PROTEST OF INNOCENCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18676, 4 October 1922, Page 5

PROTEST OF INNOCENCE

“IF THE TRUTH WERE KNOWN.” “ALL MY OWN FAULT.” MR H, BOTTOMLEY AND THE COMMONS. REMARKABLE LETTER. (From Oub Own Correspondent.) LONDON, August 4. By the vote of his fellow-members, Mr Horatio Bottomley hag been expelled from the Commons. He is now serving seven years' penal servitude for fraud m connection with the Victory Bond Club and other similar organisations. "Expelled!” exclaims Hie, Daily Jelegraph, "is n word as rare in the annals of the House as it is ugly- What the scene would Have been had Bottomley attended in his place can only be imagined. To everyone’s satisfaction he was absent, and instead of a most painful speech there was only the reading of a long letter. He had wished to attend, but it was considered advisable on medical grounds that he should not leave hospital. By his own confession this was the most unlcindeat cut of all which he has received. Bottomley prided himself that he was a House of Commons man, and in his letter from prison ho emphasised his love of the House and his regret that ho had brought a slur upon it. “To be a member of it was the dream of my youth and the joy of my manhood.” he wrote, "and to my dying day it will be an ever-abiding grief that I have in any way been the cause of sullying its fair name.” “IF THE TRUTH WERE KNOWN.” “But if the truth were known, Sir (the writer wont on) as some- day it may be. I believe the House, in its generosity, would grant me not only its forgiveness, but also its sympathy. It would be futile at this stage, and possibly irregular, to reopen the sordid proceedings with which the public have been nauseated, and which have kept me on the rack for the past year. A jury has found me guilty, as indeed is not surprising, after the strong direction of the learned judge who tried the case; and the Court of Appeal has not seen its way to uphold certain objections, taking on the advice of eminent counsel, and having nothing to do with the merits of the case, to the conduct of the trial; whilst the learned Attorney-general,. in his direction, has declined to issue his fiat, without which an appeal to the House of Lords is impossible, despite the fact that the application for such flat was supported by one of the greatest lawyers at the bar today. And so, Sir, the matter rests there, and I do not see how the House, in the circumstances, can be asked to depart from its usual practice in such cases. A SOLEMN ASSURANCE. “But. sir. that fact does not debar me: while still a member, from giving my solemn assurance, in the name of everyone and everything which I cherish and hold dear on earth, and on my soul and honour, that whatever irregularities there may have been, and however unorthodox may have been my methods in the conduct of concerns carried on, more or less, in contravention of ancient laws (but with the most patriotic motives, yielding the Government largo sums when money was sorely needed), I have not been guilty of any conscious fraud. Sir, I have always endeavoured to respect the amenities of the House, and I would rather my tongue were torn out by the roots than tell it a lie. nor am I a canting religionist. But there is one word I never take in vain, and I ask leave to quote the concluding sentence of my evidence at the trial: T swear before God,’ I said, ‘that I have never attempted to make a penny out of the clubs, and I swear before God that I have never done so ’ ALL MY OWN FAULT. “Sir, those solamn words, after two months’ solitary confinement in a prison cell for 23 out of every 24 hours and much searching of spirit, 1 repeat to-day; the truth of them will be put to the test, the searching test, in proceedings now pending in the Court of Bankruptcy, to which I have been driven mainly owing to financial sacrifices I have made for the benefit of the very concerns I am said to have robbed. But, sir, it is all my own fault, and I bear nobody any ill-will. My only regret .is that I am no longer free to assist in clearing up the confusion and chaos which have arisen, and to do something to relieve any cases of hardship which may remain, but the number and extent- of which have been greatly exaggerated. Still, if I live through my sentence, and am fortunate enough to retain my strength and mental faculties, that uork will b« my first care. AFFECTIONATE FAREWELL. “In the meantime, I must submit to the cruel fate which has overtaken me. and of which to-day’s action of the House is Lfar the most painful part. To me'. Sir. expulsion from the House of Commons is a punishment greater and more enduring than any sentence which a Court of Law could decree. It is the , very refinement, the apotheosis of, torture, and added to the strain and suffering of prison life, equals any torment any man has ever been called upon to endure. But, Sir. as I have said, I have but. myself’ to blame, and all I can do is to ask hon. members to judge of me as they knew me. Then, perhaps, some of them may give a kindly thought to an old colleague, who never played them false, and endeavoured to act up to the best traditions of the House And now, Sir. it only remains for me to thank you and all the officials of the Hons© for the courtesy and kindness I always received during my 12 years of membership; and reiterating with all the solemnity which would be possible if they were the last words ever to pass my lips, that entirely duo to niy own fault, I am the victim of an appalling error of justice. I beg through you. Sir. to bid to House a respectful and an affectionate farewell.” THE “AYES” HAVE IT., Tire House listened without a sound as the Speaker quickly read this remarkable document in a low and occasionally halting voice (says one who was present). Many of the members looked away from the chair; one or two sat with hands shading their eyes; Lord Robert Cecil’s face was a study in concentrated pain and sorrow. The letter of Mr Justice Salter announcing the conviction was road, and Mr Chamberlain formally moved the expulsion order. It was an ordeal to do so, as he confessed, and he wisely declined to accent the obvious challenge thrown out by the letter from the chair, to follow its pleas. The matter might have ended there, but Colonel John Ward jumped up to say that although Mr Bottoniley had never exchanged two words with him. Colonel Ward could not allow him to be expelled without expressing his “personal regret” at the “necessity.” The Speaker put the motion, and declared that the “Ayes” had it, Horatio Bottomley had ceased to be a member of the House of Commons. ‘•NO SUCH APPLICATION MADE.” The Attorney-general was asked whether he had anything to say regarding the statement in Bottomloy’s letter that he had declined to issue his fiat for an appeal to the House of Lords, “despite the fact that application for such a fiat was supported by one of the greatest lawyers at the bar to-day.” Sir Ernest Pollock replied, “No such application has been made to me, so that Mr Bottomley has fallen into some mistake.’’, Mr J. Ilolfonl Knight, barrister, has been adopted as Labour candidate in, the byelection m South Hackney, necessitated by Bottomley's expulsion. Captain ErskineBolst. late of the Black Watch, is the Coalition candidate.