The San Francisco Call - Sunday, May 26, 1895

LONDON, ENG., Mag 25. -- Oscar Wilde's trial having reached the final stage, the Old Bailey courtroom was filled with interested spectators to-day. Sir Frank Lockwood, Solicitor-General, concluded his address to the jury. After the arguments were finished Justice Wills began summing up at 1:30 p. m. The general tenor of his address was favorable to Wilde.

During the address of Justice Wills to the jury the foreman asked whether, in view of the intimacy between Lord Alfred Douglass and Alfred Wood, one of the men whose name has been brought prominently into the case, a warrant for Lord Alfred's arrest had ever been issued. The Judge replied that he thought not.

The foreman then asked if it had ever been thought of. To this the Judge replied he could not say. He added that the suspicion that Lord Alfred Douglass would be spared if guilty simply because he was Lord Alfred Douglass was a wild idea and a matter which they could not discuss. The present inquiry was as to whether the man in the dock was guilty.

The jury found Wilde guilty on all the counts of the indictment, including the charge with reference to persons unknown, who were also pronounced guilty. The announcement of the verdict caused a great sensation in the court, as it was the general impression that Wilde would be acquitted. When the foreman of the jury delivered the verdict, Wilde, who had entered the prisoner's dock a moment before, rose from the chair on which he had been seated throughout the trial and stood with his arms on the rail of the dock. The silence which prevailed throughout the courtroom was really painful as Justice Wills ordered that Alfred Taylor should be also summoned before him.

Then in a voice trembling with emotion the Justice said:

"I never before had such a case as this to deal with. Two men such as you are by the nature of your crime lost to all sense of remorse for what you have done. To think that you, Taylor, and that you, Wilde, a man of culture, should be guilty of the offenses charged.

"There is no doubt but that the verdict is a just one, and I shall give you the full penalty allowed by law, and I only regret that it is not more severe. You are both sentenced to hard labor for the term of two years."

Wilde did not look at the Judge while the sentence was being pronounced. His eyes roved around the room and his face never changed color, and he looked like a man who had made up his mind to make the best of a bad situation. Taylor smiled when sentence was pronounced.

As Wilde turned in the dock and started to go back to the prisoners' room the crowd yelled "Shame!" "Shame!" This shouting caused Justice Wills to rise and exclaim in a loud and determined voice, "Silence, silence!" During the time the jury was debating on the verdict Lord Douglass strolled out of the courtroom and into the courtyard, where he walked about nervously, smoking a cigarette.

His face still showed traces of his recent encounter with his father, his left eye being much discolored. During the final stages of Wilde's trial to-day there was an immense crowd in front of the Old Bailey, and the windows of all the neighboring houses were filled with highly interested spectators.

Oscar Wilde and Taylor were, after the conclusion of the trial, conveyed without delay to the Newgate Jail, where they waited until warrants were signed for their sentence.

Both men were then conveyed in the prison van to Pentonville, where they will serve out their sentences unless a pardon should be granted or they should be transferred to another prison before the expiration of their sentences.

San Francisco Chronicle - Sunday, May 26, 1895

NEW YORK, May 25. - A cable special to the Sun from London says: "An Old Bailey jury, cautiously impaneled and, as it seemed, carefully coached by the Hudge of the High Court, has declared Oscar Wilde guilty of the abominable offences charged against him. Public opinion, which is often on the side of the accused and almost invariably sympathetic in regard to any prisoner standing a second trial for the same crime, had from the first pronounced with nearly absolute unanimity that he was guilty of everything set forth in the indictment and of much more. The country judged him out of his own mouth, and so did the jury, to a large extent. Any other result would have been a disgrace to the intelligence of English jurymen and a crying shame upon British justice.

It is impossible, however, to conceal the fact that from the first the common people believed that Wilde never would be convicted. Instinctively, they felt that the influence behind this shameless friend of princes and nobles would prove too powerful for ordinary judicial procedure. The police had placed the Government in possession of the names of men of rank, wealth and fashion, who undoubtedly shared in some of Wilde’s orgies, and had collected evidence amply sufficient to place them in the criminal dock, with the hearty approval of all clean men. But the Secretary of State took no step against them to vindicate outraged morals or avenge flouted justice.

The passionate shout which went up from the nation when Wilde’s impudent action, designed to stop the mouths of his accusers, ignobly collapsed, compelled the Government to take action against him and his foul accomplice, Taylor. But Lord Alfred Douglas and other men whose evidence would have made the case against Wilde and others even more complete and irrefutable, were allowed to leave the country. They are still abroad, but doubtless they will return to this country in a short time, secure against punishment. Possibly it is well, for Wilde’s conviction can scarcely fail to prove an effectual deterrent for years to come, and it will be to the public interest to let this awful scandal become forgotten.

Honest men have from the first displayed unusual, perhaps unchristian eagerness, for conviction in this case. During the last two or three days fierce and universal resentment has been spoken and shown at what appeared to superficial observers almost collusion on the part of the Judge and the lawyers in order to save Wilde. But Justice Wills’ summing up, which unexpectedly proved to be a strictly judicial piece of work, together with the Solicitor-General's masterly speech and the common sense of a jury of plain citizens, finally prevailed.

Wilde was full of confidence to the last, so that the result was a staggering blow to him. He strove to utter something, but his tongue clove to the roof of his mouth, and he sank back in his chair a mental and physical wreck. The final scene was truly, perhaps fittingly, dramatic.

THE SCENE IN COURT. Verdict of the Jury Declared to Be Just by the Judge.

Oscar Wilde's trial having reached the final stage, the Old Bailey courtroom was filled with interested spectators to-day. Sir Frank Lockwood, Solicitor-General, concluded his address to the jury. The prisoners intimacy with Lord Alfred Douglas and the conduct of the defendant at hotels and public places in and about London were severely commented upon.

Referring to the letters Wilde wrote Lord Alfred Douglas, counsel said the jury had been told that they were too low to appreciate such poetry, and he thanked God it was so, for it showed that they were above the level of beasts.

This outburst was followed by applause, which the Judge promptly suppressed.

Sir Edward Clarke, leading counsel for Wilde, here interposed objections to such appeals.

Lockwood asked the jury to return a verdict which would prevent "such detestable and abominable vice to rear its head unblushingly in this country."

Justice Wills began summing up at 1:30 P.M. The general tenor of his address was favorable to Wilde. During the delivery of the address the foreman asked whether, in view of the intimacy between Lord Alfred Douglas and Alfred Wood, one of the men whose names had been brought prominently into the case, a warrant for Lord Alfred’s arrest had ever been issued.

The Judge replied that he thought not. The forman than asked if it had ever been thought of. To this the Judge replied that he could not say. He added that the suspicion that Lord Alfred Douglas would be spared, if guilty, simply because he was Lord Alfred Douglas, was a wild idea and a matter which they could not discuss. The present inquiry was as to whether the man in the dock was guilty of immoral practices with certain men.

The jury returned at 5:30 o'clock, having been absent from court for hours, and returned a verdict of guilty. Wild ewas found guilty on all the counts of the indictment, including the charge with reference to persons unknown, who were also pronounced guilty. This probably refers to the Savoy Hotel evidence, to which place Wilde was accused of taking Charles Parker, a gentleman's servant, after treating the latter to a choice dinner in Kittner's restaurant.

The announcement of the verdict caused a great sensation in the court, as it was the general impression that Wilde would be acquitted. When the foreman of the jury delivered the verdict Wilde, who had entered the prisoners dock a moment before, rose from the chair on which he had been seated throughout the trial and stood with his arms on the rail of the dock. The silence which prevailed throughout the courtroom was really painful as Justice Wills ordered that Alfred Taylor should also be summoned before him. Then in a voice trembling with emotion the Justice said: "I never before had such his case as this to deal with. Two men such as you are, by the nature of your crime, lost to all sense of remorse for what you have done. To think that you, Taylor should be the keeper of a male brothel, and that you, Wilde, a man of culture, should be such a perverter of young men. There is no doubt but that the verdict is a just one, and I shall give you the full penalty allowed by law, and I only regret that it is not more severe. You are both sentenced to hard labor for a term of two years."

Wilde did not look at the Judge while the sentence was being pronounced. His eyes roved around the room and his face never changed colour, and he looked like a man who had made up his mind to make the best of a bad situation. Taylor smiled when sentence was pronounced.

As Wilde turned in the dock and started to go back to the prisoners’ room the crowd yelled: "Shame! Shame!" This shouting caused Justice Wills to rise and exclaim in a loud and determined voice: "Silence, silence!"

During the time the jury was debating on the verdict Lord Douglas of Hawick strolled out of the courtroom and into the courtyard, where he walked about nervously smoking a cigarette. His eyes still shows the effects of his encounter with the Marquis of Queensberry, being very much discolored.

During the final stages of the trial there was an immense crowd in front of the Old Bailey, and the windows of all the neighboring houses were filled with highly interested spectators.

Oscar Wilde and Taylor were, after the conclusion of the trial, conveyed without delay to the Newgate Jail, where they waited until warrants were signed for their sentence. Both men were then conveyed in the prison van to Pentonville, where they will serve out their sentences, unless a pardon should be granted or they should be transferred to another prison before the expiration of their sentences.

WILDE MAKES A STATEMENT. He Asserts His Innocence, but Says He Is Fascinated by Youth.

LONDON, May 25. - While the jury was out Wilde’s counsel procured the following statements from Wilde:

The charges against me are entirely untrue. Youth in every form always fascinated me because youth has naturally that temperament to which the artists try to attain. All works of art are produced in the moment of youth. I have no sense at all of social grades. I love society and the rich and well born on account of their luxury, culture, the grace of their lives and the external accidents of comely life. But anyone, a plowboy, fisherman or street arab, has an interest for me. Mere humanity is so wonderful. I do not ask of the young what they do. I don't care who they are. Their ignorance has its mode of wisdom. Their lack of culture leaves them open to fresh and vivid impressions. OSCAR WILDE.

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