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I DISTRICT -COUNCILS.

THE NEW CHESHIRE REGISTER.I

:ALLEGED ELECTION BRIBERY.…

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ALLEGED ELECTION BRIBERY. I WARRINGTON COUNCILLOR CHARGED At the Warrington lx>rou0rh foiice L/<>nrr, I last week, there was a large attendance to hear the ehargee of bribery preferred againct Council- 101 Gough, tho representative for the Bewsev Waid. The magistratac-a on the b; nch were Mr. F. Monks (in the chair), Aldermen FairCiOiigh, Smethurst and Hutchinson, Messrs. Thornton (councillor) and T. Bnchail. Only the chairman and Mr. Birchall adjudicated. The charges were UiaL the defendant on ovelllr 30 gave iaiic, Kiikliain beL for having voted for hau; aiso on ko same date gave Henry Foxhall 6d. to induce hiiii to vote for him; on the 2otii November lie gave \m. Rogers 6d. to lnduco him. to vote for ldlll; and that on November 28 he ottered IvLry ) Waid 6d. to induoe her to vote ior Im. Mr. | iiigby Swift, barrister, Liverpool (instructed by I for tti?-A pro?,t)cu- Mr. Arthur Browne), appealed ior the proc-ocu- tion, and Mr. F. E. Smith, barrister. Liverpool (instructed by Mr. Spenoer VVanhead), for tho lie- ( iendant. Mr. Rigby Swift, In opening, said the informs- tiono woie laid under tdia Corrupt Practices Act ot 1&)4. Having quoted the sections under wh.ch the summonsas were taken, he sa. d the allegations w ere that: Mr. Gough had bN.n guilty of orient-us of biibcry under the Aot of 1854 'lo one person he oUJred the sum of 6d., to two other pcr&one he gave bd. each bofore they voted, and in the fourth case he gave a womarI 6d. after 6he had voted. He pointed out that Uie defendant was liable to | a fine of L200, or two years' imprisonment. CAteE FOR i'lin. Mr. Stanley Wilson, Deputy iowii <J»erk, pro- duced three nomination papers loaded un benali j 01 ksamuei Gough, dated iVov^inoci k,o, to hit a casual vacancy ui tie i>ew»oy aid, aiso tno bur- ijtoi toll, and the result, of uie poii. Vi liiiaia Rogers, iron worker, o, Refuge-square, j saut ne was a voter in the iiewtey urd. On November 28 defendant caned at H,S nouso at 6.30 aL, iiigilt, aocoinpamtd by two gc-nutunen, and saiu ne had come to solicit Ins vote. Witness i tolu him he would not get his voie, as he iiad promised to vote for Mr. Owen ioole, and doe- lonuant repined that they would not be any tuo vvoise friends for that. tie ahook. hands, and wit- found 6d. in his right nana. By Mr. Smith: The two gentlemen stood at the door. Witness did hot expect sixpence, but he siiut his hand when he let tno money. \l^augh- j t-ji-j He did not know that it was a. wrong tiling to take tho sixpence, and did not tnank Mr. uough. Witness told a man tnat he hau levie.ved sixpence from Mr. Geügü, but, he dia not know I who it was. Witness knew Mr. W aisn, but clenied that he tiad had any Ireo drink there, -tie had to pay for what drink he had, and lie wouid tiwear j thai he was not, given a iree drink lor giving evi- dence. Henry Foxhall, iron worker, 8, Refuge-square, Baid on the morning of November 30 he went to Mi. Cough's committee-room, and he received 6d. irom tho defendant 'ihe latter said, "Vou't for- get who to vote for," and witness replied, "Ail right; ill make it right. in reply to Mr. Smith, witness said Mr. Gough put 6d. in his hand as ho was standing by We tabie, but he did not know whether the others in til", room saw him give tho money. They oouid not sck, if they turned their heads. (Laughter.) Witness was asked who lie voted for, and he said he had voted for Gough. The men to whom he was talking said. "Then I leukon. you got a tan- ner," and witness replied tnat he nad. He first made a written statement at the Liberal Ciub aUoyt a week after Ule election. He had previ- I ously been in the Imperial Hotel, where lIe met t Air. Owen Toole and Mr. Walsh. He had a drink with Air. Waish at the Imperial, and also at the Liberal Club. Witness went to a room at Cairo- street on Saturday night, and there saw Air. Gough, Mr. Baker and HOW other geuuemen. He was in a nice state, and was not sober. He got tiie drink at Air. Baker e expense, and ne promised him a good feed, but witness did not get it. In tie pi .sence of those people he did say he did not re- ceive sixpence, and tnat he did not know Mr. Gough. It was a lie, but the reason witness said 60 was because they thought they had got him on tiie hop. Witness refused to sign a paper on baturday night, and he told the lie because he thought he should get some more drink. Jane. Ivirkham. widow, 92, Catnerine-street. said on November 30 she went to vote. Air. Gough gave her two threepenny bits after she had voted. By Mr. Smith: Two women named Kenwright ana Fears went with her to vote.. ltness (in a, loud voioa, and pointing to the. women): There they are, sitting like two fools. (Loud laughter.) She met a policeman and another man afterwards. Mr. Smith: You were having a. tete-a-tete. (Laughter.) Witness: Yes, that's all I had. (Loud laugh- ter.) Alarv Ward, widow, living in Refuge-square, said on November 28 Air. Gough and Air. Peers WOilt to her house and asked for her vote. She said, "No I'll vote for Mr. Toole." Defendant then put bd. into her hand, but site gave it him back and told him to clear off, as sho was not going to sell her vote for 6d. Superintendent Monaghan deposed to serving the summonses, and the case for the prosecution closed. THE DEFENCE. Air. F. E. Smith, for the defence, said he was there confidently to submit to the bench, after they had heard his witnesses, that there was no prima facie case which would justify them in send- ing the defendant to the assizes. It was not often that municipal zeal for purity in elections took the particular form it did that morning. He agreed Uhat it was extremely desirable that bribery oi corrupt practices should be put down, and the fact that the amount of money was small made no difference. He asked them to make the inference that as the party which was defeated at the elec- tion had not taken the ordinary course of bringing an election petition instead of coming before the police court and bringing four charges buttressed by the class of witnesses produced, it appeared an unfortunate example of political malice and spite of the, lowest, form. Mr. Gough wouid deny all of tho acts alleged to have been committed by him. Since the election Mr. Toole had been to see Mr Gough to try to induce him to resign his seat with a. view that these proceedings might be stopped Samuel Gough. the defendant said he was a Non-Trading candidate in the recent bye-election in Bewsey Ward. He had not given any of the witnesses or any other voter any money. Rogers told him four or five times that he was going to vote for Toole. Witness had not shaken haaids vith Rogers, and to his knowledge did not touch his hand He did not give him sixpence, neither did he give anything to the other witnesses. In cross-examination defendant said he had been told that the other side, had paid JE20 to a public- house. William WToodcock. letter cutter, 33. Price- st-reot, said he was with Mr. Gough at the houses of Ward aaid Rogers. He never saw any money ;iven to them, and if there had been he would have seen it. Further evidence having been given by several witnesses, the magistrates decided that a prima f cie case had cn made out., and committed the defendant to the Liverpool Assizes for trial. Bail was allowed, himself in E200 and one surctv of 00.

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