HPB-SB-10-436

H. P. Blavatsky Scrapbooks

from Adyar archives of the International Theosophical Society

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vol. 10, p. 436	volume 10, page 436 vol. title: vol. period: 1879-1880 pages in vol.: 577
Legend HPB note HPB highlighted HPB underlined HPB crossed out <Editors note> <Archivist note> Lost or unclear SBT, DT Restored

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The Fletcher Case

Various recent numbers of The Boston Herald contain details about the prosecution of Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Fletcher, by Mrs. Juliet A. J. Heurtley (Hart Davies). The journal just mentioned alleges that Mrs. Davies’ version of the way in which she lost her property is substantially as follows: Two years ago she met Fletcher and his wife in England and became very much interested in their belief and “power to control her”— whatever that may mean. While in England Mrs. Fletcher went into a trance (?) and communed with the spirit of her (Mrs. Hunt Davies’) mother. The spirit, so said Mrs. Fletcher, was very anxious for her daughter to place herself under the Fletchers’ guardianship, and make over to them for safe keeping, all of her property. The deluded woman did as she was requested, and the result was the Fletchers were given the control of property valued at many thousands of dollars. The two finally came to America and proceeded to the Spiritualist camp meeting then in progress at Lake Pleasant. While at the camp meeting Mrs. Davies had her eyes opened to the manner in which she had been induced to part with her property, and demanded its return. The demand, so the story goes, was at first refused, but after insisting and receiving the assistance of Dr. Mack, mesmeric healer, Mrs. Davies succeeded in recovering about 10,000 dollars’ worth of goods. She insisted upon the rest being restored to her, but her demand was not heeded. She then came to Boston and placed the case in the hands of Mr. S. B. Ives, a well-known lawyer. Mr. Ives secured the services of Detective James R. Wood, who traced the Fletchers to a house in Washington Street, near Davis, Boston, and procured a search-warrant, and accompanied by Constable William S. Post, of the municipal court, and Police Inspectors Gorraughty and Mahoney, made a thorough search of the premises, which resulted in the discovery and reclamation of female wearing apparel, jewellery, &c. When the officers entered the house they were confronted by a member of the Royal Swedish Engineers, who made an assault upon Dr. Mack, for which he was locked up at the 4th police station. After finding the property, the officers also took Mrs. Fletcher to the Tombs for safe keeping.

Subsequently, according to The Herald, Mr. Fletcher "was found by the police at the house of his mother, where they went with a search-warrant, and he promised to give up all the rest of the property. This however, so a correspondent informs us, had not been done up to Sept. 10th, the day on which the case stood for trial, and when by consent of the solicitors on both sides, an adjournment took place to the 16th, the same bail being accepted.

The Herald states that the Swedish gentleman was fined ten dollars, without costs, for assaulting Dr. Mack. His defence was that the latter entered Mrs. Fletcher’s apartments with his hat on his head, which he considered an insult, so struck the offender.

The technical charge against Mrs. Fletcher is reported to be “the larceny of $157 worth of personal property;” that against Mr. Fletcher is not stated in the reports which have reached us.

The Herald says that the total value of the property deposited by Mrs. Davies with the Fletchers, was about $60,000.

We hope that the actual facts of the case may not be so bad as recorded in the Boston Herald.

The following letter has been received from Mr. A. R. Wallace:—

To the Editor of the Spiritualist

Sir,—I beg to protest against the unqualified statement in your last issue that Mr. J. W. Fletcher “was convicted of wilful untruth and exposed in your paper a few months ago.” I read the whole of that correspondence and accusation with great care, and, having previously an equal respect for both the parties to it, entirely without bias. It gave me great pain; but the conclusion I arrived at was, that the accusation was made on totally insufficient grounds and was supported by assumptions altogether incapable of proof, while the manner in which the correspondence was closed would lead many persons to think that the accusation you now make is more applicable to Mr. Fletcher’s opponent than to himself.

I trust however that the passage above referred to was inserted without your knowledge and that you will disavow it; for such reckless imputations and personalities—too common in the Spiritual press—do more harm to the cause of Spiritualism than the misrepresentations of its avowed opponents.

Alfred R. Wallace.

Sept. 20th, 1880.

Mr. C. C. Massey’s conviction of Mr. Fletcher was thorough and complete; and when he publicly charged Fletcher with wilful untruth, and defied him to prosecute him at law for so doing, Fletcher sat down under the charge without answering a word. And if a man who sets up as a religious teacher publishes a deliberate untruth, it is a public duty, and not a press personality, to expose him; it would be done as an unavoidable duty in any honest religious movement. Mr. Massey deserves the thanks of all Spiritualists for his action; so also does Dr. Mack, for one of the best features of the Boston case is that a Spiritualist and not an outsider, took the most active steps in the attempt to recover the property for Mrs. Davies, and to expose the alleged doings of the Fletchers.

Arrest of Mr. J.W. Fletcher

Mr. Fletcher, the American medium, has been arrested in Boston on the charge of having induced an English young lady to make over to him a large amount of property. He has already disgorged more than twenty thousand dollars. Dr. Kennedy has bailed him. His prosecution began by the action of a Spiritualist. Some months ago lie was convicted of wilful untruth and exposed in these pages, since which time we have ignored his public doings as much as possible. The news of his arrest arrived at the moment of going to press; further details will be published next week.

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The publication of several matters of interest is postponed till next week, owing to the absence of the editor from London.

Editor's notes

Sources

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  London Spiritualist, No. 422, September 24, 1880, p. 155

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  London Spiritualist, No. 421, September 17, 1880, p. 143