The Sun.
London, England, 1859-04-23 00:00:00

EXAMINATION OF TWO GERMAN

.PIibCUIZESSES.

The Eastern Counties Herald has the following
account of the examination of the two German
women, who were apprehended by the Hull police,
as stated in The Sun of Monday.
Two German women, named Mary Catherine
Margaret Hamann, apparently about 28 years of
age, and Mary Schwartz, about 50, were brought
up on Wednesday before T. H. Travis, Fsq., at the
Hull borough police-court, charged with illegally
procuring Mary Ann Ferguson and Martha Vernon,
for the purposes of prostitution. The following
evidence was adduced :
Mary Ann Ferguson—l know Mary Catherine
Hamann. I saw her first last summer, being taken to
her by a gentleman. She asked me to go with her
to Hamburg as an unfortunate girl. I should have
gone with her, but a friend took me away, and I
promised to go with her afterwards. 1 next heard of
her being in Liverpool last Sunday night. She had
a room at a gay house, kept by a Mrs. Berry. I
went to her and rsked her if sue would take me
to Hamburg, as I did not go last year. She said
she was not going to take girls this time, but told
me to call next day, as she saw I was determined to
go. I did so, and she said she would take me as I
wished to go. She said she had two houses in
Hamburg. I understood her to mean two gay
houses. 1 left Liverpool yesterday in company
with the two prisoners and Martha Vernon. lam
not certain who paid our fares. Neither I nor
Vernon had any money. For the three days we
were in Liverpool we had our meals at Mrs. Berry's.
" Madame" (Hamann) always gave us them. She
did not find us with clothes. She gave me this
shawl to wear. I first saw Mary Schwartz on
Monday last, at Mrs. Berry's. She was with
Madame Hamann, but was not present when it was
decided I should go ; they came to Liverpool to-
gether ; I told Vernon, who was my fellow lodger,
that I was going, and she went with me to see
Madame Hamann, who agreed to take ber, after a
little persuasion. Schwartz was there. We' came to
Hull via Holland, and arrived here about half-
past one o'clock yesterday. We drove in a cab to
a house in the town, and were to go to early this
morning to Hamburg. We were apprehended by
the police about eight o'clock last night. I know
that last summer Madame Hamann came for girls.
I think she only got one girl, named Alice, who
would then be about nineteen or twenty. lam
twenty years of age. Hamann said she would dress
us up and keep us, but I don't know that any
arrangement was made about money. Hamann told
me that Alice had been taken away from Hamburg
by a gentleman. She said there were four Ger-
man girls in the house she lived The other
house was for English girls. She said she only
intended to keep six altogether, and that I and
Vernon were to have the other house to our-
selves. She said it was better for me to be at
Hamburg than at Liverpool. She said nothing to
me about walks, concerts, or theatres, but she said she
had music and dancing in her house every night.
The deposition of the witnesses was then read
over by Mr. Ayre, the magistrate's clerk, and trans-
lated to the prisoners by Mr. Jacobson. In the
course of it the prisoner Hamann made the follow-
ing statement. On coming to the point where the
witness said she had promised to go to Germany
with her the next time she was in England, the
prisoner said, " That was the reason I came." Re-
specting the travelling expenses of the witness, the
prisoner said she " paid all," and had taken a dress
out of pawn for the witness, for which she had paid
2s. She also stated that she came for girls to
Liverpool last summer; and that the " Alice" al-
luded to by the witness was a girl named Alice
Scott. She said she came over to England last year
in consequence of a letter which she received from
" her agent" in Liverpool (a person who was stated
to have only one arm), and that she had had some
unpleasantness with him on the present occasion,
because she would give him no money, as the girls
came to her of their own accord, and the agent had
been put to no trouble about them. She wished to
correct one statement. She did not tell the witness
that there would be music and dancing every night,
but that they would be taken out to a dance on
Sundays ; she believed the witness had told the
truth as far as she understood it.
Martha Vernon was then examined, but her
evidence was substantially the same as that of the
other witness. She said she was still willing to go
to Germany with the prisoners, and so was her
companion.
On the evidence being completed the prisoners
did not deny the charge, but Madame Hamann, in
defence, stated that she was " licensed" to keep a
brothel at Hamburg, Wand was not aware that she
had acted illegally in what she had done. She
entreated his worship to deal mercifully with her,
and said if set at liberty she would never come to
this country for such a purpose again.
Mr. Travis then remanded the prisoners to Wed-
nesday next, in order that further inquiries might
be made into the case. He stated that he would
accept substantial bail.
Ferguson and Vernon were then place in the
dock charged with being in company with the two
first-named prisoners for an unlawful purpose, and
were also remanded to Wednesday.
Yesterday the two German women were again
brought up, and remanded on their own recog-
nisances until this day (Saturday.) The two girls
were remanded until Saturday. No further evi-
dence was given.