Horne, William B. | Day 19
Received cheque from Mr James Rolls Hoare, business partner of Mr Crompton Roberts for £1400. He paid £400 into the Glyn Mill’s bank and £1000 into a bank in Calais. Likely to have been the dark man referred to in various testimonies – Samuel Olds, George Friend etc. Lived in Woolwich at the time of the election. Olds subsequently went to Calais to get the money and returned with £700 and a cheque for £281 which he gave to Horne at Dover. Olds retained £15 and the remaining £4 was currency exchange.
Witness Type: Briber
Party: Conservative
Witness Testimony:
- 19811.
(Mr. Turner.) What are you ? — I am in town now, in the city.
- 19812.
May I ask what you are ? — I am assisting Mr. Hughes, the last witness.
- 19813.
Upon the 12th of May, did you go to a gentleman named Hoare ? — Yes.
- 19814.
Who sent you to him ? — Mr. Hughes.
- 19815.
What did Mr. Hoare say to you, or give you ? — I gave Mr. Hoare a note, and he came out and gave me another note, which I took back to Mr. Hughes.
- 19816.
You gave Mr. Hoare a note from Mr. Hughes ? — Yes.
- 19817.
And what did he give you ? — He gave me a cheque for £1400.
- 19818.
What did you do with that ? — I paid it into Glyn Mill’s bank; £1000 to Mr. Olds’ credit; at least, I paid £400 to Mr. Hughes’ credit; and £1000 to some bank over at Calais, but I forget the name.
- 19819.
You paid it to Olds’ credit, at Glyn Mill’s ? — Yes.
- 19820.
To whose order was that £1000 to be paid ? — Mr. Olds’, as far as I can recollect.
- 19821.
After that, did you have any communication with Olds ? — Yes, I received the money from Olds, at Dover; that is to say, the proceeds of the cheque that I had paid into the Calais bank.
- 19822.
Where had Olds been when you met him at Dover ? — He had been over to Calais to get this money from Calais to bring back to Dover, and I met him there by appointment.
- 19823.
What did he do with the money ? — He gave it to me.
- 19824.
Had you a letter from Olds asking you to meet him at Dover ? — No.
- 19825.
Was it a telegram, or what ? — I forget now. I know I was employed as a trustworthy agent in the matter, to get the money.
- 19826.
When you paid the £1000 to the account of this bank in Calais to the order of Olds at Glyn’s, did you communicate with Olds ? — No.
- 19827.
How did he know of it ? — I suppose he knew of it from Mr. Hughes.
- 19828.
Did you tell Mr. Hughes that you had paid it into the order of Olds, at the bank in Calais ? — Yes, Mr. Hughes knew about it.
- 19829.
You cannot say how you came to meet Mr. Olds at Dover? There must have been some appointment for you to meet him there upon the 14th ? — I think it was by letter I received from Deal.
- 19830.
From whom ? — From Mr. Hughes, but I will not be quite certain upon the point.
- 19831.
You must have had some notice that Mr. Olds was going over ? — Yes, I think it was from Mr. Hughes that I received a notification to meet Mr. Olds at Dover.
- 19832.
Have you got the letter ? — No.
- 19833.
Do you know what has become of it ? — No, I have not the slightest idea.
- 19834.
What day was it that you met Mr. Olds at Dover ? — I think it was upon the Friday.
- 19835.
The Friday before the election ? — Yes. I met him there, and he gave me the money that he had got from Calais.
- 19836.
How did he give it to you ? — In Bank of England notes and a cheque.
- 19837.
Can you give me the amounts ? — He gave me £700 in notes, and a cheque for £281, making £981. £15 he retained himself, and there was £4 for commission, that is to say, exchange.
- 19838.
Why did he retain the £15? Did he state why ? — No, he did not. He said he would account for it.
- 19839.
Olds having given you this money, £700 in notes, and £281 in a cheque, what did you do ? — I came to the city, to change it for gold.
- 19840.
The same day ? — Yes, the same day, but I did not change it till the next day – Saturday.