A
special correspondent of the Toronto Mail-Empire visited
Vittoria last week to enquire into the facts surrounding the long
drawn out inquest upon the death of George Smyth and furnishes his
paper the following somewhat sensational account of what he learned:
"A shocking abuse of
the legal procedure of the province to which the attention of the
Attorney-General's Department will shortly be called has been going
on here for the past three weeks.
On January 18th George
Smith, a middle-aged farmer, living a mile or two from here, died
after an illness which had its inception about two years and a half
before, but which had only shown itself in an aggravated concern
a few months previously.
Despite the most
overwhelming evidence that the man died from natural causes, an
inquest has been dragging on for three weeks, and the man's wife, an
estimable lady with the most irreproachable connections, both
in Toronto and in Norfolk county, has been tortured with suspicions
and insinuations that she was responsible for her husband's death.
The shocking affair arises
through a family feud, to which the coroner who is holding the
inquest, Dr. N. O. Walker, of Port Dover, is an interested party.
In all he has held six
sessions of that inquest, and will hold another a week from Monday.
The Crown Attorney of
Norfolk, Mr. Ansley, sent one of his partners, Mr. H. P. Innes, to
appear for the Crown.
To the great enjoyment of
the farming population, which, having little to do in winter time,
likes something exciting to chew on, the petty details of the
quarrels in the Smyth family [have] been rehearsed day after day.
The Smyths are an English
family, who have lived in the section for years and have been highly
thought of.
There were three
brothers, Joseph Smyth of Port Dover, James Smyth of Vittoria, the
late George Smyth.
A maiden sister, Miss Susan
Smyth, who lives part of the time in Toronto and part of the time at
Port Dover, is the remaining member of the family.
The testimony so far
developed at the inquest appears to indicate that Miss Susan Smyth
has had difficulties with most of her brother's wives, and the
friends of George Smyth's widow allege that she is cause of the
present trouble.
The widow, Mrs. Smyth, was
the second wife of the deceased, and about ten years younger than he.
She married him a few years ago, and as had been the case with her
husband's first wife, relations became strained between her and some
of her husband's connections.
Husband Takes
Ill
Last September
George Smyth became ill with a wasting disease. It was thought that
if he went to visit his brother Joseph in Port Dover, it might do
him good.
His wife
accompanied him to that place and stayed at her father's place. Dr.
N. O. Walker, the coroner in the present case, is Joseph Smyth's
father-in-law, and diagnosed his disease as paresis, combined with
locomotor ataxia.
Mr. Joseph
Smyth's family were anxious that George should make a will, and Dr.
MacInnes of Vittoria, the physician who had first prescribed for
him, was asked to advise whether he was in a fit state to do so. He
replied in the affirmative, and the will was accordingly made.
His estate in
all amounted to $10,000 to $12,000 and of this he left $2,500 to his
wife and the balance to the two children of his first marriage, who
are said to be weak and sickly.
Disagreements
naturally arose between the man's wife and the other members of his
family. When Mrs. Smyth wanted to take her husband to Toronto for
special treatment, it is alleged that the Smyth faction hinted that
she might 'dope' him if she got him there.
The poor woman
was at first much incensed at the outrageous suggestion, and
frightened lest by continuing at her husband's side the charges
would become stronger.
Finally, by the
advice of friends, however, she decided to take her husband into her
own keeping, bring him back to their home at Vittoria, and place him
in [the] care of Dr. MacInnes, who naturally understood his case better
than anyone else.
The Doctor's
Diagnosis
Dr. MacInnes,
who is a very experienced and well read physician, had diagnosed her
husband's case differently from Coroner Walker.
He and his son
who is also a physician, after much study, came to the conclusion
that the deceased was suffering from a fatal form of wasting palsy.
Its base was located at the head of the spinal column, and the
gradual decay of all the nerve cells which serve the respiratory and
digestive organs was its effect.
This very rare
disease leaves the mine clear, but gradually undermines all the
physical functions of the body.
Mrs. Smyth's
sister came to assist her in nursing her husband, and a man was also
hired to sit up with him at night.
Then the
gossips, it is alleged, began to grow even broader in their hints
that foul play was going on.
Miss Smyth
would walk into the house, ignore Mrs. Smyth and her sister
altogether, and commence to feed the sick man.
Dr. MacInnes
told Mrs. Smyth to stop it. The wife, incensed to the last degree by
the insult to which she had been subjected, refused all her
husband's relatives except his children, admission to her house.
These boys, were staying with their uncle, were allowed to see
their father at all times.
In December,
Smyth made another will, which gave his wife $2,500 and possession
of the household furniture, which, having come as a wedding present
from her brother, was rightfully hers.
This caused
more cackling among the village gossips, although the sum was less
than the dower Mrs. Smyth is entitled to by law.
Toronto
Specialist Called
Dr. MacInnes
was also singled out for disapprobation by the Smyths and their
friends, and Mrs. Smyth, to demonstrate her absolute innocence, went
to the expense of sending for Dr. J. E. Graham of Toronto, a
well-known consulting physician, who pronounced Dr. MacInnes'
diagnosis correct.
Dr. Hayes of
Simcoe, was previously called in and took a like view of the case.
Dr. Graham was
called three weeks before Smyth's death and it was thought that
everything had been done to ally public feeling.
On the man's
death, however, Dr. Walker of Port Dover, immediately issued a
warrant for an inquest.
A constable of
Vittoria named Albert Wood, who Mrs. Smyth had for reasons of her
own refused admission to see her husband, was entrusted with the
task of getting a jury. Then the farce commenced, for that
delectation of the countryside.
Dr. MacInnes
swore that there was not the slightest reason to believe that the
man had received poison, he had never had a vomiting spell, he had
never even had a fever.
He also swore
that the man had had the best of nursing, and that nothing could
have been done to save his life.
Although this
evidence should have been conclusive, and ended the inquest then and
there, the enquiry went on from time to time.
A post mortem
examination [was] made by Drs. Bowlby and Roberts. The doctors swore that
the man's death was caused by the disease diagnosed by Dr. MacInnes
and confirmed by Drs. Graham and Hayes.
Under
microscope the nerve cells at the base of the brain developed
precisely the condition described by the attending physician. Even
this did not end the matter.
The stomach has
been sent to Toronto for analysis by Prof. Ellis. Mr. W. E. Tisdale
of Simcoe, who has been acting for Mrs. Smyth, took no exception to
this, because the proceeding would have been necessary in case the aggrieved
woman should decide to proceed against her alleged slanderers.
The analysis,
it is confidently expected will add to the proof that Smyth died of
natural causes the certainty that no poison was administered.
