The Standard - Wednesday, May 1, 1895

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice Charles.)
THE CASE OF WILDE AND TAYLOR.

The trial was resumed of Oscar Wilde and Alfred Taylor, on an indictment charging them with certain misdemeanours. — Mr. C. F. Gill and Mr. Horace Avory prosecuted; Sir Edward Clarke, Q.C, Mr. Charles Mathews, and Mr. Travers Humphreys defended Wilde ; Mr. J. P. Grain and Mr. Paul Taylor defended Taylor. — On the Judge taking his seat, Mr. Gill intimated that he intended to withdraw the counts for alleged conspiracy from the Jury. — The Judge said after the evidence that had been given, he came to the conclusion that the counts for conspiracy were unnecessary. — Mr. Gill said that adopting this course his learned friend, Sir E. Clarke, would have the advantage of putting Oscar Wilde into the witness box. — Sir E. Clarke _ said had he known that the counts alleging conspiracy were to be withdrawn, he should have applied to have had the Defendants tried separately. In his address to the Jury on behalf of Wilde, Sir E. Clarke commented on the attitude which had been taken up by a certain portion of the Press, and he spoke in strong terms of the prejudice which had been instilled into the case, owing to what had been published about his client in connection with these proceedings. He felt sure that the Jury would discard everything tbat they had read or heard in relation to the case, and would arrive at their conclusion by a fair and impartial consideration of the facts alone, and would not be influenced in the least by the prejudice excited in the case by the manifestly unfair manner in which the prosecution had been conducted. Mr. Wilde would give on oath an unqualified denial to the charges made. He would explain to the Jury how he came forward to meet the allegations made against him. It was his own act which led to tbe case coming before the public. Could the Jury believe that if he was a guilty man he would have come into court and have faced whatever evidence his accusers might produce against him, and allowed himself to be subjected to cross-examiuation ? — Oscar Wilde was called, and gave an emphatic denial to the whole of the allegations made against him. He said he took rooms away from Tite-street, his residence, solely and entirely for the purpose of doing literary work. There was no truth in any one of the allegations made against him. — By Mr. Gill : In 1893 and 1894 he was constantly in the company of Lord Alfred Douglas. — The learned Counsel read extracts from some writings, described by the Witness as being beautiful, and the Witness, who was questioned upon them, gave his interpretation of them. There was no justification for the construction placed on the writings in question by the prosecution. A burst of applause was elicited by one of the replies of the Witness to a question on the meaning of the word "Shame," contained in the poem called "Two Loves." — The Judge said he would not allow any such demonstration to take place, and if it was repeated he would have the Court cleared. — Witness (continuing) denied the evidence with respect to alleged improprieties.— Alfred Taylor, called by Mr. Grain, said he was educated at Marlborough, and afterwards he went under a private tutor at Preston, near Brighton. When he came of age he came into 45,000 l. Witness denied that he had misconducted himself.— The Witness was closely cross-examined as to the incidents attending an arrest by the police of persons at a house in the West-end some time ago. Taylor was arrested, but discharged. — Sir E. Clarke, in his speech to the Jury, asked had not Mr. Wilde given to the world the best proof of his innocence ? For a time a set of blackmailers had flourished in their nefarious trade. Let the Jury in considering the evidence in this case, contrast the instinctive shrinking from publicity which came from the guilty man with the courage which brought his client into court to face, once for all, and to dispose of, and defeat, the accusations made against him. There were unfailing indications of truth and honesty in the evidence which Mr. Wilde had given. Counsel dealt at some length with the evidence that had been adduced by the several witnesses, and, in conclusion he said that before the Jury could convict they must be convinced of the guilt of his client. Could the Jury say that the evidence was honest and worthy of belief, and entitled in all degrees to be regarded as true ? He asked the Jury to form their judgment and return their verdict only on the evidence which was untainted, and which they regarded to be true and honest, and to guard themselves from the prejudice instilled into the case. Let them fix their minds upon the tests to be applied to the evidence, and he trusted that the result would be to gratify a thousand hopes, and to liberate one of the most renowned and accomplished men of letters of the day. In doing this they would clear society of a stain (applause followed the speech of the learned counsel). - Mr. Grain spoke in defence of the Prisoner Taylor. He submitted tbat the whole case for the Crown rested solely on prejudice, and upon the tainted evidence of a set of blackmailers, and that, under these conditions, it was impossible to say that the prosecution had brought of the Crown.