Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-11-16
Serious Charges Against Parnen
Plaintiffs Counsel,

kldiutu's VouHscii
LONDON, November l5th.-The trial of
the O'Shea divorce case was opened before
special jury this morning. Parnell, CO.
respondent, was not represented by couu-
sci. O'Shea was the only prominent figure
present.
Coward briefly opened the case for the
petitioner. He said, as he understood the
case, respondent denied that she had COM
mitted adultery, as did also the core
spondent. The respondent alleged that
the petitioner connived at her adultery and
willfully separated himself from her.
Lockwood, counsel for Mrs. O'Shea,
stated he did not intend to cross-examine
any of the witnesses for the petitioner. He
would not call any witnesses on behalf of
Mrs. O'Shea nor take any part in the pro-
ceediDgs.
Clarke of counsel for Captain O'Shea said
Lockwoods announcement seriously
altered the position, now that neither Par.
nell nor Mrs. O'Shea would take part in
the case. 1t was, therefore, undefended.
That continuous acts OF adultery had been
committed By respondent and correspond
ent would be placed beyond doubt Wit
ness would prove while respondent was
visiting in Bedford Square she was visited
by Parnell, who went under the name OF
Smith At another house he visited her
as Stuart. On one occasion he had escaped
| by the balcony to avoid O'Shea. Re-
spondent and Parnell actually lived to-
gether at Eastbourne and Brockley.
Parnell could not face the evidence. He
allowed judgment to go by default, because
| he dared not &c. into the witness-box. He
did not wonder at Parnells refusal to
answer charges of faithlessness and false
hood and the betrayal of the friendship of
| a man who trusted him. O'Shea stood for
Parliament in 1880. He was then intro
duced to Parnell, who dined with him and
Mrs. O'Shea, Mrs. Steele being one of the
party. Nothing excited O'Sheas suspicion
until 1881, when Parnell visited respondent
at Ethan. His annoyance over Parnell's
approaches to his wife led O'Shea to send a
challenge. Mrs. Steele saw Parnell, who
assured her there was no ground for
| Jealous suspicious. O'Shea wrote Parnell
and the latter replied that he answered
| through the assurances he had given.
The petition for divorce, he said, was
| filed in December last. Parnell then put
denial and counter charges against her hus-
band, alleging that he had committed
adultery with a number of persons, includ-
ing her own sister, Mrs. Steele. She also
charged him with cruelty and having con-
nived at her adultery for series of years.
The plea almost amounted to confession
of adultery. The husband would be able
absolutely to disprove everything possible
suggested against him. He could show
| the charge of connivance groundless; that
| when O'Shea first heard OF the intimacy he
challenged Parnell to duel; the intimacy
| with Mrs Steel; the afterward affectionate
relations between O'Shea and his wife, and
Parnell again invited to Ethan.
In Off oil
Kilmainham Jail, he renewed his visit to
Ethan, and almost habitually slept there.
Parnell used to drive from Parliament to
| Ethan, and Mrs. O'Shea would go down
stairs to meet him. Sometimes he slept
away from the house when Parnell was not
| there O'Shea wrote to his wife remon-
strating against his visits. Furious scenes
occurred between them. On one occasion
| he found portmanteau belonging to Par
nell at his house. He carried it off, throw
| ing it out of the railway station.
Continuing his speech, Sir Edward Clark
described all the places and different
houses where Parnell and Mrs. OShea had
met, and the various stories about them.
He said O'Shea always wrote his wife con-
| corning the stories, and always received
| specific denial.
For nineteen weeks in 1886 they occupied
house together in St. Johns road, East
bourne. Later they occupied another
house in Eastbourne. This occurred be-
| fore November, 1886, after respondents
| promise to her husband that new course
would be adopted. Later gentleman call
ing himself Fox went to the office of
house agent and engaged a house on
Trevillon street Brockley. He afterwards
changed his name to Preston. The man
was Parnell. Mrs. O'Shea was frequently
L l. Id -
the occupant.
The next house was taken by Mrs.
O'Shea in Regents Park. she giving as ref
erences Mr. Preston of Brockley and Mr..
Parnell-two gentlemen in one, said Sir
Edward. These facts proved that the pair
concealed their intimacy TO the last and
cleared O'Shea of the charge of connivance
The respondent and Parnell used this
house together from 1887 until 1889. All
this, said Sir Edward, would be proved in
evidence and would surely enable the jury
to return verdict that would liberate Cap
tain O'Shea from marriage that he now
looked upon as shameful bondage.
Captain O'Shea was then called to the
witness stand. His testimony was corroba-
tive in detail of the points touched upon
by Sir Edward Clark, in his opening ad-
dress.
He said, among other things, that while
he was a candidate for Galway he heard
statements about Parnell and Mrs. O'Shea.
He demonstrated with his wife, but she
said her acquaintance with Parnell was for
political purposes. She told him that she
knew Parnell had been secretly married
When the paragraphs appeared in the
papers about ParnelPs visits to Ethan,
O'Shea wrote to his wife expressing an
noyance at the circumstance. There was
tolk oh foEi
against the newspapers, but as it was
thought that it would only make the scan
dial worse, it was abandoned.
Afterwards he saw paragraph to the ef-
feet that Parnell had been staying at East. |
bourne with Mrs. O'Shea, and wrote her
Sometime after his (O'Shea's) son showed
him a paragraph stating that Parnell had |
been at Ethan. The plaintiff showed this
paragraph 10 Parnell, who seemed much |
annoyed.
On April Is, 1889, plaintiff saw his wife |
and had long and painful interview with |
her, showing her his sons letter. The |
letter referred to was read by the counsel. |
1t communicated matters relative to the |
visit of Parnell to Mrs. O'Shea. The son,
said he, had heard of the voice of that |
awful scoundrel, Parnell' and should like |
to have knocked him down, but did not !
wish to upset his mother, who told him |
that Parnell had only come to dinner
The letter continues: Perhaps | ought |
to have kicked him. You. however, know
more about these things than do. But if |
you wish me to kick him, II shall be done |
at the first opportunity"
There was cross. examination of Shea.
Photographs of Parnell and Mrs. O'Shea /
were placed in evidence, and Harriet Bull, |
formerly in the service of Mrs. Dawson of |
Brighton, was called She remembered |
Mrs. O'Shea some five or six years ago.
Captain 0'Shea came there, as did also an
other gentleman, whom she identified by
the photograph as Parnell. He would |
come every day, and at all times. When |
he came the children would go out, and no
one would be in the house but he and Mrs. |
O'Shea. They would be together for
hours. He once slept in the house when
OShea was not there.
She recollected on one:occasion going to |
Mrs O'Shea's bedroom to speak to her. She |
heard voices. She tired the door and found
it locked. Caroline Pethers, widow, re.
siding in Cheltenham, rented house in
the latter part of 1888 to Captain and Mrs.
OShea Two or three days after the family
arrived gentleman appeared whom she
identified as Parnell. He went by the
name of Charles Stewart. He and Mrs.
O'Shea were in the dining-room for several
hours on one occasion with the door
locked. They were in other rooms with
the doors locked They used tn drive ont