Thomas, William Godfrey | Day 20
Paid out money on behalf of Mr Hughes. [Need to check the amounts].
Witness Type: Other
Party: Conservative
Witness Testimony:
- 20075.
(Mr. Turner.) Are you clerk to Mr. Hughes ? — Yes.
- 20076.
When did you first go down to Deal ? — The same day that Mr. Hughes went, I think it was upon the 5th May; I did not go with him but later in the day.
- 20077.
Did you yourself take any money with you ? — Yes.
- 20078.
How much ? — £500.
- 20079.
Was that in gold ? — Yes, in gold; in fact, I had more than £500 because I had other moneys belonging to Mr. Hughes; there was something like £150 which I was using at the time I was called away to go to Deal.
- 20080.
Do you mean using in your own business ? — Yes.
- 20081.
Then you took down £650 ? — I should think I had quite £650.
- 20082.
In gold ? — Yes.
- 20083.
What did you do with that ? — We used it as we went on for anything that was required in the Section.
- 20084.
In what way ? — In payments that were required to be made.
- 20085.
What was the nature of those payments ? — If I had my little memorandum book I could tell you. I think the first payment out of it was £50 at Sandwich to Mr. Cloke.
- 20086.
Here is your memorandum book (handing the same). Are the memoranda therein contained made by yourself ? — Yes.
- 20087.
I want to know what you did with this £650 ? — If you observe upon the 5th there is £50 to Mr. Cloke.
- 20088.
What was that given to him for ? — I believe it was to my expenses in hiring public houses, and so forth. Then the next day there is £150 and £120 paid to Mr. Simmons to pay for committee rooms.
- 20089.
Is that the clerk to Mr. Spofforth ? — Yes.
- 20090.
That makes £320 ? — Then upon May 6th there is another £100 for committee rooms.
- 20091.
To whom was that paid ? — I should think that would be paid to Mr. Simmons as well. I should think that he came to me afterwards and said that he had exhausted what he had.
- 20092.
You think that you gave it to Simmons ? — Yes.
- 20093.
That makes £420 ? — Then there is another £100 upon the same date, I see, and a lot of little expenses.
- 20094.
You have to exhaust £650 ? — But I do not think I exhausted the money that I had belonging to Mr. Hughes, although I did break into it eventually.
- 20095.
We have not yet exhausted the £500, that you took down in gold. — There are other small items, but I do not see any more large items. Upon the 10th there was £36 paid to Mr. Olds, and there are a lot of other small items such as, for instance, on the 15th, £17 for clerks, and other such like things as stamps, and everything of that sort. It commences from the very day I went down, and of course I had to go on paying out of pocket.
- 20096.
With the small items and the large sums, which you have told us of, which you paid to Cloke and to Simmons, they will pretty well exhaust the £500; how much of the £150 of Mr. Hughes’ own money did you break into ? — I could not say. I paid as I went on, and if I wanted any money I took it out of that.
- 20097.
Did you not enter that into a book ? — No, I kept it distinct.
- 20098.
Have you any other book in which you entered his money ? — No.
- 20099.
Cannot you give us a notion as to how much of the £150 you paid away ? — No.
- 20100.
Was it half, or two thirds ? — It might have been £50, and it might have been more at times, but I replaced it as I got other moneys, you see. I think, eventually, when I came back I found that I had spent about £50 beyond the money that I had received.
- 20101.
Besides the £500 and the £150, what other moneys did you receive ? — A great deal.
- 20102.
Tell us what it is that you did receive ? — I could not tell you the exact amount, but a great amount, I should think nearly the whole, of the money went through my hands that was in the Deal bank.
- 20103.
What did you do with it ? — The largest amounts I paid to Mr. Olds.
- 20104.
Can you tell us how much you paid to him, and when ? — I know the bulk was, as near as I can remember, about £1100.