The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1901-07-14
rRIAL By PEERS.
Some Notable Cases That the Lords
Have Dealt With.

AH- Na1f ~ Is"ll ltu5delA " II ItIllhu-
er tina. he may II committed for trial,
claim the ancient privilege Of being
tried by the house Cf lords. THIS right
has 'ons been obsGete In cases Of mis-
dsnsinJ'. and several Instances have
occurred he last half-csntury Of
PEERS wno have been tried before the
ordinary courts ior such offences.
IN charR u felony and treason the
privileges Is SIN valid. The accused
peer Is not tried by he law lords. viii
now have come 20 exerrise alone the
appellate jurisdiction - which n strst-
Mesa he whole house Is entltd cot take
part. n parliament ls sI.ting he Is
iried by the house as a whole. with the
Judges - !ts legal lAvisers. II the case
occurs in the recess. ne Is tried by the
c0ur; Of the lord high steward. who is
app Gnte1 for the occa sion. and whose
duty II Is 10 summon the whole hOus
and to preside as Judge at the trial
Lord Cowper was named high steward
by the king al he trial Of the Jacobfe
lords In 17l5. greatly 10 his vsxa,lon,
for his wife was related 10 one Of them.
L5Td Wlddrington. The servants all
all hal new llverles, and in the high
stewards ret!nue 'here were ten foot
man. four coaches with Two horses and
one with six, IS gentlemen out Of livery.
and garter klng-at-arms carried the
wand Of office. which is handed by the
king 10 The high steward and broken
by him n solemn form when the trial
is over and his duty done IT'S grin
ming honor for there is not one farth-
inE's allowance for all the expense"
She naturally thought II hard to have
10 sDsnd 30 much for the due deeapIta-
tl0n OF ones own relations.
The last trial Of a peer by the house
was that of Earl Cardigan. Afterwards
famous az the leader Ot the ligh. bri-
gade at Blll,lava Three years after
he succeeded to the peerage, on 2lst Of
September. ls40, he fought a duel on
Wimbledon common with Capt Har-
vey Tuck,tt, who vas severely wounded
by a bulle, in the ribs. The earl in Feb
ruary, ls4l, was tried by his peer for
shooting with intent TO DO bodily harm.
His counsel got him of on the purely
technical objection hat ii had not been
proved that Capt. Harvey Garnet
Phlpps Fuoketi. whom the defendant
was charged with shooting, was the
person alleged TO have been on wimble-
don common. whose card only bore the
name Of Capt Harvey Tuckelt."
The oeer forming the court, who must
numbe: at least .wen;y-four take no
cath. bu, each, with his hand on his
righ. breast, says Guilty" OF NO;
guilty" with me addition. "on my
honor" on this occasion he peers
nreseay found the Earl Of Cardigan not
guilty, the Dlka Of Cleveland us,7g,
t.wevsr the words. No, guilty, egll-
Iy"
Another duel was the subject Of
trial 60 The house in 1865. when Lord
Byrca, great uncle Of the poet, was
charged with killing Mr. Chaworth, a
No.;ingaamshire squire. in a duel He
was found guilty, but pleaded the ben
eft Of the statute Of Edward VI. and
was accordingly discharged On paying
his fees.
In April, l776, ,ha beautiful Duchess
Of Kingston, previously Miss ChudIeigh,
was tried by the peers for bigamy. She
had been privately married in 1744 to
Lord Augustus Hervey a captain In the
navy. afterwards Earl Of Bristol. They
quarrelled and parted. and twenty-five
wears Afterwards she married the Duke
OF Kingston. Then the inconvi5nt first
husband turned up. Westminster hall
was SCI crowded a, this trial that the
yeoman Of the guard had 20 be reinforc-
ed by soldiers. ana finally the peers,
moved by her penitence and beauty
found her guilty, but only ordered her
to pay the costs After the trial she
lived abroad wnare she died in 177S.
The earl her iirst husband died the
following year, with the rank Of a vice.
admiral Of The Blue.
Less fortunate than any of these de-
fendaats was Earl Ferrers, who in
Mar,h. 1860, was tried and convicted of
the murder Of his steward in Stafford
shire. He was sentenced to be hanged
at Tyrburn. but in consideration Of his |
rank was allowed a silken instead Of |
hempen rope-a similar privilege having
b zen granted to Lord Stouryon, convict
ed Of murder in Wiltshire in the reign |
Of Queen Mary. Lord Ferrers did not
ride to Tyburn tree in the usual cart, }