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:

  • 19991.

    By whom was that cheque drawn, and upon whom ? — I do not know. I have no idea at the present time to whom the cheque was made payable.

  • 19992.

    The cheque was open and not in an envelope ? — No, I think not.

  • 19993.

    What sort of looking thing was it? Was it a French cheque or an English cheque ? — As far as I recollect, it was an ordinary cheque payable from the Calais house, to make up the difference of this money.

  • 19994.

    Was it drawn by Bellairs et Fils ? — I do not know.

  • 19995.

    To whom was it drawn? Was it an open cheque to bearer ? — I have no idea.

  • 19996.

    Do you not remember ? — No, not at all.

  • 19997.

    You do not often walk about with cheques for this amount in your pocket. Cannot you remember what sort of cheque it was ? — No, I have not the slightest idea, but if it had been anything extraordinary from an ordinary English cheque I should have noticed, I think.

  • 19998.

    Was it drawn upon the Bank of England ? — Yes, it must have been drawn upon the Bank of England, or how could I have cashed it?

  • 19999.

    It was drawn upon the Bank of England, you think ? — Yes.

  • 20000.

    You got the cheque, beyond all question, cashed at the Bank of England ? — No, I do not know what bank it was made payable to.

  • 20001.

    Cannot you remember to what bank you went and got it cashed ? — No, I have not the slightest idea at present.

  • 20002.

    It is not so very long ago, and one cannot mistake the Bank of England for any other bank. You must remember, surely, where you went and got the cheque cashed ? — No, I have not the slightest idea.

  • 20003.

    The cheque was for £281 ? — Yes.

  • 20004.

    You know the amount of the cheque ? — Yes.

  • 20005.

    If you recollect the amount of the cheque, surely you can recollect where you got it cashed ? — No, I have not the slightest idea at the present time . It may have been the Bank of England or elsewhere.

  • 20006.

    Of course it may have been any bank, and there are numerous banks in London. What sort of a place did you go to for the cash ? — I assure you I really do not know at the present time what bank I went to for it. If I got the gold from the bank of England I presume I must have got the cheque cashed there.

  • 20007.

    Did you get the gold from the Bank of England ? —Yes.

  • 20008.

    Are you sure ? — Yes.

  • 20009.

    Cannot you remember whether you got the cheque cashed at the same place or not ? — No, I really cannot.

  • 20010.

    Cannot you recollect whether you went to any other bank that morning besides the Bank of England ? — No, I cannot.

  • 20011.

    It may have been a cheque upon the Bank of England, but it is extremely unlikely, because there are not many people who keep private accounts there. It was an ordinary cheque, you say ? — Yes, so far as I can recollect.

  • 20012.

    Are you quite sure it was cashed at any bank at all? Was it not drawn upon an English correspondent, or something of that sort ? — No, I cannot remember what bank it was drawn upon.

  • 20013.

    Surely you must remember where you went to get it cashed. You came up from Dover with the cheque and got gold for it. Surely you must remember upon what bank it was drawn ? — I have not the slightest idea at the present moment.

  • 20014.

    You went down with this gold to Olds ? — Yes.

  • 20015.

    Olds recognised you, of course, as the same person he had seen before ? — Yes.

  • 20016.

    Did you tell Olds your name at any time ? — No, I did not to my knowledge.

  • 20017.

    Might you have ? — I might have done so.

  • 20018.

    He knew perfectly well that you were connected with Mr. Hughes, in the way you have told us ? — Yes, quite so.

  • 20019.

    Did you ever go down to Deal again ? — Since that time?

  • 20020.

    Yes ? — I was not upon the petition.