THE DRUCE CASE SEQUEL

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 150, 19 March 1908, Page 4

THE DRUCE CASE SEQUEL

" . MARY ROBINSON'S CAREER, i ; ; PROSECUTOR'S STORY. j' Mary' Robinson's what she pre-viousljgffiaYflchersolf-jy-was . put forward 'by Sir Charles' jfatthews, counsel for tho Crown, ,at ;Bow Street Court on January 26, when, ho opened tho "case''against-hor." "At' tho Draco inquiry, (says tho '/Argils").'she, reprosontcd herself-to-.bo-a..'single-vr.oman,,born iti Aitiefica 'ifi the v of John' and Louiso JAleiaTldrsalobin'stSh, cell Hill, Alleghany .Mountains j and sho said that sho was taken as a gill of 10 to England in 1861, when she first'met.'tho Duke of Portland. It i 3 falleged for. tho . Crown that,. she was really born at '.Wandsworth,, England,,jO'll, May, 25, 1841," the daughter of Jamds Webb, polico itMnstablo.waSJset.was.jat.-,school in London/and. : iji"Vork3hiror"As-Mary■ Ann 'Wobb sho- was marriod" 1 on' March ;; IV-,"-'1863, l! ' ; to ! '»Wi}liam —of-'-Leodsy—butchor, where thoy. lived till :1868.. ;In' that :year; according to : oi 1 sho :inot Dickens; in Boston, . Massachusetts. If . the nowly-; . by ;-,'doou- : correct, sho was liot aVgirl ofi 17 in\.'lßoß,whehi 'she said'• she'/ontbreilthiuDHißsilor.vico - iis 'outside sec-, icpta.ryrt-"'-hut^ji" married';.woman of. 27, air' •i "In 1870, ;as the deaU}^'-eortificato '.of. their, first- chil^:Eat'6' .Meiiyi-Bhows, Mr...'and. Sirs. Jtobinsoiv iivero £ . at, Lead Hill, Worksop ; (a ..'kAvn'-.-'fivo'-miles ; dist'ant' frora .WpiT. • , bcclr~'Abb6y, i "'tko ! -':Duko ! s soat)j and Robinson's (occupation, was "described ~asythat. of —S till j --apparently, ' were ■ the - Robinsons,"resident- at Worksop on March; 58§is45®KSS!l»ffl035.Wteirfi! 1 '' • son 4'®^' ; three! years-of age." On-May-7, -1572,_ was born to William and Mary A.nh" Robinson (formerly W.cbbl* aboy, Frederick William, at' No.'|l j^adf i Hillr;.Vft)rksop.. That birth, was registered personally by the defendant; hor namo occurs in tho birth cortificato, ..her..; na'nio, •;but* her; ,1 . ' -. -V"/ - ! ' In.-tlio Dnice ;caso;' Mary Robinson said thaf/'sho Vtlio' service from 186S'"ito" arid; tJiaj «in .1881, two years after'his doat.li/ slic went".to India and Hongkong, not arriving in New Zealand till 1898. Irtauiries made by the- Crowntell a diffororit 'two;; On'Jnno 16, 1874, Mrs.; Robinson. and her husband, with' 'two hoys,";, Jftmcs aiid iFisds 4.ii^ '?P'Eraht , r'ship,v named the 'Sf,om to : ; Now Zealand, "where tfioT; defendant, first 'wont is riot known, but by 1875 sho and hor husband . werbyin- JjK Wikimato, in New .Zoa.land.".. she.hcceelf registered the,.birth of anothor daughter, Eatp '•EllOtt:; daughter.' is,' still '.jliving; ap» pafently sho married Mr. Henry V,'heeler, a telegraphist, in'Now.-.Zealand, on .May 23,

Next. comcs a very interesting certificate, birth of a daughter; whoso Christian" 'name 'was - Maude, .upon May A, 1881; parents, William Robinson and Alary sS.3n* Robiris3n»^(fo'rnjeV]S?tiWebb),' married it Leeds, on March 17, 1863. This daughter; is hold; to ibo-honeVothor. than Maudo who appoarcd in tho Druco casts as Mary Robinson's. companion, and travelled with I-tier''from 'New Zealand to England to give '• .. . K'ln 1882,' ■ apparently,Vxhe i Robinsons worn still at Waimatoj a'boy, Willianij being born' ;cnt" Sisjifeiflbor <7, 1882. . Robinson died a't /Waimato on "August. 14,. 1884,-; at tho ago of jfj/bft and hisifa^cf's-- j iaamG v iTas.-giycn in the 14oath 5j ceHinda'fa John-Robinson, the recorded in the. mar-; riago certificate at .Leeds. Tho statement' regard to. him, that ho'had. been raidbhi*iol<!loiycarß. in : ' New 'Zealand - prior to his' doath, and tho death, .occurring in ,ho .had. .arrived in "WS^fSU 'tBiTSyl-w'ffimhis*on- liis'way' from New Zealand was intimato with tho Robinson -family , from the. year 1878. : :He-know Mrs.'Robinson, : ho knew her '.husband; lio kncTK^ was known'there as^at&BppaSbi^S!rid > as-far', as his.luiOTr--o^cil?,;:Was knoijn- as tho ■ daughter' of' William and Mary Ann Robinson, and was. commonly called Miss\ tlio'ipjimth of.'her husband Mrs". "■ Robinson", kept "'boarding-houses at dif-. ferent, -.pli/ces, .amongst others Now Brighton,' SrfteiVi&tfwas''burnt out. ~uAt; .Qfeistchurch, Mrs.' Robinson kent an-, "other; Twardiiig-house, 'which brings tho ro;cordrdov/hrtor.tliei'end;of.. 1906. At the cad' 'of lSOfT'licr ' attention "would seem,to havo »bqon ,«.ttractecL;ta ; ,pertain .paragraphs appear-'Mgl-itf tno'risVijSteßfalfi regard to the l)ruceJtarJjlimd self had Irccou.rso to to halyo.'been folto hei\ She then mado a communication to England, 'and , 'wtth f 'mdfb r than ono' copy of. pamphlet. Tho negotiations seem ,to,bavo ended,so far as New ZealanS Vas"c"ondorned''T)yleaving 'in Fobru•Stfs} foV-BdhdSn with the object of becoming a. witness in tho case. own report, various lettiers'by D'iclceiis and tho ; Duko were ;fronX:iamons&t her papers during "tho voyage. ■Aftof hep in. Lonsion- proceedings ,wero takcfi •'against ''ihpV.steamsnip. .owner's, for damages ■ for tho<loss of : "tho letters, but were owners'-.of tho .'.Arable messa^v .states that Mrs. llobinson 'disavows ; 'hiving 'taken these proceedings, and asserts . that Itlicjyi-Wero ..initiated _ by.. Mr. Kiniber, solicitor for tho Druco claimant, to'- cause a . "sensation.' / 1 '.

admitted at the Driico trial '£hat'slio'rMeivea''£2so't6'go to England, and ; rpap'fers'ifli&ovored. by tho Crown after her arrest show that.sho received; £3 : 195. ; a ;.week •'■while-m-'Londoii-for expenses:'''.-" ' ' Tho Bluff correspondent of tho "Southland . ' master ..'of tho. fßaapiikd' cutter'"Raven;' .tolls a shark story : "which, in the way of counsel and caution, is -worth —repeating; ■" ~Be&~ had tho. Raven . bepohed' at Henrietta >Bay} ; an'd ; ''was?'busily ; engaged scrubbing down her bottom. Tho .depth of watej.Jvap,not .more,than half way , ;-up to his lcnGes; -say 'eighteen, inches ;, something attracted his attention, and on looking round ho was as, well as durafounded to seo a shark at least ten feet in > length, making straight for-him. Ho bad ju'st timo; to t.jfoy a•- blow with his scrubbing brush aria that gave him a chanco to! get up on to ! 'thb N *'bank"out of harm's way. Sharks ar.o;jyiown to. bo'plentiful in, those, parts but this is about as daring a pi'oco of land-sharking as we havo heard of. ,'Ari amusing incident;. happened to the, Hon. Qi Fowlds's party whilst at the Tuliara hui on:'tho occasion of .tho tho now school (cays#tßdA.'Ka]i)ifSr..Telegraph"). With all due rospsct to tho forms and ceromonios of I his ancients of the meat, who happened to boy tho-chairman. of tho; sebpol..-cornmitteo, "prosentod his distiiguish6d' A visitor,' ! tli6 , ''Hbn. i G: 'Fowlds, after n good r -dflfi 1 orrna 1 iij-y, with a novel present in "tho shape of a sackful of Water f.m6lons —tho pick of tho garden—as a special ."m&rk of favour. Tho gift sras duly acknow- .. /ladged with courtesy. 'Whilst' the Minister ,'ii'na his companions, However, were in at , iirQch near by, >■ tribe of hungry Maori boys / ,catno upon tho sack, ' and doubtless tliinldng i they had "struck 1 a pateh" _in tho good , tbjngs profijl^i'^ur^.tho*'hlii',' "set-to 'Work : ''onj'tho (So'ntents."When tho Hon. Mr. • Fawldsand t1.19. .-.otljejs . camo out from i luncheon only tliVtfo sbhtitry melons remained; ; alii {.he;, others had been eagerly devoured 1 wij.t~ considerable relish.