Star.
London, England, 1809-12-08 00:00:00

COURT OF KING'S-BENCH, DEC. G.

THE KING V. THE DUKE OF GORDON.
Mr. WIGLEY opened this case on the part of the
prosesution. It was an indictment charging the noble
Defendant with an assault, with intent to commit a
rape on Sarah, the wife of Thomas NVaite. In ano-
ther count the Defendant was charged with commit-
ting a common assault on the said Sarah.
Mr. PARKE followed on the same side—lt had sel-
dom been his duty to conduct criminal prosecutions
in that Court, any! when, at any time, it fell to his lot
to do so on the Circuit, it had been his uniform prac-
tice to under-state, rather than to overstate his case,
and to confine himself to a detail of the facts he should
be able to prove, leaving the inferences to be deduced
from those facts to the Judge and Jury. Notwith-
standing the rank of the defendant in this case, he
should not be induced to depart from his usual prac-
tice, on the present occasion. The prosecutrix was
Sarah, the wife of Thomas Waite. They were both
persons in a very inferior rank of life, the husband
being a journeyman carpenter, and the prosecutrix, at
the time of the assault in question, beia-g a domestic
servant with Lady Mary Stanley. It was something,
however, in favour of her character, which be knew
would be impeached, that she had lived furtive years
with Lady Margaret, and that in Spring Oites, when
the assault was committed, her Ladyship had Isft her
house, furniture, &c. in the prosecutrix's care, which
at least argued that she had considerable confidence
in her fidelity. The prosecutrix was then unmarried,
but was married on die Ist of May that year. Lady
Mary Margaret, as most Ladies did who went to the
country, let her heuse during her absence. The de-
fendant took it front Lady Margaret, who left the
prosecutrix to take care of it fur her. The Duke, he
(Mr. Parke) believed, was about 60 years of age,
and for many years he had not lived with the Duchess.
On the (23d of March, whale he lived in Ledy Mar.
earet's house, it was certain that his conduct had
been most singular. It would be objected, he un-
derstood, that the defendant was too old to have at-
tempted an offence of the nature charged. He (Mr.
Parke) was afraid, however, that the annals of that
Court afforded too many instances to the contrary,
to allow a doubt to remain that even the age of 70
did not prevent men from attempts of this kind.—
This woman, then living in the house, and the
Duke dining alone, the Learned Counsel should
state circumstances which antecedently went to slim
the intent of the defendant. On a particular day,
which should be proved, the Defendant dining
alone, a man servant of his, of the name of Flem-
ing, came to the prosecutrix, and desired that she
would shut the window-shutters of his Grace's dining
room. She said that was not her business, and re-
quested that the servant would do so himself. He
went away, but immediately returned, saying that
his master would now allow any person to shut them
but the servant of the house. She accordingly went
to shut the window-shutters, when the Duke entered
into conversation with her, enquiring if she belonged
to the town or the country ? She said to the coun-
try. He then asked her to drink a glass of wine,'
which she dcclined, saying, she was not accustomed
to drink wine. He insisted upon it, and brought her
a glass of wine; which she then drank and went
away. A few (lees afterwards, she was asked by
another of the Duke', servants to go and shut the
windows. Immediately on her going into the room,
the Duke began a talking to her, and asked her to
have some apples, saying, that he had same very
fine ones. The prosecutrit refused, when the Duke
again offered her wine. This she also refused, say-
ing, that it would be Unbecoming in her to drink
with a person in his station. This interview ended
in her accepting of some fruit. On a third occasion
the prosecutrix was again ordered into the Duke's di-
' ning-room by Fleming. He then insisted on kissing
her, which the prosecutrix refused to consent to, as
she was then on the point of marriage with another
man nearer her own age. The Duke on this occa-
sion slipped a piece of money into her hand, desithig
her to purchase a gown with it. The prosectin ix
did not, as she ought to have done, return it, but
kept it, as she had done the fruit, and on her going
out of the room found it to be a new shilling. The
fourth time was on the 2d of May, when the prose- I
cutrix having again gone into the dining-room to
shtit the window-shutters, intentionally left the door
open. The defendant desired her to shut it, which
having done, he offered her wine, and placing him-
self between her and the door, asked if she had
-bought her gown, and taking her by the arms, desir-
ed her to kiss him. This she refused to do, on which
he said, in that case, he would kiss her. He then pro-
ceeded to put his hand into her breast, and take other
more indecent liberties, when the prosecutrix, having
been married the day, before, pushed him from her
upon the carpet, and ran out of the room. The
Learned Counsel would not assert that his Lordship
would say that this amounted to an attempt to com-
mit a rape, nor should he (Mr. Parke) even go the
length of alledging that the defendant meant to at- .
tempt any such thing, or to go the full length of

. .
committing a felony ; but he would ten the Jury
what it was; it was a most indecent assault ; and
the defendant hoped by thgse liberties repeated-to in-
duce the prosecutrix to comply with what he wished.
In evidence_of this, having surprised the prosecutrix
in one of the rooms, by herself, a fortnight after this,
he made up toiler, asked why she was so bashful,
caught her. round the waist, And asked why she
would not comply with his wishes ? The Learned
Counsel had already alluded to an objection, which
he understood would be made as to the Noble Duke's
age. There was another objection, that though the
attempt charged on had takea place in. May, 1808,
the indicterent had not Leer preferred till AprillBo9,
being an inuTt al of eleven months. It was to be
obse; ved, however, that the prose.c:lttix and her bus,
baral vyre low and illiterate, and had to contend
wi!h a person of elevated rank. This, to be sure,
was no obstacle to the obtaiaing of justice : but he
might fairly adduce it as an apology for persons in
the situation of, t!:e prosecutrix and her husband,
who might naturally be supposed to. have been
intimidated by such disparity of rank, and of the
means 4if procuring justice. Besides, the defen-
dant had immediately gone to Bad:, from thence to
Scotland, and had only returned to this country a
.short time before tlie indictment was preferred. He
vats ready to admit that it was uniformly held to be
almost decisive in cases of rape, that concealment for
any length of time sla_suld have been practised. This
(Fr) net apply to the Present case, for here no actual
violative had taken place. He was also fi-ee to con-
fess, that if any propositions had been mule on the
part of his client, since the prosecution had commen-
ced, fOr the !)prpose of- compounding :le same, that
would be decisive against them. Fle was instructed,
however, -that.noue such had been made ; and as to
the indisposition of the prosecutrix, when the case
formerly stood far trial, the medical gentleman who
attended her was present sy, and would satisfac-
torily prove it.

The- prosecurri-, Sarah "Waite, was th:n called,
but did not appear.
The Art.ouNEv-G,..NLaAr, E.. 4 no objecticm that in
the mean time the next cause should go on if the pro-
secutri-,: wo.s not ready, .
Mr. P.%.1( ICE said, no power on cal :h should have
induced him to proceed in opening the case, if he
had not understood the witnescs were ready to
support it. . . .
Tli; Attorney for the prosecution 'vent out, in
search of his witnesses ; and, atter some time, re-
turned and informed the Court that he could no
whire find them.
rrheA TTORN. EY GLNEILALsaid the prosecutrix dared
not to appear. He should have proved her a most
abandoned womana notorious strumpet. The man
whom the now called her husband he could prove to
have another wife, tvho called on the prosecutrix and
intimated the.circumstance to her before the connec-
tion between her and her alledged husband.
Lord Et.t.i.:tintoucts said, there was really no.
thing in the statement to warrant the charge. At
all events, there being no evidence in support of the
prosecution, the Jury must of necessity find the De.
fendant not guilty.
The Jury, accordingly, found the Defendant Not
In about half an hour afterwards, and while ano-
ther trial was going on, a note was handed in from
the agent for the prosecution, to Mr. Wigley, and by
him handed to Mr. Parke, to which the latter replied,
" I cannot help it."
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL. immediately stood up,
and said he Was informed that the prosecutrix, in the
case whiCh had been last before the Court, had now
made her appearance. This being the case, he was
still ready to proceed in the trial.
Lord Es LEtotonoucu said lie could not consent to
it; were lie to do so it would be trifling with the jus-
tice of the country.
. _

Mr. GARROW—" It is an infamous sequel of an
infaMous story."
- Mr. PA4KE said; he felt extremely hurt that he
should have opened the case. Had he known that
the prosecutrix wets not present, no consideration
whatever should haw induced him to do so ; nor
should lie have thought of now brio Sing it before his
Lordship ; on the contrary, he had declined doing so,
when the Attorney-General himself mentioned it,
without at all informing him (Mr. Parke) that he
meant to do so.

The ATTORNI:Y-CEYERAL said, he suspected the
attorney for the prosecution, afraid that his conduct
here might me.et him in another place where he was
a public officer, had found it convenient, on his owa
account, Low to bring forward the prosecutrix.
The ATI:AO:EV vindicated himself from this
charge.
Mr. I'.ltY.l: said, h 2 understood the Attorney had
not been out of Court.

The ArroaNEV•GENERAL, on this, declared himself
satistied.

Lord ELLENnOROUGII said, the time for going into
the triaLwas clearly gone by. He would have waited
as lug as the attorney for the prosecution had de-
sired, rather than any prosecutor should be disap.
pointed of appealing to the justice of his country.—
If he had understood that any accident had happen-
ed, he would have waited till new. The prosecu-
trix, however, must have known that this case stood
first, and the hour of sitting of that Court was well
understood. The attorney, however, had gone out
in search of his client, and on his return, without ex-
pressing- any hope atat she might still appear, had
told that she was nowhere to be found. On that in-
formation the case was sent to the Jury, the verdict
had been ;,then and entered, and it was impossible
now to go back.

1

7
*