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H.—No. 14

EEPORT OP THE MOTUEKA ELECTION COMMITTEE.

Mr. D. Bosselmann. 9th Sept., 1871.

How did you go down ?—On a waggon. When you came down did you see William Bell ?—I recollect now seeing him ; I did not know his name then, but I know his name now to be William Bell. Did Bell come to you anywhere ?■—Bell was in company with Dreyer, and some three or four other gentlemen, and they came up to me. What did they say to you when they came up ?—I do not recollect it exactly. Do you remember goiDg to Palmer's ?—Yes. What had you at Palmer's ? —We drank a glass of beer. Had they anything to eat ?—Yes. Who paid for that? —I do not know who paid for it. Do you remember Bell going into Palmer's ? —Yes. Did you hear Bell say anything then when ho came into Palmer's ?—Bell had £2. He gave it to Harry, and said that was the money he would give him. I saw him go in with £2 and give it to my brother. Had you voted at that time ? —That was after I had voted. By Mr. Allan : Before voting, had anything been said about expenses at Waimea? —I had nothing to do with that, that was agreed with my brother. Before you voted did your brother tell you anything as to what you were to get ?—lt was of course understood before we went that we were to get Bs. a day. By the Chairman : Do you know whether any of the other twelve voted before Bell paid the £2 to your brother ?—Eranz Schwass had voted before the money was paid, but I am not quite certain ; to the best of my knowledge I think so. Unless you had been promised that you would be paid, would you have voted or come down to vote ?■ —No, wo did not know anything about the election. By Mr. Allan : Did you receive from your brother half-a-crown on the day of the election ?—Yes. After the election did you receive 13s. 6d. from your brother ? —I think I have got it all, but lam not particular. By Mr. Travers : Who did David Kerr speak to when he came to the tent?—Schwass and my brother Harry were there, and Kerr spoke to them first. Did you speak to Kerr at all? —Yes ; they produced a paper with their names on it, and he asked us if our names were all written on that paper. What paper was that ?—lt was a little card. Did Kerr tell you that he would only take down those who were willing to vote for Sir David Monro? —I cannot say exactly that he used those words —that he made such an expression—because it is now some time. Do you remember what took place ? —I recollect well that Kerr has been there, and that I have gone to the election. Is that all you can recollect ? —I have said already what I can recollect. You cannot remember the words that were used, is that it ?—That is what I mean; I cannot recollect the words exactly that Kerr used. Did you not understand from Kerr that he would take down those who were going to vote for Sir David Monro, and would pay their expenses for tho time ?—I know well what the understanding was — that Kerr gave me to understand that he would take them down who would vote for Sir David Monro ; he may have taken a number more down, but I do not know. By the Chairman : When Kerr said he would take them down, did he mean that he would take those only, or would he take with them any others who wished to go down to the poll and pay their expenses ?—I cannot say that, because I have spoken but very little with Bell. By Mr. Travers : Had you any conversation amongst yourselves who you would vote for?— When Kerr had been there we came to the conclusion that we would vote for Sir David Monro. Before that we did not know of any election taking place. You did not know at that time whether Mr. Parker was a candidate ?—I cannot recollect exactly whether we had heard that Mr. Parker was a candidate, or had come forward as a candidate ; but I think Mr. Schwass did mention that Parker was a candidate; lam not quite sure. But you all made up your minds to vote for Sir David Monro at that time ?—Yes. Had you any breakfast that morning until you arrived at Palmer's ? —No. Did you fast all night when travelling; were you not hungry when you came in r—Yes. By the Chairman : Had you any money with you to pay for refreshments ?—No ; we might have had a shilling or so in our pocket, but wo had no money. Were you one of the parties who signed the requisition to Sir David Monro ?—No. I have never signed anything. By Mr. Travers: Can you write ? —Yes, in German. Had you any means of going down unless your expenses were paid ?—I had no means to go. Not sufficient money to pay expenses ? —We had no money ; I might have had some money, but it could have been only a little. Ido not recollect it exactly. By the Chairman : Were you with others working at a contract, and bound to complete it at a certain time under a penalty ?—I was not bound ; the contractor was bound. By Mr. Travers .- Were you getting wages, or were you to have a portion of the contract money ? —I was bound under the contract. By Mr. McGillivray : You said you agreed to go down at-Bs. a day; on what ground did you agree to that sum in particular; why was that sum named at the rate at which you were to be paid ?— First, we wanted 10s. a day ; and then we went into the tent to consult among ourselves. By Mr. Travers .- Why did you fix upon Bs. ?—They had put the question to Kerr, and ho said he could not promise them as to what amount they would get. They had to make that out when they came down. It was our calculation among ourselves that 10s. a day was what we should ask for going down. We wanted 10s. a day ; and we conferred among ourselves. 10