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BENNETT CONVICTEO.

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BENNETT CONVICTEO. Sentence of Death. DRAMATIC SCENE IN COURT. As announced in onr Extra Football Edition on Saturday, at the close of the sixth day's hearing Herbert John Bennett was convicted of the Yarmouth marder and sentenced to death. He protested his innocence. THE SUMMING UP. At half-past four his Lordship proceeded to sum up, pointing: out at the outset the gravity of the case, involving as it did life and death. With respect to what had been said—and not too much had been said from the defendant's lIoint of view—of the conduct of the daily press, nothing could be more revolting to the idea of British justice than that a man should be condemned by the press before his trial. They must see that no injury was done to the owing to the action of a section of the press. If the jury thought that any evidence was suggested to witnesses by what they saw in the papeTS, all that evidence must be rejected. The jury had no right, his lordship proceeded, to shut their eyes to motives or the probable con- sequences of motives, and with regard to the suggestion from the defence that the prisoner had entertained some doubt as to the legality of his marriage, he felt obliged to tell them that they should hesitate t long time before accepting any such view of the case. Among the points of the lefence to which he directed the atten- tion of the jury was one which If made good should bp regarded as a very strong point—that on September 14 a final bargain was arrived at between the prisoner and his wife that she was to go away and that the effects should remain in the man's possession.. That might have accounted for the money of which Mrs. Bennett appeared to have been possessed at Yarmouth. There, were, however, a number of other-points to be considered in that connection. Mrs. Bennett had taken with her none of her own little personal valuables, and she had taken away the key of the house at Bexley Heath. He could see no motive which might account for such a circumstance as that. Another most important question in the case was the coneideration of whether or not the prisoner had been aware of his wife's presence in Yarmouth. It certainly seemed to him a cttrioua coincidence that the Rirdrum address was known only to him, and that Mrs. Bennett was ultimately found there. Great reliance- be could hardly say too much—had been placed by the Crown upon the suggestion that Bennett went down to Yarmouth with the leceased woman. As regarded the statements f Mr. Sholto Douglas, he did not think any- thing too much had been said by Mr. Gill iu Briticism of that part of the evidence. He thought it a very dangerous thing to rely ttpon nncorrobarated evidence such as that, especially in the face of some of the circum- stances the jury had before them, for with reference to the suggestion that Mr. Sholto Douglas' or the prisoner's case oould have been damaged by the possession of that information by the newspapers, he could not understand how that could have been the case, and it was plain also that Mr. Douglas himself had wanted some confirmation of the date. He advised the jury not to attach too much importance to the absence or presence of the Trilby hat. With regard to the chain and the photo. graphs, he doubted very much if the jury could rely for an opinion as to the identity of the chain upon an enlargement of the little beach photograph. They certainly ought nob to rely upon the photographs against the prisoner, because they were what he might call negative evidence, and they were not to discredit the evidence of the Eudrums because it had been suggested they had a-cted dis- honestly and had stolen the watch and chain and the purse from the deceased woman. In con-elusion, his lordship exhorted the jury, if they thought his criticism appeared to have had any reflection upon the evidence, to rejeet it except in so far as it might gmide them to the finding of a right verdict. VERDICT OF GUILTY." The jury then retired, and after an absence of half an hou" and three minutes returned to the court. Bennett, who had been taken below during the absence of the jury, stepped briskly to the front of the dock, and leaned easily upon the rail surmounting the partition which divides the dock from the body of the court. His face was deadly pale, however, and although his features were composed and terious, his eyes were unusually bright, and travelled somewhat excitedly over the faces of the jurymen and the numerous barristers in the court. Then his right hand went instinc- tively to his upper lip, and he commenced nervously fingering his moustache, but as the judge entered he straightened himself and faced his lordship erect. The question from the Clerk of Arraigns to the jury, "Have you agreed upon your verdict, gentlemen?" was answered by the Foreman, "We have." ilIa your verdict guilty or not guilty?" "Guilty," the Foreman almost shouted, amidst the deepest silenoe. In reply to the question whether he had any- thing to say why sentence of death should not be passed on him, Bennett replied, "I say that I am not guilty, sir," speaking in a firm, deep, deliberate voice. THE SENTENCE. His Lordship then assumed the black cap, and in a low, solemn voice said — "Herbert John Bennett, after a trial in which the jury have paid the closest attention to the evidence, and in which you have been most ably defended, and every point which could be taken in your favour taken, the jury have found you guilty of tihe murder of your wife. I can only say on the evidence that I etc not think they could possibly have arrived jut any other verdict. I will not harrow you or those who hear me by any reference to the terrible incident of the crime. I can only say I fear that, after a career for which not much can be said, you deliberately planned the death of this poor woman. I can hold out no hope to you, and I implore you to make your peace with your Maker. The sentence of the law is that you be taken from this place to the place from whenca you came, and from there to the place of execution, and there shall be hanged by the neck till you are dead, and your body shall be buried in the precincts of the prison." The prisoner, who had turned very white during the judge's remarks, then turned quietly round and disappeared down the stairs. Removing the black cap. the judge said that he had ordered that the prisoner should be handed over to the Sheriff of Norfolk to be Bonyeyed to Norwich, and, turning to the jury, he informed them that they would be exempt from service for ten years. ALICE MEADOWS PROSTRATED. The verdict had a sad effect upon Alice teadows. She was led from the precincts of Jhe court in a condition of great prostration, when in the prison yard fell in a dead kint, but was caught by the arms of her fiends. OUTSIDE NEWGATE. public Meeting to be Held in Support of a Reprieve. A most astounding demonstration occurred iutgide the Old Bailey when the sentence was inside known, writes a correspondent. 80 great was the crowd that a special force of constables had to be called upon to keep the people on the move. The general opinion was that the jury would disagree, and while there were many who fore- cast ail acquittal on the evidence, the majority were of opinion that the prisoner would get the benefit of the doubt raised by the testi- mony of alibi. When they learned from a press messenger that the jury had pronounced Bennett guilty, there wero loud cries of "Shame," and much hissing and hooting, mingled with cheering iand other noisy demonstrations. Mr. Robb, the solicitor for the defence, is Baid to be making efforts to obtain a respite, and a public meeting is to be held at the Cannon-street Hotel, at which a petition to the Home Secretary will be advocated. Bennett, who occupies a cell adjoining that in which Parker was confined, is watched night and day by two warders, and was visited yes- terday by the Rev. Mr. Pugh, chaplr. n of Newgate. PRESS OPINIONS. "Birmingham Daily Post":—The six-days' trial of the young man Bennett, for the mur- der of his wife on Yarmouth beach in Septem- ber last, terminated on Saturday evening at the Old Bailey in a verdict of guilty, and the Lord Chief Justice passed sentence of death. Bennett still protests his innocence, but only the ultraz-credulous will take notice of such a protest. That a cane so essentially simple in its elements should have taken six days in un- folding shows how more than just to the criminal is our system of criminal law. "Daily Express."—After the jury had found Herbert John Bennett guilty of murder the Lord Chief Justice expressed) his concurrence with their verdict. Up to that time it had only been his duty to see fairplay and to sum up And, of course, he did not even sum up until he had heard the whole of the evidence, checked by h.i8 own impartial control andt sifted! by able and searching cross-examina- tion. It would be well if everybody else would remember tbat only after such precautions and preliminaries is it fair t< marshal the points of a case, even a. case of petty misde. meanour, much more a case of mU!rd>er, upon the result of which a main's life depends. "DAILY NEWS."—In the Yarmonth case the •^cumulated proofs of guilt were cnuhiJuL

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BENNETT CONVICTEO.