Eliza Armstrong case
Encyclopedia
The Eliza Armstrong case was a major scandal in the United Kingdom
involving a child supposedly bought for prostitution
for the purpose of exposing the evils of white slavery. While it achieved its purpose of helping to enable the passage of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885
, it also brought unintended consequence
s to its chief perpetrator, William Thomas Stead
.
and others, sought to improve the treatment of women and children in Victorian society
. The movement scored a triumph when the Contagious Diseases Acts
were repealed under pressure due to their double standard
nature and ultimate ineffectiveness.
At the same time, the campaign had also turned towards the problem of prostitution, and with male power over women. By the end of the 1870s, this had become particularly focused on fears that British
women were being lured -- or abducted -- to brothels in the Continent, especially since this was happening to girls barely past the age of consent
. Although the age was raised to 13 when amendments to the Offences against the Person Act 1861
were made in 1875, the movement sought to further raise this to at least 16, but Parliament of the United Kingdom
was reluctant to make this change.
However, a Criminal Law Amendment Bill to change this was introduced in 1881. While it passed the House of Lords
easily in 1883 after a two-year Select Committee study, it stalled twice in the House of Commons
. Then in 1885, it was reintroduced for a third time, but again it was threatened to be set aside ultimately because of a political crisis and the upcoming general election that year
.
As Parliament recessed for the Whit Week bank holiday on May 22, the next day Benjamin Scott, anti-vice campaigner and the chamberlain of the City of London
, went to see W.T. Stead
, the flamboyant editor
of a leading London
newspaper
, the Pall Mall Gazette
. Stead was a pioneer of modern investigative journalism
, with eye-catching headlines and a flair for the sensational. While he was a supporter of the Social Purity movement, many were wary of him because he had a tendency towards emotional instability and his brand of journalism was often tasteless. Nevertheless, with the impending demise of the Bill, they were willing to try anything.
Scott told Stead lurid stories of sexually exploited children. Appealing to his reformist nature, as well as his sensationalist bent, he agreed to agitate popular support for the bill. Stead set up a "Special and Secret Committee of Inquiry" to investigate child prostitution, which included Josephine Butler, as well as representatives of the London Committee for the Suppression of the Traffic in British Girls for the Purposes of Continental Prostitution (of which Scott was the chairman) and the Salvation Army
. As part of the investigation, two women, an employee of the Pall Mall Gazette and a girl from the Salvation Army, posed as prostitutes and infiltrated brothels at great risk, getting as much information as they could and escaping before they were forced to render sexual services. Mrs. Butler spent ten days walking the streets of London with her son Georgie, posing as a brothel-keeper and a procurer, respectively; together they spent a total of £100 buying children in high-class brothels. Stead, in turn, also spoke to a former director of criminal investigation at Scotland Yard
to get first-hand information; he later cast his net wide to include active and retired brothel keepers, pimps, procurers, prostitutes, rescue workers and jail chaplains.
However, Stead felt that he needed something more to make his point: he decided to purchase a girl to show that he could do it under the nose of the law and write about it.
of the Salvation Army, Stead got in touch with Rebecca Jarrett, a reformed prostitute and brothel-keeper who was staying with Mrs. Butler in Winchester
as an assistant. Although Mrs. Butler had no problem with Rebecca meeting Stead, she did not know Stead's reason for doing so.
Stead prevailed upon Jarrett to help him to show that a 13-year old girl could be bought from her parents and transported to the Continent. Despite her reluctance on going back to her old brothel contacts for help, Jarrett agreed to help.
Rebecca Jarrett met an old associate, a procuress called Nancy Broughton. Through her Jarrett learned of a 13-year old named Eliza Armstrong whose alcoholic
mother Elizabeth was in need of money. She arranged for Jarrett to meet Mrs. Armstrong, who lived in the Lisson Grove
area of West London, and although Rebecca told the mother that the girl was to serve as a maid to an old gentleman, she believed that Mrs. Armstrong understood that she was selling her daughter into prostitution. The mother agreed to sell her daughter for a total of £5. On June 3, the bargain was made.
On the same day, Jarrett then took Eliza to a midwife and known abortionist named Louise Mourez, who examined her and attested to her virginity and sold Jarrett a bottle of chloroform
. Then Eliza was taken to a brothel and lightly drugged to await the arrival of her purchaser, who was Stead. Stead, anxious to play the part of libertine
almost in full, drank a whole bottle of champagne, although he was a teetotaler. He entered Eliza's room and waited for her to wake up from her stupor. When she came to, Eliza screamed. Stead quickly left the room, letting the scream be apparent evidence that he had "had his way" with her. Eliza was quickly handed over to Bramwell Booth
, who spirited her to France
where she was taken care of by a Salvationist family.
In the meantime, Stead wrote his story.
The first installment taking up six whole pages, Stead attacked vice with eye-catching subheadings that were more suggestive of pornography
than of social reform: "The Violation of Virgins", "The Confessions of a Brothel-Keeper", "How Girls Were Bought and Ruined". The last section of the first installment bore special mention: under the subheading "A Child of Thirteen bought for £5" Stead related the story of Eliza, changing her name to "Lily". Although he vouched "for the absolute accuracy of every fact in the narrative", Stead changed a number of details, and omitted the fact that "Lily's" purchaser was none other than himself. The theme of "Maiden Tribute" was child prostitution, the abduction, procurement and sale of young English virgins to Continental "pleasure palaces". Stead took his readers to the labyrinthine streets of London (intentionally recalling the Greek myth) to its darker side, exposing the flesh trade while exposing the corruption of those officials who not only turned a blind eye but also condoned such abuse. In particular, he criticized those members of Parliament who were responsible for the Bill's impending "extinction in the House of Commons" and hinted that they might have personal reasons to block any changes in the law.
, who had a monopoly on all the news stalls, refused to sell the paper due to its lurid and prurient content, volunteers consisting of newsboys and members of the Salvation Army took over distribution. Even George Bernard Shaw
telegraphed Stead offering to help. Such was the demand for the paper that crowds gathered in front of the Pall Mall Gazette offices fighting tooth and nail for a copy. Second-hand copies of the paper sold as much as a shilling
-- twelve times its normal price.
Within days, Stead had been getting telegrams from across the Atlantic inquiring about the scandal. By the end of the series he had thrown Victorian society into an uproar about prostitution. Fearing riots on a national scale, the Home Secretary
, Sir William Harcourt pleaded with Stead to cease publication of the articles; Stead replied that he would comply if the Bill would be passed without delay. Since Harcourt could not make that guarantee, Stead ordered the Pall Mall Gazette presses to continue until paper ran out.
Stead's revelations struck a responsive chord in the public. Amidst the hysteria it provoked a wide variety of reform groups and prominent individuals called to an end to the scandal. Dozens of protest meetings were held throughout London and the provincial towns. Thousands, including wagon loads of virgins dressed in white, marched to Hyde Park demanding that the Bill be passed. The government was soon on the defensive and those members of Parliament who had previously opposed the Bill, now understood that opposition would not only mean denying the existence of child prostitution, but condoning it as well. While many of them wanted to have the paper prosecuted under obscenity laws, they bowed to the inevitable. On Wednesday July 8 debate resumed over the bill, on August 7 it passed its third and final reading, and passed into law a week later.
, his plan backfired on him. Rival newspapers like The Times
, began to dig up the original "Lily". Eventually the true details of the story, including the fact that it was Stead himself who was the "purchaser", were unearthed. Mrs. Armstrong protested and went to the police, claiming that she had not given her consent to put her daughter into prostitution, insisting instead she let her go with the understanding that she would go off into domestic service. In any case, Rebecca Jarrett did not get the permission of the child's father -- she believed that the mother could speak for both parents, so Charles Armstrong, Eliza's father, also brought suit.
Thus Stead, Rebecca Jarrett, Bramwell Booth, as well as Louise Mouret, the midwife, and two others were brought before the court on September 2 for the assault and abduction for Eliza Armstrong without the agreement of her parents. Although there were legitimate grounds for doing so, there were other motivations as well: some politicians, who felt that they were forced into passing the Act, wanted to take revenge against Stead's tactics; rival newspapers, who felt their thunder stolen from them from the publicity gained by the Pall Mall Gazette, in turn wanted to discredit him.
So it was that on October 23 that the defendants were brought to trial, with the Attorney General
, Richard Webster, himself acting as prosecutor
. Stead himself conducted his own defence. Stead himself later admitted that the girl was procured without the consent of the father, as well as making the mistake of not having written evidence of payment to the mother. Another mistake that Stead had made was he wholly relied on Rebecca Jarrett's word on the matter; thus he could not prove Mrs. Armstrong's complicity in the crime. Without such evidence, Stead, Jarrett and Mourez were found guilty of abduction and procurement. Bramwell Booth and the others were acquitted. Jarrett and Mourez were sentenced to six months, while Stead was sentenced to three months, which he took in good grace. He was sent to Coldbath Fields Prison
for three days and later to Holloway
as a first-class inmate for the rest of his sentence.
played up his martyrdom. Ever the self-publicist, Stead wrote a threepenny pamphlet of his prison experience soon after his release. He asked the prison governor whether he could keep his prison uniform (this despite the fact that he spent much of his sentence in ordinary civilian street clothes). The governor agreed, and thereafter, every November 10, the anniversary of his conviction, Stead would dress up in his prison garb to remind people of his "triumph".
As for Eliza Armstrong, the Salvation Army returned her to her parents, while Rebecca Jarrett went to work for the Salvation Army. However, it later transpired that Charles Armstrong was not the girl's father, and therefore had no case to bring against Stead and the others.
W.T. Stead lost his life on the Titanic.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
involving a child supposedly bought for prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
for the purpose of exposing the evils of white slavery. While it achieved its purpose of helping to enable the passage of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885
Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885
The Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 , or "An Act to make further provision for the Protection of Women and Girls, the suppression of brothels, and other purposes", was the latest in a 25-year series of legislation in the United Kingdom beginning with the Offences against the Person Act 1861 that...
, it also brought unintended consequence
Unintended consequence
In the social sciences, unintended consequences are outcomes that are not the outcomes intended by a purposeful action. The concept has long existed but was named and popularised in the 20th century by American sociologist Robert K. Merton...
s to its chief perpetrator, William Thomas Stead
William Thomas Stead
William Thomas Stead was an English journalist and editor who, as one of the early pioneers of investigative journalism, became one of the most controversial figures of the Victorian era. His 'New Journalism' paved the way for today's tabloid press...
.
Background
Since the middle of the 19th century, efforts by the Social Purity movement, led by early feminists such as Josephine ButlerJosephine Butler
Josephine Elizabeth Butler was a Victorian era British feminist who was especially concerned with the welfare of prostitutes...
and others, sought to improve the treatment of women and children in Victorian society
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
. The movement scored a triumph when the Contagious Diseases Acts
Contagious Diseases Acts
The Contagious Diseases Acts were originally passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1864, with further alterations and editions made to it in 1866 and 1869. In 1862, a committee was established to inquire into venereal disease in the armed forces; on its recommendation the first...
were repealed under pressure due to their double standard
Double standard
A double standard is the unjust application of different sets of principles for similar situations. The concept implies that a single set of principles encompassing all situations is the desirable ideal. The term has been used in print since at least 1895...
nature and ultimate ineffectiveness.
At the same time, the campaign had also turned towards the problem of prostitution, and with male power over women. By the end of the 1870s, this had become particularly focused on fears that British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
women were being lured -- or abducted -- to brothels in the Continent, especially since this was happening to girls barely past the age of consent
Age of consent
While the phrase age of consent typically does not appear in legal statutes, when used in relation to sexual activity, the age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. The European Union calls it the legal age for sexual...
. Although the age was raised to 13 when amendments to the Offences against the Person Act 1861
Offences Against The Person Act 1861
The Offences against the Person Act 1861 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It consolidated provisions related to offences against the person from a number of earlier statutes into a single Act...
were made in 1875, the movement sought to further raise this to at least 16, but Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
was reluctant to make this change.
However, a Criminal Law Amendment Bill to change this was introduced in 1881. While it passed the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
easily in 1883 after a two-year Select Committee study, it stalled twice in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
. Then in 1885, it was reintroduced for a third time, but again it was threatened to be set aside ultimately because of a political crisis and the upcoming general election that year
United Kingdom general election, 1885
-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...
.
W.T. Stead
Chamberlain of London
The Chamberlain of London is an ancient office, responsible for collection and distribution of revenues within the City of London. Nominally appointed by The Crown, the office-holder's term traditionally begins on Midsummer Day and cannot be removed "unless some great cause of complaint appear...
, went to see W.T. Stead
William Thomas Stead
William Thomas Stead was an English journalist and editor who, as one of the early pioneers of investigative journalism, became one of the most controversial figures of the Victorian era. His 'New Journalism' paved the way for today's tabloid press...
, the flamboyant editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of a leading London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
, the Pall Mall Gazette
Pall Mall Gazette
The Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood...
. Stead was a pioneer of modern investigative journalism
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
, with eye-catching headlines and a flair for the sensational. While he was a supporter of the Social Purity movement, many were wary of him because he had a tendency towards emotional instability and his brand of journalism was often tasteless. Nevertheless, with the impending demise of the Bill, they were willing to try anything.
Scott told Stead lurid stories of sexually exploited children. Appealing to his reformist nature, as well as his sensationalist bent, he agreed to agitate popular support for the bill. Stead set up a "Special and Secret Committee of Inquiry" to investigate child prostitution, which included Josephine Butler, as well as representatives of the London Committee for the Suppression of the Traffic in British Girls for the Purposes of Continental Prostitution (of which Scott was the chairman) and the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
. As part of the investigation, two women, an employee of the Pall Mall Gazette and a girl from the Salvation Army, posed as prostitutes and infiltrated brothels at great risk, getting as much information as they could and escaping before they were forced to render sexual services. Mrs. Butler spent ten days walking the streets of London with her son Georgie, posing as a brothel-keeper and a procurer, respectively; together they spent a total of £100 buying children in high-class brothels. Stead, in turn, also spoke to a former director of criminal investigation at Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
to get first-hand information; he later cast his net wide to include active and retired brothel keepers, pimps, procurers, prostitutes, rescue workers and jail chaplains.
However, Stead felt that he needed something more to make his point: he decided to purchase a girl to show that he could do it under the nose of the law and write about it.
A £5 virgin
With the help of Josephine Butler and Bramwell BoothBramwell Booth
Bramwell Booth, CH was the first Chief of Staff and the second General of The Salvation Army , succeeding his father, William Booth.-Biography:...
of the Salvation Army, Stead got in touch with Rebecca Jarrett, a reformed prostitute and brothel-keeper who was staying with Mrs. Butler in Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
as an assistant. Although Mrs. Butler had no problem with Rebecca meeting Stead, she did not know Stead's reason for doing so.
Stead prevailed upon Jarrett to help him to show that a 13-year old girl could be bought from her parents and transported to the Continent. Despite her reluctance on going back to her old brothel contacts for help, Jarrett agreed to help.
Rebecca Jarrett met an old associate, a procuress called Nancy Broughton. Through her Jarrett learned of a 13-year old named Eliza Armstrong whose alcoholic
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
mother Elizabeth was in need of money. She arranged for Jarrett to meet Mrs. Armstrong, who lived in the Lisson Grove
Lisson Grove
Lisson Grove is a district and also a street of the City of Westminster, London, England located just to the north of the city ring road. There are many landmarks surrounding the area. To the north is Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood. To the west are Paddington and Watling Street...
area of West London, and although Rebecca told the mother that the girl was to serve as a maid to an old gentleman, she believed that Mrs. Armstrong understood that she was selling her daughter into prostitution. The mother agreed to sell her daughter for a total of £5. On June 3, the bargain was made.
On the same day, Jarrett then took Eliza to a midwife and known abortionist named Louise Mourez, who examined her and attested to her virginity and sold Jarrett a bottle of chloroform
Chloroform
Chloroform is an organic compound with formula CHCl3. It is one of the four chloromethanes. The colorless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid is a trihalomethane, and is considered somewhat hazardous...
. Then Eliza was taken to a brothel and lightly drugged to await the arrival of her purchaser, who was Stead. Stead, anxious to play the part of libertine
Libertine
A libertine is one devoid of most moral restraints, which are seen as unnecessary or undesirable, especially one who ignores or even spurns accepted morals and forms of behavior sanctified by the larger society. Libertines, also known as rakes, placed value on physical pleasures, meaning those...
almost in full, drank a whole bottle of champagne, although he was a teetotaler. He entered Eliza's room and waited for her to wake up from her stupor. When she came to, Eliza screamed. Stead quickly left the room, letting the scream be apparent evidence that he had "had his way" with her. Eliza was quickly handed over to Bramwell Booth
Bramwell Booth
Bramwell Booth, CH was the first Chief of Staff and the second General of The Salvation Army , succeeding his father, William Booth.-Biography:...
, who spirited her to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
where she was taken care of by a Salvationist family.
In the meantime, Stead wrote his story.
The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon
On Saturday, July 4, 1885, a "frank warning" was issued in the Pall Mall Gazette: "All those who are squeamish, and all those who are prudish, and all those who would prefer to live in a fool's paradise of imaginary innocence and purity, selfishly oblivious to the horrible realities which torment those whose lives are passed in the London inferno, will do well not to read the Pall Mall Gazette of Monday and the three following days". The public's appetite whetted sufficiently in anticipation, on Monday, July 6, Stead published the first installments of The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon.The first installment taking up six whole pages, Stead attacked vice with eye-catching subheadings that were more suggestive of pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
than of social reform: "The Violation of Virgins", "The Confessions of a Brothel-Keeper", "How Girls Were Bought and Ruined". The last section of the first installment bore special mention: under the subheading "A Child of Thirteen bought for £5" Stead related the story of Eliza, changing her name to "Lily". Although he vouched "for the absolute accuracy of every fact in the narrative", Stead changed a number of details, and omitted the fact that "Lily's" purchaser was none other than himself. The theme of "Maiden Tribute" was child prostitution, the abduction, procurement and sale of young English virgins to Continental "pleasure palaces". Stead took his readers to the labyrinthine streets of London (intentionally recalling the Greek myth) to its darker side, exposing the flesh trade while exposing the corruption of those officials who not only turned a blind eye but also condoned such abuse. In particular, he criticized those members of Parliament who were responsible for the Bill's impending "extinction in the House of Commons" and hinted that they might have personal reasons to block any changes in the law.
Reactions to the "Maiden Tribute"
The "Maiden Tribute" was an instant hit. While W.H. Smith & SonsW H Smith
WHSmith plc is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It is best known for its chain of high street, railway station, airport, hospital and motorway service station shops selling books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, and entertainment products...
, who had a monopoly on all the news stalls, refused to sell the paper due to its lurid and prurient content, volunteers consisting of newsboys and members of the Salvation Army took over distribution. Even George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
telegraphed Stead offering to help. Such was the demand for the paper that crowds gathered in front of the Pall Mall Gazette offices fighting tooth and nail for a copy. Second-hand copies of the paper sold as much as a shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
-- twelve times its normal price.
Within days, Stead had been getting telegrams from across the Atlantic inquiring about the scandal. By the end of the series he had thrown Victorian society into an uproar about prostitution. Fearing riots on a national scale, the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
, Sir William Harcourt pleaded with Stead to cease publication of the articles; Stead replied that he would comply if the Bill would be passed without delay. Since Harcourt could not make that guarantee, Stead ordered the Pall Mall Gazette presses to continue until paper ran out.
Stead's revelations struck a responsive chord in the public. Amidst the hysteria it provoked a wide variety of reform groups and prominent individuals called to an end to the scandal. Dozens of protest meetings were held throughout London and the provincial towns. Thousands, including wagon loads of virgins dressed in white, marched to Hyde Park demanding that the Bill be passed. The government was soon on the defensive and those members of Parliament who had previously opposed the Bill, now understood that opposition would not only mean denying the existence of child prostitution, but condoning it as well. While many of them wanted to have the paper prosecuted under obscenity laws, they bowed to the inevitable. On Wednesday July 8 debate resumed over the bill, on August 7 it passed its third and final reading, and passed into law a week later.
Unintended consequences
Although Stead was supported in his investigation by the Salvation Army and such religious leaders as Cardinal Henry Edward Manning and Charles John Ellicott, the Bishop of BristolBishop of Bristol
The Bishop of Bristol heads the Church of England Diocese of Bristol in the Province of Canterbury, in England.The present diocese covers parts of the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire together with a small area of Wiltshire...
, his plan backfired on him. Rival newspapers like The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, began to dig up the original "Lily". Eventually the true details of the story, including the fact that it was Stead himself who was the "purchaser", were unearthed. Mrs. Armstrong protested and went to the police, claiming that she had not given her consent to put her daughter into prostitution, insisting instead she let her go with the understanding that she would go off into domestic service. In any case, Rebecca Jarrett did not get the permission of the child's father -- she believed that the mother could speak for both parents, so Charles Armstrong, Eliza's father, also brought suit.
Thus Stead, Rebecca Jarrett, Bramwell Booth, as well as Louise Mouret, the midwife, and two others were brought before the court on September 2 for the assault and abduction for Eliza Armstrong without the agreement of her parents. Although there were legitimate grounds for doing so, there were other motivations as well: some politicians, who felt that they were forced into passing the Act, wanted to take revenge against Stead's tactics; rival newspapers, who felt their thunder stolen from them from the publicity gained by the Pall Mall Gazette, in turn wanted to discredit him.
So it was that on October 23 that the defendants were brought to trial, with the Attorney General
Attorney General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...
, Richard Webster, himself acting as prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
. Stead himself conducted his own defence. Stead himself later admitted that the girl was procured without the consent of the father, as well as making the mistake of not having written evidence of payment to the mother. Another mistake that Stead had made was he wholly relied on Rebecca Jarrett's word on the matter; thus he could not prove Mrs. Armstrong's complicity in the crime. Without such evidence, Stead, Jarrett and Mourez were found guilty of abduction and procurement. Bramwell Booth and the others were acquitted. Jarrett and Mourez were sentenced to six months, while Stead was sentenced to three months, which he took in good grace. He was sent to Coldbath Fields Prison
Coldbath Fields Prison
Coldbath Fields Prison was a prison in the Mount Pleasant area of Clerkenwell, London. Founded during the reign of James I , the prison was completely rebuilt in 1794 and extended in 1850. It was used to house prisoners on short sentences of up to two years...
for three days and later to Holloway
Holloway (HM Prison)
HM Prison Holloway is a closed category prison for adult women and Young Offenders, located in the Holloway area of the London Borough of Islington, in north and Inner London, England...
as a first-class inmate for the rest of his sentence.
Aftermath
While many groups protested against Stead's imprisonment, it seemed that he was treated well in prison. "Never had I a pleasanter holiday, a more charming season of repose", he afterwards would say. While in prison, he continued to edit the Pall Mall Gazette, and his Christmas cardChristmas card
A Christmas card is a greeting card sent as part of the traditional celebration of Christmas in order to convey between people a range of sentiments related to the Christmas and holiday season. Christmas cards are usually exchanged during the weeks preceding Christmas Day by many people in Western...
played up his martyrdom. Ever the self-publicist, Stead wrote a threepenny pamphlet of his prison experience soon after his release. He asked the prison governor whether he could keep his prison uniform (this despite the fact that he spent much of his sentence in ordinary civilian street clothes). The governor agreed, and thereafter, every November 10, the anniversary of his conviction, Stead would dress up in his prison garb to remind people of his "triumph".
As for Eliza Armstrong, the Salvation Army returned her to her parents, while Rebecca Jarrett went to work for the Salvation Army. However, it later transpired that Charles Armstrong was not the girl's father, and therefore had no case to bring against Stead and the others.
W.T. Stead lost his life on the Titanic.
External links
- The W.T. Stead Resource Site - contains the complete text of "Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon" (including facsimiles of the original articles) as well as the most complete account of the Eliza Armstrong Case.