Extract from the "China Mail" dated 18th January, 1908.
SUPREME COURT.
IN CRIMINAL SESSIONS. (Before His Honour H. Q. Wing, Acting Chief Justice.) Saturday, 18th January, 1908
THE BIGAMY CASE.
Frederick William Hanson was charged with having, on 14th July, 1890, at Holy Trinity Church, Upper Chelsea, County of Middlesex, married Minnie Weston, and at the Church of St Francis Xavier, Hong-kong, on 1st December, 1900, married Helen Emile Lucas, his former wife, Minnie Weston, being then still alive.
He pleaded guilty.
His Lordship-Have you any remarks to make Mr Attorney.
The Attorney General (Hon. W. Meigh Goodman, K.C.),-I understand the prisoner desires to make a statement to the Court, and I shall reserve my remarks till I have heard his statement.
The Prisoner, having been requested to make his statement, said he wished it to be thoroughly understood that not the slightest blame could be attributed to Miss Lucas or her friends in this matter at all. He admitted his marriage with his cousin at Holy Trinity Church, Chelsea, and, during a visit to his friends seven months afterwards, in July, 1891, he ascertained that, by marrying his cousin, he had practically married his own flesh and blood, and that the outcome of such marriages were invariably imbeciles or cripples.
His Lordship-What sort of cousin was she?
Prisoner-She was my first cousin, my Lord.
His Lordship-There have been marriages of that class before. Go on.
Prisoner, continuing, said that was what he was given to understand. Being disgusted at the way he had been treated and enticed into such a marriage, he sought legal advice and ascertained that, the marriage having taken place while he was a minor, and against the wish of his people, it was avoidable and could be set aside.
His Lordship-You got legal advice to that effect?
Prisoner-Yes, sir.
His Lordship-I am glad to hear it.
Prisoner, proceeding with his statement, said he at once communicated with his cousin and told her he was to take legal steps to set the marriage aside. After three days, she communicated with him asking him not to take this action for two reasons. The first was the terrible disgrace it would be to the whole of their friends, and the second was on account of the age and health of her mother, whom she was afraid the shock would kill. They both arranged then that he would not take legal action, but they were to thoroughly understand that they were to have no legal claim upon one another, and they were to discontinue all intercourse with one another. He might state that they both took a solemn oath and swore on the Bible that that was how they should act. That was how they lived for some years.
He brought her out here, always occupying different compartments, and he took her home again, and, while in Cork, they had bother again through his cousin opening one of his letters. He was in the Engineers then, and had fourteen years' service, during the last six years of which he was Company Sergeant Major, and had every prospect of rapid advancement and a good pension at the end of seven years after. He threw up the whole of that service with the intention of taking legal action to dissolve the marriage, but he was prevailed upon to let the action stop again on account of her mother.
He did not see his cousin again for seven months, when he wrote to her sister in London about some certificates he wanted. The answer he got was a visit from his cousin herself, who begged him to allow her to come back again simply as housekeeper on account of the bother she had had with her friends. This he did, and they both returned to London. He stayed with her sister for some two or three months, and again he left her. Further than that, he had had no dealings with her since, except two or three days before he left for Hongkong when he met her accidentally and told her he was proceeding to Hongkong, and that he should certainly get married and settle down. He also promised to set her up in business as soon as he could.
He arrived in Hongkong in November or December and sent her a sum of money with intimation that that was the last she would get from him. He got an answer to that and a request to inform her how she should account for his silence. He wrote to her and said he would send a telegram stating that he would resign his berth here and leave the Colony. He sent her that telegram towards the end of February. Knowing that that woman had been out here for three or four years, and had plenty of friends and was in the habit of communicating with these friends regularly, didn't it stand to reason that he should have more common sense than to go and get married again here secretly, or try to do so! He thoroughly understood and believed he had a perfect legal right to contract a second marriage and so did she, and he had not the slightest doubt but what she had all the way through believed he had a right to do so for two or three reasons.
First, she quite agreed with him leaving Cork, and, when he met her in London, she raised no objection. And, when he wrote to her in December and told her that he was married, it was quite clear she evidently expected and agreed with it seeing she did not take any action at all until the end of last year. It was through nothing but a piece of jealousy and hatred on the part of people here and his brother-in-law in London that this affair had been brought out.
After a pause, His Lordship asked Prisoner if he had anything more to say.
Prisoner, resuming, said he thought that, after all he had suffered from beginning to end, having to be deprived of all the privileges of married life, and throwing up the whole of his service, and coming here and settling down and this case being brought against him, it had been pretty heavy punishment. Besides that, he had suffered over seven weeks' imprisonment in Victoria. He quite assured his Lordship that he had no intention of committing such a serious crime. He thoroughly believed and understood he had a perfect right to get married here without any fear.
Moreover, he could tell his Lordship that, although this affair was mentioned three or four weeks before he was married in Victoria, he never attempted to start a defence, or leave the Colony.
His Lordship-So far as I see from the depositions, there is a witness here who swears you said your first wife was dead.
Prisoner-That is what we agreed in the first place, my Lord.
His Lordship-That is all against your argument.
Prisoner-That is what we agreed in the first place, when we agreed not to take any action against one another in the event of either marrying.
The Attorney General said he was quite unable to say how far the statement made by the prisoner was correct and true or not. He had the advantage that the wife, who was known in the proceedings as the first wife, was not here, and, of course, she might...
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