The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-07-11 00:00:00

THE CHARGE AGAINST A BEE CTELL LANE

WOMAN.

Mary Ann Hobson (40), married woman, of
Brettell L ne, was again brutight up and charged
wall having u: 1 iwfully anministeroi a cer amn
noxious ti.ing to one, Alice Wellings, alsa with
using a certain inilrument, with intent to procure
a mise .rria.Le, in July 1883
Mr. Plumtree, instructed by Mt'ssrs. Hand and
(30 , pro-touted; Mr. Ward defended.
Plutntree, in opening toe cAse, said it aros-e
out of a visit paid by Mrs, Wellings, the wife of
Thomas Wellings, a spade finisher, who wen,. to
Bratell Lane and saw the prisotu-r. She ,old the I,
prisoner she wAs in tile famly way, and had heard
she c ;tild put people right. The prisoner went
into another room and returned with a tunibk,r
half full of some liquid. She gave it Mrs. Wellings
:old she said it ta-ted. bitter. There we~' several
drugs which tasted bitter. Several days af terwat ds
she was taken v. ry ill and a miscarriage took place.
Wh, n Mrs. Welling's got well she visited the
prisoner and to;r1 her that she was alright again.
Frisoner said she w,s glad she was. If the woman
gave her evidence so that the Bench could belLve
her, a prima facie case was made out.
Alice W el.ings said that she was the wife if
Thomas Wellings, a si.ade finisher, and rememb.-red
going to 13rettell Lane in the last week of July,
1883 She went to Mrs. Hobson's house, and saw
her. Witness • old her that she was pregnant, and
that she had heard that she (Mrs. Hoh•oh) could
put people right. Mis Hobson said 'Very well,"
and left the room. When she came back she
brought a tumbler half full of something. It was
Sun ethtug siailar to coffee in colour, and something
like the midwife gives. She drank what she gave
her and it
_tasted bitter. After she had ttik, n it,
Prisoner told her to come again in a day or two.
Witness then went away. In a week after she was
taltd-n ill, and she sent for a midwife. She was in
a little pain, and fainted. Sarah Wellings came to
see her. Mrs. Yates was the name of the midwife.
She continued ill for about a week. After she got
wel: she saw Mrs. Hobson again and told her she
was alright. Prisoner said, "I am ,lery glad."
Wi,ness told her that she had been ill, and prisoner.
Sail she had ought to take more care of herself.
8e did not give Mrs. Hobson any money, but she
did some knittlng and sewing for her. She did
the knitting and sewing after she had the first
stuff. She did not say anything about a charge for
the work.

Cross-examined by Mr. Word: She said she had
been at work in the garden for the whole of the
week. She would have to stand up and stoop in
the work, Saran Weflings wits her mother. in law,
and Mts. Yates was an aunt to her husband, and
lived on Withy Bank, Wollastou. it•:he had not
been ill above half an hi Our when Mrs. Yates came.
Witness had known Mrs. Hobson a long while.
A nephLw of Mrs. Hobson's mar: ied tier sister.
John Hobson died eight days after he was married.
When he died the Hubsen's took all he had. lhere
was the family in the house when she went to Mr.
Hobson's, but no one else was present when the
tumbler was brought in. No notice was taken by
those present..

tarah. Weflings, wife of Joseph Welings, boa,
mak r, Wodastou, mother indaw to Alice Watias
said ILA i August, 1683, she was fetched to s, e
Mrs. Wellings She thought it was either Thursday
or Friday after Bahk Holiday. When she saw Mrs.
Weliings she was lying on the bed with her clothes
on. he thought sl.e was dying' She noticed a
washing basin and a chamber ute,usit ia the rdom
the basin conzained blood ad clots. Witness
fetched the midwife, Mrs. Yates. s s

Cross-examined: MLs. Wellings had been weeding
in a neighbour's garden.
Caroline Yates, a widow, said she had acted as
midwife fir more than 26 years. She remembered
Sarah Wellings fetching her to Alice Wellings; it
was either I Lursday or Faiday after Bank H ii lay.
She was very poorly indeed when he saw her,
She saw a chamber utensil and a bason filled with
blood. Sho had soma convelsation with Alice
Welliogs when she came ro,ind. Mrs. Wellings
made a statement about Inhatever waS the cause of
her illtiet-s

Dr. Savog- MR OS., and surgeon to
the Birninghini Hospital for women, said that he
had beard about th 3 quantity of id-od found by Mrs.
Yates and Mrs. Wellings, and that the blood smelt
offensive. If a drug had been administer, d to
artificially procure abortion it would not have been
inconsistent with the loss of blood. If the
fLiscaraiage had been caused by :fright it would be
possible that the loss of bleed would be equivalent
to that. The work done by Mr,;. Wellingq, he was
of (pinion, would net cause the loss of blood,
Cross•ex •miued: He could not say that it would
b impossible. Ile had heard that a week previous!)
601 ac waetaken; it wnuld not at all be inc9nsistent
with that taken the week before. It might be
It might be going en without any ill effitct in the
intervening weert. He could quite understand
that tn, irritant Fo'snn taken would be going n
with its work whilst she was going on with her
work. Thefe was only one drug that wJuld operate
in that way.
Superi .tendent Woollaston sad that he charged
the prisoner on the 29th Jun. 2; he arrested her a
fortnight pre,ious. tie said, to her, in addition to
the charge in the warrant he read over to her that
day fortnight, "I now charge you with administering
noxious drugs to Alice ‘Vellings, sometime about
;he last we :k in July, 1883." .1 he prisoaer replied,
".No, sir ; I have never given her any noxious drugs
at all,"
lsir. Ward addressed the Bench, and said there
was. no eviderce up ,n which a jury could convict
lie then read the law on ;he suoject. It was
that two persons had taken par. in the ch irge.
rhe person who r€ceived the drug, according to th,
critnioal law, was as guilty as the one adininistei ing
the drug; because sne was an accessory, and her
evidence could not be received in any court of
jusAce without con obcrati Alice Wellings,
in the intervening week, was engaged in manual
tabour, and likely to bring about ah rtion. lie
held there was no evidence, and the case must
fail.

The Bench said they should like to hear the other
charge before giving their decision in this case.

TTie other case was then gone into.
Mr. Pluunree said in the second charge the case
was much strohger ; the ease which they had just
heard was in 1883, and the present one in this year.
On the 3rd of _May Alice Wellitigs w,s enceinte, and
she went to the prisoner and told he: she was in
tile same way again. Just the same thing occurred
wi.h regard to t6e tutnbler. She went home and
was taken ill again, and was attended by Dr. Peals-,
wtio examined her.

Alice Wellings said she remembered a Sunday
eariy in May or the latter end of April, when she
went to the prisoner's house. The prisoner came
into the room and witness told her she was pregnart.
Prisener said "Alright," and went and f-tched
so.iiething in a tumbler glass; it was like the o'her,
and hi t Utter tat•te. Witness asked her if she
had pared with a mantle shA had to deli fo, i-er,
a:al ~.he said • On the 6atiudly after she was
ill, -.Led oa toe Monday a mi,earriage .o :k place.
Isabella Thuirp,on, wife of George Thomps ,u,
High-street, Wohastee eaid she saw ilinee Wel/jugs
about Whimitaside d. she was sem .bad is Sed4