GUITEAU'S TRIAL—EXTRAORDINARY SCENES IN COURT.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1024, 17 January 1882, Page 4

GUITEAU'S TRIAL—EXTRAORDINARY SCENES IN COURT.

I The following telegraphic account of i one day’s business at the trial of j Guiteau for the murder of President I Garfield conveys an idea of the extra-; ordinary scenes in Court which have I ca:sed surprise and indignation in America and England. Washington, Dee. 16. —Guiteau! was ahead of Corkhill this morning, I and opened the Court with : “ To put in the time (looking over to the vaca >i seats, with a chuckle), I understand that General Reynolds is sick this morning ; I wonder if Corkhill is ? I guess they got more than they wanted yesterday. It is about time for Corkhill to get sick, and stay sick.” G. D. Barnard, Deputy Clerk of the Supreme Court of King’s County, N.Y., took the stand to prove the divorce of Guiteau’s former wife from the prisoner. The witness presented j the record of the Court and the order of the Judge for his (witness’s) attendance here. The papers set forth the granting of an absolute divorce upon the ground of adultery, no answer having been made by the defendant. AN INFAMOUS ADMISSION. Guiteau, .referring to the woman’s name with whom he had committed adultery, said : “ This woman Jennings was a high-toned woman in New York. That was purely a matter of business between us. I committed adultery with her to get rid of a woman I did not love. I thought it took much more moral courage than to live with her and have children year after year. I have been a strictly virtuous man for six years past, and •have always been a high-toned Christian man.” Scoville desired to note an exception to the admission of this evidence. Guiteau, with impatience, said : “ Oh, what’s the use of quibb iug over that ? 1 admit my marriage and divorce. I. don't care for that. I can get married again anywhere outside New York State —and for that matter in New York too. Luder the new law there, if a man lives a strictly virtuous life for six years after being divorced, the Courts will let him marry again. Why, I could get married in New York to-morrow if I wanted to." General Reynolds was called. Guiteau at ouce broke in petulantly, saying : ** I hope you will eut off •General Reynolds and not waste any more time on him. He has told all he knew about this case and a good deal more.” — A Scoville cross-examined the witness. Guiteau frequently interrupted, contradicted, and insulted the witness. At one time he shouted out; “ I would have been hung a hundred times in July last but for the national troops, and all through your lying and <CorkhiH’s. I'm going to get even with both of you, too.” Witness explained that when he visited Guiteau, the time of his trial had not been arranged. President Garfield was still living. He (witness) had no thought of being subpeeued as a witness. “ You lie 1” shouted Guiteau. ■“ You came in my cell as a spy in the employ of the District-Attorney.” General Reynolds read from the notes taken on his’first interview with Guiteau, quoting the prisoner’s words. He read as follows “ If there is a stalwart in this land I am he. Grant Conkling, Logan and Governor Cornell are big guns among the stalwarts, and 1 rank with them.” Guiteau.: I never said I could rank with them, but as a matter of fact I think I can. A number of newspaper slips which the witness had read to the prisoner at this interview, to show him what were the sentiments of Grant, Conkling and others in regard to his (the prisoner’s) crime, were then read by the District-Attorney. ABUSE AND EXULTATION. When the letter of General Grant was read, in which the writer, speaking of Guiteau, said : “ My son tells me he is a dead beat,” Guiteau became very angry and shouted 41 This is what Hied Grant says. He’s a nice pill, isn’t he ? Hanging around his father ? I should say he is a bigger dead beat than I am.” Another passage was read which spoke of Guiteau’s crime as “ a most audacious act.” Guiteau interrupted and said: “And so it was. To enter the depot and shootdown the President of the United States, surrounded as he was by all his friends. I have wonderod at it a good many times, how I ever did it. I thought to myself this morning 1 would not undertake it again for a million dollars. But I was in such a desperate state of mind that I could not resist it. I was impelled to fire upon the President by a pressure I could not resist.” Ellen C. Grant called—and Guiteau shouted: “ Mrs Grant is a lady. I boarded with her prior to the Ist of July. She is a very fine laly, and I owe her 847. I trust I shall pay you as soon, Mrs Grant, as those fellows holding fat offices shall respond to my call (striking the table excitedly). I made them ; if they don’t soon contribute I shall call out their names in meeting.” The witness never suspected that the prisoner was insane.

THE DIVORCED WIFE. Mrs Anna J. Duntneyer, Guiteau’s divorced wife, was then called. Several ladies arose to leave the court-room. Guiteau moved uneasily upon his seat, and looking angrily toward the audience, cried out: “ There won’t be any smut in this examination. Ladies need not go out. They have no business to nut this woman on the stand, unless Corkhill wants to stir up filth. 1 say it is an outrage on decency for Corkhill to drag this lady in here and have her character ripped up, as it will be. Corkhill ought to be ashamed of himself. He is worse than an old hog. I appeal to the Court to intercept this infamous action of Cork hill’s. Arthur ought to kick him out. I made A rthur President, and I have a right to demand that he shall put some reputable lawver in the place of this infamous Corkhill.” Very much to the surprise of everyone, but two or three questions were asked the witness, and her statement, ! in reply to the last question, was: “I never saw any signs of insanity in the I prisoner while I lived with him as his | wife.” THE ASSASSIN RELIEVED.

This closed the examination by the prosecution. Guiteau, with a sigh of relief, said to Corkhill: “Thank you, Mr Corkhill, for the sake of her children. This is the most decent thing you have done in this trial. I expect, however, that Judges Porter and Davidge insisted upon it, and they are both supposed to be decent men.’’ Then, turning impatiently to Scoville, he said “Now cut this short aud let’s have something else.” The cross-examination of Mrs Dunmeyer was tedious and wholly fruitless. As she left the stand Guiteau shouted after her : “ 1 have not seen this lady for eight years. So far as I know, she is a high-toned Christian lady, and I have nothing against her. 1 wish her well in whatever station she may be.” JUDGE porter’s CLOSING QUESTIONS.

Guiteau left the stand yesterday afternoon, after his three days’ siege, a broken man. He was tired out, haggard, faded, disgusted, sullen and ugly, and there seemed about him a consciousness that J udge Porter, the terrible cross examiner, despite his cunning theories and his persistence when questioned, had shown that the inspiration theory was simply a part of the defence, planned long before the malice of Guiteau brought him to the river’s bank to fire at the marsh reeds for targets. “ Did you feel any remorse?” was the last question which Judge Porter asked, after having paused earnestly upon that point for some moments. The prisoner answered, sullenly, “ 1 have felt remorse, of course, as far as my personal feelings are concerned.” Judge Porter, as quick as lightning, and dramatically, said : “ That will do, prisoner, your examination is closed.” Guiteau, writhing under the tremendous force of Judge Porter’s question, saw the terrible

EFFECT OF HIS CONFESSION. During all these months one part of his defence has been to insist to all that he never has had a single sentiment of remorse. During the crossexamination he has said a dozen times to Judge Porter's terrible questions that his mind was a blank upon that subject. To all the experts who have called upon him during these weeks he has insisted, with gleeful pertinacity, that a thought of remorse never came to him ; that his mind upon that subject was a blank. Yet last night, at the end of three days’ cross-examina-tion, at the crisis of as rigid a crossexamination as any prisoner in any witness-box was ever subjected to, he admitted to that which seemed to bring a shudder to his relatives, and caused a sensation in the Court-room. He had killed the President and he had suffered remorse. With cat-like quickness Guiteau rallied from what seemed almost like a paralysis, caused by the tremendous thundering of J udge Porter at him, and endeavored to correct what he plainly saw was the effect of that admission. Judge Porter would not listen to a word, but waved his hand.

Scoville tried to parry the effect, but apparently without success, and Guiteau left the stand more discourged than he has appearedataiiytime during the trial. Guiteau, although cowed and driven into a corner, saw the force of every one of Judge Porter’s questions, and endeavoured to evade them, and manifested undoubted skill. There were some words that almost caused him to wince with terror. He shrunk and seemed to shiver in the witness-box when Judge Porter used the words “ murder,” “ kill,” “ assassin.” J udge Porter made it clear that Guiteau was able to control the “ Divine presence” the day that Mrs Garfield came to the depot with the President, and emphasized this fact, which has such an important bearing upon the question of responsibility. The cross-examination was eminently successful. It lifted the mask, and showed that the plot to murder the President was premeditated and deliberate, and was a result of malice and revenge. The prisoner felt it keenly. Porter broke down the wonderful, quick, supple witness. LONDON “ times’ ” COMMENTS. The Times, discussing the system of allowing prisoners to give evidence, says: “The incidents of Guiteau’s trial ought not to prejudice our decision in regard to this important ques tion. His boisterous vanity would have insured scenes at trial under any system whatever.