e to-day, on the
whole, simple and liberal. The qualification of residence was replaced
in the eighteenth century by a property qualification; but, as has
been pointed out, in 1858 this likewise was swept away. Oaths of
allegiance and oaths imposing religious tests once operated to debar
many, but all that is now required of a member is a very simple oath
or affirmation of allegiance, in a form compatible with any shade of
religious belief or unbelief. Any male British subject who is of age
is qualified for election, unless he belongs to one of a few small
groups--notably peers (except Irish); clergy of the Roman Catholic
Church, the Church of England, and the Church of Scotland; certain
office-holders; bankrupts; and persons convicted of treason, felony,
or corrupt practices. A member is not required to be a resident of the
electoral district which he represents. Once elected, a man properly
qualified cannot escape membership by resignation. He may be expelled,
but the only means by which he can retire from the House voluntarily
is the acceptance of some public post whose occupant is _ipso facto_
disqualified. To serve this end two or three sinecures are maintained,
the best known being the stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds. The
member who desires to give up his seat accomplishes his purpose by
applying for one of these offices, receiving it, and after having
disqualified himself, resigning it.

IV. ELECTORAL PROCEDURE AND REGULATIONS

*97. Writs and Election Days.*--When a parliament is dissolved the royal
proclamation wherein the dissolution is declared expresses the desire
of the crown to have the advice of the people and announces the
sovereign's will and pleasure to call a new parliament. With this
proclamation as a warrant, the chancellors of Great Britain and
Ireland forthwith issue writs of election, addressed to the returning
officers of the counties and boroughs, i.e., in all Scotch and Irish
constituencies and in the English counties the sheriffs, or their
deputies, and in the English boroughs the mayors. The form of these
writs, as well as the nature of the electoral procedure generally, is
prescribed in the Parliamentary and Municipal Elections Act, commonly
known as the Ballot Act, of 1872.[133] Upon receipt of the proper (p. 093)
writ the returning officer gives notice of the day and place of the
election, and of the poll if it is known that the election will be
contested. In the counties the ele