And Brian, stepping down from the dock a free man, passed through a
crowd of congratulating friends to a small room off the Court, where a
woman was waiting for him--a woman who clung round his neck, and
sobbed out--
"My darling! My darling! I knew that God would save you."
CHAPTER XX.
THE "ARGUS" GIVES ITS OPINION.
The morning after the trial was concluded the following article in
reference to the matter appeared in the ARGUS:--
"During the past three months we have frequently in our columns
commented on the extraordinary case which is now so widely known as
'The Hansom Cab Tragedy.' We can safely say that it is the most
remarkable case which has ever come under the notice of our Criminal
Court, and the verdict given by the jury yesterday has enveloped the
matter in a still deeper mystery. By a train of strange coincidences,
Mr. Brian Fitzgerald, a young squatter, was suspected of having
murdered Whyte, and had it not been for the timely appearance of the
woman Rawlins who turned up at the eleventh hour, we feel sure that a
verdict of guilty would have been given, and an innocent man would have
suffered punishment for the crime of another. Fortunately for the
prisoner, and for the interests of justice, his counsel, Mr. Calton, by
unwearied diligence, was able to discover the last witness, and prove
an ALIBI, Had it not been for this, in spite of the remarks made by the
learned counsel in his brilliant speech yesterday, which resulted in
the acquittal of the prisoner, we question very much if the rest of the
evidence in favour of the accused would have been sufficient to
persuade the jury that he was an innocent man.
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