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der if a vacancy happens by death in the time of a recess for up-wards of twenty days) sends his w arrant to the clerk of the crownin chancery; who thereupon issues out writs to the sheriffs ofevery county, for the election of all the members to serve for thatcounty, and every city and borough therein. U'ithin three daysafter the receipt ot' this writ, the sheriff is to send his precept, un-der his seal, to the proper returning officers of the cities and bo-roughs, commanding them to elect their members: and the saidreturning officer's are to proceed to election within eight days from'the receipt of the precept, giving four days notice of lire same;and to return the persons chosen, together with the precept, to thesherrlf. But elections of knights ot the shire- must be proceededto by the sheriffs themselves in person, at the next county-courttlrat shall happen after tire delivery of tire writ, 'l ire county-courtis a court held every month, or ottener, by the sheriff, intended totry little causes not exceeding tire value of 40.?. in what part ofthe county he pleases to appoint for that purpose; but for tireelection of knights of the shire, it must be held at tire most usualplace. If tire county-court falls upon the day of delivering thewrit, or within six days after, the sheriff may adjourn (Ire courtand election to some other convenient time, not longer than 16days, nor shorter than 10; but he cannot alter the place, withoutthe consent of all the candidates: and, in all such cases, 10 dayspublic notice must be given of the time and place of the election.A ltd, as it is essential to the very being of parliament tlrat elec-tions should be absolutely free, therefore all undue influencesupon the electors are illegal, and strongly prohibited, l-'or Mr.Locke ranks it among those breaches of trust in the executive ma-gistrate, which, according to his notions, amount to a dissolutionof the government, “ if he employ the force, treasure, and offices,of the society to corrupt the representatives, or openly lo pre-engage the. electors, and prescribe what manner of persons shall becho-en: for thus to regulate candidates and electors, and new-model tlie ways of election, what is it (says he) but to cut up tiregovernment by tiie roots, and poison the very fountain of publicsecurity '” As soon, therefore, as tire time and place of election,either in counties or boroughs, are fixed, all soldiers quartered inthe place are to remove, at least one day before the election, tothe distance of two miles or more; and not to return till one day-after the poll is ended. Biots likewise have been frequently de-termined to make an election void. By vote also of the house ofcommons , to whom alone belongs the power of determining con-tested elections, no lord of parliament, or lord lieutenant of acounty, hath any right to interfere in the election of commoners;and, by statute, the lord warden of the cinque-ports shall not re-commend any members there. If any officer of the excise, cus-toms, stamps, or certain other branches of the revenue, presumest« intermeddle in elections, by persuading any voter or dissuadinghim, he forfeits 100/. and is disabled to hold any office. Thus arethe electors of one branch of the legislature secured from any un-due influence from either of the other two, and from all externalviolence and compulsion. But the greatest danger is that in whichthemselves co-operate by the infamous practice of bribery andcorruption. To prevent which it is enacted, that no candidateshall, after the date (usually called the teste) of the writs, or afterthe vacancy, give any money or entertainment to his electors, orpromise to give any, either to particular persons, or to the placein general, m order to his being elected, on pain of being incapa-ble to ser ve for that place in parliament. And if any money, gift,office, employment, or reward, be given, or promised-to be given,to any voter, at any time, in order to influence him to give orw ithhold his vote, as well lie that takes, as he that offers such bribe?forfeits 500/, and is for ever disabled from voting and holding anyoffice in any corporation; unless, before conviction, he will dis-cover some other offender of the same kind, and then he is in-demnified for his own offence. The first instance that occurs ofelection bribery was so early as 13 Etiz. when one Thomas Longe

(being a simple man, and of small capacity to serve in parliament)acknow ledged that lie had given the returning officer and othersof the borough for which he was chosen four [rounds to be return-ed member, and was for that premium elected. But for this of-fence the borough was amerced, the member was removed, andthe officer fined and imprisoned. But as this practice hath sincetaken much deeper and more universal root, it hath occasionedthe making of these wholesome statutes; to complete the efficacyof which, there is nothing wanting hut resolution and integrity toput them in strict execution. Undue influence being thus guardedagainst, the election is to be proceeded to on the day appointed;the sheriff or other returning officer first taking an oath against bri-bery, and for the due execution of his office. The candidates iike-w ise, if required, must swear to tln-ir qualification, and the electorsin counties to theirs; and the electors, both in comities ami boroughs,are also compellable to take the oatli of abjuration, and that againstbribery and corruption. And-it might not lie amiss, if the memberselected were bound to take the latter oath as well as the former;which, in all probability, would be much more effectual than ad-ministering it only to the electors. The election being dosed, tncreturning officer in boroughs return his precepts to the sheriff’,with the persons elected by the majority: raid the sheriff returnsthe whole, together with the writ for the county and the knightselected thereupon, to the clerk of the crown in chancery ; beforetlie day of meeting, if it be a new parliament, or within 14 daysafter the election, if it he an occasional vacancy ; and this underpenalty of 500/. If the sheriff does not return such knights onlyas are duly elected, he forfeits, by the old statutes of Henry VI *.100/.; and the returning officer in boroughs, for a like false return ;40/.; and they are besides liable to an action, in which double da-mages shall be recovered, by the later statutes ol king M illiam;and any person bribing the returning officer shall also forfeit 300/.But tlie members returned by him are the silting members, untiltlie house of commons , upon petition, shall adjudge tlie return tobe false arid illegal. The form and manner ot proceeding uponsuch petition are now regulated by statute 10 (ieo. III. c. 16,(amended by 11 Geo. HI. c. 4”, and made perpetual by 14 Geo.III. c. 15.), which directs the method of choosing by lot a selectcommittee of 15 members, w ho are sworn well and truly to try tliesame, and a true judgement to give, according to the evidence.

Election, oe Ecclesiastical Person’s. Elections lor thedignities of the church ought to be free, according to tin- stat. 9Ed. II. cap. 14. If any persons, that have a voice in elections,lake any reward for an election in any church, college, school,ike. the election shall be void. And if any persons of such socie-ties resign their places to others for reward, they incur a forfeitureof double the sum; and both the parties are rendered incapableof the place. Slat. 31 Eliz. cap. 6.

Election, ofVerderors of the Forest, (electione virida-riorum forests:), in law, a w rit that lies for the choice of a verdcror,where any of the verderors of the forest are dead, or removedfrom their offices. This writ is directed to the sheriff, and theverdcror is lo be elected by his freeholders of the county, in thesame manner as coroners.

ELECTIVE ATTRACTION, the same with affinity, orchemical attraction. See Chemistry.

ELECTOR, he that has a vote in the choice of any officer.See Election.

ELECTORATE, the territory of an elector.

ELECTRA, in the pagan mythology, one of the seven daugh-ters of Allas and Rleiono, who w ere fabled to have been changedinto the constellation, Pleiades. She was the mother of Darda-nus, the first king of Troy, by Jupiter; and according to Hygi-nus, withdrew her light upon tlie destruction of Troy.

ELECTRICIAN , one who makes electrical experiments,and endeavours to investigate the nature, causes, and effects, otelectricity.

ELECTRICITY.

ELECTRICITY, (Vnerjov, amber,] is that part of natural phi-losophy which investigates tlie nature, properties and eflects, of a cer-tain subtile fluid, found to exist in the material world, aud denominat-

ed the electrical fluid. The term electricity is also applied to de-note the pha-nomena and state of bodies under the influence of theelectric fluid. Few or none of the refinements of science afford

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