Wednesday, 11th November.
Convened in accordance with summons, H.B.M.'s' Court for Japan sat in Yokohama, James Troup Esq., Assistant Judge, presiding. There were present Mr. H. C. Litehfield, Crown Prosecutor; Messrs, Lowder and A. B. Walford, barristers-at-law: Messrs, R. D. Robison and J.D. Hutchison, and Mrs. Carew. The Usher read out the formal. announcement Mr. Chas. Henry Litchfield, Her Britannic Majesty's Crown Prosecutor for Japan versus Edith May Carew: charge, mu Upon his Honour taking his seat, Mr. Litchfield said he appeared under instructions from Her Majesty's Government to ask for the arrest of Mrs, Edith May Carew for the murder of her husband. Mr. Lowder announced that with Mr. Walford he appeared for the defence, and upon his intimation the name' of his client was corrected to Edith May Hallowell Carew. Mr. Litchfield applied for a remand until the following day, and the issue of certain subpoenas. For a few minutes the Court was adjourned whilst Mr. Lowder applied to the Judge in Chambers for his client to be admitted to bail, and the application being granted, Mr. J. D. Hutchison and Mr. R. D. Robison were tendered and accepted as bail, and the case adjourned.
Thursday, 12th November, The preliminary examination of Mrs. Edith May Hallowell Curew on the charge of murdering her husband, the late Walter Raymond Hallowell Carew, was called on at 10 o'clock. Mr, H. 0.' Litchfield, the Crown, Prosecutor, conducted the proceedings on behalf of Her Majesty's Government. Mr, Lowderand Mr. A. B, Walford appeared for the defence. Mrs. Carew sat between the Counsel. The Court was crowded all day.
Howard James McCleary Todd, M.R.C.S., and Staff-Surgeon of the' Royal Navy was the first witness. He said that on the 20th of October he was asked by Dr. Wheeler to hold w consultation with him over the late Mr. Carew. He did so and found the patient complaining of excessive vomiting, and suffering from debility caused thereby. He considered Mr. Carew was suffering from derangement of the stomach due to liver affection. Assisted by Dr. May, surgeon at the Hospital, he made a post mortem on the body, the result of which was that he told the Consul he could not give a certificate as to the cause of death. He thought the deceased was given to alcohol; not extensively, but he consumed more than was good for' him, Edwin Wheeler, M.D. of Queen's Uni versity, Ireland, and Licentiate of the Royal 'College of Surgeons, Edin., also LGRP., Bain, was next called. " After stating that he had been practising in Yokohama for twenty-three years he said he knew Mr. Carew as a patient, and also intimately. He was first called in by Mrs. Carew' to attend the deceased on the 1éth. Witness saw him at the office of the Club, told him he had been over-stimulating a bit too much, and that he must go home and drink nothing but Vichy water and milk. Mr, Carew said his old liver was bothering him," and the symptoms corresponded with that. During the time witness knew deceased he said that he once had liver bad in Australia, and that he, had had to leave the Straits Settlements as he could not remain there, He never said anything about taking arsenic, Witness saw him on Friday, the 16th and Saturday the 17th, prescribing for liver. On the Sunday, witness saw him again and he was getting restless. On the 19th he was perhaps a little more drowsy and irritable, and there was vomiting, which witness attributed to bile, On Monday. night,, witness thought the continued itability of the stomach tobe very strange, and he called in Dr.
Todd the next day. On Wednesday the patient was not so well and complained of everything hurting his throat. He was suffering from what witness thought was acute diarrhea, and which puzzled witness.
At midday Drs. Carew requested witness to telegraph to Dr. Baelz, and he did so. A reply was received that Dr. Baelz could not come that day, and shortly before dinner-time witness went up to the house and told Mrs. Carew. The patient then seemed considerably better, and asked to have a brandy and soda, as his throat was dry and constricted. He was in bed, but able to get up and move about, Witness allowed him to have a little brandy and soda with a quarter of a grain of cocaine in it. Up to this time Mrs. Carew had been principally attending the patient. Witness also saw small China boy taking things into the room, an amah, and Mr. Porch, the patient's brother-in-law, in and about. On Thursday morning, the 22nd, witness received a letter from Mrs. Carew, in consequence of which he went round at about seven o'clock. He found the patient decidedly worse. He fad had no proper sleep, and witness gave him some solution of hydrate of chloral in milk and soda. Mr, Carew was a good deal debilitated and weak; he was half sleep that wasn't sleep. He could be wakened up when spoken to, and would then answer questions. Whilst at Mr. Bong's funeral witness had a communication made to him, which was such that he went round to sce Miss Jacobs, the nursery governess, who was at Mr. Lowder's house with the children.
Mr. Lowder objected to the communication being given in evidence as it was not made in presence of the accused.
Witness decided that it would be best for Mr. Carew to be taken to the Hospital, and he detailed the steps he took to carry out the intention. After going to the Hospital x few minutes before eleven, witness went back to the house and found the accused still worse. As he went up he met Mr. Porch on the hill and said to him: "You go along to the house, as your brother-in-law is getting arsenic in some form, I fear." Witness further told him that he did not know who was giving the arsenic to the deceased, or whether he was taking it himself; and that he would go to the Hospital and get a stretcher. That same day, a little after two o'clock, the deceased was taker, to the Hospital, and he died later intheaftornoon. In the evening witness had a letter from Mrs. Carew and he went round to see her about eleven o'clock. She said: "Oh, Doctor, there is a thing I ought to have' told you before. You know Walter suffered from a stricture and he has been in the habit of taking arsenic for it, and just a few days ago he asked me to send down to Maruya's and get a bottle of Fowler's Solution of Arsenic and some sugar of lead." Witness felt a little annoyed, certainly, and all he said was: "It would have simplified matters if you had done so." He added that it was a pity sh had not told him, or words to the effect. Then: she said: "*I can't Gnd the bottles Ithink they were in that drawer, but I can't find them." Witness told her not to bother looking for them now, and went downstairs and off home. Continuing, he described the properties of arsenic and said it was generally given in the form. of solution, say Fowler's Solution, in five drops in a little water after meals. The dose might be increased up to ten drops in water; during the time a patient was taking the larger dose he was generally under the eye of his medical man.
Questioned by Mr. Lowder, the witness said that on the 10th of October he prescribed arsenic for Mrs. Carew. He saw her standing on the boathouse verandahiat the Regatta that day next to Mr. Dickinson, and Witness went up to'het: and said: Your trip to Miyanoshita done you no good?" She said: "N beastly weather, raining all the time." Then she said: "I wish you would give me the arsenic drops you gave me before." Witness replied: "Certainly, I will write it now," and, tearing off & piece of the Regatta programme he wrote: "Liq. Fowler Joz."" On Tuesilay, the 20th, when he spoke to Mrs. Carew about bringing in Dr, Todd she readily approved and said-: "Do, bring him along."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.