A RECENT TRIAL FOR SEDUCTION.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 5, 18 November 1863, Page 2 (Supplement)

A RECENT TRIAL FOR SEDUCTION.

(From the Ijohdori Review, Aug. 8 )~ We know that m cases, of seduction it is difficult to lay down "a law which shall mete out equal- justice' to the seducer and the seduced. But a. law which' lightly punishes*: the tnan, and throws almost the whole weight and shame upon- the woman, is manifestly unfair. We see how it works. ■ It produces infanticide, . suicide, prostitution. A. woman has just 'murdered her 1 child and attempted 'self-^estrUction in the Marylebone-road, because she was deserted by a man wKo had "seduced her while in his employment as housekeeper. Till- we . know * more of the facts of this case, we can only cite it as illustrating the despair to which a woman is driven, when, trusting either to a promise of marriage or protection, she surrenders ' her honor. ■ On the other hand, there are cases where women have clearly, to thank themselves for their misfortunes, and where a just law would deny them any reparation. One of these was tried last week before the Court of Session at Edinburgh.' It discloses to us habits of impropriety of which we should not have accused our canny neighbors .on the other side of the Tweed; habits not confined to the peasantry or labouring classes, but which, at least in the town of Strathaven, the market town of a large agricultural and pastoral district in the middle ward of Lanarkshire — seem to be prevalent amongst the , educated classes. The plaintiff or "pursuer" was Miss Rebecca Craig, a good looking young lady about thirty ; years Of age£ and daughter of a respectable medical^ practitioner; and the defendant,. >Mrj Thomas Terinent, a-, .'* banker; : iron^ monger, seed merchant, clothier, insurance agent, and landed proprietor," worth £1000 a year, and of the mature age of fifty- eight. We presume that the good people of Strathaven are not I less strict in their Sabbath observances, or less devoted to\ their scriptural exercises, than the rest of their fellow countrymen. But if so, they are mighty lax in their week-day morality. This is no story culled from the pages of a satirical tourist. „ It comes to us from the witness-box, and the respectability of the heroine's character, previous to her litte mishap, is vouched upon the highest authority. The Rev. Mr McLay, one of the Presbyterian ministers of Strathaven, swore to it; Dr. Andrew Brown, physician, swore to it ; Robert Wilson, agent for the Royal Bank of Scotland, swore to it; William Gibbie, writer and clerk to the justices of the peace for Lanarkshire, swore to it ; Miss Harvey, " keeper of a seminary for young ladies," swore to it. There ccn, therefore, be no doubt at all about it ; and as her conduct was declared by competent witnesses to have been nothing more "than the custom of the town,'' we may learn from her history how the ladies of Strathaven comport themselves in their daily intercourse with the gentlemen of that ilk. Miss Craig, then, was in the habit of receiving Mr Tennent in 'a parlor with a concealed bed. She sat on his knee, and. allowed him to kiss her, as she had allowed other gentlemen — for " diversion." This is her own statement. Pretty diversion for respectable ladies ! Let us turn from the pallor to post office. Mr Tennent had a large correspondence, and went habitually to the post office-, where Miss Craig frequently came to meet him, in the kitchen. Here they diverted themselves w'th kissing and caressing — which playful end innocent amusement goes in Strathhaven by the name ol " toozling." As soon as they bad disported themselves sufficiently in this manner, " they went up stairs to a room, where they remained half an hour." Neither of the postmasters daughters thought there was anything wrong in alUthi-;. Miss Craig had diverted herself in the same way, at eleven o'clock at night, with a young man naiiied Meikle; and it is quite clear, as there was no attempt at concealment, that these meetings and " toozlings" had no prejudical influence on the lady's reputation in the town. Why should they? In that primitive and innocent society this sort of "diversion was quite common. " Sometimes," said Miss Craig, " when a lot of us were together, I have seen a lot of us, male and female, rolling on the floor for diversion ; and on tittle occasions some kissing took place. ; It was the custom of the place. These toozling scenes sometimes went on till between eleven and twelve.'* Miss Margaret Currie, one of the postmaster's daughters, gives similar evidence. " When Meikle and pursuer went up stairs," she says, " I did not think that anything improper was to take place. Meikle has snatched a kiss from me. I have seen plenty of girls kissed and 1 toozled f in Strathaven, and it did not hurt their character." Why nothing seems to hurt the female character in this extraordinarj town. When mirth ran high at social gatherings, at which "respectable people were present, scenes, similar to a. noted Welsh practice i"we« enacted, which we cannot detail. Miss Craig took part in one of- them. ' MisiE Currie says that she herself had frequently done so, and that-'indulg(|ni Strathaven looked "upon the, a^ffuir as ':« " harmless frolic." J The defender, indeed, thought that id EdinburgHHhej would be -regarded in a different light and that the jury.., wouldrcpnclu^e: thai the pursuer, from i Jber partieipatiptf^ii! them, Was no* b^tter:;than she thought t< be. But thVjurywere i of tha^i this freedom in tie .relaUq^sb^tweei the two sexes was ; tolerated |by^the;]^bi lic^ppinioh and social pjractice:^jSjrath aven, and found iaiYerdict^rv^Mis! /Graigj with i£I,OOQ, damages^^dj|<s whichVwas received with applause by i crowded court. : v In such a case as this we certainlj

cannot" sympathise with the* lady; -;If Mr Tennent was the father of her ebildt J and seduced Her under r a promise" of marriage, her conduct challenged, him n — to do so 7 "fie admits that liis relations .' . with her were disreputable. ~ But how - any lady in Strathaveh escaped a similar ' fate;' we are at a loss to understand. <* No doubt there, are, on this side of the * Tweed, women "not unlike Miss Craig. r But it cannot be Wry difficult to^distin* guish them from those; who faU a prey : to the seducer, not because they- are * . naturally imprudent or live in the midst ' of a corrupt and uncivilised society, 4 but?, because they love, «• not wisely , but toC