The Express.
London, England, 1848-08-22 00:00:00

2001. a year, which he refused. Did
_you ever hear
any farther particulars about Yr. James Reed i I heard
that he was very much in debt in the village where
he resided, land the timber-merchants that he used to
favour by allowing them to have the timber by private
conned. paid his deb's.—What timber merchants are those ?
Mr. Sign, Mr. Light, and Mr. Pudney.—Do you perrooally
know what you hers stated,or is it merely hearsay evidence ?
I know it t• be the ease; they let him have =oar, ,o pay
his debts.—Do you know what the duty of the regarden
to
the New Forest is ? The duty of the retarders is to go
roand with Mr. William Reed. the elder, to see that the
timber is measured before it is advertised for sale.—Can yon
state the particulars about Mr. George Barnes' election as
I regarder ? Mr. Barnes was an apprentin to a saddler and
harness maker in Lyndhurst, and upon the death of a re-
Raeder, he put opts one of the candidates against Mr. Brad-
shaw, Sir George Rose's butler; there was a great contest, and
prior to the election at Winchester, George llamas went to
Portsmouth, and nearly all the dockyard people at Ports-
mouth had a vote for the county of Hann, and they said to
him, " We shall not give our votes unless we have halea-
crown a day and our expenses paid ;" and he said, " Very
well, if you come to Winchester I will pay all your ezpertacs,
slid there will be an open house." They came and voted,
and the expenses of the election were over 5001.—1 s that the
son of Mr. William Birnee, the woodman ? Yee—What
does Mr. William Barites gat? He gets 391. a year.—Did he
pay the money for his eon? Yes; his son had no means of
paying the money.—What was the whole nor ? Upwards
of 6001.—When was that ? In 1817.—Did you ever hear of
any regarder in the New Forest that was paid by the timber
merchants for measuring timber? I have heard observations
made by several parties that that has been the case. I was
at Mr. Sign's, the timber merchant's, within these last four
weeks. I went there to see him on some business, to ink the
price upon tie.ber, and other matters, and whilst I was stay-
ing there his housekeeper told me that Mr. Sign had gone
oat. I asked, " Where is he gone to ?" and she said, "He
is gone with Mr. Barnes and Mr. Laegstone, measuring
timber." She said, " I will send for him." I said, " No;
I will wait till he Comes home." I waited till Mr. Sign
came home, and I Jound that Mr. Barnes and Mr. Langston
returned there, and that they had been out measuring
some timber, which he had purchased by private contract,
without Mr. Reed being with them—With whom did he
' strike the bargain ? He must have struck the bargain with
Mr. Reed; but Mr. Reed, I presume. sent Mr. Barnes and
Mr. William Leinson to measure the timber.—Did Mr. Sign
' arrange the price that he was to pay with those two parties?
I suppose Mr. Rea i arranged the price, but they were sent
out to measure the timber.—Do you mean to state that Mr.
Sign purchased the timber by private contract on the day
you called there ? No; he had before purchased the timber
by private conrract; and on the day I called there they had
gone to measure the timber, and not only to measure it, but
they had teams waiting there, and when it was measured
they brought it home immediately. and I saw the timber
I dropped within 200 yards of Mr. Sign's house.—The con-
, ditions of rale had been previously arranged? I presume
so; the sale was by private contract, and not by public

auction.
Are you able to say whether or not the timber which was
so purchased by private contract had been previously sub-
mitted to public auction ? lam not; but there is • quantity
of timber ljing now is the New Forest, which Mr. Sign has
purchased, which was never offered at a public sale.—Are
you aware of that tact? Yee—State the particulars. On
the 24th of March I understood that there were going to be
inquiries made into the New Forest; I was perfectly aware,
end others were as well as myself, of the system which had
been carried on by different parties, Mr. Reed and others,
and 1 went into the forest; 1 know the conditions of sale
generally say, ' No lot shall be removed unt I it is paid for
and hammered by the crown, and providing that it is re-
moved the parties shall be committed as felons and they
net only put it under the hammer of the crown, bat they
put a mark on with red paint, such as ' Lot 1,2, and 3,
none of this timber had any mark upon it; I went to the
hewer who had hewn the timber, and asked him whether ho
knew anything about it, and he said, " If you go to a
certain place you will see a quantity there that my brother
has hewed; he hewed it very late in the evening, or early ia
the morning, and he had strict orders to take away the cuipe
end other pieces of timber that belonged to that, before six
o'clock in the morning."—What class of timber is that ?
Oak umber.—What is the name of the person ? The name
of the party who purchased this timber is Mr. Sign ; lis
timber carriages were up at five o'clock in the
morning. I was up early, and I saw his carriages going.
—What age was this timber ? It might be 200 years old
Heavy timber? Yes; long pieces of timber, 60 and 70 and
ujo to 120 feet —Did you measure that timber? Yes.—
Where did you measure it? At Lyndhunt—Where it was
met? No, they had removed it at that time.—Where did
they cut it? At different planes in the New Forest—What
quantity ? About 2001. worth.—Are you now speaking of
the timber which you say Mr. Sign has recently purchased,
or are you speaking of the transaction which occurred when
you called at hie house? I was speaking of that which
was recently purchased; that which was purchased at the
time that I called at his house was beech, but this
was oak.—Ham you beard the price that he gave for it ? I
believe le. a foot, but it fetches 2a. • foot at a public sale.—
What would be the value of that timber altogether? It was
worth 2001. when it was hewn ; he might have given per-
haps 1201. or 1301. for ie—You are now speaking from your
own knowledge t Yes.—How do you know whet Mr. Sign
gave for the timber ? A shilling a foot is the price paid
for the windfalls.—How far had it been removed from the
place where it was cur.? Six miles.—Do you know who
had removed it ? Mr. Sign's own teams had removed it.—
From whom had the party who gave you the information
received those strict injunctions to remove the chips? Mr.
Sign sent up a party to Cull, his own hewer, and told him
that be was to send up his cut some morning before six
o'clock to remove the chips, as it would not d for any per-
son to see the chips lying on the premises there—Did -Mr.
Sign receive strict injunctions to remove the chips ? No ;
Mr. Sign gave his man strict orders to remove the chips.—
From where ? From the spot where it was hewn.—Havo
you any means of knowing what he has paid for the timber ?
No, I have not, because the timber merchants get long
credits.—Do they get long credits now t They did ; but
since this committee has been sitting they have been much
pushed.—From whom did you ascertain that Mr. Sign had
given • shilling a foot? I presume that he gave the same
tor that as for the windfall timber.--la the windfall timber
worth as much as the other timber? I consider that it is
worth as much, for it is better for the navy.—You are cer-
tain that for the windfall he gives a shilling a foot? Yes.—
How do you know that be gave a shilling a foot for that
timber? Ido not know that be has, but I presume he gine
dee same price for that as for the windfall ; this was the best
timber he could pick out of the forest.
Is it within your knowledge that this timber was never
sold by public auction? It was never sold by public auction.
—When did this happen? On the 24th of March.—When
was the last sale by auction in the forest ? Since the 24th of
March.—What price did the timber fetch ? The price varies
from Is. 9d. to 2s. a foot.—Are you able to name any timber
merchant who attended that sale, and who gave that price
feer it ? No, I was not at the last sale; I was in the north.
—How do you know that the timber fetched from Is. 9d. to
2a. afoot? I have been informed so by my cowin.—Will
you name the person who informed you of the pries that the
timber fetched ? Mr. J. Griffin, and other parties who were
then; he was there, and took an account of the seve.al lots;
and I also Ireardirom the party who originally hewed the tim-
ber, that was Mr. Cull.—lf the committeeshuuld desire it, Mr.
J. Griffin will be able to state what the various lots leeched
at thatede ? He went there from curiosity and betook an ac-
count of the lots, which many timber merchants do as a guide
to them; they, perhaps, have a great deal of Mater on hand,
and they wish to see the mark :t price of timber, in order to
decide about sending their timber to the north or no*.—Mr.
J. Griffin would know the prim that the timber fetched ?
Yee—Did you ever hear of any timber merchants settling
with the maiden by placing money on the slab ? It has
been so stated, but I would not undertake to say that that
is the fact; I have here the contents of those pieces of timber
I which I tool an account of ; this is part of some timber near
Lyndhurst.—ls that part of the limper that Mr. Sign gave
only ls. a foot for ? I would not undertake to say that Mr.
Sign gave only Is. a foot for the timber be bought.
Are many of the *Warden persons competent to measure
timber ? I should say five out of the loe—Are the rest quite
incompetent to measure timber? Yes, I should soy they
are.—Do you know the regarders personally ? 1 know them
nearly all personally.—Can you state what any of them were
before they were regarders ? Yes ; Mr. George Barnes was
en apprentice to • saddler and harnesemaker in Lyndhurst,
sad afterwards, when a vacancy came, he put up for the office
of regarder, and succeeded in getting elected, and since that
be has resigned the saddlery and harness-makiag ; Mr.
Fullers son-in-law of Mr. William Read ; Mr. Young, I should
say, never measured a stick of timber in his life ; he
was butler to Sir George Rose. Mr. Thomas White, I do
not think, ever goes out into the wood to look eta stick of
timber. Mr. Robert Brown is not by any means a compe-
tent person to measure the timber.—Are all the regudere
employed indifferently to measure timber ? About three or
four of the needy parties who are in want of money live en-
' Seely upon the forest, and go out to measure timber. There
it an election going on at the present moment upon the death
of Mr. David Whitbome. There were three curie- ate* for
the office, but one has resigned.—Do the regard'se usually
dine at Mr. Lowman's, the Crown, in Lyndhurst. Yes.—
How often ? Twice a year, sometimes three times a year.
—Mr. Lowman is at present candidate for the
vacant
to
that Yee, and be is sure of succeeding.—
You state that you have been in the habit of attending sales
of timber in the forest? Yes, for the last six yeers.—Do you
know where the timber chiefly goes to after it is sold ? It
goes to Sunderland, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Shields, and
Arbreath.—Does it go to the ship-building port? Yes; the
parties building ships have advertised that they will not
allow tray timber in the north to be used for firstclaaa
vessels, vessels classed AB at Lloyd's, as the timber in the
south of England is so superior.—Can you state what ar-
rangements are made for the sale of timber in the forest ?
Mr. Reed goes round sad marks what timber be thinks fit
to be sold.—h the timber put up in lots for sale ?
Yes, the first thing that takes place is that the bark
is sold, or offered for eels—When the timber is offered
;or sale how is it put up ? It is put op, so many
trees, and so many lots, and a price is put upon them.—
If • lot does not fetch that price, is it bout_ht in? Yes; but
it is always sold after the public salt.—How soon after ?
Within 20 minutes or half en hoar, or at all event* KM
after the sale.—ls the timber offered for sale by public
coot net ? Yes, generally ; but tt is sold is the forest in
this wa the party who buys the largest quantity of
timber, Jeer the sale is over, has the first offer of the timber
which se bought in, sad if he refuses to take it, it is offered
to the pal who has bought the seemed largest quantity.—
Are as hi prime realised by private sales as by public
auction ? menet say.—Did you ever bear of any com-
bination among tbe pa:shame of the timber. Ne,th at would
never answer the purpose, because they are liable to be
convicted by the crown ; but Mr. Reed takes very good
are that lir. Sign shall bay the timber, bonus I have
heard It said Sum his own mouth, " 1 will make it up to