1883-10-17uu

Exactly at 2:30 p.m., October 17, 1883, after being brought from the Barton Street jail, Maria McCabe was slowly taken into the Wentworth County Court House, and placed in the dock to await sentence.

The previous day, she had been arraigned and had pleaded guilty to the crime of drowning her illegitimate child in the unused cistern of a house on Hughson Street:

“She stood up in the dock when her name was called, and in answer to the judge’s question if she had anything to say why the sentence should not be passed upon her, told her sad, sorrowful story, as it has already appeared in the Spectator. Her voice faltered and she could hardly be heard. Her eyes were red and swollen with weeping, and her cheeks and forehead were marked with heavy lines that told of the mental suffering she had undergone since her incarceration.”¹

Judge Morrison was visibly affected when the time came to pass sentence. Tears sprang to his eyes as he spoke to the young woman. Calling her story a pitiful and unfortunate one, the judge referred to the sorrow he felt at having to pass such a heavy sentence:

“The hush grew deeper. The silence was a painful and intense. The unfortunate girl was taken from the dock and brought near to the judge’s chair for, owing to the wretched acoustic properties of the room and the low tone of voice in which the Judge spoke, she was unable at first to hear what was said.”¹

When the Judge quietly pronounced his verdict, there was not a sound in the court room other than his voice:

“ ‘The sentence of this court,’ he said, ‘on you, Maria McCabe, is that you be taken to the place from whence you came, that on the 18^th of December next, you be taken to the place of execution, and be hanged by the neck until you are dead; and may God have mercy on your soul.’

“The girl burst into tears, and her painful sobs could be heard echoing through the building as she was led from the court room.”¹

¹“Sentenced to Be Hanged : Maria McCabe to Suffer  the Penalty of Death for Murdering Her Child”

Hamilton Spectator.  October  17, 1883.

Maria McCabe was 18 years old at the time of her crime. Born in Dublin, Ireland, she had emigrated to Canada in the fall of 1880. Employed in several places as a domestic, she had left each situation for various reasons.

Having been seduced, she had become a mother:

“Since then she has been chided severely by her acquaintances for her fault. The unwelcome remarks were so numerous and persistent that she yielded to a sudden impulse and threw her child into a cistern.

“After the birth of the child, the poor young girl found difficulty in sustaining herself and her offspring, and must have felt the pangs of sorrow most painfully.”²

² “Maria McCabe’s History A Life Story That Demands Sympathy.”

Hamilton Spectator. October 20, 1883.

(To Be Continued)