Mr. C. C. Massey
Mr. C. C. Massey, Barrister-at-Law, Vice-President of the British National Association of Spiritualists, and the counsel who defended Mr. Simmons in the Slade case, has received public recognition of his high professional ability from the lips of the Judge at the Cornwall Summer Assizes, where Mr. Massey had defended a woman charged with child murder, Mr. Justice Denman’s remarks, before summing up, are thus reported in the Western Morning News of July 29th:—
“His Lordship summed up at considerable length. He said that whatever the result of the case might be, there was one thing he was sure they would all agree with him, and that was that not only the jury and himself, not only the prisoner, but also the administration of justice itself, were deeply indebted to the learned counsel, who, upon the simple suggestion of the judge, in order that the prisoner might not go undefended, had given the best of his skill and judgment to it, and had suggested to a jury as earnestly, as ably, and as successfully, all such points as might tell in favour of the prisoner—whatever might be the suspicions and feelings that had arisen—as if he had been fee’d with ten thousand guineas. It was a fact which was highly honourable to the counsel and highly honourable to the English bar. He (the Judge) might mention that he had asked Mr. Massey to conduct the case. He readily responded to the invitation, and he had taken the case entirely at heart, and never had he heard a cause more skilfully and systematically dealt with, nor had he seen better taste shown, than Mr. Massey had exhibited from beginning to end. There were, however, certain things mentioned in the address which he did not altogether agree with, and he should comment upon those later on. But he thought it would not be right for him to commence his observations on the general facts of the case without expressing his thanks and also that of the jury, and, hemight add, that of the prisoner, to Mr. Massey for the admirable manner in which he had conducted the defence.” Mr. Massey is one of the most honourable, intelligent, andutterly unselfish workers connected with the spiritual movement.
Editor's notes
Sources
London Spiritualist, No. 311, August 9, 1878, p. 62