The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-13 00:00:00

TIM CONVERT CARE

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'lnc) pitiless rain notwithstanding, the crowd attractec
to Westminster yesterday to see or hear something of th
ninth day's Proceedings in the Hull convent case wa
nearly as great as on any previous day. As to the Cour
of Queen's Bench, it was, if possible, more densely packe(
than it has been since the commencement of the trial, an(
there were certainly more ladies present. Mrs. Starr'i
examination was continued. Referring to Miss Saurin',
alleged imprisonment, the witness said the plaintiff wa
not guarded and prevented from leaving her room for ant
purpose. The direction I gave was that her movement
were not to be controlled in the least, but that she shoul(
be allowed to do just as she liked. I gave directions, how
ever, that she should not be left alone. On the 30th April
about noon, I ordered that a particular door should be kep
locked, because Miss Saurin was in the habit of going t(
the room and remaining so long that she inconveniences
tue community. There wer4 lour other rooms of the same
description to which she had unlimited access.
By the Lord Chief Justice : A rope was attached t(
her door and the sister's bed in the corridor, but it ai6
not fasten the door.

Defendant : She was afterwards moved to a room higher
up—one of a range of cells—because she was not a member
of the community. It was a larger room than she had
previously occupied, and it was lighted by a window.
The same room has been and is now occupied by a sister,
Miss Saurin was in the habit at night or early in the
morning of getting up and going over the house alone,
and it was understood she had been seen in the
corridor at five o'clock in the morning, in her tunic and
without stockings. I have learnt that since, but in my
own mind I believed she would. I gave directions that a
sister should sleep in the corridor, and that a string should
be attached to her bed and Miss Saurin's door, that if Mist
Saurin should come out it should awaken the sister, and
she should accompany her about the house. The
; sisters are forbidden to rise before the call. The rope did
not fasten the door. There was nothing to prevent Mist
baurin's going out. The ordinary furniture of a sister's
cell contain one chair or one stool for each occupant ; and
when i. went to her I found her sitting on the floor,
although there was a stool in the cell. I then ordered
two chairs to be taken to the room, but I don't know if
she used them. I did not desire Miss Saurin not to use a
particular chair, but not to go and sit near the sister who
was attending her. She might have put the chair in any
, part of the room. In 1864 or 1865 there was a
general cleaning of the house at Hull, and Miss Saurin
asked to be allowed to take part, but I declined
to let her. I did not give directions for extra menial
work to be imposed on the plaintiff at Clifford. I never
gave directions for her to stand in school hours at Clifford.
It is usual for them to stand in school when teaching, but
I always told them to sit when possible. The
faults in her monthly reports would be trifling
except in the manner in which she . mentions them,
and taking the paper. An alteration was made in the
rules by Mrs. Kennedy in Hull, with reference to sewing
and other materials, &c. My impression is the altera-
tion extended the " leaves" instead of restricting them. A
chapter was held at Hull in May 1864, for the
re-election of a superior, my first . term of office
(six years) having expired. After the first the
election is only for three years. The first is an appoint-
ment for six years from the bishop or by election. At the
end of that time she can be re-elected for three years,
and again for three years. After that period she becomes
a sister, and is subject to the superior appointed or elected
to that office.
In her further examination the witness stated in
reference to the dress supplied to the plaintiff, that Miss
Saurin complained of cold, and asked me for a petticoat,
and I gave her the warmest of the two that had originally
been hers. I had previously directed that those who had
not woollen jackets should apply for them. Miss
Saurin did, and I gave her one the next
day. She complained of her stockings in 1864
or 1865, but they were as good as the other sisters', and I
paid no attention to it. I think I had kept them in repair
for her. She also complained unnecessarily of her tunic,
but a week after I got her a nearly new one. The condi-
tion of her boots, that of being in holes, must have happened
in 1865, when I was at Clifford, if it ever occurred ;
but it is not within my knowledge. Mrs. Kennedy
was the assistant superior at Hull, and in consequence of
what she said I left a pair of boots for Miss Sarnia. When
Miss Saurin came from Clifford to Hull, in June 1864, she
had two pairs of boots ; they were allowed to the sisters
at Clifford because they went out every day ; the sisters
at Hull usually only had one pair.
The Lord Chief Justice : What if they got wet ?
Defendant : Then they had shoes to change. Each
sister has light shoes, strong shoes, and boots.
Mr. Russell : The' plaintiff in her evidence said Mrs.
Starr gave her a pair of house-shoes, but they were so old
that she had to tie them on with string across her feet
and put paper over all because the soles were worn out.
Defendant,. be.. hoots. and noti
shoes—the pair I had taken from her a year before. She
was then on an equality with the rest of the sisters at
Hull. I found Miss Sam-in bad allowed the furniture to
be thick with dust. She said she had not sufficient time
allowed her for properly dusting it. I knew she had, and
I waited before speaking to her again, to see if
she would make use of the • few minutes she
would have at tea-time to dust it. She did
not do so, and I said to her that if I found the com-
munity-room in the same state I saw it in that morning,
I should require her to wear the duster on her head as a
penance. I went upstairs and took the dust off with my
finger. She said she had dusted the room twice that
morning. I then got the duster for the purpose of putting
it on her head. She objected to wear it, because, she said,
it was wet or damp. I gave it to one of the sisters to take
to the fire and dry it. She did so. Miss Saurin then
objected to wear it because it was dirty. It had been used,
but it was not dirty.
The Solicitor-General : In an intermediate state,
The Lord Chief Justice : According to your view it hat
not been used enough.

Defendant : I said it was not dirty. She stooped
clown as if she wished to wear it, and I put
it over her veil. This was about one o'clock. It was her
duty then to remain in the community room, but at 3.35
I went upstairs and saw her walking in the corridor with
the duster still on. When she came near me I said
"Sister, you may take the duster off now," She bowed
to me, but said nothing. I have no doubt she heard me.
She, however, still continued walking up and down,
wearing the duster.

Mrs. Starr then went on to explain the keeping back of
the letter, said there was nothing extraordinary in Miss
Saurin's case, declared that at most seven letters were
kept back, brought forward instances in which the same
thing had been done to other sisters, and laid some stress
on the fact that all who entered the convent were expected
to render implicit obedience.
Her cross-examination then commenced. It was con-
ducted by the Solicitor-General. The interest in court
rose when he rose and the examination-in-chief was con-
cluded. He commenced at the beginning, and elicited
from the defendant that she was born in Dublin, and
baptised as a Catholic. I joined the order (she went on to
say) as a postulant in Glasgow, in October 1849. I joined
the Bagot-street order after a dangerous illness in
Scotland. I left Glasgow 11th July, 1850, and went direct
to the Dublin convent. Miss Saurin came in 1851. I
left Bagot-street in August 1855, for Yorkshire. Miss
f.l)a.urin, Mrs. Delany, Mrs. Kennedy, Mrs. APO wne,
and a lay sister came over, from Dublin. Miss
Saurin came nine months after the others. I did
not know there were any difficulties about her
coming until Miss Saurin informed me in Yorkshire.
It was before any differences arose between us. One of
the most binding vows of the order is not absolute obe-
dience to the will of the superior, but only in cases of sin
and as far as her authority extends. We will suppose I
said to a sister "For such a fault it is possible you will be
put last of your order and deprived of being a member
of the chapter," I could not carry it out without
the sanction of the bishop. I might hold it over her.
It is part of the excellence of a nun to submit her will and
thought to those above her, and the opinion of a superior
would rather influence the judgment of a nun. She would
feel it right to do so. The duty of a novice in
obedience would be more so in the case of a nun.
The vow is influential upon the nun's conscience. The
duty of a superior is to lovingly correct and sweetly
admonish the sisters. Mrs. Kennedy held different
positions in the convent at various periods. I consulted
her and Airs. ArOwne for a time about Miss Saurin.
There is not a printed or written rule about withholding
letters. The "customs" state what is to be done with
letters. Instructions with reference to them might come
under correspondence with seculars. The power to with-
hold letters is traditional ; the usage is, that the superior
has power to withhold letters if she pleases. I believe
it was a rule to do so in Bagot-street. I don't re-
member whose letters were retained. A rule of that kind
has been printed since this action was commenced. The
superior can withhold any letters she thinks it right to
retain.

The Solicitor-General : Why does it become better for a
letter to be given a few weeks after it is received than of
the same day?

Defendant : Because in this case I had spoken to Miss
Laurin of their contents, and she condemned her brother's
reflections on the community, and I gave them up.
The Solicitor-General : You condemned her, and, like a
good nun, she agreed with you? (Laughter.)
Defendant : I told her my opinion. It was not an
obligation on her part to submit. It was only a matter of
opinion, and not settled judgment.
The Solicitor-General : Where is the line drawn? lam
sure it is my fault. lam not a nun. (Laughter.)
D*101101414 ; I CRIOnt tell M. It is the duty Of A nun