Los Angeles herald., 1891-06-04
Third Day Of the Celebrated
Trial.
The Defense Begins Its First
Innings.
Young Arthur Stanley Wilson's SEN
sational Testimony.
He Shows the Court Bow the Cheating
Was Done-Interest in the
Case Unabated.
Associated Press Dispatches.


morning when court opened to continue
the trial of the baccarat case. The
prince of Wales was in his usual place
Sir Charles Russell, leading counsel for
the defendants, commenced his address
on behalf of his clients.
There were nine persons concerned in
this melancholy business, said Sir
Charles, all of whom have known Plain
tiff Cumming for many years. Plaintiff
admitted, he said, that his accusers
were acting conscientiously in this mat
ter, and the jury would find it impossi-
BILE to believe that these per-
sons were mistaken in regard
to the character of plaintiffs conduct
on the nights of the 9Th and 9th of Sep
tember, 1890. Plaintiff had admitted
that they were all persons of honor and
honesty, and having made the charges
they adhered to them, and plaintiff had
not asked to be confronted with either
of HE accusers The objection TO secrecy
came from Lycett Green, who asked that
the matter be thrashed out then and
there, in order to avoid the possibility
of plaintiff afterward repudiating the
charges. Plaintiff had signed degrad-
ing, humiliating document, and he did
not take steps to bring his slanderers to
Justice until he found himself in another
tight place. Then he turned upon those
who had been quite prepared to stick to
their agreement, though in their eyes
he was dishonored man.
With this remark Sir Charles seemed
to take up another line of argument,
for he said, gazing earnestly at the jury:
''Do you, gentlemen of the jury, doubt
that each of those who made the
charges against the plaintiff believed
him guilty? He knew that in their
eyes he was no longer in the cate
CORY of honorable men. Was it
conceivable that an innocent man
under such circumstances should bear
su:h an odlous stigma upon himself?
Four months after the baccarat games
at Tanbycroft, when Sir William made
an attempt through Berkeley Lovett,
one of the witnesses, to secure moditi-
cation or withdrawal of the charges,
defendants said they were prepared to
substantiate the charges which they had
made against Sir William Gordon Cum
ming"
Sir Charles Russell then laid special
stress upon "the peculiar circum-
stances" under which the action was
brought, and referred at length
to the interview which Sir William
Gordon Cumming had with Lieutenant
Lovett, who was subaltern in plaint-
IFS regiment, and who being asked by
Sir William to do what he could with
Sir Arthur Wilson in regard to the bac-
carat scandal, replied that he could not
disbelieve his own eyes, though. he
added, he would gladly do anything for
the sake of Sir William, and for the sake
of the regiment TO which they belonged.
plaintiffs conduct" Sir Charles con-
tinued, sat no stage of this distressing
story, has been the conduct of an inno-
cent and honorable man. No innocent
and honorable man would have laid
quiet under the charges made against
plaintiff, or signed the confession which
plaintiff signed"
Counsel for the defendants then said
the prosecution was brought only when
plaintiff failed in his efforts to secure
his retirement on half pay from the
army dilated upon the innocent char
acter of the Tanbycroft card party and
the mild character of the baccarat
satisfactory results of this case has been
the dissipation of the absurd and pre-
posterous notions which had been
formed in regard to the occurrence at
Tanbycroft.
At the request of Sir Charles Russell,
models of the whist tables used each
night at Tanbycroft, in Septem-
ber, for playing baccarat, in de-
fault of regular baccarat tables,
with the position of the players
especially marked upon them, were
produced. Sir Charles Russell also
caused the jury to be shown photo
graphs of the rooms at Tanbycroft
where the now historical game of bac-
carat was played. The jurymen ex-
amined these exhibits with great deal
of interest; asked questions about the
game, taking the position of the players,
etc., and conferred with each other
upon several points which were raised
by the production of the exhibits. Sir
Charles Russell also dwelt upon the in
tricacies of the game of baccarat and ex-
planned to the jury that from the posi-
tions which, as they could see from the
tables, the players occupied, it was
utterly impossible for a witness to be
mistaken as to the conduct with which
Sir William sGordon Cumming was
charged.
1t was noticed that the prince OF
Wales and Sir William Gordon Cum
ming followed Sir Charles speech with
great attention and deep interest. In
describing the events which took place,
Sir Charles said Arthur Stanley Wilson
witnessed repeated acts of cheating upon
the part of Sir William Gordon Cum
ming, and that when he (Wilson) turned
to Mr.. Berkeley Lovett and whispered:
Cumming is cheating" the latter re-
piled: Nonsense You are mis-
taken" But" added Sir Charles.
Berkeley Lovett, after receiving this
communication, paid more attention to
the game, watched Sir William Gordon
Cumming play, and saw for himself that
what Arthur Stanley Wilson had said
was true. After the play was over, Will
son told his mother, Mrs. Arthur Wilson,
and Mr.. and Mrs. Lycett Green of what
he had seen while Cumming was play
ing, and they agreed in full, knowing
that the right thing to have for baccarat
playing was a properly marked table,
with line upon it beyond which
players stake must be placed"
Continuing Sir Charles said: sit was
therefore decided on the second nights
playing that plaintiff should be
watched. Beyond marked table, how
ever, there was no concert of action of
any kind. but all who knew the story of
the previous play, and Sir William Cor