REFORMING A GIRL.

NZ Truth, Issue 181, 5 December 1908, Page 8

REFORMING A GIRL.

THE SHOCKING STORY OF THE SHAMELESS SMITHS.

Goings-on at Green Island.

FOUL FIENDS IN HUMAN FORM.

Husband and Wife Sent to Gaol.

It Is a ghastly satire on our so-called | Christianity that, nearly two thousand years* 1 after the birth of our Saviour, such outrages can .occur— and m God's O*m Country— as that which was revealed m the DUnedin Supreme Court recently. The case was one ol the most revolting and amazing heard m the Dominion for ■ a long ■ time past, not even excepting the sickening experiences of that sin-sotl-tlened holy cityi Christchurch. The accused were George Edward Smith and Charlotte Elizabeth Smith, husband and wife, who were indicted, on a Whole string of counts, for that between 'Nov&m.be-r 10., 1907, and February 9, 1908,. then haying the qust&dy .of Henrietta Pagel, a girl under, the. ageol sixteen, they did .wilfully, ill-treat her' toa manner -likely to cause her unnecessary suffering. There were seven othei counts of having ■ indecently assaulted, the girl..'* 'Th£ male accusea,;was charged; With SKaving had sexual' %'tercburse with the girl on seven ocjSasions. The astoundihg fea*ture of the»?case is the fact that the felnaie acctis^jK »is "the SISTER Cjp THE YOUNG VICTffM,, . anil 'instead of protecting and' sWeWing her own fltysb and blosd-nas even -jtbe Wild Hearts of the jumule will do-^ans. perverted* female, according yp „ all, evi'Sence, -actiia'Hy played a leading jtot m the fieitdkdi outrages, and , aid^d 4in4 attested. 1 her' vile mof^trbflty of W- husband- is Bs fcruell atfd $lthy» -prac Mmis. ■■• / • \ .' "Both- -pi the beauties- ptoaded not j^U-. it, the mal'», posing as a »u^ik|pe*,. Mhflic'ttng the joint defei.ce.., The. c^ftt wfis cfcsured of all eotcepU vishose. eng^^ggft m: the (Case and the press. 4fs& In? case had proceeded for about im hour and a-lsail, some bfioLous pdckjpifSan ffinip^tjiio was dr.mkibg in^ the loa^hsonle reVwationS Wijjh >. •glwrting, 'gooseberry ifaejs and sftaTOwig. lips—ruassed , u^ a note fo the ißsjfecUrf, drawing att^htipn to the- hqiatfFpßg £act that the; '"Eriith" repressfflbaw© wriwbg ftp 'the«.ejKdence. .§fi;B Jnspectßrj; with a shudder^ of?; virtue and .a giaxe of glazed horror m jps brilUant b&e eye, passed ,along thejparalySntj Intel tfgence to; the Crown yProsecufeor. That old covej staggered \ to bis •feet, and m .'. •■ ••'•;.-'. A" BLOOJJ-SHGT TONE OF TjtOlCE, appealed to his Honor to have, tike eviitei«e suppressed. Mr Justice Williatm^ ruled that no 'evidence should b/e .published under pain of committal foe contempt of- -court. Now, 'the "Truth" " man hdd to intention of taicing a note of the tilShy, sickening details, but there was a great deal of ; evidence that, m the interests of Justice, ought ..most- certainly to fcave been published, bujtalL this was ruled out by the pimp-likp action of certain snuffle-busting sbicers afid white-eyed wowsers... Moreover, we shall say mote about that aspect ot the matter anon- . But while the evidence was thus bartpd, the Crown /Prosecutor's opening statement was not, ; and -'that gives some fcmt idea of the 'awful- affair. As the" address was reported— nkaKiely and very ttajfdly— in s the. "respectable,' pinchomof, pcttilogaQig, pawish-pump, paltry, poerjla, Pea saffian daily press, "Truth*. giv«s a reliable report, which will : INDICATE THE ,'DEVILISH DOINGS of these hell-houmjts of Green Island. : hi opening, the /Crown Prosecutor said Hbe details of toe case were peculiarly . lafrthsome. The.' child was a girl under' sfarteen >ears of/ age, the sister of tlto female accused, and went to live, with fj& pair at. G/een Island m November, 1597-, until J.fcl>ruary, 190S, and. it was 1 , o«er- that period that the treatment of t*fc rfriid ©Cftuirred. Hfer parents lived at $J«mj>den. It was > natural for a jury, trying such a case; to have it m theirrnintfe tfcat chiidran were sometimes, de-' pravtd and some J Ailies exaggerated, and i lft»f must look clcsely to the charge^ 1$ woe a case . m, for the sake . of mmte- sell-respect, . he would be glad to thrai'tbat there.- could be any other" ex-pl-vaati^n than, that he should submit to thje jury. but' the facts of the case' u&ld admit of no other opinion. ' As 'liey heaid the story 'it would be difficult fer them to credit it, , but they must remember t-iey were dealing with Vf ac * s - Ttay oeed not ask- what induced : these pwpltf to do such horrible things;, they had only to 'satisfy themselves that'- the acte were done. -The method of punisKiug a child of fifteen was to - &nsiP HER STARK NAKED,; *". stc^p her on the bed, and beat her with a.BKap or instrument, m. some cases pre-, . paced for "the express purpose. They w»ttld, at tlie outset, be struck /with the hixiiWc indecency of. stripping a. girl of Wat a^e stark naked, and they would be aaft&HaT tbat such a. woman br,eathed who w«Hld ijfcmit to such treatment of her own , sister— but such a -/womaiL did b»o»the, . and she stoo"d m tie dock beIpca fhem. -Host of the 'punishments w«te inflicted by the 1 , male .accused, bUt ip cases of heavier .punishment both actMs»d were ' present. . . Duri/ig the period «*med the young girl was thrashed over Siy times m that niannir, and had xe•tived 2 ,5 .; strokes m aii~^hile: stripped siwi naked, strapped..-,.40 the be 4 and l*Bhed en her 'barei ' ... flesh. AccdwlttS'' to the girl's parents, . she "Weht to the accused a stirong, Uealthy giA, ai^d came back a wreck. Tiey were hbj •Mtent with stringing- the . girl starK ntJc&i ; fltey conducted a kind, of moral Mtst-mpctero and exposed every, detail of £»c early indiscretions. The story of tie girl's We wad, dictated .by/ the male aoeusedv and she had to write it down jta a diarvfl-kepi) like a butfiness man's kd^cr. All that was done ! UNDER THE PRETEKfCE OF MO'AIITY. / '- Page after ipage, m tjiarf; diary told; with we most disgusting particyoiarity, dictated' by accused, of certain indisoretions ••mmitted 1 some y^ears ago ; ho appare&tly derived gratification by getting the •hild to write these disgusting details. A$ one time the accused, conceived the Mta that the child was 1 enceinte, and tfiiy examined the girl, b£th of them— tU woman tells the story 'in the diary— '♦» see jf~ she bad been, defiled. . They stripped her and/ they jfjad some hook foaling wvth sexual sfcience, with diatttams and plates of as the private organs, and tkey co.m#ared the plates wi^h the organs of the child— a task that 0«old properly and #ith decancy be cartied out ordy by a quilified medical man, In this diaty they made the g^rl write a memo, of the scale ot punishment. jTbus : "Lies — The chastisement^ have to Receive iox telling lies consists of nine strokes, no matter how small . the lie j#a7 t> e ; that is if I confess, if I . don't cipnfess it is more. If ft is a> real bad One it is 18 strokes, and if a very wicked one it may be any ntunber of AH chastisements fo be stripped naked Or partly naked. Thfe chastiserdent form, is to be made ready b»v myself and the strap got r^ady by me." Continuing, counsel said accused derived personal gratification from - THAT FiLTftY BUSINESS, 'and from the injuries inflipted on the child- also a ßertain amount of bestial ttleaiuxe ftom seeing her stripped naKed, as she was stripped nated on every possible occasion. The, woman seemed to have been actuated by an intense dislike of the child. Sometimes" m such cases one looked for religious mjaniar-there; had"b;een such cases at Horae-^where people acted under the plea that they, were instructed by 'the Higher Powers, but thertewasnotbiag oljUte kind inttie present instance.

I The woman denied point, blank /that hex husband was having cbnnecrtion wltH the child,'- but she knew his habits aid what she thought the effect .would be -on hihi of seeing the girl stripped stark naked again and again, counsel didn't know. If. he did' haVe connection after that shecouldn't have been surprised. "They talte ed about keeping the girl away from evil influences, but what do* they think Jheir •own filthy hell was ? And the pity is that at ; - some future time they will- have* control of children of their own, for which they are utterly unfit, " declared counsel, indignantly. To show the feeling the Inmate accused entertained towards Wer sis- ! ter, counsel quoted a , letter the woman wrote to a yourfg fellow who was, or- desired^ to- become,, engaged to the gira. The-postcrlpt.was as.f olkiws •; "Please renlembßr Henrietta is only a -child. . .. . "Get Her down to my house, asiti then will'; he your chance to stop 1 her flirting. lxive ; her. a good chastisiDg on her baie> — ; mind, you will have to-do; this Tinder our" supervision. It would, do her a! thousand more i good than to receive it 1 front us.. It would be & long time before she, would -make ; a fool of Anybody again ami •*buld show njer that, m. spite of all her; canning you could beat her." That was fhe sort of letter, conimented counsel, iffite woman wrote . about her 6wn young sister to a man. . On one occasion, :he safd^ accused, took the child to a nursing irpnie because there \^as spmethirigi wrong with tier, attfl they- sat her on a utensil,' CONTAINING BOILING WATER . until certain parts pi. 'the jjoor-^jrl were. ScaJded. / *?VVBen it fs 1 my iSiloiMcSte lotr, to prosecute fema3.es," lie concludeft,; Mthete is UsuaUy- a eetta&n fueling ofsym-. pa'tliy, hut Obis woman is every, whit" as Py as the man. There can b« no sugon that sHe acted under the domrnof ttie man, /because you have this ipaepgiident tetter written to th» . boy, aid it is full of bitHJefliess and venorii.. Josli fancy I A woman allowing; her si* ■Jer of 1^ iib be exposed siatk nakefi xo IBie lustful eyes of the " rhan who should liave been her guardian, and under, tne tyes of his >wife. It is incredible, m the present state of our civiXisation that such a ; case couW occur. When you lave fiaißhed tnis case, gentlemen, you will be mclined to go home anfl. take a hath' m , Jeyes' Fluid to purify yoTtraelves." -During this scorching scarification the woman sat m the dock with downcast head. According to the evidence oi the girl," the astounding female is about 26, Having been married four \or fiv© years ago, when she was 21. She is a washedou't dowdy with spectacles,, and looks years older. She has one child, an infant boy of about 9 months. The male 6iuie, v a short, rat-eyed -German sausage, tyitih an accent like a croiipy chaff-cutter, was • the incarnation of brass-Jbound cheek. He posed m the dock witti a vulgar, blatant self-assertion of a disreputable r6oster on a dung->MU, taking voluminous nbiies, with bombastic" flourishes, on the bacK of a blue paper. ..'•*' ; - The girl victim, who was 16 last February, proved to be well-grown- and not bad looking, and m her neat, clean' blouse she wore a single white rose,, which contrasted with the • blaze oi color m her trim hat. >- She gave her evidence clearly, coolly and precisely, without hositation,bij heat, and - THE DISCLOSURES WERE TRULTf "': . ASTOUNDING-. The bombastic bush-lawyer accused subjected her to a bullying/ blustering; crossrexamination, but she;' could not be shaken on the important point. ' Several other witnesses were called, including the mother of: the child, T/he doctor who examined the girl, &n<\ 'Tec. Ward, who investigated the affair after complaints to the 'police • bad been made by the girl. The male animal persisted m his bullying method of crossexamination and was allowed an amazing iauiount of latitude, the time of the court : being wasted shockingly by his tions, ; windy assertions and geheraf blus- ; 'ter. '- . . . „;•,'■■ • The accused' did not give evidence or call witnesses, Dut instead the lovely George barked at the jury for over four ; .hours, spluttering out his mutilated Eng,tish m a turgid torrent like a raucous'"^biced gramaphone gone mad;. The Crown Prosecutor, disdained to address the jury, as they understood the .loathsome case well enough. !, Summing up, the Judge said some of the entries m the diary dictated by accused reminded • one of the letters x that boys m Squeers' School used to writeSiome. One of tte letters written fey ' the female accused to the man tb Mioni the young girl was engaged to he • conceived m a spirit of abominable malice. The jury returned , a " verdiot of guilty against both accused' on' both counts. The foreman added : "We des&e* to express our disgust at th.c revolting nature of; the details disclosed.". The Judge said : V'l can sympat|i ise with yoiT/ih. your expression of opinion." ' • When SmitS and his wife were brought up ; for sentence, his Honor Mr Justice Williams enquired if anything Was known of the male accused. The Crown Prosecutor said he had been working at the chemical works, and was a. good workman. There was nothing known against his character. Very little was known about either of them. Nothing, was known about the female accused- except that she was a native of Moeraki. . His Honor,, m giving judgment, said : —"George Edward Smith, It is oimpossible to believe that the degrading treatment you meted out . to.'this girl could .. have: been flone With an 'honest desire to reform her. That a girl -3.6 years of age should be laid nude upon abed, strapped dbwji and whipped. by/ainan is a thing which it is impossible to suppose any sane person would do for, the mere.purpose of bringing the^girl- -to a sense oi right, and to make a respectable' "'woman of her. It is just about »tdie last coutse which anyone would adopt. 'This was done . noib only once, but several times-^-as a matter of fact, it was a habit. The :man who would do these things must be A MAN OP PRURIENT AND DEGRADED MilNB. The girl says the 'diary was dictated. There is evidence that it was dictated, and I fielieye that the beastliness that is m .it was hot written spoataneouslV by her. As for your Wife, the master is different. No doubt she was under your control, and did probably what you told her to . do. At the same' time I cannot conceive of a woman who has- any-kres-pect for her seX' allowing her sister,' who was, m fact, a woman, to be treated by her husband m the way ih which, this' girl was treated. It is very satistactory that there are Counts m the indictment of indecent assault. It enables the court to puuisli . you aft' you should be punished. '* His Honor referred to another ofltence ot which the male accused had been asserted to' have been guilty, which he said nad not been denied upon oath. "It is not," continued his Honor, "for me to say wttether that is true or not true. You are not tried for that, but you will be punished, for the disgraceful Way you have treated the girl. The sentence of the court is that you receive four years' , imprisonment, with hard labor. The sentence ol the court on Charlotte Elizabeth Smith is that sh<v receives 12 months' imprison/--ment, with hard labor." Replying to the Crown Prpsecutor, his Honor said he thought it -was desirable that the diary and tho othct things shouid be kept sealed up. •