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19 VICTORIA, dent or Speaker by warrant under his hand laid upon the table of the Council or Assembly as the case may be on or before the third day on which the Council or Assembly shall meet after the dissolution of the committee or notification of the vacancy made to the President or Speaker as the case may be; and such warrant shall be subject to the disapproval of the Council or Assembly in like manner as hereinbefore provided in the case of the appointment of the first committee; and upon any re-appointment of any such committee the President or Speaker may if he think fit re-appoint any of the members of the former committee who are then willing and not disqualified to serve on it; and every such new committee or new members shall have power if thought fit to take up and continue the business which may have been pending at the time of the dissolution or vacancy as aforesaid in the same manner as might have been done by the committee as previously constituted and composed.

Time and place

62. The President or Speaker as the case may be shall appoint to be appointed. the time and place of the first meeting of the said committee, and the committee shall meet at the time and place so appointed; but no member shall act upon any such committee until he shall have taken or made an oath or affirmation according to the form set forth in the Schedule hereunto annexed and marked E to be administered. or made at the table of the said Council or Assembly as the case may be by or before the clerk thereof; and the said committee shall not be competent to transact any business unless at the least four members thereof shall be present.

Schedule E.

Powers of committee.

63. Every such committee shall have power to adjourn its sitting from time to time as in its discretion it shall think proper; provided that the interval of adjournment shall not in any instance exceed five days unless the Council or Assembly shall be adjourned for a longer period, or unless by leave first obtained from the Council or Assembly as the case may be; and in case of the adjournment of the Council or Assembly to a day subsequent to the day fixed for the adjournment of such committee after such lastmentioned day shall have been so fixed, then the next meeting of such committee shall be held on the day to which the Council or Assembly shall have been adjourned; and in case four members shall not have met together within half an hour of the time appointed for an original or adjourned meeting, it shall be competent to the members to adjourn within the limits and subject to the restrictions aforesaid and every such committee shall elect its own chairman and shall have power to regulate the form and manner of its own proceedings. Provided that such proceedings shall be conducted openly, except when the committee shall think it necessary to deliberate among themselves after hearing evidence and argument if offered; and all questions before the committee shall be decided by a majority of votes ; and whenever the votes are equal the chairman shall have a casting vote; and no member of the committee shall be allowed to refrain from voting on any question on which the committee is divided; and the said committee shall be attended by one of the clerks of the House who shall make a minute of all proceedings of the committee in such form and manner as shall be from time to time directed by the committee, and a copy of the minutes.

shall be laid from time to time or at the termination of any enquiry 19 VICTOria, before the Council or Assembly as the case may be.

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committee.

64. Every such committee shall have power to enquire into Jurisdiction of and determine upon all election petitions, and upon questions which may be referred to it respecting the validity of any election or return of a member or members to serve in the Council or Assembly as the case may be, whether the disputes relating to such elections or returns shall arise out of an error in the returns of the returning officer or out of the allegation of bribery or corruption against any person concerned in any election or out of any other allegation calculated to affect the validity of such election or return, and also upon all questions concerning the qualification or disqualification of any person who shall have been returned as a member of the said Council or Assembly as the case may be; and on the trial of any such question the committee shall be guided by the real justice of the case without regard to legal forms and solemnities and shall direct itself by the best evidence it can procure or that is laid before it, whether the same be such evidence as the law would require or admit in other cases or not, and it shall be lawful for such committee to receive or reject as it may deem fit any evidence that may be tendered to it.

amine witnesses

duction of books

65. Every such committee shall have power to direct the atten- Election comdance of witnesses and to examine them upon oath, which oath it mitte may exshall be competent for the chairman of the said committee to and compel proadminister; and also to send for and examine papers records and and papers. other documentary evidence relating to or affecting the matter under investigation not being private papers; and it shall be competent to any such committee if in its discretion it shall see fit to receive declarations relative to any of the matters referred to it taken before any justice of the peace in the presence of agents respresenting the opposing parties interested in such petition, which declarations justices of the peace are hereby authorised to take; and if any person summoned by any such committee shall disobey such summons or shall refuse or neglect to produce any papers records or other documentary evidence relating to or affecting the matter under investigation which shall have been sent for by any such committee or shall refuse to submit himself to examination or shall give false evidence or prevaricate or otherwise misbehave in giving or refusing to give evidence, he shall be deemed guilty of contempt and be liable accordingly; and any person wilfully or knowingly giving false evidence before any such committee or a quorum thereof or in any such declaration as aforesaid shall be deemed guilty of wilful and corrupt perjury and shall be liable to the penalties for such offence.

tained by election

66. No such committee shall have power to enquire into the what questions correctness of any roll, but simply into the identity of the electors may be entert the retention by them of a sufficient qualification and whether their committee. votes were improperly admitted or rejected assuming the roll to be correct and whether any electors or persons entitled to vote gave their votes under the influence of bribery or corruption fraud force menace or other undue influence; and if the committee shall find any vote to have been given under the influence of bribery and corruption fraud force menace or any undue influence by or on the part

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19 VICTORIA, of any candidate or his agents committee-men or partizans or any of them, such votes may be struck off; and as often as any such committee shall find any elector to have been prevented from voting by fraud force menace or any undue influence by or on the part of any candidate or his agents committee-men or partizans or any of them, it shall be competent to the elector so prevented from voting to tender his vote before the said committee, and such vote shall be taken accordingly, and on reckoning the votes received for any candidate such votes so rejected or received shall be taken into the account accordingly by such committee.

67. Every such committee shall determine finally on all questions referred to it: and if any such committee shall determine and report to the Council or Assembly that a person was not duly elected who was returned as elected by the returning officer, any person so declared not to be duly elected shall cease to be a member of the said Council or Assembly as the case may be; and if such committee shall determine and report any person to have been duly elected who was not returned by the returning officer, the person so declared shall be sworn a member of the said Council or Assembly as the case may be and shall upon making the declaration required by law as to his qualification take his seat accordingly and if any such committee shall declare any election to be wholly void or shall declare any sitting member to be unqualified or disqualified, the President in the event of the vacancy occurring in the Council shall notify the fact to the Governor who shall issue a new writ for the holding of another election, and the Speaker in the event of the vacancy occurring in the Assembly shall issue a new writ for the holding of another election, and the person thereafter elected and duly returned shall be the member for the province or district as the case may be for which such writ shall have been issued: and if any such committee shall come to any resolution other than the determination above mentioned, such committee shall and is hereby required to report the same to the Council or Assembly as the case may be for its opinion and decision, at the same time informing the said Council or Assembly of such resolution; and it shall be lawful for the said Council or Assembly as the case may be to confirm or rescind any such resolution and make such order thereon as to the said House shall seem proper.

68. All petitions complaining of an undue election or return of a member to serve in the said Council or Assembly as the case may be, or complaining that no return has been made according to the exigency of the writ issued for the election of a member to serve in the said Council or Assembly, or complaining of any special matter contained in any such return, shall be subscribed by some person who voted or claimed to have a right to vote at the election to which the same shall relate, or by some person or persons claiming to have had a right to be returned or elected thereat, or alleging himself to have been a candidate at the election; and shall be addressed and presented to the President of the Council or Speaker of the Assembly within thirty days after the next meeting of the Council or Assembly or within forty days after the day of the return of the writ to which any such petition shall relate; and in case the said Council or Assembly be prorogued before the expiring of such period of forty days,

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then any such petition may be presented to the said Council or 19 VICTORIA, Assembly as the case may be within such time after the next meeting thereof as together with the time expired before the prorogation that shall make up such period of forty days; and every such petition shall forthwith be notified in the Government Gazette, and shall as soon as conveniently may be after such presentation be laid by the said President or Speaker before the Council or Assembly as the case may be, and shall by the said Council or Assembly be referred to "The Committee of Elections and Qualifications either forthwith or as soon as the said committee shall have been duly appointed and confirmed.

69. It shall be competent for the Council or Assembly as the Petitions to be case may be, upon any petition subscribed as aforesaid complaining referred to elec of the insufficiency of the qualification of any member and presented to the President or Speaker at any time within three months after such member shall have subscribed the declaration required by law to be made by him in his place in the said Council or Assembly and in case the said Council or Assembly be prorogued before the expiring of such period of three months then any such petition may be presented to the said Council or Assembly as the case may be within such time after the next meeting thereof as together with the time expired before the prorogation that shall make up such period of three months, touching* his qualification to refer the said petition * sic. and the question thereby raised to "The Committee of Elections and Qualifications;" and it shall also be competent to the said Council or Assembly upon the like petition to refer to any such committee all questions respecting bribery or corruption alleged to have been committed at any election at any time within twelve months after such election, notwithstanding that in either of the above cases the period shall have elapsed for a petition against the said election or the return thereof according to the provisions hereinbefore in that behalf contained; and in all matters connected with elections the acts of all authorised agents of a candidate or member shall be held to be the acts of their principal, unless it be proved to the satisfaction of the committee that such acts were committed without his knowledge power or consent. Provided that no petition touching the qualification of any member of the said Council or Assembly shall be received or referred to "The Committee of Elections and Qualifications" after the periods respectively above mentioned.

want of qualifi

returned candi

70. No election shall be held void in consequence of any one Election not or more candidates being returned duly elected who shall by such made void by committee be declared to have been unqualified at the time of such cation of any election, although no notice of such want of qualification shall have date. been given to the electors at the time of the election; and the ne person or persons having the next greatest number of votes shall be declared duly elected.

71. Before presenting any such petition as aforesaid to the said sum to be lodged President or Speaker as the case may be, the persons by whom the assecurity for same shall be subscribed or some one on their behalf shall pay into one of the banks carrying on business in Victoria a sum of one hundred pounds to the credit of the President of the Council or of the Speaker of the Assembly as the case may require in relation to

1

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19 VICTORIA, the said petition, which sum shall be payable towards the costs of the petition as hereinafter regulated and shall be liable to be withdrawn upon the order or orders of the said President or Speaker either for the purpose of such payment or for the purpose of restoring the same to the petitioner or petitioners wholly or in part as the case may require.

Elector may require to be ad

position.

72. Any person who voted or had a right to vote at the election mitted to defend to which any petition relates may petition the Council or Assembly as the case may require to be admitted as a party to defend the return, or to oppose the prayer of such petition, or support the said petition in case the same shall be abandoned by the person by whom the same was presented; and such person shall thereupon be admitted as a party to defend such return or oppose the prayer of such petition or support the same as the case may be.

Notice of inten

tion not to proceed.

Costs of frivolous and vexatious petitions defences or oppositions.

Costs of frivolous or vexatious objections or allegations.

73. The petitioners may at any time after the presentation of their petition withdraw the same, upon giving notice to the President or Speaker as the case may require and also to the sitting member or his agent and also to any party who may have been admitted to defend the return that it is not intended to proceed with the petition; and in such case the petitioners shall be liable to the payment of such costs and expenses as have been incurred by the sitting member or other party complained of in such petition and also by any party admitted to oppose the prayer of such petition to be taxed as hereinafter provided.

74. Whenever any such committee shall report to the Council or Assembly as the case may be that a petition so referred to them was frivolous or vexatious the parties (if any) to be named by the said committee who have appeared before the committee in opposition to such petition shall be entitled to recover from any of the persons also to be named by the said committee who subscribed such petition the full costs and expenses which parties have incurred in opposing the same; and whenever the committee shall report to the Council or Assembly that the opposition made to any such petition by any party to be named by them appearing before them was frivolous or vexatious, the persons who signed the petition shall be entitled to recover from the party with respect to whom such report is made the full costs and expenses which such petitioners have incurred in presenting such petition; and where no party has appeared before the committee in opposition to the petition and the committee reports to the Council or Assembly that the election or return or the omission or insufficiency of a return complained of in such petition was corrupt or vexatious, the persons who signed such petition shall be entitled to recover from the sitting members or member (if any) whose election or return is complained of (such members not having given notice as aforesaid of their intention not to defend the same) or from any other persons admitted by the committee as aforesaid to oppose such petition the full costs and expenses which such petitioners have incurred in presenting the petition.

75. If any ground of objection be stated against any individual elector and the committee be of opinion that such objection was frivolous or vexatious, it shall report the same to the Council or