TRIALS RETOLD.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 170, 19 July 1924, Page 19

TRIALS RETOLD.

TASE OF COLONEL VALENTINE BAKER— 'HUSSAR OFFICER WHO WENT TO PRISON,

By HORACE WYNDHAM.

. 1«-- the occupant of a high , Aldershot, -ho was *' Tcolonel of a crack cavalry regiment with an exceptionally disfJsZ recorJ. stood in the dock at ""'lnn Assizes to answer a particularly Cr °* f , char-e rcflecti-- upon his cbari;; a officer and a ,entleman. After T a garter of an hour's deliberate fi-ry found him guilty, and he wa~ " J£ed to unden-o twelve mouths' Un..atence. ".0 £m As jrwaaen . «-d to pa d ._ mi _ spa 80 Tlir • 'll-r M-jestr," so the "London ?Js 'announced, "having no further Ga . - his services." Ho had en■"""t avoid this crowning disgrace fst**«»• ~-rr« I resignation, however, had not been the authorities deciding to -.ashler" him instead. T _e unhappy man who thus at one fell ~ **£ wheT «%££ Baker, ex-colonel Stt-lOt- Hussars and Assistant Quarter-master-General at Aide-shot. Sensational Story. T _e charge alleged against Colonel B ™, SD d which brought about his ruin T. that of committing an "indecent nsZ r on a lady travelling with him in a "It carriage. Before, however, he 14 trial at the Croydon Assizes be Appeared six wee-s earlier, in custody VSrd Police Court, where the cvi- . -. „ on which he was afterwards Judged Ejected to a preliminary investigaTb y tte magistrates. The affair at, ZS tremendous Interest, not only *™t the Axmv. but also In the lead-s-rallv. Public -.oathy was undoubtedly with the a_--3* It was felt that the case would Lse ana resolve itself Into one of Uctotlon on the part of his accuser. Bit this was not to he. There was no BUrta-en Identity, no overwrought Imagination or hysteria. What there was instead was a remarkable and, under the d.cn-istan-.s, shocking story. The bare outlines, as unfolded from the brief of counsel for the prosecution, ran as fol--10W5". — On the previous afternoon, June 17, a young and attractive lady of «ood family, ill-. Rebecca Kate Dickenson, was travelling alone In a first-class railway carriage from Miah-rst to London. At Llphook, a ...--man, whom she Identified as the prisoner, entered the compartment. He talked to her In a cultured fashion on T _rl-_- subjects, and, discovering that they had some common Interests, she responded. On leaving Wol-tag, however, he suddenly suggested point blank that she ehou.o. correspond with him. "When she indignantly refused, his manner changed. Crossing over to the seat, next her, he put his arm around her waist and kissed her repeatedly. This conduct so terrified her that she screamed for help and attempted to Jump out of the carriage- The passengers In the adjoining compartment hearing her cries, and seeing her standing i on the footboard, stopped the train. As the gnard arrived to learn what had occurred, the unknown stranger endeavoured to reassure her. "Don't say anything," he begged. "If you do, you don't .now what trouble you will get mc Into. Just tell him you were frightened." The guard, however, was no fool. He had eyes in his .head, and acted with commendable promptitude. Under his direction, the young lady, In a state of collapse, was attended to by the Rev. James Brown, a clergyman who happened to be among the passengers, and the stranger was locked up in another carriage. On reaching Waterloo, he was escorted to the snperlntenient's office, where he considerably astonished the police by giving his name t! Colonel Valentine Baker, 10th Hussars, and his address as the Army and Navy Club, Pall -Hall He refused, however, any explanation of his conduct, (beyond declaring that Hiss Dickenson "had reported the case Incorrectly." His name and address being verified, he T-s allowed to return to Alder-hot. The next morning, however, he was arrested by the Deputy Chief-Constable of Surrey on a Tvarrant, charging him with "indecent -ssanlt." Thus the links in the chain that led to Us appearance at Guildford police court that memorable summer morning in June, 1875. On the conclusion of the first day's hearing, the defendant was remanded on bail of £300. When he surrendered the next morning, he was permitted to sit beside his counsel, who asked the magistrates for a week's adjournment in order to give time to prepare the defence. This being granted, the next hearing took place on June 24. Mr. Poland then appeared for the prosecution, ud Mr. Henry Hawkins, Q.C. (afterwards Wa Brampton), was briefed by Colonel Baker. Only formal evidence was given, and the accused was fully committed. He was, however, granted bail in his own recognisances in £2000, and two sureties In -1000 each. These substantial sureties were at once furnished by his brother. Sir Samuel Baker, and Viscount Valentia, a wptain in the 10th Hussars. The Summer Assizes nt Croydon opened °a July 30 before Mr. Justice Brett (afterwards Lord Esher), and the Grand Jury atonal a true bill. Thereupon, Colonel faker's leading counsel. Sergeant Ballan"Jhe. asked for an adjournment until the ">«t Spring Assizes, and also that a Wal jury might be empanelled. The prosecution opposed this application as unreadable. The judge agreed, and further Thi th3t thß acc " Jßed ' s ba» °c doubled anl the Court reassembled on August 2. So case," says a contemporary report, _M J*™ 1 been tried "within living memory which appears to have caused such excite,l,7 Jt " a * as *with the utmost difficulty «M counsel in this case, as they arrived, ™d f orce tj-.j. _____ tQ th _. r piaceg „ The ■Jt witness was Miss Dickenson, and the •ndau,,, of the assault to which she had ffl subjected was corroborated by the BUd and other passengers. As no witnesses «.L. a „ led f ° r the de£ence ' the task Wait* to Mr. Hawkins was a very diffln! T; , AU he COUId d 0 for his clleDt ' M pleaded " not suilty,- was to sugi mat the gravity of the charge had -fflsnrrf gserated " He ha l to fight against scs. c r s - ™ s ™ because -%_W v - ' a lare Sense of »rr, had absolutely refused to allow w cross-examine Miss Dickenson. "I 5 debarred," he wrote afterwards, "by c Question." tt« P^! nS t0 the case ln lat " advocate observed :-"I t BriiiT h ° nour that ' a* a gentleman and *■•*' officer . he preferred to take to

himself the ruin of his own character, tho 1 forfeiture of his commission in the Army, . the loss of his social status, and all that i would make life worth having, tn casting . even a doubt on the lady's veracity in the , witness-box. The manliness of his defence showed liim naturally to he a man of honour, who, having been guilty of serious misconduct, did nil he could to amend the wrong he had done; and so he won my sympathy In his sad misfortune, and misery." Generous words, but not cntlrcly unmerited. The accused's record was fully described. It was a distinguished one, and showed that Valentine Baker, married, aged 4S, was a man of good family. With his elder brother, Sir Samuel Baker, the famous African explorer, he had gone as a young man to Ceylon, where, having a taste for soldiering, he joined the Ceylon Rifles. In 1552, how ever, he exchanged into the 12th Lancers, and served with them in the Kaffir War, and afterwards In the Crimea, being present at Sebastopol. On becoming a major, he was transferred to the 10th Hussars, which he brought to such a high state of efficiency that he soon rose to the command. This position he held for thirteen years, and, while he occupied it, King Edward, then Trince of Wales, served under him .it the Curragh. Ho had also written important books on military tactics and travel. Cashiered and Disgraced. The Judge's summing-up was severe. Yet, considering the unchallenged evidence that had been submitted, there could only be ono verdict. In a breathless hush of expectancy. ,te dread word "guilty" was pronounced by the foreman of the Jury. Thereupon, his Lordship turned to the occupant of the dock, who stood erect and soldier-like before him. "You have attained," he said, In measured, cutting tones, "a high rank and reputation. I cannot forget that for your distinguished services in the past your country Is indebted to you. . . I hope that some future day you may be allowed, by ] some brilliant service of which you are so I well capable, to wipe out tho Injury you have done to yourself and the dishonour you have done to your country. Yet I must pass a severe sentence upon you, and that sentence Is that you be Imprisoned for twelve months in the common gaol, that you pay a fine of £500, and that you also pay all the costs of this prosecution and be further Imprisoned for three months until they are paid." A tap on the shoulder from an attendant warder, a last despairing look round the crowded court, and the ex-colonel of Hussars steps Into the shadows. "Put up John Smith," says the Clerk of Arraigns In an unemotional voice, and somebody else occupies his place in the dock. The case of Eeglna v. Valentine Baker Is finished. The sentence was passed In Horsemonger Lane Gaol, to which gloomy establishment the unhappy soldier was taken In the prison van, together with the crop of burglars and pickpockets convicted at the same assizes. It was a severe sentence, especially for a man of "Valentine Baker's habits and temperament Yet, numbers of people openly deplored its "excessive leniency," and did not hesitate to declare that "favouritism" had been shown towards him. The fact was, the concluding remarks of the Judge ". . offence as bad as such a crime could possibly be. . . no palliation"—had led them to expect a much heavier term than the one awarded. Charles Reade, however, took an opposite view, and roundly asserted that had the accused been a navvy, he would have eot off with a month's hard labour at the most. • • • • Stripped thus of his rank and commission, his name removed from his clubs, and the doors of society closed upon him, the average man brought to such a pass would have disappeared or sunk into utter obscurity, If not worse. How the Colonel Made Good. But Valentine Baker was not an average man. He was a good deal more. Catastrophic as had been his fall, he determined that It should not be the end of everything. If his own country had no use for his sword and his military talents, he would seek another. With rare grit and courage, accordingly, the moment he emerged from prison he left England and went to Constantinople. At the outset, luck favoured holm. The Russo-Turklsh war was In progress, and the Sultan accepted his services and appointed him to the gendarmerie. He was nest advanced to the command of a division. This was a job after his own heart, and, by a superb display of tactics, he succeeded in routing |an immensely superior force led by 'Gourko. As a reward, he was loaded with honours and made a lieutenant-general in the Turkish Army. From triumph to triumph. Baker-rasha, as he had now become, was next invited to command the newly-established Egyptian Army. On reaching Cairo, however, a disappointment was In store, and the promised -military position was altered to that of Chief of Police. Slaking the best of a bad job, be threw himself into the work with characteristic vigour, and did it so well that he was soon transferred to a force of gendarmeries acting in conjunction with the native troops. In February, ISS4, he led this body to the relief of Tokar. When. !however, they met the enemy at El Teb, they disgraced themselves by running I away. Thereupon, Sir Gerald Graham took him on his own staff, and, as an intelligence officer, he guided the British troops across the desert to the second battle of El Teb, which, occurring three weeks later, resulted in a victory. A proud moment, this, for Valentine Baker to find himself sewing once more with officers and men of the 10th Hussars from which he had been cashiered nine years earlier. Plea for Reinstatement. In recognition of his personal gallantry at El Teb where he was wounded, strong efforts were made by Valentine Baker's friends to reinstate him in the British Army The Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, Lord Wolseley, aud Lord I Cromer (then Sir Evelyn Baring) supported the proposal. Queen Victoria, j however, was adamant. Rules were rules; land an officer who had once lost his [commission, especially for misconduct, ! could, in her judgment, never regain it. ,As a result, the ex-Colonel of Hussars ! went back to the command of the Egyptian Police. This post he held until his death, which, due to heart disease, occurred in 1887 at Tel-el-Kcbir.

Thus died a brave man and a distinguished soldier, who forfeited all his prospects and brought himself to tbe verge of ruin, by a momentary _*ct of mad folly.