The Sun.
London, England, 1861-08-23 00:00:00

'MAL OP THE BARON DE VIDIL.

Alfred Louis Pons de Vidil was indicted for feloniously
cutting and womding his son, with intent to murder him
There were oiler counts in the indictment varying the
charge.

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99
19 20
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Mr. Clark appeared for the prosecution, and Sergt. Bal-
lantine, Mr. Sleilh, and Mr. Orridge defended the prisoner.
Mr. Clark, in ipening the case, referred at length to the
painful facts connected with the occurrence, which have all
been fully reportel in The Sun, and told the jury it would
be for them, after tearing the evidence, to return a verdict
uninfluenced by anything they might have read. The
principal points dwelt upon by the learned gentleman were
that of the son refining to give evidence against the pri-
soner, and the fact hat, although the prisoner when he left
the house at which the horses were hired had not a whip
with him, yet one of the witnesses that he would call
before them woult state that he saw the prisoner
strike the young man with a short-looking whip,
with something shiting at the end of it on the head•
The whip carried by he young man was a long white one.
and therefore could EA be the one used by the prisoner, and
whether the instrumait had been buried in the shrubbery
into which the printer went after *the occurrence, or
whether he threw it into the river could not be decided,
although diligent Beath had been made. It would be his
duty to put the son of the prisoner into the witness box, but
what that would lead 1) he could not say. The deposition
of the man Rivers, wit,. saw the blow struck, would be put
in evidence, and although it was to be desirable that the
witness might have hen personally in attendance, yet as
that could not be, they bust act upon his written statement.
The learned gentleman then referred to the motive of the
the prisoner, and said that, without doubt, the prisoner, by
the death of his son, would have immediately come into
possession of £lO,OOO, and ultimately of £20,000, and al-
though he did not ear positively that the prisoner was
actuated by such a motive, yet there was not in the case,
according to his view d it, that entire absence of it which
had been commented on in other places. He should ask
them, in the conclusicn they came to, to be guided by the
evidence, and that alcne.

The learned gentleman then called Isaac Perry, who said
—I au employed at a livery stable in Oxford-street. I
racollect the prisoner hiring, on the 28th June, two horses.
It was about two o'clock. He was accompanied by a young
gentleman. The elder one carried a light riding whip.
He asked me which was the quietest horse. I told him ;
ani also said he would not require a riding whip to the
hcrse he was going to ride. He then gave the whip to the
son, and the prisoner left the premises without one. The
horses were returned to us about eight o'clock the same
evening but not by the prisoner.
Cross-examined by Mr. Sergeant galantine—lt was a
very quiet horse that the son rode. The horse the baron
rode would stop and rear up. I told the prisoner the horse
he rode would require a whip, and if he could not get one
he had better purchase a stick before he left London.

Justice Blackburn—You had better call in the young
man for the witness to identify.

Alfred de Vidil was called, and having been identified by
the witness as the person he referred to, he was directed by
the Clerk to enter the witness-box. Having complied with
the direction, Harker, the chief usher, repeated the oath,
and tendered the young man the book to kiss.
M. de Vidil—l decline to take the oath. I decline to be
sworn or give any evidence for the prosecution.
Mr. Justice Blackburn—lt is my duty to tell you that
your duty is to do what you are called upon to do, and
that is to speak the truth with reference either to the pro-
secution or defence.

M. do Vidil—l decline to give any evidence.
Mr. Justice Blackburn—lt is your duty, and you are
bound to give evidence. You violate both your allegiance
and duty when you refuse to be sworn.
M. de Vidil—l still decline.

39 Mr. Justice Blackburn—Then, all I have to do is to ask
the counsel for the prosecution whether he requires your
evidence. Mr. Clark, as representing the Crown, do you
require the evidence of the young man in the box ?
91 Mr. Clark—l do.

Mr. Justice Blackburn—l now call upon you, M. de
Vidil, to be sworn.
M. de Vidil—l decline.

Mr. Justice Hill—Have you considered fully the effect
of your refusal to give evidence ? It is the primary duty
of the subject to comply with the law of the country, which
is made for the protection of every person in the realm.
M. de Vidil—l have fully considered it, and I am pre-
pared to suffer for consequences.
_ _

Mr. Justice Blackburn—Then I am sorry to say that I
am compelled, in order to vindicate tho law, to commit
51 you to prison. Ido so for the purpose of showing
that the law of the country cannot be treated with indiffer-
ence or _
f'inted in the course you
are adopting by any corrupt motive, DM
stance might arise at some future time, and if it was to
become known that a witness could refuse to give evidence
winch war, considered of vital importance the most disastrous
consequences would ensue. It now becomes my duty to
sentence you to one month's imprisonment in the Queen's
2 Prison.

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M. de Vidil then left the court in custody of the officers.
During the time the above incident lasted the greatest
interest was manifested in court. The young man spoke
in so low a tone of voice that it was with difficulty that
what he said could be heard. He never once turned his
eyes towards the prisoner, but during the whole time he was
in court he seemed to avoid meeting his gaze,

John Evans, an engineer, repeated his evidence with
respect to the young man running up to him and asking
for protection after he had received the injuries on his head.
The prisoner also came up a very short time after. When
he got over the fence he had a whip handle in his hand.
Mr. Clark—ls it the one that has been produced in
court?

Witness—No. It was not the same colour. It was of a
yellowish colour, and was about two feet long. It had a
loop at the top of it, and something bright at the end.
Mr. Justice Blackburn—Can you say of what material
it was ?
Witness—No.

A Juror—Was the loop at the end such an one as a
thong could have been affixed to the handle.
Witness—Yes.

Julia Fitzgibbon, an aged female, next gave Ler evidence.
It was to the effect that she saw the young man coming up
the road with the blood streaming from his forehead. She
picked up the young man's gloves. The elder gentleman
said the young man had fallen from his horse and knocked
his head against a wall.
Cross-examined—The prisoner said that the horse had
"chucked" the young man against the wall. I asked if I
should go for a doctor, but the prisoner made no reply. He
trembled very much.

The two witnesses Tanner and Everett spoke to seeing
the horse running about loose.
Mr. Alfred Clark, surgeon, of Twickenham, rcpeated his
evidence, and said he did not think that both wounds could
have been caused by the fall from a horse. It appeared to
him that they had been caused by blows from s blunt in-
strument.

Mr. Parker, uncle of M. de Vidil, proved tha; the pri-
soner sent him a letter after the occasion stating that his
son had met with an accident through a fall from his horse.

Cross-examined by Sergeant Ballantine—l am not aware
that the son of the prisoner was taken up in the Isle of
Wight as a wandering lunatic. I was telegraphed to coine
to the island and I found him in custody. I thought it was
from excess of brandy. I asked the magistrate to let me
have him in company, and ho did so. Ho made some ex-
citement in the island. I took him to Portsmouth, but I
don't recollect that it was in a Bath chair. I don't know
that a will was made by the son previous to this occurrence.
I never saw such a document.

Evidence showing that the prisoner would receive a con-
siderable acquisition of wealth at the death of his son was
then given.

Mr. Burnaby, chief clerk at the Bow-street police court,
produced the deposition taken at that court at the former
examination of the prisoner. He also produced the depo-
sition of Rivers.

Mr. Sergeant Ballantine and Mr. Sleigh objected.
The learned judge ruled that such could be done, and
the statement was read accordingly.
This closed the case for the prosecution.

Sergeant Ballantine then commenced his address. He
said it now became his duty as counsel for the prisoner to
address the jury upon the facts that had been proved or
.
attempted to be proved against Previous to the pre-
sent imputation, the Baron de Vidil was a gentleman, the
subject of another country, occupying a position in society
of the highest respeetabilty. He could not help at the
outset of his observations in referring to the manner in
which his client had been treated. Not only had the
baron been looked upon as a person of the most unnatural
nature, but a highly-coloured statement had been
published in which the unfortunate gentleman figured
in the most deplorable way. Then a great
stress had been laid upon the circumstance that
the son had refused to give evidence against the father,
but notwithstanding that it had been most extensively
made known and published. Not only had the most pre-
judicial statements been published, but pictures actually
representing the Baron in the act of murdering his own son
had been exposed for sale in the shops of London. He could
not but think that throughout the whole of the present pro-
ceedings the unhappy gentleman at the bar had been
libelled and scandalised, and he felt certain that he should
be able to convince them that the prisoner, instead of
acting in the disgraceful and cruel manner describe 3, had
acted altogether in a manner precisely the reverse. It had
also been insinuated that the Baron had a strong motive in
getting rid of his son. He contended that the imputation
of such a motive had altogether failed, and that it was un-
natural to a degree to think that the Daroa had coolly and