WEIGHT CORNERED

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18916, 3 February 1927, Page 9

WEIGHT CORNERED

GLADSTONE LIBEL CASE. STATEMENTS REGRETTED. [til CABLE—FBEPS ASSOCIATIOK—(iCSTBALUK ASD H. - AS3CC.A LONDON, February 1. Intense interest is being intaincd in tlv Gladstone rate, of which to-( a> £ j feat!:;., was the following telegram tiom Monte Carlo, which was r,,a ' l 111 Court, . "1 strongly repudiate tno slanderous accusations of Peter i • (Signed) Lily Langu-y. The cross-examination of Captain Wright, during which he maintained a. cool, debonair and monoeled atti u< . reached a climax after a ten .o rs duel, as follows■ Mr Birkett. K.C.: Bo you now ro=rct the publication of tho W. E. Gladstone? . , . fc Captain Wright, thumping his violently on the witness box • »-n course I do. If Viscount Glads now withdraw his charges, I\v j . him, "I'm extremely sorry 1 huit s coldly: Don't knock the furniture about. ,„„ 0 ; n »i Then there was another 01C^'°' 1 when the Judge conveyed s°methi go what ho had in his mind It occurml when Mr Dirkett referred to the secietarv of the Hath Club. Captain Wright, warmly: Hes a scoundrel! , . . The Judge: Is there anybody in the world who isn't a scoundrel? _ Captain Wright's cross-examination was again full of sharp exchanges which he steadfastly declined, until he answered Mr Norman Birkett s clos ng question, to recede from the position he had adopted throughout. His counsel agreed to accept as evidence Mrs Langtry'a telegram. Captain Wright: I admit in the witness bos that I would say the_ same on oath. In this ho was referring to tho actual offending passage in tno Mr Birkett: You say of Gladstone: "Ho was pursuing and possessing every j sort of woman"? Captain Wright: Every sorb or woman in his own station of life, si"-'' l as Madame Novikoff and Laura Bell. Mr Birkett: But aren't you shifting around. Weren't you referring to street girls? ' Captain Wright: Only a lawyer with a microscope would believe that. An ordinary plain man would not. There was a tense silence when Captain Wright declared that he had not thought about tho feolings of Gladstones family. "If Viscount Gladstone had not abused me, I certainly would have expressed regret." The Judge broke in with: "Does that mean that you are now sorry?" Captain Wright: My Lord —— Tho Judgo, interrupting sharply: Give me a direct answer. Captain Wright, droppiug his monocle from his eye: "Yes, my Lord, it does, but it is most difficult to express it to Viscount Gladstone unless he retracts his abusive language." Mr Birkett: You won't withdraw your statement though? Captain Wright: I cannot withdraw what I believe to be true. Mr Birkett: Do you consider that a decent way of expressing reprot? Captain Wright: If they will retract the torrent of abuse, I will retract now. There was an interesting moment when photographs wero handed to tho Judge, who remarked: "[ cannot give them judicial notice," and then passed them to the jury, who inspected them with interest, llie three women jurors were bo absorbed that tho cross-exami-nation waa held up. The silence was broken by a frank jurywoman remarking: "I think she is very nice!'" A second jurywoman said: "Yes, she looks very nice, but I do not Hko her hair." Whereupon the wholo Court laughed. Counsel quoted letters written to Madame Novikoff from Moscow to Mr W. E. Gladstone, urging him to write; "If in free England people cannot j correspond without being calumniated in a most vulgar way, then England is degenerating. Do write if you can without exposing yourself to danger." Tho Judge on Mr Birkett's submission held that the letter to the secretary of the Bath Club, on which tho action was based, was written on a privileged occasion. He added that the question of malice would be left to the jury. Tho case was adjourned.