enemies, it animated his friends, and fecured him the love of his fubjects, who looked upon him as their protector. Some time now elapfed in peace, the Danes not daring to renew the war, which time Edward prudently employed in fortifying his dominions, in order to fecure them from the future attempts of his enemies.-In the year 912 died Æthered, the earl of Mercia, brother-in-law to Edward; and upon his deceafe, the king took the cities of London and Oxford, with the country adjoining, into his own hands, which had before been committed by his father, Elfred, to the keeping of Æthered. The government of the other parts of Mercia, which Ethered had held, was ftill poffeffed by Æthelfled his widow, fifier to king Edward, a woman of a courageous and martial spirit.'

Defcontents, used in the fenfe of malecontents, is a term unfavourable to precifion. In this paffage we might remark feveral inftances of redundancy, and mifarrangement, fo preva1.nt among the writers of the age; but we are inclined rather to approve the author's laudable exertion of industry, than to cenfure the occafional blemishes which he has admitted into the narrative, in common with fo many other writers.

In an Appendix are given fpecimens of the Anglo Saxon language and the volume is ornamented with no less than fortytwo beautiful copper-plates, befides engravings of the AngloSaxon coins, in a complete feries.

The Hiftory of the Cafes of Controverted Elections, which were tried and determined during the Firft and Second Seffions of the Fourteenth Parliament of Great Britain. XV, and XVI. Geo. III. By Sylvefter Douglas, Efq. Vol. III, and IV. 8vo. 10s. 6d. in boards. Cadell.

THE

'HE ufefulness of this work, towards establishing a judicial method of procedure in determining controverted elections, is too obvious to be questioned; and every friend to the British conftitution must therefore receive pleasure at the accomplishment of a plan, which is calculated to promote an object of fo much importance to the public. The two former, volumes, to which Mr. Douglas prefixed an elaborate introduction, were conducted with great judgment and fidelity *; and the fame qualities are equally confpicuous in those now under confideration.

The following extract from the Preface, containing the eftablished rules relative to the presentation of petitions, comSee Crit. Rev. vol. xi. p. 362.

N 3

plaining

plaining of undue elections, on the fecond, or any fubfequent feffion of parliament, after a general election, may not be unacceptable to our readers.

I. The annual order mentioned in the Introduction, is always expreffed in the fame words, whether in the firft, fecond, or other fubfequent feffion of a parliament viz.

Ordered, "That all perfons who will queftion any returns of members to ferve in parliament, do queftion the fame within fourteen days next, and fo within fourteen days next after any new return fhall be brought in."

But the conftruction is this; on the fecond, or any fub. fequent, feffion, no petitions can be received, even within the fortnight, unless, 1. Where the fame election has been complained of, in the foregoing feflion, and the cause has not been tried; which happens when the day fixed for taking the first complaint into confideration has been pofterior to the rifing of the parliament; 2. Where, in the cafe of a vacancy, there has not been, in the preceding feffion, a fortnight between the time when the return was brought in, and the end of the feffion; 3. When the election complained of has taken place, in confequence of a vacancy, between the two feffions, or after the commencement of the new one.-In the firft feffion of this. parliament, an inftance occurred of the great rigour with which the house adheres to the limitation in the cafe of original petitions. In the laft, the like ftrianefs was observed with refpect to the prefenting a new petition, complaining of an election which had been already petitioned againft. The honourable George Keith Elphinstone had, in the former feffion, prefented a petition, queftioning the election of the fitting member for the county of Dunbarton, in Scotland; but there was no trial of the caufe before the parliament rofe. In the mean time, Mr. Elphinstone being a captain in the navy, was obliged to go abroad on the king's fervice. The annual or der of limitation for the laft feffion was made on the 27th of October, 1775. On the 10th of November, the last day of the fortnight, captain Elphinstone was not returned; but Mr. Seton, who had been his agent on the former occasion, of. fered to give information to the house, touching his intention of renewing his petition, and of the time of his going to fea," and of his being at that time abroad on his majesty's fervice. A motion, however, being made, and the question put, for Mr. Seton's being called to the bar, and examined, it passed in the negative. Then a motion being made, and the queftion put, "That the honourable George Keith Elphinstone be allowed fourteen days more, from this day, to prefent his petition to the houfe, complaing of the election and return of fir

Ar

Archibald Edmondstone, baronet," (the fitting member): this too paffed in the negative.

• It ought, however, to be observed, on this cafe, That Mr. Seton did not produce any authority from captain Elphinftone, to appear as his agent, or to make an application for longer time in his name: that it was on this ground, that the motion for examining him, was rejected that the queftion produced a divifion: and that, after all, many of captain Elphinftone's friends, in the house, thought that he might ftill apply, bimself, for leave to petition, on his return to England, and that the houfe would grant it. In fact, although he returned foon afterwards, he never made any fuch appli cation.

II. When a new petition is prefented, complaining of an élection already petitioned against in the former feffion, the new petition must be the same in fubftance with the former; that is, it must not contain any new allegations. If it does, it will not be received. On a moment's reflection it will be evident, that this rule is neceffary, in order to give to perfons in poffeffion of feats in parliament, the full advantages intended by the order for the limitation of the time of petitioning against them; and, though, I believe, there is no general resolution or order for it, it is understood to be the established law of parliament, and has been fo for at least near a century. See the Cafes of St. Ives. (14th December, 1694,) Reading, (15th of the fame month,) Wigan, (31ft January, 1699-1700,) and Mitchel (5th and 6th March, 1699-1700 ;) in which the committees of privileges and elections were difcharged from proceeding on renewed petitions, because they were not the fame in fubftance with thofe originally prefented.-The reader will recollect, that, after the caufe concerning the validity of the return for the borough of Morpeth had been decided laft year, leave was given to Mr. Eyre, and the electors, to petition, within a fortnight from the time of the decifion, on the merits of the election and that, accordingly, Mr. Eyre did prefent a petition on the merits. The day fixed for taking his petition into confideration, was the 12th of July, 1775. Before that time, the parliament rofe. He therefore had liberty to re-petition at the beginning of the last feffion, and actually did fo, on the 31ft of October, 1775; when an order was made for taking his new petition into confideration on the 26th of January following. On comparing this petition with that of the former feffion, it was thought to contain certain new allegations. Upon this, it was moved in the house, on the 23d of November, 1775, that a committee fhould be appointed to examine, whether the two peti

tions of Mr. Eyre, were the fame in fubftance; and, after fome debate on the subject, a committee was appointed. One of the objections urged against the appointment of this committee was, that the matter was taken up too late; that the difference (if there really was a fubftantial difference) between the two petitions, fhould have been observed when the laft was prefented; that now, a day, for chufing a committee to try the cause, having been fixed, the house could no longer take any original cognifance of the matter; but that it fhould be left to the committee to be chofen under Mr. Grenville's act, to discover the fuppofed variance, and report it to the houfe. This objection was over-ruled; and, as it should feem, with reafon, because it is as juft, that the house, after a new petition has been received, and a day named for taking it into confideration, fhould be able, on the fuggeftion of an effential variation from the former, to take the proper measures for enquiring into that point, and, if neceffary, for discharging entirely the order appointing a day for taking it into confideration, as that, after fuch order, they fhould have it in their power to put an end to the caufe, by giving leave to the party to withdraw his petition.The very day after the committee of enquiry was appointed in the prefent cafe, Mr. Eyre applied for, and obtained, leave to withdraw bis; upon which, the order appointing the committee of enquiry was dif charged.

III. The laft rule I fhall mention is with regard to cafes where, the fame perfon being returned for two places, there is a petition against his election for one of them. Such perfon cannot choose which he will ferve for, till the merits of the election complained of are decided; becaufe, till then, it cannot be ascertained, that he was legally chofen for both places. It is improper that a perfon who has been thus double-returned should, in any inftance, make his option before the fortnight for petitioning is expired, because till then either of his elections may be complained of; and if, on a complaint concerning one of them, it should be decided, that fuch election was void, hẹ would be under a neceflity of reprefenting the other place. But the matter is carried ftill farther. If a petition has been prefented in a former feffion, against a perfon double-returned; and there has been no trial during that feffion, the petitioners have a fortnight at the beginning of the next to renew their complaint now, in fuch a cafe, although the member should make his election to ferve for the place where his right is not difputed, yet the houfe will not order a warrant for a new writ to fill the feat he may have declined, till the expiration of the fortnight; unlefs, perhaps, the former petitioners were them

felves to inform the house that they wave their right, and do not intend to renew their petition.-In the firft feffion of this parliament, feveral freeholders of the county of Westmoreland petitioned the house, complaining of the election of fir James Lowther, bart. for that county. There was no trial of this caufe before the end of the feffion. On the 11th day of the fortnight, in the last feflion, "The fpeaker acquainted the house, that he had received a letter from fir James Lowther, who was prevented by illness from attending his duty in the house, to inform him, that (having received information from the feveral perfons who were the petitioners from the county of Westmoreland in the last feffion of parliament, that they will not renew their petition) he, being chofen a knight of the shire to serve in this prefent parliament for the county of Cumberland, and also a knight of the fhire for the county of Westmoreland, made his election to serve for the faid county of Cumberland.

And a motion being made, and the question being propofed, That Mr. Speaker do iffue his warrant to the clerk of the crown, to make out a new writ for the electing of a knight of the shire to ferve in this prefent parliament for the county of Westmoreland, in the room of the faid fir James Lowther,

"The house was moved, That the petition of several freeholders of the county of Weftmoreland, who have thereunto fubfcribed their names, which was prefented to the house upon the 17th day of December, in the laft feffion of parliament, might be read,

And the fame was read accordingly.

"Then the question being put, That Mr. Speaker do iffue his warrant to the clerk of the crown, to make out a new writ, for the electing of a knight of the fhire to serve in this present parliament for the county of Westmoreland, in the room of the faid fir James Lowther;

"It paffed in the negative."

The method here taken of communicating the intention of the former petitioners to drop their complaint, was not thought fufficient to juftify the house in ordering a new writ. There was no immediate information in the name of the petitioners themselves. On the 13th of November, the fortnight being expired, and no renewed petition having been prefented, a new writ was ordered for Weftmoreland.'.

These two volumes contain eleven cafes of controverted elections, beginning with that of the borough of Petersfield, in the county of Southampton, and ending with the election for the county of Fife in Scotland. Subjoined are Supple

ments