The Express.
London, England, 1853-04-14 00:00:00

COCKERMOU TH.

The committee, on resuming yesteriay, ordered
Wm. Crone, the inebriated witness, to be brought in. He
stated that he went on the occasion referred to by Ritson,
another witness, to Benson's-office to ace whether he would
adv-inee him anything on his bedstead, as he was in great
difficulty. Benson usleed him what was the value of it ;
and witness replied he thought about 51. 103. or 61. 10s.
Benson then seat fur Ildt on to find out its value. Witness
was perfectly sober at the time, and Benson paid him 51.
in the presence of Ritson, but it had nothing to do with his
vote. After that election witness asked Benson t.) advance
him some money upon some leather, and Benson advanced
him 21. Witness was a shoemaker, and had since nearly
worked the two sovereigns out in :hoes supplied. Had
promised his vote to Agli miby and Boni:nen before the
money was advanced on the bedstead. Had taken the
pledge in consequence of illness, brought on by drinking,
and a very little affeeted hint now.
The Chairman having admonished the witness on the im-
propriety of getting intoxicated on an occasion when he
had to give serious evidence before the committee, told him
he must remain in custody until an order in the cont.,u of
the day was obtained from the house for his dismiet-al.
Evidence was then taken to show that a voter named
Dempster was sent over to Scotland by Steele, one of the
alleged agents of the sitting member, to prevent him from
voting fur General Wyndham, and a man named Green re-
ceived the money from Steele for this purpose. The
witnesses called to prove the case were .Marianne
Lowry, a cook at Steele's ; Robert Telford, landlord
at the Goat, and Thomas Dempster, the Toter
himself, who was in the employment of Steele.
Dempster, it appeared, was at Steele's with Green the 'f nes-
day before the election, and, according to his own account,
asked Steele for 10/., thinking it better to gat out of the
way, to avoid voting for General Wyndham, when Steele
told him he woad give him nothing, and that he might go
to the devil if he pleased. Marianne Lowry, however, saw
Steele's coachman give some money to Green the same day,
and at the Goat Inn the landlord heard some conversation
between Green and Dempster, end Green said he had re-
ceived si. from Steele to take Dempster out of the way-.
They went to Dumfries, where Dempster's father lived, and
stopped over the election, and it
.was shown that Dempster
left with a suit of clothes belonging to Steele, who had
since deducted the expense of this trip from en account he
owed him. He also promised to vote for General Wynd-
ham, es great inducements were held out to hint of getting
a situation worth 501. a year, which was in the general's
service.

This Is understood to close the case for the petitioners
against the return of Mr. Agliouby.
The committee ajourned to this day.

LEICESTER.

At this committee, the room of which was again
greatly tilled throughout the day by members and strangers,
the cross examination (by &rjeant Wilkins and Mr. Tindal
Atkinson, assisted by Mr. E. G. Salisbury) of Holyoake
(the principal agent of the petitioners) was continued, and
lasted from eleven until nearly four o'clock. The crow
examination was not at all strictly upon the evidence
offered on the main examination, but was directed with a
view to elicit a totally new set of facts. The object was to
obtain from this witness essertir us in general support of
his main evidence, which other witnesses on behalf of the
sitting members would subsequently be produced to contra-
dict ; and the effect was that the questioning was of a very
minute end personal character, and bad bearings the na-
ture of which the after testimony in the case wculd
alone render apparent. The witness was preierd to con-
fess the details of his conduct since entrusted with
the getting up of the evidence against the sitting members;
and by degrees, and after great equivocation, it was elicited
from him that he " might have " (he would " swear " to no-
thing) gone about Leicester malrcing voters drunk, getting
" heleratcd" himself, and offering every description of in-
ducement to Colliatiioll to his besotted and bewildered vic-
tims. In innumerable instances he had produced large
quantities of gold, and "might have" made great boasts
as to the power and influence of the persons from whom he
bad obtained this money. The main note of the cross-
examination consisted in an attempt to connect the witness
with Mr. Paget (Leicester banker). At first the witness
offered a vehement denial to every suggestion of that kind ;
but afterwards ho admitted that on two or three oc-
casions he had been in the backyard of the bank,
sometimes with voters, and had there seen ene of
the Messrs. l'agot. Again and again, en small and
os great points, this witness contradicted himself,
and the general tone which distinguished his testimony of
" fencing," his feeble guards being, of course, easily
broken down by the practised and forcible weapons CI the
counsel, produced throughout the room an impression de•
eidedly unfavourable to his credibility. Oa this day he con-
tradicted himself; and the report of the rrneeodinAs of
Monday will show that be repeatedly contradicted other
witnesses on the same side.

Phis elaborre cross examination was still proceeding at
20 minutes to 4 o'clock, when the chairman said that he had
been pressed by members of the committee on both sides to
ask the learned counsel if there were any further spealal
cases to be gone into; fur, if uot, more examination of the
same general kind wauld be unucccigary. committee,

1 r •.lisuath!, had made up their minds about the character
f II dynalto there could he no mistake shout thy.
Upon this hiit, blr. Serjt. Wilkins said he would let the
witness go; sod, after sine general questions, the cross.
Oltagainatien eras. d. Mr. Knowles, Q.C. (who appeared in
the place of Mr. K. Macaulay, who is sulf,ring from
Illness), then pet in • protest against the somewhat prcma.
tete decision of the chairman respecting the witness; and,
after some conversation, in which Mr. Knowles represented
the embarrassment of his position, with • witness whose
OP:ratter wu attacked by the chairman, and in which the
chairmen declared that he had nut spoken in reference to
the credibility of the witness, but heal only meant that a
-man who went about getting drunk end making
others drunk, could not be a very reliable cha-
teeter us an electioneering agent, the re-emanaina-
t:.:a was taken up by Mr. blottram. The results
war: . however, unimportant : the:leading que.tiona put being
mrrcly with a view ea obtain from the witless the renewed
di c• *rations that be had obtained moray only from Goodrich,
s7iir., but he hail never offered improper inducements to
octet.' to stab that they had tutu bribed, and that he did
▪ e. derive his authority as an a,rent from Mr. Paget.
The committee adjourned at half-past fear; and, when
adjourning, some conversation took place between members
of the committee, respecting the chairman's declaration
147 rest ate witness.
The Chairman repeated that he had not attacked the ere-
• of the witness; that he hed only meant, if all the
cams uric eke 'yaw, >n Imehened • eross-examination was
superfluole ; and Mr. 'l' asvoley l'arker (his observation
elicited a mile) paid that in all his experience as • magis-
trate he had never seen a witness go so well sod so con-
sistently themes so long and so telling a cross-exami-
ne:an.