The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-22
CLEVER WORK OF
POLICE OFFICERS

London, May 20.-(Special.)-An extra
ordinary story, WHICH might have been
| lifted from the pages of one of Sir Ar
thur Conan Doyle's famous Sherlock
Holmes novels was told at the Sutton re-
Gently, when, Annie Tugwel, wife of the
local register of births and deaths, was
charged on a warrant with libelling
Canon Cafferata, the Roman Catholic
| priest at Wellington.
The case is a sequel to the a libel ac-
ton brought by Mrs. Tugwell against
Annie Dewey, the canon's housekeeper. 1t
was alleged that she was the author of
three letters in which accusations were
made against the character of Mrs. Tug
we'll The girl was acquitted, and subse-
quently after inquiries at the instance of
the director of public prosecutions, Mrs.
Tugwell herself was arrested.
Mr.. Bodkin, who prosecuted on behalf
of the treasury, stated that after the ac-
quittal of Annie Dewey, anonymous let
tiers began to be circulated again, and
the police took steps to put a stop to
what had then passed out of the range
of ordinary private libels
THE libels were inclosed in envelopes
bearing half penny stamps but sealed
down." he said Accordingly the police
became possessed of number of half
penny stamps.
''It was known where the Tugwelr $
purchased their stamps, and so these were
handed to the sub-postniaster with in
| structions that they were only to be sold
| to members of the Tugwell household
Before that the police had resorted
| to chemicals. There are certain chemical
preparations which can be written with
an ordinary pen, which leave no mark
| and are In no way effected by color.
will lt
the writing These stamps were so treated.
"A servant at Mrs. Tugwell's house
bought six half penny stamps, and was
handed those which had been marked in
this way
1.-THE first recipient of one of these
marked envelopes was Canon Cafferata. 1t
purported to be signed by Miss Sulli-
van That name appears In at least
two of the letters alleged In the last
trial to have been sent to Annie Dewey.
The stamp was treated with the sec-
ond chemical I have referred to- and so
the first of the six stamps was accounted
for.
Another of the stamps was on a letter
sent to Mrs. Wesley, in Carshalton road
and then came a letter addressed to Mrs
Tugwell herself in exactly the same hand
writing as the other letters.
THE police seeing that the stamp was
a halfpenny one, treated 1t with the chem
ical. and another marked stamp was ac-
counted for.
"a few yards from Mrs. Tugwells
house" continued Mr.. BodlSin,' Is post
OFFICE letter box and Inspector Ward ar
vanged that it should be watched.
ION April 49, about o'clock. Mrs. Tug
we'll was seen to go to the front door of
her house, look up and down the road
and then go indoors again. At S:55 she
did the same thing Directly she went in
doors the second time postoffce official
was requested by Inspector Ward to clear
the letter box.
He did so and minute or two later
Mrs. Tugwell came out again and dropped
two communications into the empty let
ter box She returned to the house and
the box was at once opened and the let
tiers taken out.
Those letters were in precisely the
same handwriting as the letters I have
previously referred to, and both bore
halfpenny stamps. One was addressed
to Mrs. Wesley of Carshalton road, and
| the other to Mrs. Tugwell herself.
Mrs. Tugwel was committed for trial.