Olds, Samuel | Day 3

William Godfrey Thomas, Clerk to Mr Hughes testified that Hughes instructed him to give £1100 to Mr Olds. This was paid in several instalments.
He secured and paid for committee rooms in 71 public houses according to testimony by Daniel George Frederick Simmons.

Witness Type: Briber, No Indemnity

Party: Conservative

Other Days The Witness Was Called On: Day 2 | Day 14

Witness Testimony:

  • 1954.

    Witness recalled and further examined.

    (Mr. Holl.) You have given us a list, I see, of 37 names of the canvassers ? — Yes, that is as near as I could get it from memory.

  • 1955.

    Those are all that you can remember ? — Yes.

  • 1956.

    You cannot remember the other four ? — No. They should have been paid by Mr. Hughes, they might have been engaged by Mr. Hughes, and my having the paying of the others he might place it to my account.

  • 1957.

    These are all you can remember ? — Yes.

  • 1958.

    Have you done your best ? — Yes, I have tried all I could, but that is all I can remember.

  • 1959.

    Are you sure you are right as to the names given here ? — Yes, I think so, but it is all from memory. There is one thing that I should like to correct in whit I said yesterday ; I think I gave the name of J. J. Wise, and it is a mistake, and it should be plain James Wise.

  • 1960.

    I see that this list of 37 includes yourself ? — Yes.

  • 1961.

    Were you one of the paid canvassers ? — Yes, I was one of them.

  • 1962.

    And it includes Giles, Hooper, and Hughes of Sandwich ? — Yes, and Pantling and East.

  • 1963.

    Are they Sandwich men ? — Yes.

  • 1964.

    I thought you told us. that Giles, Hughes, and Hooper were not part of the 41 ? — I could not speak as to it from memory yesterday, but I believe they are. I cannot remember the others, and I tried last night and again this morning.

  • 1965.

    You think now that Giles, Hooper, and Hughes are part of the 41 canvassers ? — Yes. There may be others, I cannot say there are not, but it is impossible to recollect all, some of them were strangers and perhaps I never met them before.

  • 1966.

    When do you say you paid these canvassers, was it during the election ? — It would be before the election.

  • 1967.

    How long before the election did you pay them ? — It may be a few days, two or three days, or something like that.

  • 1968.

    Have you been able to remember the names of the two others who had an additional 4L ? — Yes, one was Rea at the ‘Fountain’ and Porter?

  • 1969.

    Is that Edward Rea ? — Yes.

  • 1970.

    What is Porter’s Christian name ? — George.

  • 1971.

    What is he ? — A boatman.

  • 1972.

    You told us yesterday that you sent to Hughes 32L. ? — I did.

  • 1973.

    12L. of which you believe he kept, and that he gave 10L. to Giles and 10L to Hooper ? — I think, by refreshing my memory, that 12L. was given to them for themselves, but they did not make use of it for that purpose. They received 6L. each, and they should have had this 12L., 4L each amongst the three of them, but instead of doing so Mr. Hughes wanted the money for other purposes, and it was disbursed by him, in fact the voters were pestering him for money and he gave it to them.

  • 1974.

    I understand you to say that Mr. Hughes distributed that 12L amongst voters ? — Yes, for expenses it was.

  • 1975.

    You say that voters were pestering him for money and he distributed it amongst them ? — Yes.

  • 1976.

    How much do you say Hughes distributed in that way out of the 32L. ? — I gave him first 12L, and after that they sent over from Sandwich upon the polling day to say that they had no money, that the Liberal party were throwing money about and that they had none, and that we should lose our election, I was going to send the parcel by another person, but I sent it by Mr. Watts, and he did not know what it contained. I put 10L. in a parcel and sent it over by Mr. Watts to give to Mr. Hughes, and he merely conveyed it as a private parcel, and did not know the contents of it. Upon the night of the election they came round to me again and said “We have no money, the men want something to drink, what are we to do ? ” and I gave them another 10L, which accounts for the S2L

  • 1977.

    To whom did you give the second 10L. ? — To Mr. Hughes.

  • 1978.

    To himself ? — Yes,

  • 1979.

    Did he come over ? — No, I was out at Sandwich upon the Saturday, and they said they had not a shilling in their pockets, and the others were spending money, and they had nothing to pay themselves with unless what they paid out of their own pocket.

  • 1980.

    (Mr. Turner.) The 12L. went to these three you say ? — It should have done so, but they spent it fairly amongst the voters, whether in treating or not I cannot Bay, but Mr. Hughes will explain that

  • 1981.

    (Mr. Holl.) The whole of the 32L. went in the way you have told us. First you gave him 121., and then you sent over 10L. by Mr. Watts, in response to an application saying that the other side were spending money, and they must have some money ? — Yes, or else we should lose the election.

  • 1982.

    Then you say upon the evening of the election you went over, and Hughes told you he must have money ? — They wanted something.

  • 1983.

    And you gave him a further 10L. ? — Yes, I did.