Page:Letters of Junius, volume 1 (Woodfall, 1772).djvu/183

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question, the affirmative of which will then stand thus:

"It is the known and established law of parliament, that the expulsion of any member of the house of commons creates in him an incapacity of being re-elected; that any votes given to him at a subsequent election are, in consequence of such incapacity, null and void; and that any other candidate, who, except the person rendered incapable, has the greatest number of votes, ought to be the sitting member."

But our business is not yet quite finished. Mr. Walpole's case must have a re-hearing, "It is not possible, says this writer, to conceive a case more exactly in point. Mr. Walpole was expelled, and, having a majority of votes at the next election, was returned again. The friends of Mr. Taylor, a candidate set up by the ministry, petitioned the house that he might be the sitting member. Thus far the circumstances tally exactly, except that our house of commons saved Mr. Luttrell the trouble of petitioning. The point of law, however,