Spears, William Frost | Day 5

Volunteer to Mr Hughes, erected poles. Received £250 for erecting and removing poles and three payments of £9 some of which was paid to James Axon.

Witness Type: Briber

Party: Conservative

Witness Testimony:

  • 4321.

    Did you have no portion of the money that you received previously ? — My brother gave me 6L. the first start off.

  • 4322.

    Is that Henry Spears ? — Yes, and he signed his name for it.

  • 4323.

    When you went at different times to get these various sums, such as 9L., 13L. 10s., 7L. 10s., 30L., 9L, 24L., and so forth, you took your share, I suppose ? — No, not a farthing ; not a glass of beer.

  • 4324.

    Do I understand, in regard to these sums, that you received from time to time, amounting to 135L. or 140L., you took no share of it yourself at all ? — No, not one halfpenny.

  • 4325.

    Had you any arrangement with Mr. Hughes that he should pay you separately ? — No.

  • 4326.

    Were you engaged in erecting these POLES ? — Yes.

  • 4327.

    Why should not you have taken your share out of the money as you from time to time received it ? — Because I superintended the other people, and my brother gave me 6L. to superintend, and I took it and did superintend. I never knew that I was going to have a farthing until after the election was all over and done with, and then Mr. Hughes said, “ For your hard work I shall make you a present of 20L.,” and I took it.

  • 4328.

    Was that after the election ? — Yes, after it was all done with, two days afterwards.

  • 4329.

    The 135L. or 140L. that you are put down as. having received in addition to other money paid to other people would represent 30s. a-piece for 100 POLES ? — Yes, I daresay.

  • 4330.

    Did you erect as many as 50 do you think ? — Bless my soul and body, all that is paid for were erected, and I do not know whether there were 50 or 150.

  • 4331.

    That is not an answer to my question ; I asked you whether you will say that you erected more than 50 ? — I must tell you the same as I said before, I could not say ; all I can tell you is there were a great number.

  • 4332.

    You must know to some extent whether there were 50 or 100 ? — I think it would be nigher two fifties than one.

  • 4333.

    You see you do know to some extent ? — I tell you I have no idea ; if I had known anything of this kind was coming I would have kept an account.

  • 4334.

    You think it was higher 100 than 50 ? — Yes.

  • 4335.

    I will not take the largest of the POLES, any exceptional ones, but what would be the average length of the ordinary POLES you put up ? — Some of them were 70 feet high.

  • 4336.

    I asked you not to take the exceptional ones ; what was the average length ? — They would be on an average about 50 feet, I should think.

  • 4337.

    Was it a single pole ? — No, that would have two-spliced on.

  • 4338.

    Were they all two-spliced ? — No, not all.

  • 4339.

    What was the average height, in most cases did you have two POLES spliced or one pole. ? — Some was one and some were two.

  • 4340.

    Which were there most of ? — I should think there were most of two-spliced on.

  • 4341.

    More than half, you think ? — Yes.

  • 4342.

    You say the average height would be about 50 feet ? — Yes, I should think so.

  • 4343.

    I suppose you let these POLES into the ground ? —Yes.

  • 4344.

    How many feet ? — About 6 or 7 feet.

  • 4345.

    You dug a hole 6 or 7 feet deep, then put the pole in, and rammed it down to keep it up ? — Yes.

  • 4346.

    The ordinary POLES would not have any other support to them, except the support from being buried 6 or 7 feet deep ? — We were obliged to have some stays to them.

  • 4347.

    To every pole ? — I will not say to every pole.

  • 4348.

    Did you have any stays to any of them, except the exceptionally tall ones ? — Yes.

  • 4349.

    Just think for a moment ; will you undertake to say there were 20 which had stays ? — I daresay there were.

  • 4350.

    It is not a question of daresay ; tell me as near as you can remember, whether you will undertake to say positively that you did have stays to as many as 20 of them ? — I do not know, I am sure ; I do not want to say anything wrong, and there is no use in saying that I do not know.