THE SERIOUS CHARTS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1541, 18 January 1887, Page 2

THE SERIOUS CHARTS.

The hearing of the alleged ease*' of malpractice at Christchurch wW resumed bn Friday at the Resident Magistiate's Court, Messrs W. Whitoj, junr,, -R, Wesfenra, and F. Guinness being on ~ the bench. -' •••• First Gas*. A. ■ The first case called waS tbat of GbttlM James Russell and Miry ; Bowern, who were charged with having on the -month of January 1886 procured abortion; ■ Mr Joyut appeared for Of; Russell and Mr Stringer for Mrs Bowern, The following ■is a summary of- the evidence taken;— Constable Flewellyn deposed to the arrest of Mrs Bowern onMonday evading, and explaining to her the nature of this ■ charge.’ She denied'that Dr Russell had * m done anything of the kind; Hessid! to her, “ Now, Mrs Bowern, ! want lo,got a letter that Dr.: Bussell lias spot to yon in reply to one yon wrots to: him. She said, “ He did not send me. any letter at all.” He searched for the letter bgt- did not'find it. Whilst searching.in the back put of the house she said, “Well,uldid receive a letter froth Dr. Rasiell.” Shortly after they went in,/she said, to him that she was in the family way. She said she had destroyed the letter from. Dr Russell, r She sa : d, “ Whsn 1, foand 1 was this way 1 v. rote to him, as 1 beard he used to do things of this kind, and he wrote back to me on part of myowndetter, saying that he would not do It.” ;The witness then deposed-to Mrs Bowern being taken td the station, to her eon* feSsion to hpr.release ‘ from the lock-up in charge of a Sergeant of police, and to meeting- her next day and having a conversation, with he? about the case when she gave him an instrument J fproduced) with which ahe Dr; J Russell performed the operation Constable O’Connor deposed to the arrest of Dr Russell on the: Hth. .The doctor was much affected when told the charge, and asked to be allowed; tp Write some letters and arrange.. bis affaire. To this the witness and Detective Neill , con* sented, and accompanied..him upstair#, . when accused said to his sister, “ 1 have got into trouble.” She aaid, “ What did you do I’’ “He said, “ They say that I did something-wrong to a woman, but I.did nothing but,my duty to her.’. iHe tlien looked at witness and said, “1 don’t ■- know what to say to you. Bowens arrested J". Witness said, “ Yea;’ He asked, “ What did she say, thenf’ Wit*

> ness said “ She's told all about it.” H asked again what she said, and witnei 1 replied!; “ She made a long statement a r far as I can remember, but she saidyo K : had performed an operation on her. ” H : then said;; ‘ * She came here, two or ; thre months ago and wanted me to perform ai 'operation 'on her. I refused to do so I told her that I had an anonymous lette telling me that she was pregnant, and tha v if l interfered with her again it would b made a poliae case of. She had been witl ifu.njn on a . previous occasion, and I per formed an operation for her then. 1 thei . thought it, was a c«so of simple necessity, .I : don’t know whether 1 was right oi wrong.in doing it, but I have often don< ■o in oaaea where women were likely tc : have a troublesome time.” The witneo; then deposed to thn prisoner saying he iWahted to speak to his sister, to their ' withdrawal into tha passage, and tc " besripg the latter scream, and say, “ Oh, • you mustn’t do that,’ He looked over, . and saw the dpctor had a bottle (produced) - .j ( ’tb bis mouth.He rushed over, and took '' the bottle from him. Some of the liquid from the l"i ’l». was streaming down his •; chin, Th>' ■'< ctor usid he was too late ; that he hap dune it:, and that be wanted todisinhis own house. He struggled violently, threw himself down, and clung tojfae door, but was handcuffed, carried Into a cab, and conveyed to tbs hospital, : ; where witness heaird - him 1 say several , tiroes ’that be wished be bad.died, and •;; that it. would be better for him te die tiikn bring disgrace on a hundred ramUiesp. A tithe hospital prisoner gave • i bim a piece of paper to give to bis sister, rsquesting him not to open it. He did ■ open it and the contents were as follow : —“ l am betrayed for doing the best I v '4)ohld : to save two families. Telegraph ,' Louie net to come. Pay all debts. ' There is v quite enough, and s little for Louie and .Eva. Kiss them for me. I - eaaoot'stand this, I must die. God have , Mercy on my soul. Good-bye.—o. J. > Bssiell, M.D.’ He said be had taken .aconite and strychnine. At Dr Russell's , house he found a diary and a day-book in Aaoh of which appeared the entry, dated k. December. 30th, 11185, “ Bowern, J. ,-,sol, street, £lO 10s.” The ' witness also found the following annonymous letter among the doctor’s papers "Notice. A woman, by name Bowern, of St Albans, who is known to be preg* asnt, will doubtless visit a certain M.D. (as she ha* done before). Tbe ease is •' hunai and watched, and the case will bs in the hands of certain parties for examination and Court if it is meddled ■ wflh. 1 A warning from—One.in-Blae.” Inspector Pender, deposed to tbe ~ arreat of Mrs Bowern, and to being given 4 «letter (produced) (com Mr Bowern to : • person named “Jim” accusing him of i giving information to .the police of her - irilits to Dr Bussell. He also deposed to v Mri ; B6wern making the following contC him on tbe night of her arrant : after be bad cautioned her. The comfMefoD la signed by Mrs Bowern on each -■. pigs**— . .. .. t “ Christchurch, 11th January, 1887. “My ntm* is Mary Bowern. lam the wife; of Joseph Bowern. 1 live at St. Albans. About twelve months ago 1 met • gentleman •:> one night, and I got into (rouble with him. 1 saw him a wsek afterwards, and 1 told him my condition. He asked ms to go home with him. 1 would fipt on sccount sf my children. He ' Asked the if 1 there wan anything could be done. 1 tsld bim I had beard of Dr Russell, - and.that the man who told me of Dr. Bussell tsld me tbe doctor’s sbargs was $lO IQs, The gentleman soon after went to England. After I found the gentleman, who was the (other of my child, bad gene home, 1 went to see Dr Bussell. I eaw him at his own bouse. A yeusg woman named Wylie was with me. She temtined in s room, and I saw Dr. ' Rbsiell alonsw 1 told litta i was separated from my husband, and I thought I was pregnant. 1 said I had very bad confinements. ,He said the only thing he could / do was' to put ine under an operation. He asked. me if I bad the money. 1 said I had and I said, ‘ How much 1’ He said he would not do it under ten guineas. . I gave .-.him the money then. I asked him if he Sought.he could do what I wanted by giving me-medicine. He said he would not give me medicine; that what he would do would not injure me so much. This AAs at night, and then 1 came away with Mias Wylie. About a week after be called at my house, No— Salisbury street,—and asked me to have it done at bis bouse. I went tbe same afternoon to Dr. Bussell’s house Miss ■ ’ Wylie accompanied me. 1 - there* went under the operation. He used an instrument. I then went home. About arkeek afterwards he performed another Operation on me at bis own house. I think- he used an instrument. It was •Dcceesful. I sent for Dr. Bussell the r.'salfie night. He calledl next day and every day for about a week. After I got better Ike told me that if 1 was to tell that, he - wbuld get ten years, and he asked me if • an)one knew about it. I said “No. 1 ’ - * When Hound I was again in the same AAy about five moctho ago I wrote to him V and asked him if he would do tbe same v for me Again. My sister took the letter, ' but she did not know its contents until iheCanieback again, when I told her. ' My sister brought the letter back from Y ipf. Bussell, who wrote on it to the effect i that he bad had a, latter from, tbe police ‘ station saying that I had had an operation performed, and that I was in the same way again, and was likely to go to him ‘ again, and that he could not do anything for me. The same night I went to see him 1 asked him to show me the letter he received from the police. He said it was > At hand, and he advised me to leave Christchurch. I then told -him that if - there was a divorce case:! thought he / would get into trouble for what he had - Aonvift <fle saidshe-could not help it, be '" could do nothing for me. I then went \home. That is all I have to say, except - ■ - 'about the letter I wrote to Christie. I < blamed him, as I bad told him of my t - going to Dr Russell, and 1 thought he had written to Dr Bussell about it. I then wrote to him and accused him of writing to Russell, Christie told me he • * bad not done so. I make this statement v. of my own free will, and voluntarily,

alter being cautioned .— Mart Bowekn.” f “ The-witness stated that he saw Bussell j nat tbe boepital and the latter aakad him notto pttss the case hardly against him. <Dr Westerns* at the hospital, deposed ' - togiriiftf Df Bussell no emetic which was The instalment produced , ( ; flight be hied to procure abortion, but ,• ia.ihsed.ftit other purposes, v. JaffleS Christie identified a letter pro* '. Jihed, which he believed was in Mrs lkfWStß’i h«Adwri(i«([, fit remain bared

0 seeing Mrs Bo worn some time ago, when is she told him she had written to Or is BiiPflel l , and he h-d refused to operate Q on her. Shs said she had giren Dr a Rnesell ten guineas. She never told him e wimt she had given Dir Bussell (he ten > guineas for. '• Jessie Wylie, a spinster, living at r Kaiapoi deposed to visiting Dr Russell’s t houro in company with Mrs Bowero on a I two occasions. On the second occasion 1 they went upstairs to h room ic which - there wa« a bad, and witness described i what she saw take place, and also de- . tailed what Mrs Bowern afterwards told r her as to the operation. Mrs Bowern > went about the house aa usual, and next i morning shoved witness the instrument i prod need. She also deposed to the doctor visiting Mrs Bowern, and to getting some ' -medicine from him for Mrs Bowern. ' Mary Lynch, a domestic servant, deposed to hieing at Mrs Bowern's for three weeks, a girl named Annie Connelly being servant there before her. After she had been there a week, Mrs Bowern told her she was going under ao operation by Dr Busaell. She said she was rather stout, and that she was ashamed for people to sea her. She said as soon as she could get some

money she would undergo the operation. She spoke about the operation more than once to her s’ster Bella and witness. She went to Dr Bussell’s, and Dr Bussell also came to the house. Mrs Bowern said she was bad because of the operation by instruments. She said she had paid Dr Russell £lolos. She said as soon as she got over the operation Annie Connelly was going under the operation also, as soon as her brother, Bob Wilson, got the money. Isabella vVilson, a sister of Mrs Bowern, deposed to taking a letter to Dr Bussell’s and to getting a reply. She did not know the contents of either, but her sister said the letter was about something the matter with her. Mrs iNorth, a neighbor of Mrs Bowern's, deposed to the latter being a married woman, living apart from her husband, with five children, find to her showing witness a letter from Dr Russell, which as near as she could remember was as follows:—“Dear Mrs Bowern, I am sorry to hear that yon are in trouble again. I cannot attend to you. My advice to you is to clear out of Christ* church.” Mrs Bowern told her she had been, under an operation before. To Inspector Pender’s question re a former operation, Did she (Mrs Bowern) say the children were living or dead} the ; witness replied, after considerable hesitation: She said that the child was alive when it was put on the fire and burnt. (Sensation). This concluded this case, and both prisoners were committed to take their trial at the next sitting of the Supreme Court. Sbcond Cass. Charles James Russell and Jane Richard were charged with having oo or about the mouth of September, 1886, unlawfully procured abortion in the case of Kate Fisher. Dr Russell was defended by Mr Joynt, and Mrs Richard by Mr Stringer. Kate Fisher a general servaat living ia Wilson's lane, Christchurch, said : -1 know Dr. Russell. I have known him for some eighteen months. 1 went to Dr Russell to get a place to stop during my confinement, and he recommended me to Mrs Richard. There were seme other girls there when I went to Mrs Richard’s. 1 remained there till I was confined a week,■ before Christmas, 1885, and remained there for two months after. Soon after 1 left Mrs Richard's in February last I saw Dr Russell. There was na intimacy between Dr. Bussell and myself. It went beyond the professional relations between us. It took at his own house on more than one occasion, and the intimacy subsisted until within the pest four mouths, since which I have been ill. Tim intimacy commenced before my first child was born, and continued after this. The result was that 1 became pregnant by Dr. Russell. Be told me after some time that he would use an instrument to me, and be did so. I cannot remember tha date. I was at Mrs Richard’s at the time. I was servant there. Mrs Richard did not know anything about it until it happened. I told her Dr Bussell bad operated 00 me, and Mrs Richard got another place for me to stay. Mrs Richard did not say anything then. She went over and brought the doctor to see me. He ordered Mrs Richard to get another place for roe, and I went to another place, Mrs Macleum’s, in Madras street, where I stayed a fortnight. Dr Bussell saw me twice during that period. The operation performed by Dr Russell on me was successful. I do not know what weefeae with the child. [The witness then described the operation.] Dr Russell paid Mrs Richard £l2 whilst I was with her for my expenses. I do not remember Dr Russell giving me any money. 1 did not tell Mrs Richard anything about the operation or the second child of mine until afterwards* Mrs Richard attended me whilst I was ill. I was so ill that 1 have no recollection what became of the children. Mrs Richard came to Mrs Macleam’s to see me during the time 1 wins ill* There were four or five girls staying at Mrs Richard’s when 1 waa there. I cannot say what the girls were there for, whether it waa to get rid of children. Dr Russell attended them all. They generally stayed a weak or a fortnight. Corroborative evidence was given and Or Russell was committed for trial, the charge against Jane Riehard being dismissed. THIRD CASE. On Saturday Dr Russell, Mrs Bowern, Isabella Wilson, and Robt. J. Wilson whre charged that in the month of January, 1886, they did unlawfully use a certain instrument to cause the miscarriage of Annie Connelly. The evidence of Annie Coaoelly was to the effect that she went to service at Mrs Bowern’s and after a time she became pregnant to Robt. Wilson. Mrs Bowern, Miss Wilson and Robt. Wilson periuaded her to go to Dr Russell's, After a time she went and was examined by the doctor in January, who asked her her name and age and bow many months had elapsed. She said four and a-half months. On a subssquent day she again visited the doctor, and be per* formed an operation oo her which she described. The child, a male one, was born alive. She saw it move* She 1 aftirwards was told it waa burnt. Mrs 1 Bowern took the child out of the room

soi'ii after it was born, but the witness oou d not say whether it was then alive. She heard Wilson was in the house at the time the child was born, hut i did not see him. She never spoke to him about it afterwards. She saw Miss Wilson give Dr Russell £lO 10s, which she said was given to her by her brother. Elizabeth North deposed to Mrsßowern telling her that if Dr Russell refused to operate on her, she bad threatened to inform on what he had done to the girl Connelly. Witness asked what she meant, and Mrs Bowern said that Dr Russell had taken a child from the girl, and told her to burn it; it was put on the fire. Witness asked how she could do such a thing, and she said she did It for her brother. She (Mrs Bo warn) said sho had to raise the fire when the child’s hand was raised up. Mary Lynch deposed to hearing Robert Wilson and Mrs Bowern talking about the girl Connelly, sod to the former saying that he must clear out to America if the girl did not undergo the operation. Anne Con Dolly was crying one day, and on witness asking h«r what for she said she had been enoieote to Wilson for six months, and that the child was alive. After hearing other evidence the Bench dismissed the charge against Robt. Wilson and committed the other prisoners for trial. The Bench refused bail for Russell, but admitted the women to bail, in two sureties of £260 each. Joseph Bowero, Mrs Bowera’s husband, and her father became sureties.