I shall not describe the proceedings before the Lord Mayor on this
occasion. Properly speaking, it was Mr. Bradlaugh's day, and some
time or other its incidents will be recorded in his biography.
Suffice it to say that he showed his usual legal dexterity, sat
on poor Mr. Maloney, and sadly puzzled the Lord Mayor. I must,
however, refer to one point, as it illustrates the high Christian
morality of our prosecutors. Mr. Maloney had obtained an illegal
order from the Lord Mayor to inspect Mr. Bradlaugh's bank account,
and armed with this order, which, even if it were legal, would not
have extended beyond the limits of the City, this enterprising
barrister had overhauled the books of the St. John's Wood Branch of
the London and South-Western Bank. Lord Coleridge's astonishment
at this unheard-of proceeding was only equalled by his trenchant
sarcasm on the Lord Mayor as a legal functionary, and his bitter
cold sneer at Mr. Maloney, who, it further appeared, had actually
played the part of an amateur detective, by setting street policemen
to watch Mr. Bradlaugh's entries and exits from his publishing office.
On the following Friday, July 21, the hearing of our case was resumed.
We were all committed for trial at the Old Bailey, with the exception
of Mr. Whittle, the printer, against whom the prosecution was abandoned
on the ground that he had ceased to print the _Freethinker_.
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