The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-06-21 00:00:00

why they should be called " fourpenny tickets " I cannot
understand ; for they were certainly not limted to that
value, so far as the amount of refreshments given were
concerned. He also told the committee that he had
brought up voters at a distance of some miles, but he did
not go on to say that the tickets were for out-voters as
distinguished from town voters. Well, we find that about
400 people polled in that ward on the side of the sitting
members, and the landlord tells you he cashed 531 of these
tickets, that is about one and a-half for each indivi-
dual. Now, these tickets were distributed by the canvas-
sers, who were employed by the persons delegated to that
duty, and whose employment was sanctioned by Mr.
Buckmaster. The landlord was examined on the 13th of
June, and he tells us that there was a committee-room in
his house for thirteen weeks, that Watham engaged it,
that he was to have five shillings a night for the room and
the lights, and that his bill for the room was £8 or £O,
that would be at the rate of three nights a week for the
whole thirteen weeks. He says, Rowett was a committee-
man at this room, and Watham paid the bill of £l3 is Gd
for refreshments after the election ; the other bill for re-
freshments, amounting to £24 odd, has not yet been paid.
It was quite clear that the charge was not for the tickets,
at the rate of fourpence each, which would give only about
£8 7s altogether. This man, it appears, has never applied
to be paid his bill ; and that of itself, I say, is a strong
case to show that there is something particular in the cir-
cumstances of his claim. The £l3 bill, and the bill for
the room, were both paid ; but the bill for refreshment, he
tells you, has not been paid. He says he delivered his
bill, that Watham paid the other two bills, but he did not
ask him for this ; but that Watham said " he was to wait
a little for that ; he would be paid, he dared say, but not
just yet." Why, what was the meaning of this ? Was
it not obvious that there was an understanding that the
money would be paid, but not until it could be paid safely,
that was after the termination of this inquiry ? The next
ward he came to was Pitt-street, and here they had evidence
of treating carried on at the Vine. They had the testimony
of Postans, theassistant.secretary there, a paid officer of the
committee, appointed by Buckmaster. Postans has proved
that, on the polling-day, break fasts were provided, that there
was meat and other refreshments. The Vine is a committee-
room, the organ of which committee is Postans, who is
paid weekly by Puickmaster. We find that an order was
given by Postans to cover over the tennis alley, and that
in that alley, so covered over, refreshments were laid out,
and that accommodation was provided for 200 voters.
Then I come to St. Paul's Ward. and here we have evi-
dence of treating at the house of Hughes and at the house
of Lancaster, both of them taverns. Lancaster says that
he supplied refreshments to voters, 1111.- ntlf hill
for £4. Possibly his azency is not established with suffi-
cient clearness to make his act the act of the sitting mem-
ber. He says, " I gave the bill to Mr. Briscoe, the
chairman, and he paid me at the rate of thirteen shillings
in the pound for it." " The £4 was not all for refresh-
ments supplied on the polling day. Some of it was for
treating people when I was going round on my canvass."
On his cross-examination, he said, " Briscoe told me that
refreshments were not allowed ;" but he admits " that
after the election Briscoe asked him whether he
had any claim." Why what claim could he have had
except for refreshments supplied to the voters ? And
if he supplied them, as he said, of his own accord,
how did it happen that Mr. Briscoe asks him if he
has any claim ? that he takes in his bill to Mr. Briscoe,
and that that gentleman pays him thirteen shillings in the
pound ? With regard to Hughes he says, " There were
refreshments provided : tea, coffee, and meat laid- out in a
room up stairs. I cannot say by whom, now, these were
supplied." But it appears he made out his bill, and
pressed Briscoe and Vaughan for payment ; and a month
afterwards he saw Briscoe, who said, on being asked for
the money, that he could not let him have it then. In
December it appeared Vaughan paid him thirteen pounds,
which was about the same proportion of thirteen shillings
in the pound that the others had been paid ; and in Feb-
bruary, being pressed for money to pay rent and taxes,. he
asks Briscoe to oblige him with £ll, which Briscoe gives
him, but tells him he must look upon it as a loan. I have
no doubt that when the £l3 was paid, as well as when the
£ll was paid, Briscoe said something like this, You must
not look upon this as payment of your bill, but a mere
loan to assist you out of your difficulties, but you must
write " settled" upon the bills, and let me have them, and
say as little about the matter as possible to anybody.
And this much is at all events clear, that having got
the man to write settled upon the bills he kept them.
The next case of treating is that in Great George's ward.
In that ward there were two treating houses, Great George
Tavern and the Letters-Tavern. Mr. Lawson is the land-
lord of the Great George Tavern, and Mr. Gibson was the
secretary of the committee. Lawson charged £5O. He
says, of that sum £3O were paid for refreshments, and
about £5 of that on the polling day. MiNally went there
and had some rum, and Gibson gave him some ale with
his own hands. Gibson did not contradict the statement.
Lawson said there were joints of meat provided. He made
out his bill. The evidence of Quaile as to treating is
quite conclusive. He says he was a canvasser, and voters
were regaling themselves in the lower part of the house
until the poll was over. He says, " I gave one voter a
drink of beer, and the other canvasser along with me paid
for it as a matter of course." Gibson admits the bill to
have been a reasonable one. It was taken from him to
Buckmaster. It was then taken to Mr. Bold, who said
he could not pay it ; but nothing has transpired to show
that it was not a temporary answer to suit the occasion,
and to avoid any difficulty which might have arisen from
an immediate payment. In that case there cannot exist
the least doubt of Gibson's agency. Then there is the
case of the Letters Tavern, where the charge is somewhat
extravagant in its amount. Mr. Harrison, the landlord,
tells Mr.Wagstaff that he can- get the sailmakers together.
He tells Mr. Wagstaff that he-means voting, and treating,
and paying. And what does Mr. Wagstaff say ? I'll
have nothing to do with it; you must use your own dis-
cretion. It is quite clear the meanino of Mr. Wagstaff
was this : I authorize you to act upon your own discre-
tion. Harrison goes to Gibson's committee-room, and,
in consequence of what there takes place, he appoints a
large number of colourmen, who get refreshments at his
house, and are paid £lO by him. He makes out a bill of
£7O. He pays £lO to the flagmen and five shillings each.
to certain voters, and the rest is for eating and guzzling,.
I say that he had authority from Mr. Wagstaff, and acted
under that impression. Mr. Harrison says that Mr. Gib-
son is annoyed at the amount of his bill, but in every
respect it is dealt with in the same way as Mr. Lawson's
bill. It is our desire to enforce upon you the conviction
that the case which we have been able to adduce is not
only one which goes to the validity of the parliamentary
return, but is one which, by strong presumption, esta-
blishes the conclusion that there is an extensive system of
bribery and corruption in the constituency of Liverpool.
The fact of treating in the nine wards, accompanied by
the system of paying five shillings ; the fact of the existence
of houses as centres from which the voters should go, at
which houses it is notorious food and drink and five shillings
could be had by those who were base enough and drunk
enough to accept it, show that the constituency of Liver-
pool, in part, at least, is in a most unsatisfactory state
and we think the evidence which has been given is enough
to establish the facts, not only in the sense in which it
was intended to establish them, but that it is quite suffi-
cient to show that the system pointed out is the prevalent
system ; and we are anxious to call your particular at.
tention to the statutary provisions under which it will be
your duty to consider what recommendations you may
think it necessary to present to the house other than the
resolutions necessary upon the particular allegations con-
tained in the petition.
At the conclusion of the learned gentleman's address,
which occupied nearly four hours, Mr. FRESTIFIELD jocu-
larly observed that he was not yet qualified to become
Chancellor of the Exchequer, one of the indispensable
qualifications for which office appeared to be that its occu-
pant should speak for at least five hours. (Laughter).
The committee then adjourned until Monday.