Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-08
FULL PARDON DENIED
Mrs. Maybrick Still Pechni-
cally Under Sentence.
FREE ON CONDITIONS
STATEMENT MADE TODAY BY HER
COUNSEL.
Baroness Won Roques Arrives to Give
Personal Attention to Her
Suit in Court.

Ambas sador Choate has cabled the State
Department that the British foreign office
has refused to grant any further clemency
to Florence E. Maybrich, who recently
made application through the State De-
partment at Washington for a complete
pardon.
1t appears that Mrs. Maybrick was not
granted a complete pardon, but was re-
leased from Imprisonment upon certain
conditions, and she is still technically under
sentence. Her testimony is regarded as
necessary to the successful prosecution OF
the civil action OF her mother. the Baron
ess Won Roques, to recover large sums OF
money on account of transaction in land,
which suit is now pending before COM
missioner in this city. and it was to make
her eligible as a witness that an application
was made to the British government
full pardon.
Statement by Attorney.
When the attention of Mr.. s. V. Hayden.
one of the attorneys for the Baroness Won
Roques, was called to the cablegram. he
stated that an application had been made
to the English government for pardon
in order to remove all doubt to the COM
potency of Mrs. Maybrick's evidence in the
suit by her mother the baroness, against
David w. Armstrong, the principal de-
PENDANT and others, pending in the chan
Gerry court of Richmond, Va, to set aside
conveyances to about two and half mil
lion acres of land, which the baroness al
leges were executed to Harrison T. Groom
at the instance of David w. Armstrong,
then her attorney, without a proper under
standing on the part Of herself and Mrs.
Maybrick, and for the nominal consldera-
ton of $4,000.
would be earnestly insisted, notwithstand-
ing Mrs. Maybrick's status. that she is
competent witness, as, under the English
law, her conviction would only aHect her
credbility and not her competency, and
that as her conviction was in a foreign
country she would be competent witness
in Virginia, since, with one or two excep-
lions, every court in the United States, in
Guiding the United States Supreme Court,
had held that a conviction in foreign
country in another state, did not affect
the competency of a witness, unless the
statues of the state where it was sought to
make such person witness expressly pro-
vided that such conviction did render the
witness incompetent.
He said the laws of Virginia contain no
such provision.
be great hardship should Mrs. Maybrick's
evidence be excluded it is very
terial to their interests in the suit.
Baroness Won Roques in the City.
The Baroness Caroline Won Roques,
mother of Mrs. Florence Maybrick, is in
Washington. She arrived here from New
York, where she landed yesterday from
Havre. Mrs. Maybrick did not accompany
her, being detained In New York by frac-
tured knee cap. but is expected here We'd
nesday. when she and the baroness will go
to Richmond to give testimony in the suit
against ID. w. Armstrong, involving large
tracts of land in Virginia and Kentucky.
The hearing of evidence for the plaintiff
was transferred from this city to Rich
mond because of questions raised by her
counsel as to the admissibility of certain
letters, and which he claimed imposed upon
her an unnecessary expenditure of money.
1t is said the appearance of the baroness
In this country Will come as great sur
prise to the Armstrong forces, il
believed she was too i'll to make the long
journey from Rouen, France, her home. 1t
was announced recently that her attorneys
would go TO France to take her deposition,
and the fact that this plan had been
changed was carefully kept secret. She
sailed under the name of Madame de
Mormont," and no one on the steamer
knew her identity.
Indisposed Today.
The baroness is in ill-health and was in
disposed today owing to her long voyage.
1t is expected, however that she will be
able to visit the office of Mrs. Maybrick
attorneys, Messrs. Hayden & Yarrell, to-
morrow
Mrs. Maybrick was a the pier to greet
her mother 1t was the first time they had
met since Mrs. Maybrick left France after
being released from prison. The women
flew into each others arms and tears
streamed down their faces
Bless you. my daughter" sobbed the
baroness, you look like another woman.
1t is good to see the roses in your cheeks
once more"
The baroness was deeply interested in the
Nan Patterson case.
The English papers are full of it," she
said They make much fun of American
laws. They criticise the opera bouffe man.
Der In which the poor girl was tried and
ridicule the methods employed here in all
murder cases"
Mrs. Maybrick feels elated because the
courts have given her mother permission
to prosecute her suits without bonds or
cost. Her lawyers claimed that the attor-
neys for the other side were trying to run
the costs up to such an enormous figure
that the baroness and her daughter would
be compelled to drop their suits, and con-
tended that this would defeat the ends of
justice. The costs already amount to sew
eral thousand dollars. The permission to
prosecute without costs was given by the
chancery court of Richmond in which the
case is being heard
The land being fought for lies in three
states-Kentucky, Virginia and West Vir-
ginia. The baroness claims that Armstrong
induced Mrs. Maybrick and herself to sign
papers transferring the property to him
when they were both in state of coIlapse
before the trial of Mrs. Maybrick The
baroness hopes to recover about $S5, 600.