Compare Documents

LONDON, ENG., April 5. -- The jury in the case of Oscar Wilde against the Marquis of Queensberry found that the plea of justification submitted by Queensberry was proved, and the Marquis was discharged from custody. The verdict was received with loud applause from the spectators, which the Judge did not check.

A warrant for the arrest of Wilde was promptly applied for, copies of all the witnesses' statements and the shorthand notes of the trial having been furnished the public prosecution.

Early in the afternoon Lord Alfred drove to the bank, cashed a check and returned to the hotel. Soon after both Wilde and Alfred drove away. Wilde was arrested at the Cadogan Hotel. He was taken in a cab by two detectives to Scotland Yard.

Wilde was very pale but cool when he arrived at Scotland Yard. At 8:10 p.m. Wilde was arraigned. The prisoner remained silent throughout the proceedings. He was then taken to Bow street and placed in the docket in the police station. Here he stood with his hands in his pockets while the charge against him was being taken. A police inspector then read the charge aloud and asked Wilde if he had anything to say, adding the usual warning that anything he said might be used against him. The prisoner remained silent and apparently indifferent.

He was then searched, after which he was locked in a cell. Shortly after he had been locked up one of his friends arrived in a carriage at the station with a Gladstone bag containing a change of clothing and other necessaries, but the police refused to permit him to leave it. Later Lord Alfred Douglass went to the police station and inquired whether Wilde could be admitted to bail. The police inspector explained that Wilde had been arrested for a criminal offense, which did not allow of bail being accepted until he had been arraigned in court.

Lord Alfred was greatly distressed by this information. He was told by the inspector that Wilde had a blanket and all requisites in his cell to be as comfortable as the regulations allowed. The prisoner would be allowed to receive food from a hotel until to-morrow, when he will be arraigned on a charge regarding the penal offense.

London, April 5—The suit of Oscar Wilde against the Marquis of Queensberry came to a sudden and unexpected termination today shortly after the third day’s proceedings were begun in the Old Bailey before Judge Collins. Sir Edward Clarke, leading counsel for the plaintiff, asked permission on behalf of his client to withdraw the suit and submit to a verdict of not guilty in regard to the words "Posing as a —" written by the Marquis of Queensberry on the card left by the Marquis at the Albemarle Club for Wilde on February 18, and which card formed the outward basis of the suit. The jury, under instructions from Justice Collins, returned a verdict of not guilty, coupled with the statement that the justification set up as a defence by the Marquis of Queensberry as true in substance and in fact, and that the statement complained of was published for the public good.

The verdict was received with loud applause, which was not checked by the presiding Justice, and the Marquis of Queensberry was discharged from custody and left the. Court triumphant, smiling and surrounded by his friends. Later in the day a warrant was issued for Oscar Wilde’s arrest, and he was locked up.

Before ten o’clock this morning every available foot of space in the courtroom was filled with spectators, who were armed with newspapers and packages of sandwiches, and were otherwise ready to spend the day in court in the happiest and most comfortable manner possible. The Marquis of Queensberry at 10.20 A. M. Entered the court, looking calm and confident of the result. Promptly at 10.30 A. M. Justice Collins entered, and the court was opened. Oscar Wilde, however, was absent. Mr. Edward Mr. Carson, Q. C., M. P., leading counsel for the defendant, resumed his speech, which was not concluded yesterday when the court adjourned.

Mr. Carson said that he hoped he had demonstrated that the Marquis was justified in bringing to a climax in the way he did the connection between his son, Lord Alfred Douglas, and Wilde. Continuing counsel said that he now approached a more painful duty. It would be his task to call the several young men who would tell their own tales, and who would show that the man Taylor, frequently referred to during the proceedings, was, Wilde’s procurer. It was no wonder that the Marquis of Queensberry protested against the intimacy between his son and Wilde. The wonder is, counsel said, that this man has been so long tolerated in London society. Wilde’s conduct in regard to the body at Worthing, continued Mr. Carson, was an instance of his disgusting audacity. He picked up this boy on a pied and introduced him to his family dressed him up as a gentleman and put a public school colors upon his hat.

Mr. Carson was continuing his terrible denunciation of Oscar Wilde, when Sir Edward Clarke and others of Wilde’s counsel left the court-room for consultation. They soon returned, and Sir Edward asked for permission to interrupt the proceedings. Then, amid a most impressive silence, the leading counsel for the plaintiff announced the withdrawal of the case on behalf of his client. The chief concern of Sir Edward Clarke seemed to be his desire to justify himself in undertaking the case for Wilde. He said that after consulting with his client, who by the way was [...] verdict for the Marquis of not guilty, in regard the words "Posing as a —" Counsel said that he did this more especially in view of the extracts which had been ready in court from Wilde’s novel of modern social life. "Dorian Gray," and from the magazine The Chameleon.

Mr. Carson here interposed, saying that if there was to be verdict of not guilty, it also involves a verdict of justification, as the case of his client must succeed upon that plea. Justice Collins said, as to the jury putting any limit on their verdict, that the words "posing as a —" were either justified or not justified. If the jury consented the course suggested, and were to return a verdict of not guilty, there were also to find that the justification set up by the defence was true in substance and in fact, and that the words complained of were published for the public benefit.

The jurymen consulted together for a moment, and then, without leaving their seats, they returned a verdict as directed by Justice Collins, namely, that the Marquis of Queensberry was not guilty of libel, and that the words he had written upon the card which formed the basis of the suit were published in the interest of the public. The verdict was received with lourd applause in court.

The defence, it appears, had a long array of witnesses on hand, including waiters, employed in hotels of Paris, London and other cities which Wilde had frequented. At the close of the proceedings it became known that a warrant for the arrest of Oscar Wilde was to be issued. Counsel for the Marquis of Queensberry have written to the Public Prosecutor, inclosing copies of the statements made by all the witnesses for the defence, and also inclosing the shorthand notes taken at the trial, in order that there may be no miscarriage of justice.

Oscar Wilde has written a letter to the newspapers, in which he says: "It was impossible to prove my case without putting Lord Alfred Douglas in the witness-box agains his father. Lord Alfred was extremely anxious to go into the box against his father. Lord Alfred was extremely anxious to go into the box, but I would not allow it. Rather than put him in such a painful position, I determined to retire from the case and bear upon my shoulders whatever shame and ignominy might result from not prosecuting the Marquis of Queensberry."

Officials of the Treasury Department, under which branch of the government public prosecutions are directed, visited Bow Street Police Court several times this afternoon previous to the granting of the warrant for Oscar Wilde’s arrest. Upon the occasion of their last visit they were accompanied by a detective and by two boys. After a short consultation between the Treasury officials and Sir John Bridge, during which several questions were addressed to the detective and to the boys, the Magistrate issued the warrant.

Wilde spent several hours, in company with Lord Alfred Douglas, at a hotel in Holborn. His brougham was waiting in front of the hotel. Early in the afternoon Lord Alfred drove to a bank, cashed a check and returned to the hotel. Soon afterward both Wilde and Lord Alfred drove away.

Wilde was arrested at the Cadogan Hotel, Sloan street, and taken in a cab by two detectives to Scotland Yard.

Wilde wore an ulster and a silk hat. He was very parle but cool when he arrived at the Scotland Yard. Few persons witnessed his arrival there, and those who did so maintained silence. He had merely called at the Cadogan hotel on a couple of friends, when at half-past six o’clock a detective walked into the office and asked for him. The officer was told that Wilde was not staying there, but the detective was not to be put off with any such technical explanation, and insisted whether Wilde. Was staying there or not, that the man he wanted to see was in the hotel. He was thereupon shown a room, and upon entering found Wilde sitting there. The officer at once told Wilde that the was under arrest, and bade him prepare to accompany him. Wilde said nothing but immediately went with the detective, who took him to Scotland Yard, where the warrant was read. The prisoner remained silent throughout the proceedings. He was then taken to Bow Street. He was not arraigned in the police court, but was placed in the cook in the police station. Here he stood with his hands in his pockets while the charge again him was being taken. A police inspector then read the charge aloud and asked Wilde if he had anything to say adding the usual warning that anything he said might be used against him. The prisoner remained apparently indifferent and made no reply.

He was then searched, after which he was locked up in a cell. Shortly after he had been locked up, one of this friends arrived in a carriage at the station with a small Gladstone, bad containing a change of clothing and other necessaries, but the police refused to permit him to leave it. Later Lord Alfred Douglas went to the police station and inquired whether Wilde could be admitted to bail. The police inspector explained that Wilde had been arrested for a criminal offence which did not allow of bail being accepted until he had been arraigned in court.

Lord Alfred was greatly distressed by this information. He was told by the inspector that Wilde had a blanket and other requisites in his cell to be as comfortable as the police regulations allowed. The prisoner will be allowed to receive food from a hotel until tomorrow, when he will be arraigned in court on a charge involving a penal offence.

The name of Oscar Wilde has been withdrawn from the play bills and advertisements of two theatres, the St James and the Haymarket, where two of his plays are running.

Mr. George Alexander, proprietor and manager of the St. James Theatre where Wilde’s "The Importance of Being Earnest" is being presented, was asked tonight if he intended to withdraw the play. He said: "If the play was to be produced tomorrow I would stop it. But it is impossible to do so now without throwing 120 persons out of employment. Therefore, unless the public abstains from going to see the piece, Wilde’s play will be continued."