Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878] TUESDAY, MAY 10, 1892. THE PEARL CASE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4110, 10 May 1892, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878] TUESDAY, MAY 10, 1892. THE PEARL CASE.

Being tub extended title . or the U Wairarafa Daily, with which it is IDENTICAL,

To newspaper readers in England Mrs Osborne lias been foe some months what Deeming has lately been to ourselves at the Antipodes,.and-it is probable that even if Deeming's affair had taken place in England, the greater interest generated, by Mrs Oa home's case would have furnished one more illustration of the motto," Place am dames." A cruel murder, nay, even a combination of cruel murders, can, alas, be counted on to recur from time to time in the annals of crime, hut that which gives its test element of sensation tp Mrs Osborne's felony is the apparent absence of motive,, the singular sense* lessness which characterised it. It is a vulgar oynicism. which would tell us that crime in "the upper circles" is more attractive, than law-break* ing among the horny - handed, Unhappily, the ' craving for sensational reading makes it poasibie for any, wretgl) \o interest the publio in Lis doings if they are only nicked enough, The accounts oi ftcommpn murder are read by the Duchess as (yell .as by her Grace's retainers jn the servants hall; but the jaded appetite of mankind for horrors must be ministered to by some new feature of crime, if the interest is to bo kept at boiling point for any length of time. And this is precisely what the Osborne case has offered.; It Bhows us a young and beautiful gentlewoman well born, well placed in the world, in opulent circumstances, about to make a lis>ppy and suitable marriage —and Btealirig thT-yalujal)le jewels of her most intimate friend, j[t Bhows ub how .this very remarkable thief tried to bluet the reputa tion of others by way of diverting suspicion from herself; how the gentleman-the real gentleinanwife she was to be hastened the wedding day that lie might'give her at once the protection of a- jjusband and the assurance of his own undiminished confidence in her jn« tegrity. Then wo have the end picture of his terrible, discovery-his wife is the criminal; but she is ill. The struggle between marital tenderness towards a siok wife and manly recognition of the olaims of justice is worthy of',the #neat potion, Captain .O.Bborne takes .his wife away from England for her Jjealth'i lake; and, ibe instant ebe is'fit to !prthe,coming strain, he Bfttisjjes his honour by bringing her hack and dflhysripg hertp the police authorities, Then came'the trial, and the sentence; and we imapino that every man and woman' who read of it, though : only in the brief telegrams which our papers published, felt that few sorrows could equal the sorrow of that young husband s'" And now we loara of Jjje imminent aocouchement of the poor woman whose apparently purposeless orime had lodged her in jail; we learn that she was released from detention oh Sunday, last week; ; and we cannot but express the hope,. : shared by thousands, that the babe whose, birth within the walls of a piißon has been averted by theolemenQyof the Home Office may safely see the light of day —that in time to come the ohild of this union may bring blessing and'

comfort to a obivalrous father and to a mother whose oritiie was surely due to Bome' extraordinary: constitutional environment. ',''.■■.

'■"Hysteria"istheplea, which has been set up by the countless irresponsible advisers on whom the authorities can always count when interesting cases are being tried, We do not propose to add our quota to the discussion of a profound Bubject by ignorant laymen, but we know that one of the first things sought for, in the examination of a criminal case, is the motive which induced the commission of the crime, and we thi»k the motive in this instance so unusually obsoure that it would not surprise us to learn' that experts have agreed' to class the case of Mrs Oeborue among cases . traceable to physical causes of the greatest interest to : humanity Vat large. If it be so, the crime, of Mrs Oaborno will be remembered longer, and to more purpose, than most modern felonies. '