The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-01-27

present resdes.
Thu. has terminated one of the longes. trials upon
record after wesrisone, Jet exciting period Of thirty
tive days.
Opinions Of the Evening Press.
yExDicr IN THE FORREST DIVORCE CASE
(irom the Evening Mirror, Jan. 261
TIE court room was 6lled this corning sorae time
before the appearance of the Judge, and Intense
anxiety wa: manifested to know the result Of tho
jGry's deliberations About two thousand persons,
chiefly ro-des, were crowded against the outer
door, eDdeavoring to obtain a passage, and pre-
venting tboee from entering who bad business in
the s0s, rd ten mo G0 % JaSgs Oakley called the
Forrest to hsr sect. The lady appeared somewhat
excited, yet confident that the case would be de.
cided IN herfsvor Mr. Forrest sat beside his CO
sol, sbd appeared to be very much concerned The
jury were called, and after answering to their names
the foreman han ded the sled verdict to the court
To each question laid before them they appended
the respective answers To the questionHas or
has not the defendant in this committed adul-
tery? The answer was, be has To the query
Has or has not the plaintiff (Mrs Forrest) COM
mitted adultery The answer was, she has not
This vas received BY the assemblage with great
applause
The jury, in their verdict, granted Mrs. Forrest
an alimony OF $4,000 per year The verdict was
recorded, ard Mrs + was conducted out the private
WY, and che Immediately left In carriage Mr.
Van Buren, made application to the Court for stay
of proceedings. The Judge declined acting further
in the matter to-day aud adjourned the court to ten
O'Clock to merfow. Before adjourning his Honor,
with muoL enrnestness, directed the Clerk to Jay
the lry their shrg
AS incidents connected with tho closing Of this
case, we may lbs anoe that large crowd Of per-
sons accompanied the carriage which hore Mrs.
Forrest TO the Irving House, cheering her loudly
by the way When Mr. O'Conor Left tho Cisy
Hall. large croEd clos ID around and followed him
to his Office, cheering him vehementy. Would it
not be De an appropriate reward 20 give Mr. O'Co-
pablo dinner, and present him a handsome
ha n voira
in the latter
JUST As WI PREDICTED.
from tue Day Book, January 20
The jury aave brought in a verdict for Mrs. For.
rect. she gets an un4ushfed divo-ce and So, 900
year aIimeny This rs just what Mrs Forrest ask
cd for: howthe qasstion is what has been gained
by going 10 law
When Mr. Forrest came out OF court, he was
cbeered and after BY the multitude of loars aud
Iowdies who have throrged around him from the
beginning. end If We may believe common report,
the unequalc0 persecution OF defenceless impru.
deIt, but innocent woman What we said Of him a
year ago, as the prosecutor and tormentor Of the
wife OF his bosom, apparently for no other purpose
than to crafty the base and gefu spirit viii ,h
dwes only in low and vulgar minds, has been proved
in this trial emnently true There are three per-
sonsyet to DO dealt with They are Anna Flowers,
Mr.. Forney, and Robert Garvin
From the Evening Post, Jan &c
Thus ends Of the longest, st bitterly ltiga.
ted and IN some respects OF the most disgusting
trials that ever was held in this country. This is
the thirty third day that the cause has been in pro-
gress. And the press Of the whole country has
groaned from day to day with all it's foul details
We DO not propose to comment upon the merits
OF the litigation or the justice of the verdict Both
arc matters with which the public has had too much
to do already. We deem it our duty to allude,
however. to al absurd attack which has been AIDE,
In one or two journals in this city, upon the new
code, as ths cause Of the prolixity OF this trial. and
lite publicity. SO far from either its publicity or
prolixiiy being u consequence Of the new CODE they
result II from any Legislation, directly from the
Legislatures refusal to adopt the recon mendations
Of the com pissioners
The Revised Statutes paasedin 1890, made jury
trial in cases OF this kind necessary oy the follow
ing section:-
$40 II the offence (adultery) charged be denied,
the court shall direct feigned issue he made up for
the trial of thes fects contested by the pieaangs BY
jury Of the country at some Circuit Court may
direct special jury to be struck for suoh trial. and may
axe the necessary orders for procuring list jucors
ana for striking the eame and may award fur
thes trial OF such Issue as ofoenas justice shall to
reqrr,re."
lowing sections, recommended by the ComMis-
sioEefs:-
1858 Whenever in action tor the recovery of
there sha be isue Of fact it be tried ny ilry
reference te ordered AZ provided Ia S27o ana Sx7l
s5a Ere1y ether isUe is tfsble the court which
ho~eysr may order the whole i.tae or specific quss
icn OF fact involved therein, tried by jury; or
may refer It ss provided in go aud S2Tl "
In 1861, the Legislature changed section 2j3. SO
as to read ne follows
AN i,.ue Of fact in action for the recovery of
money only or oi specific real or personal properly
for oivoce from the marriage contract on ss ground
of sdultery most be tried BY jury unlsss jury trial
be waived provide IN section 266 reverence bs
amended, rs provided III sections 270 and 81"
The commissioners, in their complete code, re-
commended the following section:
Bee 1853 -" Upon the agreement OF the parties to
civil action proceeding of civil nature filed with
the clerk or entered upon the minutes tbs Court may
other proceeding therein to be private and upon such
direction all shall be excluded except the Off
Of the court the parties cir witnesses couu-
sci y
Thus it seen that the trial of this case by Jury
is in with the law, as it stood before the
code; that the code changed the law, that jury
trial could not have been had il the parties had not
insisted upon it, and tie court so ordered it and
that if the mplcted code had been adopted a
trial in private might have been had. A private
trial is the only remedy If the trial is public, the
publication Of i cannot be prevented, under our
present constitution
Neither is the length Of tho trial owing to the
Code in the slightest degree That instrument has
not altered single rule Of evidence. In this re-
spect, the trial has been in conformity with the old
Law. TIE commissioners did seek to alter the old
Law in respects with view to shorten trials
materially, but tho Legislature would not adopt
their TcccIr mendatons, or even act upon their re-
pert.
RESULT or THE FORREST CASE.
From the Commercial Advertiser, Jan 28.l
ne case or orress vs. FORREST, IN the THAI OF
which Judge Oakley, Of the Superior Court, has
been ensegod nearly Six weeks, was concluded this
morning 1t will BIO remembered that the Dress
suits were consolidated, and that the went to
The jury upon three issues. First, Was Mr. For.
rest citizen Of the State OF New York, at the time
Of Cling this complaint? Second, Was no guilty
of violating the marriage vow, as chargedl Third,
Wss Mrs Forrest guilty OF the charges preferred
arsIat her BIZ her husband! Tho verdict Of the
iGfy, which was signed and sealed at nine O'clock
Saturday evening. and read by the Court tnis
mefning, bf ds that Mr. Forrest was citizen of
New YoIt; fnds hum guilty Of the offences charged;
ard finds Mira Forrest innocent. The amount OF
alinoIy sv&rdtd to Mrs. Forrest by the jury is
three thousand dollars per aunum. MIR Foerett's
real estate has been estimated TO be WORTH $50 000
and he il said to have considerable revenue from
personal property, TO chat, in connection with the
verdict rendered, the allowance Of aliM6py does
not seem to be unreasonable.
Contemporaries indulge in much comment upon
the manner in which this case has been conducted,
ara generally disposed to censure Judge Oakley