The Statesman.
London, England, 1809-12-08 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF KINUI BENCH, Dsc. 7.

Sittings before Lord ELLEMBOROUGff and a
Special Jury, in Westminster-Halt

TIII KING P. TUE MOST ?WILE ALTIANDEIL DIME

OF GORDON.
This cause being the first on the list of Tuesday,
was called on immediately on the sitting of his
',mishit', nine special Jurymen attended ; and
there being difficulty on the part of the proem.
Lion to prove a right to pray a tales,
Thu ATTORNEY-GwirRAL said he should re-
lieve thou, and pray a tiles himself, on behalf df
the Defendant ; a talus wal prayed accoedingly,
and the Jury made up and sworn.
Mr. WioLEY opened the pleadings, which stm,
led, that this was au indictment preferred at the
instance of Sarah the wife of Thomas Waite,
against the Must Noble Alexander Duke of Gor..
don, charging him with an assault with an attempt
to commit a rape epos her. Another coent was
for a common assault, to which the Defendant
hail pleaded Not Guilty, whereupon hiss was
joined._

Mr.„
rastx opened the case on the part of the
prosecution nearly as follows :
" May it please your Lordship—Gentlentee of
the Jury—lt very mildew happens to 'me to ton.
duct prosecutions of a etimitial oatees in this
place. Iu another part of the klitadma [the
Northern Circuit] where it does sometimes de.
volve upon me, it is my constant 'cede* , end if
any Gentlemen are present who bite aßnessed it,
they caii •ouch for the truth of what h say, raj
Cher to underrate theft to over-state the ease, when
I have to open one of a criminal nature ; I shall
follow the LAW course un the present oCCSISisiII
I shall barely state the facts which I am instroessd
1 shall he able, by evidence to prove ; and I shall
then leave it to the Judge and Jury to draw their
own conclusion. That has been lierakably my
I practice. I altall lilac no difference its theassa.
sent ruse front that practice, on neronsi of the
Irank or situation of the parties on either ; I
seall barely relate the facts a, they arc disclosed
to me, and basing done In, I shall osideavosir to
obiliate two or three objections which I ender.
stand to be intended to be made to this provers.
than. Gentlemen, the Proseciltrix of this indict-
meet is Sarah Waite, the wife of Thomas Waite.
She is in a low situation of life; h. r hesband a
journeyman carpenter ; and when the subject of
this prosecution took p!ace, she was the domestie
servant of Lady Margaret Stanley, and what I
apprehend, to be sotnea hat in favour of tits cite.
raster of this woman, is, that she had lived fore
years with that lady. In the year 1806, whet
the transaction upon which &is indict:neat WM
founded, took place, Lady Steele, had gone eat
of limn fur that part of the year, which it was
her custom to enjoy in the country, on which occal
'ion she ieft the care of her whole house, a Wiese
did one, in Norfolk-street, Hy de-eark Cerner.to
this Prusecatrix, thereby shelving a considerable
degree of confiden.m in her integrity, and whisk
tends to chew that she had maintained en irre.
proacheble life. On going into the country, Lad,
M. Stanley was desirous of doing that which
many persons of diltinetion are in the titbit of
doing, that of letting their houses to some per.
sun of distinction dnriag their slay in the coin.
try. The Duke of Gorden took it, entered epos
and occupied it until the '2d of May, a day to
which I desire you, Gentlette n, to direct your
attention. His Grace of Gordon is a Neblemea
whom I have not the honour of knowing, but I
understand him to have attained the age of sixty
year,, and that he has not, for a considerable time
liv.:d with his Duchess. He took this house of
Lady Margaret Stauley, and went to reside there
about the 23d of March. It may be said that there
is something singular in the conduct of his Grace
of Gordon in this matter, if lie be actually guilty,
for it could h.trsily be supposed that a man of his
rank, character, and age, would make an attempt
of an indecent nature. Ido not know how it wiR
turn out on the evidence in this ease, but I ant
afraid that the annals of Courts of Justice, and
the history of mankind, has convinced all those
who are but tolerably well se y .aiiited with either,
that the age of sixty, or perhaps reventy, is but
an iadifferent security, in steer cases, against these
attempts being made. On the 23d of March, the
Duke being resident in the house of Lady Marga.
ret, lie manifested his disposition tawarte •eis wo-
man, who eas the servant of Lady Margaret—.
his Grace had a footman, of the name ut Fleming,
and by command of his Grace that footman came out
to this woman, and told her that the Duke desired
she would go into the room where his Grace was,
and shut the window-shutters. She said she had
nothing to do with shutting the window-shutters;
that his Grace bad servants of his own,aud that they
ought to do it ; she would oot, for that she was
the servant of Lady Margaret ; but the Duke
insisted that she should—said the girl should shut
the shutters, and caused her to be so told. She
obeyed ; came into the room where his Grace was.
Ile spoke to her—asked her whether she was a
town or a country girl. She said she came from
the cauntry. His Grace was drinking whale He
asked her to drink a glass of wine; she declined
it, saying she never drank any. His Grace in-
sisted on her taking a glass ; poured it out, and
made her take it. That was all that happened
then. Two ur three days afterwards she stem on
the same occasion of shutting the shutters, by the
same command of the Duke, conveyed to her byes*.
they servant of his Grace, who said he would have
it so. When she entered, the Dukes poke to her,
saying, 44 Come here, here are sonic hice apples,
take a few." She declined; her:traria' her wine;
she said it was toile improper her to drink
wine with his Grace; it ended in her taking some
fruit. Tip or three nights after this, Fleming
came to her again, saying, his Grace insisted on
her cot:sine:l,e shut the windew.shutters. She came
into the room where his Greese accosted her, and
insisted on kissing her; she übjected. She was
then just on the eve of being metaled to a person
nearer her 0%11 ages and thesefore if any person
should be induced Its suspect that this woman was

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