Springfield Democrat - Wednesday, April 3, 1895

OSCAR AND MARQUIS,
To Air an English Scandal in
the Criminal Court.
The Trial of Queensberry for Libel
Will Open This Morning.
He Wrote Words on a Card to Save
His Son and He Will Stand
by the Utterance.

LONDON, April 2. -- A great crowd will be at the doors of the central criminal court to-morrow morning in anticipation of sensational developments growing out of the trial of the Marquis of Queensberry on the charge of libeling Oscar Wilde, the apostle of aestheticism.

Tickets, however, had been issued by the clerk of the court for almost the entire seating capacity, a fact which was greeted with strong complaints when it became known to the general public. The favored ticket holders are about equally divided between "the middle classes" and the "upper ten," hence the courtroom will present a much more attractive appearance than is usually the case. Both sides are represented by a formidable array of counsel. The marquis has as his leading attorney Mr. Carson, M. P., Queen's counsel.

The case against the Marquis is that on February 18, last, he gave to the porter of the Albemarle club a card to be delivered to Oscar Wilde, on which was written a sentence that constitutes the alleged libel. This card was not read or shown to the press at the preliminary investigation, and its contents are known only to the principals and lawyers in the case. It is in fact doubtful whether the exact language will be made public in court to-morrow. The marquis claims that he wrote the card "to save his son," Lord Alfred W. Douglas, who has been very intimate with Oscar Wilde for several years past. The peculiar nature of the defense and the language employed suggests the notorious Cleveland street scandal of some years since, and the attrocious practices which at that time were exposed.

Lord Queensberry pleads justification in reply to the indictment, asserting that it was necessary to the morality of his son to put a stop to his relations with Wilde. It is said that the names of certain young members of the nobility, including one of exalted birth, may be brought into the case, if the defense be hard pressed. Judge Collins, recently appointed to the criminal court, will preside over the trial. In case of conviction the sentence will probably be a heavy fine, although it is within the discretion of the judge to impose a term of imprisonment.