Henry+Caddett's+Massacre+of+the+Innocents

On 31 October 1895, //The Sun// published the first in a series of articles written by Herbert Cadett entitled “Massacre of the Innocents”. This controversial series depicted issues such as baby farming, infanticide, and the illegal practice of abortion. Originally, Cadett posed as an “unsigned author”, which gave him the anonymity and the freedom to be an undercover journalist. Little else is known about Cadett, and while he is mentioned as part of the staff of //The Sun// in May 1898 (Nicholl 39) he is also the author of three other works, //Fin de Siècle Stories// (1892), //Adventures of a Journalist// (1900), and //The Boy’s Book of Battles// (1902). Any other reference to Cadett is linked with the “Massacre of the Innocents” article and gives no further information about his life (Knelman 173). However, even more mysterious than Cadett is the female writer who aided Cadett in his investigations. Known only as “Miss Priestly” (Donovan and Rubery 232), this female writer is incorporated in the article and stands out when she writes of posing in “the guise of the sister-in-law of a lady in trouble [Miss Priestly] accompanied a SUN representative... to Mrs. A’s house” (Cadett 245) but the rest of her identity is a mystery. As a newspaper, //The Sun// was short-lived. It was founded by Thomas Power O’Connor and ran from 1893-1906. Costing a halfpenny, it was part of the evening circulation of newspapers that ran in London and concerned itself with the ideals of New Journalism and featured investigative journalism (Donovan and Rubery 232). The article contains splashy, eye-catching titles and in-text capitalized phrases that give multiple dramatic headlines to keep the readers engaged and excited. Cadett’s article is an excellent example of the kind of sensational reporting frequent in //The Sun//. The article begins by explaining the problem of infanticide and makes a “[plea for the] children’s rights and to ensure the protection of the interests of the helpless little ones” (Cadett 233). There was a wave of abuse and violent deaths of children in London at this time (Knelman 7, Rose 37) and while the article defines any form of an intentional death of an infant as evil, it also blames infant mortality on ignorance. Out of this lack of knowledge is born the crime of “Overlaying” which is what the article calls “The First Rung in the Ladder of Crime” (Cadett 234), the suffocation of an infant when to an adult rolls on top of them in bed. However, Cadett actually proposes a solution to this problem in the form of purchasing a box for the infant to sleep in next to the bed to avoid smothering the child by accident (Cadett 235). The “Second Rung in the Ladder of Crime” is that of baby farming. This ghastly practice is the act of fostering or nursing a baby for payment and then letting the child die of neglect (Rose 43). The section of the article includes not only figures and charts which give the impression of authority and legitimacy, but also fairly explicit detail of the hideous conditions the children were kept in. Cadett makes the point that baby farming is purely a business transaction. He states that “where it is known that payment is good and regular, as much profit as possible is pocketed at the expense of the child’s welfare” (Cadett 237). Cadett also references the “Infant Life Protection Act of 1872”, legislating that a single child does not have to be registered as long as they are under 12 months old and are taken in one at a time (Knelman 157). This is an example of the legal loopholes that baby farmers capitalized on. The “Third Rung” is that of baby trafficking. These “baby procurers” act as middle men in the whole affair and their method “is to insert a plausible advertisement desiring the adoption of a child” (Cadett 239). The article goes into detail about a series of letters the undercover journalist exchanged with a baby trafficker and exposes just how rational and sincere these people can appear to be, even though they have the most greedy and selfish of intentions. Furthermore, the Registration Act of 1874 allowed mothers 42 days to register a child’s birth, but stillborn children need not be registered (Rose 122). This allowed baby traffickers to murder the child and have a midwife sign off on a certificate saying it was a stillborn, therefore avoiding suspicion and official records. Finally, the article goes into investigations of two specific women. The first is “Mrs. A” who acts as an adopter for children and someone who can arrange for a child to be taken away. She is described as cold and inhuman, focusing purely on business and is clearly only after money. The second woman is referred to as “Mrs. X” and is even more unnerving. Described as a “professional murderess” (Cadett 247), she is also depicted as looking just as wicked as her character would suggest and yet having the juxtaposition of a soothing and motherly attitude towards the undercover journalists. While “Mrs. A” only gives the implication of the murder of the unwanted child, “Mrs. X” openly talks of her methods of murder and abortion (Cadett 247-254). Her matter-of-fact attitude about such an unimaginable crime makes the episode all the more chilling. The article ends on a cliff-hanger, promising more controversy in the next issue to hold reader’s attention, whilst creating an impression of sensational prose. Cadett and his contributor wrote this article after the events had transpired, throwing the legitimacy of their details into question. In fact, the dialogue is so detailed that one has to assume it was somewhat fabricated in order to fill holes in their story. However, the bias of Cadett’s writing is matched with the promise of justice. Dr. James Ady was a doctor that was exposed as a medical professional who was engaging in some of these crimes. Ady actually attempted to sue //The Sun// in 1895, but his accusation was pushed aside and he lost all credibility (Donovan and Rubery 232). In 1898, he was put on trial for the conspiracy of an illegal abortion and after being found guilty, was sentenced to seven years of penal servitude (//Old Bailey//, Trial of James Charles Ady). LS/Engl387/UVic/Fall2014

Works Cited Cadett, Herbert. “Massacre of the Innocents.” //Secret Commissions: An Anthology of Victorian Investigative Journalism//. Ed. Stephen Donovan and Matthew Rubery. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2012. 232-254. Print.

Donovan, Stephen and Matthew Rubery, ed. //Secret Commissions: An Anthology of Victorian Investigative Journalism//. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2012. Print.

Knelman, Judith. //Twisting in the Wind: The Murderess and the English Press//. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press, 1998. //ProQuest ebrary.// Web. 7 October 2014.

Nicholl, Sir William Robertson. “The Staff of the Sun.” //The Bookman// May 1898: 39. Web. 7 October 2014.

// Old Bailey Proceedings Online. // (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 7.0, 7 October 2014). January 1898, Trial of James Charles Ady (42) (t18980110-124).

Rose, Lionel. //The Massacre of the Innocents//. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986. Print.