AMAZING COUNTRY HOUSE SCENE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 199, 20 August 1909, Page 6

AMAZING COUNTRY HOUSE SCENE.

REVOLVERS IN A DRAWING-

ROOM

a lady, her husband, and a squire. ;■■:■

(John Eden Savile, a former South Australian resident, who was charged at. the Meath Assizes, with feloniously shooting at Charles Uniacke, of Dunboyne, Co. Meath, has been acquitted.—Cable item,) ■ The sfcory which this, brief cable unmasks is "a strange pne, and begins with a scene in an Irish country mansion, which has its thrilling as well as its amusing side. According to the evidence at the preliminary hearing, Mr John Eden Savile, an elderly English gentleman, of Sfc. Martins, Stamford, Lincolnshire, was charged with having attempted to murder Mr Charles > Fortescue Uniaeke by shooting at him in the drawing-room of "The Villa," Dunboyne; The circumstances which led to Mr Savile's, arrest caused considerable stir in society circles in Ireland, where Mr and- Mrs Uniacke, a young tjpuple who were married in January lasi», are well known. . . \ MRS UJNIACKE'S NARRATIVE,;

The first witness, Mrs Nina Cecile Uniacke, said she had' known Mr Savile for 17 or 18--.years. At her husband's' suggestion she sent him a telegram on May 19th, asking him to come and see her. He came by motor-car and walked up to one of the windows, She saw hin\ and opened the door, and took him to the drawing-room, the door of which she left ajar. She asked him about statements he had made affecting her, and why he had written to her father and her cousin. Her husband came into the room, whereupon Mr Savile said to her. "So you are not a'one?" Her husband asked Mr Savile the reason "of his alleged behaviour. Mr Savile, she stated, replied, "I thought this would be the cfise," and pulled out a revolver, which he pointed straight at her husband; ', ■ : ,

Her husband rushed in and put his arms around Mr Savile;, and, then the revolver went off;^slie would not swear whether it was deliberate -or accidental. Her .riding habit and coat were-'pierced by the revolver bullet, and her blouse was marked by the scorch of the shot. She snatched the revolver from Mr Savile, and a struggle ensued between her husband and him, her husband bringing him to the'ground. Her husband had nothing in his hands. He placed his knees on Mr Savile's chest and asked him what ■was the meaning of what he had stated about her. Mr Savile denied the accusation, and said, "1 am an old man, and have been up all night." Mr Uniacke said, ""Will you apologise?" Mr Savile answered, "Yes; what do you w_ant\me to do?" Her husband told him to write an apology to her father and her cousin, "and a statement to the police that you attempted to take my life." The letter to the police was written first and then the other letters. ..., Cross-examined by Mr Pride for the defence: — Was it by arrangement or by. accident that your husband was there?— I did not know where he was. > The statements written by Mr Savile were read as follows: — CONFESSION (A). I, J. Eden Savile, this day attempted to shoot C. F. Uniacke, his wife being present, and knocked up the revolver with her hand to save, his life. .The bullet cut into her' habit across. Everything I have said against Nina Uniacke is a lie, and I apologise.—J. Eden Savile. CONFESSION (B). I, J. Eden Savile, attempted to i shoot C. F. Uniacke, and was stopped in the, act by his wife: and I promise to leave Ireland, 8.15, May 20th. Mr Ci F. Uniacke also gave evidence He corroborated his wife's testimony. He added that he sent a telegram in Mrs Uniacke's name to Mr Savile in Lincolnshire, in these words:— ■■>. Will you come see me at Dunboyne as^ soon as possible am alone.— Baby. -. . I REMARKABLE LETTER. When Mr Savile was arrested he handed to the police a letter written by him to Mrs Uni'acke's father. In this letter Mr Savile said: — ; . .' . Nina answered the door, and took me into the small drawingroom, and began to talk about past events, everything that happened to me, and also saying that a certain man was the greatest liar unhung, etc. "I said, 'If what you say is true, this is what a certain man deserves, 5 and pulled out of my overcoat pocket a revolver which I had brought, not trusting that cur Uniackle. I "All went well until I took my overcoat off, with the revolver in the pocket, and placed it over the back of a chair. The windows were open, and Nine was behind me; and, no doubt, at some pre-arranged signal, Uniacko rushed into the room, with a heavy hunting crop, and was on .me before I knew where I was.

"I ran to my overcoat to get my revolver from' the pocket, and Nina rushed at me from behind, seizing my arm and the revolver, which went off in a struggle, the bullet grazing her habit at the lower part. "With her. clinging on to my back, and Uniacke hammering me in front with the hunting whip, I had no show. I fell over the chair, and then he had me down and at his mercy, with ixo one to see fair-play. He was on the top of me at once, and had his knee on me, and had me by the throat as well, swearing he would kill me, and telling Nina to get a° heavy crop out of the hall to hammer me on the head with it if I struggled.

' "They kept me down. ■ a long time. I was dead tired with the joUrney to begin with, and the pair of them at me, single-handed; there was no one there to pull the cuss off, and they had Me dead licked, he throttling me and Nina beating me over the head. They let me -up at last, completely done; and Uniacke took a revolver (Nina's) out of a drawer, and she had mine with her as well, so each was armed with a revoiver and a heavy crop.

"Then they made me write to dictation, and, Nina dictating, he struck me on the head with the crop when 1 hesitated, and Nina held her revolver touching my head, full cock.

"They would have invented some lie if it had gone off, so there was nothing to (do but write, under compulsion. Now you know the value to place on the letters." After further evidence,

The magistrate said lie did not think'the charge of attempted murder be and he sent the

a charge of feloniously shooting at Mr Uniacke with intent to wound. Mr Saville was them release^ on tail, and, as we know from the above cable, he waf acquitted.