The Express.
London, England, 1853-09-05 00:00:00

f th 4. fur; of the peole, whl Weft' unth. tnsprmiqta

BARNSTAPLE BRIBERY CO.II.IfISSION.

get e•• attempted to iod•ct borne injury on htr Mk-

ty•• ltrwn. • BARNSTAPLE. FietnAT Nwity.
The paper was sent to the Castle, and the prisoner re- I The Inquiry was resumed this .nurning.
minas art elated!, e• luting an • nomination. I A .un Matthews elated that Mr. ilturis asked her how a
Ilis Kula! Hight:ow. Prince Albert, attended by his Ea- i roan named Heard, a sailor, with whom she lived, was
e:liney the Lead Lieutenant, visited the model farm at I going to vote; she kola him she did not know Harris
cr:wmval ail morning shortly after ten o'clock. :tie I wanted Heard to vote for Lord Ebrington. Oa the dey of
R,lal Higher.. repressed himself highly pleased '"*.th the I the election Richard Heard and William Jones seat her to
wave aad g. err cal fortwardnes• of the pupils, and she mgt. I fetch Mr. Harris. She did so, and Mr. Barris said he
feat masaer is which the institutim is condueme& I would pay their expenses. He would pay 51 to Jones and I,
DEPARTURE OF HEIL MAJESTY. St. to heard. Before Ramie came in, Jones and Heard ,
abovetugninnied The royal proems in went out and waited in a little court, and could not hear
The what mooed. heard had stopped away from sea and sent
Inland. Al half.put four the corteye left the royal lo tge,
where her another man in his place. Morris said the money should be
and at a quarter put arrived at Kingstown,
id the next mornin and she a
Ns; sty embarked with precisely the same ceremonial that pa g, greed that Heard and
Ebringtoa. Wi:nese asked
ignolised her arrival in Ireland. The crowd was epos-
Jones should vote fur Lord
c,., and cheered contissouely and with the greatest en-
10/. each at first, but Mr. II aria said he would
her &I
tint, repeatedly bowing in
acknoneas. aut mind 61., and that would be out of his
us, IA 'I tor royal salute basing been fired, the yacht hauled
own pocket. The other 31. was for Ileard's expenseseach
in
ed. and this terminates! the Queen's visit to Inland. in coming home. Witness had at first asked 101.
addition to the expenses. Mr. Harris was a tailor in large
battens. Jones and Heard voted for Lord Ebrington,
and next day Harris gave witness the money at her kitchen
door, 54 for Jones, and HI. for Heard, deducting 2/. 10e.
for half a year's rent, which Heard owed to him, end about
1/. Is. for a jacket. She gave the 51. for Jones, and kept
the other for heard, spending it aboat the house. Witness
worked for Mr. Harris then and now. Witness told no one
about the transaction, but Jones toad because he did not get
into the police. (Laughter.) Witness had lived with
Heard as his wife for 16 or 17 years.
William Jones was a constable appointed by the Innis-
Metes to do extra duty. Was a household voter. At the'
last election nothing passed between him and Mr. Harris
about his vote. Richard Heard was his brother-in-law. On
the day of election Heard fetched him to his house about the
voting. Mr. Harris and the women were in the house at
the time. Witness and heard soon went out of the house,
and in a little time afterwards Matthews came nut and told
him he could have 51. for his vote for Lord Elnington. He
said, " I have made up my mind to vote for my lord, and I
am finite willing to take that money." (Laughter.) Went
to the poll and voted, end next day the woman gave him
five sovereigns in a piece of brown paper. Dial not know
what money Heard was to have, but the woman told him it
was 61. a piece. Oa the right before the election witness
was at the Stafford Arms, with several other voters, when
Mr. Chanson came in. Some beer was brought in, which
wi-ness and others drank without paying, and he did not
know who paid fur it. In 1817 witness voted for Mr.
Bremridge and Hodgson, and got nothing fur his vote.
Witness told his wife about the 51., but no one else.
Richard Heard, freeman, voted for Lerd Ebrington at the
la t election. On the morning of polling day he was talking
with his brother-in law Jones, about voting, end agreed to
seed his missus (the woman Motthewe) for Mr. Harris.
Witness and Jones did not fix upon any particular sum, hut
left then whole matter to Mrs. Matthew,. She told him she
had bargained fur 51. for Jones and 81. for witness. Jones
afterwards told witness he had got the 51. ; and Matthews
that she had got the 81. on behalf of witness. Oa the day
before the election witness went to a " quilling " (drinking)
meeting at Bowdeu'e, in Back-lane. Seven or eight voters
were there, who had drink, hot witness did not know who
paid for it. Did not see any paid for. Saw Mr. Channon
there, but did not know that Mr. Chanson was treating
him. Asked no questions about it. The drink was ale.
There wu no wine or spirits. Mr. Harris paid Mrs.
Matthews the Bi. Wiener', however, was to ex-
ercise his own option, but he supposed be was to sup-
port the party. Had no particular inclination towards the
Fortescue family, npr for one more than another. In 1847
did not vote for the FortesCtle family. Voted for brem-
ridge and Hodgson, and got nothing for his vote. Knew
nobody who did get anything at that election. The hi. at
the last election wee to pay expenses, and for stopping at
home. (Laughter.) Had no offer from the other side.
Had been at home three or four days before the election,'
and paid a man 1/.135. to go to sea in his place.
Mr. William Harris, tailor and 10/. househol ler, has
attended meetings at Loid Ebrington's committee-room
about four timer, but did not belong to the committee.
[The Chief Commissioner here read an extract from the ',I
minute-book,from which it appeared that the witness towards
the close of the election was added to the committee ] Witness
did not know his name was so entered, and did not sup. I
pose himself to belong to the committee. Was at a meet- I
mg of the committee on the night before the nomination, I
and on the nomination morning ; but not as a member of
the committee. Four or five days before the election met the I
man Heard in the street, who said something about stopping I
at home to vote. Witness) took this as a hint, and fold '
Heard he might either go to sea or stop at home, at his'
own option. On the morning of pulling day Mrs. Matthews
came for witness to go to her house about Heard and Jones's
votes. Witnesa went, and when there she asked him how
much he would give for lleard's vote. Witness told her
nothing, as Lord Ebrington had distinctly said he would
not spend a shilling in such a way. She said she wanted
101. for Heard's vote, and witness again refused, but within
a very few minutes agreed to give at. and the expenses of
Heard sending another man to sea in his place, telling her
distinctly it would be all out of his own packet. She then
asked 101. for Jones's vote. Witness at first refused to
have anything to do with Jones, but, as before, on the
spur of the moment, agreed to give 51. for his
vote also. Both the men voted right, and the
next morning witness went again to the house, and
gave the woman 5/. far Jones, and 8/. 10s. for Heard, de-
ducting some money due to him (witness) for rent and
other things, among which was 31. which he bad lent Mrs.
Matthews a few days before, for the purpose of paying a
man to go to sea instead of Heard, so that the latter might
stay at home to vote. Witness did not bargain for Heard's
vote when he lent the 31., but would not have lent him the
money to vote for the other side. It was about half-past 12
or 1 on the polling day when witness made the bargain,
and Lord Ebrington was then going very fast behind. Up
to yesterday witness had never mentioned the transaction
to any one, Either of his own party or his own family, and
had never been repaid the money, or had it allowed to him,
or demanded its repayment in any shape by or of
any one. Did not work for Castle MU. Had never,
at the last or other election, been engaged in any
transaction of the kind besides the one with
the woman Matthews. Had never even canvassed
for Lord Ebrington. The woman Matthews had worked
for witness for a considerable time, but no member of Lord
Ebrington's committee asked him to get Heard's vote
through her. It was known that Heard was his tenant.
Witness signed the petition to the house for the appoint-
ment of the commission. (Laughter.)
The evidence of the woman Matthews and the two suc-
ceeding witnesses came like a thunderbolt upon the leaders
of the liberal party, who had up to that time taken their
stand upon purity of election throughout; and quite a fer-
ment arose in court when Mrs. Matthews first made her
statement, many gentlemen avowing their belief that the
whole affair was a fiction, until the admission of Mr. Harris
himself set the question at red.
At the conclusion of the examination of Mr. Harris,
The Chief Commissioner expressed his intention of
granting certificates, exempting frem legal penalties the
four parties concerned, the whole of whom had given evi-
dence in a candid and satisfactory manner. The Chief
Commissioner also remarked upon the faithfulness with
which Mrs. Matthews had kept the secret so long, as the
transaction would not have come out at all but for the
wife of Jones, who divulged it in revenge because her hus-
band had not been made a policeman by the liberal patty.
Several other witnesses were examined. One of them said
he did noCvote, as he was arrested for debt upon county court
proems on the nomination day, while hearirg the gentle-
men speak. (Laughter.) Intended to vote for the con-
servatives.
The witness here entered upon& long and rambling state-
ment as to the mode and cause of his arrest, which he
alleged to have been owing to Mr. Incledon Bancroft, soli-
citor, and secretary to Lord Ebrington's committee,
although that gentleman was at the very time employed
professionally to protect him.
Mr. Incledon Bancroft afterwards entered the box and
denied that the arrest was owing to him. He had nothing
to do with entering a ca. sa., or with enforcing execution.
He was consulted by the plaintiff in the cause, and knew
the arrest was about to tike plane in default of paying an
instalment for which judgment had been obtained in the
regular way, but did not interfere to prevent it. A few
days after tho election he interfered to procure Copp 's re-
lease. Knew Copps to be one who would not vote from
principle.
The Chief Commissioner remarked that being employed
professionally by Copp it would not have been too much if
he had interfered to prevent the caption.
Adjourned at six o'clock.
BAYNSTAPLZ, SATVILDAY NIGHT.
The inquiry was resumed this morning.
Mary Eddie' the wife of one of the witnesses examined
yesterday, stated that soon after the election Featherstone
tame to her Armee, gave her the time of day, and put down
something on the table, and went out again. She took it
up and found it was six sovereigns. 'Told her husband she
had picked up some money from the table, bat not how
much. Paid some debts with the mosey.
Mr. Carnsew, a solicitor, .who attended to watch the pro-
ceedings on the part of the conservative party, said the
witnesses, Fowler and Eddie, had been called to show at-
tempts to bribe on the part of Lord Ebrington's party, and
it had turned out they had been bribed themselves. Per.
haps the more convenient course would be to go through
the evidence against one before taking that against the
other.
The Chief Commissioner—My firm impression is that the
parties, whoever they were, that caused those persons to be
called, fully believed they would contradict on oath the
fat: of being bribed.
Mr. Carnsew—l can only say Mr. Bremridge and Sir
Wm. Fraser wished every witness called to make a full,
honest, and faithful disclosure of any bribery, of whom re-
ceived, and the amount. Since last evening Mr. Feather-
stone has prepared a list of the persons whom he bribed,
and he will be quite prepared to say where he got the
money. We shall be happy to give every possible informa
tion, both on our own side and on the other.
Sir E. Wilmot—l cannot go quite so far as the Chief
Commissioner. My opinion is rather that the object of
calling these witnesses was to show bribery on both sides.
The proceedings before the committee of the house clearly
established bribery against the late members, and the ob-
ject with which those witnesses was called was to show
that bribery had been committed by the other party.

ARRIVAL AT HOLYHEAD.
(IT ELECTRIC TELVOILIIPIL)
HOLYHEAD, 811:NDAT NIGHT.
The Q seen, with the Royal squadron, arrived in the
Royal Victoria Harbour about eight o'clock this morning.
Thu afternoon at about two o'clock her Majesty took a
cram in the Royal yacht Fairy to the Menai Straits, and
return( dto the Victoria and Albert yieht to dinner. She
st lit, at nine o'clock to-morrow morning, by train, on her
vote to Scotland.

MUSIC.