The Express.
London, England, 1864-12-17 00:00:00

THE EXTRAORDINARY LII3FL
CASE AT DUBLIN.

YESTERDAY'S PROCEEDINGS.

The examination of vritneesee for the defence
wee 000 tinned at the sitting of the court yesterday
morning.

Mr. Hogan, examined by Mr. Morris, Q C.—l am a son
of the late Mr. John Began, the sculptor. I know Miss
Travers; I recollect mooting her in the month of July or
August, 1862; I had a conversation with her; she stated
that she bad called at Lady Wilde's hones on a return visit,
after having been entertained at a party ; she said she had
left her card, and was leaving, when a lady relative of
Lady Wilds's came in, with whom she went up to her
ladyship's bedroom ; she said that she had been snubbed by
Lady Wilde, and was deeply offended, and that she would
pay Lady Wilde off for it ; later than this I saw Miss
Travers at Lady Wilde's house ; she was in the hall ; I
went out, and returned again, and Mile Travers was still
there ; I saw Lady Wilde pass through the hall, and saw
her out.

Chief Justice Moushao—liow long do you think she re-
mised there ?

Witnon—l should soy for two boort.

The witnew was not Croin-examinecL

Mr. John Leonard Derby, clerk of petty sessions at Bray,
deposed that Mies Travers admitted on the inquiry before
the magistrates that the letter demanding a loan of 31. wu
in her handwriting.
This closed the muss for the defendants.

Chief Justice Monahan—Gentlemen, I wish to say that
last evening I received an anonymous letter on the subject
of the trial. Of course, I cannot tell from whom it came ;
I can only say that the moment I read it I threw it into
the fire, and that such letters never weigh with me in
favour of the party in whose interest they are lumina°, but
have rather a contrary effect. There being no signature I
cannot assume that it came from any of the parties in the

Serjeant Armstrong—l was about to suggest to your
lordship that, as Mime Travers is in court, she should be
asked whether she knows anything of it.
Chief Justice Monahan—l cannot assume that It came
from either of the parties.

Mr. Irvine (attorney for the plaintiff)—l think it right
to state that I got some letters also from time to time.
Mr. Sidney, Q.C.—So did we, about 20 in number.
Mr. Morris, Q.C.—They were thrown away upon the
attorney, at any rate. (A laugh.)
Chief Justice Monahan—l do not care a straw for Rich
communications. The one I received was addressed
"Judge 3lonahan," and, as I said, I threw it immediately
into the fire.

Serjeant :Armstrong—l would again suggest that Miss
Travers should he asked the question.
Chief Justice Monahan—There is no necessity for pur-
suing the subject further.

Mr. Sidney, Q.C., then proceeded to address the jury on
behalf of the defendants. He said it now became his duty
to call their attention to the character of the action upon
the issues raised in which they had now to decide. He
need scarcely say that a more serious inquiry it was hardly
possible to conceive than that for the jury. It involved in
it considerations of a grave character, deeply affecting the
interests of Lady Wilde—deeply affecting ber position in
society u a lady—her future position if she was to be
allowed to retain it. Aspersions had been cast upon that
lady of • very serious character ; her motives had been
doubted, and she had had ascribed to her acts unbecoming
any lady, or any person professing to hold the position of •
gentlewoman, Hesaid, with profound sincerity, that in
approaching the consideration of the case, he would
crave the kind attention of the jury to the °bur-
Cations he would feel it his duty to address to them, and
by receiving such attention, be was confident their verdict
must be satisfactory to all parties. It would be hypocrisy
on his part if he concealed the fact that he—and he be-
lieved the public did so likewise—felt a deep interest in the
result of the trial. There was a lady on her trial here. She
was the principal defendant, and her husband was only and
solely made • defendant for conformity according to our
law. The jury were not here trying him for his acts or
alleged acts, but, he believed, with a motive characteristic
of the other acts of this vindictive woman, there had been
introduced into the case charges against Sir Wil-
liam Wilde—ehargee of • grave but purely colla-
teral character. Might he ask them, did they at
that moment know rightly the simple issue upon
which they were called upon to record their ver-
dict, although serious that issue wax' That issue was
not whether the plaintiff was violated by Sir William Wilds,
or whether or not he misconducted himself towards her, but
whether or not Lsdy Wilde, in writing the letter, wrote it
under the circumstances and with the intent and meaning
ascribed to her by the plaintiff. He would now call their
attention to the form of the pleadings upon which the issues
had been joined. The leveed counsel explained the technical
nature of the pleadings, and then went on to say :
The clever pleaders prevented the defendants justifying
the first three counts of the summons and plaint, because
they would have to justify in the sense put upon the letter
in the plaint. The letter was put in in the last count,
without any meaning at all being fixed on it, in order that
the plaintiff's counsel might throw up to the jury any
meaning which they chose. One meaning the plaintiff had
already abandoned—namely, that she " consorted" with
the newsboys at Bray. The other meanings were equally
%atonable, as be would show ; and he challenged the able
and eloquent advocate who had to follow him to displace
his argument upon this part of the cue. He would now
invite their attention briefly to the intesixioes put by
the plaintiff upon Lady Wilde's letter. If they foxed that
these inuendoes were the natural and ordinary construction
to be put on the letter, the plaintiff would be entitled to
their verdict ; but if, on the contrary, they came to the
conclusion that those inuendoes intensified and overstrained
the language in its natural sod literal meaning, then their
verdict should be for the defendants. The brat Mooed°
was that the plaintiff falsely asserted that there had been
carnal intercourse between herself and Sir William Wilde,
and that she treated for money as the wages of the prosti-
tution of her person. The iouendo in the second
count was that Lady Wilde represented the plaintiff as
a low, degraded, and disreputable person, who associated
as companion, with the street boys who sold newspapers at
Bray. Here he paused for • moment to ask could any man
—even with the moat fertile mind—venture to say that
Lady Wilde meant anything else by the use of the word
" consorting " than that the plaintiff employed lads at
Bray to disseminate her false, scandalous, and malicious
pamphlets! He believed that the plaintiff would be very
credulous, indeed, if she thought she could convince the
jury that any other meaning should be put on the letter.
The inuesdo io the locoed count was that the plaintiff
falsely represented herself to be the kept mistress of Sir
William Wilde. Where was the evidence that the plaintiff
ever easerted, truly or falsely, that she was the kept
mistress of Sir William Wilde' Where was it? Another
meaning attributed wee that the plaintiff treated for and
demanded money aa the price of having had carnal inter-
course with Sir William Wilde. The jury remembered the
terms of Lady Wilde's letter. Could they for • moment
believe that " the wages of disgrace" mentioned there meant
the purchase of the plaintiff's person for the purpose@ of
prostitution' Could soy other meaning be placed on the
words than that the plaintiff, by going about vending her
infamous pamphlets through the newsboys of Bray, earned
the wages of disgrace ? That was the clear and plain
meaning of the phrase. Lady Wilde swore to that being
the meaning, and it was idle to endeavour to put any
other meaning upon it. In the third count the inueodo
was that the plaintiff falsely represented she had had carnal
intercourse with Sir William Wilde, and that she made
such false representations for the purpose of extorting money
from him. These were the meanings put on Lady Wilde's
letter in the first three imitate, and unless the jury believed
that these were the true, natural, and ordinary meanings
of the words—that they were the meaning of the writer
when she wrote them—the plaintiff should fail. Lady
Wilde was • well-known literary character, and her lan-
guage was expressive, but elegant end appropriate. No
doubt, the letter was disagreeable to the person of whom it I
had been written, but the meanings put upon it were
utterly unfounded, and, what was more, untamable. The
learned counsel for the plaintiff admitted that the meaning
put upon the word " coesortiog" was wrong ; and in this
the jury had the key to the further misrepreeentatioe
of the word " intrigue." The meaning of the word " nom.
sort," in a atudard authority (the" Imperial Dictionary"),
was—" To join together ; to associate ; to marry r and
the meaning was illustrated by the lines from Dryden :
lie single chose to live, and shuns to wed_
Well Mimeo to want a consort for his bed.
Was that the meaning in which the weed was need
in the letter' Admittedly sot. And the mistake in that
instance illustrated the mistake as to the word "Intrigue,"
which, he cockaded, mad sot be held to mesa a meat*.

tilea by the plaiotiff of her pence to Oise W. Wilde. The
Waned counsel protruded to moment upon die correspon-
dence Is the see, wills a view to show that Mir Travers
had freely represented that she had an intrigue with Sir
Wallow and list by threats of isolating some
false story respecting him she had endeavoured to extort
money, which Lady Wilde had rightly described as the
wager of diagram The circumstance of the boys at Bray
being sent to Lady Wilds's hone, was most provoking, and
eventually the coarse pursued by Miss Travers became
unendurable. He would ask them calmly and dispassion-
ately, reviewing tinwares punned by Miss Travers towards
this unoffending lady, could they come to any other con-
than that on the 6th of May lest, when her little
daughter had come up to her announcing the exhibition of
one of the placards, she sat down and wrote • letter, not to
be put in the Weekly Adcertiser, sigmed " Swains "—not
to be put in one of those journals where Min Traven used
that name for the purpose of turning its owner into ridicule,
but confidentially and under seal she addressed it to the
parent of the girl, calling for his interference to check
further annoyanoe. " Were you not angry when you
wrote it ?'' asked Serjeant Armstrong--" I was." " Were
you not indignant.'—" I was." " Did you hate the
plaintiff r-" No." "Did you dislike her"—" I did ;
I was indignant at her conduct, which I con-
sidered disgraceful, vaulting, and uncalled for, and
under thee. eirctinistanater I wrote to her parent
with the sole purpose of checking the further publication
of this pamphlet, and I so far succeeded that there were
none further distributed from that time." And it was evi-
dent that the father, by his acts, considered that he bad
done his duty by his child, and, accordingly, he laid amide
the letter, and it was only when it was filched from his
wardrobe some weeks afterwards that Sir William Wilde
learned of its existence. Lady Wilde was annoyed and in-
sulted when she wrote the letter, and he called upon the
jury to believe that she did it coerced by feelings which
perfectly justified the course she took.
Mr. Batt, Q.C.. addressed the jury on behalf of the plain-
tiff. He said—Gentlemen of the jury—l now rise to dis-
charge to you, and to the unfortunate lady who has placed
her case in my hands, the most painful duty that in the
coarse of my professional career I have ever been called
upon to discharge. Earnestly upon my part I say, would
to God that any of us could believe that the incidents that
have been the subject of our inquiry had never happened,
or, as they have happened, why—why were they ever per-
mitted to become the subject of en inquiry in this court?
I do not disguise from myself, gentlemen, the difficulties I
have to deal with. I have to contend with rank, with in.
(Insure, with wealth, with station—l have is contend with
that which, in an Irish court of justice, weighs more, I be.
here, than all thaw—esteem and respect for admitted talent
—on behalf of one of the parties to the record, I may say
acknowledged genius. Gentlemen, I know the power that
a medical man in high practice in this city must of owes-
sity exercise-1 know the power that is exercised in social
position by those soira'es of which we have heard. I know the
ties that, unknown perhaps to ourselves. influence the hearts
of men, when one like Sir William Wilde is brought into
this court. And against all this I have only to place before
you a friendless and defenceless woman, who appeals to you
only by the truth of her story and the greatness of her
wrongs. But the more I feel that the.. matters press upon
her—nay, more, I candidly admit it to you that there is
that in her'own conduct which may prejudice her, and
probably ought to prejudice her in your minds—the more
incumbent it is upon me to see that none of these things
prejudice your verdict, and that that verdict be given only
upon the truth and justice of this case. It behoves me, in
the discharge of that solemn duty, to implore of you to
watch, sash man of you. your own heart against the pre-
possessions in favour of the defendants that may occupy
your minds—nay, I say more, by the solemn sanction under
which you administer justice in this case, I adjure you to
ask yourselves throughout whether your considerations are
I in any way biassed as to the issue you have to try, and to
let no essuestoess of mine lead you for a moment from
that issue. But, by the same solemn sanction, I
adjure you to witch your hearts, and whatever verdict
you give at the close of this one let it be given
upon the grounds of justice only as between these two
partiee—let it be such • verdict as you would give were
you, as you and I and all of us must one day be, at the bar
of Eternal Justice, awaiting a verdict where no secrets will
be hid, but where the secrets of all hearts will be revealed.
When I say this I feel this to be a solemn case—it is a
solemn case between Sir William Wilds and the plaintiff
here—for between those two the issue lies. You will decide
without respect to persons, and in doing that you will, I am
confident, give • verdict for my client. If you do not, you
! will send her from this court branded as • criminal, and no
more terrible wrong would disgrace the annals of justice. I
ask now that you will give me your attention for • short
period. Give what weight you think tit to the topic I
,shall urge, but by your oaths, by your love
of justice, forget the rank of the defeedant and
the condition of the plaintiff, who is, I must
say, his victim. The learned gentleman went on to say
that it had been said that Sir William Wilde was only
joined in the action for conformity to the law. But he
would have to pay the damages. The action was brought
by the plaintiff, and her case was rested on • letter written
by Lady Wilde. Sir William Wilde had adopted her act,
and justified it. He could understand him coming
into court and saying that his wife wrote it, and
that she acted wrongly, but calling epos them to
weigh her conduct, with all allowance for the irritation
under which it was done. That would have been •
powerful appeal to a jury. But he had come into
court adopting the letter and justifying it. Lady Wilde
had no power to put any plea upon the file, but her husband
came in and said Miss Travers was guilty of all that she
had been charged with. It was with him, then, that he
grappled. He might have left the libel unjustified,
but be did not do so. Let them, then, not be led astray by
the miserable pretence that this was an action against
Lady Wilde. It was complained that the plaintiff had
introduced charges sgairat Sir William Wilde into the
ease. Why, it was be himself did it, by putting the
plea upon the file. It was be called upon the jury
to convict the plaintiff of perjury, without venturing to
come into the box and contradict her stetement. The
plaintiff's counsel said that for the purposes of the
Mist the cue against Sir William Wilds was properly
before the court, and so the Lord Chief Justice ruled.
But, what said Serjeset Sullivan? With a corn-
maoding torn, as if he wets to overrule the judge,
he said he would not allow the inquiry to be gone
into. But, in the same breath in which he said that,
he called upon the jury to believe that the whole
story told by the plaintiff of the transaction of the
16th Oct., 1862, was • fabrication—that was, they were not
to inquire into its truth, but they were to find it was untrue.
If it were untrue there was one man who could have con-
tradicted it—there was one man who was bound by every
tie and every consideration to contradict it. Where was
Sir William Wilde' Why was he not there to contradict it?
He owed it to the jury not to leave them in doubt ;
he owed it to the noble profession of which be had
been as honoured mewber, to say if he had violated
the sacred confidence which ought "Jinja to exist be-
tween a physician and his patient. Every motive that
coed actuate the mind of men called upon him to come
there and say if the story were untrue. He owed it to
morality sod to public justice to do so. He had almost
said that he had thought the temptatioe was too strong for
Sir William Wilde to come and swear that the plain-
tiff had perjured herself. But, in the name of fair play,
did they hear his learned friends get up, and call on them
to brand the plaintiff with the guilt of perjury—to tell the
world that her story was • fabrication ; and all whilst Sir
Wm. Wilde dare not say one syllable against he' He
would have to go through this miserable story of man's
wickedness and woman's sin, and be would demonstrate
that the plaintiff's story wee true by incidents strongly
corroborative of its particulars. The leaned counsel pro-
ceeded at length to review the facts of the case,
This (Saturday) morning the judge will charge the jury,
and it is expected the verdict will be given late in the
day.

THE ART-UNION OF LONPON.—Macaulay relates,
ea illustrating the state of society at a particular period,
how Claude Duval became captain of a formidable gang ;
bow, at the head of his troop, he stopped a lady's coach in
which there was a booty of 4COI. ; how he took only 1001.,
and suffered the fair owner to ransom the rest by dancing a
ooranto with him on the heath. It is this incident sa ren-
dered by Mr. W. P. Frith, ILA., that supplies • subject for
the fine line engraving to which every subscriber to the
Art.rnion of Loudon for the ensuing year will be entitled.
In the picture the attendants are secured, the contents of
the carriage have been turned out by the gang, while the
lady, with fowl gaiety and mortal fear, admirably shown,
is dancing with the highwayman—none the less a scoundrel
because well-dressed and protected to • certain extent by
the license of the times. Mr. Limb Stocks, A.E.R.A., the
engraver, has done his part very successfully.
FORILION-OFFIcR, DEC. It —NOTIFICATION OF
BLOCKADE.—It is hereby notified that Earl Russell, K.G.,
her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs. has received from her Majesty's chagye d'affaires at
Monte Video a despatch. enclosing • note or circular (dated
October 26, lta'.4) from the commander•in.chief of the Bra-
zilian naval forces in the River Plate, notifying the blockade
by the said Brazilian naval forces of the ports of PaysaodU
and Salto, belonging to the Republic of the Uruguay.—
Gaalte.

THE RAILWAY INVASION OF THE ClTY.—Yester-
day afternoon a meeting of the inhabitaata and veatrymeo
of the parish of St. Sepulchre wee held in the veetry•room
of the church, Mr. Churchwarden Bedford in the chair, to
take into consideration the plans lodged with the vestry
clerk by the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway, and
the London and South Western Railway Companies, by
which it is proposed to demolish nearly 200 houses in the
parish. The properties proposed to be taken and removed
comprise the whole of the east aide of Ferringdoo-street,
the south side of Fleet-lane, the west aide of the Old Bailey,
from Fleet-lase to the Sunday School Calm, the north skis
of Snow-hill and Farringdon.roed, from the corner of Snow.
bill to the Metropolitan Railway ; also including Fleet-lase,
Xewomtle-atreet, Turnagain-
Lois, sad other thoroughfares. The Chairman and several
other gentlemen having addressed the meeting, a reeolu•
ties deprecating the introduction of any further railways
into the City, was pat and carried by a majority, Resolu-
tions were also passed for petitioning the corporation to
oppose the bills in parliament, sod for the discussion of the
question at the eau wardmote meeting.