Testimonies

Spofforth, Samuel | Day 1

Witness Type: Other

Party: Conservative

Other Days The Witness Was Called On: Day 2

Witness Testimony:

• 193.

  (Mr. Jeune.) You are, I believe Mr. Crompton Roberts’ private solicitor ? – I am.

• 194.

  And I think you have been so for a good number of years ? – 20 years.

• 195.

  Of course Mr. Crompton Roberts, as we know, is a man of very large fortune ? – Of considerable fortune.

• 196.

  I think Mr. Roberts consulted you before he saw Mr. Hughes ? – He did.

• 197.

  Did you introduce Mr. Hughes to him ? – He was mentioned to me by persons who recommended him as a good election agent.

• 198.

  And then you put Mr. Hughes and Mr. Crompton Roberts into communication ? – Quite so.

• 199.

  And except that had you anything to do with the conduct of the election I do not mean with the election petition but the election itself ? – Nothing whatever.

• 200.

  You had nothing whatever to do with the money which Mr, Crompton Roberts found and Mr. Hughes spent, or anything of that sort ? – Nothing whatever.

• 201.

  Had you anything at all to do with the election until the election petition was presented ? – Nothing save introducing my client to Mr. Hughes or Mr. Hughes to my client, which I have already stated.

• 202.

  When the election petition was presented, then Mr. Crompton Roberts came to you again as his solicitor to act for him ? – Certainly.

• 203.

  When was the election petition presented – the election was on the 18th May ? – Yes.

• 204.

  And the election petition was presented when ? – I cannot tell you the date of the petition at this moment.

• 205.

  At any rate that was the time that Mr. Crompton Roberts came back to you, and you began of course then to investigate the question ? – Yes, I have the petition here, but it does not seem to be dated, I cannot exactly say at what date it was served.

• 206.

  At any rate that was the time when Mr. Crompton Roberts came back to you, and after that no doubt you got a copy of the petition and a copy of the particulars ? – Yes.

• 207.

  And I suppose you went down to Sandwich, either before or after the particulars were delivered, and you went into the matter ? – To Deal more especially, I was down some three or four times – three times certainly after the filing of the petition and before the hearing.

• 208.

  First of all, as regards the case against Mr. Crompton Roberts, of course you looked into the charges that were made, founded upon the particulars ? – I did.

• 209.

  And you prepared your brief I suppose ? – Yes.

• 210.

  And you have the brief here ? – Yes.

• 211.

  I think we should like to have it ? – I know very well what the decisions of the Commissioners have been in other Commissions, and I think it is no use my wasting the time of your Honours by objecting, but in justice to my client and also in justice to myself as a professional man, and personally I do not wish it to be said that I have been guilty of any breach of confidence to a third party, or that I have at all disclosed anything to third parties in this investigation, therefore, if I do hand over these papers, I must do it on your Honours’ order, so that my client’s privilege and my own, if I may he allowed to ask it, may be preserved an much as possible. If your Honours order me to hand over these papers I will do it.

• 212.

  (Mr. Holl.) We quite appreciate your view, Mr, Spofforth, and the motive that has actuated you, but we think there is no doubt whatever that legally the papers ought to be handed over ? – I bow to your Honour’s decision – there they are (the same were handed to the secretary). There is another matter I wish to mention, I left London on the 16th August for Scotland, which is my usual habit, and I did not return to London till the 29th September, I was away six weeks and a day, I never saw my client after the 14th or 15th August, but on the 22nd September I received a letter from him, which I will hand to your Honours, informing me he was going to take his annual holiday, but that he should request me, if there was any necessity for my doing so, to attend here and represent him. There is the letter which perhaps your Honours would like to read (handing the same to the Commissioners). I received that letter when I was in Scotland and I have not seen him since the 15th August.

• 213.

  (Mr. Holl.) We are obliged to you for the letter. (The witness.) There is another letter (handing same) which I have received since my return to town ; it is a letter which I have found in the custody of my clerk.

• 214.

  (Mr. Jeune.) This letter mentions Mr. Crompton Roberts’ pass book, of course we shall want that ? – It is here sealed up, and this is his private ledger and the key, I have not broken the seal.

• 215.

  Is that the pass book of Mr. Roberts’ bank in London ? – I assume it is.

• 216.

  He had an account here had he not for the purposes of this election ? – I only know from information derived from the hearing of the petition. You see there is his writing “Not to be opened unless required” in his absence abroad ; that is his writing and that is his seal. This is his private ledger, and there is the key enclosed in that letter, but I do not think I can hand these books over until I am specially required by you to do so.

• 217.

  Of course we shall order you to ? – I bow to your decision. I place myself entirely in your Honour’s hands, but I think my duty to my client is to see whether you require me to produce them.

• 218.

  You are quite right. You have said everything that a solicitor and a gentleman should say, but we order you to produce them ? – I bow at once to your decision. Mr. Crompton Roberts always takes a holiday of three or four months every autumn. I know where he is ; at least, I do not know where he is now, but I can get to know at once. I believe he is at Pau. It is entirely at your command, and I hope you quite understand that.

• 219.

  Yes. There was, was there not, an election account kept here ? – I do not know it of my own knowledge, only from hearing it in evidence and having the conduct of the petition.

• 220.

  We shall ask you, please, to produce this pass book and ledger, and we will take the responsibility of telling you to hand them in now ? – I think I shall open them first.

• 221.

  Certainly. (The witness broke the seals and examined the books) ? – There are the pass book and ledger (handing the same to the Commissioners).

• 222.

  That is quite right on both Mr. Crompton Roberts’ part and yours, and, of course, the Commissioners will be very careful that nobody but themselves and the secretary sees them. These are the only account books, I suppose, or is there any other account book ? – Not that I know of ; I should doubt that there is one. He is a very methodical man of business as well as a man of large fortune.