The Express.
London, England, 1853-07-22 00:00:00

ELEC ETON COMMITTEES.

CLITHEROE.

When the committee met, yesterday morning,
William Charnley, the witness who had been examinrd
on Wednesday, was called and cross-examined by Mr.
Rodwell, counsel for the sitting member. The witness said
he was never asked by Toiler, landlord of the Swan, to pry
for anything he had. When he brought his " fighting
men" from Blackburn to Clitheroe he took no further heed
of them, except to send them off for voters when asked to
do so by any of the committee. He knew nothing of what
they did while they wire in the town ; it was no business
of his. There was a good deal of rioting in the town during
the night of the nomination day.
Mr. James handed the witness two letters, and asked
him if he knew the handwriting. He said he thought it was
Mr. Baldwin's. They were read by the chairman, and were
invitations to parties to attend a meeting of Mr. Aspinall's
friends ; the object of ,putting them in being to prove Mr.
Baldwin's agency.
Joseph Cross, a shoemaker, of Clitheroe, said he was
one of the working-men's committee for Mr. Aspinall at
the election of 1832. He was employed by Mr. Watson and
a person named Wade, foreman at Messrs. Dewhurst'e
establishment. He was :employed to look after voters.
He did his best to do so. Their committee met at dif-
ferent public-horses. He saw Mr. Robert Dewhunt at
those meetings, at the Rou and Crown, also Mr. Archi-
bald Dewhurst. He (witness) also saw them at the Swan.
There were on one occasion, before the election, about
forty of his (witness's) fellow-committeemen and him-
self at the Swan ; and Mr. Bailey came in, and he said,
if they would be quiet, they should have some-
thing to drink, and Mr. Bailey did order refreshment
for them. On the nomination day, he saw Francis
Dewerden taking an,aetivc part for Mr. Aspicall. Mr.
Bailey also gave him (witness) directions to keep one of
the doors at the Swan clear of the mob, and to let no
one in but voters;; and from the Swan they went to the
poll. There was breakfast laid out for the voters in one of
the rooms—bread, meat, tea, and coffee. He did not see
any drink. He got his own breakfast in that room. There
was drinking going on there all the day. lie knows
what is meant by an open house. The Swan was an open
house, to all intents and purposes, on the polling day. He
himself got anything he wanted to drink by asking the
witness Webby for it. He saw nobody refused anything
to drink, and he um no one pay for it. He saw Welsby
going towards the large room many times that day with
jugs and glasses, but he himself never was in that room
at all. Mr. Hartley Baldwin gave him directions to
" look after" a voter named Robinson, whom he did
watch for four or five days before the polling day, and
gave him (according to Mr. Baldwin's directions) what
drink he asked for at the Rom and Crown, and told the land-
lord to put it down to Mr. Aspinall. He has not been paid
in full for his :services, but Wclsby gave him 6s. on the
Saturday night after the election. The witness was exa-
mined at great length as to his having seen men (electors
and non-electors) drinking at various times before the elec-
tion at different public-houses, and no one paid for anything.
At ens of these houses a person named Southwark, steward
to Mr. Aspinall, was present during the whole evening, and
kept a check account in a book of the drink furnished to
the men in the house. The witness enumerated some six
or eight public-houses, which were regular open houses, and
where any one could get drink for nothing, and all those
houses were in Mr. Aspinall's interest, and several active
members of his committee were present during the carous-
ing-
At the conclusion of this witness's examination, the com-
mittee adjourned till 11 o'clock this morning.
Teller, the landlord of the Swan Inn at Clitheroe, who
was committed on Wednesday to the care of the Serjeant-
at Arms for prevaricating in his evidence, is still in duresse.

NAVAL.

ADMIRALTY, JULY 21.—An
lain Rev. H. M'Sorlly, to Tortoise.

11. Carter, to Intauns:

LAUNCH OF THE CRESSY.—CHATHAM, JULY 21.
To-day cur dockyard presented a very gay scene, in conse-
quence of the launch of the Cressy,Bo, screw steamship, which
was witnessed by an extensive circle of naval and military
officers, and numerous parties from London. The Creasy
was designed in 1844. Within the last 12 months it was
decided that she should be changed from a sailing to a screw
steam ship, and her form of body, which is fine shaft, ren-
dered it an easy task to adapt her for a screw propeller
without its being requisite to increase her length, which has
been the cue with the greater number of ships built ex-
pressly for sailing, when it afterwards became desirable to
convert them into strew steamships. Tho Cressy is 251
feet in length, her extreme breadth is 55 feet, and her bur-
den in tons (old measurement), 2,537. Her engines are of
400 horse power. At half-past 12 Miss Percy daughter of
Vies-Admiral Percy, named the ship, divided 'her retaining
cord, and the Cressy glided majestically into the Medway.
PORTB3IOUTH, JULY 21.—The fleet at Spithead
have exercised in shifting spars to-day. The Agamem.
non, 91, screw steam ship, Captain Sit Thomas Maitland,
was takes into dock to-day; she is to have an addition of 14
inches of false keel fitted to her aft. The Cyclops, steam
sloop, sailed to-day for the eastward. The Plumper, 9,
screw sloop, went out of harbour to-day to the measured
mile at Stokes Bay, to try her engines ; she afterwards re-
turned into harbour. The Growler, f, steam sloop, was
taken nut of the steam basin to-day. The commander-in-
chief, Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane, proceeded yes-
terday on an official visit to the Channel Islands, in the
Dasher, steamer. The Firefly, steam-sloop, sailed yester-
day for Woolwich, to be paid off. The Desperate,screw
steam-sloop, Captain Chambers, was taken out f dock
yesterday.

WILTSHIRE FAItM LAI

present the

labour market is in such a state in Wiltshire:that one of
the principal duties is to bear charge. brought by the far-
mers against their servants, for leaving their employment
without notice. The labourers agree at the commencement
of the winter to work for a year at a low rite of wages, and
as harvest draws near refuse to work without an advance.
Several warrants have been recently issued for the appre-
hension of lime who have absconded. Sherburne
Journal.