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PROTEST BY THE JUDGE

The final stage in the trial of Oscar Wilde was entered upon on Saturday at the Old Bailey. The Solicitor-General (Sir F. Lock- wood), Mr. C. F. Gill, and Mr. H. Avorv appeared on behalf of the Public Prosecutor,and Sir E. Clarke, Mr. C. Mathews, and Mr. Travers Humphreys defended. The court was again crowded, and great interest was taken in the proceedings.

The Solicitor-General resumed his reply on the whole case, and at the outset referred to the circumstances under which Lord Queensberry wrote the letter which was the cause of the charges being investigated in the first instance. He proceeded to urge that Sir E. Clarke had appealed to the jury to save his client on account of his high literary position. Under the glamour of art-

Sir E. Clarke most strongly protested against this sort of appeal to the jury, which suggested that it was his desire that one man should go down and the other be saved under the false glamour of art. This was far removed from the evidence laid before the court. His Lordship said that up to the present time there had been little or no allusion to the other trial.

Sir F. Lockwood declared that his learned friend in his final appeal to the jury laid great stress upon the literary position of his client. This man must be judged equally "i h the other according to the law. The Judge remarked that he would have worthing to say on the points raised after-

The Solicitor-General next referred to Taylor as a man upon whom Wilde would have relied, had his story been true. Sir E. Clarke had made much of the fact that it was Wilde himself who produced the first of the letters to Lord A. Douglas; but that was only done to take the sting out of the cross-examination.

Sir W. Clarke stated that the Solicitor-General had no right to make such an observation.

Sir F. Lockwood retorted, and there was some laughter in the court at the repeated conflicts between the two eminent counsel, whereupon Sir F. Lockwood protested against laughter in such a case.

His Lordship said it was hard enough to have to try a case of that sort, and hold the scales fairly between the parties, without being pestered with applause, which merely expressed the feelings of senseless people who had no business in the court except the gratification of morbid curiosity. If there was any more of this kind of thing he would have the court cleared.

Sir F. Lockwood proceeded to closely analyse the charges against Wilde, and commented on the strong point made by Sir E. Clarke in his appeal to the jury, that the Crown had provided one of the principal witnesses with a suit of clothes, and that some of these men had been in the custody of the detectives. These clothes had been provided in order that the witnesses should not appear in the uniform if the Queen, and most of the others had been in the custody of the detectives and removed from place to place with great secrecy to prevent their being tampered with, and to ensure their attendance in court. He made no sort of apology for the course taken by the prosecution on this matter. He dealt at length with the evidence called on behalf of the prosecution, and asked what object could the independent witnesses have in giving their independent stories but to speak the truth in the interests of the public. In conclusion Sir F. Lockwood asked the jury to do their duty fairly. If they believed Wilde to be an innocent man they must acquit him; but if, on their consciences, they believed him to be guilty of the offences charged against him there was only one consideration - to follow closely the obligations which the oath had imposed upon them.

SUMMING UP.

The Judge, in summing up, referred to the difficulties and responsibilities imposed upon everyone connected with a case such as that before the court. It dealt with matters in which, thank God, one's ordinary experience of human life served one but little; but they were surrounded with an atmosphere of natural and inevitable prejudice, which made the cool administration of justice difficult. He regretted that the charges of conspiracy were ever introduced m the indictment; they ought either never to have been introduced, or never to have been abandoned when introduced. He did not believe that Wilde had suffered one hairs breadth by the order in which the defendants had been tried in the present the Solicitor-General that Taylor had not did not think that, under the circumstances, be could have made his appearance in the witness-box; and it was also inevitable that the defendant should give evidence if he hoped to have any chance of procuring a verdict of acquittal. He could not bring himself to give simply a colourless summing up, which was of no good to anybody; but expressed the hope that in respect of any opinions which might be hinted at or conveyed, the jury would regard them not as opinions to guide them, but rather as matters to criticize, to cavil with, to find fault with, and to see whether they were justified. It was the province of the jury themselves to decide; and it had been the aim of his judicial life, so far as he could, to preserve that province sacred. It was very unfortunate that in dealing with the case he should have to refer to Lord A. Douglas. He was not present, and was no party to the proceedings.

A Juror: My Lord, he could be here.

His Lordship assented that Lord Alfred could be present, but pointed out that he could not volunteer himself into the case. Continuing, the Judge remarked that he would say nothing that he could help to blast Lord A. Douglas's career in life; but it did not relieve him from the necessity of investigating, as far as he could, his relations with Wood . He referred to the defendant's letter to Lord A. Douglas, which Wilde said was a prose poem, and declared that it was poison for a young man. It was a lamentable one, necessitating the intervention of his friends. Whatever construction might be put upon the letter, it was one which an elder friend ought not to address to a young man. He proceeded to comment on the relations between the defendant, Lord A. Douglas, and the young men called on behalf of the prosecution; and in reference to Wilde's dealings with Wood, said it was for the jury to say whether they could accept the account given by the defendant, that he believed Wood to be a blackmailer coming to levy toll upon him because he possessed certain letters, and that he was so disarmed of suspicion by his candour in reference to the letter that he felt he had done great injustice in his own mind ; and, therefore, paid him £16, not for the letters, but as a pure act of benevolence to enable him to go to America. To destroy these appeared a most grievous mistake - a mad mistake. To believe anything simply because Wood said it would be absurd,as Wood belonged to perhaps the vilest class that our great cities produce; he was at least connected with a gang of black- mailers ; and the stress of the case with regard to him seemed to depend upon the character of the original introduction. Was it stamped with charity, kindness, and good- will simply, or was it by one wicked person to another?

The Foreman of the Jury, interrupting, said that in view of the intimacy with Lord Alfred Douglas the jury would be glad to know whether a warrant for Lord Alfred Douglas's apprehension was ever issued.

The Judge: I should think not.

The Foreman: Or ever contemplated?

The Judge: I cannot tell; nor need we discuss that, because Lord Alfred Douglas may yet have to answer a charge. He was not called. There may be a thousand considerations of which we may know nothing that might prevent his appearance in the witness box. I think you should deal with the matter upon the evidence before you.

The Foreman: If we are to deduce any guilt from these letters, it applies equally to Lord Alfred Douglas as to the defendant.

The Judge: Quite so; but how does that relieve the defendant. We have got the testimony of his guilt to deal with now. I believe that to be the recipient of such letters and to continue the intimacy is as fatal to the reputation of the recipient as to the sender; but that you have really nothing to do with at present. Our present inquiry is about the man who is in the dock - whether the guilt is brought home to him? After an adjournment of half-an-hour for luncheon, the Judge, on resuming at 2.25, implored the jury to give no heed to the fact that no charge had yet been brought against Lord Alfred Douglas, and to discard that consideration from their minds, lest it might prejudice the administration of justice. His Lordship then proceeded to deal with the case of Parker, speaking of him as mixed up with a gang of blackmailers, and pointing out that to accept his unsupported testimony would be monstrous ; but for some reason or other he appeared to have been a very acceptable companion, and the intimacy was an extraordinary one. It was the association with men of that class that created the suspicion in the case; but whether it ought to go beyond suspicion or not it was for the jury to say. He next dealt with the two occurrences at the Savoy Hotel, stating that one of them was most suspicious. In concluding he assured the jury that he had done his best to point out such things as he thought ought fairly to be said on behalf of the defendant, as well as what might fairly be relied upon the other side; and he thanked the jury for their patient and impartial attention to the detail of a disagreeable and anxious case. The jury retired at 3.30.

VERDICT.

The jury returned a verdict of "Guilty." Prisoner was sentenced to two years' hard labour. Taylor received the same.

The final stage with the second trial of Oscar Wilde was entered upon at the Old Bailey, to-day, before Mr. Justice Wills. The public gallery was again packed with interested spectators. It was half-past ten when the Solicitor-General entered the court and at this hour neither the prisoner nor Sir Edward Clarke had arrived. His lordship took his seat a few moments after the half hour, and Sir E. Clarke, Q.C., put in an appearance at the same time. The resumption of proceedings was delayed by another case, which was disposed of in a few minutes.

Oscar Wilde, who had in the meantime entered the court was then called upon to surrender to his bail. He at once stepped into the dock, and resumed his seat, facing the jury, with his elbow resting on the ledge before him. His appearance had not materially changed since yesterday, and he betrayed signs of considerable anxiety.

The Solicitor-General then rose and took up the threads of his speech in reply on behalf of the prosecution. He asked what was the relationship of the prisoner with Lord Alfred Douglas, and said though Lord Queensberry resented the intimacy between the prisoner and Lord Alfred the prisoner continued the intimacy, and flaunted Lord Alfred at hotels in London and the country. His learned friend had urged that after this lapse of time all the witnesses that might have been called for the defence had been scattered, and yet he had intimate associations with Taylor.

Sir Edward Clarke: That is an oratorical expression which has never been proved in the evidence.

The Solicitor-General asked what were the badges of an intimate friendship. Taylor called the prisoner "Oscar," and he called Taylor "Alfred," and he entertained him on his birthday. What more proof of intimacy did he want than that? It was a plain statement of fact that Taylor was the prisoner's intimate friend. It appeared as if counsel for the defence desired now that one man should go down and the other be saved because of a false glamour upon art.

Sir E. Clarke: I protest. I must distinctly protest against this sort of appeal to tbe jury -this suggestion to the jury that it is my desire now that one man should go down and the other be saved because of a false glamour upon art.

His Lordship pointed out that up to the present time there had been no allusion to the result of the other trial.

The Solicitor-General maintained that he had a right to reply to his learned friend's final appeal to the jury as to the literary position of his client. He was dealing with the prisoner's connection with the man Taylor, and he said that these men must be judged equally.

Sir Edward Clarke: They must be fairly tried in their proper order.

The Solicitor-General hoped that these interruptions would avail his learned friend nothing. He now came back to the point from which he started, and that was that there was one witness at least whom the prisoner could have relied upon, and that was Taylor. There was another person he could have relied upon, and that was Lord Alfred Douglas. With regard to the letters which the prisoner obtained from Wood, and which he said were of no importance, he would call the attention of the jury to one of the letters which had been produced -a letter which if found in the possession of a woman from a man would be the clearest possible evidence of some guilty passion. The letter spoke of "Rose-leaf lips, framed not only for the music of song but the madness of kissing," and contained a reference to the love of Apollo and Hyacinthus. It was in these terms that he addressed this young man, and then the jury, men of sense and reason and honour, were tried to he put off with this story of a prose poem, a sonnet which he supposed they were too low to appreciate. They must thank God that it was so. They did not appreciate a thing of this sort save at its proper level, and that was somewhat lower than a beast's.

At this point there was slight laughter from the gallery. His lordship said he hoped that throughout the rest of this trial there would be no more interruptions of this kind. It was very offensive to him to be pestered with applause or expression of feeling by people who had no business there except the gratification of a morbid curiosity. If there was anything of the kind he should have the Court cleared.

The Solicitor-General, resuming, said with regard to Parker and Wood, that his learned friend said they were blackmailers, and warned the jury lest they gave a verdict in this case which would enable this detestable trade to rear its head unblushingly in this country. He (the Solicitor General) would, however, ask the jury to take care lest they enabled another vice as detestable and as abominable to raise its head unblushingly in this country. It was true that these men participated in a blackmailing enterprise, but the genesis of a blackmailer was a man who had committed these acts of indecency, and the genesis of the man who had committed these foul acts was the man who was so debased as to be willing to pay for their commission, and were it not that there must be some men so debased as to purchase vice in this hideous and detestable form there would be no market for such crime, and there would be no market in which these blackmailers could be found. It was a strange thing that they should find Oscar Wilde in close intimacy with both Parker and Wood. No motive could be alleged for these men telling that which was untrue, and it was not suggested that their evidence had been purchased or improperly influenced. Having reviewed the evidence given by Wood, he asked the jury to say that he told the truth, that he had no motive to deceive them, and that they must irresistibly come to the conclusion that there was only conflict of testimony at the point where admission stopped and actual confession commenced. With regard to Parker also, they had admission after admission until they came on the heel of confession. In conclusion, he said he had pointed out the strength of the case, and he now had to ask the jury to do their duty in the case.

His Lordship, in summing up, said this was a painful and shocking case, which necessitated a cold and calm administration of justice, in order that due protection would be afforded to the defendant. For himself he would rather try a most shocking murder case than be engaged in trying one of these cases. He could not, however, say that his sense of difficulty was increased in this case by any consideration of the education or culture of the person accused, because having regard to the result of the Queensberry libel case they need not distress themselves by ordinary considerations, which would add to their distress in the case of persons of education and culture. In this case he could not give a simple, colourless summing up which was no good to anybody. It was very unfortunate that in dealing with Wood's case he must deal with a good deal that affected Lord Alfred Douglas, who was not a party to these proceedings and could not give evidence.

A Juror: He could be here.'

His lordship said: He could not volunteer himself. He was anxious in the case of a young man like this to say nothing that might help to blast his career in life, but that did not in the least relieve him from the necessity of investigating the facts of this case. With regard to these charges the defendant was entitled to the full benefit of the observation that these matters were alleged to have taken place two or three years ago, but they must not forget that these charges had grown out of the writing of these letters to this young man. It was a matter for the grave consideration of the jury as to whether the letter referring to the madness of kissing pointed to unclean relations and appetites on both sides. It was Lord Alfred Douglas who sent Wood to the defendant. The case as to Wood seemed to him to depend upon what they thought was the character of the original introduction, whether it was stamped with charity, kindness, and good will, or whether it was for a wicked purpose.

The Foreman of the Jury: The jury are very anxious to know whether, in view of the intimacy between Lord Alfred Douglas and Wood, a warrant for the arrest of Lord Alfred Douglas was ever issued.

His Lordship: I should think not.

The Foreman: Or was ever contemplated?

His Lordship: That I cannot say.

The jury wish to know whether, if they deduce guilt from these letters, it will affect Lord Alfred Douglas as well as the defendant?

His Lordship said he thought the receipt of these letters and the continued intimacy was as damaging to the reputation of the recipient as of the sender, but that had nothing to do with the present inquiry. The question was whether guilt was brought home to the man in the dock.

At this point the court adjourned for luncheon.

On the Court resuming, his Lordship again referred to Lord Alfred Douglas, who, he said, if guilty, would not be spared because he was Lord Alfred Douglas. As to whether he would be tried he knew nothing. It be there was no evidence against him. The question before the jury was whether the man in the dock was guilty.

His Lordship concluded summing-up at 3.30 and the jury retired.

The jury returned a verdict of guilty.

The Judge characterised the offence as the worst that had ever come under his notice, and sentenced both Taylor and Wilde to two years' hard labour each. (Crimes of "Shame.")

Wilde appeared stunned, and was hurried to the cells.