Sec. 1. The intention, of fact for a question the Judges. The A candidate, how far. wickedly, or immorally,or dishonestly, or anything of * Formerly it was "essential that the candidate should be mixed up in it; he himself must do the act forbidden, but he need not do it with his own money or by himself personally, if he should be in any way accessory to the giving or providing. If the agent for whom he is responsible, does it, that, so far as voiding the election goes, has the same effect as the candidate doing it.' (N. Norfolk 1 O. & H. 242). Sec. 1. Treating, before an election. dinary amount of drink was consumed which could not have been paid for by the persons there (Lichfield, 1 0. & H. 24). The term "person" is defined by s. 64 to include an association, &c., the individual members of which, who have taken part in the commission of illegal acts, are punishable. But the mere fact of belonging or subscribing to such an association will not, it would seem, necessarily involve a member who is himself innocent, and was ignorant of any such transactions at the time of his joining. (c) “Either before, during or after an election.”—The repealed section of the C. P. Act, 1854, contained the words, "at any time before, &c." The limit of time will necessarily vary, according to the circumstances of each case. The treating may commence as soon as the candidate is before the constituency, although there is no election immediately impending. And so, in the Youghal case (1 O. & H. 291), the seat was avoided for acts of treating done by an intending candidate in July, although the dissolution did not take place till August (cp. Poole, 2 ib. 124). What has to be proved is, that the treating was intentionally done with a view to influencing votes at the election. How far it will be possible, under this provision, to prevent the indiscriminate nursing of boroughs by wealthy candidates it is impossible to say, for it is still true that "there is no law yet which says that any lavish expenditure in a neighbourhood with a view to gaining influence in the neighbourhood, and influencing an election, is illegal at all, unless made with a view to influencing a particular vote." (Hastings, 1 O. & H. 218.) Perhaps the only remedy against such practices lies in the extermination of small constituencies, and in a greater regard being paid by the electors themselves to questions of national importance, rather than to the trivialities of local politics, which so often turn the scale. Sec. 1. during an The providing of refreshments by a candidate or Treating his agent on the day of the nomination or of the election. poll, to persons actually engaged in the work of the election, though it may be colourable, and is certainly imprudent (Wallingford, 1 O. & H. 58), need not necessarily be treating, if given bona fide and unconditionally. "I cannot think that giving food to persons doing work on the day of the election is a corrupt act, assuming it was bona fide, and that nothing more than ordinary meals were supplied." (Martin, B., Westminster, 1 O. & H. 91; and Bradford, ib. 39.) And, in the case of the paid agents, clerks, &c., who are by the Act prohibited from voting (s. 17, and sched. 1, pt. i.), such providing of refreshment would be harmless enough, unless it were given with a view to influencing the votes of others not so debarred. The treating of nonelectors, in order that they might influence voters (Longford, 2 O. & H. 15), or of women, that they might influence their fathers, brothers or sweethearts, would unquestionably avoid an election. (Tamworth, 1 0. & H. 86.) But the scope for providing, even bond fide, such entertainment, will now of course be materially limited by the stringent provisions of the new Act respecting the amount of the candidate's official and personal expenses. The same remark applies to the providing of Providing Sec. 1. refreshments for committee men. Treating after the election; following upon promises made refreshments for the candidate's committee-men. This has in former cases been held not to avoid an election on the ground of its not being done “in order to be elected," it being well known how those men would vote (Bradford, 10. & H. 39); and this, even when the refreshment was supplied at a large number of public-houses (Westminster, ib. 91). Although where it appeared that the persons thus treated were only colourably put down as committeemen, the election was avoided (Bradford, ubi sup.). Now, all expenses beyond the legal maximum will avoid the election, and the amount available for such a purpose will therefore be proportionately reduced. As to treating after an election, Lush, J. decided in the Brecon case (2 O. & H. 43) that "the treating which the Act (of 1854) calls corrupt as regards a bygone election, must be connected with something which preceded the election, must be the complement of something done or existing before and calculated to influence the voter while the vote was in his power. An invitation given before to an entertainment to take place afterwards, or a practice of giving entertainments after an election, which it may be supposed the electors would calculate on, would, if followed up by the treat afterwards, give to it the character of corrupt treating;" and the election was in this case upheld on the ground that the entertainment had not only not been mentioned, but not even thought of, till after the election was over. (Cp. Harwich, 3 O. & H. 70.) But where the sitting Member had, in the course before; of his election speeches, used such expressions as "when we have won the election, we will have an entertainment together," "" when free and un trammelled by the election law, we will have a day's enjoyment together," and had followed up these promises by sending down large sums after the election to be expended on the entertainment, this, although the treat was afterwards given up, was held to avoid the election (Kidderminster, 20. & H. 176; cp. Hereford, 1 O. & H. 195; North Norfolk, ib. 242). Sec. 1. or a practice leading to treating. And so, where it was proved that at the previous election large quantities of beer had been drunk and expectation of paid for by the sitting member after that election, and that similar treating had taken place at the subsequent election, the latter was avoided, on the ground that “it was expected and understood, though not expressed in absolute words, that a large sum of money would be paid for beer" (Poole, 2 O. & H. 124; Carrickfergus, 3 ib. 92). Similarly, a Committee had reported in the Newcastle-under-Lyme case, that a most objectionable practice prevailed of distributing money under the appellation of "market or dinner money to the poorer voters after the election (B. & A. 453). وو It is moreover well established that a promise of refreshments, in futuro, as opposed to the mere giving of food to be consumed on the spot, amounts to bribery (Bodmin, 1 O. & H. 124). refreshments On the other hand, where refreshments had been where order for ordered for a very considerable number of people countermanded before an election, but in consequence of advice that it would imperil the result, the person who gave the order countermanded it, and only the expenses which |