evidence are also in other ss.

S. 55.-(2) 'The enactments relating to charges before justices against persons for indictable offences shall, so far as is consistent with the tenor thereof, apply to every case where an election court orders a person to be prosecuted on indictment in like manner as if the court were a justice of the peace.'

By s. 56 the jurisdiction of the High Court may be exercised by a judge (or in certain cases and with less powers, a master).

By s. 57 (1) the duties of the Director of Public Prosecutions are defined.

By s. 58 (2) 'Where any costs or other sums are under the order of an election court or otherwise under this Act, to be paid by any person, those costs shall be a simple contract debt due from such person to the person or persons to whom they are to be paid, and if payable to the Treasury shall be a debt to her Majesty, and in either case may be recovered accordingly.'

Procedure] By a proviso to s. 43 (4) in corrupt practices the defendant has an option of being tried by a jury, and by sub-s. (5) he is

then and in other cases liable to be tried on indictment.

Municipal, &c. elections] By the Municipal Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Practices) A. 1884, 47-8 V. 70, 2 (1), corrupt practices are treating, undue influence, bribery and personation, as defined by 17-18 V. 102, 2 and 3, above; 35-6 V. 33, 24; 46-7 V. 51, 1, 2; and 45-6 V. 50, 77, partly rpd.; and aiding, abetting, counselling and procuring the commission of the offence of personation.'

By s. 2 (2), any person who commits any corrupt practice in reference to a municipal election shall be guilty of the like offence, and shall, on conviction, be liable to the like punishment and subject to the like incapacities as if the corrupt practice had been committed in reference to a parliamentary election.'

In s. 28, the powers of the Director of Public Prosecutions are described, and amongst them the power (just as in s. 43 (3) of the 1883 A.) to prosecute before the election court, or any other competent court, any person who appears to him to have been guilty of a corrupt or illegal practice. See Riley and Campion. The accused (of corrupt practice) has the option of being tried by a jury. By s. 30, the prosecution of offences is (subject to the other provisions of the A. and some additions in this s.) to be the same in all respects as if the offence had been committed in reference to a parliamentary election. And ss. 45-6, 50-7 (above), 59, and 60 of the 1883 A. are generally to apply.

Punishment] By 46-7 V. 51, 6: (1) A person who commits any corrupt practice other than personation, or aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of the offence of personation, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and on conviction on indictment, shall be liable to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding one year, or to be fined any sum not exceeding two hundred pounds.

(2) A person who commits the offence of personation, or of aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring the commission of that offence, shall be guilty of felony, and any person convicted thereof on indictment' [which includes information, s. 64]'shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, together with hard labour.'

(3 and 4) Persons so convicted are further subject for seven years to the incapacities of: (a) being an elector for any election to a public office in the United Kingdom; (b) holding any public or judicial office' within this A. and forfeiting any that he holds; (c) being a

member of the House of Commons.

By s. 64, 'judicial office' includes a J.P. and a revising barrister..

Public bodies] By 52-3 V. 69, the Public Bodies Corrupt Practices A. 1889, s. 1: (1) Every person who shall by himself or by or in conjunction with any other person, corruptly solicit or receive, or agree to receive, for himself, or for any other person, any gift, loan, fee, reward, or advantage whatever, as an inducement to, or reward for, or otherwise on account of any member, officer, or servant of a public body as in this Act defined, doing or forbearing to do anything in respect of any matter or transaction whatsoever, actual or proposed, in which the said public body is concerned, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.

(2) Every person who shall by himself or by or in conjunction with any other person corruptly give, promise, or offer any gift, loan, fee, reward, or advantage whatsoever to any person, whether for the benefit of that person or of another person, as an inducement to, or reward for, or otherwise on account of any member, officer, or servant of any public body as in this Act defined, doing or forbearing to do anything in respect of any matter or transaction whatsoever, actual or proposed, in which such public body as aforesaid is concerned, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.'

An ex-inspector of the London County Council who offered, for money, to absent himself from the licensing committee when a licence was asked for was within (1), as any one, whether a servant or not of... [a] public body, who tried to get.. money on the pretext that he would either abstain himself or induce someone else to abstain from giving evidence' to the public body, is liable: Edwards, 59 J. P. 88, 1895.

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S. 2. Any person on conviction for offending as aforesaid shall, at the discretion of the court before which he is convicted

(a) be liable to be imprisoned for any period not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour, or to pay a fine not exceeding five hundred pounds, or to both such imprisonment and such fine; and

(b) in addition be liable to be ordered to pay to such body, and in such manner as the court directs, the amount or value of any gift, loan, fee, or reward received by him or any part thereof; and

(c) be liable to be adjudged incapable of being elected or appointed to any public office for seven years from the date of his conviction, and to forfeit any such office held by him at the time of his conviction; and

(d) in the event of a second conviction for a like offence he shall, in addition to the foregoing penalties, be liable to be adjudged to be for ever incapable of holding any public office, and to be incapable for seven years of being registered as an elector, or voting at an election either of members to serve in parliament or of members of any public body, and the enactments for preventing the voting and registration of persons declared by reason of corrupt practices to be incapable of voting shall apply to a person adjudged in pursuance of this section to be incapable of voting; and

(e) if such person is an officer or servant in the employ of any public body, upon such conviction he shall, at the discretion of the court, be liable to forfeit his right and claim to any compensation or pension to which he would otherwise have been entitled.'

In Edwards, above, the disqualification and the forfeiture in (c) and (e) were part of the sentence.

(2) A person shall not be exempt from punishment under this Act by reason of the invalidity of the appointment or election of a person to a public office.'

S. 4. (1) A prosecution for an offence under this Act shall not be instituted except by or with the consent of the Attorney-General. (2) In this section the expression Attorney-General' includes the Solicitor-General for England or Ireland.'

By s. 6, Q. S. has jurisdiction.

S. 7. In this Act

The expression 'public body' means any council of a county or or county of a city or town, any council of a municipal borough, also any board, commissioners, select vestry, or other body which has power to act under and for the purposes of any Act relating to local government, or the public health, or to poor law or otherwise to administer money raised by rates in pursuance of any public general Act, but does not include any public body as above defined existing elsewhere than in the United Kingdom: The expression 'public office' means any office or employment of a person as a member, officer, or servant of such public body: The expression 'person' includes a body of persons, corporate or unincorporate:

The expression advantage' includes any office or dignity, and any forbearance to demand any money or money's worth or valuable thing, and includes any aid, vote, consent, or influence, or pretended aid, vote consent, or influence, and also includes any promise or procurement of or agreement or endeavour to procure, or the holding out of any expectation of any gift, loan, fee, reward, or advantage, as before defined.'

For inland revenue officers, see 53-4 V. 21, 10.

Costs] See 46-7 V. 51, 58 (2). A successful defendant in a private prosecution cannot be deprived of his costs from the prosecutor. Law, 1900, 1 Q. B. 605; 19 Cox C. C. 452.

See further, Corruption.

BRIDGES, &c.-INJURING.

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Injury] By 24-5 V. 97, 33: Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously pull or throw down, or in anywise destroy any bridge (whether over any stream of water or not), or any viaduct or aqueduct, over or under which bridge, viaduct, or aqueduct, any highway, railway, or canal shall pass, or do any injury with intent and so as thereby to render such bridge, viaduct, or aqueduct, or the highway, railway or canal passing over or under the same, or any part thereof, dangerous or impassable, shall be guilty of felony, and being convicted thereof shall be liable to be kept in penal servitude for life,' and, if a male under the age of sixteen years, with or without whipping.' Seealso ss. 58-9.

Private bridges are within ss. 51 & 52. See Rivers.

BROKERAGE OF OFFICES.

See Offices, &c.