London Legal Letter.
175
LONDON LEGAL LETTER.
London, March 7, 1896. THE sensation of the hour is the trial of Dr. Jameson and the officers who are associated with him as the heroes of the Transvaal raid. Nothingin the way of judicial proceedings could be more amusing to the trans-Atlantic mind than the manner in which the accused have been treated since their embarkation in Africa for the scene of their trial. At each stopping place the utmost endeavors were used to seclude the men from pitying eyes or local observation. When the ship arrived in English waters it lay to for nearly a day in the Channel in order to put the reporters off the scent and to make an unexpected landing at some out-of-the-way port from which the men could be secretly conveyed to Ixmdon. Thus it happened that after the steamer had called outside Plymouth it was not permitted to any one to go on board, not even the agents of the line or the solicitors who had charge of the defense. Finally, by keeping well out from land, the Thames was secretly entered, and once within the river the men were transferred to a tug, which in turn delivered them up to a police steamer, upon which they were arrested, and upon which they were brought to London. They were taken ashore about dusk and driven to the Bow Street police station to be charged. Altogether it was nearly forty-eight hours that the prisoners were kept in hiding off the coast of England to baffle the curiosity of the public. Had they been accused of some unnatural crime, and, in consequence, were likely to be made the victims of the vengeance of the mob, such police precautions might have been commendable. But as these men are, for the time being at least, social and political heroes, and the most that could have been apprehended was an excess of enthusiasm in the demon stration of welcome which the populace might give them, the maneuvering of the authorities to smuggle them into the country is considered to be simply inexcusable. Had the object of such a policy been to awaken curiosity and evoke enthusiasm instead of to repress it the device would have been admirable. It was the fanfare of trumpets that precedes the procession into the circus ring. And now that the prisoners have been charged, what is to be done with them? It is a puzzling position, from which the government can extract itself only by diplomacy and legal acumen combined. Jameson, or " Dr. Jim," as he is affectionately called, is nightly cheered to the echo in the music halls and theatres whenever his name is mentioned, and there are few music halls so poor in attractions as not to have a political song in his honor. The scene when he was arraigned at the police station was unique. He arrived with his companions about seven o'clock in the evening, and from the opening of the large court in the morning it had been crowded with conspicuous and distinguished society people and politicians. A number of titled ladies were among those who filled the bench and overflowed into the counsels' seats and jury boxes. Weary with waiting for
the curtain to go up, the audience rapped upon the floor with sticks and umbrellas, and when at last the justice and the prisoners entered a cheer was raised which lasted some minutes and which while it lasted drowned all the attempts of the justice and court officials to stop it. Then the infor mation was read. It briefly charges that the prisoners and "certain other persons in the month of December, 1895, in South Africa, within Her Majesty's territory, and without the license of Her Majesty, did unlawfully prepare and fit out a military expedition to proceed against the dominion of a certain friendly state, to wit the South African Republic." The prisoners pleaded not guilty, their arrest was proved, and they were permitted to go out upon their own recogni zance and move freely among the very people from whom the government for two or three days had been expending its art and energies to keep them. There will be a preliminary examination and then a remand, followed by an indictment and a trial, all in the ordinary course, but with this difference : in the ordinary course, and if the offense had not acquired a political character, and the defendants were unknown, the trial would quickly result in punishment. In this case, while it is not for a moment suggested that there will be any laxity on the part of the prosecution or any respect for persons on the part of the courts, the proceedings will move along with the stately deliberation of a popular pageant. The defense will be conducted by no less than three eminent queen's counsel, viz, Sir Edward Clark, Sir Frank Lockwood and Edward Carson, and two juniors, C. F. Gill and Howard Spensby. The prosecution will be in»the hands of the At torney-General and the Solicitor•General. In the natural order of events the trial would take place at the forth coming term of the Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey, but as this is a small room and most inconveniently arranged for seeing and hearing, it is probable that it will be transferred by certiorari, granted always as a matter of course upon application of the Attorney-General, to the Queen's Bench. There is even talk of having the trial at bar, a method of procedure which has been resorted to only four times within the present century. If, after the trial, a verdict of guilty shall be obtained, the punishment that may be administered will be, at the maximum, two years imprisonment and a fine. Perhaps it is futile to fore cast the penalty, but it is not too much to say that the trial will be of imposing interest, considering the importance and station in life of the prisoners, the wealth that can be drawn upon for their defense, the novel law upon which they will be tried, and the grave political consequences in volved — both at home and abroad. There is some consolation in knowing that the steady decline in the common-law business of the courts has been arrested. There were forty-five more actions set down for trial this term than last, and of the five hundred and eightyeight actions, three hundred and thirty-three are jury cases.
