ALLEGED ILLEGAL OPERATION.

NZ Truth, Issue 129, 7 December 1907, Page 6

ALLEGED ILLEGAL OPERATION.

ANNIE WHITTAKER FOUND "NOT GUILTY." She Would Not Give the Girl Away. WHO. PERFORMED THE ILLEGAL DEED?

. William Burfor'd and 'Annie Whittaker were charged _&t Wellington Supreme Court on Thursday with unlawfully using an instrument with intent- to procure a miscarriage. Mr Wilford, counsel for the defence, applied for a severance of the two cases, and adduced argument m favor of separation. There was a cloud of evidence pertaining only to the case against each accused, and the accused, Mrs Whittaker, at least, would be prejudiced by a joint hearing. Mr Myers, for the prosecution, m opposing the severance, pointed out that Mrs Whittaker was the principal and Burford the accessory to* tho act, the accessory being a principal m law, ami the evidence against each was one story. . His Honor Justice ■ Cooper remarked that the first -count of the" indictment charged the prisoners jointly, but there was a considerable branch of the evidence that applied only to the female and* not to the male accused, and a considerable' volume of evidence applied to the male and not to the female. If he erred at all he preferred to err on the side that would prevent either of the prisoners from saying, "I HAVE NOT HAD 'A'. FAIR TRIAL," and as there might be' a prejudice to one of the accused by a joint hearing-: he would accede to the request for a severance. The first essential of a case of conspiracy was the guilt of the principal, and m the event of the female prisoner being convicted, the case against the male accused could be proceeded with ; but he under-' stood that m the event of an acquittal the Crown would not deem it necessary to charge Burfbrd. Mr Myers agreed that such a course would be impossible. "Truth" readers were familiarised With the case for the Crown when the case was before . the Magistrate's Court. It will be recollected that a young girl of 17 named May Bond, residing m Ellice-street, loved Burford most unwisely and developed that interesting condition which (according to Smollett, or a contemporary) all good ladies love .to be . m who love their lords. Unfortunately the church or the registry-office had no hand m the temporary union, and our hideous social system regarded motherhood, m the circs., as a lieinous crime. In her inexperience and distress the girl consulted Burford, who, on August 17, introduced her to Mrs Annie Whittaker, who resides m Spencer House, Aro-sfreet. The girl, who appeared in ' the witness-box bathed m tears and was accommodated with a seat at the solicitors' table, testified to the above, and also to the performance of an operation with the aid of a douche, Mrs Whittaker being the operator. The girl was afterwards supplied with chest plasters at her lodgings by a Mrs Brooks, daughter of her landlady. She felt terribly weak, consulted a doctor and was ordered to the hospital, where the fact of the operation was discovered. A douche was produced m. Court, but there were marked features of dissimilarity between it and the one- used on the girl. To Mr Wilford, the girl said she was employed at Gill's place, Kelburne, when she had been intimate., with Burford. The Gill family went up country and Burford came and slept with her one night, while another domestic slept with another young man m the house 'on the same night. The witness stated first that this was the only occasion on which she had been intimate with Burford, but subsequently corrected this statement. She had not used a crochet needle on herself, nor had she asked anyone to procure any medicine that might bring about abortion. Moreover, she hadn't informed the sinful domestic already mentioned that she (May Bond) had had a miscarriage previously. Mrs Whittaker told her that she had inconvenienced her very much by coming, ( and the woman had even to borrow a bed to put the girl on. She went into Mrs Whittaker's, had her trouble removed, and departed for home within twenty-four hours. He- examined by Mr Myers, the .tirl s>r.id sfta had been intimate with Barford at. other places besides Gill's, but she couldn't remember where. The gay deceiver used to call at Gill's and take her out. Mrs Maria Brooks, who lives with the girl m Ellice-street, testified that May left her home m a pregnant condition on August 17 and returned on the following day. Burford gave her the chest plasters already mentioned to give to the girl Bond. George Bond deposed that he met las sister and Burrprd on Oliiro Road on then' way to Mrs Whittaker 7i s and HE EXPOSTULATED WITH HIS. SISTER for going there. ' Dr. Henry was the medico called m by the girl and who discovered that she was suffering from the effects of a recent miscarriage, but he couldn't say what caused it. An instru J ment like the douche produced might have been the abortion agent. To Mr Wilford : A crochet needle,' a pen-holder,, or m fact any foreign body introduced into the womb would cause abortion. The instrument used by a medical man to bring about abortion was much after the shape of a penholder. His Honor : But the doctor does not procure abortion. Counsel : What do you call it, doctor ?— WeIJ, we call it "abortion,' but there is a , difference between the legal and illegal operation. Counsel : A doctor may commit abortion, but no one else, is that it ? His Honor understood that a, . doctor might find it necessary to perform an operation to save a woman's life. Witness : Tkat is so, your Honor. Dr. Ewart, medical superintendent of the Hospital, expressed the opinion that the miscarriage was not produced by the douche produced, which could only be successful under abnormal Qomliiiotip. If the girl had

used a crochet needle on kerself at 10 m the morning and" a miscarriage occurred at 5 next morning (as m the present case) the miscarriage might be due to the operation at 10 o'clock. The average time was seventeen hours, but it varied, according to circumstances, from .eight hours to twenty-four. The ,girl, recalled j fixed the date of her first sinfumess with . Burford by the election of the Mayoralty of Wellington, and she reckoned she was four months gone when the miscarriage took place. When arrested by Detective Lewis, Mrs Whittaker remarked that there •had been no girl on the premises to have abortion practised on. She also remarked, "My God, what will become of my two littles children?" Lily Louisa Findlay, wife of a Wellington hairdresser, who was called lor the defence, was m Mrs Whittaker's when May Bond, transited on the. Saturay morning. , May said toMrs Whittaker, "You know what I rhave come for." Mrs Whittaker replied, "Yes ; when do you expect it?" The girl replied, "At any minute." Two enemas, produced m the lower Court, belonged to the witness and WERE TAKEN HOME BY HER. ■ In cross-examination by Mr Myers, she Was m the kitchen when May Bond arrived, ami there were two doors open between her and the speakers. She didn't see the , girl, but heard her go into the front room. Addressing the jury, Mr Wilford submitted that a conviction must rest upon the evidence of the girl, who was an accomplice if the crime had been committed. Learned judges had affirmed that the evidence of no ac.complice should be accepted without corroborate on. He commented upon the fact that Dr. Ewart did not credit the idea that the douche found m Mrs Whittaker's had been used to procure abortion ; m fact, any married man would know that the douche was commonly used for sanitary purposes, and for a purpose ' m no way connected with abortion. The girl herself had stated that the instrument used was not similar to that produced. Counsel, advanced the theory that Burford .went to Mrs Whitt&lcer and told her that a girl. he had got into trouble had used a crochet needle on herself, and he asked the woman to »take the girl m until she got over the trouble. Also that the douche had been used m a harmless way and consistent with the theory that the operation had taken place prior to the girl's admission to the house. Mrs Whittaker, who did not go into the witness-box,' made a statement corroborating this theory. She said she had known Burford about 18 months, and on Wednesday, the 14th, between 8 and 9 o'clock, he came to the house and asked her to take m a girl who had .punctured herself with a darning needle. Mrs Whittaker hesitated, but consented after some persuasion on the part of Burford, who said the girl would arrive probably about 12 o'clock on Saturday. She confirmed the testimony given-by Mrs Findlay, regarding what took place at the door, and she FURNISHED ACCOMMODATION FOR THE GIRL, who appeared to be m pain. She administered brandy twice, and then used the syringe ' to give $he girl relief. The actual miscarriage took place before 5 o'clock m the morning. At 4.15 the .girl called Mrs Whittaker, who had retired, and remarked, "I think it's come. Can you relieve me of the pain ?" Mrs Whittaker tied a sheet on to the end of the bed and instructed the girl to pull on it, and after further attention the ended. The syringe was again used on the following day, and the girl had dinner m bed. After the meal, she said, "I think I'll get up," and she left the house later 'm the afternoon. Burford came up on the following day , (Sunday) to see if the patient was all right. On Monday Mrs Whittnker was interviewed by Detectives McGratli and Lewis, who asked her if she knew a girl named May Bond. She replied m the negative. Her reason, for doing so was that she had promised May that if the worst came 'to the worst SHE WOULDN'T GIVE HER AWAY. Mr Myers, m the course of his address, said the natural behaviour of an innocent woman when identified and accused by May Bond m the "presence of the detectives' should have been to reject the allegation "with indignation and to have stated that the operation was performed by the girl herself. Mrs Whittaker had sta* ted m her. address that Burford camo to her on Wednesday morning . and asked her to take m a girl who had punctured herself with a crochet needle, and counsel commented upon the fact that the miscarriage had not taken place till Sunday morning. , His Honor summed up at length, and the jury retired at 4.15 p.m., returning at 5.5 with a verdict of "Not Guilty."-