Testimonies

Lewis, George Henry | Day 16

Witness Type: Other, Petition witness

Party: Liberal

Other Days The Witness Was Called On: Day 6 | Day 18

Witness Testimony:

• 18082.

  Recalled and further examined. (Mr. Jeune.) You have been kind enough to produce the papers that you were asked to produce; are those the papers connected with the petition ? — Yes.

• 18083.

  Are those all the papers you have ? — Yes, they are all that I have.

• 18084.

  Of any sort or kind ? — I made my clerk, who is down at the Worcester petition, before he left town, look and see whether there were any more, and another clerk also I made look, but these are all I have ; some I brought down with me to Sandwich, but you did not think them important; the Walmer account, for instance.

• 18085.

  Till we look through the papers it is impossible to say which are important or not ; all I wish to know is, are those all the papers that you have connected in any way directly or indirectly with the election ? — Yes.

• 18086.

  When did Sir Julian Goldsmid first call upon you with regard to your taking up the petition ? — I cannot give you the exact date, but I should say within two or three days of the election.

• 18087.

  The 18th May was the election ? — Yes, and it was within two or three days of that.

• 18088.

  You had not acted for Sir Julian Goldsmid before ? — No, never ; but I knew him very well.

• 18089.

  Did he call upon you, or write to you in the first instance ? — He called upon me.

• 18090.

  Am I to understand that from that day onwards that these papers represent all the papers that you have in connexion with the petition ? — There are the drafts, and the briefs you have.

• 18091.

  I should like the drafts ? — The drafts of the original briefs you have.

• 18092.

  Yes, and I should like the drafts of the witnesses proofs ? — They are copied by the law stationer, and you have the copies.

• 18093.

  I should like the drafts ? — I will send them to the secretary.

• 18094.

  That you say will make the list complete ? — Yes ; here (pointing) are some instructions that I received. I may say until the briefs were drawn, I had very little to do with it, because I had not the information. I sent people down to Sandwich, and they remained there to serve the subpoenas till the trial, and hardly ever came up.

• 18095.

  Who were the clerks ? — One was a clerk of the name of Chalkley.

• 18096.

  Is he in your service still ? — Yes ; and he shall attend whenever you wish ; and there was a detective of the name of Edwin Levi, and he employed, I think, two more persons, and he shall attend whenever you please. He employed, I think, one of his own men, and I think two local people, to try and get information.

• 18097.

  Are those all the people you know of being employed ? — Yes ; they were engaged in collecting the evidence ; it was a long time before the particulars had to be delivered.

• 18098.

  You saw Elliott when he came to London ? — Yes.

• 18099.

  And he gave you a draft proof ? — Yes ; which is copied in the brief.

• 18100.

  You saw him personally ? — Yes.

• 18101.

  He was brought by a man named Brown ? — Yes.

• 18102.

  Did Brown give you a statement too ? — No.

• 18103.

  Did you learn from Brown who were the persons he had bribed ? — No, I did not know that Brown at that time had bribed anybody. Elliott made a statement of the persons he had bribed in the presence from what I remember of some men in a public-house — the money was put upon the table for them.

• 18104.

  You knew of course that Elliott was coming ? — I am not certain whether I had a telegram to say that this man Levi, or one of his men was bringing up Elliott, or whether they arrived without. I know that they rushed into my office, and it was said that Dr. Hulke had come up in the same train, and had seen this man and tried to get him away from them, and they threatened him with some proceedings if he interfered.

• 18105.

  I think I ought to ask you this — you know that Brown and Elliott have both disappeared ? — Yes.

• 18106.

  Do you know how they have come to disappear ? — I have my suspicions in regard to Elliott because of course he was a very important witness, and it was very well known that he was concerned in giving information and therefore I suspect why he disappeared — we could not subpoena him at the time, but as to Brown I have never heard anything of him from that moment to this.

• 18107.

  Can you suggest any reason why Brown should have disappeared — he disappeared the day after he received the summons to appear before us — can you suggest why he should have disappeared ? — No. I have never from that moment to this had any communication with him either direct or indirect, nor with any agent in connexion with them. The moment that the petition had been heard we never had anything more to do with Sandwich.

• 18108.

  Have there been at any other time any other papers that you know of connected with this petition ? — There were the accounts of Mr. Edwards which I gave Mr. Edwards back, he asked for them back, and I returned them.

• 18109.

  Are there any other papers ? — No, I am not aware of anything else.

• 18110.

  And as far as you know no papers have been destroyed ? — No, except the list of the public-houses which I regret I cannot find. The list was, I believe, handed up to the judges. The judges wished to verify the fact that the publicans who let their houses at so much a-piece had voted upon the day of the election, and with somebody selected from the other side it was verified. I took the list, and the person upon the other side took the particulars, and the high bailiff took the poll-book and called the names out, and I ticked the list; and after that it was handed to Mr. Day, and Mr. Day handed it to the judges. That list showed that everyone, with one exception, had voted.

• 18111.

  Except that list, and the accounts handed to Mr. Edwards, are there any other papers which you have had in your possession in connexion with the petition which you have not now got ? — No.