A very curious scene took place in the Court of
Queen's Bench on Wednesday, when the Claimant and his ally, Mr. Skipworth, were brought up for contempt of Court. Mr. Skip- worth made a speech, and a number of completely irrelevant documents were read on his behalf, including a letter of his own to the Queen on behalf of the Claimant, and containing various absurd stories as to Mr. Gladstone's passionate appeal to the Attorney-General not to fail in the Tichborne ease, and the Attorney-General's blandishments to Mr. Ballantine,—Sir J. D. Coleridge put his arm, it was stated, amidst roars of laughter, round Mr. Ballantine's neck,---zafter the reading of which absurd documents Mr. Skipworth became rhetorical, and said :--" My Lords, if after these statements You commit me for contempt of Court, all I can say is that I throw myself on my country and my God." The Claimant was rational, and in the course of the case repeatedly reminded us of his" own pithy apophthegm, "Some people has money and no brains,- and other people has brains and no money, and the one set Must live on the other." gr. Skipworth was fined 1500 and imprisoned for three months. The Claimant was only compelled to give security himself for £500, and to get another to be security for 1.500, not to be guilty of further contempt of Court, and his physician, Dr. Attwood, immediately gave the security required. The Claimant left the Court amidst enthusiastic demonstrations from the crowd outside. There is no doubt that if Sir Charles Dike were to' succeed in persuading England to set up a Republic and elect -a President, the Claimant would secure the greatest popular majority Of modern times.
