London had a tragic sensation on Tuesday. Mr. Justice Bigham
summed up the case of Whitaker Wright, in which he showed clearly, in spite of the opinions of the Attorney-General and Mr. Balfour as expressed in Parliament, that if the facts alleged against the accused were true, he had broken the criminal law. The jury there- fore, after a comparatively short retirement, found the great promoter guilty on all counts, and he was sentenced to the maximum penalty, seven years' penal servitude. The guilty man heard his sentence with apparent calm, but on his way from the Court contrived to swallow cyanide of potassium, the symptoms, as described by Dr. Freyberger, pathologist to the London County Council, at the inquest, all pointing to that method of self-execution. He walked safely from the Court to his room, but shortly afterwards sank down in a chair and died in a few minutes. His whole career points to him as one of those men who are determined to reach what they think the top of the world, and who care nothing for the misery they inflict, if only they may enjoy the height of luxury and social consideration.
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