A HISTORIC TRIAL

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1075, 14 March 1911, Page 6

A HISTORIC TRIAL

LIBEL ON THE KING. SOME OF THE DRAMATIS PERSONAE GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION. HOW A SLANDER WAS ANNIHILATED (By Lyme Dror),. [Fob The Dominion.! London, February 2. 'In these days of triumphant republicanism, kings and popes, poor souls, would seem, to get but a bail time of it. In his loud-mouthed proclamation of liberty, equality and fraternity, the republican appears not infrequently to forget that under papal robes a sensitive human heart may still beat; thai under a royal crown, however small the ostensible accommodation, a nervous system may still 'find space to centralise itself; he forgets, in a word, that even a king is a man and a brother—likewise a pope—and that, soar how he would, no human being over yet attained a social altitude which could preserve his .feelings immuno from the insults of / the . lowliest born slanderer. Now, I have adored strange idols in my time, but never bowed the knee to tho republican of that type. For,- while granting his cosmol'ogical perspective to he magnificent, and that his broad general outlook on mankind left" nothing to bo desired, it nevertheless seemed to me that his specific faculty for comprehending our odd little, earth with its still odder human details, might with advantage have been enlarged. ' ■■'• * • * » • • The story is very old, so old, indeed, that long previously to the King's succession, ,it appeared to have died of neglect and senile decrepitude. I mean the story that in tho gay-dog days of his youth, while yet. Duke of York, and (luring his naval career, our present King secretly married and made a happy, mother of some sweet maid in the Isle, of Malta; You have all heard the essential part;of tho;story; the variations wore as manifold as the storyteller. . For myself, such has the strength of my loyalty ever been, I should' not have cared a fig even had I been told that the present royal rule was to adhero strictly to ancient precedent, and exercise the wisdom and extravagance of Solomon in these matters. But I think it must have struck everyone as an extraordinary thiiig that an evil slander like that could bo bandied from lip to lip without let or hindrance. Did royalty never hear of it? Did royalty not care? Or had royalty per-force-to-sit 'Silent, feeling bruised, yet majestically helpless? 'Twas then that kingship seemed to carry its disadvantages. Now, however, there is to be a change. The royal fist has como'down with a bang, : so to speak, and most' graciously..! Once and';foi\ever the King is about to put a full stop to this disgraceful kind of thing. 'Initial steps had already been taken, and the final move was made at the High Court to-day,-when Mr. Edward Frederic Mylius was called upon to explain to the Lord Chief Justice and a special jury why he had published or caused to bo circulated a defamatory libel against tho King.. ...

'Love 'of prying into other people's busi--1 ngss being such a weighty ingredient in the human make-up, I was not surprised on' reaching Fleet Street this morning to. find that,' under police surveillance, :; a long queue of people were already waiting to be admitted to the law courts. Though.';tolerably*,jcarly,' I was obliged to , , take up a position in the queue's queue, bo" to speak, and I didn't like it a bit; • felt neither dignified nor comfortable,; but, as 'the law'-cburts cost a million pounds, and cover eight acres of land, I had strong hopes that the policeman would not find it necessary- to shut me into buter lightness. ■A London crowd, unlike a New Zealand one, when kept waiting, do not refresh each other with their choicest humour, or • improve the time with a running fire . of- jocular and personal remarks on the singularities of their neighbours. Not they. In order to procure a sent in tram, court,'or theatre they will stand through hours of bitter'cold, in the stolid-and-stunned-brother-to-tho-ox-liko fashion which the poet made a song about. Their patience is (mite marvellous. It is also a lit'tlo coitemptible, though not so much eo< as the New Zealandor's habit of fighting, jostling, and kicking with impartial disregard for sex, in order to get to the ticket-box. * s. . « .« .* The stoppages on the stairs were frequent, and, alas, when we reached the top ',we were, pressed back and told there was no room in the Chief Justice's Court. ■ "Well, there are other courts," said someone with clever self-possession. Tho door opened, and before it could be' again bolted another detachment ..was swept • into the ; great corridor. There was now no squeezing, but our.further passage • 'down the corridor was made by the ofli- . cials into a sort of obstacle Tace. Tho .final hurdle was a sort of clothes-horse that barred the way near the door of the > Chief Justice's Court. Here we were sternly ordered back, and, would you be:lieve it, everyone had vanished in a mo- .: ment, swallowed by the various other : courts—everyone but—me! Alono I ■ stood! - (Hooray.) ;.-I pondered (ah!); ; I recalled how I had gone to hear the West • v. West slander case, and how the hot, reeking atmosphere' of Judge Darling's Court had driven mo hence after but one short glance at tho dramatis personao of the piece. Then an officer approached. "We must keep the passage clear, sir; but if you will just go into this court I will tell you when.there is room in tho next." I had hardy sat down when .ho Tcappearcd, and in a confidential manner beckoned mo through the glass door. lie had found room. I should think he had. I <had pictured straining .. over someone's shoulder. Judge, therefore, of my astonishment to find tho gallery still half empty. He answered my look of surprise: "Wo don't want to fill the place "with thoco loafers." ' The distinction, of course,'made , mo. feel what a diligent, ■virtuous, nice-minded person I was, bent .'on hearing the matter "only at a sacrifice ■ of persona! tnste and for the civic good.

'All the morning the sun, had wrestled with a fog. He was red and swollen like the moon rising from the sen. Through tho skylight he camp, painting a yellow blur in a high corner of tho deep dim court. Tho court is some sixty feet square. The hangings are a faded green, the carpet .is faded red, the Royal arms over the bench .are in sore need.of dusting. With your finger you could trace your namo on every shelf; The glassfaced coses are filled with fat reel and brown books. There are a few new chairs incongruous in vivid red leather. On the bench sits ah elderly gentlejnan in wig and gown. There is a broad" scarlet sash over his right shoulder; a gold ring on the little finger of each hand. This is tho Lord Chief Justice of England. On his left are three tiers of seats, with four men' to each tier, sensible looking, unassuming men, ranging from early .munhoou to middle age. These aro the special jury. On his right, at a littered desk, nro two men bewigged and gowned —the Attorney and Solicitor-General. Down on the left and nearly in front of the judge stands a table littered with papers and law books. Behind it at each end. sit two sturly men.. And v;hoi9 that between (hem—that young man with the frail body and large head, the alert little harmless-looking man with the hirrh brow, white face, small doen-sot ears, fine eyes, and soft dark hair?. Who is he at all? That, messieurs, is tho prisoner—Mr. E. F. Mvlins. The name is to be pronounced as you like it. The judge says consistently, "Milleas": tho Attor-ney-General calls him "My-los, My-leos, or Mill-yiis," according to the inspiration of the moment, while police and detectives aro unanimous for "Milly-us"!

The proceedings were not exciting. The prisoner is found to possess a soft, cultured and refined, voice.. He requests the judge'ti> have certain letters Teturne'd to '•'him. He demands tho Ecjal

presence in Court. An impossibility, as he knows very well, for, "by virtue of the King'g position and his Sovereignty under our Constitution, and apart altogether from narrow legal technical difficulties, the King cannot go into tho wit-ness-box to testify in person and on oath in a court of justice., however much he .may wish it, because, this incapacity is not a private privilege which the Sovereign can waive at pleasure. It is _an absolute incapacity attached to the Sovereignty by the Constitution for reasons of public safety." It would seem therefore the King is at a disadvantage. . Mr. Mylitfs's question to the jury is ruled not proper. Sir Kufus Isaacs took up the parable. Ho is a 'tallish man and good looking in a cold aquiline way. He speaks slowly and' clearly,' and not a word of his address is lost. At times he raises one hand, but mostly he clasps both firmly in front of him. He felt no emotion and— bless him!—shammed none. Even in the peroration his voice though fuller w.as passionless. Everyone already knew the details and accordingly looked bored, nobody more so than the judge. He frequently pursed his mouth and smoothed his brow,, and rubbed his eyes and folded his arms into the deep furry cull's of his robe. Sometimes ho seemed to drop asleep; sometimes to be lost in prayer, covering his eyes with his hand and remaining so still that only the ribbons under his chin fluttered with his broath. But as things went on we got to like the judge. He was-so sensible, so unaffected, so matter-of-fact. 'When he could not hear he would call out "What?" in a blunt way, yet nevertheless seemed courteous to everybody,-. He- objected to witnesses mumbling just by his ear. He urged them to speak up and to the jnry.

The case for the King was overwhelming. The substance of the libel was that the King in 1890 married; the (laughter of Admiril Seymour at Malta, and subsequently abandoned this lady in order to marry a princess of thei blood royal. A long brutal and" shameless rigmarole to this effect had appeared in a small Republican paper, printed- in Paris by a wealthy American called James, and been sent to England for Mylius to circulate. The papers were- , seized. Mylius was not charged with writing the article, but it was quite evident he had assisted in its compilation. In support of its outrageous assertions not.an item of evidence was advanced. James, in a letter to Mylius, remarks: "In writing the bigamy articles I decide, to publish the facts at onco without waiting for further verification. The best .and nniokest way to get at the truth js & be'gfnUb aeifiite in the matter. If ■we-'have not stated Hte facts correctly wo will hear what the other side has to say." Well, tho other side had a great deal to say, and all of it to the point. There wore about a dozen witnesses called for tho prosecution. The first of importance was Admiral Sir Michael Ciilme-Seymour himself. He described his family of five, three sons and two daughters. His two daughters had never been to Malta till 1593, when they arrived with their mother to spend .the winter^.ln 1899 his elder daughter married Captain Napier. The. younger, daughter, died, and was buried at Malta in 1595:. She had never been married. His Majesty had never been to Malta during tho years tho Admiral's family was there. The elder girl met the present King when she was eight years old. Then once she saw him at an evening party,'and never again till five mouths after his. Majesty had married her Majesty the.Owen. Tho younger sirl had never spoken to the King in her life. ■ ' -..' "Any questions, Mr. Mylius f" asked the Judge. ■.'..■.' "No, thank you, -my. Lord."

One after the other, 'the Admiral's sons entered the box to'confirm; on. oath and with quiet voices the .indisputable' statements of their father. .Then cahie the sister, a tall woman, with; a light check dress showing through '• the open front of a long.'black cloak. .She wore-ir ; broad black hat with five plumes, and' a' dark veil. She answered tersely, the''questions put, and, like each of the brotliers.'added fresh'facts to support those already laid down by her father. And then snrely it wasJJ.i,tifu,l to hear,her- answering for the iirfegiWy of Her 'though she did it so. unfalteringly. Lady Seymour would have been called,' but in her. place a. doctor testified to her physical unfitness to appear in Court " Her heart was weak —dangerously weak. :. Another interesting witness was Mr. Azopardi, Crown Agent at Malta, a big man with a fine-presence. With him came tho marriage registers made in Malta and concerning the period relevant to the case. He had examined the entries from Protestant/ Catholic, and Greek Church alike, and the name of Seymour did not occur in connection with any marriage, save;pnce when a Mr. Seymour had officiated as best rn.au. All these records had been placed.at the service of defendant.'The Admiralty records also showed that his Majesty at various times was on his ship -at Malta, but never once after the year 18S8.. And so on in endless array. • ♦ • The most outstanding feature of the case was the fact that the ■ defence had no facts at all—not one. The little man who had associated 'himself with these monstrous lies about the King was unable to call a .single witness. He had not a solitary question to "ask of the unimpeachable array of witnesses brought against him; had not, in fact, a word to say for himself. The legal points he raised,' together with his insistent'demand that the King should appear in person, were absurdly weak and pitiable.. Still, ho did not try to be heroic or theatrical in any way. He accepted hi« twelve months' sentence quietly. In view of. the farreaching cruelty of tho .wrong to which ho subscribed it does not seem much. The case will, I suppose, be described r.s Historic, yet the absence' of pomp and pretence was most noticeable , .