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diff --git a/old/69704-h/69704-h.htm b/old/69704-h/69704-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index a731710..0000000 --- a/old/69704-h/69704-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3358 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html> -<html lang="en"> -<head> - <meta charset="UTF-8"> - <title> - The Case of Oscar Slater, by Arthur Conan Doyle—A Project Gutenberg eBook - </title> - <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> - <style> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2{ - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } - -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} -h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} - -.pagenum { - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; - text-indent: 0; -} - -.hangingindent {text-indent: -2em; } - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 17.5%; - margin-right: 17.5%; -} - -.x-ebookmaker .blockquot { - margin-left: 7.5%; - margin-right: 7.5%; -} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.ph1 {text-align: center; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;} -.ph2 {text-align: center; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: bold;} - -div.titlepage {text-align: center; page-break-before: always; page-break-after: always;} -div.titlepage p {text-align: center; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5; margin-top: 2em;} - -.xxlarge {font-size: 175%;} - -.large {font-size: 125%;} - -.x-ebookmaker .hide {display: none; visibility: hidden;} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - max-width: 100%; -} - -p.drop-cap { - text-indent: -0.35em; -} - -p.drop-cap:first-letter -{ - float: left; - margin: 0em 0.15em 0em 0em; - font-size: 250%; - line-height:0.85em; - text-indent: 0em; -} -.x-ebookmaker p.drop-cap { - text-indent: 0em; -} -.x-ebookmaker p.drop-cap:first-letter -{ - float: none; - margin: 0; - font-size: 100%; -} - -.bb {border-bottom: solid 4px;} - -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - margin-left: 17.5%; - margin-right: 17.5%; - padding: 1em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - -</style> -</head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The case of Oscar Slater, by Arthur Conan Doyle</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The case of Oscar Slater</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Arthur Conan Doyle</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: January 4, 2023 [eBook #69704]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Emmanuel Ackerman, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CASE OF OSCAR SLATER ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter hide"><img src="images/coversmall.jpg" width="450" alt=""></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<h1>THE CASE OF<br> -<span class="bb">OSCAR SLATER</span></h1> - -<p class="ph2">A. CONAN DOYLE</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/title_page.jpg" alt=""></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="titlepage"> -<p><span class="xxlarge"><small>THE CASE OF</small><br> -OSCAR SLATER</span></p> - -<p>BY<br> -<span class="large">ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE</span><br> - -<small>AUTHOR OF “THE LOST WORLD,” “SHERLOCK HOLMES,”<br> -“THE WHITE COMPANY,” ETC.</small></p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/title_page_logo.jpg" alt=""></div> - -<p><span class="large">HODDER & STOUGHTON<br> -NEW YORK<br> -GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY</span></p> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center">Copyright, 1912<br> -<span class="smcap">By George H. Doran Company</span></p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph2">THE CASE OF OSCAR SLATER</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[7]</span> -<h2 class="nobreak">THE CASE OF OSCAR<br> -SLATER</h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap">IT is impossible to read and weigh the facts -in connection with the conviction of Oscar -Slater in May, 1909, at the High Court in -Edinburgh, without feeling deeply dissatisfied -with the proceedings, and morally certain that -justice was not done. Under the circumstances -of Scotch law I am not clear how far -any remedy exists, but it will, in my opinion, -be a serious scandal if the man be allowed upon -such evidence to spend his life in a convict -prison. The verdict which led to his condemnation -to death, was given by a jury of -fifteen, who voted: Nine for “Guilty,” five -for “Non-proven,” and one for “Not Guilty.” -Under English law, this division of opinion -would naturally have given cause for a new -trial. In Scotland the man was condemned -to death, he was only reprieved two days before -his execution, and he is now working<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[8]</span> -out a life sentence in Peterhead convict establishment. -How far the verdict was a just -one, the reader may judge for himself when -he has perused a connected story of the case.</p> - -<p>There lived in Glasgow in the year 1908, an -old maiden lady named Miss Marion Gilchrist. -She had lived for thirty years in the one flat, -which was on the first floor in 15, Queen’s -Terrace. The flat above hers was vacant, and -the only immediate neighbours were a family -named Adams, living on the ground floor below, -their house having a separate door which -was close alongside the flat entrance. The -old lady had one servant, named Helen -Lambie, who was a girl twenty-one years of -age. This girl had been with Miss Gilchrist -for three or four years. By all accounts Miss -Gilchrist was a most estimable person, leading -a quiet and uneventful life. She was comfortably -off, and she had one singular characteristic -for a lady of her age and surroundings, -in that she had made a collection of jewelry -of considerable value. These jewels, which -took the form of brooches, rings, pendants, -etc., were bought at different times, extending<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[9]</span> -over a considerable number of years, from a -reputable jeweller. I lay stress upon the fact, -as some wild rumour was circulated at the time -that the old lady might herself be a criminal -receiver. Such an idea could not be entertained. -She seldom wore her jewelry save in -single pieces, and as her life was a retired one, -it is difficult to see how anyone outside a very -small circle could have known of her hoard. -The value of this treasure was about three -thousand pounds. It was a fearful joy which -she snatched from its possession, for she more -than once expressed apprehension that she -might be attacked and robbed. Her fears had -the practical result that she attached two patent -locks to her front door, and that she arranged -with the Adams family underneath that -in case of alarm she would signal to them by -knocking upon the floor.</p> - -<p>It was the household practice that Lambie, -the maid, should go out and get an evening -paper for her mistress about seven o’clock each -day. After bringing the paper she then -usually went out again upon the necessary -shopping. This routine was followed upon<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[10]</span> -the night of December 21st. She left her -mistress seated by the fire in the dining-room -reading a magazine. Lambie took the keys -with her, shut the flat door, closed the hall -door downstairs, and was gone about ten minutes -upon her errand. It is the events of those -ten minutes which form the tragedy and the -mystery which were so soon to engage the -attention of the public.</p> - -<p>According to the girl’s evidence, it was a -minute or two before seven when she went -out. At about seven, Mr. Arthur Adams and -his two sisters were in their dining-room immediately -below the room in which the old -lady had been left. Suddenly they heard “a -noise from above, then a very heavy fall, and -then three sharp knocks.” They were -alarmed at the sound, and the young man -at once set off to see if all was right. He -ran out of his hall door, through the hall -door of the flats, which was open, and so -up to the first floor, where he found Miss -Gilchrist’s door shut. He rang three times -without an answer. From within, however, -he heard a sound which he compared to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[11]</span> -breaking of sticks. He imagined therefore -that the servant girl was within, and that -she was engaged in her household duties. -After waiting for a minute or two, he seems -to have convinced himself that all was right. -He therefore descended again and returned -to his sisters, who persuaded him to go up -once more to the flat. This he did and rang for -the fourth time. As he was standing with his -hand upon the bell, straining his ears and hearing -nothing, someone approached up the stairs -from below. It was the young servant-maid, -Helen Lambie, returning from her errand. -The two held council for a moment. Young -Adams described the noise which had been -heard. Lambie said that the pulleys of the -clothes-lines in the kitchen must have given -way. It was a singular explanation, since the -kitchen was not above the dining-room of the -Adams, and one would not expect any great -noise from the fall of a cord which suspended -sheets or towels. However, it was a moment -of agitation, and the girl may have said -the first explanation which came into her -head. She then put her keys into the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span> -two safety locks and opened the door.</p> - -<p>At this point there is a curious little discrepancy -of evidence. Lambie is prepared to -swear that she remained upon the mat beside -young Adams. Adams is equally positive that -she walked several paces down the hall. This -inside hall was lit by a gas, which turned half -up, and shining through a coloured shade, -gave a sufficient, but not a brilliant light. -Says Adams: “I stood at the door on the -threshold, half in and half out, and just when -the girl had got past the clock to go into -the kitchen, a well-dressed man appeared. I -did not suspect him, and she said nothing; -and he came up to me quite pleasantly. I did -not suspect anything wrong for the minute. -I thought the man was going to speak to me, -till he got past me, and then I suspected -something wrong, and by that time the girl -ran into the kitchen and put the gas up and -said it was all right, meaning her pulleys. -I said: ‘Where is your mistress?’ and she -went into the dining-room. She said: ‘Oh! -come here!’ I just went in and saw this -horrible spectacle.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[13]</span>The spectacle in question was the poor old -lady lying upon the floor close by the chair -in which the servant had last seen her. Her -feet were towards the door, her head towards -the fireplace. She lay upon a hearth-rug, but -a skin rug had been thrown across her head. -Her injuries were frightful, nearly every bone -of her face and skull being smashed. In spite -of her dreadful wounds she lingered for a -few minutes, but died without showing any -sign of consciousness.</p> - -<p>The murderer when he had first appeared -had emerged from one of the two bedrooms -at the back of the hall, the larger, or spare -bedroom, not the old lady’s room. On passing -Adams upon the doormat, which he had -done with the utmost coolness, he had at once -rushed down the stair. It was a dark and -drizzly evening, and it seems that he made -his way along one or two quiet streets until -he was lost in the more crowded thoroughfares. -He had left no weapon nor possession -of any sort in the old lady’s flat, save a -box of matches with which he had lit the gas -in the bedroom from which he had come. In<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span> -this bedroom a number of articles of value, -including a watch, lay upon the dressing-table, -but none of them had been touched. A box -containing papers had been forced open, and -these papers were found scattered upon the -floor. If he were really in search of the -jewels, he was badly informed, for these were -kept among the dresses in the old lady’s wardrobe. -Later, a single crescent diamond brooch, -an article worth perhaps forty or fifty pounds, -was found to be missing. Nothing else was -taken from the flat. It is remarkable that -though the furniture round where the body -lay was spattered with blood, and one would -have imagined that the murderer’s hands must -have been stained, no mark was seen upon the -half-consumed match with which he had lit -the gas, nor upon the match-box, the box containing -papers, nor any other thing which he -may have touched in the bedroom.</p> - -<p>We come now to the all-important question -of the description of the man seen at such -close quarters by Adams and Lambie. Adams -was short-sighted and had not his spectacles -with him. His evidence at the trial ran thus:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span>“He was a man a little taller and a little -broader than I am, not a well-built man but -well featured and clean-shaven, and I cannot -exactly swear to his moustache, but if he had -any it was very little. He was rather a commercial -traveller type, or perhaps a clerk, and -I did not know but what he might be one -of her friends. He had on dark trousers and -a light overcoat. I could not say if it were -fawn or grey. I do not recollect what sort of -hat he had. He seemed gentlemanly and well-dressed. -He had nothing in his hand so far -as I could tell. I did not notice anything -about his way of walking.”</p> - -<p>Helen Lambie, the other spectator, could -give no information about the face (which -rather bears out Adams’ view as to her position), -and could only say that he wore a -round cloth hat, a three-quarter length overcoat -of a grey colour, and that he had some -peculiarity in his walk. As the distance traversed -by the murderer within sight of Lambie -could be crossed in four steps, and as these -steps were taken under circumstances of peculiar -agitation, it is difficult to think that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span> -any importance could be attached to this last -item in the description.</p> - -<p>It is impossible to avoid some comment -upon the actions of Helen Lambie during the -incidents just narrated, which can only be -explained by supposing that from the time she -saw Adams waiting outside her door, her -whole reasoning faculty had deserted her. -First, she explained the great noise heard below: -“The ceiling was like to crack,” said -Adams, by the fall of a clothes-line and its -pulleys of attachment, which could not possibly, -one would imagine, have produced any -such effect. She then declares that she remained -upon the mat, while Adams is convinced -that she went right down the hall. On -the appearance of the stranger she did not -gasp out: “Who are you?” or any other sign -of amazement, but allowed Adams to suppose -by her silence that the man might be someone -who had a right to be there. Finally, instead -of rushing at once to see if her mistress -was safe, she went into the kitchen, still apparently -under the obsession of the pulleys. -She informed Adams that they were all right,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span> -as if it mattered to any human being; thence -she went into the spare bedroom, where she -must have seen that robbery had been committed, -since an open box lay in the middle of -the floor. She gave no alarm however, and -it was only when Adams called out: “Where -is your mistress?” that she finally went into -the room of the murder. It must be admitted -that this seems strange conduct, and only explicable, -if it can be said to be explicable, by -great want of intelligence and grasp of the situation.</p> - -<p>On Tuesday, December 22nd, the morning -after the murder, the Glasgow police circulated -a description of the murderer, founded -upon the joint impressions of Adams and of -Lambie. It ran thus:</p> - -<p>“A man between 25 and 30 years of age, -five foot eight or nine inches in height, slim -build, dark hair, clean-shaven, dressed in light -grey overcoat and dark cloth cap.”</p> - -<p>Four days later, however, upon Christmas -Day, the police found themselves in a position -to give a more detailed description:</p> - -<p>“The man wanted is about 28 or 30 years<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span> -of age, tall and thin, with his face shaved -clear of all hair, while a distinctive feature is -that his nose is slightly turned to one side. -The witness thinks the twist is to the right -side. He wore one of the popular tweed hats -known as Donegal hats, and a fawn-coloured -overcoat which might have been a waterproof, -also dark trousers and brown boots.”</p> - -<p>The material from which these further points -were gathered, came from a young girl of -fifteen, in humble life, named Mary Barrowman. -According to this new evidence, the -witness was passing the scene of the murder -shortly after seven o’clock upon the fatal -night. She saw a man run hurriedly down -the steps, and he passed her under a lamp-post. -The incandescent light shone clearly upon -him. He ran on, knocking against the witness -in his haste, and disappeared round a corner. -On hearing later of the murder, she connected -this incident with it. Her general -recollections of the man were as given in the -description, and the grey coat and cloth cap -of the first two witnesses were given up in -favour of the fawn coat and round Donegal<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span> -hat of the young girl. Since she had seen no -peculiarity in his walk, and they had seen none -in his nose, there is really nothing the same in -the two descriptions save the “clean-shaven,” -the “slim build” and the approximate age.</p> - -<p>It was on the evening of Christmas Day -that the police came at last upon a definite -clue. It was brought to their notice that a -German Jew of the assumed name of Oscar -Slater had been endeavouring to dispose of -the pawn ticket of a crescent diamond brooch -of about the same value as the missing one. -Also, that in a general way, he bore a resemblance -to the published description. Still -more hopeful did this clue appear when, upon -raiding the lodgings in which this man and -his mistress lived, it was found that they had -left Glasgow that very night by the nine -o’clock train, with tickets (over this point -there was some clash of evidence) either for -Liverpool or London. Three days later, the -Glasgow police learned that the couple had -actually sailed upon December 26th upon the -Lusitania for New York under the name of -Mr. and Mrs. Otto Sando. It must be admitted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[20]</span> -that in all these proceedings the Glasgow -police showed considerable deliberation. -The original information had been given at -the Central Police Office shortly after six -o’clock, and a detective was actually making -enquiries at Slater’s flat at seven-thirty, yet -no watch was kept upon his movements, and -he was allowed to leave between eight and -nine, untraced and unquestioned. Even -stranger was the Liverpool departure. He -was known to have got away in the south-bound -train upon the Friday evening. A -great liner sails from Liverpool upon the Saturday. -One would have imagined that early -on the Saturday morning steps would have -been taken to block his method of escape. -However, as a fact, it was not done, and as -it proved it is as well for the cause of justice, -since it had the effect that two judicial processes -were needed, an American and a Scottish, -which enables an interesting comparison -to be made between the evidence of the principal -witnesses.</p> - -<p>Oscar Slater was at once arrested upon arriving -at New York, and his seven trunks of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[21]</span> -baggage were impounded and sealed. On the -face of it there was a good case against him, -for he had undoubtedly pawned a diamond -brooch, and he had subsequently fled under a -false name for America. The Glasgow police -had reason to think that they had got their -man. Two officers, accompanied by the witnesses -to identity—Adams, Lambie and Barrowman—set -off at once to carry through the -extradition proceedings and bring the suspect -back to be tried for his offence. In the New -York Court they first set eyes upon the prisoner, -and each of them, in terms which will -be afterwards described, expressed the opinion -that he was at any rate exceedingly like the -person they had seen in Glasgow. Their actual -identification of him was vitiated by the -fact that Adams and Barrowman had been -shown his photographs before attending the -Court, and also that he was led past them, an -obvious prisoner, whilst they were waiting in -the corridor. Still, however much one may -discount the actual identification, it cannot be -denied that each witness saw a close resemblance -between the man before them and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span> -man whom they had seen in Glasgow. So far -at every stage the case against the accused -was becoming more menacing. Any doubt as -to extradition was speedily set at rest by the -prisoner’s announcement that he was prepared, -without compulsion, to return to Scotland and -to stand his trial. One may well refuse to -give him any excessive credit for this surrender, -since he may have been persuaded that -things were going against him, but still the -fact remains (and it was never, so far as I can -trace, mentioned at his subsequent trial), that -he gave himself up of his own free will to -justice. On February 21st Oscar Slater was -back in Glasgow once more, and on May 3rd -his trial took place at the High Court in Edinburgh.</p> - -<p>But already the very bottom of the case -had dropped out. The starting link of what -had seemed an imposing chain, had suddenly -broken. It will be remembered that the original -suspicion of Slater was founded upon the -fact that he had pawned a crescent diamond -brooch. The ticket was found upon him, and -the brooch recovered. It was not the one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span> -which was missing from the room of the murdered -woman, and it had belonged for years -to Slater, who had repeatedly pawned it before. -This was shown beyond all cavil or dispute. -The case of the police might well seem -desperate after this, since if Slater were indeed -guilty, it would mean that by pure -chance they had pursued the right man. The -coincidence involved in such a supposition -would seem to pass the limits of all probability.</p> - -<p>Apart from this crushing fact, several of the -other points of the prosecution had already -shown themselves to be worthless. It had -seemed at first that Slater’s departure had been -sudden and unpremeditated—the flight of a -guilty man. It was quickly proved that this -was not so. In the Bohemian clubs which he -frequented—he was by profession a peddling -jeweller and a man of disreputable, though not -criminal habits—it had for weeks before the -date of the crime been known that he purported -to go to some business associates in -America. A correspondence, which was produced, -showed the arrangements which had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span> -been made, long before the crime, for his emigration, -though it should be added that the -actual determination of the date and taking of -the ticket were subsequent to the tragedy.</p> - -<p>This hurrying-up of the departure certainly -deserves close scrutiny. According to the evidence -of his mistress and of the servant, Slater -had received two letters upon the morning of -December 21st. Neither of these were produced -at the trial. One was said to be from -a Mr. Rogers, a friend of Slater’s in London, -telling him that Slater’s wife was bothering -him for money. The second was said to be -from one Devoto, a former partner of Slater’s -asking him to join him in San Francisco. -Even if the letters had been destroyed, one -would imagine that these statements as to the -letters could be disproved or corroborated by -either the Crown or the defence. They are of -considerable importance, as giving the alleged -reasons why Slater hurried up a departure -which had been previously announced as for -January. I cannot find, however, that in the -actual trial anything definite was ascertained -upon the matter.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span>Another point had already been scored -against the prosecution in that the seven -trunks which contained the whole effects of -the prisoner, yielded nothing of real importance. -There were a felt hat and two cloth -ones, but none which correspond with the -Donegal of the original description. A light-coloured -waterproof coat was among the outfit. -If the weapon with which the deed was -done was carried off in the pocket of the assassin’s -overcoat—and it is difficult to say -how else he could have carried it, then the -pocket must, one would suppose, be crusted -with blood, since the crime was a most sanguinary -one. No such marks were discovered, -nor were the police fortunate as to the weapon. -It is true that a hammer was found in the -trunk, but it was clearly shown to have been -purchased in one of those cheap half-crown -sets of tools which are tied upon a card, was -an extremely light and fragile instrument, and -utterly incapable in the eyes of commonsense -of inflicting those terrific injuries which had -shattered the old lady’s skull. It is said by -the prosecution to bear some marks of having<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[26]</span> -been scraped or cleaned, but this was vigorously -denied by the defence, and the police -do not appear to have pushed the matter to -the obvious test of removing the metal work, -when they must, had this been indeed the -weapon, have certainly found some soakage -of blood into the wood under the edges of -the iron cheeks or head. But a glance at a -facsimile of this puny weapon would convince -an impartial person that any task beyond fixing -a tin-tack, or cracking a small bit of coal, -would be above its strength. It may fairly -be said that before the trial had begun, the -three important points of the pawned jewel, -the supposed flight, and the evidence from -clothing and weapon, had each either broken -down completely, or become exceedingly attenuated.</p> - -<p>Let us see now what there was upon the -other side. The evidence for the prosecution -really resolved itself into two sets of witnesses -for identification. The first set were -those who had actually seen the murderer, and -included Adams, Helen Lambie, and the girl -Barrowman. The second set consisted of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[27]</span> -twelve people who had, at various dates, seen -a man frequenting the street in which Miss -Gilchrist lived, and loitering in a suspicious -manner before the house. All of these, some -with confidence, but most of them with reserve, -were prepared to identify the prisoner -with this unknown man. What the police -never could produce, however, was the essential -thing, and that was the least connecting -link between Slater and Miss Gilchrist, or -any explanation how a foreigner in Glasgow -could even know of the existence, to say nothing -of the wealth, of a retired old lady, who -had few acquaintances and seldom left her -guarded flat.</p> - -<p>It is notorious that nothing is more tricky -than evidence of identification. In the Beck -case there were, if I remember right, some -ten witnesses who had seen the real criminal -under normal circumstances, and yet they -were all prepared to swear to the wrong man. -In the case of Oscar Slater, the first three -witnesses saw their man under conditions of -excitement, while the second group saw the -loiterer in the street under various lights, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span> -in a fashion which was always more or less -casual. It is right, therefore, that in assigning -its due weight to this evidence, one should -examine it with some care. We shall first -take the three people who actually saw the -murderer.</p> - -<p>There seems to have been some discrepancy -between them from the first, since, as has already -been pointed out, the description published -from the data of Adams and Lambie, -was modified after Barrowman had given her -information. Adams and Lambie said:</p> - -<p>“A man between twenty-five and thirty -years of age, 5 feet 8 or 9 inches in height, -slim build, dark hair, clean-shaven, dressed in -light grey overcoat and dark cloth cap.”</p> - -<p>After collaboration with Barrowman the description -became:</p> - -<p>“Twenty-eight or thirty years of age, tall -and thin, clean-shaven, his nose slightly turned -to one side. Wore one of the popular round -tweed hats known as Donegal hats, and -a fawn-coloured overcoat which might have -been a waterproof, also dark trousers and -brown boots.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[29]</span>Apart from the additions in the second description -there are, it will be observed, two -actual discrepancies in the shape of the hat -and the colour of the coat.</p> - -<p>As to how far either of these descriptions -tallies with Slater, it may be stated here that -the accused was thirty-seven years of age, that -he was above the medium height, that his nose -was not twisted, but was depressed at the end, -as if it had at some time been broken, and -finally that eight witnesses were called upon -to prove that, on the date of the murder, -the accused wore a short but noticeable moustache.</p> - -<p>I have before me a verbatim stenographic -report of the proceedings in New York and -also in Edinburgh, furnished by the kindness -of Shaughnessy & Co., solicitors, of Glasgow, -who are still contending for the interests of -their unfortunate client. I will here compare -the terms of the identification in the two -Courts:</p> - -<p>Helen Lambie, New York, January 26th, 1909.</p> - -<p>Q. “Do you see the man here you saw -there?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span>A. “One is very suspicious, if anything.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Describe him.”</p> - -<p>A. “The clothes he had on that night he -hasn’t got on to-day—but his face I could -not tell. I never saw his face.”</p> - -<p>(Having described a peculiarity of walk, -she was asked):</p> - -<p>Q. “Is that man in the room?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes, he is, sir.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Point him out.”</p> - -<p>A. “I would not like to say——”</p> - -<p>(After some pressure and argument she -pointed to Slater, who had been led past her -in the corridor between two officers, when -both she and Barrowman had exclaimed: -“That is the man,” or “I could nearly swear -that is the man.”)</p> - -<p>Q. “Didn’t you say you did not see the -man’s face?”</p> - -<p>A. “Neither I did. I saw the walk.”</p> - -<p>The reader must bear in mind that Lambie’s -only chance of seeing the man’s walk was in -the four steps or so down the passage. It -was never at any time shown that there was -any marked peculiarity about Slater’s walk.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span>Now take Helen Lambie’s identification in -Edinburgh, May 9th, 1909.</p> - -<p>Q. “How did you identify him in America?”</p> - -<p>A. “By his walk and height, his dark hair -and the side of his face.”</p> - -<p>Q. “You were not quite sure of him at -first in America?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes, I was quite sure.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Why did you say you were only suspicious?”</p> - -<p>A. “It was a mistake.”</p> - -<p>Q. “What did you mean in America by -saying that you never saw his face if, in point -of fact, you did see it so as to help you to -recognise it? What did you mean?”</p> - -<p>A. “Nothing.”</p> - -<p>On further cross-examination she declared -that when she said that she had never seen -the man’s face she meant that she had never -seen the “broad of it” but had seen it sideways.</p> - -<p>Here it will be observed that Helen Lambie’s -evidence had greatly stiffened during the -three months between the New York and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[32]</span> -Edinburgh proceedings. In so aggressively -positive a frame of mind was she on the later -occasion, that, on being shown Slater’s overcoat -and asked if it resembled the murderer’s, -she answered twice over: “That is the coat,” -although it had not yet been unrolled, and -though it was not light grey, which was the -colour in her own original description. It -should not be forgotten in dealing with the -evidence of Lambie and Adams that they are -utterly disagreed as to so easily fixed a thing -as their own proceedings after the hall door -was opened, Adams swearing that Lambie -walked to nearly the end of the hall, and Lambie -that she remained upon the doormat. -Without deciding which was right, it is clear -that the incident must shake one’s confidence -in one or other of them as a witness.</p> - -<p>In the case of Adams the evidence was given -with moderation, and was substantially the -same in America and in Scotland.</p> - -<p>“I couldn’t say positively. This man (indicating -Slater) is not at all unlike him.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Did you notice a crooked nose?”</p> - -<p>A. “No.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[33]</span>Q. “Anything remarkable about his -walk?”</p> - -<p>A. “No.”</p> - -<p>Q. “You don’t swear this is the man you -saw?”</p> - -<p>A. “No, sir. He resembles the man, that -is all that I can say.”</p> - -<p>In reply to the same general questions in -Edinburgh, he said:</p> - -<p>“I would not like to swear he is the man. -I am a little near-sighted. He resembles the -man closely.”</p> - -<p>Barrowman, the girl of fifteen, had met the -man presumed to be the murderer in the street, -and taken one passing glance at him under -a gas lamp on a wet December’s night—difficult -circumstances for an identification. -She used these words in New York:</p> - -<p>“That man here is something like him,” -which she afterwards amended to “very like -him.” She admitted that a picture of the -man she was expected to identify had been -shown to her before she came into the Court. -Her one point by which she claimed to recognise -the man was the crooked nose. This<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span> -crooked nose was not much more apparent to -others than the peculiarity of walk which so -greatly impressed Helen Lambie that, after -seeing half a dozen steps of it, she could -identify it with confidence. In Edinburgh -Barrowman, like Lambie, was very much more -certain than in New York. The further they -got from the event, the easier apparently did -recognition become. “Yes, that is the man -who knocked against me that night,” she said. -It is remarkable that both these females, -Lambie and Barrowman, swore that though -they were thrown together in this journey out -to New York, and actually shared the same -cabin, they never once talked of the object of -their mission or compared notes as to the man -they were about to identify. For girls of the -respective ages of fifteen and twenty-one this -certainly furnishes a unique example of self-restraint.</p> - -<p>These, then, are the three identifications by -the only people who saw the murderer. Had -the diamond brooch clue been authentic, and -these identifications come upon the top of it, -they would undoubtedly have been strongly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[35]</span> -corroborative. But when the brooch has been -shown to be a complete mistake, I really do -not understand how anyone could accept such -half-hearted recognitions as being enough -to establish the identity and guilt of the prisoner.</p> - -<p>There remains the so-called identification by -twelve witnesses who had seen a man loitering -in the street during the weeks before the -crime had been committed. I have said a -“so-called” identification, for the proceedings -were farcical as a real test of recognition. -The witnesses had seen portraits of the accused. -They were well aware that he was a -foreigner, and then they were asked to pick -out his swarthy Jewish physiognomy from -among nine Glasgow policemen to two railway -officials. Naturally they did it without -hesitation, since this man was more like the -dark individual whom they had seen and described -than the others could be.</p> - -<p>Read their own descriptions, however, of -the man they had seen, with the details of his -clothing, and they will be found in many respects -to differ from each other on one hand,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span> -and in many from Slater on the other. Here -is a synopsis of their impressions:</p> - -<p>Mrs. M’Haffie.—“Dark. Moustached, light -overcoat, not waterproof, check trousers, -spats. Black bowler hat. Nose normal.”</p> - -<p>Miss M. M’Haffie.—“Seen at same time -and same description. Was only prepared at -first to say there was some resemblance, but -‘had been thinking it over, and concluded that -he was the man.’”</p> - -<p>Miss A. M. M’Haffie.—“Same as before. -Had heard the man speak and noticed nothing -in his accent. (Prisoner has a strong German -accent.)”</p> - -<p>Madge M’Haffie (belongs to the same -family).—“Dark, moustached, nose normal. -Check trousers, fawn overcoat and spats. -Black bowler hat. ‘The prisoner was fairly -like the man.’”</p> - -<p>In connection with the identification of these -four witnesses it is to be observed that neither -check trousers, nor spats were found in the -prisoner’s luggage. As the murderer was described -as being dressed in dark trousers, there -was no possible reason why these clothes, if<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span> -Slater owned them, should have been destroyed.</p> - -<p>Constable Brien.—“Claimed to know the -prisoner by sight. Says he was the man he -saw loitering. Light coat and a hat. It was -a week before the crime, and he was loitering -eighty yards from the scene of it. He picked -him out among five constables as the man he -had seen.”</p> - -<p>Constable Walker.—“Had seen the loiterer -across the street, never nearer, and after dark -in December. Thought at first he was someone -else whom he knew. Had heard that the -man he had to identify was of foreign appearance. -Picked him out from a number of detectives. -The man seen had a moustache.”</p> - -<p>Euphemia Cunningham.—“Very dark, sallow, -heavy featured. Clean-shaven. Nose -normal. Dark tweed coat. Green cap with -peak.”</p> - -<p>W. Campbell.—“Had been with the previous -witness. Corroborated. ‘There was a -general resemblance between the prisoner and -the man, but he could not positively identify -him.’”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span>Alex Gillies.—“Sallow, dark haired and -clean-shaven. Fawn coat. Cap. ‘The prisoner -resembled him, but witness could not say -he was the same man.’”</p> - -<p>R. B. Bryson.—“Black coat and vest. -Black bowler hat. No overcoat. Black -moustache with droop. Sallow, foreign. -(This witness had seen the man the night -before the murder. He appeared to be looking -up at Miss Gilchrist’s windows.)”</p> - -<p>A. Nairn.—“Broad shoulders, long neck. -Dark hair. Motor cap. Light overcoat to -knees. Never saw the man’s face. ‘Oh! I -will not swear in fact, but I am certain he is -the man I saw—but I will not swear.’”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Liddell.—“Peculiar nose. Clear complexion, -not sallow. Dark, clean-shaven, -brown tweed cap. Brown tweed coat with -hemmed edge. Delicate man ‘rather drawn -together.’ She believed that prisoner was the -man. Saw him in the street immediately before -the murder.”</p> - -<p>These are the twelve witnesses as to the -identity of the mysterious stranger. In the -first place there is no evidence whatever that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[39]</span> -this lounger in the street had really anything -to do with the murder. It is just as probable -that he had some vulgar amour, and was waiting -for his girl to run out to him. What -could a man who was planning murder hope -to gain by standing nights beforehand eighty -and a hundred yards away from the place in -the darkness? But supposing that we waive -this point and examine the plain question as -to whether Slater was the same man as the -loiterer, we find ourselves faced by a mass of -difficulties and contradictions. Two of the -most precise witnesses were Nairn and Bryson -who saw the stranger upon the Sunday night -preceding the murder. Upon that night -Slater had an unshaken alibi, vouched for not -only by the girl, Antoine, with whom he lived, -and their servant, Schmalz, but by an acquaintance, -Samuel Reid, who had been with -him from six to ten-thirty. This positive evidence, -which was quite unshaken in cross-examination, -must completely destroy the surmises -of the stranger and Slater. Then come -the four witnesses of the M’Haffie family who -are all strong upon check trousers and spats,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span> -articles of dress which were never traced to -the prisoner. Finally, apart from the discrepancies -about the moustache, there is a mixture -of bowler hats, green caps, brown caps, and -motor caps which leave a most confused and -indefinite impression in the mind. Evidence -of this kind might be of some value if supplementary -to some strong ascertained fact, but -to attempt to build upon such an identification -alone is to construct the whole case upon -shifting sand.</p> - -<p>The reader has already a grasp of the facts, -but some fresh details came out at the trial -which may be enumerated here. They have to -be lightly touched upon within the limits of -such an argument as this, but those who desire -a fuller summary will find it in an account of -the trial published by Hodge of Edinburgh, -and ably edited by William Roughead, W.S. -On this book and on the verbatim precognitions -and shorthand account of the American -proceedings, I base my own examination of -case. First, as to Slater’s movements upon -the day of the crime. He began the day, according -to the account of himself and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span> -women, by the receipt of the two letters already -referred to, which caused him to hasten -his journey to America. The whole day -seems to have been occupied by preparations -for his impending departure. He gave his -servant Schmalz notice as from next Saturday. -Before five (as was shown by the postmark -upon the envelope), he wrote to a post office -in London, where he had some money on deposit. -At 6.12 a telegram was sent in his -name and presumably by him from the Central -Station to Dent, London, for his watch, which -was being repaired. According to the evidence -of two witnesses he was seen in a billiard -room at 6.20. The murder, it will be -remembered, was done at seven. He remained -about ten minutes in the billiard room, -and left some time between 6.30 and 6.40. -Rathman, one of these witnesses, deposed that -he had at the time a moustache about a quarter -of an inch long, which was so noticeable -that no one could take him for a clean-shaven -man. Antoine, his mistress, and Schmalz, the -servant, both deposed that Slater dined at -home at 7 o’clock. The evidence of the girl<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span> -is no doubt suspect, but there was no possible -reason why the dismissed servant Schmalz -should perjure herself for the sake of her ex-employer. -The distance between Slater’s flat -and that of Miss Gilchrist is about a quarter -of a mile. From the billiard room to Slater’s -flat is about a mile. He had to go for the -hammer and bring it back, unless he had it -jutting out of his pocket all day. But unless -the evidence of the two women is entirely set -aside, enough has been said to show that there -was no time for the commission by him of -such a crime and the hiding of the traces which -it would leave behind it. At 9.45 that night, -Slater was engaged in his usual occupation of -trying to raise the wind at some small gambling -club. The club-master saw no discomposure -about his dress (which was the same -as, according to the Crown, he had done this -bloody crime in), and swore that he was then -wearing a short moustache “like stubble,” -thus corroborating Rathman. It will be remembered -that Lambie and Barrowman both -swore that the murderer was clean-shaven.</p> - -<p>On December 24th, three days after the murder,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[43]</span> -Slater was shown at Cook’s Office, bargaining -for a berth in the “Lusitania” for his -so-called wife and himself. He made no secret -that he was going by that ship, but gave his -real name and address and declared finally -that he would take his berth in Liverpool, -which he did. Among other confidants as to -the ship was a barber, the last person one -would think to whom secrets would be confided. -Certainly, if this were a flight, it is -hard to say what an open departure would be. -In Liverpool he took his passage under the assumed -name of Otto Sando. This he did, according -to his own account, because he had -reason to fear pursuit from his real wife, and -wished to cover his traces. This may or may -not be the truth, but it is undoubtedly the fact -that Slater, who was a disreputable, rolling-stone -of a man, had already assumed several -aliases in the course of his career. It is to be -noted that there was nothing at all secret -about his departure from Glasgow, and that -he carried off all his luggage with him in a -perfectly open manner.</p> - -<p>The reader is now in possession of the main<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span> -facts, save those which are either unessential, -or redundant. It will be observed that save -for the identifications, the value of which can -be estimated, there is really no single point of -connection between the crime and the alleged -criminal. It may be argued that the existence -of the hammer is such a point; but what -household in the land is devoid of a hammer? -It is to be remembered that if Slater committed -the murder with this hammer, he must -have taken it with him in order to commit -the crime, since it could be no use to him in -forcing an entrance. But what man in his -senses, planning a deliberate murder, would -take with him a weapon which was light, frail, -and so long that it must project from any -pocket? The nearest lump of stone upon the -road would serve his purpose better than that. -Again, it must in its blood-soaked condition -have been in his pocket when he came away -from the crime. The Crown never attempted -to prove either blood-stains in a pocket, or -the fact that any clothes had been burned. -If Slater destroyed clothes, he would naturally -have destroyed the hammer, too. Even one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[45]</span> -of the two medical witnesses of the prosecution -was driven to say that he should not have -expected such a weapon to cause such wounds.</p> - -<p>It may well be that in this summary of the -evidence, I may seem to have stated the case -entirely from the point of view of the defence. -In reply, I would only ask the reader to take -the trouble to read the extended evidence. -(“Trial of Oscar Slater” Hodge & Co., Edinburgh.) -If he will do so, he will realise that -without a conscious mental effort towards -special pleading, there is no other way in -which the story can be told. The facts are on -one side. The conjectures, the unsatisfactory -identifications, the damaging flaws, and the -very strong prejudices upon the other.</p> - -<p>Now for the trial itself. The case was -opened for the Crown by the Lord-Advocate, -in a speech which faithfully represented the -excited feeling of the time. It was vigorous -to the point of being passionate, and its effect -upon the jury was reflected in their ultimate -verdict. The Lord-Advocate spoke, as I understand, -without notes, a procedure which -may well add to eloquence while subtracting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span> -from accuracy. It is to this fact that one -must attribute a most fatal mis-statement -which could not fail, coming under such circumstances -from so high an authority, to make -a deep impression upon his hearers. For -some reason, this mis-statement does not appear -to have been corrected at the moment -by either the Judge or the defending counsel. -It was the one really damaging allegation—so -damaging that had I myself been upon -the jury and believed it to be true, I should -have recorded my verdict against the prisoner, -and yet this one fatal point had no substance -at all in fact. In this incident alone, there -seems to me to lie good ground for a revision -of the sentence, or a reference of the facts -to some Court or Committee of Appeal. -Here is the extract from the Lord-Advocate’s -speech to which I allude:</p> - -<p>“At this time he had given his name to -Cook’s people in Glasgow as Oscar Slater. -On December 25th, the day he was to go back -to Cook’s Office—his name and his description -and all the rest of it appear in the Glasgow -papers, and he sees that the last thing in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span> -the world that he ought to do, if he studies -his own safety, is to go back to Cook’s Office -as Oscar Slater. He accordingly proceeds to -pack up all his goods and effects upon the -25th. So far as we know, he never leaves the -house from the time he sees the paper, until -a little after six o’clock, when he goes down -to the Central Station.”</p> - -<p>Here the allegation is clearly made and it is -repeated later that Oscar Slater’s name was -in the paper, and that, subsequently to that, -he fled. Such a flight would clearly be an -admission of guilt. The point is of enormous -even vital importance. And yet on examination -of the dates, it will be found that there is -absolutely no foundation for it. It was not until -the evening of the 25th that even the police -heard of the existence of Slater, and it was -nearly a week later that his name appeared -in the papers, he being already far out upon -the Atlantic. What did appear upon the 25th -was the description of the murderer, already -quoted: “with his face shaved clean of all -hair,” &c., Slater at that time having a -marked moustache. Why should he take such<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span> -a description to himself, or why should he forbear -to carry out a journey which he had already -prepared for? The point goes for absolutely -nothing when examined, and yet if -the minds of the jury were at all befogged as -to the dates, the definite assertion of the Lord-Advocate, -twice repeated, that Slater’s name -had been published before his flight, was -bound to have a most grave and prejudiced -effect.</p> - -<p>Some of the Lord-Advocate’s other statements -are certainly surprising. Thus he says: -“The prisoner is hopelessly unable to produce -a single witness who says that he was -anywhere else than at the scene of the murder -that night.” Let us test this assertion. Here -is the evidence of Schmalz, the servant, verbatim. -I may repeat that this woman was -under no known obligations to Slater and had -just received notice from him. The evidence -of the mistress that Slater dined in the flat -at seven on the night of the murder I pass, -but I do not understand why Schmalz’s positive -corroboration should be treated by the -Lord-Advocate as non-existent. The prisoner<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[49]</span> -might well be “hopeless” if his witnesses -were to be treated so. Could anything be -more positive than this?</p> - -<p>Q. “Did he usually come home to dinner?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes, always. Seven o’clock was the -usual hour.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Was it sometimes nearly eight?”</p> - -<p>A. “It was my fault. Mr. Slater was in.”</p> - -<p>Q. “But owing to your fault was it about -eight before it was served?”</p> - -<p>A. “No. Mr. Slater was in after seven, and -was waiting for dinner.”</p> - -<p>This seems very definite. The murder was -committed about seven. The murderer may -have regained the street about ten minutes or -quarter past seven. It was some distance to -Slater’s flat. If he had done the murder he -could hardly have reached it before half-past -seven at the earliest. Yet Schmalz says he -was in at seven, and so does Antoine. The -evidence of the woman may be good or bad, -but it is difficult to understand how anyone -could state that the prisoner was “hopelessly -unable to produce, etc.” What evidence could<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[50]</span> -he give, save that of everyone who lived with -him?</p> - -<p>For the rest, the Lord-Advocate had an easy -task in showing that Slater was a worthless -fellow, that he lived with and possibly on a -woman of easy virtue, that he had several -times changed his name, and that generally he -was an unsatisfactory Bohemian. No actual -criminal record was shown against him. -Early in his speech, the Lord-Advocate remarked -that he would show later how Slater -may have come to know that Miss Gilchrist -owned the jewels. No further reference appears -to have been made to the matter, and -his promise was therefore never fulfilled, -though it is clearly of the utmost importance. -Later, he stated that from the appearance of -the wounds, they Must have been done by a -small hammer. There is no “must” in the -matter, for it is clear that many other weapons, -a burglar’s jemmy, for example, would -have produced the same effect. He then -makes the good point that the prisoner dealt -in precious stones, and could therefore dispose -of the proceeds of such a robbery. The criminal,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[51]</span> -he added, was clearly someone who had -no acquaintance with the inside of the house, -and did not know where the jewels were kept. -“That answers to the prisoner.” It also, of -course, answers to practically every man in -Scotland. The Lord-Advocate then gave a -summary of the evidence as to the man seen -by various witnesses in the street. “Gentlemen, -if that was the prisoner, how do you -account for his presence there?” Of course, -the whole point lies in the italicised phrase. -There was, it must be admitted, a consensus -of opinion among the witnesses that the prisoner -was the man. But what was it compared -to the consensus of opinion which -wrongfully condemned Beck to penal servitude? -The counsel laid considerable stress -upon the fact that Mrs. Liddell (one of the -Adams family) had seen a man only a few -minutes before the murder, loitering in the -street, and identified him as Slater. The dress -of the man seen in the street was very different -from that given as the murderer’s. He -had a heavy tweed mixture coat of a brownish -hue, and a brown peaked cap. The original<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span> -identification by Mrs. Liddell was conveyed -in the words: “One, slightly,” when she -was asked if any of a group at the police station -resembled the man she had seen. Afterwards, -like every other female witness, she -became more positive. She declared that she -had the clearest recollection of the man’s face, -and yet refused to commit herself as to -whether he was shaven or moustached.</p> - -<p>We have then the recognitions of Lambie, -Adams and Barrowman, with their limitations -and developments, which have been already -discussed. Then comes the question of the -so-called “flight” and the change of name -upon the steamer. Had the prisoner been a -man who had never before changed his name, -this incident would be more striking. But -the short glimpse we obtain of his previous -life show several changes of name, and it has -not been suggested that each of them was the -consequence of a crime. He seems to have -been in debt in Glasgow and he also appears -to have had reasons for getting away from the -pursuit of an ill-used wife. The Lord-Advocate -said that the change of name “could not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span> -be explained consistently with innocence.” -That may be true enough, but the change can -surely be explained on some cause less grave -than murder. Finally, after showing very -truly that Slater was a great liar and that not -a word he said need be believed unless there -were corroboration, the Lord-Advocate wound -up with the words: “My submission to you is -that this guilt has been brought fairly home -to him, that no shadow of doubt exists, that -there is no reasonable doubt that he was the -perpetrator of this foul murder.” The verdict -showed that the jury, under the spell of -the Lord-Advocate’s eloquence, shared this -view, but, viewing it in colder blood, it is difficult -to see upon what grounds he made so -confident an assertion.</p> - -<p>Mr. M’Clure, who conducted the defence, -spoke truly when, in opening his speech, he -declared that “he had to fight a most unfair -fight against public prejudice, roused with a -fury I do not remember to have seen in any -other case.” Still he fought this fight bravely -and with scrupulous moderation. His appeals -were all to reason and never to emotion. He<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span> -showed how clearly the prisoner had expressed -his intention of going to America, weeks before -the murder, and how every preparation -had been made. On the day after the murder -he had told witnesses that he was going to -America and had discussed the advantages of -various lines, finally telling one of them the -particular boat in which he did eventually -travel, curious proceedings for a fugitive from -justice. Mr. M’Clure described the movements -of the prisoner on the night of the murder, -after the crime had been committed, -showing that he was wearing the very clothes -in which the theory of the prosecution made -him do the deed, as if such a deed could be -done without leaving its traces. He showed -incidentally (it is a small point, but a human -one) that one of the last actions of Slater in -Glasgow was to take great trouble to get an -English five-pound note in order to send it as -a Christmas present to his parents in Germany. -A man who could do this was not all -bad. Finally, Mr. M’Clure exposed very -clearly the many discrepancies as to identification -and warned the jury solemnly as to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span> -dangers which have been so often proved to -lurk in this class of evidence. Altogether, it -was a broad, comprehensive reply, though -where so many points were involved, it is -natural that some few may have been overlooked. -One does not, for example, find the -counsel as insistent as one might expect upon -such points as, the failure of the Crown to -show how Slater could have known anything -at all about the existence of Miss Gilchrist and -her jewels, how he got into the flat, and what -became of the brooch which, according to their -theory, he had carried off. It is ungracious -to suggest any additions to so earnest a defence, -and no doubt one who is dependent -upon printed accounts of the matter may miss -points which were actually made, but not -placed upon record.</p> - -<p>Only on one point must Mr. M’Clure’s judgment -be questioned, and that is on the most -difficult one, which a criminal counsel has ever -to decide. He did not place his man in the -box. This should very properly be taken as -a sign of weakness. I have no means of saying -what considerations led Mr. M’Clure to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[56]</span> -this determination. It certainly told against -his client. In the masterly memorial for reprieve -drawn up by Slater’s solicitor, the late -Mr. Spiers, it is stated with the full inner -knowledge which that solicitor had, that Slater -was all along anxious to give evidence on his -own behalf. “He was advised by his counsel -not to do so, but not from any knowledge of -guilt. He had undergone the strain of a four -days’ trial. He speaks rather broken English, -although quite intelligible—with a foreign -accent, and he had been in custody since -January.” It must be admitted that these -reasons are very unconvincing. It is much -more probable that the counsel decided that -the purely negative evidence which his client -could give upon the crime would be dearly -paid for by the long recital of sordid amours -and blackguard experiences which would be -drawn from him on cross-examination and -have the most damning effect upon the minds -of a respectable Edinburgh jury. And yet, -perhaps, counsel did not sufficiently consider -the prejudice which is excited—and rightly -excited—against the prisoner who shuns the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[57]</span> -box. Some of this prejudice might have been -removed if it had been made more clear that -Slater had volunteered to come over and stand -his trial of his own free will, without waiting -for the verdict of the extradition proceedings.</p> - -<p>There remains the summing-up of Lord -Guthrie. His Lordship threw out the surmise -that the assassin may well have gone to the -flat without any intention of murder. This -is certainly possible, but in the highest degree -improbable. He commented with great -severity upon Slater’s general character. In -his summing-up of the case, he recapitulated -the familiar facts in an impartial fashion, concluding -with the words, “I suppose that you -all think that the prisoner possibly is the murderer. -You may very likely all think that he -probably is the murderer. That, however, -will not entitle you to convict him. The -Crown have undertaken to prove that he is -the murderer. That is the question you have -to consider. If you think there is no reasonable -doubt about it, you will convict him; if -you think there is, you will acquit him.”</p> - -<p>In an hour and ten minutes the jury had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span> -made up their mind. By a majority they -found the prisoner guilty. Out of fifteen, -nine, as was afterwards shown, were for guilty, -five for non-proven, and one for not guilty. -By English law, a new trial would have been -needed, ending, possibly, as in the Gardiner -case, in the complete acquittal of the prisoner. -By Scotch law the majority verdict held -good.</p> - -<p>“I know nothing about the affair, absolutely -nothing,” cried the prisoner in a frenzy -of despair. “I never heard the name. I -know nothing about the affair. I do not know -how I could be connected with the affair. I -know nothing about it. I came from America -on my own account. I can say no more.”</p> - -<p>Sentence of death was then passed.</p> - -<p>The verdict was, it is said, a complete surprise -to most of those in the Court, and certainly -is surprising when examined after the -event. I do not see how any reasonable man -can carefully weigh the evidence and not admit -that when the unfortunate prisoner cried, -“I know nothing about it,” he was possibly, -and even probably, speaking the literal truth.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span> -Consider the monstrous coincidence which is -involved in his guilt, the coincidence that the -police owing to their mistake over the brooch, -by pure chance started out in pursuit of the -right man. Which is A Priori the more probable: -That such an unheard-of million-to-one -coincidence should have occurred, Or, that the -police, having committed themselves to the -theory that he was the murderer, refused to -admit that they were wrong when the bottom -fell out of the original case, and persevered in -the hope that vague identifications of a queer-looking -foreigner would justify their original -action? Outside these identifications, I must -repeat once again there is nothing to couple -Slater with the murder, or to show that he -ever knew, or could have known that such a -person as Miss Gilchrist existed.</p> - -<p>The admirable memorial for a reprieve -drawn up by the solicitors for the defence, and -reproduced at the end of this pamphlet, was -signed by 20,000 members of the public, and -had the effect of changing the death sentence -to one of penal servitude for life. The sentence -was passed on May 6th. For twenty<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span> -days the man was left in doubt, and the written -reprieve only arrived on May 26th within -twenty-four hours of the time for the execution. -On July 8th Slater was conveyed to the -Peterhead Convict prison. There he has now -been for three years, and there he still remains.</p> - -<p>I cannot help in my own mind comparing -the case of Oscar Slater with another, which -I had occasion to examine—that of George -Edalji. I must admit that they are not of the -same class. George Edalji was a youth of -exemplary character. Oscar Slater was a -blackguard. George Edalji was physically incapable -of the crime for which he suffered -three years’ imprisonment (years for which -he has not received, after his innocence was -established, one shilling of compensation from -the nation). Oscar Slater might conceivably -have committed the murder, but the balance of -proof and probability seems entirely against -it. Thus, one cannot feel the same burning -sense of injustice over the matter. And yet -I trust for the sake of our character not only -for justice, but for intelligence, that the judgment<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span> -may in some way be reconsidered and -the man’s present punishment allowed to -atone for those irregularities of life which -helped to make his conviction possible.</p> - -<p>Before leaving the case it is interesting to -see how far this curious crime may be reconstructed -and whether any possible light -can be thrown upon it. Using second-hand -material one cannot hope to do more than indicate -certain possibilities which may already -have been considered and tested by the police. -The trouble, however, with all police prosecutions -is that, having once got what they imagine -to be their man, they are not very open -to any line of investigation which might lead -to other conclusions. Everything which will -not fit into the official theory is liable to be -excluded. One might make a few isolated -comments on the case which may at least give -rise to some interesting trains of thought.</p> - -<p>One question which has to be asked was -whether the assassin was after the jewels at -all. It might be urged that the type of man -described by the spectators was by no means -that of the ordinary thief. When he reached<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span> -the bedroom and lit the gas, he did not at -once seize the watch and rings which were -lying openly exposed upon the dressing-table. -He did not pick up a half-sovereign which was -lying on the dining-room table. His attention -was given to a wooden box, the lid of which -he wrenched open. (This, I think, was “the -breaking of sticks” heard by Adams.) The -papers in it were strewed on the ground. -Were the papers his object, and the final abstraction -of one diamond brooch a mere blind? -Personally, I can only point out the possibility -of such a solution. On the other hand, it -might be urged, if the thief’s action seems inconsequential, -that Adams had rung and that -he already found himself in a desperate situation. -It might be said also that save a will it -would be difficult to imagine any paper which -would account for such an enterprise, while the -jewels, on the other hand, were an obvious -mark for whoever knew of their existence.</p> - -<p>Presuming that the assassin was indeed after -the jewels, it is very instructive to note his -knowledge of their location, and also its limitations. -Why did he go straight into the spare<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[63]</span> -bedroom where the jewels were actually -kept? The same question may be asked with -equal force if we consider that he was after -the papers. Why the spare bedroom? Any -knowledge gathered from outside (by a -watcher in the back-yard for example) would -go to the length of ascertaining which was the -old lady’s room. One would expect a robber -who had gained his information thus, to go -straight to that chamber. But this man did -not do so. He went straight to the unlikely -room in which both jewels and papers actually -were. Is not this remarkably suggestive? -Does it not pre-suppose a previous acquaintance -with the inside of the flat and the ways of -its owner?</p> - -<p>But now note the limitations of the knowledge. -If it were the jewels he was after, he -knew what room they were in, but not in -what part of the room. A fuller knowledge -would have told him they were kept in the -wardrobe. And yet he searched a box. If -he was after papers, his information was complete; -but if he was indeed after the jewels, -then we can say that he had the knowledge<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span> -of one who is conversant, but not intimately -conversant, with the household arrangements. -To this we may add that he would seem to -have shown ignorance of the habits of the inmates, -or he would surely have chosen Lambie’s -afternoon or evening out for his attempt, -and not have done it at a time when the girl -was bound to be back within a very few minutes. -What men had ever visited the house? -The number must have been very limited. -What friends? what tradesmen? what plumbers? -Who brought back the jewels after they -had been stored with the jewellers when the -old lady went every year to the country? One -is averse to throw out vague suspicions which -may give pain to innocent people, and yet it -is clear that there are lines of inquiry here -which should be followed up, however negative -the results.</p> - -<p>How did the murderer get in if Lambie is -correct in thinking that she shut the doors? -I cannot get away from the conclusion that -he had duplicate keys. In that case all becomes -comprehensible, for the old lady—whose -faculties were quite normal—would<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[65]</span> -hear the lock go and would not be alarmed, -thinking that Lambie had returned before her -time. Thus, she would only know her danger -when the murderer rushed into the room, and -would hardly have time to rise, receive the -first blow, and fall, as she was found, beside -the chair, upon which she had been sitting. -That is intelligible. But if he had not the -keys, consider the difficulties. If the old lady -had opened the flat door her body would have -been found in the passage. Therefore, the -police were driven to the hypothesis that the -old lady heard the ring, opened the lower stair -door from above (as can be done in all Scotch -flats), opened the flat door, never looked over -the lighted stair to see who was coming up, -but returned to her chair and her magazine, -leaving the door open, and a free entrance to -the murderer. This is possible, but is it not -in the highest degree improbable? Miss Gilchrist -was nervous of robbery and would not -neglect obvious precautions. The ring came -immediately after the maid’s departure. She -could hardly have thought that it was her -returning, the less so as the girl had the keys<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span> -and would not need to ring. If she went as -far as the hall door to open it, she only had -to take another step to see who was ascending -the stair. Would she not have taken it if it -were only to say: “What, have you forgotten -your keys?” That a nervous old lady should -throw open both doors, never look to see who -her visitor was, and return to her dining-room -is very hard to believe.</p> - -<p>And look at it from the murderer’s point of -view. He had planned out his proceedings. It -is notorious that it is the easiest thing in the -world to open the lower door of a Scotch flat. -The blade of any penknife will do that. If he -was to depend upon ringing to get at his victim, -it was evidently better for him to ring at -the upper door, as otherwise the chance would -seem very great that she would look down, see -him coming up the stair, and shut herself in. -On the other hand, if he were at the upper -door and she answered it, he had only to push -his way in. Therefore, the latter would be -his course if he rang at all. And yet the police -theory is that though he rang, he rang -from below. It is not what he would do, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span> -if he did do it, it would be most unlikely that -he would get in. How could he suppose that -the old lady would do so incredible a thing as -leave her door open and return to her reading? -If she waited, she might even up to the last -instant have shut the door in his face. If one -weighs all these reasons, one can hardly fail, -I think, to come to the conclusion that the -murderer had keys, and that the old lady never -rose from her chair until the last instant, because, -hearing the keys in the door, she took -it for granted that the maid had come back. -But if he had keys, how did he get the mould, -and how did he get them made? There is a -line of inquiry there. The only conceivable -alternatives are, that the murderer was actually -concealed in the flat when Lambie came -out, and of that there is no evidence whatever, -or that the visitor was someone whom the -old lady knew, in which case he would naturally -have been admitted.</p> - -<p>There are still one or two singular points -which invite comment. One of these, which I -have incidentally mentioned, is that neither -the match, the match-box, nor the box opened -in the bedroom showed any marks of blood.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[68]</span> -Yet the crime had been an extraordinarily -bloody one. This is certainly very singular. -An explanation given by Dr. Adams who was -the first medical man to view the body is -worthy of attention. He considered that the -wounds might have been inflicted by prods -downwards from the leg of a chair, in which -case the seat of the chair would preserve the -clothes and to some extent the hands of the -murderer from blood-stains. The condition of -one of the chairs seemed to him to favour this -supposition. The explanation is ingenious, -but I must confess that I cannot understand -how such wounds could be inflicted by such -an instrument. There were in particular a -number of spindle-shaped cuts with a bridge -of skin between them which are very suggestive. -My first choice as to the weapon which -inflicted these would be a burglar’s jemmy, -which is bifurcated at one end, while the blow -which pushed the poor woman’s eye into her -brain would represent a thrust from the other -end. Failing a jemmy, I should choose a -hammer, but a very different one from the -toy thing from a half-crown card of tools<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span> -which was exhibited in Court. Surely commonsense -would say that such an instrument -could burst an eye-ball, but could not possibly -drive it deep into the brain, since the short -head could not penetrate nearly so far. The -hammer, which I would reconstruct from the -injuries would be what they call, I believe, a -plasterer’s hammer, short in the handle, long -and strong in the head, with a broad fork behind. -But how such a weapon could be used -without the user bearing marks of it, is more -than I can say. It has never been explained -why a rug was laid over the murdered woman. -The murderer, as his conduct before Lambie -and Adams showed, was a perfectly cool person. -It is at least possible that he used the -rug as a shield between him and his victim -while he battered her with his weapon. His -clothes, if not his hands, would in this way -be preserved.</p> - -<p>I have said that it is of the first importance -to trace who knew of the existence of the -jewels, since this might greatly help the solution -of the problem. In connection with this -there is a passage in Lambie’s evidence in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span> -New York which is of some importance. I -give it from the stenographer’s report, condensing -in places:</p> - -<p>Q. “Do you know in Glasgow a man -named —— ——?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>Q. “What is his business?”</p> - -<p>A. “A book-maker.”</p> - -<p>Q. “When did you first meet him?”</p> - -<p>A. “At a dance.”</p> - -<p>Q. “What sort of dance?”</p> - -<p>A. “A New Year’s dance.” (That would -be New Year of 1908.)</p> - -<p>Q. “When did you meet him after that?”</p> - -<p>A. “In the beginning of June.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Where?”</p> - -<p>A. “In Glasgow.”</p> - -<p>Q. “At a street corner?”</p> - -<p>A. “No, he came up to the house at -Prince’s Street.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Miss Gilchrist’s house?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>Q. “That was the first time since the -dance?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[71]</span>Q. “Do you deny that you had a meeting -with him by a letter received from him at a -corner of a street in Glasgow?”</p> - -<p>A. “I got a letter.”</p> - -<p>Q. “To meet him at a street corner?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes.”</p> - -<p>Q. “The first meeting after the dance?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes.”</p> - -<p>Q. “And you met him there?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes.”</p> - -<p>Q. “And you went out with him?”</p> - -<p>A. “No, I did not go out with him.”</p> - -<p>Q. “You went somewhere with him, -didn’t you?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes, I made an appointment for Sunday.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Did you know anything about the -man?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes, I did, sir.”</p> - -<p>Q. “What did you know about him?”</p> - -<p>A. “I didn’t know much.”</p> - -<p>Q. “How many times did he visit you at -Miss Gilchrist’s house?”</p> - -<p>A. “Once.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Quite sure of that?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[72]</span>A. “Quite sure.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Didn’t he come and take tea with you -there in her apartment?”</p> - -<p>A. “That was at the Coast.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Then he came to see you at Miss Gilchrist’s -summer place?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes.”</p> - -<p>Q. “How many times?”</p> - -<p>A. “Once.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Did he meet Miss Gilchrist then?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>Q. “You introduced him?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Did she wear this diamond brooch?”</p> - -<p>A. “I don’t remember.”</p> - -<p>Q. “When did you next see him?”</p> - -<p>A. “The first week in September.”</p> - -<p>Q. “In Glasgow?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>Q. “By appointment?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes.”</p> - -<p>Q. “When next?”</p> - -<p>A. “I have not met him since.”</p> - -<p>Q. “And you say he only called once at -the country place?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span>A. “Once, sir.”</p> - -<p>Q. “In your Glasgow deposition you say: -‘He visited me at Girvan and was entertained -at tea with me on Saturday night, and at dinner -on Sunday with Miss Gilchrist and me.’”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Then you did see him more than once -in the country.”</p> - -<p>A. “Once.”</p> - -<p>He read the extract again as above.</p> - -<p>Q. “Was that true?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Then you invited this man to tea at -Miss Gilchrist’s summer house?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes.”</p> - -<p>Q. “On Saturday night?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes.”</p> - -<p>Q. “And on Sunday night?”</p> - -<p>A. “He wasn’t there.”</p> - -<p>Q. “On Sunday you invited him there to -dinner with Miss Gilchrist and yourself, -didn’t you?”</p> - -<p>A. “No, sir. I didn’t invite him.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Who invited him?”</p> - -<p>A. “Miss Gilchrist.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span>Q. “Had you introduced him?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>Q. “He was your friend, wasn’t he?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>Q. “She knew nothing about him?”</p> - -<p>A. “No.”</p> - -<p>Q. “She took him to the house on your -recommendation?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Did she wear her diamonds at this -dinner party?”</p> - -<p>A. “I don’t remember.”</p> - -<p>Q. “You told him that she was a rich -woman?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Did you tell him that she had a great -many jewels?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Have your suspicions ever turned -towards this man?”</p> - -<p>A. “Never.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Do you know of any other man who -would be as familiar with those premises, the -wealth of the old lady, her jewelry, and the -way to get into the premises as that man?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[75]</span>A. “No, sir.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Was the man you met in the hallway -this man?”</p> - -<p>A. “No, sir.”</p> - -<p>This is a condensation of a very interesting -and searching piece of the cross-examination -which reveals several things. One is Lambie’s -qualities as a witness. Another is the -very curious picture of the old lady, the book-maker -and the servant-maid all sitting at dinner -together. The last and most important -is the fact, that a knowledge of the jewels had -got out. Against the man himself there is -no possible allegation. The matter was -looked into by the police, and their conclusions -were absolute, and were shared by those -responsible for the defence. But is it to be believed -that during the months which elapsed -between this man acquiring this curious knowledge, -and the actual crime, never once -chanced to repeat to any friend, who in turn -repeated it to another, the strange story of the -lonely old woman and her hoard? This he -would do in full innocence. It was a most -natural thing to do. But, for almost the first<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[76]</span> -time in the case we seem to catch some -glimpse of the relation between possible cause -and effect, some connection between the dead -woman on one side, and outsiders on the other -who had the means of knowing something of -her remarkable situation.</p> - -<p>There is just one other piece of Lambie’s -cross-examination, this time from the Edinburgh -trial, which I would desire to quote. -It did not appear in America, just as the -American extract already given did not appear -in Edinburgh. For the first time they -come out together:</p> - -<p>Q. “Did Miss Gilchrist use to have a -dog?”</p> - -<p>A. “Yes, an Irish terrier.”</p> - -<p>Q. “What happened to it?”</p> - -<p>A. “It got poisoned.”</p> - -<p>Q. “When was it poisoned?”</p> - -<p>A. “I think on the 7th or 8th of September.”</p> - -<p>Q. “Was that thought to be done by someone?”</p> - -<p>A. “I did not think it, for I thought it -might have eaten something, but Miss Gilchrist<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span> -thought it was poisoned by someone.”</p> - -<p>Q. “To kill the watch-dog—was that the -idea?”</p> - -<p>A. “She did not say.”</p> - -<p>The reader should be reminded that Slater -did not arrive in Glasgow until the end of -October of that year. His previous residences -in the town were as far back as 1901 and -1905. If the dog were indeed poisoned in -anticipation of the crime, he, at least, could -have had nothing to do with it.</p> - -<p>There is one other piece of evidence which -may, or may not have been of importance. -It is that of Miss Brown, the schoolmistress. -This lady was in court, but seems to have been -called by neither side for the reason that her -evidence was helpful to neither the prosecution -nor the defence. She deposed that on the -night of the murder, about ten minutes past -seven, she saw two men running away from -the scene. One of these men closely corresponded -to the original description of the murderer -before it was modified by Barrowman. -This one was of medium build, dark hair and -clean-shaven, with three-quarter length grey<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span> -overcoat, dark tweed cap, and both hands in -his pockets. Here we have the actual assassin -described to the life, and had Miss -Brown declared that this man was the -prisoner, she would have been a formidable -addition to the witnesses for -prosecution. Miss Brown, however identified -Oscar Slater (after the usual absurd -fashion of such identifications) as the second -man, whom she describes, as of “Dark -glossy hair, navy blue overcoat with velvet -collar, dark trousers, black boots, something -in his hand which seemed clumsier than a -walking stick.” One would imagine that this -object in his hand would naturally be his hat, -since she describes the man as bare-headed. -All that can be said of this incident is that -if the second man was Slater, then he certainly -was not the actual murderer whose dress corresponds -closely to the first, and in no particular -to the second. To the Northern eye, all -swarthy foreigners bear a resemblance, and -that there was a swarthy man, whether foreign -or not, concerned in this affair would -seem to be beyond question. That there<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span> -should have been two confederates, one of -whom had planned the crime while the other -carried it out, is a perfectly feasible supposition. -Miss Brown’s story does not necessarily -contradict that of Barrowman, as one would -imagine that the second man would join the -murderer at some little distance from the -scene of the crime. However, as there was no -cross-examination upon the story, it is difficult -to know what weight to attach to it.</p> - -<p>Let me say in conclusion that I have had -no desire in anything said in this argument, -to hurt the feelings or usurp the functions of -anyone, whether of the police or the criminal -court, who had to do with the case. It is difficult -to discuss matters from a detached point -of view without giving offence. I am well -aware that it is easier to theorise at a distance -than to work a case out in practice whether -as detective or as counsel. I leave the matter -now with the hope that, even after many days, -some sudden flash may be sent which will -throw a light upon as brutal and callous a -crime as has ever been recorded in those -black annals in which the criminologist finds<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span> -the materials for his study. Meanwhile it is -on the conscience of the authorities, and in the -last resort on that of the community that this -verdict obtained under the circumstances -which I have indicated, shall now be reconsidered.</p> - -<p class="right">Arthur Conan Doyle.</p> - -<p>Windlesham,<br> -   Crowborough.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[81]</span> -<h2 class="nobreak">COPY OF MEMORIAL<br> -FOR REPRIEVE</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[82]</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span> - -<p class="ph1">UNTO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD<br> -PENTLAND, HIS MAJESTY’S SECRETARY<br> -OF STATE FOR SCOTLAND<br> -MEMORIAL<br> -ON BEHALF OF<br> -OSCAR SLATER</p> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap">THIS Memorial is humbly presented on behalf -of Oscar Slater presently a Prisoner -in the Prison of Glasgow, who was, in the High -Court of Justiciary at Edinburgh, on Thursday, -the sixth day of May, Nineteen hundred and -nine, found guilty of the charge of murdering -Miss Marion Gilchrist in her house in West -Princes Street, Glasgow, and sentenced to death. -The Prisoner is a Jew, and was born in Germany. -He is 37 years of age.</p> - -<p>The Jury returned a verdict of “Guilty” by -a majority of nine to six, and the legal advisers -of the condemned man hold a very strong opinion -that the verdict of the majority of the Jury -was not in accordance with the evidence led, -and that this evidence was quite insufficient to -identify the Prisoner with the murderer, and so -to establish the Prisoner’s guilt. This view, they -believe, is shared by the general public of all -classes in Scotland, and by the Glasgow press<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[84]</span> -(vide leading article in The Glasgow Herald of -7th May, 1909, sent herewith).</p> - -<p>Your Memorialist has endeavoured in this -paper to deal with the matter as briefly and with -as little argument as possible; but in view of -the fact that the trial of the Prisoner occupied -four days, it is inevitable that the Memorial -should extend to some length.</p> - -<p>It is common ground that the late Miss Gilchrist, -a lady of about 82 years of age, resided -alone with her domestic servant, Nellie Lambie, -a girl of about 21 years of age.</p> - -<p>According to the evidence of Lambie, the latter -left Miss Gilchrist alone in the house at -seven o’clock on the evening of 21st December, -1908, and went to purchase an evening paper. -Lambie deponed that she securely shut the house -door behind her, and also the door at the close, -or street entry; that she was only absent about -ten minutes; that on returning about ten minutes -past seven o’clock she found the close door open; -that upon ascending the stair she found Mr. -Adams, a gentleman who resides in the flat below, -standing at Miss Gilchrist’s house door; -that Adams informed her that he had gone up to -Miss Gilchrist’s door because he had heard knocking -on the floor of Miss Gilchrist’s house, and -had rung the bell, but that he could obtain no -admittance; that the lobby was lighted by one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span> -gas jet turned half up, but giving a good light; -that Lambie thereupon opened the house door -with her keys; that upon the door being opened -a man came through the lobby or hall of Miss -Gilchrist’s house, passed Lambie and Adams, -went downstairs, and disappeared; and that, upon -Lambie and Adams entering the house, they -found Miss Gilchrist lying on the dining-room -floor dead, her head having been smashed.</p> - -<p>Upon the Wednesday following the murder -(23rd December, 1908), the Glasgow Police were -informed by a message girl named Mary Barrowman -(about 15 years of age), that she had -seen a man wearing a Donegal hat and a light -coat running out of the close which leads from -the street to Miss Gilchrist’s house shortly after -seven o’clock on the night of the murder; that -the man passed her, running at top speed; that -she noticed that he was dark, and clean-shaven, -and that his nose was twisted towards the right -side. The servant Lambie had also informed the -Police that a gold crescent brooch, set in diamonds, -had disappeared from Miss Gilchrist’s -house on the night of the murder, and that this -was all of Miss Gilchrist’s property that she -missed. These statements were published in the -Glasgow newspapers on Friday, 25th December, -1908, and following upon this the witness Allan -Maclean, a member of a club to which Slater belonged,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span> -informed the Police that Slater’s appearance -somewhat corresponded with the description -advertised, and that he had been trying to -sell a pawn ticket for a diamond brooch. Following -up this clue, the Police went to Slater’s -house at 69, St. George’s Road, Glasgow, on the -night of Friday, 25th December, and learned that -he and Miss Andrée Antoine, with whom he had -been cohabiting, had left Glasgow that night with -their belongings. The Police thereafter ascertained -that Slater had sailed on the “Lusitania” -for New York from Liverpool on Saturday, 26th -December, and cabled to the Authorities at New -York to detain and search him on his arrival. -This was done, and the pawn ticket, which he -had been trying to sell, was found upon him, -but turned out to be a pawn ticket for a brooch -which belonged to Miss Antoine, had never belonged -to Miss Gilchrist, and had been pawned -a considerable time before the murder. Proceedings, -however, were instituted for Slater’s extradition. -The witnesses Lambie, Adams, and -Barrowman gave evidence in America, purporting -to identify him as the man seen leaving Miss -Gilchrist’s house, and Slater was (he states of -his own consent) extradited, and brought back -to Scotland for trial.</p> - -<p>An advertisement was published by the Authorities -in Glasgow offering a reward of £200<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span> -for information which would lead to the arrest -of the murderer.</p> - -<p>The only evidence against Slater, which might -be called direct evidence, was the evidence of the -persons who saw a man walk out of the lobby -or hall in Miss Gilchrist’s house on the night of -the murder (Lambie and Adams), or leaving the -close leading therefrom, or running along the -street (Barrowman).</p> - -<p>At the trials Lambie professed to identify -Slater, as the man whom she had seen leaving -the house, by the side of his face. It was put -to her, however, and clearly proved, that when -she gave evidence in New York in the extradition -proceedings she stated in Court there that -she did not see the man’s face, and professed to -identify him by his walk. When Slater’s own -coat, the one found in his luggage, was shown -to her at the trial, she at once remarked, even -before it was unrolled, that it was not like the -coat the man in the lobby wore—it was the -coat. It was obviously impossible that she -knew it to be the same coat. Lord Guthrie referred -to this in his charge to the jury as a -typical example of the nature of her evidence. -With regard to the positive nature of her evidence -generally, it is interesting to note that her -first answer in America, when asked if she saw -the man, was, “One is very suspicious, if anything.”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span> -She stated that, when she saw Slater -in the Central Police Office at Glasgow, she -recognised him in his “own coat.” It was -proved that he was not then wearing his own -coat, but one with which he had been dressed -for identification purposes.</p> - -<p>The witness only saw the man who was leaving -the house for a moment or two. Adams and -she contradicted each other as to where she was -when the man walked across the lobby. Adams -deponed that she was by the lobby clock and -walking towards the kitchen. If so, she must -practically have had her back to the man. She -says she was on the threshold of the door. In -any event, her view was momentary.</p> - -<p>The witness Adams, who deponed that he had -a better view of the man in the house than -Lambie, stated at the trial that he, standing at -the threshold, saw the man’s face as he approached, -that their eyes met, and that the man -walked slowly towards him, face to face, but -Adams would not go further than to say that -Slater resembled the man very much. He is -superior to Lambie and Barrowman in years, -education and intelligence. Your Memorialist -begs to emphasise the fact that this witness had -a much better view of the man than any of the -other witnesses.</p> - -<p>The witness Barrowman stated at the trial<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span> -that the man ran out of the close and rushed -past her at top speed, brushing against her, and -that he had his hat pulled well down over his -forehead. The witness is a message girl, about -15 years of age. She also stated that the man -had on brown boots, a Donegal hat, and a fawn -coat, and that he was dark and clean-shaven, and -that his nose had a twist to the right. She professed -to have noticed all these things as he -rushed past her at top speed. At the trial this -witness stated in cross-examination (1) that she -was proceeding in the opposite direction from -the man, to deliver a parcel, but that she turned -and went some distance after him; that she -thought he was probably going to catch a tram-car; -but she could not explain why she should -go out of her way to turn and follow a man -running for a car in a busy city like Glasgow; -and (2) that, although the girl Lambie and she -had occupied the same cabin on the voyage to -America, which lasted about twelve days, she -had not once discussed the appearance of the -man, and that no one had warned her not to do -so. These two statements do not impress your -Memorialist as bearing the stamp of truth. -This girl started the description of the twisted -nose. She is the only witness who refers to it. -Her view of the man’s face must necessarily have -been momentary. Slater’s nose cannot properly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span> -be described as “twisted to the right.” It has -a noticeable prominence in the centre.</p> - -<p>All of these three witnesses had, as has been -said, only a momentary view of the man, and it -was proved that before Barrowman professed to -identify Slater in New York she was shown his -photograph, and that both she and Lambie, before -attempting to identify him in New York, -saw him being brought into Court by a Court -official, wearing a badge. In her New York evidence -she first said, “He is something like the -man I saw.” At the trial she stated that -he was the man. These facts very much reduce, -if they do not altogether vitiate, the value of the -evidence of these identifying witnesses.</p> - -<p>Another witness, Mrs. Liddell, who is a married -sister of the witness Adams, stated that, at -five minutes to seven on the evening of the murder, -she saw a dark, clean-shaven man leaning -against a railing at the street entry to Miss Gilchrist’s -house, but that this man wore a heavy -brown tweed coat and a brown cap. It is to be -observed that Constable Neil, who passed the -house at ten minutes to seven, saw no one there; -and Lambie, who left the house promptly at -seven, or, as she said in America, “perhaps a -few minutes before seven,” saw no one there. -Further, Mrs. Liddell did not observe where the -man went to; according to her he merely glided<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[91]</span> -away; and although she was in Miss Gilchrist’s -house that night and saw the body, and would -naturally be greatly concerned over the murder, -she did not recollect having seen this man until -the Wednesday after the murder. Even taking -her evidence as absolutely true and reliable, it -provides an excellent object-lesson on the difficulty -and responsibility of convicting on such -evidence as this, because the man she saw was -obviously dressed differently from the man seen -by the other three witnesses. Her evidence does -not, to any appreciable extent, further the case -against Slater, as she stated that she thought -this man was Slater, but admitted that she might -be in error.</p> - -<p>The other witness is a girl named Annie Armour, -a ticket clerk in the Subway Station at -Kelvinbridge, who says that between 7.30 and -8 that evening a man, whom she identified as -Slater, rushed past her office without waiting -for a ticket, and seemed excited. Lord Guthrie -in his charge to the jury did not refer to this -witness, and your Memorialist thinks advisedly. -The mere question of time is sufficient to render -her evidence valueless. She is sure the incident -did not happen before 7.30. According to the -other witnesses, the murderer must have run -from the house by at least 7.15. It was proved -that it would only take a man five or six minutes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[92]</span> -to run from the scene of the tragedy to this -station, either by the most direct route or by the -route which Barrowman’s evidence suggests he -took. Then it is impossible to suppose that she -could get anything like a good view, even of -the side face, of a man who rushed past her in -the way she described.</p> - -<p>All the witnesses who saw the man on the -night of the murder (Monday) say that he was -clean-shaven. It was proved that on the next -day or two after the murder Slater had a short, -black, stubbly moustache.</p> - -<p>These were the only witnesses called by the -Crown to identify Slater with the murderer. -Further circumstantial evidence, however, was -led by the Crown to show that, on occasions before -the day of the murder, Slater had been seen -standing in or walking up and down West -Princes Street—Mrs. M’Haffie, her daughters -and niece, Campbell, Cunningham, Bryson, -Nairn, and O’Brien and Walker (two policemen). -It may be noted that Slater’s house was -situated about three minutes’ walk from West -Princes Street.</p> - -<p>These witnesses did not all agree in their evidence. -Some said that Slater was the man they -had seen; others, equally or perhaps better able -to judge, only said that he was very like him. -The Memorialist does not propose in this paper<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[93]</span> -to deal at length with this part of the evidence, -except to point out that two witnesses (Nairn -and Bryson) say they saw Slater in West -Princes Street on the Sunday evening previous -to the murder. Against this there is the evidence -that Slater on this day, as usual, spent all -Sunday (day and evening) in his house. Three -witnesses from Paris, London, and Dublin spoke -to this. Coming from different places, they had -no chance to concoct a story.</p> - -<p>At Slater’s trial it was suggested that there -were various circumstances tending to create an -atmosphere of suspicion around him; but it is -submitted that all these were capable of explanation, -and in no way pointing to Slater’s guilt as -a murderer. Slater had written to Cameron that -he could prove where he was on the evening of -the murder “by five people.” When this letter -was written, he thought that the date of the murder -was the Tuesday, the 22nd.</p> - -<p>The evidence of his witnesses was to the effect -that on the evening of the murder he was in a -billiard room until 6.30 p. m., after which he went -home for dinner.</p> - -<p>It was shown that Slater dealt in diamonds. -There was, however, no evidence of any dishonest -dealing of any kind. The brooch said to have -been missing from Miss Gilchrist’s house has not -been traced. There was no evidence of any kind<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[94]</span> -led to show that Slater ever knew, or even heard -of, Miss Gilchrist or her house, and the Memorialist -would emphasise the fact that it was the missing -brooch that put the Police on the track of -Slater.</p> - -<p>With reference to Slater’s departure for America -on 25th December, 1908, it was proved that -he had formed the intention, some weeks before -the murder, of going to America. Cameron, -Rathman, and Aumann proved this. Slater had, -in fact, tried to get the last named to take over -his flat. The letter from Jacobs, of 28th December, -and the card bearing the words “address -till 30th December,” produced by the Crown, also -corroborate the evidence of this intention of -leaving, which is further corroborated by the -evidence of Nichols, the barber, a Crown witness.</p> - -<p>On the morning of 21st December, 1908, Slater -received two letters—one from London, stating -that his wife was demanding his address, and -the other from San Francisco, asking him to come -over. These were spoken to by Schmalz, his -servant girl, and Miss Antoine. Further corroboration -of his intention to leave is (1) on the -morning of 21st December he raised a further -£30 from Mr. Liddell, pawnbroker, on his -brooch, and on the same day tried to sell the -ticket; (2) he wrote to the Post Office for payment<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[95]</span> -of the money at his credit; (3) he wired to -Dent, London, to send on his watch, which was -being repaired, immediately; (4) on the Monday -morning he gave notice to the servant girl that -she would not be required after the following -Saturday (these events all happened before the -murder); (5) on the Tuesday morning he redeemed -a pair of binoculars from another pawnbroker -whose assistant, Kempton, proved this, -and who stated that he was in no way excited; -(6) on the 23rd and 24th December he made inquiries -at Cook’s Shipping Offices regarding -berths, and betrayed no signs of any excitement; -on the 23rd he was, in the evening, in Johnston’s -billiard room, which he used to frequent; and -on the 24th he spent the afternoon about Glasgow -with his friend Cameron, who gave evidence; -(7) on Friday morning a Mrs. Freedman -and her sister arrived from London to take over -his flat, so that he and Miss Antoine left on Friday -night.</p> - -<p>A rumour got abroad at the time to the effect -that he booked to London and left the train at -Liverpool. This rumour was published in the -various newspapers, to Slater’s great prejudice, -but nothing of the kind was proved at the trial. -The Police were evidently misled by the fact -that he went by a London train, but it was -proved that there were two carriages in that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[96]</span> -train for Liverpool, and also that Slater’s luggage, -consisting of nine boxes, was labelled to Liverpool. -The Porter who labelled the luggage was -called, and stated that Slater told him that he -was going to Liverpool, and entered a Liverpool -carriage.</p> - -<p>The point was also raised against Slater that -he used various aliases. He had been staying -apart from his wife for about four years, during -which time he cohabited with Miss Antoine. -She stated that Slater’s wife was a drunken -woman, and caused him a deal of trouble. At -one time he adopted the name of “George,” -and when he came to Glasgow on the last occasion -he took the name of “Anderson.” On the -voyage to America he took the name of Otto -Sando, because his luggage was labelled O. S. -At times he called himself a dentist. There was -no evidence that he really was a dentist. Miss -Antoine explained that he adopted the title of -dentist, as he required a designation of some sort, -although he was a gambler. A great deal was -published in the newspapers about a hammer -that had been found in one of his boxes. This -turned out to be an ordinary small domestic -nail hammer, purchased on a card containing -several other tools, the lot costing only 2s. 6d. -He, of course, took the hammer to America with -him with all the rest of his belongings.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[97]</span>Nothing incriminating was found in any of his -boxes.</p> - -<p>No evidence whatever was led to show how -the murderer gained access to the house.</p> - -<p>It will be conceded that identification evidence, -especially in a serious charge of this kind, must -be examined very carefully, and should have little -weight attached to it, unless it is very clear.</p> - -<p>To sum up, the only real evidence in the case -is that of those who saw a man running away on -the night of the murder; and, as has been pointed -out, these witnesses had only a momentary -glance at him. Adams does not positively identify -the prisoner as the man. He says he closely -resembles him.</p> - -<p>Lambie’s New York evidence has already been -referred to, and her evidence at the trial cannot -be reconciled with it.</p> - -<p>Lambie and Barrowman both saw him in custody -before trying to identify him in New York, -and the latter, before identifying him, was shown -his photograph.</p> - -<p>All the other identifying witnesses called to -give evidence as to his having been seen in the -vicinity on days previous to the murder were -taken down to the General Police Office when -Slater returned from America to identify him. -They were shown into one room together, and -then separately taken into a room in the Police<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[98]</span> -Office, where Slater was amongst about a dozen -men, none of whom were like him. (Cunningham -says she could see that the other men were -policemen in plain clothes.) All these witnesses -knew that Slater had arrived from America, and -was in the room. They had all read his description -in the newspapers, or had seen his photograph. -They all, therefore, looked for, and had -no difficulty in pointing out, a dark, foreign-looking -man, with a somewhat peculiarly shaped -nose. It is submitted that this is not identification -evidence in the proper sense at all. Had -these people been able to pick out, as their man, -from amongst several others, a man whose -description they only knew from what they -had previously seen of him, unassisted by -description, and unassisted by a photograph, the -value of their evidence would have been entirely -different.</p> - -<p>Some Crown witnesses identified him as the -man they had seen and talked to (Shipping -Clerk, Porter, &c.), but they, of course, were -able to do so. None of the identifying witnesses -had ever spoken to him.</p> - -<p>Identification evidence is a class of evidence -which the law distrusts. The most famous -authority is the case of Adolf Beck. Beck was, -in 1896, sentenced to seven years’ penal servitude, -on the evidence of ten women, who swore positively<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[99]</span> -that he was a man whom they had each -met on two occasions, and spent some time within -their own houses, and who had defrauded -them, and on the evidence of two policemen, who -swore positively that Beck was the man who had -been previously convicted of similar crimes, -taken along with certain circumstantial evidence—that -he was known to frequent a hotel on the -notepaper of which one of the women had received -a letter. Again, in 1904, Beck was convicted -of similar crimes on similar evidence. It -was subsequently demonstrated that Beck committed -none of the crimes, but that a man bearing -a general similarity to him was the criminal.</p> - -<p>In the report issued by the Commission appointed -to investigate the matter, consisting of -Lord Collins, Sir Spencer Walpole, and Sir John -Edge, the following passage occurs:—“Evidence -of identity, upon personal impression, however -bona fide, is of all classes of evidence the -least to be relied upon, and, unless supported -by other evidence, an unsafe basis for the verdict -of a Jury.”</p> - -<p>Now, the evidence in the Beck case was infinitely -more overwhelming and consistent than -in this case; and the report in the Beck case, and -the report on which it followed, make it clear -that on the evidence in this case the Jury had -no right to bring in a verdict of “Guilty.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[100]</span>A good deal was said by the learned Lord-Advocate -to the Jury about Slater’s immoral character. -It was not disputed that he was a gambler. -It was also admitted that he had cohabited -for about four years with Madame Antoine, -who was of doubtful virtue, and who gave -evidence. Yet the learned Lord-Advocate addressed -the Jury to the effect that the prisoner -“had followed a life which descended to the very -depth of human degradation, for, by the universal -judgment of mankind, the man who lived -upon the proceeds of prostitution has sunk to the -lowest depth, and all moral sense in him had -been destroyed.” This he cited as proof of the -disappearance of an obstacle which had previously -been in his way, viz:—Whether it was -conceivable that such a man as Slater could commit -such an inhumanly brutal crime. The only -evidence on that point was that of Cameron, -Slater’s friend, who, in cross-examination, said he -had heard that Slater lived on the earnings of -prostitution, but who did not say he knew. The -Jury were distinctly told by the Lord-Advocate, -and by the prisoner’s Counsel, and by the Judge, -to banish from their minds anything they had -heard regarding the man’s character; but they -had previously heard all about it, and the Memorialist -feels strongly that they were evidently unable -to do so.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[101]</span>Public feeling is also very strong on the point -that the question of Slater’s character should -never have been brought before the Jury.</p> - -<p>The Memorialist thinks it is only fair to prisoner -to point out that he was all along anxious -to give evidence on his own behalf. He was advised -by his Counsel not to do so, but not from -any knowledge of guilt. He had undergone the -strain of a four days’ trial. He speaks rather -broken English—although quite intelligibly—with -a foreign accent, and he had been in custody -since January.</p> - -<p>Apart from what has been set forth above, -your Memorialist begs to draw attention to the -fact that on the Crown list of witnesses is the -name of a witness, Miss Agnes Brown (No. 46). -This lady is 30 years of age, and a very intelligent -school teacher. Your Memorialist is informed -that she told the Police and Procurator-Fiscal -that on the night of the murder, about ten minutes -past seven o’clock, two men in company -rushed along West Princes Street from the direction -of Miss Gilchrist’s house, and passed close -to her at the corner of West Princes Street and -West Cumberland Street; that one of them was -dressed in a blue Melton coat with a dark velvet -collar, black boots, and without a hat; that -both men ran past the opening of West Cumberland -Street, straight on along West Princes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[102]</span> -Street, crossed West Princes Street, and ran -down Rupert Street, a street further west, and -opening off the opposite side of West Princes -Street. Your Memorialist understands that, in -the identification proceedings before referred to, -this witness pointed out Slater as the man in the -Melton coat, as she thought. This witness’s evidence -is thus in sharp contradiction on material -points to that of the message girl Barrowman -(who had only a momentary glance at the man), -but upon whose evidence so much weight has -evidently been laid, and who says that Slater -was dressed in a light coat, a Donegal hat, and -brown boots, was alone, and ran down West -Cumberland Street.</p> - -<p>Your Memorialist respectfully submits that -this illustrates the danger of convicting a man -upon the kind of evidence given in this case. -Miss Brown was in attendance at the trial, but -was not called as a witness. Even on the evidence -led, the votes of two more jurymen in his -favour would have liberated the prisoner. In -England the probability is that a conviction -would never have been obtained.</p> - -<p>Your Memorialist is authorised to state that -Slater’s Counsel agree that the evidence did not -justify the conviction.</p> - -<p>Your Memorialist, who has all along acted as -Slater’s Solicitor since he was brought back from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[103]</span> -America after the Extradition Proceedings, and -who has had very many interviews with Slater, -begs respectfully to state his absolute belief in -Slater’s innocence.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<div class="hangingindent"> -<p>May it therefore please the Right Honourable -the Secretary of State for Scotland -to take this Memorial into his most favourable -consideration, and thereafter -to advise his Most Gracious Majesty to -exercise his royal prerogative to the effect -of commuting the sentence passed -upon the prisoner, or to do otherwise as -in the circumstances may seem just.</p> - -<p>And your Memorialist will ever pray.</p> -</div> - -<p class="center">EWING SPIERS,<br> -190 West George Street, Glasgow,<br> -Oscar Slater’s Solicitor.</p> - -<p>Dated this seventeenth day of May, One -thousand nine hundred and nine.</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="transnote"> -<p class="ph1">TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:</p> - -<p>Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.</p> - -<p>Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.</p> - -<p>The cover image for this eBook was created by the transcriber using the original cover and is entered into the public domain.</p> -</div></div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CASE OF OSCAR SLATER ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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