The Sun.
London, England, 1866-09-20 00:00:00

LANCASTER.

WEDNESDAY.

Yesterday several licensed victuallers and beerhouse-
keepers wore called to prove tho sums paid for the use of
their houses and for refreshments to voters, £lO was the
sum generally paid for the use of the house; the amount
spent in refreshments varied from £32 downwards.
Thomas Deardon, Corporation Arms,- said be was paid
£6 for his house by the Blues, £l4 18s. for refreshments,
and £3 besides. At his first starting in life witness was
" Blue," but he married a " Yellow" wife, who said he must
give one vote to Mr. Gregson, and he could do what ho
liked with the other. She died, and his 'present wife let
him do as he liked with his vote. (Laughter.)
And then you went back to your old politics?—Yes.
(Laughter.)
Thomas Taylor, stonemason.—At the last election I as-
sisted John Cross on the Conservative side and received
from him £ll on the nomination day with which to bribe-
Thomas Barrow Taylor, stonemason. However, he would
not take my money, for he got £l2 to vote the other way.
I returned the money to Mr. Cross, who gave me .£3'for my
services.

Mr. Commissioner Newton—ltappears to me that every-
body was engaged to assist everybody else in doing
nothing. (Laughter.)
Witness—l did not want pay at all—only the stranger
said I might as well have it, it would buy something for
myself.

There was no oceasionfor you to take it.—Well, I didn't
want it.

Then why did you take it ?—Well, money's tempting
when they push it on to you. (Laughter.)
George Cleminson Riley, landlord of the Mitre, said his
house was engaged by the Conservatives at the last election
for £lO. Both parties came to his house, and he couli not
remember what he got from the Liberals.
Mr. Commissioner Hill—We shall have to keep you hero
till you can remember.
Witness—l cannot remember anything about the elec-
tion, as I was drunk during the election, and I had been so
a month before the election.

A. K. Allinson—l engaged this man's house for the Con-
servatives, and on going there several times found him in
the condition he has described. When I took the house he
hardly knew what he was doing.
Riley—l am hardly sober now.
Mr. Commissioner Hill—l am not quite sure whether it
would not be better to send you to a place where you would
be made sober. We will have you up hero every morning
till you are quite sober.
The Chief Commissioner—Take care what you are do-
ing, and come hero sober to-morrow.
This morning, G. Cleminson Riley was recalled and said
—I expect that I shall be able now to give you a better ac-
count of things than I did yesterday. I received £29 alto-
gether. The Conservatives paid me £l4 for spirits, part of
a bill for nearly £l9, and as I could not get the balance from
them I voted for the Radicals, who paid the balance. Then
I got £lO from the Radicals for the use of my house—at
least I suppose so.

Mr. Commissioner Hill—That was for your vote, I sup-
pose ?
Witness—Well, they said it was for my house.
I hope you will live lung enough to be ashamed of the
evidence you gave yesterday.—l am now, sir.
Henry Pilkington, beerhouse-keeper, got £lO from the
Liberals for the use of his house, and £2 10s. for refresh-
ments. The other side spent about £1 at his house, and
he voted for Fenwick and Schneider.

Richard Townley, of the Golden Ball, said he had got £lO
from the Conservatives for the use of his house, and £8 for
refreshments. The Liberals did not give him satisfaction
they only spent about 205., so he voted for Lawrence.
'Thomas Jackson of the Yorkshire house, received £lO
for the use of his house froni the Liberals, and voted ac-
cordingly.
John Littlewood, cashier to the firm of Edward Law-
rence and Co., of Liverpool, said he gave to Mr.Tronson, the
managing clerk £2,000, partly in notes, and partly in gold.
July 7 there was a memorandum "E. L., per T. E. T."
The parties whose initials were given were Edward
Lawrence and Thomas Edward Taylor, two partners of
the firm. Mr. Taylor asked witness for £4OO, and he gave
him it, supposing the money to be for Mr. Edward Law-
rence, but afterwards, by Mr. John Lawrence's direction,
the item was charged to suspense account. If Mr. Taylor
had drawn the money for himself witness would have
charged it direct to him. On the 15th of July the suspense
account became £3,150. The £750 additional was given
either to Mr. John Lawrence or Mr. Taylor—witness could
not tell which. On the 17th of July the suspense account
was increased to £4 15s. The additional £l,OOO was the
check drawn. by Mr. John Lawrence on the Royal Bank,
Liverpool. This account was diminished by £l,OOO on the
15th of November. That £l,OOO was paid to witness in
cash by Mr. John Lawrence, who told him to deduct it
from the suspense account. On the 22d of January the ac-
count became £3,655 2s. by the payment of £5OO to 11. T.
Wilson and Co. On the 6th of March another £l5O was
added, paid to Mr. Taylor, making £3,802 2s. Nothing
whatever was said to witness to induce him not to speak
to Mr. E. Lawrence on the subject of the election or the
election accounts. The £3,802 had never been debited to
any particular partner.

William Connor, out-door manager of steam-ships, re-
siding at West Derby, near Liverpool, said he was asked to
come to Lancaster and assist at the election. Caine from
Liverpool on the night before the nomination, and wont to
the King's Arms. Saw Mr. H. T. Wilson both then and the
following day. He sent witness to Mr. Barker, who gave
him £4OO. This was about 4 o'clock on the afternoon of
the nomination, and he was instructed to go to Morecambe
in a 'bus and four horses with some other gentlemen. Was
told to give Mrs. Willecy, of the King's Arms, £l5O ; and
the party afterwards wont through Morecambe. It was
getting " warm" then, and it was understood that there
would be a row, and that the Liberals would try to take
the voters out of Mrs. Willecy's house. Ho returned to
Lancaster. Next morning he went back to Morecambe
and gave Mrs. Willacy another £l5O. The balance was
spent in bribery and in paying expenses. His "instruc-
tors" stuck very tight to him as long as the gold
lasted. J. Threlfall, H. Threlfall, and Edward Bond got
£l2 each. About the middle of the day he found that this
Edward Bond had not voted. Wont to him in Lancaster,
and he said he would not vote unless he got £lO more,
which he got. Witness paid a voter named Bell, at a pub-
Rehouse in Lancaster, £l2, and another man, whose name
he did not remember, £lO. "Ditto split, Li," in his ac-
count, meant that, he gave £5 to a man for a split vote. To
Mashoder, for sitting up all night at the King's Arms to
protect the voters in case they should be carried off, £1;
to three other men, for assisting him, 30s. ; and for further
assistance, 10s. Witness paid a balance of £lO to Mr. Barker.
G. T. R. Preston, rectifier and wino merchant of Liver-
pool.—l was staying at Ellel Grange during the election,
and canvassed with Mr. Fenwick and Mr. Schneider. Mr.
Fenwick is a personal friend of mine, but neither with him
nor with Mr. Schneider had I any conversation uponmoney
matters. I did not bargain for or buy any voters. When
I heard that money was going, I refused to have anything
to do with it. I may have taken one or two men to the
poll, but I did not pay them, or act as stakeholder, or make
.any promise to them about payment for their votes. You
take mon to the poll to see that they vote right.
The Chief Commissioner—Well, to whom do you report
that ?

Witness—l don't know. If the men had not voted cor-
rectly I might have reported it to somebody at the Queen's.
I don't know whether in that case they would not have got
what they bargained for, I did not bargain with them,