LAST PHASE OF THE RUSSELL CASE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3662, 20 May 1924, Page 67

LAST PHASE OF THE RUSSELL CASE.

MRS RUSSELL A WONDERFUL AND UNFLINCHING FIGHTER. MEMORIES OF OTHER SOCIETY CASES. CLAIMANT SON OF A SPANISH DANCER. DRUCE AND THE DUKES OF PORTLAND.

(By

Vincent Wray.

(For the Witness.) From its beginning in the courts below to the final phase in the House of Lords, I have followed what is now known as the Great Russell Case. It will go down in history, whatever the result, as having made a sensational record. The highest legal tribunal in the land has little that is interesting and certainly nothing that is exciting for the ordinary spectator. The Law Lords, learned and responsible, wear no robes, but are in the attire of ordinary citizens. Counsel on either side wear their wigs a-nd gowns; otherwise there is a total absence of that ceremonial which is a fascinating part of the proceedings in other courts. There is no eloquent address intended to hold juries spell-bound, no butterfly on the wheel to bear tho onslaughts of skilled and pitiless counsel, no suggestion of appeal to the emotion. It is all dry law, and during this most recent appeal to the House of Lords there was dips into precedents that go back over a quarter of a century. Even Lord Mansfield. was quoted, passages were read over at lightning speed, and the law lords followed in their ponderous tomes, whilst now and again there was a quiet comment that could not reach the ears of the pressmen who were present in the hope that there might arise something that would make “copy”’. One figure, however, fixed the gaze, and gave the proceedings a touch of the dramatic. Mrs Russell—the woman in the case—was there during every moment, listening intently to the intricate arguments, never missing a word of the bygone cases that were quoted, and seeming to understand every word that fell from the lips of the world-famed lawyers. She looked pale, though her beautiful eye-s gleamed brightly, and there were no lines to indicate the terrible strain she must have undergone, and close b v was her mother—the partner in the business in fashionable Curzon Street, which Mrs Russell herself founded. I heard many people speak of Mrs Russell, and all of them in terms of admiration for her persistence, her self-possession, her outstanding intellect. How many could have stood the strain and still turn a smiling face to the world? Mrs Russell is a remarkable woman. She has more than beauty, personality. Tier career demonstrates her wonderful ability. She worked hard during the war. She was placed in charge of a factory, and though without business training—she is the daughter of a distinguished army officer, was reared in luxury and presented at Court—she brought the factory to the highest state of efficiency, and won high and wellmerited encomiums from the authorities. At one time she studied art in Paris, and showed enormous ability. It has been my privilege to see some of her dress designs. The drawings themselves are exquisite works of art, and those who know tell me that her creations were always the pride and envy of Society. The first of two trials in the Divorce Court, caused a sensation. Wealth and beauty crowded into the court, and counsel of the highest rank were engaged on both sides. I saw the dignified Lord Ampthill there with his son, the petitioner. Lady Ampthill was present also. And, sitting a few seats away, were Mrs Russell and her mother. Two co-respondents were named. They were dismissed from the suit, and the jury was unable to agree on the question whether or not Mrs Russell had committed misconduct with a man unknown. Fabulous sums of money had already been spent, but there was forced to be another hearing; and this time another co-respond-ent was named. He like the other two was dismissed from the suit, but this time the jury found that Mrs Russell had been guilty of misconduct with a man unknown. There were two outstanding features ot this trial. In the first ploce, there was the appearance of Mrs Russell in the witness-box. She was there for many hours, and none who saw her will forget how cleverly she parried the thrusts of opposing counsel, how self-contained she was, and how, even when the verdict, was announced, she showed no sign of the distress and mental agony she must have suffered. The second feature was the appearance of little Geoffrey Russell, who was “seen” by judge and jury in a private room, and who seemed to wonder what all the fuss was about. He is a charming boy, with golden curls that cluster round his brow, bright laughing eyes, and a merry laugh—the innocent merriment of childhood. It is seldom that a divorce case goes to the highest tribunal in the land. There were three points contested. The first was a suggestion of misdirection 1 by the judge in the court below. The second was that the verdict was against the weight of tlie evidence. The third was that Mr Russell had been allowed wrongfully to give evidence conoeirning events that were intimately concerned with the relations between the "husband and wife. The judges decided against the appellant’s first two contentions, but reserved their judgment on the third. Such a decision as the law lords arrive at will stand as precedent to be quoted when they have been called to their fathers, so that there must be no haste, but a carefully considered decision which will give

the reasons upon which the judgment fs founded. j_iittle Geoffrey came nrominentlv into the case again, and Sir Douglas Hogg stated with marked emphasis that “tlie finding of the jury has nothoing to do with the child.” All the same. Lord Dunedin pointed out what appeared to be an anomaly. “It conies to this. In thi3 house he is legitimate, hut at Eton and Oxford he will be illegitimate."• There are few oases that have been so costly. And the expense falls upon the Russell family. I fancy that the total sum cannot be much under £45,000. I base these figures upon information that has been supplied to me by an expert accountant who has been interested in the case. There was another case—though in all respects different—in which there was a claimant to a peerage, and this was heard in the very court where Mrs and Mr Russell fought their battles. I was present throughout, and afterwards interviewed the claimant. The problem concerned a claim to the Sack ville peerage. The claimant was a tall, dark, handsome man. His father had gone through a ceremony of marriage with Pepito, a popular and fascinating Spanish dancer. Armed with a certificate of the marriage, the claimant appeared in the courts. But, as it happened, the/ defenders were able to show that Pepito had married a teacher of music and had gone through the ceremony of marriage with the aging Lord Sackville whilst her husband still lived. That made an end to the case. So sopn as the result was known there was great rejoi«ng at the Sackville estates, where the holder of the title was greatly and deservedly popular. There is one more “peerage” case which also came under my personal notice. There are many now living who will recall Mrs Druce a litigant who was almost! persistent as Mrs Welldon. who was known as the Queen of Litigants. Mrs Druce asserted that the body supposed to have been buried as that of Mr Druce, the keeper of tlie famous Baker Street bazaar, was really a heap of stones, and that the supposed Mr Druce was really the Duke of Portland. I do not know what finally induced the Home Secretary of the day to permit the exhumation of the coffin that had been buried in the cemetery at But an exhumation order was made. The Druces had assembled from every quarter of the globe. The Dukes of Portland had vast possessions, and enormous sums were at stake. One of the claimants, who hailed from Australia, came to me. He was a slightly-built youngster and a joiner by trade; but I saw at once that he bore little resemblance to the family he claimed as his. I do know, however, that he was perfectly sincere.

The cemetery was cleared on the afternoon before the exhumation, but I happen to know one enterprising individual who climbed over a hicrh wall and. dodging the police, concealed himself behind some tombstones. He saw nothing but an awning for his pains, because when the coffin lid had been raised and there were found the reposeful features of Mr Druce, nothing further remained but reverently to re-inter the remains. The D ruce bubble had been shattered for ever. There is always an interest amounting to fascination in cases associated with ancient families. That was what attracted so much attention to the Poulett case, and to others which, if the claims had succeeded, might have changed liistorv. But in the Russell case there is not only the high social position of the patties, but the charm of the' woman concerned and the innocent appearancdl of baby Geoffrey, for whom all must h-avef the deepest sympathy.