On Wednesday, the jury which had been engaged for twenty
days in all, in hearing the Zierenberg case, returned a verdict for Mr. Labouchere, the defendant. It will be remembered that Truth, in an article headed " Is Zierenberg's a Home or a Gaol F" declared that the plaintiffs' "home for inebriates" was, in fact, a laundry kept up for their own benefit by the forced labour of the inmates, who were kept in it against their will; and that they were ill-treated. The Judge, Mr. Justice Hawkins, in summing up the evidence, clearly indicated his opinion that it bore out the charge. The Zierenbergs, in fact, not only worked a slave-laundry for their own profit, but, in doing so, posed as philanthropists deserving the support of all good men. Mr. Labouchere may be heartily congratulated on having done an excellent piece of work, and on having proved once again, that even the most disagreeable things in nature have their uses, and contribute to the sum of utility.
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