The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-03-17
Il is Brewing in England Over the
Boldness Of Big People Who
Refuse to Obey Court
Orders.
THE MYLIUs CASE
4 Decline to Answer" is Reply When
the Aristocrats Get on the
Witness
Stand.

LONDON, March l7.-Troubie is
brewing in England over the bold
ness with which big men, are get
ting to defy the courts when called
as witnesses in pending litigations.
There have been number of cases
OF late in which there have been
manifest miscarriages of justice as a
result of such individuals refusal to
testify. The thing is rapidly reach
ing the dimensions of a public scan
dial. The probabilities are that the
matter will be brought up in parlia-
ment during the present session.
When this happens, not only are a
number OF aristocratic offenders due
for some rough handling, but several
over-subservient judges are likely to
be pretty severely criticized for per
hitting such abuses in their courts.
The most conspicuous of the cases
in question was that of King George
vs.. Edward F. Mylius resulting in
the sentencing Of the latter to
years Imprisonment for criminally
libelling His Majesty. In this particu-
lar instance there is no doubt that
I the king was within his legal rights
in refusing to enter the witness box,
but there are hardly any dissenters-
I at least among lawyers-from the
| view that he ought to have entered it,
nevertheless. Commenting on the
royal claim that it would have been
Unconstitutional for him to have done
4 so, the London Law Journal says:
Hitherto there has been nothing in
the authorities to show that court
ought not to accept the personal aud
fence of the sovereign voluntarily
rendered in the witness box"
The case Of Robert Edmondson vs..
+! L. S. Amery was another instance in
4 point. Edmondson, sergeant-major
{! in the Boer war. was reduced to the
4 ranks by Lord Roberts He contend
ed that his degradation was due to
the fact that ne knew too much CON
corning his superior officers mis-
management of the battle of Lille
fontein and that they manufactured a
case against him to discount his crit
icism of them. Amery wrote his
tory Of the Boer war and referred to
Edmondson as having fed from the
field. Edmondson sued for damages
i Inasmuch as the ex-sergeant-major
I was degraded without court martial
4 and solely upon the secret made by
the Lilliefontein officers to Lord
Roberts it was absolutely necessary
for Edmondson to bring out what the
nature of this report was. No one but
Lord Roberts could tell. He was sum-
moned as witness and from first to
last his testimony consisted Of prac
tically nothing but the iteration and
re-iteration of the single sentence:
II decline to answer" Justice Philli
more meekly submitted and Edmond
son lost his case.
"a soldier against whom the gray
est of all charges is brought" com
mented the London Morning News
has to wait for more than decade
before the chance for judgment arises
and then his case Is tried before 9
tribunal which, for good or bad rea
sons, is denied knowledge of the es
sential facts.
Earl Spencer treated Justice Darl
ing not long ago almost exactly a.
. Lord Roberts treated Justice Philli
more. He was witness in the case
of Mrs Horace West VS.. Sir Algerno1
West, her father-in-law. Mrs. Yves