The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-02-22
The Case of Lord Ernest Vane-An Inde-
pendent Judiciary.
From The Herald.

We published on Wednesday, under the title
of "a Peer in Court, " an account of the case of
Lord Ernest Vane, who was sentenced by the
Court of the Queens Bench, London, on the
oath ultimo, ''to be imprisoned for three
calendar months as a frst-class misdemea-
nant.i In 1856 this nobleman and his prosecu-
tor, Mr. Thomas Harding Ames, were comets
in the Queens Own" a cavalry regiment,
then stationed at Brighton. Mr.. Ames, the
son of worthy but not wealthy East India
officer, happened to prove an unacceptable
comrade to several of the young swells, whose
extravaganza, particularly at the card table,
he could not afford to emulate, and they con-
spired to drive him from the regiment by a
series of petty insults and indignities. These
were crowned at last by their ringleader,
wild young blade not then twenty years of
age and known as Lord Ernest Vane Tempest,
who, on the 3lst of October 1885, met Mr..
Ames at Brighton, and spat in his face, calling
him "a coward and blackguard."
The London Times thundered away at the
cruel tOrmentors of young Ames, who had
been forced to leave his regiment, and it ex-
cited so much sympathy for him-rather
spooneyish, as after all it must be admitted he
appeared to be-that handsome subscription
was raised in his behalf by the English people.
On the other hand, his chief tormentor, finding
the army and England too hot to hold him, left
both, with his debts, behind him. and sailed
for the United States on the 18th of November.
In 1857 he was known in Chicago, under the
name of Mr.. Stuart, as one of the curious lot
of human waits and estrays from the Old
World whom another of their number, the late
Mr.. Dickens if he had possessed tithe of his
celebrated brothers. talent, might have drawn
to the life and for all of whom that city was a
sort of Botany Bay.
1t must have been droll enough for future
generals of the Federal army, then busy in the
offices of the Illinois Central Railroad Company,
to meet sprigs of nobility, sons of more than
one Lord Bishop of the Church of England,
ex-offcers of the British army, eX-"members
of the Inner Temple, Esquires," honor-men
from English, Irish, and Scotch Universities,
who were at that time figuring in Chicago as
dealers i'll grain, lumber, real estate, dry goods,
bags, liquor, pork, secondhand books and even
faro banks, Mr. Stuart was, happily, never
reduced to the latter extremity. But he was
obliged to prolong his transatlantic visit by
the fact that fortnight after his departure
from England his prosecutor took what the
Court described as ''the strictly legal but un-
usual course' of outlawing him on criminal
charge although abroad. AtSitnngs in Banco
last month, before the Lord Chief Justice, Mr..
Justice Blackburn, Mr.. Justice Mellor, and Mr..
| Justice Lush, Lord Ernest Nane swOre that he
| went to America on account of his peouniary
difficulties remained there until 1862, since
which time he had not been in Europe until
the end of last year, when he went over to
England got his outlawry reversed (paying
fifty pounds to the prosecutors attorney for
the costs of it), and pleaded guilty to the
indictment upon which he was brought up
for Judgment. Although he seems never to
have apologized to Mr.. Ames, he filed an
affidavit stating that at the time he was greatly
annoyed at the loss of his commission, and
that he committed the assault complained of
while laboring under considerable mental
excitement, and he expressed his sincere
regret for the otfense. The decision pro-
nounced by Mr.. Justice Blackburn sentencing
Lord Ernest Vane to three months imprison-
ment is admirably lucid lenient, and just.
/ The sentence itself is striking illustration of
! the even-handed justice which Great Britain
may proudly boast is meted out by an inde-
pendent judiciary, without respect to person,
/ to rank, or to wealth. 'Pitty tits tits true'
that in this country we cannot always be
equally proud of our elective Judiciary, de-
pendent as this is, upon the votes of the very
/ rogues who are brought up for trial by it,