The Ottawa Citizen - Saturday, April 6, 1895

London, April 5.- The Daily Chronicle will have a long leader to-morrow on the Oscar Wilde case. It will say : "Either Mr. Carson’s brief contained a series of the wickedest slanders or the prosecutor purjured himself unspeakably."

The Washington Post - Saturday, April 6, 1895

London, April 5.—Oscar Wilde, who for twenty years has, after one fashion or another, attracted to himself the attention of the cultivated world of both England and America, and who posed by turns as a languorous aesthete, a caustic cynic, and a producer of brilliant epigrams and witty paradoxes, is to-night the occupant of a Bow street police court cell on a charge which, in the eyes of most honest men, is more odious than even that of murder.

Yesterday was a day of sensationalism which, though some of its startling effects were carefully prepared in advance by master hands, was in its essence intensely dramatic.

Thus I am told on the best authority that an arrangement as to Wilde’s withdrawal from the prosecution was arrived at between counsel late on Thursday night. Mr. Carson, however, insisted he should be allowed to continue his address to the jury long enough to bring out such essential facts as he deemed necessary.

Indeed, the signal for Sir Edward Clarke’s rising was actually given by Mr. Carson himself when he thought the proper moment had arrived.

I also hear the case had already been informally submitted to the public prosecutor, and so there was not the least delay in the action taken by that functionary in relation to obtaining a warrant for Wilde’s arrest.

Wilde Drunk When Arrested.

Wilde when arrested had been drinking heavily and very nearly fell upon the pavement when he arrived at Scotland Yard. His three hours’ detention there, however, somewhat sobered him, and during the journey to Bow street he chatted familiarly with the detectives, asking various questions as to the treatment he might expect in the cell, whether he would be seen by friends, and so forth. He was somewhat chagrined to find that he would be treated like any ordinary prisoner and that no indulgences would be allowed him.

Late to-night I hear that detectives have been scouring the city in search of the man Taylor, for whom a warrant has already been signed. He has been under police surveillance for some time, but he was unluckily allowed to slip away early this morning, and has not been seen since. It is not expected, however, that he has left the city.

With the placing of the evidence in the hands of the public prosecutor, the case ends as far as Marquis Queensberry was concerned.

"I think," said he to me this afternoon, when I found him at Carter’s Hotel, with his table littered with congratulatory telegrams, which continued to arrive in batches at frequent intervals, "I think I have done my duty, not only to my family and myself, but also to the community. It has cost me £1,200, and now if the law of England doesn’t step in I must make my own law.

Queensberry Threatens to Shoot Him.

"I have sent a message to this creature Wilde to the effect that if he chooses to leave the country I, for one, shall not lift a finger to stay him. But he must distinctly understand that if he takes my son with him I shall follow him and shoot him like a dog. But I think he ought not to be allowed to leave the country. I think he ought to be placed where he can ruin no more young men.

"For the part I have taken myself in this matter I can only say that I have acted absolutely and entirely from a sense of duty. Many of my friends said, as many of these telegrams received also say, that I am to be commended for my pluck. I do not see that pluck had anything to do with it. I do not see that I could have acted otherwise than I have done. I have preserved my self-respect.

The One Topic in London.

"I may tell you that the full measure of this man’s baseness was not revealed to me until after my own arrest at his instance. Then the evidence which was made to us showed us a depth of immorality which is almost incredible."

I need not say that London this afternoon and to-night has been completely possessed of but one topic of conversation—the arrest of Oscar Wilde. Not only has he been for a very long time a prominent figure to literary and artistic circles, but during the last few years the rumors and innuendoes which caused the Marquis of Queensberry to insist upon his son’s breaking off his intimacy with the dramatist have been insistently prevalent, and have included the names not only of Wilde and his close intimates, but of many well-known men of social as well as artistic distinction.

Things had indeed been fast in reaching a point at which no man’s name would have been safe, and it is, therefore, felt by every one that the Marquis of Queensberry has rendered a positive service to the community. This, at all events, is the opinion I heard expressed on every hand to-day.

SIR EDWARD DECLINES TO DEFEND.The Jury Promptly Declared the Marquis of Queensberry Guiltless.

London, April 5.—The case of Oscar Wilde against the Marquis of Queensberry for libel was brought to a close this morning in a verdict in favor of the defendant. The jury found not only that the defendant was not guilty of libel, but in a subsidiary verdict declared that the Marquis of Queensberry’s charges were true, and had been made for the public good.

The Old Bailey courtroom was crowded almost to suffocation this morning, when Mr. Carson resumed his speech in behalf of the Marquis of Queensberry. It would be his painful duty, he said, to put upon the witness-stand men who would speak freely of the nature of their connection with the plaintiff Wilde. The ages of these men varied from eighteen to twenty-three years. They were of the class of servants, valets, &c., not belonging to Mr. Wilde’s station in life, not interested in literature or art, yet they addressed this distinguished dramatist by his Christian name, Oscar, he in turn calling them Charle, Freddie, &c. Mr. Carson said he would produce overwhelming evidence of the abominable immorality of this man Wilde.

Sir Edward Clarke interrupted Mr. Carson and said he had undertaken a great responsibility in defending Wilde against the charges brought against him by the Marquis of Queensberry. In regard to the literature which Wilde had published and upon which Mr. Carson had questioned him, he (Sir Edward) had come to the painful conclusion that it could not be expected that the jury would find a verdict of guilty on the actual words used by the defendant, viz.: That Wilde was posing as a devotee of unnatural practices. He had consulted with Wilde in the interim of the adournment of the court and in order to save the court from the painful details connected with the rest of the case, he was prepared to accept a verdict of the jury in regard to Wilde’s literature.

The judge interposed and said if the jury were justified in agreeing upon a verdict on one part of the case they must return a verdict of guilty or not guilty as regards the entire case.

Verdict Found Against Wilde.

The jury then rendered a verdict of not guilty, to which Sir Edward Clarke ascented, and supplemented their verdict with the declaration that the charges made by the defendant against Wilde, which constituted the libel complained of, were true, and that they had been made in public interest.

When the verdict was rendered, the Marquis of Queensberry left the dock amid loud cheers.

The judge granted an order requiring Wilde to pay the costs of the defense.

The Marquis of Queensberry’s solicitors sent to the public prosecutor a copy of the statements of all the witnesses which the defense intended to call to the stand, together with a full shorthand report of the trial as far as it had gone.

Sir Edward Clarke held his consultation with Wilde within the precincts of the court this morning.

Wilde and a companion drove from the Old Bailey to the Holborn Hotel, where they were joined soon afterward by Lord Alfred Douglas and a companion. The four took luncheon together in a private room, Wilde’s carriage remaining in front of the hotel.

At 3:30 o’clock this afternoon Mr. Lewis, solicitor of the treasury, obtained a warrant for Wilde at the Bow street police court, which was at once placed in the hands of officers for service.

Later in the afternoon Wilde was arrested by Scotland Yard detectives and taken to a cell in the Bow street station.

Before Wilde was taken to his cell, the charge, indicated by his testimony in court, was read to him. He stood with his hands in his pockets, silent and apparently unconcernedly.

Sworn informations have been lodged against several persons mentioned in the trial, some of whose names were not made public, and the civil officers are only awaiting the authority of the treasury department to make the arrests.

Effect Upon Wilde’s Plays.

This afternoon a reporter visited the Haymarket and St. James Theaters, where Oscar Wilde’s plays are running. Mr. Morrell, one of the managers of the Haymarket, in reply to the question how the result of the case would affect future business, said he would rather not express an opinion. He would say, however, that Mr. Wilde’s name had been taken out of the bills and advertisements of "An Ideal Husband," and from this the public could form its own conclusions.

Mr. George Alexander, manager of the St. James Theater, where Oscar Wilde’s play, "The Importance of Being Earnest," is running, said: "When the scandal was first rumoured business here was slightly affected, but it is now normal. Mr. Wilde’s name has been withdrawn from the bills and advertisements of his comedy, which is the most innocent play in the world. It doesn’t contain a line that could hurt the most tender susceptibilities. Whether the trial will cause a change in the business in the future remains to be seen."

Mr. Alexander said also that "The Importance of Being Earnest" would be kept on the stage, pending the public verdict. If he should be compelled to withdraw it, some 150 persons would be thrown out of work, as he had nothing ready to replace it.

It is reported that the Criterion, to which "An Ideal Husband" was to be transferred from the Haymarket, has declined to put the play on its stage.

The Daily Telegraph will say to-morrow, in a leader on Wilde’s case:

Comment of the London Press.

"It was a just verdict and must be held to include with Wilde the tendency of his peculiar career, the meaning and influence of his teachings, and all the sallow and specious arts by which he attempted to establish a cult and even set up new schools of literature and social thought."

The Daily Chronicle will have a long leader to-morrow on the Oscar Wilde case. It will say: "Either Mr. Carson’s brief contained a series of the wickedest slanders of the prosecutor perjured himself unspeakably."

Rose Coghlan Shelves Wilde’s Play.

Detroit, Mich., April 5.—Mr. Leslie, the manager of Miss Rose Coghlan, who has been playing Oscar Wilde’s "A Woman of No Importance" here this week, was asked this evening if the play would be shelved because of the scandal affecting Wilde. He said it would be impossible under the contract to take Wilde’s name off the play bills and out of the advertisements of "A Woman of No Importance," and therefore it had been decided that the play should be taken out of Miss Coghlan’s repertoire.

Wilde’s Name Out of the Bills.

New York, April 5.—Mr. Frohman, of the Lyceum Theater, where Oscar Wilde’s play, "An Ideal Husband," is now running has decided, on account of the termination of the suit against Wilde, to have the playwright’s name erased from all the bills and programmes of the theater after to-morrow. All their printing contracts have been canceled in order to admit of these changes being made in the advertisements also.

Highlighted DifferencesNot significantly similar