The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-27 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, JUNE 27.

A BAN KR 'PT BRINGING AN, ACTION
AGAINST HIS CREDITORS.

i.ue case of " Stray v. Bull and another" was before
fiord Chief Justice Bovill and a special jury in'the Court
of Common Pleas. Plaintiff was, for thirty years pre-
vi,sus to 1867, a tailor at the West-end, enjoying the custom
0. Cu:Prince of Wales and a n um be rid the nobi lity,b at havin4.
puri:lia,Td shares in the Royal. British Bank shortly before
the Si::pension, he because somewhat involved; and on
the failure of Overend, Gurney and Co. he became so
pressed for payment as to render it necessary for him to
call his creditors together, and offer to pay 20s. in- the
Pound, in instalments extending over twelve months.
While this was accepted by some of the credif,T:', others
objected, and a petition in bankruptcy was the the de-
fendants. Upon this the plaintiff was adjudicated a bank--
rupt, while unable to att end the court through illness. The
consequence was that his business was broken up ; and he
brought an action against the defendants for having made
him bankrupt mdiciously, and without probable or
reasonable cause. The case came on for trial before Chief
Justice Bovill, who held, as a point 'of law, that the,
defendants had reasonable and Iwo; es.. cause. Plaintiff
took it to the Court of Error, which found that as.there
was a conflict of evidence on a point of fact, it was
for the jury to decide. A new - trial was
had, which lasted for three days, at the end of
which time the jury, being unable to agree, were
discharged without giving a verdict. After the plaintiff
had opened his case in person on the present occasion, he
suggested a reference, which was strongly supported by
his lordship on the ground that such a course would
obtain a definite settlement of law and fact, while if it
went for trial it might go back to the Exchequer Chamber
and even to the House of Lords, as such cases generally
did.—Mr. Serjeant Parry consented, on the part of the
defendants, who, he said, denied having been actuated 'oy
malice, but pleaded the instructions cf the ()dim. creditors.
—lt was then•agreed that a juror should be withdrawn
and the Solicitor-General requested to name an arbitrator
—the Lord Chief Justice remarking that this was a very
proper termination of the case.

THE BRIXTON BABY FARMING CASE•

The extraordinary revelations in connection with this
ease culminated to-day in an inquest on the bodies of three
of the children whose deaths had occurred at Lambeth
Workhouse. Of the large member of children which had
been taken by the police, from the person in charge; to
the workhouse, the three now subject to this inquiry had
died.
The Coroner expressed his regret that the jury should
called upon to enter into such an inquiry, and hoped
they would be guided by the evidence before them.—The
following evidence was then called :
Mrs. Maria Edwards Cassell, wife of Mr. Cassell,
house decorator and .blindmaker. 164, Camberwell-road.
Witness received ladies under peculiar circumstances.
They were, to arrange through her for their
f confinement
and to get well. She received the young em
Tasiy Cowen. She was with her a fortnight, and then
returned home. She had given birth to a male
child. She had medical assistance after the
birth of the child. The infant was taken
away from the house of witness between 9 andlo on the
Mtn instant by Mrs. G uera. The child at that time
was quite well. It was able to take food—milk and.
lbs. at least. It was one of •` our " finest children. Saw
the child again at the police station, and knew it again
oele by itshair and general features. It was not so flute a
child. It was horribly emaciated. 2
water, and sugar. It was a very fine child, weighing
1
Mrs. Caroline Guera, widow, No. 1, Langholme
Loughborough-road : She occupied the house, and bad
lodgers. She had a lodger of the name of Robert Cowen.
Witness knew his daughter, who was •aged 16. She had
been in service, and returned at Christmas last enceinte.
She • went to Mrs. Cassels and had a child, which was
taken by her from Mrs. Cassels three days after its birth.
It had been registered in the name of John Walters.
The female who took the child was named Willis.
Mrs. Mary. Gurah, 1, Langhohne Villas, Brixton,
stated that she had a lodger of the name of Mr. Robert
Cowen. His wife was not living with him. He had a
daughter, and she was a single person. She was in her
17th year: She left home last March twelvemonth to go
to service. Last Christmas she returned home.
Witness was afterwards present when she gave
birth to a child, at the house of the last
witness. On the 17th of May, sixteen days after the
birth, witness received the child from the last witness.
The child was taken to the Walworth-road Railway
Station of the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway.
Witness here met a woman representing herself as Mrs.
Willis. On the previous day Mrs. Willis had called at
witness's house, and she said that she wished for
a baby to bring up entirely as her own, that
she had been 13 years married; and she had no children,
and -that her husband, was passionately fond of them. She
said she would take the baby for £l. She was hauled
£2, which she at first declined, sayinr, that she did not
care about money ; all that she wanted was the baby.
Witness should know Mrs. Willis again. She said that she
• was in good circumstances, and did not want
money. The baby was given up to leer at
the. railway •station. Afterwards Sergeant Ibelf called
upon witness, and she event with him to 4, Frederick's
terrace, and saw the child. It was greatly emaciated, and
she said to leer, " Mrs. 'Willis, you have been starving the
child to death." She said it had been suffering much from
diarrhoa, and that Dr. Hallett had been attending it. She
said she had done all in her power to save the child. Mr.
Cowen engaged a nurse afterwards. She subsequently
sail it was in charge of Mrs. Rowland. After gradually
sinking, it died on Friday last. When she saw the child
at Mrs. Willis' it was lying like death in her
arms. It had scarcely power to cry, and was a most
pitiful object. Witness saw all the other children on the.
day the called, and asked her motive for having so
many. She said she was passionately fond of children,
and witness asked her why she wanted this particular
one when she had so many. She said the others were
nurse children, and would be taken away, and she
wished to have one to bring up as her own.
When the child was taken away Mrs. Willis asked wit-
ness to intercede with Mr. Cowen to have it back again.
Witness said she must be mad to think of such a thing.
Robert Cowen said he was a musician and the father
of Janet Tassy Cowen, and became aware of her unfortu-
nate condition. He first intended to place the child with a
wet nurse but saw an advertisement in Lloyd's paper. She
replied toit, andreCeivedareply, signed" Mary Willis," by
post. In consequence of receiving that he went to the
Walworth-road station. He waited an hour, but she did
not keels the appointment. The heat morning he received
another letter from Mrs. Willis, making another appoint-
ment for that day at the Brixton-road station. They met
there. She said she wasthe writer of the letter, but that her
name was not Willis. She said she merely gave that name so
that the child she adopted might not be taken from her;
She said her husband represented a large shipbuilding
firm, and that she had been married fifteen years, but had
no family. She said they were both passionately fond of
children, and wished to adopt a respectable, healthy
child. She gave no address. Believing she was
what she represented herself, he gave leer the
particulars,• telling leer that his daughter had •
not yet been confined, but that he would let
her know when she was. Wilms that event took
place he wrote to her at the Post-office, Camberwell, and.
she called on him on the afternoon of the 17th May. On
that night the child was delivered to her. It was a fine
child. Some days after she called at Mrs. Guera,'s, when
witness asked her to give him a list of what clothes she
would require. She refused, and said she did not
want any. He said "Surely you will let me
make a present of a cloak." She refused. He then
took two sovereigns from his 'purse and handed
them to her. She refused to take them. She said she
knew he had been to a deal of expense, and would not
accept any money from him. He then forced the £2 into
her hand, and she left, promis ng to call the following
week. She never did so, and witness lost sight of the
child up to the 10th of. June, when he was at the Camber-
well-road station, and saw leer coming from the station.
Thinking it was the same woman, lee followed leer, with
the sergeant of police.
Mr. Cowen then read a statement which set forth that
in March of last year his daughter Jenny, then
age sixteen years, met at the house of a mutual friend, a
lady from Wales, wife of the proprietor 'of an hotel ashl
boarding-house. This lady first suggested and the-'
pressed her returning with leer on a trial visit for three
months, her occasional assistance being taken in lieu of
her board and lodging. She did so, and afterwards a
further arrangement was made, but his daughter returned
for a holiday on December 23rd, amid it was found that she
was with child. He then heard the circumstances. which
he submitted to the magistrates at Bond-street, and acting,
on their advice, went down to Wales need placed the matter
in the hands of the County Police. His daughter's healld
had been so precarious that she had been unable to malt
the journey to prosecute. The author of these o f
u o
trages
was the husband of the above lady, and the employer
his daughter.
Mrs. Rowland, the nurse to whom the child was
entrusted previously to its death, said that when she
received it its stomach was quite fiat, that it had no
strength to cry loudly, it seemed to recover at first; but
afterwards wasted away. It's bones were ready to came
through it's sizin, and it died on Friday last.
Serj cant Reif first saw. an advertisement iu Lloydr-
'
newspaper of March sth.• He answered the adves
tisement, and received, •in reply, 'a letter freT,
a person who signed her name " Es. Oliver
On that he made an appointment to meet the writer at
Camberwell New Road Station On the morning of the
10th he went there and was met by a woman,F wh mole
le
ultimately traced to wher e she lived, No. 4,
terrace, Loughborough-road, Brixton. Ile had the house
closely watched that night, and on the following. morning
he went there. The door was answered by the woman he et'
t
over night. He asked if Mrs. Willis lived there, and sh
said no. He said,- `• Do you take in children to adopt
red
here ? She said, "No ; what put that in your
head ? " He then asked her if she had a child there be-
longing
to Miss Cowen. She said no, but that she knew
where it • was. He declined to leave, and she called
out. • " Margaret, bring up Miss Cowen's child." A woman
made her appearance with a child, and the woman
was identified by Mrs. Guera, when was with
him • at the time, as Mrs. Willis, and the
child as Miss Cowen's. The child was dirty, wrapped in
old rags, and appeared to. be without the power of cry-
ing. The body was very emaciated. he asked Mrs.
Willis if she had any more children in the house, and she
d, "A few." He event into the front kitchen and
saw some old clothes on a sofa. He removed them, and
found five children underneath. They appeared to be about
a mouth old, and seemingly in a state of stupor. Two of
them appeared to him to he dying. .He found four other
children iu the back kitchen raid gar,len, making eleven
in the whole. The latter five were in fair condition. He
removed the ten children to the workhouse on thee 13th.
One of the three children since dead was one of those
seemingly in a dying state on th.le sofa. Tile other was
Miss Cowen's child.
The hearing was adjouruea,

1870.

THE RECALL OF MR. MOTLEY.

The announcement of the recall of Mr, Motley, made
in the Sun on Saturday, has been confirmed. President
Grant recently stated that he intended to remove Mr.
Motley as soon as a suitable successor can be found.