The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-28 00:00:00

THE BRIXTON" BABY FARMING CASE.

The extraordinary revelations in connection with this case
culminated yesterday in an inquest on the bodies of three
of the children whose deaths had occurred at Lambeth
Workhouse. Of the large number 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
be 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 confinement
and to get well. She received the young female, Janet
Tassy 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
17tth instant by Mrs. Guera. The child at that time
was quite well. It was able to take food—milk and
water, and,sugar. It was a very fine child, weighing 12
lbs. at least. It was one of "our " finest children. Saw
the child again at the police station, and knew it again
only by its hair and general features. It was not so fine a
child. It was horribly emaciated.
Mrs. Caroline Guera, widow, No. 1, Langholme Villas,
Loughborough-road : She occupied the house, and had
lodgers. She had a lodger of the name of Robert Coweu.
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 Guera, 1, Langholme 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 Waiworth-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 £4. She was handed
£2, which she at first declined, saying 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 her at
the railway station. Afterwards Sergeant Relf called
upon witness, and she went with him to 4, Frederick's
terrace, and saw the child. It was greatly emaciated, and
she said to her, " Mrs. Willis, you have been starving the
child to death." . She said it had been suffering much from
diarrhcea, 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
said 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 she 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 Lloijd's paper. She
replied to it, andreceivedareply, signed" Mary 'Willis," by
post. In consequence of receiving that he went to the
Walworth-road station. Be waited an hour, but she did
not keep the appointment. The next 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 was the writer of the letter, but thather
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 her the
particulars, telling her that his daughter had
'not yet been confined, but that he would let
her know when she was. When 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, promising 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 her coming from the station.
Thinking it was the same woman, he followed her, 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 and
boarding-house. This lady first suggested and then
pressed her returning with her 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, and 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 and placed the matter
in the hands of the County Police. His daughter's health
had been so precarious that she had been unable to make
the journey to prosecute. The author of these outrages
was the husband of the above lady, and the employer of
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 flat, that it had no
strength to cry loudly, it seemed to recover at first, but
afterwards wasted away. It's bones were ready to come
through it's sizin, and it died on Friday last.
Serjeant Relf first saw an advertisement in Lloyd's
newspaper of March sth. He answered the adver-
tisement, and received, in reply, a letter ' from
a person who signed her name "R. 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, whom he
ultimately traced to where she lived, No. 4, Frederick-
terrace, Loughborough-road, Brixton. He had the house
closely watched that night, and on the following morning
he went there. The door was answered by the woman he met
over night. He asked if Mrs. Willis lived there, and she
said no. He said, "Do you take in children to adopt
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, who 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
said, "A few." He went 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 month old, and seemingly in a state of stupor. Two of
them appeared to him to be dying. He found four other
children in the back kitchen and garden, making eleven
in the whole. The latter five were in fair condition. He
removed the ten children to the workhouse on the 13th.
One of the three children since dead was one of those
seemingly in a dying state on the sofa. The other was
Miss Cowen's child.
The hearing was adjourned.