Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-03-28
CHEATING AT CARDS.
Story seshe Great Gambling Scandal q ass.
In L0nAoa.

In Ls.Aes.
From the Pail Mall 0sxess>
Apropos Of the Tranby Croft bsccarat scam
dial which 10 now attracting 90 much attention
II may not be amiss 70 recapitulate the princi-
pal circumstances Of the great exposure Of
1887, when Henry William, Lord de Ros, the
premier baron Of England, was virtually con-
victed Of having cheated at whist at Graham's
Club. the Travellers' and elsewhere.
Then, as now. the Judicial proceedings took
TIE form Of an action for libel brought by the
accused party against one Of his accusers, and.
curiously enough, the latter was Mr.. John
Cumming. We are not aware whether this
gentleman was in any degree related 10 the
family OF Sir William Gordon-Cumming, but it
Is not unlikely.
Then a. now--to continue the parallel-an
attempt was at first made to hush the matter
up, and Lord de Ros' accusers-Lord Henry
benenck, Sir William hgilby, Capt Alexan-
der, Mr. Brook Greville, Mr.. Cumming and Mr.
George Paype-had agreed among themselves
mat they would only intervene in the event of
he ceased playing altogether they had resolved
that they would notexpose him. This decision,
however. was not formally conveyed TO Lord
dc Kos, but anonymous letters Of warning were
addressed to him. which il was considered
would have the desired effect
For eighteen months or two wears prior 10
ths scandal Lord de Ros had been suspected
OF unfair practices. At the tria. the specific
occasions on which he was charged with
having cheated were December IS. 1885 lat
Brighton); February 10, 1886 lat the Travellers
Club, and July 1, 1886, and other DAYS lat
Graham's Club. In July, 1886, several mem
bers Of Graham's had become convinced of
his lordship's dishonesty, and most of these
avoided him, and even positively refused to
play with him. Others however while eoually
DcreQadcu a rnrl as.as H.
h,s partners at whist. and when they were not
playing themselves would back his hand for
iarSe amounts. This was admitted by the in
diyiduals referred to at the trial
LORD de Hos was in his forty fifth year; he
was Iairly well OF, though not exactly wealthy
For score of years or SO he had been a mem
Der OF Whites, Boobies. Brooks and tirnham's
and at all these clubs he was in the habit of
playing whist. lie had occasionally netted as
much as $500 in one night at Brooks, both b.
points end by betting. At Graham's in 1886
the play appears to have been comparatively
iow-as a rule guinea points were played for.
with 20 on the rubber. From January to July
that year Lord de Ros played at Graham's on
nfty-one occasions. shown by the club
books, and his winnings amounted TO $3.50 maid
to him by Graham, exclusive of what he NAV
have Melted by backing his hand. In July.
whtn his position at Graham's had virtually
become untenable, he ceased TO go there, and
IN the middle Of August he left England tor
ihhoha- Nuhe ne was abroad rlbald
biac kmailing print, the Sdti,iSt which had got
hold Of the wrong end of the story, published
. gafbled account OF the proceedings at Ora
nam $, and on hearing of this Lord de Ros re-
turned to England and proceeded against the
paper.
The Satirisfs statements were altogether in
correct, and his lordship would probably have
obtained verdict against this journal but the
gentlemen who charged him with cheating now
came forward
Medical and other witnesses testified at the
trial that Lord de Ros suffered from a painful
disease which induced great stiffness or the
joints, and so mcapacitated him that he could
not POSSIBLY accomplish any sleight-of-hand
tricks. Witnesses also came forward from
BROOKS, Boobies and Whites. and deposcd
tnat ne mad never been suspected of cheating
there. Lord WEarncliffe, Lord Robert Gros.
yeuor. the Earl Of Clare and Mr.. Henri Bar
ing further testified that his lordship was one
OF the best whist players in England, and tina;
his skill alone suficed to explain his constant
success at cards. But on the other side the
evidence was crushing. 1t elected that
Lord de Ros WAS in the habit of marking the
aces and kings of the packs he played with.
and that when dealing the cards he would fire.
quently change the turn-up card (sauter Ia
coupel by sleight of hand. On one occa-
sion, after the cards had been shufied. a
certain ace seen to be the bottom card of
the pack. The cards were then cut and Lord
de Hos dealt them, when this same ace though
Its position should have been changed by the
cutting, again proved to be the last card
and was turned mp by his lordship. Sir
William Ingilby, indeed. swore that he had
seen Lord de Ros change the turn-up
card at least score OF times. Mr.. George
Payne also gave some most damnatory
evidence. His lordship. it appears would be
seized with a violent nit of coughing whenever
II was his turn to deal, and would take his
hands, in which he held the cards from of the
table ii to press his stomach. Whenever
this happened he always turned up an honor
Ii was rhown also that no cards were ever found
to be marked except when Lord de Roe had
been playing with them. The marks had
apparently been made with the finger nails
The trial lasted two days-Feb. 10 and IL
Powerful speeches were made by counsel on
both sides, and Lord Dcnman, the Judge, sum
med up impartially enough, but expressed
himself greatly struck by the evidence of Mr..
George Payne. The jury were less than quar-
ter OF an hour in considering their verdict.
which was in favor Of Mr.. Cumming, thus i'm
plying that Lord de Ros was guilty of
the practices imputed to him. The court was
thronged with members Of the fashionable Lon-
don clubs, by whom the decision of the iury
was received with solemn silence. On the
morrow, so the newspapers announced, the
noble lord left England for Rotterdam. He
died in 1899, and was succeeded in the title by
his brother, an upright and able soldier.
Most OF the leading journals OF the period
commented on the case at great length The
Morning Chronicle published powerful article
on the evils Of gambh e, ''the vice of the age"
which would bear reprinting at present.