The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-06-07 00:00:00

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1.

The committee resumed the inquiry at the usual hour, when
counsel recalled Joseph Grooby,the bandmaster, who repeated
his description of his engagement.

Cross-examined Was engaged professional y, and was ready
to play "The Battle of the Boyne." or any other battle tune.
His moat proficient band wan the "teetotal" or " confidential"
band No. 1. (Laughter.) They were what might be termed
" good musicians," slow, serious, and sober—but still they
played the most lively tunes. It was childish to ask him whe-
ther he had told any one these bands cost him and though
he had said he could speak on almost every topic, it was hardly
reasonable to ask him to speak upon that. The learned counsel
ought to know better than to ask him such a question. Did not
himself play either the drum or the trombone, noron all the vio-
lins at once. The question of the learned counsel showed that he
was no musician. (Laughter.) He sometimes played on the
violins and smaller fry of instruments—the cymbals, cornets,
and those things, and supplied music by contract. His confi-
dential band No.l was the best band he had, and the Zoological
band—(laughter)—the band that played at the Zoological Gar-
dens before the wild beasts was the next best ; and the third, a
tolerably good 'un, was the temperance or New Church band.
(Laughter.) Could not swear how many voters there were in
confidential band No. 1, but there were fifteen musicians; and
he heard that one them, William Harrison, who was a drum-
mer, and kept the Harmonic Assembly-rooms, at the bottom
of Suffolk-street, voted for Turner and Mackenzie. Could not
swear how many of the men in the Zoological and New Church
bands voted. Some disputes took place among the other bands
in Liverpool, the men being mixed up in politics, and they re-
fused to play for witness's party, and he had to select some of
the men from Southport. Told the Music Committee that the-
bands were the best military bands. They were no drum and
fife bands, such as accompanied puppet-shows, or like the
Pope's brass band in the House of Commons. (Laughter.)
They were real military brass bands,and not an instrumentation
of fife and drum, fit only for the mob, but a band that played
refined airs of music, and something that was victorious like.
(Laughter.) About twenty other bandmasters sent in estimates
to the music committee besides witness. Stubbs' and Jol-
liffe's bands were inferior ones. They employed lads where
witness employed men; but they got the same price, el per
man. It was the New Church band that got alarmed and ran
away, but they became collected as soon as they got among the
more respectable people, and formed themselves into a tolera-
bly perfect pandemonium. i. e. harmonium. (Laughter.) The
other side, Cardwell and Ewart, had bands and colours..
Witness's bands were not distinguished so much by their
colours as by their superior sort of music, and he had intended
to vote before being paid, but changed his mind after. He was
introduced to the music committee as a Protectionist and a
"brick," but not as a nineteenth century Protectionist.
(Laughter).

Mr. JAMES : Pray, then, from what century do you date your
politics ?—Witness : From the next century.
Mr. JAMES : Then you are exactly a century a head of every-
body else? (Laughter.) Can you fix upon the date when you
made up your mind to vote for Turner and MackensieT—
Witness : As soon as I found it was my interest to vote for the
Protectionists. I was induced to do so by the encouragement
I met with, and (with peculiar gravity) as soon as that par-
ticular impression was formed upon my nature, then I made
up my mind to vote. (Laughter.)

Mr. JAMES : When was this metaphysical process in your
nature effected, Mr. Grooby ?—Witness; I really do not re-
collect.

Mr. JAMES : But surely it is a change you can never have
forgotten 7—Grooby : Well, it was between my first introduction
to the music committee and the election day. My mind during
that period war) gradually and imperceptibly made up upon the
matter. (Laughter.) He was (said the witness) by avocation,
a general agent, and bought and sold land and houses, cope
and other shops, and had a small shop in the confectionary
line. Went a great deal about in the temperance coffee-houses.
being a teetotaller, and did business there. He believed Joliffe
was drunk when he was turned out of the office. Swore posi-
tively that he was given £1 per man on condition of voting and
using his influence to procure votes for Turner and Mackenzie.
Those were the words used by Bremner and Tobin, and it was
said in a room in the hearing of thirty persons.
Re-examined : Intended to vote for Turner and Mackenzie,
if everything went as he wished—that was, if he was employed,
and everything went on to his satisfaction.
Thomas Walthew : Was a shipwright and freeman, and
voted for Mackenzie and Turner. Mr. Fisher, foreman to Mr.
B. Jones, canvassed him shortly before the election, and said,
"You know, if you give your vote for Turner and Mackenzie,
you'll get your day's pay and plenty of refreshments ;" and
witness said he would vote for them. Witness was at the
Royal Oak on the evening of the nomination day, and saw
Fisher, who said to him, " Tom, you are acquainted with the
freemen about here, bring them all down to Hill's, at the
Sefton Arms, 30 or 40, or as many as you can." Witness went
to Hill's on the polling day, and saw many freemen there,
some 18 or 19. Saw Crosby, Underwood, and Robert Cooke
there, and Parkinson, but not the man who died the other
morning. They had refreshments there—bread and beef, and
anything to drink they liked to call for. After witness and the
others, some 18 or 20, had polled, they went back by the " bus"
to the Sefton Arms, and had more refreshments and a glass of
rum. Fisher did not go with him to vote, but remained behind
to get more men. He was attending the room and ordering
refreshments. Fisher did not mention about the ss. then, but
they all knew that it was to be paid. Leech, a freeman, and
Mr. John Jones, took witness's name down in a book after he
had polled, and told :him to come to the Sefton Arms on the
and
odr he
fea
el told himto
get toth go omaonnde
money,
at
npda said,wailnldbe there "
Saturday night for the money. Saw Fisher at the dockyard,
nttosltihilelinSgesft.onHAerms and Fisher gave him his
o
Witness
day's day—fivewe at as
six o'clock."
og' li on cgk .t
ments he had. paid nothing for the refresh.

Cross-examined by Mr. SMITH : Was working at the time
of the election for Mr. Chandler, at five shillings a day, but
worked now for different people, as
tn e
told him to do it, but
ate names of those he saw
ibbing shipwright. Did
not know what made him
put .
was said in Liverpool
at the Sefton Arms, on paper. No
o
he did it to jos his memory, because
that the election was being carried by money, and that the
matter would come to a trial. The paper was a copy of a de-
claration he signed on coming up from Liverpool.
brought him up last Wednesday, and gave him 41 a
andpaper.They
He had had 335. since. Did not pay for his own rail,ticketby
nor did they agree to give him so much a day in London.-
Robert Cooke was a freeman of Liverpool, and a seafaring
man. Was a ship keeper, and voted at the last election for
Turner and Mackenzie. Knew Mr. Fisher, Mr. N. B. Jones's
foreman, and saw him on the morning of the election at the
top of Stanhope-street, with a great many round him. He had
not seen him before on the subject of voting, but Fisher then
asked him if lie would go and poll, and witness said he would
at eleven o'clock. Knew Fisher before to be a man connected
with the red party. Went and polled, and then proceeded to
the Royal Oak, and saw Mr. Hallgate and Mr. Inman in a
room, with others, writing. He went to the Sefton Arms on
the Saturday following, with Parkinson) at seven or eight
o'clock, and had the 58. paid him. Parkinson had also ss.
Richard Fisher paid them • and Parkinson said to Fisher,
"This (meaning witness) is t'he man who polled on our side,"
and Fisher then paid him ss.
Cross-examined:—His wages were 55. a day. Had always
voted red, and always would,
Richard Cooke was a shipwright, and had voted a number of
years at Liverpool, First voted forty years ago for Leurtardi