my bounden duty to do all that I could to defeat such a man as Mr. Butler.

Q. You meant to have all your employés vote against him?—A. As far as I could persuade them to.

Q. You did not discharge anybody, not even Warren Casey -A. No, sir.

Q. What these men swore to about your going around the shops and telling them it was to the interest of the company for them to vote against Butler is true?-A. I told them it was to the interest of the company that they should vote for temperance men.

Q. And against Butler?-A. Yes; that was the amount of it.

Q. You did all that you could around among the employés ?—A. Yes; as far as I could.

Q. You are an emphatic man and did "your level best" to defeat Butler ?-A. As far as I could talk to them what was right.

Q. Then you went to the polls on election day so that you could see how they voted?-A. I could not tell how they voted.

Q. You could tell as well as anybody?—A. There couldn't anybody tell.

Q. Mr. Moore was on the other side of the house distributing tickets? -A. Yes, I suppose he was. I did not see much of him.

Q. How many of the men of the Douglass Axe Factory who were Democrats, who owned their own property and were independent of you, did not vote for Butler?-A. I don't know; I suppose there might have been fifty; I think there were nearly fifty.

Q. How many Democrats are there in the works who, under ordinary circumstances, vote the Democratic ticket; do you know that?-A. No; but quite a number.

Q. You, the Republicans, made a gain this time, did you not ?—A. Some of the more respectable Democrats voted with the Republicans. Q. You do not now speak of Burton Goddard and those fellows who owned their own property?—A. No; they voted for Butler.

Q. Are they respectable or not respectable?-A. I didn't say. Q. It implies that they were not?—A. I don't say but that some respectable men voted for Mr. Butler. I don't deny that.

Q. Where did the gain come from that the Talbot ticket made over the ordinary vote in that town?—A. In a great measure from the Democrats.

Q. Did it come from your works or from outside the works?-A. I couldn't tell. I know one man who was selectman of the town last year who was chosen to the Democratic convention at Worcester (his name was Nelson Emman), who went there and was so disgusted with the proceedings that be said he had seen all that he wanted to see of Butler, and, although he had been elected as a Butler man, he came home changed, and voted, as I understood afterwards, for Talbot.

Q. You thought that he saw too much whisky at the convention; is that it?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. Had you ever seen Mr. Moore at elections before, distributing tickets?-A. I had.

Q. Was he there in November, 1876 or 1877?-A. I can't say.

Q. You have been there frequently, though?-A. I have been there frequently.

Q. You are the leading Republican in the town, are you not?-A. They call me a pretty strong Temperance man, I believe.

Q. How does it happen that Mr. Moore thinks you are more of a Re

publican than a Temperance man ?-A. I don't know; you will have to ask him.

Q. What was the Temperance or Prohibition vote for governor in Douglass in the year before 1878?—A. I think that in the year before the Prohibition candidate had about one hundred.

Q. How many votes did the Prohibition candidate have in 1878?— A. My impression is that he had seventeen.

Q. Where did that difference between one hundred and four and seventeen go in 1878 as between Butler and Talbot ?—A. I don't know. I suppose it went to Talbot.

Q. Would not that in a large measure account for the increased Republican vote in 1878?-A. Yes, sir.

By Mr. McDONALD :

Q. Was there a Temperance candidate for governor last fall?—A. There was a man run as one.

Q. Was he a candidate ?—A. I guess he was or he wouldn't have run. I was at the Prohibition convention, and he was nominated.

Q. You did not vote for him ?—A. No, sir; I voted for Mr. Talbot. Q. In talking with the men in the shop you told them that if they could not vote for Talbot they had better vote for Abbott ?-A. Yes, sir. Q. Why not have told them that they had better vote for this Temperance candidate?-A. Because I knew they would not vote for any Republican or Temperance u an, probably, of that stamp.

Q. You were trying to get them to vote a Temperance vote?—A. I

was.

Q. Then would it not have been natural for you to ask them to vote for this Temperance man?-A. I told them to vote for either; that if I was a Democrat and intended to vote for a Democrat I should vote for Mr. Abbott.

Q. Your principal purpose was not exactly to have them vote for a temperance man, but for any one to beat Butler ?-A. Yet I would have liked to have beaten him with a Temperance man, if I could.

Q. Did you regard Talbot as a temperance man?-A. I always have. Q. And you regard Butler as an intemperate man ?—A. Yes, sir; I regarded him so when he was in the condition that he was when I was in the legislature in 1860 or 1861.

Q. Has he not been many things since that ?-A. I don't know.
Q. He was a Democrat in 1860, was he not?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. Was he an intemperate man then?-A. He drank too much then. Q. Do you know anything at all about Governor Talbot's habits?-A. I know by reputation, by men with whom I am very well acquainted. Q. Had you as good an opportunity of knowing what his temperance habits were as you had of knowing of General Butler's?-A. Yes, sir. Q. Did he never drink wine?-A. I can't say that he ever did. Q. Or liquor?--A. I don't think he is a man who drinks liquor. Q. Did he not, at the last session of the general assembly, let an act which was passed chartering a brewery become a law without his signature?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. He did not veto it ?-A. No.

Q. He was falling from grace a little, was he not, on that subject ?—A. I should not have done it.

Q. You would have vetoed it ?-A. I think I should.

Q But as governor he let that act to establish a brewery by a corporation become a law? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did you ever know Butler to do anything of that kind?—A. I never knew him to have an opportunity to.

sir;

Q. Did you ever know him to support a measure of that kind?—A. No, I know he is a man who is in favor of liquor and that he uses liquor. Q. Do you know that he is in favor of the retail of spirituous liquors? -A. I suppose he is, for he indulges in the habit of using them.

Q. Are there not many men who are in favor of the prohibitory law who use liquor themselves?-A. Yes, there are such men.

Q. Are there not men who oppose the prohibitory law who do not use liquor?-A. Yes, sir. The appetites of men are so strong that they are led away by it, though they secretly wish there was no liquor in the world.

Q. Are there not men who are thoroughly temperate, so far as their conduct is concerned, who oppose prohibitory legislation ?—A. I suppose there are a few.

Q. There are others who are in favor of a law, but do not want it enforced?-A. Yes.

Q. Your political action turned altogether upon the temperance ques. tion, I understand?-A. That is first and paramount with me.

Q. But you generally favor the Republican ticket?—A. I do always when the men on it are temperance men.

Q. The year before, did you vote the temperance ticket for governor?— A. Yes; but not the general ticket. I could not vote for Mr. Rice for governor consistently, because I thought he was not quite straight on the temperance question.

Q. For whom did you vote for governor the year before?—A. I voted for Mr. Baker.

Q. Was he the temperance candidate?-A. He has been several times.

Q. But last year you regarded the temperance issue as specially involved between Talbot and Butler?-A. I had considered one as right the opposite of the other on the temperance question.

Q. And that grew out of the fact as to what you had observed in the legislature with Mr. Butler in 1860?—A. I did not say I had served in the legislature; I said I was in the legislature.

Q. And saw him there?-A. I saw him.

A. J. THAYER sworn and examined.

By Mr. PLATT:

Question. Where do you reside?-Answer. In Douglass, east village. Q. In what business are you?-A. In the flour and grain business. Q. How long have you been engaged in that?-A. Six or seven years.

Q. Have you had any connection with the Douglass Axe Company?— A. I never have.

Q. Have you had any connection with any manufacturing company or manufacturing business?-A. I never have.

Q. Were you at the polls at Douglass at the November election in 1878-A. 1 was.

Q. In what capacity?-A. As one of the challenging committee. Q. How many challengers were there?-A. Two; Mr. Albert Butler and myself.

Q. In that capacity what did you do?-A. I watched the voters as they passed through to the polls to ascertain if any illegal voters presented themselves.

Q. Did you watch them for the purpose of determining how they voted? A. I did not.

Q. What did Mr. Butler do?—A. His business was the same as mine; we were together.

Q. Did he watch to determine how they voted ?-A. Not to my knowledge.

Q. Was there any understanding between you and the Douglass Axe Factory or any of its officers as to the part you were to perform on that day--A. Not at all.

Q. Did you see anything at the polls that day which looked like constraint of their employés upon the part of the Douglass Axe Factory?— A. I did not.

Q. Was it or not a free and fair election on that day in Douglass?— A. To my best knowledge and belief, it was.

Q. Did you ever know one more so?-A. I never knew a more quiet fall election than that of last fall.

Q. Or one more free and fair?--A. Or one more free and fair.

Q. How do you account for the increase of the Talbot vote in the fall of 1878?-A. In part from the Prohibitory vote of the year previous and in part from the regular Democratic vote.

By Mr. McDONALD:

Q. How did you vote at the last fall election ?-A. I voted for Mr. Talbot.

WILLIAM ABBOTT sworn and examined.

By Mr. PLATT

Question. Where do you reside?-Auswer. In Douglass.

Q. Do you hold any office there?-A. I am treasurer of the town. Q. What offices have you held there ?---A. I have never held any other office in that town. I held a commission as justice of the peace and notary public.

Q. Did you formerly reside in Sutton ?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. Have you been a member of the legislature?—A. I have.

Q. And a selectman in Sutton?-A. Yes, sir; for six years.

Q. Have you any connection with the Douglass Axe Factory ?-A. No, sir.

Q. Or with any corporation?-A. No, sir.

Q. What is your business?-A. I am dealing in real estate, and I do some public business.

Q. Were you at the November election of 1878 in the town of Douglass?-A. I was.

Q. In what capacity?-A. I was vote distributor.

Q. Did you see Mr. Moore there?—A. I did.

Q. Did you see Mr. Butler there?-A. I did.

Q. Was any constraint exercised by either of those gentlemen that day upon the employés of the Douglass Axe Factory, or was there anything of that nature that was visible or apparent ?—A. No, sir; not that I know of. I do not think that there was any.

Q. Was there anything that day that looked like intimidation on the part of anybody connected with that establishment upon the employés ? -A. No, sir; I never heard of any mentioned in the count.

Q. Was any claim made that there was any intimidation there?-A. I never heard of it until within three or four days; I never heard of anything of the kind until then.

By Mr. McDONALD:

Q. You saw Mr. Moore there, you say. Was he distributing tickets? -A. He was, part of the day.

Q. You saw Mr. Butler there.

Was he standing very near where the votes were received?—A. He was standing very near the ballot-box; I should say some six feet away.

By Mr. PLATT:

Q. Did he appear to be watching the employés of the Douglas Axe Factory particularly?-A. No, sir; he was watching any illegal voters who came up to vote. He was there for the purpose of challenging illegal voters; that was what he had been appointed for.

AARON F. JONES sworn and examined.

By Mr. PLATT:

Question. Where do you reside?-Answer. In the village of East Douglass.

Q. What is your business?-A. Dealer in coal and iron.

Q. Do you occupy any official position in the town of Douglass ?—A. I do.

Q. What is it?-A. Chairman of the board of selectmen.

Q. As such, did you preside at the polls in November, 1878?-A. I did not; I was appointed in March of the present year.

Q. Were you at the polls on that day?—A. I was.

Q. Are you connected with the East Douglass Axe Factory?—A. I

am not.

Q. Or with any corporation?-I am not.

Q. Was any act of intimidation at that election, on the part of the agents or officers of the East Douglas Axe Company, practiced towards their men?-A. I did not see anything of the kind, nor never have heard of anything of the kind until within four or five days.

Q. How did the election pass off in East Douglass last fall?-A. Very quietly, indeed.

Q. Did you ever have a more apparently fair and quiet election than you had that day?-A. No, sir.

Q. Did you about that time, or subsequently, hear any complaint of constraint or intimidation on the part of the East Douglass Axe Company?-A. I never have, before or since, until within the last five days. By Mr. McDONALD:

Q. How long have you lived in East Douglass?-A. Some thirty-one years.

Q. Were you born there?-A. I was not.

Q. What were you engaged in doing on the day of the election ?—A. Nothing officially.

Q. Were you engaged in anything connected with the election ?—A. Not at all, officially.

Q. In any way; were you taking an active part in it?—A. So far as voting myself, I was.

Q. So far as soliciting others, were you?-A. No, sir.

Q. How much of the time were you at the polls that day?-A. I was there all day after I got there until afternoon. I went up in the forenoon, I think.