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GLAMORGAN J.P.'S,

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GLAMORGAN J.P.'S, ALLEGED GREAT SCANDAL. BARTERING MAGISTERIAL HONOURS. HOW THE AFFAIR WAS OPERATED. EXPLOITING A WELSH M.P. HIS NOTEPAPER USED FOR CORRESPONDENCE. INTERVIEW WITH MR. ALFRED THOMAS, M.P. STATEMENTS OF GENTLEMEN WHO WERE APPROACHED." THE AFFAIR LAID BEFORE THE LORD-LIEUTENANT. On Tuesday we published a paragraph re- 1 lating to a peculiar method of making magis- trates for the county of Glamorgan, which, it is alleged, has lately been developed in certain quarters. The allegations contained in that paragraph have been freely connected with a list of names of gentlemen, candidates for the magistracy, which we published in the Western Mail of September 30. That list, which is given below, was received with a good deal of surprise at the time it was issued, for, while it contains the names of a few gentlemen who might very well expect such honour, the others make up a very scratch team THE LIST. Alfred Stevens (C), Penhill, Llandaff. Alderman John (L), Cowbridge. John Robert Christie kU), Baynton, LlandufT. Mr. Williams (Li, high-constable, Aberdare. Johu T. Salathiel (L), Blaengarw. William Thomas (C), Hayes, Sully. Richard Evan Jones (L). Mumbles, Swansea. William Vincent Huntley (C), Welsh St. Donat's. Councillor Morgan Morgan (L), Cardiff. William Walter Nell (C), The Grange, Wenvoe. F. W. Manders, ex-high constable, Aberdare. Isaac George (L), Mountain Ash. Thomas Lewis (L), Pontycymmer. Jamus Price (C), Royal Tudor Hotel, Cardiff. David Jenkins (L), Swansea. Edward Treharne (C), surgeon. Cadoxton. J. Griffith Jones (" Caradog"), (C), Ponty- pridd. James Mullin (L), doctor of medicine, Cardiff. John Crockett (U), Pontypridd. Evan Evans (C), Mountain Ash. Captain Hill-Male vXJ), Pontypridd, Job Llewellyn (L), Llandaff. The publication of the list gave rise to much discussion in certain quarters amongst those wh,) were privy to the negotiations which have been going on for some months, the history of which was on Tuesday investigated by a special corre- spondent of the Western Mail, who gives the following account of the affair as related to him by various gentlemen who were approached" in the matter, or whose names are otherwise associated. He writes:- It may, with moderation, be said that the paragraph in Tuesday's Western Mail re- specting the making of Glamorgan magis- trates descended like a thunderbolt in cer- tain quarters. Some suspicion had been excited by the list published in the Western Mail twelve days ago, but this was neces- sarily limited in extent. It was Tuesday's' paragraph which concentrated attention -on the matter, and brought up painful feelings in the minds of individuals who had been" had" in the race for honours. The story points a fine moral to the tale of how the House of Commons, in a Vandalic moment, threw overboard the old method of selecting magistrates, and opened the way for business of the kind which, it is alleged, has been pursued in Glamorganshire, and, there is reason for believing, not exclusively in this county. The unravelling of tho story has been some- what difficult, in tho first place because the plans of the magistrate-making syndicate appear to have been laid with consummate skill, while the gentlemen who snapped at the bait are naturally reluctant to expose their own weakness. One of the members of the syndicate (which consists of five or more individuals) happened to possess special knowledge of the people likely to desire such honours, and seems to have used that knowledge to advantage. An attempt was made to boom" the thing by including certain individuals who may be supposed to represent the working classes, negotiations were opened with a solicitor in Cardiff with a view to securing his legal aid in the matter, and the interval which has elapsed since the passing of the House of Commons reso- lution has been well occupied. The absence of names from the following story has been already explained, but I may here state that the conductors of the Western Mail are in possession of the names of those concerned, and that at the proper moment the Western Mail may have some- thing to say about tl>e circum- stances] under which the list of names given above appeared in these columns on September 30. At present the whole matter has been laid before the Lord-Lieutenant of the County, and will, probably, find its way to the Lord Chancellor. HOW LOCALITIES WERE OPERATED, The modus operandi adopted by the run; may be gathered from the following account of the proceedings of one of their number in one of the industrial centres of the county:— Dramatis persona (1) A well-known Con- servative politician, and (2) the leader of the ring. Period, some time in July or August last. The former, who had simply an how-d'ye- do" acquaintance with the latter, was accosted in the street one day by said ring leader, who called his attention to the now famous resolution of the House of Commons relative to the appointment of magistrates, and intimated he was engaged in preparing lists of gentlemen in various parts of the county for presentation to the Lord Chancellor. These lists (it was added) would be fair to both parties, and contain the names of those qualified for and deserving of the honour of being elevated to the magisterial bench, altogether irrespec- tive of party politics. After unfolding this pleasing programme, the$eif-e«teem of the said Conservative politician was worked upon by the suggestion that he, being well acquainted with the de- serving of his own Pluty, could suggest suitable names for presentation to the Lord Chancellor. I distrusted him from the first," re- marked my informant after giving me this statement of how he had been approached, but I determined to temporise, in order to find out his little eame." Accordingly, my informantfiertofallthrew doubt upon the suggestion that the Lord- Chancellor would altogether ignore the Lord Lieutenant in the matter, and declared his belief that the namps would come back to Lord Windsor in the end. This was met by the positive assurance that the whole tran- saction would be carried through directly with the Lord Chancellor. Whom do you act for ? asked my in- formant, still feeling his way. Oh, influential parties," was the reply. Are you acting for ? (naming a well-known WeLh M.P.) naming a No, I am acting under instructions from head-quarters." The upshot of the conversation was that a further meeting was arranged, my informant promising to consult his friends. This meeting came off, and information was volunteered that the affair had tn worked in a number of Glamorganshire towns, some of which were mentioned, a big bundle of petitions containing the names of various gentleiiH-n being produced in corroboration. One of these petitions was shown to me yesterday, but I am not permitted at present to use its text or the names it contained. The mode of proceeding was still further elaborated at this meeting, but no mention was made of any money payment—a circumstance which my informant, for obvious reasons, now regrets. Finally the names of my informant and his friend were put down for submission to the Lord Chancellor. Some time later he received a letter stating that his name had been submitted to his lordship, who had asked certain pointed questions respecting him. The information sought was subsequently furnished, and there the matter rests, the eminent Conser- vative politician, whose name, by the way, is not included in the list published in the Weslun Mail the other day, being still in uncertainty as to the upshot. Several gentlemen from the same locality appear in the list published in the Western Mail-not, however, on the recommendation of my informant nor on that of his friend- and it is believed in some quarters that money has passed in the case of some of thein. HOW INDIVIDUALS WERE APPROACHED." One of the gentlemen" approached" in the matter spins an interesting yarn on the subject. I was driving home from the office one e. "ning when I was hailed from the door of a well-known hostelry by an individual whom I did not know, but who greeted me with the somewhat startling query, Why don't you go in for the magistracy ? 'I have not thought of it,' I ri,-ilieti. "I %Vell, you have a splendid chance now,' was the reply. 'A large number of magistrates will be made shortly, and you should go in.' The individual pro- posed a meeting at a certain place and time, and I agreed. This was in August, and two days later I received a note from the indi- vidual referred to postponing the appoint- ment to another date, and adding, < There is a good chance of your name being put on the list of magistrates, provided you comply with the requirements of the Lord Chancellor. th@ i;t were those requirements?" I interposed. "Was anything said about money ? Not then," was the reply. "The note- paper on which that letter was written bore the name and address of Mr. Alfred Thomas, M.P., but the name was crossed out, and so was the name 'Bronwydd' in the address, another address in Cardiff being substituted. Later on I met the individual referred to, and, in reply to a remark of mine, he assured me it was all right, that my name had gone in to the Lord Chancellor, supported by a memorial signed by persons whom I knew, and that 'fetched' me. When the list appeared in the Western Mail some of my friends spoke to me on the matter, and I found the suspicions I had entertained as to the genuineness of the affair con- firmed. The last I heard of it was a letter received some days ago aRking for another meeting. and men- tioning that it had been arranged a deputa- ;:io;3dtia:;n :n';ns:'P nd another deputation upon the Lord Chan- cellor. The letter went on to say that the expenses incurred by sending these deputa- tions would be heavy, and asked me to send£5. I replied that I would be prepared to contri- bute towards expenses when the object sought had been attained. There the matter rests as far as I am concerned." In further conversation, I gathered that while my informant rather plumed himself upon the fact that he had not really been misled by the promises of the syndicate, he naturally felt sore that his name should have been mixed up with the affair, for (as he pointed out) it might spoil or, at any i ate. defer his chances of being placed on the bench. This, in his case, is the more annoying, for he is one of the few who (as I remarked before) might justly expect such distinc- tion. After the statements made respecting the use of Mr. Alfred Thomas's name I natu- rally sought an interview with that gentle- man. Even a man of Mr. Thomas's amia- bility was, as might be expected, conside- rably annoyed at the manner in which his name has been mixed up in the affair. Your name," I said, has been men- tioned to me in several quarters in connec- tion with this operation for making new magistrates for Glamorganshire. Do you know anything about it "Nothing whatever." There is an idea abroad that one of the members of the syndicate holds some con- nection with you in the matter," I re- marked. I know nothing at all about the matter, except what 1. have seen iu the papers, and the statements made me by one or two gentlemen." "You have not given anyone authority to use your name in the matter ? No, decidedly not, and no one hae ever had my authority to act in such a matter." "I have been told of a letter, sent to one of the gentlemen approached by a member of the syndicate, written on notepaper bear- ing your name and address. Your name and address were crossed out, and another address written in. Do you use notepaper printed in that way:, Yes." I gather you did not supply any note- paper for uso:!)n negotiation for magistrate- making ? 11 No, certainly, I did not. I may add I distinctly disapprove of this new method of appointing magistrates on memorial." M r. Theodore Dodd's name has been men- tioned in the matter. Do you think he knows anything of these negotiations P" No, certainly not." This closed the interview. The allegation that money had been asked for, and, in some cases, paid over, cropped up in various quarters in the course of my investigation The grounds upon which money was demanded are not. clear, but J was informed that ostensibly it was for the purpose of engrossing the memorial ¡ and paying the expenses of the "influential deputation from Wales," who, it is claimed, went to London to present them to the Lord Chancellor. Why the memorials were not sent by post to the gentleman who, it is alleged, "virtually acts for the Liberal party," namely, Mr. Theodore Dodd, is not apparent, and no one whom I interviewed yesterday could give me any answer to that query. It has been suggested, with reference to several of the individuals whose names appear in the list of September 30, that one of the" requirements of the Lord Chan- cellor might very well be an examination in I handwriting and orthography. NEGOTIATIONS WITH SWANSEA I GENTLEMEN. Our Swansea reporter tolegraphx:-The I startling rumours to which the Western Matt gave prominence yesterday in connection with the nominations for the commission at the peace tor Glamorganshire aopcars to he the outcome of the euort. ?f a coup? of <_ar<ha gentlemen to obtain lttic promotion money from such of the nominated candidates as might be disposed to part. I have just had a sight of one the letters which have been forwarded by one of the govi lemen in ques- tion to candidates, the amount which wa stated yesterday as being demanded was apparently exaggerated over 100 per cent. The sum asked in the case in question 10118 the rather remarkable one (,f Cg 15s. an amount probably tixed upon in the idea there is luck in odd numbers. It will ha observed, however, that an actual seat oa the bench is not offered for that sum. What the writer ctfers is. first, to take further steps to ensure, and. secondly, tc" accele- rate" the appointment. For the present the names of the parties are suppressed, but the information e.an be verified at any time it the parties desire it. The letter is dated Cardiff, October 4, and runs as follows Dear Sir,-If you would see your name in the proposed list of new magistrates for the county of Glamorgan, I should like to see you within the next day or two, as some further steps might be taken to ensure your name being on the list of appointments. If you cannot find time to meet me in this matter will you kindly let me know by return, and I will write you at length on the whole matter, and see if we can accelerate your appointment on the corn- mission of the peace, the expenses in connec- tion with the presentation of your memorial would, Mr. assures me, be paid by you. This amount would be £ 9 15s., and I shall be glad if you will let Ille have your cheque for that amount if you have not already paid Mr. -Yours faithfully," In at least one case a well-known gentleman was communicated with by a can- didate, who received the letter, and was asked if the writer had any connection wIth him, and he replied in the nega- tive, although the applicant had written on note paper containing the gentleman'* printed address crossed out, and another Cardiff address substituted.

ITHE CHAMBERLAIN CANARD.

I MORE MISERY PROBABLE.

ITHE CATERHAM SCANDAL.

CONDITION OF CAPTAIN O'SHEA.

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