Sunday 3 November 2013

Henry Vale Leathem 1866 “The woman in black” or a “Demon unmasked”

Wagga Wagga Express and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser NSW.
15 Sept 1866

FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT:-

That mystic individual, in the shape of your correspondent from this quarter; has been the origin of great number of queries, and I do assure you no little uneasiness and anxiety was displayed on the part of "our local" to find out his definite whereabouts. Many and amusing were the surprises I heard made. But the "Simon Pure" appears to be the same mystic personage as ever.

I appear to have eluded his keen powers of penetration, and if it be any relief to his mind, I might say, at the risk of enjoying a little egotism and presumption, that he or anyone else is not likely to find me out.

I am not "a creature of this earth's world." That's a poser.

"The heavy rains with which we have lately been visited caused a regular stoppage in traffic of all kinds.

The large lagoons around here which have been nearly dry for the past two years, are now rejoicing in having their measure full.

All previous expectation of another dry summer has been dispelled by this copious downfall. 

All the creeks rose to that height that many narrow escapes occurred to venturesome persons in trying to effect a crossing.

The Gundagai punt did not work for a whole week. 
This is a state of thing as which ought not to be tolerated, for, I believe, I am correct in stating that the non-working of the punt was not so much owing to the fresh in the Murrumbidgee, as to the dilapidated condition of the punt itself.

We all know what a trifling amount is paid annually to the Government for the punt on that part of the river. 
It is currently stated that it is as good as fifteen hundred or two thousand a-year to its lessee. 
If it be so lucrative an undertaking, why is not the punt kept in such repair as-if not to work in all floods at least to be able to work in a similar flood to the one just past.

It is emphatically a great inconvenience to the travelling portion-of our small community, an instance of which I can give you. 
A gentleman drove down to Eurongilly just before the rain set in, and on his return was delayed at Gundagai for seven days.

He did not complain so much of the expense which he was of necessity put to, as to the serious inconvenience he was at in being delayed from his business pursuits, and during the latter part of the time he was at Gundagi, the river had fallen, and it was far from being dangerous to work the punt if it had been sound.

There is, decidedly, something rotten, if not in the state of Denmark, at least in the arrangement I here write of.

A little excitement was evinced at our Police Court on Friday and Saturday last, on the-hearing of two cases-Regina v. J. W. Costello, and the same against H. V. Leathem.

These cases had reference to a matter I touched slightly upon in my former letter, or, in other words, Costello was charged upon the information of Sergeant Tant, with having printed certain bills, intended for dispersion, on or about the 4th ultimo, containing the following:

"Will shortly be published, the Woman in Black, or the Demon unmasked," 

and neglecting to put his name and place of abode thereon, as required by the Act. Leathem proved to having received four of these bills from Costello, to be delivered to another party.

Here the prosecution pressed the witness to name the party to whom he delivered them. This he declined doing, unless told by the defendant.

The Bench was appealed to, and ruled that it was irrelevant, and need not be answered. A single copy of these bills was produced by Sergeant' Tant, without the name and abode of the printer.

Costello admitted printing the bills, and sending them to Leathem, his agent, and said-that they had the necessary imprint at the bottom, and handed one to the Bench in support of his statement. 

This one had upon it "Printed at the Gundagai Herald Office." The Bench ruled that this was insufficient, and did not meet the requirements of the Act, and found him guilty. 
The act requiring, most distinctly, that the name and place of abode of the printer should be on the bills.

Costello was fined £20 and costs. He was brought up on another charge, that of not marking the date, number of copies issued, and name of the person ordering the same, upon the copy which he kept, as the Act required. 

It was optional with himself in this case whether he should be fined or not. The prosecution was willing to allow him to make the necessary writing upon this copy, and stay proceedings, but this he declined, and was fined an additional £20 with costs. 

For both the cases he had the alternative of six months in Wagga Wagga gaol. 

The case against Leathem was dismissed, as he only acted as agent for Costello, and did not circulate these bills with any malicious intent. However, Mr. Robertson, who prosecuted in each case, asked for a copy of the depositions in this case, with a view to further proceedings in the matter. 

The prosecution tried all-they possibly could to get the names of the persons concerned in the affair, but failed, so that the principal object in the prosecution was defeated, and thus the parties, who were instrumental in driving a woman to madness, have gone unpunished. 

The real culprits in this arrangement are subscribing amongst themselves to pay Costello's fines. September 10.


South Bourke Standard
21 Sept 1866

CAUTION TO Printers... "The Tumut Times of the 10th instant
states that a case of considerable interest to the printing fraternity was heard before the Tumut bench on Friday last, in which the proprietor of the late Gundagai Herald, Mr .J. W. Costello, was charged with having committed a breach of the Printing Act, by not having his name and place of abode attached to certain bills that he had "received an order to print.

It appeared that he had placed what he deemed a full and sufficient: imprint to the bills, -viz., "Printed at the Gundagai Herald office," but which imprint was not according to what the law demands, i.e, the name, occupation, and place of abode of the printer or publisher.

A second charge against Costello was that on the "filed copy" the name and address of the party who authorised the "'printing of the bills was neither written nor printed in plain and legible characters. 

The Printing. Act, 8' Geo.IV., distinctly states that such is absolutely necessary, and the penalty for non-observance of this clause is a very heavy one-£20 for each offence.

It is not, however generally known that the law demands that printers should do this; and we feel justified in asserting that few offices in the Australian colonies adhere to the law in this respect.

In the case to which we allude the infringement of tile law was not a willful one, it having been done in utter ignorance of the nature of the clauses in the act having 'reference to the printing of bills.

The placard to which objection had been taken simply announced the intended publication of a work entitled "The Woman in' Black," or “The Demon Unmasked.”

This title offended certain parties in town, they deeming that it was intended to apply to a resident; and they accordingly set the engines of the Law to work, in order that they might discover the person’s name who ordered the bills to be printed.

As this case is of some importance to printers, involving, as it does, very serious penalties, we deem it advisable to make them aware of the heavy fines to which they are liable by the law. 

We think we are but doing our duty in explaining this point, in order that others may become acquainted with it, and there are many such who probably may be caught napping by over vigilant guardians of the law.

In the first charge before us the 'bench used the discretionary power, and filled the defendant £5, for each of the bills, and £3. 3s. professional costs; -but on the second charge, having no discretionary power, were obliged to fine the full penalty of £20 and' £3. 3s., costs. - 
We had, almost omitted to mention that any Justice of the peace may demand to see the "file copy" kept by the printer, within a period of six months after being so printed.  

                                            ***

Who was “the woman in black” or “the demon unmasked”?
Was it this mendacious old woman in black mentioned a year before down Bendigo, possibly made her way from there and ended up in Gundagai?  An elderly woman dressed in black, of easy ‘manners and fluent speech? Do you think it is her? Whoever litigated put themselves “in it” by identifying with the title in any case.Or the woman in Sydney asking for money to go to Queensland? Or is it the same woman just traveling around?


The Sydney Morning Herald NSW 
8 Dec 1864

CAUTION-TO THE BENEVOLENT
To the Editor of the Herald’

Sir--Will you have -the goodness to insert in your valuable paper, -for the information of those like myself willing to assist to truly deserving, a case of gross imposture.

A little more than two months ago, a respectable looking old woman, attired in black, came to my house and represented that her son had been killed on the Lapstone Hill, by a dray going over him leaving her (his old mother) in great distress.

She wished to procure enough money to take her to Queensland, to another son, who-would only be too glad to give her a home. She was to have left immediately ("21st September), but could not make up the sum required, and fearing she should lose the boat that day, I gave her the balance, as well as some clothes for the voyage.

To-day a lady telling me a tale of great distress, related the -very same story-same old woman and same name (Mrs. Griffiths), I am sure you will not object to caution the benevolently disposed.

This is not the first case lately that has come under my own observation, and I would have the charitable beware, lest instead of doing good they may only be encouraging a set of Impostors,
I am, Sir, yours obediently E.A.B.


Bendigo Advertiser
19 July 1865

MENDICITY.

(To the Editor of the Bendigo Advertiser.)

Sir,-In noticing a paragraph in your issue of the 17th ultimo, allow me to inform your readers and the charitably disposed ladies of this district.

That an elderly woman dressed in black, of easy ‘manners and fluent speech, has for the last eighteen months been preying upon them, and that the proceeds of their generosity, clothes, &c, have found their way in to the pawnbrokers to furnish a supply of pure colonial to refresh the body of the said elderly female.

The amount collected by this woman in a regular systematic manner is incredible, and the use of it such as I here state. 

In fact I have known her return with bacon which some good creature had given her, and go and try to exchange it for beer.

I have long thought that mendicity officers were necessary, and am fully persuaded that they would find occupation in all centers of population, and succeed in rooting out such nuisances as this from the body politic.

I enclose my card as a guarantee of good faith, and am,
Sir, yours respectfully,

ALMONER.

*pure colonial = Grog, Alcohol, moonshine. 

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