The Brooklyn Daily Eagle - Wednesday, May 1, 1895

THE WILDE JURY DISAGREES.
After Four Hours’ Deliberation No
Verdict Was Reached.
BAIL REFUSED THE PRISONER.
The Judge Made His Charge This
Morning, in Which He Called Attention
to the Bad Reputation of
Witnesses Against th eDefence-–New
Sensation in an Already Most
Notorious Case.

London, May 1– The British public were given a big surprise in the Oscar Wilde case to-day. The jury after being out four hours returned to the court and announced amid great excitement that there was no possibility of coming to an agreement as to a verdict.

Immediately upon the opening of the court Justice Charles charged the jury. The justice, in so doing, said that counsel for the prosecution acted wisely in withdrawing the charge of conspiracy brought against Wilde, as he Justice Charles, would have ordered the jury to bring in a verdict of "not guilty" on that specification. He said that there was corroboration of the witnesses, but, the jury he added, would have to weigh the characters of men like Parker, Wood and Atkins, whom Sir Edward Clarke, in the justice’s opinion, properly described as blackmailers.

The justice also urged the jury not to be influenced by Wilde’s writings, saying that many great men had written after a similar fashion. The jury retired at 1:30 o’clock. At 3 o’clock they sent out for lunch and at 5:30 returned with their announcement of disagreement.

The Wilde episode, which at the beginning sent a shock through the entire world of society and letters, has the following history.

Early in the present year the Marquis of Queensberry offered to Oscar Wilde in the club of which they were both members insults of the gravest kind. The marquis openly avowed that he did this to goad Wilde to public resentment, when, he declared, the literary man and playright would be shown in his proper light.

The reason given by the marquis for his action was the bad influence which, he alleged, Wilde had gained over the marquis’ younger son, Lord Alfred Douglas. He desired to destroy this influence by a public scandal.

Wilde concluded to resent the insinuations of the Marquis of Queensberry and brought suit for libel against him, and the marquis was held in heavy bonds to answer the charge.

Some time later the trial of the marquis began. He admitted the charges, but alleged justification and put on witness to prove the same. It was the testimony then adduced which shocked the public and caused Wilde on the second day’s hearings to withdraw the charge of libel and request through his counsel that the marquis be discharged and a plea of not guilty entered.

In a letter to the public on the same day that he withdrew from the prosecution of his suit against the marquis Wilde said he could not continue in the face of these counter charges without putting Lord Alfred on the stand to testify against his father, and this, though the young man wished it, he refused to do.

A few hours after Wilde had withdrawn his suit the public prosecutor, representing the treasury department, had Wilde arrested on a criminal charge. He was held without bail from that time, several weeks ago, though the technical charge was only a misdemeanor, and he has been compelled to live during the time in a police court cell.

He was examined, formally indicted, and the trial which was conducted to-day ensued. In this trial the only witnesses against Wilde were men who were known to be blackmailers and scoundrels of the blackest type. The charges made by these men were denied by Wilde. His counsel yesterday, Sir Edward Clarke, made a brilliant appeal, calling attention to the character of the defendant’s accusers.

Sir Edward Clarke, after the disagreement was announced to-day, made application for bail, but his request was refused and a fresh jury will probably be summoned.