The Portland daily press., 1896-02-26

battle OF experts, Drs. Carter Humphreys
and Stevenson maintaining that the death
was caused by arsenical poisoning, and
Drs. Tidy and MacNamara, Pr of. Paul, and
DIR. Barron contesting that view. Mrs. May
| brick had for her chief counsel Sir Charles
RUSSELL now Lord Chief Justice of England,
with the title of Lord Russell, and the
| Crowns case was conducted by the Grown
| counsel, Nh. Addison
The battle was fought bitterly in court
and out, and resulted in complete revul-
sion of feeling toward Mrs Maybrick, who
had been before the trial adjudged guilty by
the press and the people. 1t was shown
that May brick had purchased 10 grains of
arsenic three months before his death; that
| it was his habit to keep it in the house and
! eat it, and the physicians who attended him
during his illness testifie ed that they had
given him arsenic on May 6, four days before
his death.
Justice Stephen charged the jury in a
manner that won for him condemnation
from all sides. After being out thirty eight
minutes the jury brought in verdict of
guilty. Not long afterward insanity COM
PEELED Justice Stephen to retire from the
bench and he has since died.
oh iiOo AsuSScll, WHO HIS SluCe OcCOnc
Judge himself Immediately after the trial
addressed an indignant protest to the Home
Office, in which he said that Mr. Justice
Stephen had.s passionately and vehemently''
invited the jury to their verdict Even the
Crowns counsel up to the very last said
that verdict of guilty could not be brought
in in the face of the evidence. Sir Charles
Russell said among other things of Justice
Stephen in that protest:
''In short, he had honestly, if mistakenly,
taken the view that the woman was clearly
guilty, that there was practically little to be
said for her, and that view he persistently
and vehemently impressed upon the jury
in a summing up of two days, and in a
manner which would justify the trial being
described as trial by judge rather than a
trial by jury"
Mrs. MaybricS was condemned to death
by hanging, and was taken to Walton jail,
where gallows was put up close to her cell.
But tremendous agitation was begun at
once for her pardon. On accoun t of the
doubt whether May brick had died of arsenic
al poisoning at all, Home Secretary Ma t.
thews, on Aug. 20, 1889, committed the SEN
tence of death to one of life imprisonment
in Working prison. This was the first result
of the agitation. The Woman's Information
al Maybrick Association was formed by
prominent womans clubs in England and
America, and q popular subscription was
started. Mr.. Matthews was appealed to
time and again, but always refused to re-
open the case. The United States govern
ment was asked to use its good offices to
get hearing, the subject was debated in
the House of Commons, but in spite of the
fact that new evidence was found that
seemed to establish Mrs. Maybricks inno-
cence, nothing was accomplished The
insanity of Jusice Stephen, the various IL
regularities of the trial. counted as nothing
Mrs. Maybrick was still confined, she was
not allowed to see her children, and was
allowed to have no communication with
the outer world in six years having seen
her mo Their, the Baroness de Roques, but
twice.
When the last Liberal government came in
and Asquith was made Home Secretary
another attempt was made, Gail Hamilton
being at the head of tie new movement. A
petition signed by all the members of Pres-
de Mt Harrison's government and by thou
sands of women was sent to him, but he
too, refused to reopen the case.
Since then a new attempt has been started
by Mr. A. H. II. Dawson, formerly Assistant
District Attorney. an old friend of Mrs
Maybrick, who has written book for the
Masons about the case. Mrs Maybrick's
sons, and it was hoped to use Masonic in
fiuence on the Prince OF Wales, the head of
that order in England. Mr.. Dawson is now
in the South working among the Masons in
the interest of Mrs. Maybrick. But her
speedy release will put an end to his en-