Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1896-03-11

/ OF the peOplb, VINO saw Ouiy al OuV-
rageous miscarriage Of justice" in the
condemnation of man whose guilt was
not proved and now rather unanimously
believed to be innocent.
The Dean committee" applied to
the government for the record OF the
trial, and the attorney general agreed
that the public should be gratified.
The judges notes were also supplied,
and this added new fuel to the insane
clamor More public meetings were held,
and the people in other cities joined III
the demonstration. On the evening OF
April 26 the great town hall, the most
magnificent hall on the globe, was
packed with 5000 people to impress "
the government in this Dean matter
Miles of petitions were sent in to inf1u-
ence the government The government
yielded to these public demands and ap-
pointed royal commission to review
the whole case Three men, in whom
everybody had confidence, composed the
commission. A more searching inquiry,
it is claimed, was never entered upon.
| The theory of the defense was that Mrs.
Dean had taken poison or that her moth
er had given it to her for the purpose OF
convicting Dean. 1t seems impossible.
but as fact the women were practical
ly on trial, and Dean s innocence seemed
! to be accepted by vast majority OF the
people.
| The commission sat for over month,
during which time there was no abate-
ment of the public interest. There was
no relaxation of the strain, but the feel
ing grew more bitter against the wom-
en- until Dean became regarded almost
as a martyr to the savagery OF these
wicked and designing women.
On June 28 the commission made its
report as follows: "After bestowing ON
the case much thought we have grave
doubts if George Dean committed the
offense with which he is charged, and
therefore recommend that he be released
from further imprisonment. The two
physicians ON the commission signed the
report, the lawyer giving substantial
reasons for his inconvenience. Dean
was released and was hero.
He went back to his employment, and
thousands of people, chiefly women,
made extra trips ON the ferry to gaze on
his manly brow" and contemplate his
manly virtues. Throughout his trial
and after his release his conduct was
modest, firm and so seemingly uncon-
cerned as to excite the deepest interest
and the greatest curiosity. Under the
most severe tests he betrayed no evil
dence of guilt and little concern.
His most active solicitor, Mr.. Meagher,
had mounted the wave of public furore
and rode into parliament on the popular
Deans back. Mr. Meagher had made
his mark. " He had not been able to
save his "innocent client" from an ar
bitrary judge but he had helped to kin
die the flame of public Indignation and
rescue him from life prisoners doom.
Dean, having received the queens par
don, was safe.
But the end was not yet. The public
tongue had been wagging Justify and
the long ears of the same public were
open to every whisper. There was yet
some secret inquiry going on, and ON
Sept Is a member of the upper house
of parliament-the legislative council
asked the attorney general as to rumor
regarding confession" in the Dean
case The whole country was thrown
back into the old fever heat of hate and
expectation by the reply of the attorney
general that he ''must decline to an
swer, as whatever communication he
had was of confidential nature"
Meagher flew to Dean, and the che
roic ferryman, with an air of injured
innocence that really intensified the an
ger of his friends against his ''persecu-
tors, petitioned parliament to furnish
him with the statements upon which
the attorney generals insinuations were
based, that he might be free from such
stains upon his reputation. He also
made affidavit as to his innocence of the
attempt to poison his wife.
Satisfaction" was demanded, when
from the obligation of confidence,
read in the upper house on Sept. 26 a
statement of Sir Julian Salamons, the
foremost lawyer in New South Wales,
member of the upper house, and the
man who had conducted the prosecution
of the Dean case before the royal COM
mission, to the effect that on July 10
Mr. Meagher had made full confession
to him of Deans guilt, based upon
Deans confession Of the whole affair
while in Earlinghurst Jail, pending
demand for rehearing of the case, aft
er conviction. The city was wild.
Briefly, the purport of Sir Julian
Salamons' statement was that, the Sgd
ney Telegraph mentioned, during the
campaign in which Meagher was riding
so lofty horse, that by reason of his
| (Meagher incapacity as a solicitor in
defending man, now supposed to be
innocent, he had put the county to enor-
nous expense by the royal commission,
and he (Meagher) went to consult Sir
Julian Salamons as to the propriety Of
bringing an action against The Tele-
graph for injuring his professional repu-
tation. But the shrewd Sir Julian re-
marked that upon Meagher's claim that
Dean was innocent there was some color
of truth in The Taleprnnh's statement