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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1960-05-19, Page 6bid She Ho*whik A British Jury? In 1933, at the Old Bailey, an English jury fell for a pretty face ;end a pack of lies. Not fur the first time or, for that matter, the last, has this nearly infallible combination caused an odd verdict in British justice. From tine to time, judges have reminded juries that a liar is not necessarily a criminal. But, on the other hand, most criminals are liars. It is only a question of degree as to how good ur bad at dying they are. For upon their ability to lie depends very often their liberty and sometimes their necks. A really good liar must ' have a very good memory and that is undoubtedly the mark of the expert in the art. Elvira Barney was such a liar. She was a Mayfair society beauty, the daughter of wealthy parents, and her activities caused considerable comment in the newspapers on several occasions between the two wars. This fluffy blonde debutante had a succession of wild adven. tures which culminated in her trial for the murder of her lover, Michael Stephen. At that time they were teeth in limit middle twenties. Some years before her trial Elvira had married a well- known American singer and they had separated shortly after- wards. Since then she had been living in a mews flat in Knights- bridge with her lover. Both belonged to a bunch of young people who were motori- ous for making a nuisance of themselves. They gallivanted around London in highly colour- ed sports cars and called them- selves "bright young things." They consumed vast quantities of alcohol. They wore the most odd clothes, and indulged in ritous behaviour and absurd practical jokes. Elvira Barney had plenty of money. Michael Stephen came from a good family but was quite penniless, having been turned out of home by his father because of his unpleasant habits. He had no occupation but de- scribed himself as a dress de- signer, His means of support were provided by a nuneber of stupid women, of whom Mrs. Barney was the principal contri- butor. At the time of his death he had been living with Elvira Barney for about twelve months. During that period she had kept him and they had quarrelled 'violently from time to time, The subject of their quarrels was, not surprisingly, other women. In May, 1932, Elvira Barney gave a cocktail party at her flat. It had followed the usual trend of being noisy, very alcoholic and unpleasant. Michael Step - Half -Sizes -Relax! PRINTED PATTERN .4y-14124., 41444 Kind to your figure — smart •to wear! Pretty playsuit has wide :wraps to hide bra, trim shorts, that flatter thighs, lege. Eastteiew cotton, Printed Pattern 4071: Half Sizes tete, 161g, 181/2, 201.4, 221/2, 24?.i.. Size 161.2 requires 211e yards 35 -coni fabric. Printed directions on each pat- tern part. Easier, accurate, Sr ed FIFTY CENTS, (stamps cat;: I be accepted, use postal note ter safety) for this pattern. Plea t print plainly' S NA6le, ADDRESS, STYLE NitJl+ Sec•,i or kr to ANNE ADAMS, 380.: 1. lee Eighteenth St., New Toronto, Onte hen had assisted at the party and afterwards he and Elvira dined together at a well-known West End restaurant. Later they went on to a nightclub, leaving in the early hours of the morn. ing, Elvira Barney had, Os usual, paid for all the entertainment that night. After their return to the flat a violent quarrel took place, and at about three o'clock in the morning shouts were heard, followed by two shots. A few minutes later Elvira Barney telephoned for a doctor, saying that there had been a terrible accident and . . . "for Heaven's sake come at once," Stephen was found lying fully dressed at the top of the stairs, with a bullet in his lungs. He was dead: Close by, on the floor, was a pistol containing five car- •tridges, of which two had been fired. • Elvira Barney, hysterical and under the influence of drink was reeling round the flat, crying out, "He can't be dead! 1 will die, too. I want to die." The experts who were called in were satisfied that Stephen could not have taken his own life. They also made it clear that there had been a struggle, in the course of which Stephen's finger cculcl not leave been on .the trigger at any time. On the face of it, it was a fairly eters cis; of murder, with perhaps a possible defence of manslaughter. But the trial, which opened on July 4th, 1932, was to have an amazing result. By the very nature of her de- fence she was legally, at least, guilty of manslaughter. But the jury saw fit to disregard not only the facts, but the law as well, and to set free a worthless woman who was also an ingeni- ous liar, She was brilliantly defended by the late Sir Patrick Hastings and it is no wonder that he re- fused to see her at any time be- fore her trial. The brilliant advocate would have nothing whatever to do with his client's lies and deceit. He had a job to do and he did it wonderfully well in the best traditions of his profession. How did this -extraordinary result come about? The princi- pal witness for the Crown was a woman who lived close by in the mews. Originally she had said she heard the accused screaming just before the sound of the shot, "Get out, I'll shoot you." In the witness -box she changed this to "Get out, I'll shoot." She also said that she had told Step- hen some days before to leave ' the mews, as neighbours had complained that they were un- able to sleep becat'se of the noise from Mrs. Barney's flat. The witness went on to say that Stephen had told her he didn't want to leave because he was afraid Mrs. Barney might kill herself. He might have add- ed with mare truth that he didn't want to leave his means of sup- port. When E1'ira Sarney went into the witne: s -box to give her fer- sion of the fatal night, she said that they had quarrelled because Stephen had threatened to leave her for another woman. That was probable. true. She had told him that if he did that she would shoot her -elf. That was a lie. At this suegeetion Stephen picked up the revolver and re- plied. ''Y'u won't do it with this." At ne time did Mn.sBarney give any explanation as to how the revolver 'vas available. Her evidence that Stephen had picked up the weapon was clear- ly untrue, -as there were no marks of his' fingers on it at all. at all. She had gone on to soy that she had struggled with Stephen to get hold of the revolver and during the struggle the shot was fired. This explanation was also clearly untrue as it entirely omitted the question of the sec- end shot, That was her story and she stuck to it, hitt on the face of it, it was a pack of lies. It seen:ecl obvious that even on her owe story she was guilty of mansltu;hter•, because if. es she said, Stephen had attempted to get the revolver away from -her in order to pt'ereni her com- mitting suicide, and • she strug- gled• with him, causing the gun to go off and kill him, then she was guilty of manslaughter. Was not, nerhape, the true ex plangtion that she shot Michael SteDh,oti in an alcoholic rage of ,lealnusy Why did tire jury let her off? Why did they, in •face of all the evidence and contrary to the law, decide to acquit her? Were they won over by the brilliant oratory of Sir Patrick Hastings? It is difficult to say but then the inscrutable ponderings of British juries, have, on occasions, baffled other people apart from themselyee. Instead, she trent to France, restuned her old wild life and died in Paris at about thirty years of age. HONEYMOON, SOUTHERN STYLE — Andre Porumbeanu, 35, and his wife, Gamble, 19, started their honeymoon in Miami, Ha., after their publicized elopement to Hendersonville, N.C. She's heiress to the Remington typewriter fortune. They weed from Miami to New Orleans to Son Antorjo, Tex., where Andre was Issued a warning citation for speeding and driving on the wrong side of the, road. RFAR141 ' ew,n-dolir.e P. Ctoxlix Anyone wearing a new Easter bonnet over the week -end stood a good- chance of getting it spoilt. Rain, fog and even thunder storms. Traditionally we look for warm, bright sunshine at Easter, just as we look for -snow at Christmas. But apparently the weatherman has thrown tradition to the four winds and hands out whatever comesup at the moment. And in wet weath- er who suffers most? I would say mothers with small children, plus school-age children home for the holidays. After struggl- ing with rubbers and overshoes all winter mother looks forward to sending youngsters out to play without spending so much time dressing and undressing them. But the most she can do now is substitute long rubbers for over- shoes. and sweaters for play- suits—and be prepared to deal with water - logged footwear. Children will paddle adventuro- usly in any nearby puddle or culvert. They are attracted to water as surely as metal to a magnet. No good warning them —"now keep away from the mud and water:" After all you can't expect children to he able to gauge the depth of either. More than one child has been known to come home barefoot, his rub- ber boots left behind in gooey thud. Incidentally I -wonder how many mothers know that the best way to dry the inside of rubber boots is to fill them with field oats to absorb the moisture. Getting oats is no problem for farm folic nor need it be for urban mothers. .lust ask father to go to any mill or feed feene, ask for half a bushel ofld oats and then keep it on hand for emergencies. It can be used over and over again. But watch where you store it as grain attracts mice. in summer you can feed it to the birds. Well, one thing is certain—bad weather encourages good read- ing. You know, I often feel that no worthwhile book or magazine should be discarded. But unfor- tunately there has to be a limit. Just the same I have sympathy for people whore basements and attics arc stacked up with back copy reading material. It may be out-of-date insofar as the ac- tual date is concerned but the content of many magazines is never out -dated. And it is a curious fact that what might not have interested you ten years ago does interest you today. For instance some time last year mention was made on television of wild, white cattle in England. I knew I had an article on the subject somewhere but for the life of me - I couldn't fled it, Yesterday, browsing t h r o u g lee some hack numbers of an Eng- lish magazine called "the Coun- tryman" I found it. Apparently there is only one herd in exis- tence, roaming an estate at Chit lingham i n Northunthcrland county. The article claims this to be the only remaining nerd it Britain of wild, white male that have never been crossed with a domestic breed. They are believed to be descendants of the Auruchs, the original white cat- tle of ancient Britain. If one of the young animals is handled by mar. the rest of the herd quickly kill it. bee 1947 winter blizzards reduced the herd from 33 to 13 animals. Later' 3 bulls and a heifer were born, increasing the herd to 16. None of the cows at that time was less than seven years old and two-year-old heif- ers were not expected to pro- duce for another two or three years. Naturally everything pos- sible is being done to protect the herd from extinction under the auspices of the Chillingham Wild Cattle Association. I thought the story most interesting especially as I had never heard of wild, white cattle before. I wonder if any of my readers have any first hand knowledge of these cattle. Another article that intrigued me mentioned the wild ponies of the New Forest. When I was in England in 1955 I was on a bus trip which took me through the New Forest and several times the bus driver had to pull up sharp- ly to let about a dozen ponies, some of them mares with colts, wander safely away from the road back to the woods. The ponies roamed at will and were wild or tame according to their natural disposition. They would often enter barnyards and accept feed from the farmer. A fellow - traveller on the bus, whose home was in the New Forest, told me - 000 pony in par'ticuler carte to her back door tints after -time looping for tit -hits, Ile became rather a nuisance 80 slur trial to discourage him, But the pony would never take no tor -an ans- wer and would toss his head and ste•mp his feet until he got what he wanted. The whole of Britain is no bigger than a small portion of Canada but thank goodness those in control are, and always have been, foresighted enough to pre. serve their trees and forests. and the wild life that belongs to the woods, the fields and the streams, made familiar to the public through rural magazines publish- ed in the British Isles. Why The Moon Looks Bigger At Times --- Of all the tricks nature plays on men's eyes, none is as old and inexplicable as "The Moon Illu- sion." When the noon is low on the horizon it invariably appears to be larger than when it is high in the sky later in the evening — yet even the mooniest lover knows that there is no difference in the distance between the two moons and the earthbound view- er on any given night, Most of the giants of classical astronomy have attempted to explain this perplexing illu- sion by attributing it to a seem- ing enlargement of the horizon moon caused by atmosphere haze. Ptolemy of Egypt (second century A,D,) first suggested this theory, and Galileo and Kepler, among others, also held to it. Recently, psychologists have treated the moon illusion as a problem in perception, related to the muscular effort involved in raising and lowering the eyes. To test such an idea, E. G. Boring, the Harvard psychologist, had observers double over and view the moon from between their legs. }Ie found the results incon- clusive. Last month, Prof, Irvin Rock, 37, of Yeshiva University and Lloyd Kautman, 33, of the Sper- ry Gyroscope Co., told the East- ern Psychological Association they solved the problem by less contorted means. Using an old gunsight and -a light source, they can reflect an artificial but real - looking moon onto the retinas of the eyes while the observer is viewing the real sky through a piece 0f glass. in addition, x shutter permits them to vary the size of the "moon." With two such scopes, one pointed at the horizon and the other at the zenith, Rock and Kaufman were able to re-create the moon illusion at will for systematic testing. The explana- tion they hit upon as a result of their investigation required no radical theories, but only a re- shuffling of Ptolemaic and mod- ern psychological ideas. Ptolemy had a second theory which stated that a filled space is perceived by the observer as being larger than a equivalent, but empty, space. Thus, the dis- tance to the sky on the horizon appears greater than the dis- tance to the sky above, because of the intervening terrain. Here, Emmert's law of perception takes over: If there are two objects the same distance away but one seems farther away, then it must appear larger to the subjective brain — even though both of the optical images recorded on the retina are the same. Or, crudely put, take away the horizon and intervening terrain, and the illusion of varying size is destroyed. —From NEWSWEEK Modern Etiquette els Anne Ashley f{. Should a pian remove his hat while talking with a woman in tlo tubby at a hotel? A: fie certelnly should. (t, 4,hntsld tt nein allow the wo- man with hint to p100041e hint through a revolving door? A. Yir. If the clone mappens to be whirling rapidly, he slows it dawn so that she may enter and go thrnueh with ease and safe- ly. Q. Is it really bad manners to file one's nails in the presence of 'a guest? A friend and I are having an argument over this. A. To file a broken nail that is Catching on things is all right— but to give yourself a manicure in the presence of guests is in extremely bad taste, Q. Is it considered in good taste for a divorcee to mail out invitations to her second wedd- ing? No; nor, as a matter of tact, should she have a big wedding. She usually invites her relatives and close friends by note or phone. She may, however, mail out announcements of the mar- riage immediately after the ceremony, Jiffy -Opens Plat - 1 dlltti4 W 8 LJ Sew -easiest! A few simple pieces — no fitting problems: it wraps. No ironing problem; — opens flat. A darling pinafore with easy puppy embroidery. Pattern 898: pattern pieces, transfer, cutting guides. Child's sizes 2, 4, 6 included. Send THIRTY-FIVE CENTS (stamps cannot be accepted, use postal note for safety) for this pattern to Laura Wheeler, Box 1, 123 Eighteenth St., New Toron- to, Ont. Print plainly PATTERN NUMBER, your NAME and AD- DRESS. New: New! New! Our 1960 Laura Wheeler Needlecraft Book is ready NOW! Crammed with exciting, unusual, popular de- signs to crochet, knit, sew, em- broider, quilt, weave—fashions, home furnishings, toys, gilts, bazaar hits. In the book FREE —3 quilt Pe,tierns. Hurry, send 25 cents for your copy. ISSUE 19 — 1960 CHAPEL ON THE MOVE — Spectators line the way as a memorial chapel to Queen Astrid of Belgium is slid across a road in Switzerland to a point above Lake lucerne, The queen died in an auto crash near the spot in 1935.