DETAILS OF THE TRIAL.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 179, 23 July 1901, Page 4

DETAILS OF THE TRIAL.

London, July 19, Two hundred Peers, including Lord j Salisbury and the Archbishop of York, attended the trial, which was a pic tureeque spectacle. Lord Salisbury overruled the objection with regard to the Court’s jurisdiction. Earl Russell, in pleading guilty, said that be had erred in ignoranc", and hail been subj etto great provocation. The C iurt returned a unanimous verdict of guilty, and, while admitting provocation, sent Earl Russell to Hollow y Q.iol for three months. [The family affairs of Earl Russell ah I “ Babs ” Lave with very considerable regularity occupied the attention of the English Civil Cmrts fo- a decade. This is the first time that the -one has shifted to a criminal court. iV.“ history of the “Russell Affair”!* diverting. Earl Resell and ‘ liajs ” Scott were married on Feh-uary o' h, 1 890, and co-habited for a short time u-fj, Eatou Square, but the matrimomal hfe was an unhappy o e, and in Jane iojo, the petitioner left her husband, nnd instituted proc-eding.s for judicial seper •” tion, which failed. In 1891 she filed a uit for restitution of conjugal rights, in <nawer to which the Earl prayed for a judicial separation on the ground that ■he had been guilty of legal 'cruelty, but 'ftcr the suit had been tabeh up to the House of Lords the parties were left in ’he same position, as both eui s were lismissed. Some years ago the noble iarl met the Eommervilles whilst living his riparian residence at Maidenhead, unting in the moonlight seems to have ed him to believe that though somewhat nature lovers he and the lady were »win on Is. They subsequently met in ■merica, and the Earl, finding he could •asily divorce Countess “ Dabs ’’ did so. Irs Somerville at the same time got the aw of Nevada to perform a similar service for her and married Lord Russell. Jnfortunately the Uw of England does no' recognise A aorican divorces, and Mr Somerville obtained a decree nisi wit'- a little item of £ISOO damages against Eaul Russel], wnilst Ucuntess “ Bahs ’’ brong't her inevitable action, and also secured a decree nisi. Now tlnj law has taken up the matter, and Russvil has stood in the dock on a charge of bigamy. ]