WAKEFIELD WOOING

Taranaki Daily News, 28 September 1929, Page 17 (Supplement)

WAKEFIELD WOOING

SENSATIONAL TRIAL

(By

L.A.T.)

The publication of a “Life” of Edward Gibbon .Wakefield,- coloniser in New Zealand, and of a letter which refers to an ulterior reason on the part of the authorities for his conviction, has brought into-prominence the fact that he served three years in the Newgate Gaol. A long monograph appeared in the Juridical Review of 1927, and a perusal of the report, gives no ground for the belief that any influence was exerted in order to secure hits condemnation, and that the term of three years, was im the circumstance a by.no means harsh sen-, tence, and that, .when -Wakefield found that he was unable to capture the affection of his wife he himself apprehended a conclusion to the .matter very little different, from what occurred. One is at first inclined, to discuss the matter as a foolhardy youthful escapade, but a second consideration induces the conclusion that the whole! incident was the outcome of an overweening self-conceit on the part- of Wakefield. But as to the. facts proved at the trial. It appears that, having been, born in 1796, Wakefield went- to school till 1812,' and then entered the diplomatic service. • Apparently he took-’ to- diplomacy as a-fish to water, for in 1816 he inveigled a-young ward of; court and an heiress into Ia . runaway match. After placating the Lord- Chancellor and the family “the spouses settled- down apparently. to a long-life, and a happy one, but in 1820 the. unfortunate-.wife died as a result of presenting a eon to Wakefield. Emboldened, apparently, by the success which had attended the venture of procuring his first wife, Wakefield decided to secure a ..second wife by -.the. same, means. . Apparently ;he liked them young, and certainly, they must be rich. In 1826 there was attending a select ladies’ boarding school'in Liverpool one Miss Ellen Turner, the daughter of a retired-silk, merchant, t in the early morning of March 7, there arrived at the academy a somewhat .weather-, beaten green , coach; and a' French attendant who offered to the headmistress a note, presumably from, the >medical attendant .of the Turner household. The note announced the serious illjiess of Mrs. Turner; and asked that Miss Turner might be sent home . by. the bearer of the message.. The apparent sincerity of the message disarmed- suspicion, and Miss Turner was handed over -to the. tender mercies of the French - servant, and the green coach set out, not for the Turner Mansion, but for an inn in •Manchester, where her future husband very unceremoniously introduced- himself to her. A new. story was then poured into the girl’s ears. This time it w as her father who had fallen upon evil times as to his wealth, and his condition required the presence of Wakefield and the daughter iu the North of England. On the way, she was regaled with details of her father’s financial crash and of the help being afforded him by the Wakefield family, and finally it was represented to her that irretrievable ruin could be averted only by her marriage to our coloniser. The reason for the trip northwards , was., soon. made, abundantly plain. The maid for a while held out against the monstrous suggestion, but was finally won overhand-then it was but a step to Gretna Green and the village blacksmith, where a marriage, as countenanced and held inviolable by the laws of Scotland, was solemnised, or at least performed. So far so good:, it now. appeared to Wakefield, that having married his wife, he could with safety commence his wooinr*. They turned their ways southwards°until they arrived at London, and an illusive. father then decoyed the voumr wife and her husband to France, the abduction took place cn March 7: the wedding appears to have been celebrated on the 10th. On the I It'll the papers contained the announcement of the nuptials, and on the 12th, the school mistress,’ having become uneasy at not having heard more of her protege, visited the Turner, home and found out how things stood. Consternation had that unhappy home in thrall. As soon as dazed senses could be sorted out two uncles and the family lawjer, aimed with the necessary warrant and passport, crossed over to Calais, running their quarry to earth in the grounds of the hotel .where he and his bride were staving. He seemed almost to expect the’ visitors, and answered their Eliminations by observing that he quite sympatliised with them, and would proÜbly put a bullet through the heqjd of any ’man. who should rob him of his daughter. But he relied upon the legality of the marriage. If- it were .sound he would be obliged to keep his wife; if not he would have no claim upon her, and the subsequent battle in the law courts showed-quite plainly that what he had he . would hold. , The bride was overjoyed at the rescue,, and promptly announced her intention of not seeing ‘her husband again. Through the good offices of the mayor of Calais this was. made possible. At • Lancaster. Assizes, on March 23, 1837, the trial of Wakefield and his brother William for abduction was commenced. The young stepmother of the brothers Wakefield was also indicted, but did not appear, and the French- servant, though charged, had fled the country. William Wakefield appeared in custody, but Edward Gibbon appeared voluntarily. He declared that, given time, he would have compelled the love of his wife. He had, apparently, made the crossing to France to be reasonably safe from annoyance during the win-ning-over process, but he had reckoned without host Turner. The trial created a great sensation. Legal luminaries of the° front line were retained on both sides. The marriage itself was not directly unfeigned. The indictments charged the prisoners with conspiracy to abduct, and with stealing the heiress. The defence was that, by ■ the marriage, Wakefield had acquired a kind of property in his wife, and that she had become incapable of testifying ' against him. But the Crown case was well pieced together. Link by link the chain was extended until not all the acumen and persuasive eloquence of Sir James . Scarlett (later Lord Abinger) could save the accused. Step by step

the whole scheme was laid bare. It was shown that the stepmother had provided the cash, and been largely responsible for the plan of campaign. Naturally the defence occupied ’itself . largely in'proving the marriage to be ', legal.' An eminent Scots’ advocate, Mr. Duncan McNeil (later Lord Colonsay) g: was brought down from Scotland, and Y stoutly' upheld its validity, despite a * > rigorous cross-examination. He gave, as his opinion, that nothing less than mistake as to the identity of one of the'-s parties would affect it'. ' Though counsel for the prosecution, with forensic fervour, declared the marriage illegal, and- ' void of effect, yet it subsequently took a special Act 'of Parliament to bring g. this about.

Baron Hullock, who presided at the trial, eaid that the charge ■ related to what occurred at Manchester only. If abduction were proved and found, then subsequent event might at the most affect only the quantum of the punishment, and, in spite of opposition, he admitted the evidence of the young wife on tho ground that she must be heard on any matter affecting her liberty. The jury required only three quarters of an hour in order to arrive at a unanimous decision of guilty. Our . coloniser was sent to Newgate for three years, and his brother to Lancaster Castle for a like term. The authorities were afraid apparently of a renewal of conspiratorial tendencies. The incarceration provided Edward with time for thought, and, in addition to developing his literary bent, he took up the., study of colonisation, and no doubt eowed there seeds which later blossomed out into ripe schemes for the .- extension of the Empire-