" PAGE TWELVE REV. FATHER MEA THE COURT OF HIS INTERFERENCE Which Prevented Sister Asylum -- Various Archbishop Over the Case. On Wednesday afternoon the exam- ination of Sister Mary Basil, in her' action against Archbishop Spratt etl al, was completed at the Supreme Court sittings in the City Hall, and Rev. Father Mea, the priest who prevented her abduction from St, Mary's-of-the-Lake Orphanage, took the stand. Father Mea's evidence was most sensational. He recounted in a vivid way about the part he took in the rescue and conveisations he had witn Archpisaop Spratt some days afterwaros. Ween the Court adjourned at v.50 p.m. the evidence of Nister Mary Gaoriel, taken by a comanission at Moosejaw, Susk., was being reaa. Denied the Charges. In continuing the cross-exaxmina- tion of mister sary 'Basi, Ur. Luiey - asked: was it not your custom Lo ques- 'tion an order given you by the local supervisors "' "No, #t was not." "I am toid you were very offen. sive at houses in Brockville, Smith's Falls and Belleville. And that you shook your fist in the faces of some of the Sisters. "I never shook my Sister's face." Witness never made any threats, | but might have said that she would | bring the matter before the ecclesi- astical courts. Witness never heard of a repre mand to Sister Justina for her at- tack, she sald in reply to Mr. Tilley. "Not once have I had a trial nor have my complaints been heard," de- clared Sister Basil. When she re. turned from Daysland, Alberta, the Mother General told her that there was nothing against her. In 1914 she endeavored to get a dispensation which would result in an investigation by Rome, but this was not forthcoming. Mr. Tilley produced a letter from Mary Basil to Archbishop Spratt dated the Sth of July, 1915, in which she pleaded for fair treatment. Another letter on the 8th September asked thé archbishop to make a visit to St Mary s-on-the.Lake. A third Jetfer was written from plaintiff's Bar! street place of residence to the archbishop, telling him of her un. bearable position in the community, and again pleading for a fair trial and redress. This concluded the plaintiff's evi- dence, after being nine hours in the witness box. fist in any | Father Mea Called. Mr. Tilley called Father Mea to the witness box at four o'clock, Tuesday afternoon. Father Mea stated that he had been a Roman Catholic priest for nineteen years. He went as chaplain to St. Mary's. ~-- of:the-Lake in 1912; and was there till October 24th, 1916, with the ex- ception of eight months or so. In reply to Mr, Tilley, Father Mea said he noticed when he was there ten days that ter Mary Basil was treated diffe ly from the others as she was without employment. He spoke to the archbishop about the . matter and the latter agreed that there should be a change. Some anonymous letters had been going the rounds and the archbishop sus- pected Mary Basil, However, the witness said he was convinced that Mary Basil was innocent. The arch- Bishop showed him a number of the cards," and remarked that the writer |' . of such cards must be of a diseased mind and that she would find her. self in an asylum. His Grace asked him to speak to Mary Basil about the { matter, He hesitated about doing this, but' later on he did speak td- - her. She went to her THE DAILY BRITISH WHIG, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1917. T0LD Basil Being Sent to An Interviews with the community not to be given regular work like Mary Basil She Was Not Lying. Father Mea related another con- versation with Archbishop Spratt in which the latter said that Mary Basil was lying to him, Witness said he did not think so. Next day the Archbishop again spoke to him about Mary Basil and said he could not do anything in vie® of the anony- mous letters. "I replied," sald Fa- ther Mea "that if I had your authori- ty 1 would settle the matter in" five minutes," As the Archbishop was an- noyed, Father Mea said he let the matter drop. Those were the only occasions in which he had any com- versations with the Archbishop in re. gard to the matter. At St. Mary's-of-the-Lakeg Orphan- age, Sister Mary Basil took charge of his rooms and himself when he was iil for some months. That re- fieved the situation somewhat as Mary Basil had work to do and was kept occupied. Witness for a time was practicaly an invalid, but finally was restored to health. _ Story of the Abduction With regard to the events of Sept. 14th, 1916, Father Mea said he was aroused from his sleep by cries for help. He thought it was the cries of ong of the lange girls. He got up and went to the hall and listened. Then he went back to 'bed, but an hour later he was aroused again by ories. This time the person cried out, "Oh Father Mea, Father Mea!" He again got up and put on his 'bathrobe an glippers and went downstairs, ther Mea told of find- ing Mary Basil in the automobile. She told him that they were taking her to an asylum. He protested against it. Constable Naylon said he was acting under the instructions of the Archbishop, Father Mea's story of the attempt- ed abduction was practically the same as that told by Mary Basil. He stated that he could not believe that the archbishop was responsible for such a thing, and that was why he wanted to ring up the palace by telephone. Constable Naylon did not want to pull up at the House of Providence, but when witness ap- pealed to Driver Gallagher the latter said yes, he had promised to stop at the House of Providence, and pre- vailed upon the constable to permit the stop. In the house the Mother General asked him why he was interfering. She said Mary Basil was insane, and he dented it most emphatically. "I said you have no warrant to take her to an asylum. She replied she had, that there were certificates." Father and so that she would not seek pro- tection of the civil courts. He thought Jthat was feasible and said he would see about it A week later he came back and said he could not do that. He urged me to leave St. Mary's-of- the.Lake. 1 pointed out to him the danger of Sister Basil seeking the pro- tection of the civil courts, as she ha threatened. After five or six weeks I called upon the archbishop and ask- ed him if he wished me to leave. He said he did. 'Very well," I said, 'what do you propose to do about Sis- ter Basil"? He said to send her to the mother house. 1 said she was afraid. 'Would she £9 to Belle- ville? he asked. [I asked Mary Basil, and she said she would if advised, but was afraid that trouble would develop. I said to her that if she did not get justice and was driven to seek the rotection of the civil courts I would e present to tell the truth and help her. 1i the persecution started up again 1 would help her, So she agreed to go to Belleville, and accordingly I fold the archbishop." Father Mea accompanied Sister Ba- sil to Belleville, as he said he was afraid that another attempt might be made to abduct her. : Father Mea told of writing regular- ly to Mary Basil at Belleville. He put his initials on the envelope, but was requested by Mary Gabriel not to do so any more, as she did not want to let the sisters know where the letters were from. He also. visited Mary Basil as her confessor and coun: sel. "Who is Father Muthall?" asked Mr. Tilley. . "Father Mulhall: came with letters from the apostelic delegate at Ottawa to investigate the complaints and also the abduction of Mary Basil," said Father Mea, who said he warned Mary BAsil as to the identity of Father Mul- hall, telling her that if he was counsel for the other side, preparing their case, to say nothing to him. In reply to Mr. ley. Father Mea told of seeing Maty Basil after the assault made upon her in Belleville convent, "Both her eyes were black- ened," said the witness. "The right one was almost closed, the left one was not so bad. Her jaw was swol- fen and inflamed, and he felt the loose teeth of which she complained. Later, the witness said he had an interview with the archbishop, but the latter said the matter was now entire- ly out of his hands . : Witness made frequent visits to Belleville to verify her reports to him, On the 14th of May he found condi- tions just as she . described them. Mary Basil said she could no longer stand it. That day the two of them went to Smith's Falls, and he took Mary Basil to the home of his sister. Father Mea Cross-examined. To Mr. McCarthy, Father Mea said he was confessor at the House of Pro- vidence from 1902 to 1909, and" he remembered Mary Basil being there. He heard. of no complaints ~ about Mary Basil to the Superior General. On one occasion he heard a rumor of a complaint that Mary Basil was not eating, but not on-a hunger strike. This was a trivial matter to form a complaint, Minor details were rath- er emphasized in a religious commu- nity, while out in the world these things would be driven out of the mind. Father Mea said he formed the opinion that Mary Basil was one of Mea told of telephoning to the arch- bishop, and the latter replying that he had no further orders to give. Witness told of his threats to those in charge of Mary Basil, and finally about Mary Basil being ordered by the Superior General to come inside, but Father Mea said he would . not trust her there since one attempt had been made to steal her away to an asylum, Altogether they were out in the automobile three hours Letore they returned to the orphan. age. ' A Mysterious Letter, Father Mea produced a letter which he found on his desk when he returned. Jt was from the Mother General, Mary Frances Regis, telling him that they were to remove Basil to an asylum in Montreal that night; that this would be no sur. prise to lim; as he no doubt knew about her mental condition, and say- ing they had icertificates signed by two doctors saying she was mentally unbalanced. Why this letter was not delivered to him earlier he could not tell. "It looked," said Father Mea, nd | "88 if they 'took good care not to brought hin: a letter which she had | addressed to the archbishop. Again he spoke to the archbishop about what the latter had sald regarding was unfortunate that he should hola such an opinion of Mary Basil. The archbishop appeared incensed, as 1f he thought the witness should no interfere, so he sald no more about ft. Tather Mea stated that it was a hardship for a member of a religious A Sluggish Liver Causes Lots of Trouble When the liver becomes sluggish it is an indication that the bowals are not working properly, and if they do not move mal heartburn, | g catarrh of the stomach, from a --_. disordered Hver. {he said he him if he had received a letter, and had mot. She said that one had been left for him early in the evening. 4 After the mbduction Father Mea ! Mary . She wanted to in. stitute legal praoteedings next day, but he counselled her to wait and seek redress through the ecclesiasti- cal courts, which. would punish the guilty ones. Interviews with Arch Father then recounted an in- terview he had with Archbishop Spratt on the Monday following the abduc- tion. The archbishop asked him if he thought it right to interfere with his administration. "1 said that is not: a part of your administration; therefore how could I interfere? The archbishop said I was injuring my fu- ture . I said: 'I don't care a snap of my finger for my future, You te me in that way. 1 ~he was get- second. hile L His Grace tha the. criminal, and that the best religious in the House. © He said that she had a clear conception of the life of the religious, and was living up to the ideal nf that life.. She had a strong personality, and would not take kindly, to blind obedience, That opinion of her had grown upon him: Continuing in his cross-examination Mr, McCarthy brought out the fact that witness had been at the orphan- age undergoing treatment for throat and lung trouble, Sister Basil had been officiating as his nurse. there. Just before adjournment, Mr. Tilley took up the evidence of Sister Gabriel taken under oath at Moosejaw. He read about one-half the evidence, the balance being left over till the ses- sion on Thursday morning. Sister Mary Gabriel's Evidence, Under oath at Moosejaw, Sask, Sister Mary Gabriel testified that she had been connected with: the Order of the Sisters of Charity of the House of Providence for thirty-seven years. After serving six years as Superior- General at Kingston she left for Belle- ville as local superior in a school mis- siotl, She declared that Sister Mary Basil Always showed signs of unbal- anced mind. . She claimed she was not just normal, but always well-be- haved. She was always a trouble- some subject. Witness had known Archbishop Spragt directly for twen- ty-five years, and Mary Frances Regis for loi than time. In 1900 or A Archbish Spratt 'was ish | Prenton. st at Trenton and Mary Frances Regis was sister superior at the convent at the same place, the witness said she had issued an order stopping then Father Spratt from using a form of massage -for af- fecting the cure of neurasthenic pa- tients. t that time Mary Frances Regis vas Sgoubled with rheumatism, ather Spral accust, call at the is and treat hie ness found it Te tra Father tt going to see One of the sisters must hirh, ¢ TE TT Inn Canada's Victory Bonds should you subscribe for Sew Canada's Victory Bonds? . BECAUSE our National safety is at stake, and Canada must have money to support our soldiers fighting in France. This Bank will accept Victory Bonds to the amount of $1,000 from. any one person for safe- keeping for one year without charge. Loans will be made to wage earners on favourable terms for the purchase of Victory Bonds. How much will this enable you _to.subscribe for? 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