Denne, Charles | Day 6

Claimed £84 for the hire of 7 rooms for 11 days plus £80 11s for refreshments. Possibly inebriated as he was told to return on the following Monday and to be in a more fit state to answer questions

Witness Type: Publican, Beerhouse Keeper, Treater

Party: Liberal

Other Days The Witness Was Called On: Day 5

Witness Testimony:

  • 5352.

    Who ordered those five sitting rooms ? — They took possession, the committee walked in and took possession. I had not an agreement with any person.

  • 5353.

    You were not very averse to their walking in and taking possession ? — No, certainly not.

  • 5354.

    You were rather glad to see them come — did anybody tell you they were coming to arrange for them ? No.

  • 5355.

    No one at all ? — No one to my recollection.

  • 5356.

    Your view is, that they simply walked in and took possession ? — Yes.

  • 5357.

    And you have charged them 10L. a day for it ? — Yes.

  • 5358.

    I see you have charged upon the 8th May IL. 3s. 8d for refreshments ? — Yes, I think it is so.

  • 5359.

    And every day for the next three or four days you charge sums varying from IL., 2L. up to 3L. or 4L. ? — Yes.

  • 5360.

    To whom were those refreshments supplied ? — I could not say who to.

  • 5361.

    Did anybody who wanted refreshments come and have them ? — Not anybody.

  • 5362.

    Anybody connected with the cause ? — Not every- body, it was mostly the messengers, and those men that were putting up the flagpoles.

  • 5363.

    They came in and were refreshed ? —Yes.

  • 5364.

    And the clerks ? —Yes.

  • 5365.

    And the messengers — anybody connected with the Liberal party ? — No, not anybody.

  • 5366.

    Did not people walk in and take possession of refreshments like they took possession of the rooms ? — Pretty well they did — they quite took possession the night after the election, and the following day.

  • 5367.

    They took possession of the refreshments. I hope the refreshments did not take possession of them ; did any of them have too much ? — No, not that I am aware of.

  • 5368.

    I see here “two botties of lemonade and brandy, one bottle of lemonade, one bottle of lemonade and brandy, three bottles of lemonade and whisky, two bottles of lemonade and brandy,” and so on — that is all upon the 8th May. Who had this great mass of lemonade ? — I could not say.

  • 5369.

    Here are gallons of lemonade — is lemonade a very favourite drink in your house ? — Yes, at times it is.

  • 5370.

    Cannot you remember who had all this lemonade — pretty well anybody had it that came in had not they ? They did, the latter part of the time.

  • 5371.

    I see in your book upon May the 8th and following days there is no charge to anybody else except the committee and Sir Julian Goldsmid ; that is so, is it not ? — I think so.

  • 5372.

    So everything that was consumed in your house during those days was put down to Sir Julian Goldsmid ? — Perhaps when he was staying at the house.

  • 5373.

    He did not drink all this lemonade ? — No, certainly not ; but he had some friends with him.

  • 5374.

    Everything that is put down in your book from the 8th to the 18th is all put down to Sir Julian Goldsmid ; there is no charge to anybody else except to Sir Julian Goldsmid ; look at your book and see whether it is not so ? — I believe that is correct ; he was staying at the house at the time.

  • 5375.

    I want you to look at the book and see whether it is not the fact that there is no charge to anybody else at all except to Sir Julian Goldsmid ? — Yes, it is so.

  • 5376.

    Everything that was consumed in your house during those 10 days, from the 8th to the 18th, you put down to Sir Julian Goldsmid ? — As they had the whole of the house there would be no room for anybody else.

  • 5377.

    There were refreshments, I suppose, to somebody else ; it is the fact, is it not, that every drop of drink you supplied to anybody during these 10 days was put down to Sir Julian Goldsmid ? — No, a good deal was paid for at the counter.

  • 5378.

    Except that which was paid for at the time, every drop of drink supplied in your house was scored up to Sir Julian Goldsmid ? — Yes, I think so.

  • 5379.

    Just look and see whether it is not the fact that during those 10 days every drop of drink that was scored up to anybody was scored up to Sir Julian Goldsmid ? — It is called the committee.

  • 5380.

    Yes, I know that is so. I call it Sir Julian Goldsmid, and that is the same thing, is it not ? — Yes, it is.

  • 5381.

    It is as I say; everything supplied in your house that was scored up was scored up to Sir Julian Goldsmid ? — Yes, you are quite right.