The Morning Post - Thursday, May 23, 1895

THE WILDE CASE.

At the Central Criminal Court yesterday, before Mr. Justice Wills, Oscar Wilde, 40, author, surrendered to take his trial a second time on an indictment charging him with certain misdemeanours.—The Solicitor-General (Sir Frank Lockwood, Q.C.), Mr. C. F. Gill, and Mr. Horace Avory prosecuted on behalf of the Treasury; Sir Edward Clarke, Q.C., and Mr. Charles Mathews defended.—The Solicitor-General, in opening the case, referred to the social standing of the prisoner, and said that the charges preferred against him had reference to matters that occurred from February, 1892, down to March, 1893. Witnesses would be called in support of the case for the Crown, amongst whom were young men of the name of Shelley, Parker, Wood, and others, and in regard to these latter he thought that there would be adduced abundant corroboration of their testimony. Matters would be narrated as to the conduct of the prisoner at the Albemarle Hotel, the Savoy Hotel, and at other places, and it would be impossible for the Jury to come to any conclusion other than that the allegations were well grounded if they believed the evidence of these young men, whose statements were supported in some particulars by independent witnesses. The learned counsel dealt with the specific offences charged, and evidence was called.—Edward Shelley and Alfred Wood repeated the evidence that they gave at the former trial, and both the witnesses were subjected to a very searching cross-examination by Sir Edward Clarke, especially the witness Wood, questions being put to him with reference to his mode of getting a livelihood and as to money that he admitted he had received, the suggestion being that the money was the proceeds of blackmail levied upon a gentleman.—Charles Parker gave evidence. He admitted that since these proceedings he had been practically kept by the police.—The trial was adjourned, the prisoner being again admitted to bail.