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EXTRAORDINARY CHARGE AGAINST…

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EXTRAORDINARY CHARGE AGAINST A GENTLEMAN OF LOCKING UP HIS WIFE. At the .Lambeth Police-sourt, on Thursday, Mr. Edward Hammond, a gentleman residing at Laurel- house, Peckham, was charged with locking up and keeping in close confinement his wife, Bosalind Ham- mond, without just cause, such confinement being very detrimental to her health. Mrs. Rosalind Hammond, a wretched, dejected, but, an intellectural-looking woman, and who gave her evidence with perfect composure, was sworn, and ex- amined by Mr. Besley, of the Home Circuit. Her evi- dence was to the effect that she had been locked up alto- gether for about two years, that when she remonstrated with her husband, he laid the blame upon two female servants who lived with them, and that on one occasion, viz., at Christmas, 1832, he had severely beaten her with his fists. Mr. Bealey With his closed fist ? Witness: Yes. The women urged him 011; they saw he was under the influence of beer. Mr. Besley Were the women present ? Witness: Yes. The women were present, and urging him on to do it. Not Alien, but the other woman. Mr. Besley: Is that woman's name Emily. White- man ? Witness: Yes, Emily Whiteman. She was present, and urged him on, and told him to do Mr. Norton: Have you had any quarrel with them •?, Witness: We have had many quarrels, but not without reason. 4 Mr. Besley: Before you were taken up, had you been down to Eniily Whitemali's family ? Witness Yes. Mr. Besley: DM you tell your husband what you went to see her parents about ? Witness Yes, About her adultery. ?.;Ir. Besley-. With whom ? Witness; With him,.my husband. Mr. Besley: Did you tell your husband you had been to see Emily Whiteman's parents about his adul- tery with their daughter ? Witness Yes. Mr. Besley Was that before you were looked up ? Witness.: That was the reason I was shut üp, out of revenge. I Mr. Besley: When your husband struck you in 1862, did you suffer much from his violence ?. Witness: Yes. I suffered a. good deal-about the temple. It is a dangerous part to strike. I protected myself as much as I could with my hands against his violence. Mr. Besley: Were you subjected to violence at the hands of. other persons in his presence P Witness Never in his presence, but I have been severely knocked about the head by these two women, which I believe was unknown to him. I Mr. Norton:: How recently have you been struck by either of these two women ? I Witness I cannot count the times; they have been so often.. Mr. Norton Are you fearful of seeing the woman of whom you have been speaking as one of the persons who had assaulted you ? Witness:: Oh, no. Mr. Nerfcon: Then let Allen be brought in and placed alongside Mr. Hammond, as she is implicated ..1 in the charge. in answer to the further questions of the learned counsel the witness said "that she had had two children, one of whom was still living, and whom she had occa- sionally seen from her window, and the other only survived its birth a few hours. On the last occasion she wa,s attended by Dr. Nine, but he had not arrived until after its birth. He continued to attend her for a month, and from that time, January last, she had not seener.been visited by any medical man. Mr. Besley here remarked that Mrs. Hammond was taken away from the wretched apartment in which she had been shut up with scarcely deeent clothing on her, and but for a shawl which she had round bar, and a cloak and bonnet that had been lent to her,-she could not be removed. She was destitute of proper under clothing, and he (Mr. Besley) wished his worship would call on her to throw off her shawl in order that he might -see the forlorn condition in which a lady of the highest respectability, and who had bioujjht her husband £ 600 a year, was at present placed. The unfortunate lady here divested herself of the borrowed-cloak and shawl, and presented such an ap- pearanee- ef utter wretchedness as caused a universal thrill of horror to pervade the court; and perhaps such a squalid, miserable-looking being never came before a magistrate to demand justice. The defendant said he was unprepared with legal assistance, and time was given to him for that pur- pose. In the meantime he was ordered to put in bail, himself in i £ 200, and two sureties of < £ 50 each, to appear, and his own bail was taken for his servant Allen to be present also on a future day. On Friday evening, after the business had been dis- posed of by the Hon. G. C. Norton at Lambeth police court, Mr. Edward Hammond and Silrah Allen, his servant, having surrendered to their recognisances, the further proceedings were gone into. On the case being called, the unfortunate lady on entering the court pre- sented so marked an improvement in her health and 'general appearance, as to call forth a remark not only from Mr. Norton but all who were present. Mr. Edward T.E. Besley appeared as before for the prose- cution, and Mr. Neale for the defence. Mr. Besley, an addressing the magistrate, said—Sir, at the end of the examination of the unfortunate lady yesterdav, who was for a considerable time under ex- amination, one-or two questions arose, and a different issue had been raised on -the part of the husband. Mr. Hammond, that the lady was of unsound mind. I bes^ however, to call-to the recollection -of your warship t* opinion you were pleased to express of her close reason- ilig-the unimpaired memory and the lucid detail in which the lady gave a narrative of the wrongs she &ad sustained. It was truly surprising that a lady after being for two years secluded from society, and 'for months confined in one room, should have had the strength to be able to go through so protracted an ex- a-mination, and so ciezrlv to detail everything that had happened. Her sanity, however, having been brought in question, I felt it was my duty, as the adviser of those who have instituted these proceedings, to request that they would allow a medical gentleman to see Mrs. Hammond, in order that he mig'ht professionally give evidence as to the state of body, and the physical and mental powers of the lady who is here making such a very serious complaint. It appeared to me tha/u such a charge having been brought by Mr. Hammond as regards the state of his wife'g mind, it was our bounden duty to produce before you medical testimony. Dr. Sewell, now present, has h.d a long interview with Mrs. Hammond, and I will at once place him in the box in order that you may hear his opinion of the soundness of the unfortunate lady's intellect. Dr. Charles Brodie Sewell, of 76, Guildford-street, Russell-square, here entered the witness-bsx, and was sworn, and described himself as a member of the College of Surgeons, a Doctor of Medicine in the University of London, and had been in pra-ct-ice since 1841, and since that time had been in the daily habit of attending patients. He then described the emaciated condition of Mrs. Hammond. Mr. Besley Now, as to her mental power. Did you can verse with her for a length of time ? U Witness: Yes. I conversed with her during' the whole time of my being there. Mr. Besley: With the view of testing her mental powers ? Witness: Yes. Mr. Norton: Will you be kind enough to give us the result ? Witness: The result was that I could detect no indication whatever of any want of mental power. Her answers were rational, coherent; and nothing indicative of loss of memory or mind presented itself. Mr. Norton: Of what order do von consider her intellectual faculties to be, so far as you have had an opportunity of judging? Witness: I should say she has intellect of a very high order. Mr. Besley: Would such treatment "as has been proved before the magistrate, confining her against her will in a single room for two whole years, without permitting her to take air and exercise, be likely to injure her health and produce her present wretched l appearance? Witness Yes; such a state of things would injure anybody. Mr. Neale declined to put any questions in cross- examination to the witness. Mr. Besley applied for a summons against Emily Wakeman for the assault on Mrs. Hammond, and the ease was adjourned to next week, Mr. Hammond and hig servant being admitted to bail in the interim.

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