THE DRUCE CASE TRAGEDY AT ST. KIMDA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2809, 15 January 1908, Page 37

THE DRUCE CASE

TRAGEDY AT ST. KIMDA.

* . i CROSS-EXAMINATION INCIDENTS. The London papers for the week ending ; Friday, November 22, report the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth days' proceedings in . the Druce case in Clerkenwell Court, be- \ fore Mr Plowden, P.M. Herbert Druce was ; undvir prosecution for perjury ~at the in- s stance of his nephew, George Hollamby Druoe, the alleged perjury consisting in his swearing that he saw his father, T. C. Druce, of Baker Street Bazaar, buried on December 31, 1864. The first of the four days was taken up by the cross-examination of Robert Caldw<*ll, aged 70, the witness who has since been arrested under sensational oircurn- • stances in New York, to which place he ', took' flight after giving his evidence in \ London. Caldwell's career ranged from ■ Ireland, where he was born, to India (1863), where he learned, at a cost of ' £5000, how to euro a bulbous nose, thence back to Ire-" i land -and England, - and afterwards _ to ; America. He is. also said to have visited j New Zealand, in 1864, as he relates, he j was taken to Welbeck to cure the Duke of ,] Portland of a bulbous nose, and then he ' discovered the -Duke to be T. C. Druoe, of The Baker Street Drapery Bazaar. Caldwell stayed with the Duke, he said, until • the end" of 1864, when he completed the arrangements authorised by his Grace for the mock burial of T. C. Druce. The funeral took place under the Duke's personal supervision. He v.ent- about the Baker street drapery bazaar till it was over. Fifty mourning coaches, filled with old men hired for the purpose, followed the hearse. The object of the funeral was to put an end to Druce ; -but, as will be seen presently, according to another witness who had never heard of the funeral, the Duke, went on doubling the parts of Druce and dulre for 15 y-eare after wards, 60 hhsuh $*■& funeral served no practical purpose. Cald-■w-ell claimed to' have received £10,000 from the Duke, £5000 for curing the nose trouble and £5000 for fixiner up the mock funeral. Several remarkable things related by Caldwell must be passed over for want of space — how 1 he came by the nose cure, what he paid for ithe secret, <fnat he made by it in India, how he carried large sums of money about in notes pinned to his undershirt, etc. There is ako the explanation he gave to 6how that Robert Caldwell, who got into trouble in Londonderry in 1871, and himself were brothers, who ex- , changed names when young, and hence got , niix-ed up. ! Caldwell, after he had disposed of the j difficulties of tße fraternal problem, was ; asked about the works that he^saw at Welbeok during his stay there in 1864 — the • tunnel he drove through, the subterranean chambers, etc. Mr Avory. counsel for the defence, drew his .attention to the fact that the uneler ground galleries were not in existence till 1872, and the cross-examina-tion on this point is interesting : — Do you know anything about the underground vaults? — I do. I went into them when ■ I was there. They were large rooms — library, riding-room or school. They were not immediately underneath the abbey. I believe the kitchen was downstairs. The ballroom was a very fine room, over 100 ft long, and the library was three or four large rooms. , And the picture gallery? — Yes. All underground?— Yes. I did not recollect any of the pictures, but he -was regarded as having the most valuable picture gallery in the world at that time. I have seen a picture of the Duke himself hanging in the underground gallery. Mr Avory then showed in a publication, ■ giving a history of -the case, a reproduction of a picture. Witness (after looking at it).— -Yes; I sarr that. I was told it was the Duke of Portland when he was quite young. When Marquis of Titchfield? — I believe so. ' That was hanging in the picture galjery ' in 1864?— Yes. Just listen to me. Suppose these underground rooms — the picture gallery and the ' ballroom — were not constructed until 1872, ' your whole story must be untrue? — According 1 to you. . [ I ask you as a matter of argument if these . rooms were never constructed until 1872 your story must be untrue?— Yes, certainly; but I do not accept the fact that they were not. Suppose the wicture of the late duke as ' Mafquia of Titchfield was not painted until after his death, your story must be untrue, for it could not have .been hanging there be1 fore it was painted? — Not very well; but it ' might have been another. You have said it was this one?— All I - know is that I saw a picture exactly like that in 1862. According to Caldwell. the object of tbe 1 \ funeral of December,, 1864, was to get rid

lof 1. C. Druce. It was "his last appearance" above ground. There was to be no more of him after that. But the evidence of Miss Mary Robinson, aged 56, lately of Canterbury, New Zealand, the next witness for the prosecution, was adduced to dhow that the Duke masqueraded as Druce, not only in 1862, when she first saw him as a girl, but from 1868 till 1879, when the Duke of Portland died. He was Druce when she was introduced to him by Dickens in October, 1868, and Druce all the time she was in his service as a confidential correspondent at Welbeck Abbey, the Duke's seav Though she said that all the people at Welbeck knew him to be the Duke, he never admitted the fact to her until 1,870 (at Nottingham), and then only after the ice had been broken to her by Dickens at Hyde Park in May, 1870 (the month previous to his death). i Several times during the proceedings in court Mjss Robinson was on the brink of fainting, and she had to be given time to recover. One such breakdown occurred* when Mr Avory pressed her to explain by what means she came to meet Dickens in 1 Hyde Park, but she had no distinct recol- ■ lection. She could not give specific dates for either of her two meetings with Dickens in England, nor could she say that she had ever received any letter from him. To begin her story at th© beginning, Miss Robinson said that ehe was born in America, and during the Civil War (in which her father fell) she was taken to England to be educated, going to school from 1861 to 1363. When 12 years old she met Mr Druce (afterwards the duke) at Tunbridge Wells, Richmond, Rochester, and saw him play the part of the grandmother in Red Riding Hood at private theatricals. (The ®uke'e age at that time was 62.) He took an interest in hei is a girl, and her aunt knew him. Aftei her .wturn to America the Dickens episode originated. Miss Robinson said that her mother, who knew j Dickens, took her to see "him at his hotel when he was giving readings in Boston in May, 1868. She knew the month was May from the fact that her birthday occurred on the 24th of that month. Her. age was then 18. As the result of the interview she was | engaged to go to England to act as Druce's | " outside correspondent," at a salary of j £100 a year. In crocs-examination, Miss Robinson's attention was directed to the fact that Dickens, according to his biography, left -New York for England the previous month ! — e -B-» Have you re*ad the " Life of Charles Dickens? — I have "read his tales. I have not read his life. I had no occasion. I ■ knew so much about it. Have you refreshed' your memory by looking it up? — No. Supposing Mr Dickens left Boston and arrived in New York from Boston on April 12, an-d n-eyer returned to Boston at all in 1868, all this story about your birthday would be untrue? — You are supposing. i I am. Supposing Mr Dickens left New S York on April 22, and returned to England, arriving at Liverpool on May 1, how do you reconcile* that with yoiir story? — I cannot. I suppose you have been reading the life of I Dickens yourself. j If lie - arrived home on May 1, have you ! sny explanation? — I say it is not -bo. The circumstances leading up to the lo^s of the diary which Miss Robinson said eh© had kept at broken intervals during her acquaintance with "Mr Druce" were men-, tioned in court. It lan from August, 1861, to August, 1862, and from October, 1868, to 1870. Miss Robinson said that when she arrived in London from New Zealand she left the diary with the prosecuting solicitors, to be copied. It -was afterwards sent back to her through, her own solicitors. When the defendant's solicitors asked for permission to inspect the diary they were told it was in Miss Robinson's hands, and could not be produced till she appeared in court. The next incident was the stealing of the bag containing the diary as Mies Robinson was waiting outside a chop for her companion. The companion, Maud O'l^eil, ased 22, & New Zealand girl, who had been wita Miss Robinson since she was 13, is described by the papers as tho most selfpossessed of any of the witnesses examined. She said: — It was a. book with a linen cover, ana was very old-looking; in fact, it looked as if it hud come out of the ark.— (Laughter.) I saw her take it out of the green linen bag in which she> kept all her^ valuables. I saw it last at the house in Clapham on November 1 or 2— it was a Friday. I left -the house with Mis* Robinson that day about 10 in the morning. On the Tuesday before the •Friday a gentleman from Mr Coborn called for Miss Robinson's diary. It was not given to him because lie could not show any authority that he came from him. She took it out -with her, and I accompanied' her. Witness stated that at Hammersmith she went into a shop, leaving Mies Robinson i outside. On coming out, she found that Miss Robinson had been robbed of the chary, and of £5 in gold belonging to witness, which was in the bag along with the diary. - There have been .published in Australia portraits (wonderfully alike) of Druce with ' a full beard, and the Duke with whisker-: only. They are identical with portraits which have been published by London news papers, from copies of the same origin*! photosraphs. Between the examination of Caldwell and of Miss Robinson, Mr Avorr. counsel for the defence, took occasion to say that the '^Duke" portrait was not ' that of the Duke at all. The Daily Telegraph report cays : — Mr Avory asked to be allowed to call attention to the fact that some of the news- , papers— he had in his hand a copy of the Illustrated London News of last week— were publishing pictures which were described as pictures on the one hand of Mt Druce, and on the other side as the fifth Duke of Portland. That which was described as the fifth Duke of Portland was a copy of the photograph of the one produced in court showing large whiskers. In the paper mentioned — and he was told in ' others — it was described as being from a painting in Welbeck Abbey. He need hardly say there had been no scrap of evidence up to the present _ suggesting anything of the kind, and he wished to state most emphatically that this was not a, portrait of the fifth Duke, and was not from any painting in Welbeck Abbey. Mr Plowden. — I think you are fully entitled to make that correction. It might lead to serious prejudice in the case. Mr Atherley Jones said it had been no part of their case that Mr Avory or those whom he represented had in any way admitted that that was a portrait of the Duke of Portland. Mr Avory. — Of course, what I ami chiefly complaining of is that this xs described as "-From, a painting in Welbeck Abbey." Mt Plowden.— Very misleading, because there 19 st. painting in Welbeck Abbey. I Mr Atoij. — It is certainly, not i, copy, of

T any painting or photograph in Welbeci Abbey. Mr Atherley Jones. —So far as I can under J stand, it is only a product of the imaginativi faculties of the modern press. —(Laughter.) Caldwell was the witness who identifie< the " Duke" portrait as that of Druc< also. He, as well as Miss Robinson, sak that ordinarily the Duke went clean shaved and that whiskers, etc., were only put oi as a disguise.

A GIRL SHOT. . A shocking somewhat mysterioui occurrence took place at St." Kilda at ar early hour on the 9th inst., when i young girl named Catherine Maurrii Meade, residing with her relations ir DeCarle street, was shot through the breasi with a revolver. The circumstances of the sad occurrence are briefly that the girl was .rebuked bj her mother at half-past 9 on Wednesdaj "night for being out so late, after whicl she retired to her room. About 5.45 yester day morning the mother entered the girl's room and found her sitting, half-dressed on the bed. The mother' returned to the kitchen, and had only been there a shori time when she heard a loud report. She rushed to the giri's room, and was jus' in time to see her daughter fall on th< floor, shot through the- heart, and quite dead. The police and a doctor were immediatelj summoned. Beside the girl -was found i six-chambered revolver, one barrel contain ing an empty cartridge, which gave cvi dence of having just been discharged Death must have been insnantaneous. The father of the deceased is employee in the Permanent Artillery. Of late he ha< been working at the Heads, and, he states the women in the house, in consequence o the burglar scare, had his revolver close a hand. He is of the opinion that hii daughter was tinkering with the weapoi •when it exploded. It is stated that the unfortunate youn£ girl has of late being looking after the household, that the worry proved a strait on her, and that she was considerably rut ! down in health. PURELY ACCIDENTAL. An inquest" was held at Hardy street St. Klilda, on the 10th into the circumstance surounding tho sad death of Kathleei Maureen Meade," whose death occurred a her parents' residence at an early hour oi Thursday morning as the result of -receiv ing a revolver shot in the breast. M: C. C. -Graham, S.M., conducted the in quest, and Mr John Elbra was chosei foreman, of the jury. ' The first witnea ; called was j Emelia Meade, mother of the deceased j who made the following statement:—"M? daughter was 15 years of age. She enjoyel good _ health, and was always in the bes of spirits. Yesterday she was in unusuall; good spirits, singing when she rose a 6 «,.m I had asked her to change he: clothes, and she went into her father' room to do so. I went into the kitchen telling her to hurry, as I wanted her. '. heard a sound like the striking of, a match and thought she was playing 'with he father's revolver, which was lying in th< room. I went to the door and called to he: to hurry. I got no reply, and went int< the room, smelling powder slightly. I say her slip off the bed to the floor, and ! said: ' Kathleen, whatever has happenec to you?' I got no answer, so I lifted hei arm up, and it fell. I tried to lift her 01 to the bedl, but could not. I sent one o the boys for assistance, and told m] neig-hbour to get a doctor and the police Dr Lindon came. I could not detect anj breath then, but when I said ' Kathleen her eyes rolled round. She was a per fectly happy girl, and We had had n< quarrel. I should never dream that she did such a thing wilfully. I never noticec the revolver when I went into the roomnot till afterwards." Constable M'Cartney said he was callec to Sergeant-major Meade's house early ot Thursday morning. He found decease* lying on the floor alongside the^-bed. She was quite dead, but the body- was warm With assistance he raised- the body on t< the bed, and then found the revolver pro duced on the floor. There was a wounc in the girl's breast, and powder on the 'face. There was one empty cartridge it the revolver, and all the other chamber) were empty. Dr Lindon said he was called to the house at 7.10 a.m. on Thursday. He found deceased lying on her bed, partially dressed He examined the body, aad came to the conclusion that death had occurred no more than one hour before. The under garment showed a burnt \ mark near the chest. The skin immediately undemeatl was seared, and there was a hole in the «hest, from which blood was oozing. Hei face was marked with powder. On furthei examination witness found that the bulle had penetrated the breast-bone on a leve with the third rifo. The bullet was locatec and found to have passed through the peri c&rdium, penetrating a pulmonary arter and lodging in the back. The cause o death was bleeding from the pulmonary artery. The course of the bullet was t( the right, and upwards. The" Coroner: If the revolver had beei held in the right hand the passage of th< bullet would have been to the left, woule it not? Witness: If it had been fired with th< right hand, and intentionally, one woul< expect the bullet to have gone towards th< left. My idea, is that the revolver wa helel backwards, with -the thumb on _ th< trigger, as inexperienced people sometime do to look down the barrel, and that i •was thus accidentally discharged. The Coroner: I ivill ask you a delicai question. You know what scandal is ap to be spread abroad in such cases. Yoi examined the body. How did you find th organs? Witness: I found that the organs o the deceased were in perfect order. Then were no signs whatever of pregnancy. The Coroner (to the father of deceased) You will understand my ireason for askini ing this' question. I did it for the pur pose of putting an end to any disagreeabl talk that might arise. Sergeant-major Meade: Yes, and I at thankful to you for doing so. -Be>geant Conn: la jrour ci*as3n, ejjctci

c from the direction which the bullet tool^ was ' the discharge more likely to be acci< - dental than wilful? » Witness: I should think so. Further, <v person intending to commit suicide woula [ press the revolver against the breast Itf i this instance it must have been held somA I little distance away, or the powder coul« , not have got on the face as it did. \ i am inclined to. the view that death wail the result of an accident. Sergeant-major Meade, of the Permanent Artillery, and father of the deceased, 6ai<» he was not at home at the time of the occurrence, having left home the evening 1 before. The girl was then in % the beev of spirits. He was in the habit of keeping '< a revolver in his room, but it was noj i loaded. Deceased was quite used to_ the i, handling of guns, as she often assisted L witness in the cleaning of them. ■ She was not used, however, to the loading ofi 1 them. He had been made a present oJ 1 the revolver in question by a returned contingenter, and purchased • 30 rounds o£ j ammunition, which he used at the Heads, , only bringing an odd one or two back with him. His wife and daughter had come across a cartridge in a drawer and put ■ it away in a basket and going into the ■ bedroom that night took it with them. i "Witness's opinion was that the girl fitted the cartridge into the revolver, and in \ trying to take it out again she must have ' allowed the hammer to slip from hef ' finger and thus discharged the revolver. > In summing up, the Coroner, said that^ ; after hearing the evidence o|,the doctor in! , regard to the direction the bullet took} , and 1 pJlso that of the father of the ■unfortun- ' ate girl as to what was likely to have taken place, they might reasonably conclude that the affair was purely an accident. Ho i considered they should have no hesitation . in coming to that conclusion. There was nothing to suggest suicide. .The girl was on good teTms with her, mother and father and all the family. The doctor had re- , futed any idea of scandal. He considered I the jur-y would be perfectly justified in 5 returning a verdict of accidental death. The jucy, without retiring, returned »' I /erdict -to the effect that the cause of death was hemorrhage, occasioned by * i> revolver bullet wound accidentally inflicted* ! by hereelf.