“Little, indeed, did they know me who thought that such calumnies would influence my conduct. I will for ever, at all hazards, assert the dignity, independence and integrity of the English bar, without which impartial justice, the most valuable part of the British Constitution, can have no existence. From the moment that any advocate can be permitted to say that he will or will not stand between the Crown and the subject arraigned in the court where he daily sits to practice, from that moment the liberties of England are at an end. If the advocate refuses to defend from what he may think of the charge or of the defence, he assumes the character of the judge; nay, he assumes it before the hour of judgment; and, in proportion to his rank and reputation, puts the heavy influence of, perhaps, a mistaken opinion into the scale against the accused, in whose favor the benevolent principle of English law makes all presumptions, and which commands the very judge to be his counsel.”
When Sir Roger Casement was tried for treason in 1916, the same question arose, as it had arisen many times in the interval. Lord Chief Justice Reading, addressing the jury, then said:—
“There are some persons who, perhaps a little thoughtlessly, are inclined to rebel against the notion that a member of the English bar, or members of it, should be found to defend a prisoner on a charge of treason against the British State. I need not tell you, I am sure, gentlemen, that if any person has those thoughts in his mind, he has but a poor conception of the high obligation and responsibility of the bar of England. It is the proud privilege of the bar of England that it is ready to come into court and to defend a person accused, however grave the charge may be. In this case, we are indebted to counsel for the defence for the assistance they have given us in the trial, and I have no doubt you must feel equally indebted. It is of great benefit in the trial of a case, more particularly of this importance, that you should feel, as we feel, that everything possible that could be urged on behalf of the defence has been said, and particularly by one who has conducted the defence in accordance with the highest traditions of the English bar.”
With the lapse of a little time the public may be able to look more judicially at the case. Let us, therefore, look briefly at the facts.
Though the case took the full legal week, and encroached on the Saturday, the facts relied upon by the Crown to support its case may be put in a comparatively short compass.
PART II.
⸻
THE CROWN CASE.
The girl, who, so far as is known to the public, was a modest, obedient, intelligent, quiet child, between 12 and 13 years of age, left her aunt’s home at Jolimont between half-past 12 and a quarter to 1, to go to Bennet and Woolcock’s butcher’s shop in Swanston St., Melbourne, where her uncle acted as secretary. She wore a navy blue box-pleated overall, a white blouse with blue spots, and a Panama hat with a conspicuous badge of a high school on it. At about a quarter past 1 she arrived at the shop, went upstairs to her uncle’s room, returned shortly afterwards without seeing her uncle, and left the shop about a quarter of an hour after her arrival at it, carrying a parcel of meat some eight or nine pounds in weight. She was next seen in Little Collins Street, and she evidently went up Little Collins Street to Russell Street, and down Russell Street into Bourke Street, because “well after a quarter past 2” she was noticed by Mrs. and Miss Edmonds about 50 yards from the entrance to the Eastern Arcade. She went into the Arcade in front of the ladies, and when she was about half-way through they turned up the stairs to the right, and did not see her again. Colin Ross at this time, according to Mrs. Edmonds, was standing in front of his door. In cross-examination, Mrs. Edmonds fixed the time at which she last saw the girl at a quarter to 3, because, she said, “I looked at the clock on the balcony.” Between half-past 2 and 3 o’clock Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Young saw the girl come out of the Arcade, walk across Little Collins Street, and stand at what they described as the Adam and Eve corner.
