The Australian Star - Friday, May 3, 1895

Star's Special Cables
THE WILDE SCANDAL
Disagreement of the Jury
Not Guilty on the Graver Counts.
The Judge's Charge to the Jury--His
Honor on the Evidence of Accomplices--
The Jury's Long Retirement

London, May 1.

The trial of Oscar Wilde and his alleged accomplice, Taylor, on charges of conspiracy and immorality was concluded to-day.

The judge commenced his summing up this morning, and occupied three hours in reviewing the evidence and placing the case before the jury. He told them they must consider their verdict apart from anything Wilde had written, and must not confound him in any way with the characters which had been depicted in his books. The evidence of certain of the witnesses, he pointed out, would be absolutely useless and unreliable unless there was corroboration, because those witnesses were accomplices in the practices alleged against the accused. But although some of the witnesses might have been the vilest of characters legally the necessary corroboration existed, and the jury would have to take their evidence into consideration at what it was worth. They would remember that Wilde was a man possessed of great and unusual intellectual gifts, but if they found that the practices alleged had really existed they must declare fearlessly a verdict of guilty in order that innocent men and society might be protected.

The jury retired to consider their verdict, and after an absence of four hours returned into court with a verdict of not guilty on the counts charging conspiracy (which had been withdrawn), attempted procuration, and the specific charges of gross indecency with the men Wood, Atkins and Mavor. As to the rest of the indictment they were unable to agree. The jury were thereupon discharged, and Wilde and Taylor were remanded ror retrial to the next sitting of the Criminal Sessions.

An application for bail on behalf of the accused was refused.