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The hearing of the charges against Oscar Wilde was continued at the Central Criminal Court to-day. Oscar Wilde, who appeared to be in a very weak condition, was allowed a seat in the witness-box. During his examination he declared that he always understood that Alfred Taylor was a respectable man. Referring to his associates, Oscar Wilde said that his reason for their friendship was that he personally liked praise, and the sensation of lionising was delightful.

Sir Edward Clarke, Q.C., Oscar Wilde's counsel, in his address to the jury, declared that the witnesses for the prosecution were all blackmailers, whose statements it was impossible to believe.

[The foregoing appeared in our Second Edition on Saturday.]

LONDON, May 25.

On the conclusion of the addresses of counsel, Mr. Justice Wills summed up, and the jury retired to consider their verdict. After an absence of two hours the jury returned a verdict against Wilde of guilty on all counts.

Mr. Justice Wills, speaking with great emotion, said it was difficult enough for him to restrain his feelings. He regarded the verdict of the jury as correct beyond the shadow of a doubt, and he felt it would be useless to address the prisoner, who was dead to all sense of shame. The case was the worst he had ever tried and he would pass the most severe sentence that the law permitted, regretting that that sentence was totally inadequate to the enormity of the crime.

Oscar Wilde and Alfred Taylor were then each sentenced to two years imprisonment, with hard labour.

Taylor left the dock with a firm step, but Wilde looked haggard and dazed.

After sentence had been passed, Wilde, with a despairing and horror-stricken expression on his countenance, weakly muttered a request to be permitted to address the bench, but the re- quest was not heeded, and the warders escorted him to the cells immediately.

LONDON, May 26.

The Marquis of Queensberry and Lord Douglas of Hawick witnessed the end of the trial.

The foreman of the jury asked the court whether the Crown intended to order the arrest of Lord Alfred Douglas (second son of the Marquis of Queensberry), and Mr. Justice Wills replied that he was not aware that Lord Alfred Douglas was affected by the present trial. The foreman then suggested that if Oscar Wilde's letters showed him to be guilty, they would apply equally to Lord Alfred Douglas. The judge concurred, and stated further that any suspicion that Lord Alfred Douglas was being allowed to escape because of his family connections was as unfounded as it was impossible.