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personation, and aiding, abetting, counselling and procuring personation. Bribery' and corruption at elections have been the subject of much legislation, statutes for their prevention have been passed in 1729, 1809, 1827, 1842, 1854, 1868 and 1883. By the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act 1883 (which incorporated the Corrupt Practices Prevention Act 1854, an act that repealed all former legislation) the following persons are to be deemed guilty of bribery: 1. Every See also:

PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person who shall directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, give, lend, &c., or offer, promise, or promise to procure, &c., any See also:

MONEY

money or valuable See also:

CONSIDERATION (from Lat. considerare, to look at closely, examine, generally taken to be from con-, and the base seen in sidus, sideris, a star, the word being supposed to be originally an astrological or astronomical term)

consideration to or for any voter or any other person in See also:

order to ,induce any voter to See also:

VOTE

vote or refrain from voting, or shall corruptly do any such act on See also:

account of such voter having voted or refrained from voting at any election. 2. Every person who shall similarly give or procure or promise, 198 &c., any See also:

OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

office, See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place or employment to or for any voter or other person in order to induce him to vote, &c. 3. Every person who shall make any See also:

GIFT (a common Teutonic word, cf. Ger. die Gift, gift, das Gift, poison, formed from the Teut. stem gab-, to give, cf. Dutch geven, Ger. geben; in O. Eng. the word appears with initial y, the guttural of later English is due to Scandinavian influence)

gift, See also:

LOAN (adapted from the Scandinavian form of a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Swed. Mn, Icel. lan, Dut. leen; the O.E. laen appears in " lend," the ultimate source is seen in the root of Gr. Xeiaecv and Lat. linquere, to leave)

loan, promise, &c., as aforesaid to any person to induce such person to procure the return of any person to serve in See also:

PARLIAMENT (Anglo-Lat. parliamentum, Fr. parlement, from parler, to speak)

parliament or the vote of any voter. 4. Every person who shall, in consequence of such gift, procure or engage, promise or endeavour to procure the return of any person or the vote of any voter. 5. Every person who shall pay any money with the See also:

INTENT (from Lat. intend ere, to stretch out, extend, particularly in the phrase intendere animum, to turn one's mind to, purpose)

intent that it should be spent in bribery, or who shall pay money in repayment of any money wholly or in See also:

PART

part expended in bribery.

6. Every person who before or during an election shall receive or See also:

contract for any money, &c., for voting, or refraining, or agreeing to vote or to refrain from voting. 7. Every person who, after the election, receives money, &c., on account of any person having voted or refrained, &c. Treating.—Any person who corruptly by himself or by any other person either before, during or after an election, directly or indirectly gives or provides, or pays wholly or in part the expense of giving or providing any See also:

MEAT

meat, drink or entertainment, or See also:

PROVISION (Lat. provisio)

provision to or for any person in order to be elected, or for being elected, or for the purpose of corruptly influencing such person to give or refrain from giving his vote at an election, &c., shall be deemed guilty of treating, and every elector corruptly accepting such meat, drink, &c., shall also be guilty of treating. Undue Influence.—Every person who shall directly or in-directly make use of or threaten to make use of any force, violence, &c., or inflict or threaten to inflict any temporal or spiritual injury, &c., upon any person to induce or compel such person to vote or refrain from voting, or who shall by See also:

ABDUCTION (Lat. abductio, abducere, to lead away)

abduction, See also:

DURESS (through Fr. from Lat. duritia, harshness, severity, durus, hard)

duress, or any fraudulent See also:

DEVICE

device or contrivance impede or prevent the exercise of the See also:

FRANCHISE (from 0. Fr. franchise, freedom, franc, free)

franchise of any elector, or shall thereby compel, induce, &c., any elector to give or refrain from giving his vote, shall be guilty of undue influence. Illegal, as distinguished from " corrupt," practices are certain acts and omissions in regard to an election which are now prohibited, whether done or omitted, honestly or dishonestly. They may be classified under the following heads:—(r) Acts which are illegal practices by whomsoever committed. These are as follows: See also:

PAYMENT (Fr. paiement, from payer, to pay; Lat. pacare, to appease, pax, peace)

Payment or See also:

RECEIPT (M.E. receite, derived through Fr. from Lat. recepta, participle of recipere, to receive)

receipt or contracts to pay or receive money for See also:

CONVEYANCE

conveyance of voters to or from the See also:

POLL

poll, on account of any See also:

COMMITTEE (from commute, an Anglo-Fr. past participle of commettre, Lat. committere, to entrust; the modern Fr. equivalent comite is derived from the Eng.)

committee See also:

ROOM

room beyond the number allowed by the act, or to an elector for use of See also:

house or See also:

LAND

land to exhibit addresses, &c., or for See also:

EXHIBITION

exhibition by him (otherwise than in the See also:

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary course of his business of advertising See also:

AGENT (from Lat. agere, to act)

agent) of such addresses, &c.; payment of election expenses otherwise than by or through the election agent, and payment otherwise than to a See also:

CANDIDATE

candidate or election agent of money provided by any other person for election expenses; voting or procuring to vote of any person prohibited from voting, if the person offending knows of the See also:

PROHIBITION (Lat. prohibere, to prevent)

prohibition; knowingly See also:

PUBLISHING

publishing a false statement that a candidate has withdrawn, or publishing with a view to affect the return of a candidate a false statement as to his See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character or conduct. (2) Acts and omissions which are illegal practices in the See also:

case of candidates and agents only, being breaches of duties specially 'imposed on them. These are the payment or incurring expenses in excess of the maximum authorized by the legislature, the omitting without lawful excuse to make a return and See also:

DECLARATION (from Lat. declarare, to make fully clear, clams)

declaration of expenses in due See also:

time, and the payment by an election agent of any election expense amounting to 46s. not vouched by See also:

BILL

bill of particulars and receipt, of any claim for expenses not sent in in due time, or of any such claim after the time allowed for payment thereof. (3) Acts which are illegal practices when done by a candidate or agent, and are a See also:

minor offence when done by any one else.

These are illegal payments, employment and See also:

HIRING (from O. Eng. hyrian, a word common to many Teutonic languages cf. Ger. heuern, Dutch huren, &c.)

hiring, and See also:

PRINTING (from Lat. imprimere, O. Fr. empreindre)

printing, publishing or posting a bill, See also:

PLACARD (15th cent. Fr. plackart, from plaquier; mod. plaquer, to plaster)

placard or See also:

POSTER

poster not bearing on its See also:

FACE (from Lat. fades, derived either from facere, to make, or from a root fa-, meaning " appear "; cf. Gr. cbatvstv)

face the name of the printer or publisher. Illegal payments are knowingly providing money for prohibited pay-• ments or expenses in excess of the maximum, corruptly inducing a candidate to withdraw by payment or promise of payment (the candidate so induced being guilty of the like offence), paying oragreeing to pay for torches, flags, See also:

BANNERS, FEAST OF (Jap. Nobori-no-Sekku)

banners, cockades, See also:

RIBBONS

ribbons and other marks of distinction (the See also:

RECEIVER

receiver being guilty of the like offence if he is aware of the illegality). Illegal employment is the employment for payment . or promise of payment of persons beyond the number allowed by the legislature or for purposes not authorized. The employe is guilty of the like offence if he knows of the illegality. Illegal hiring is the letting or lending, or the employing, hiring, borrowing or using to carry voters to the poll of See also:

STAGE (Fr. 6/age; from Lat. stare, to stand)

stage, or See also:

hackney carriages, or horses, or of carriages or horses ordinarily let for hire, and the hiring of committee rooms in premises licensed for the See also:

sale of intoxicants, in a See also:

CLUB (connected with " clump ")

club (not being a permanent See also:

POLITICAL

political club) where intoxicants are sold, in premises where refreshments are ordinarily sold, or in a public elementary school in receipt of a See also:

PARLIAMENTARY

parliamentary See also:

grant. Personation and aiding, abetting, &c., of personation are felonies punishable with two years' imprisonment with hard labour. All other corrupt practices are indictable misdemeanours (in See also:

Scotland, crimes and offences) punishable with one See also:

YEAR

year's imprisonment, with or without hard labour, or a See also:

FINE

fine not exceeding £200. Conviction of any corrupt practice also renders the offender incapable for seven years of being registered as an elector, or voting at any election, parliamentary or other, in the See also:

UNITED

United See also:

KINGDOM

Kingdom, or of holding any public or judicial office, or of being elected to or sitting in the House of See also:

COMMONS

Commons; and any such office or seat held by him at the time is vacated. In the case of a parliamentary candidate, if an election See also:

court finds that there has been treating or undue influence by him, or any other corrupt practice with his know-ledge or consent, he becomes incapable of ever being elected for the same See also:

CONSTITUENCY (from " constituent," that which forms a necessary part of a thing; Lat. constituere, to create)

constituency, and incurs the like incapacities as if he had been convicted on See also:

INDICTMENT (from Anglo-Fr. enditernent, enditer, to charge; Lat. in, against, dictare, declare)

indictment; if it is found by the election court that he has been guilty by his agents of a corrupt practice, he becomes incapable for seven years of being elected for the same constituency. Illegal practices are offences punishable on See also:

SUMMARY

summary conviction with a fine not exceeding boo, and with five years' incapacity for being registered or voting as a parliamentary elector, or an elector to public office within the See also:

COUNTY (through Norm. Fr. comae, cf. O. Fr. cunte, conk', Mod. Fr. comae, from Lat. comitatus, cf. Ital. comitato, Prov. comtat; see COUNT)

county or See also:

borough where the offence was committed. Illegal payments, employment and hiring, and printing and publishing of bills, &c., not bearing the printer's or publisher's name, are, when committed by any one who is not a candidate or agent, offences punishable on summary conviction with a fine not exceeding £roo, but carry with them no incapacities. Where an election court finds that any illegal practice has been committed with the knowledge or consent of a parliamentary candidate, he becomes incapable for seven years of being elected to or sitting in the House of Commons for the same constituency.

He incurs the like incapacity, limited to the duration of the parliament for which the election was held, if the election court finds that he was guilty by his agents of an illegal practice. A See also:

PROSECUTION

prosecution for any of the above offences cannot be instituted more than a year after the offence was committed, unless an inquiry by election commissioners takes place, in which case it may be instituted at any time within two years from the See also:

COMMISSION (from Lat. commissio, committere)

commission of the offence, not being more than three months after the date of the commissioners' See also:

REPORT (O.Fr. report or raport, modern rapport, from O.Fr. reporter, mod. rap porter, Lat. reportare, to bring back, in poetical use only, of bringing back an account, news, &c.)

report. The law as to corrupt and illegal practices, as above stated, applies equally to parliamentary, municipal, county and See also:

PARISH (Gr. irapouda, district, neighbourhood; 7r&poucos, one dwelling near or beside, from crap&, OtKOS, house; Lat. paroecur, Late Lat. parochia; cf. Fr. paroisse)

parish See also:

COUNCIL (Lat. concilium, from cum, together, and the root cal, to call)

council elections. Incapacities corresponding to those incurred by parliamentary candidates found guilty by an election court are incurred by municipal and other candidates in the like case, e.g. a municipal candidate found personally guilty of a corrupt practice is incapacitated forever, and a candidate found guilty by his agents is incapacitated for three years from holding corporate office in the borough. See See also:

Rogers, On Elections, 3 vols. ; See also:

Fraser, Law of Parliamentary Elections.

End of Article: CORRUPT PRACTICES

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