LEWIS GRIGGS sworn and examined.

By the CHAIRMAN:

Question. Where do you live?-Answer. In the town of Sutton, the northwest part of the town, county of Worcester.

Q. Were you at the election of 1878?-A. I was.

Q. What are your politics?—A. I generally vote the Republican ticket.

Q. Can you describe the manner of voting at the Manchang or Sutton polls in November, 1878, and how the employés voted or were voted?-A. There are no Manchaug polls; the polls are opened in the middle of the town, at the place where we hold town meetings.

There

is a sort of desk or platform, with the selectmen and the moderator inside and the box outside; the box to receive the votes being outside. When we go up to it we pass something as we would pass through here [illustrating, and go in the opposite direction.

Q. Do you know what was the condition of the room when the employés of the corporation were brought there to vote?—A. Yes, sir.

Q. Was there not a narrow passage through which they had to go up?-A. There was.

Q. Who were there looking after their votes ?-A. I think that Mr. Chase was there. I cannot remember positively in regard to the State elections. My observation was more particularly in the local elections.

Q. We do not want anything about local elections-A. I can tell you but very little, as I have not anything in particular sufficiently clear in my mind in regard to the State election.

Q. Do you remember anything that occurred in the election of November, 1876-A. No, sir; I cannot particularize.

Q. Or in that of November, 1877?—A. I cannot remember at this moment.

Q. What has been the custom of Mr. Chase or Mr. Knox in regard to bringing the emyloyés of the corporation to the polling place and voting them?-A. Generally Mr. Chase came up there with them. I am not personally acquainted with Mr. Knox.

Q. How were the men brought there ?-A. They were brought in large teams and in large carriages generally, the majority of them.

Q. Were they taken back in the same way?-A. Yes, sir; generally. Q. Do you know whether they came with tickets?-A. Some of them did.

By Mr. PLATT:

Q. How far are the polls from the mill of the Manchaug corporation? -A. From three to four miles. It may be more than three and may be more than four. I am not quite certain.

By Mr. McDONALD:

Q. Do you know Mr. Terrence Kennedy, the witness, who sits here. now? A. Yes, sir; he is the gentleman sitting over there who testified yesterday. I know him by having seen him at town meetings. I am very little acquainted with him.

Q. Where did he live last fall?—A. I think he lived in Manchaug. Q. Did he live in one of the tenement houses belonging to the Manchaug corporation?-A. I do not recollect where he lived. I understood he moved last fall or winter, but I do not know at what time.

Q. You knew him to be a resident of Manchaug before that?—A. Yes, sir; I have seen him at town meeting.

Q. All of those tenements are owned by the Manchaug Company?— A. Yes, sir; I understand that they are.

Q. They own the whole village, the public hall and all?-A. Yes, sir.

JOHN O. PARKER sworn and examined.

By the CHAIRMAN :

Question. Where do you reside?-Answer. In Sutton.

Q. Were you at the election in Sutton in November, 1878 ?—A. Yes, sir.

Q. How near to the village of Manchaug do you live?-A. About three-quarters of a mile from it.

Q. What are your politics?—A. I always voted the Republican ticket until within a year or two.

Q. What was the practice of the Manchaug corporation last November, with respect to taking their emyloyés to the polls on election-day -A. The practice last November and always has been for the corporation to bring them in large teams.

Q. Are they taken back in the same teams usually?—A. Yes, sir; usually.

Q. Do they vote in the middle of the day or in the evening?—A. They usually get there and vote in the morning.

Q. Do they then take them back to work ?—A. They do, when they get through.

Q. Who was at the polls to receive the employés in November last? -A. Mr. Chase.

Q. Is he connected with the corporation ?--A. He is the bookkeeper there.

Q. Who takes them from the mills to the polls?-A. The teams of the corporation take them, and they usually hire a team from Douglass. Q. What have you seen in regard to tickets when they have got to the polls?-A. I have seen Mr. Chase change their tickets. He generally stands at one side there where there is a small place to go through, and, as they come along, he always has the ballots there, and I have seen him change them, and have seen them get tickets from him and carry them in.

Q. The specific tickets you speak of, did they examine those?—A. I do not know whether they could or not. Pretty nearly all of those who work there are French, and I do not know whether they could examine them.

Q. Do you know whether those tickets were in envelopes or open ?— A. I have seen Mr. Chase give tickets to them that were open.

Q. Did you see this occur in November, 1878?—A. Yes, sir.

Q. Specify an instance and describe how this occurred, if you can.A. As they passed along he was standing there on this side, and as they would come up to the polls he would stop them, hand them one of the tickets, and say "Here, carry it in." They might have had an envelope or something of that kind. I have seen them have envelopes. I have seen that occur.

Q. Did you or not see Mr. McArthur do the same thing?-A. No, sir. Q. What was his position at the time these men came there in November?-A. John McArthur was one of the selectmen.

Q. Had he charge of the ballot box?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. Have you seen or do you know of any acts to influence the votes of the employés on the part of Chase or McArthur, or requests by them that the employés should vote in a particular way?-A. Not any more

than that I have seen them change the votes; that is, I have seen Mr. Chase do it.

Q. What is usually the behavior of the mill-hands prior to the elec Are they open in the expression of a preference for candidates, or are they rather quiet?-A. They are rather quiet with me.

Q. You could not get much out of them. Did you hear an expression by any voter as to his desire to vote in a way which would not be known? -A. I do not know that I did hear any that day, only that they wanted an envelope to vote in.

Q. You refer to the men who are employed there in the mills?—A. Yes, sir.

Q. What has been the habit there since you have been voting at the polls with reference to control of or interference with the employés by the agent, if you know anything about it?

Mr. PLATT. Not before but since the Presidential election of 1876. The WITNESS. Chase has always been there and has always taken a part there.

By the CHAIRMAN:

Q. This system, then, of controlling voters, if they have been controlled, has been continuous since the general election of 1876, at general elections?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. Do you know Mr. Kennedy?—A. I am acquainted with the old gentleman and know his boys.

Q. What are his politics -A. I think he is a Butler man.

Q. Do you know where Terrence Kennedy lived?-A. He lived in Manchaug village.

Q. In whose house?-A. In one of the company's houses.

Q. When was he turned out of that?-A. A little before the election last year, I think. I think he was warned out before the election, but I do not know that he went out before it.

Q. Do you know why he was turned out?—A. I do not.

Q. He was active as a Butler man?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. Was Chase active as a Butler man ?-A. No, sir.

Q. For whom was he active ?-A. He was a straight Republican,

By Mr. McDONALD:

Q. How long have you known Terrence Kennedy?-A. Perhaps a year and a half or so. I could not tell exactly. I got acquainted with his family when they moved in there.

Q. Had he a son working in this factory ?-A. He had a son, Thomas Kennedy, I think, was his name, working there before he came there. I know the other sons apart, but do not know them personally.

Q. He is a quiet, peaceable citizen, and has always borne a reputation for quietness?-A. He has; so far as I know of.

Q. He always had quiet about his house, aud no disturbance, or anything of that kind?-A. No, sir.

Q. He was a wounded soldier, was he not?-A. He was a soldier. I did not know him when he was in the Army, but I know he was known as a wounded soldier. I am more acquainted with his family than I am with him.

Q. Have you seen the wound in his hand ?—A. Yes, sir.

Q. You say that Mr. Chase has taken tickets out of the hands of the mill operatives as they came up to vote, and given them other tickets?— A. Yes, sir.

Q. At the last election did you see him do that?-A. Yes, sir; at the election last fall; the one a year ago.

Q. Were the tickets he took out of their hands open or in envelopes ?— A. They were in envelopes. I think there were some of both. I staid there a little while, and saw it done.

Q. When he took the tickets out of their hands, what did he say to them?-A. He said, "Here, you just carry that in."

Q. He was a little suspicious that the tickets they had were not right?-A. I do not know. I could not say as to that.

Q. Do you know anything about their receiving tickets at the mill, before they started?-A. No, sir.

Q. How far do you say you live from this village of Manchang ?A. About three-quarters of a mile.

Q. What is your occupation ?-A. I am a peddler.

Q. Does that village of Manchaug belong to the manufacturing company?-A. I suppose it does.

Q. The whole concern?-A. I suppose so.

Q. The town house, the church, and the tenement houses-they own the whole thing? A. Yes, sir.

Q. It is a village that has been built up in connection with the manufacturing establishment at Manchaug ?-A. The most of it; a few houses have been built within a year or two, which the company do not

own.

Q. Did you see whether or not the men voted the tickets that Chase put into their hands as they were passing up?-A. Yes, sir; I saw them vote them.

Q. He stood where he could see whether they did vote them or not?A. Yes; he could not help seeing it.

Q. How near to the polls was he when they put the tickets in ?A. O, right close.

Q. Was there any chance for them to change their ballots, if they wanted to do so?-A. Possibly they might have.

Q. You did not see them make any effort to change them ?—A. No; none that I know of.

Q. Could they have changed their tickets without Chase seeing them do it?-A. I think so.

By Mr. PLATT:

Q. You have stated that, until within the last two or three years, you generally acted with the Republicans. With whom have you acted in the last two or three years?-A. I have not voted all the time.

Q. Did you vote in 1878 ?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. For whom whom did you vote for governor in 1878 ?—A. I voted the Democratic ticket, I guess.

Q. For Abbott-A. Yes; for Abbott.

Q. Have you been in consultation with any one in this city as to what you were to testify to here?-A. No, sir.

Q. Have you told no one?—A. No, sir.

Q. Has not your testimony been taken down; that is, what you would testify to here?-A. Perhaps so; a man talked to me a little about it. Q. What man was he?-A. I do not know him.

Q. Point him out if you can.-A. (Indicating the stenographer.) This is the gentleman, here, I guess.

Q. That is the reporter.-A. No; there is the gentleman, over there. Q. Mr. McDavitt, do you mean?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. These Manchaug voters live some three miles away from the polls-A. Yes, sir.

Q. It is rather inconvenient for them to walk that distance?—A. Yes, sir; it rather necessitates some riding.

Q. You saw voters brought to the polls and saw Chase there to receive them. Did you see any man named Kennedy there to receive them?-A. I do not recollect.

Q. You say that Chase changed one or two tickets. Did you see a young man by the name of Kennedy change twenty-seven tickets?—A. No, sir.

By Mr. McDONALD:

Q. Chase changed the tickets of the men without any request of the men to that effect, did he not?-A. Yes; as they came up.

Q. Chase took the tickets out of their hands?-A. Well, they were changed. I saw them changed.

Q. They made no request of him as they passed up?—A. No.

Q. He just took their tickets out of their hands and handed them others?-A. He handed them the tickets and said, "Just carry this in.” I did not see him take any away from them.

By the CHAIRMAN :

Q. Do you know of any voters voting at those polls who do not live so far away from the polls as three miles who are brought there in the company's teams?-A. O, some of them walk there.

Q. Do you know of any other establishment that carries its help up in wagons to vote there ?--A. I do not know of any.

Q. The people from that town come up individually except those of this corporation?-A. Yes, sir.

Q. These men are brought up there in the morning in the wagons, Chase is at the polls, they are put in the wagons again, and taken back to work?-A. Yes, sir.

Q That is not the case with any other establishment in the town ?— A. I never noticed any other. They are close by me.

Q. The farmers usually walk to the polls in the afternoon ?—A. The most of the farmers have teams and ride.

By Mr. McDONALD :

Q. Since you came to the city, Mr. McDavitt asked you what you knew about the voting at the Manchaug polls last fall?-A. It was something to that effect.

Q. It was this morning just before you were called?-A. Yes, sir. Q. So that it might be seen whether it was worth while to call you ?— A. I suppose so.

By Mr. PLATT:

Q. Do not the Democrats furnish teams to bring voters to the polls in that town?-A. I do not know that they do unless they take a brother Democrat in with them and carry him. I generally take my neighbors, carry them, and let them vote which way they please. I have a big wagon and generally carry up men of either party.

Q. Is there any manufacturing establishment in that town other than that of the Manchaug corporation ?-A. There is the Wilkersonville, but it is not very large.

Q. How many voters would they have in that establishment there?— A. I could not tell.

Q. How far off from the polls is it?-A. About two or three miles, I think.

Q. How do the voters from that establishment go up to the polls?— A. They come up in teams, some of them, and some afoot.