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I am but a beginner at this great game, and I apologise in advance for both the length of this posting, and for my woeful inexperience… I primarily joined here to learn, and probably the best way to do that on the Forum is to advance a proposal, and see how it gets shot down!
I know all of, these points have aired individually before, but collectively they seem to me persuasive that something in Millers Court in 1888 is not as it seems...
John McCarthy seems to be regarded, by the contemporary press at least, as an honest trader…a man who owns at least three lodging houses, (and leases a couple more), with at least one shop, and is clearly “on the up”…far from just blindly knocking him, I acknowledge his rise from the gutter to prosperity is indeed astounding, but to my mind at least, some pertinent questions arise…(by the by, where and how exactly, did he get his starter money anyway? But that really IS a separate issue)
John McCarthy is perhaps 39 years old and a very experienced “slumlord” - by now, he surely knows the East-End world inside-out…so does he really not know Mary Jane Kelly’s on the game? How naïve is he supposed to be? For god’s sake there’s a back window to his shop which directly overlooks MJKs door…which is well lit by the gas lamp almost opposite…he’s so close he can clearly see the comings and goings…he can probably hear the former…he is no innocent…he knows what MJK does…he is effectively condoning her prostitution and living off it…effectively a pimp…and, therefore, as far as his statement’s concerned, at the very least a liar...well I suppose he’d have to be, but a liar nontheless
I say does and is advisedly…because, as McCarthy must know, she’s surely been up to it for a long time…
Joe Barnett is more than slightly untrustworthy as a witness…he claims that he hates MJK prostituting herself…she’s thought of reverting to it only since he’s lost his job, and that all is well until 30th October, when he moves out…he attributes his moving out to MJK moving a prostitute in…and until then, everything was fine…but hey, wait a minute, they have a habit of regular moves…they’ve had, according to purely Forum sources, at least four, (George Street, Little Paternoster Row, Dorset Street, Brick Lane, Millers Court), moves in the space of about a year, and they were chucked out of at least one (their Dorset Street lodgings) because of non-payment of rent…(and the rest?)… How much did he earn/she earn and how much did they just booze away, and for how long? Barnett/Kelly are clearly continually moving on because their outgoings (rent/food/booze) exceed their incomes (his wages alone? Don’t make me laugh)... Honestly just how much was he earning, really earning, until losing his job? I believe Mary was on the game all along, and he knew it…otherwise he’s just too squeaky clean…another liar...
Reverting to Millers Court, there is a rent deficit of 29/- …over six weeks worth…in 1888 terms an enormous amount…we’re surely hearing a heavily sanitized version of events here… 4/6 per week rent plus casually bought food, plus Mary’s booze must’ve surely placed a huge strain on Barnett’s income alone…tempting one to think they were actually rather depending on her income too…and leading one to suspect the rows were just as likely to be about her booze-bill, or her not meeting it with her earnings, rather than merely the nature of her nocturnal habits…
But also, do the simple arithmetic…more than six weeks arrears…according to Barnett he only moved out on 30th October…the murder was discovered on Friday 9th November…so clearly the vast amount of the alleged arrears were actually built up during his share of the tenure. Furthermore, there are the allegations that MJK was going to be throwing JB out anyway…so where does this leave our Joe? Well according to most sources, just in the clear…though in my books, less transparently, he’s still pimping off her too...supporting her every now and again with a few shillings? Well maybe a few pence now and again, but probably in the hope she’d reciprocate when in funds …she was, after all, still very fond of him…
So why did John McCarthy, empire-builder and property-owner on –the-up, allow the build-up of over six weeks arrears? Would-be-Rachmans are not notable for their philanthropy. ..they can’t afford to be. In my view, either he had expectations of her (future earnings as a prostitute, or even present earnings perhaps…), or she had something on him…some evidence of past misdeeds perhaps…nothing else seems to answer the question…
In Whitechapel in 1888, (unless your name is William Booth or Henry Wilton, and god bless the latter forever), there’s clearly not much future in human charity…either way, McCarthy’s not the sweet innocent he makes out…his image as a charitable man is allegedly enhanced still further by the alleged purchase, the Wednesday prior to the murder, of a piece of candle (was it a ha’penny…I can’t remember…she paid it in cash? In which case he’s surely asking if she has money for the rent (and getting the answer she’ll earn it)…or she got it on tick? (In which case the question arises, why, with JB gone, is he advancing her still more money?)…it’s surely one or the other? Either way, he knows what’s going on – in the tiny enclosed microcosm which is Millers Court, surely everyone knows what’s going on…and talks freely about it…
The morning after the Kelly murder, according to traditional accounts, McCarthy is checking his books on Friday 9th November and suddenly realizes MJK is 29/- in arrears…oh yeah… He then summons Indian Harry (Thomas Bowyer) to go round and see if he can recover some or all of this amount…This suggests Bowyer is McCarthy’s enforcer…Again oh yeah… Indian Harry, by most accounts, is 63 years of age…not your typical hard man then...Rather than simply sending round the enforcer, this could be seen as McCarthy simply distancing himself from the scene he knew was there and sending round his aged shop-assistant…and six weeks in arrears? Do me a favour, he didn’t just discover this…he knew! Everything subsequent to this is surely something of an act…
Subsequently sending “a youth” (perhaps his 14 year old son) as a runner to the Police Station, and then later distancing his family by referring to his chosen runner as Indian Harry, (just how fast was he at 63?), could be regarded either as ingenious or disingenuous… brilliant improvisation from a clever liar…We know McCarthy is very bright, very persuasive (and possibly very manipulative) from his rabble-rousing diatribe on The Worst Street in London.
So are we really to believe that clever Mr McCarthy DIDN’T know about the broken window and the means of accessing MJKs room by putting an arm through it? I should think everyone in and around Millers Court knew… it’s a tiny almost claustrophobic place, and they’d all have seen Barnett/Kelly doing it... Added to which, McCarthy’s apparent inability to come up with a spare key and rather obvious use of a pickaxe to open the door must be seen again as an attempt to distance himself from the crime…If he didn’t have a key for all his premises, just how did he propose to evict non-paying tenants and regain access to his properties? All I can say is that it must’ve been an exceptionally well worn pickaxe!
Fiona Kendall’s granddad was allegedly told that Kelly’s possessions were parcelled up and sent off to her brother in the army...a brother who couldn’t be traced, couldn’t be arsed to make himself known, or turn up at the inquest...so where did they get his name and address from? Not from letters in the room, otherwise the police or coroner could’ve traced the brother. From letters subsequently arriving? Possibly I suppose, though under the circumstances, would the brother have wanted anything MJK possessed (not a lot)... and would McCarthy have coughed up the postage for sending off a load of tat? There is no record the authorities were ever subsequently notified of this name and address...I suppose it could’ve been since lost like most of the records, but it’s more likely to me that the poor woman’s meagre possessions would’ve been hocked, flogged or simply discarded.
A further point of interest is MJKs fish & potato supper? If Blotchy didn’t bring this, (and he’s recalled to be carrying a can of beer – not a parcel)...then where did it come from? The obvious place is surely McCarthy’s shop? Wonder who served her/him and why they didn’t come forward?
Even the timing of Mr McCarthy's availability fits in with a possible TOD of between two thirty and four...just after closing time perhaps?
Circumstantial? Yes of course but at this distance in time, almost everything is...I’m not necessarily making a firm suggestion that McCarthy’s the Ripper...I’m merely saying we should all be asking ourselves more questions about him, rather than just accepting him as the hard man but fair...he should at least surely be seen as more of a suspect, than some of those listed...(one of those in South Africa at the time, another in Scotland...give me a break...or as my old mum would’ve said, and frequently did, Gertcha!)
All the best
Dave
I know all of, these points have aired individually before, but collectively they seem to me persuasive that something in Millers Court in 1888 is not as it seems...
John McCarthy seems to be regarded, by the contemporary press at least, as an honest trader…a man who owns at least three lodging houses, (and leases a couple more), with at least one shop, and is clearly “on the up”…far from just blindly knocking him, I acknowledge his rise from the gutter to prosperity is indeed astounding, but to my mind at least, some pertinent questions arise…(by the by, where and how exactly, did he get his starter money anyway? But that really IS a separate issue)
John McCarthy is perhaps 39 years old and a very experienced “slumlord” - by now, he surely knows the East-End world inside-out…so does he really not know Mary Jane Kelly’s on the game? How naïve is he supposed to be? For god’s sake there’s a back window to his shop which directly overlooks MJKs door…which is well lit by the gas lamp almost opposite…he’s so close he can clearly see the comings and goings…he can probably hear the former…he is no innocent…he knows what MJK does…he is effectively condoning her prostitution and living off it…effectively a pimp…and, therefore, as far as his statement’s concerned, at the very least a liar...well I suppose he’d have to be, but a liar nontheless
I say does and is advisedly…because, as McCarthy must know, she’s surely been up to it for a long time…
Joe Barnett is more than slightly untrustworthy as a witness…he claims that he hates MJK prostituting herself…she’s thought of reverting to it only since he’s lost his job, and that all is well until 30th October, when he moves out…he attributes his moving out to MJK moving a prostitute in…and until then, everything was fine…but hey, wait a minute, they have a habit of regular moves…they’ve had, according to purely Forum sources, at least four, (George Street, Little Paternoster Row, Dorset Street, Brick Lane, Millers Court), moves in the space of about a year, and they were chucked out of at least one (their Dorset Street lodgings) because of non-payment of rent…(and the rest?)… How much did he earn/she earn and how much did they just booze away, and for how long? Barnett/Kelly are clearly continually moving on because their outgoings (rent/food/booze) exceed their incomes (his wages alone? Don’t make me laugh)... Honestly just how much was he earning, really earning, until losing his job? I believe Mary was on the game all along, and he knew it…otherwise he’s just too squeaky clean…another liar...
Reverting to Millers Court, there is a rent deficit of 29/- …over six weeks worth…in 1888 terms an enormous amount…we’re surely hearing a heavily sanitized version of events here… 4/6 per week rent plus casually bought food, plus Mary’s booze must’ve surely placed a huge strain on Barnett’s income alone…tempting one to think they were actually rather depending on her income too…and leading one to suspect the rows were just as likely to be about her booze-bill, or her not meeting it with her earnings, rather than merely the nature of her nocturnal habits…
But also, do the simple arithmetic…more than six weeks arrears…according to Barnett he only moved out on 30th October…the murder was discovered on Friday 9th November…so clearly the vast amount of the alleged arrears were actually built up during his share of the tenure. Furthermore, there are the allegations that MJK was going to be throwing JB out anyway…so where does this leave our Joe? Well according to most sources, just in the clear…though in my books, less transparently, he’s still pimping off her too...supporting her every now and again with a few shillings? Well maybe a few pence now and again, but probably in the hope she’d reciprocate when in funds …she was, after all, still very fond of him…
So why did John McCarthy, empire-builder and property-owner on –the-up, allow the build-up of over six weeks arrears? Would-be-Rachmans are not notable for their philanthropy. ..they can’t afford to be. In my view, either he had expectations of her (future earnings as a prostitute, or even present earnings perhaps…), or she had something on him…some evidence of past misdeeds perhaps…nothing else seems to answer the question…
In Whitechapel in 1888, (unless your name is William Booth or Henry Wilton, and god bless the latter forever), there’s clearly not much future in human charity…either way, McCarthy’s not the sweet innocent he makes out…his image as a charitable man is allegedly enhanced still further by the alleged purchase, the Wednesday prior to the murder, of a piece of candle (was it a ha’penny…I can’t remember…she paid it in cash? In which case he’s surely asking if she has money for the rent (and getting the answer she’ll earn it)…or she got it on tick? (In which case the question arises, why, with JB gone, is he advancing her still more money?)…it’s surely one or the other? Either way, he knows what’s going on – in the tiny enclosed microcosm which is Millers Court, surely everyone knows what’s going on…and talks freely about it…
The morning after the Kelly murder, according to traditional accounts, McCarthy is checking his books on Friday 9th November and suddenly realizes MJK is 29/- in arrears…oh yeah… He then summons Indian Harry (Thomas Bowyer) to go round and see if he can recover some or all of this amount…This suggests Bowyer is McCarthy’s enforcer…Again oh yeah… Indian Harry, by most accounts, is 63 years of age…not your typical hard man then...Rather than simply sending round the enforcer, this could be seen as McCarthy simply distancing himself from the scene he knew was there and sending round his aged shop-assistant…and six weeks in arrears? Do me a favour, he didn’t just discover this…he knew! Everything subsequent to this is surely something of an act…
Subsequently sending “a youth” (perhaps his 14 year old son) as a runner to the Police Station, and then later distancing his family by referring to his chosen runner as Indian Harry, (just how fast was he at 63?), could be regarded either as ingenious or disingenuous… brilliant improvisation from a clever liar…We know McCarthy is very bright, very persuasive (and possibly very manipulative) from his rabble-rousing diatribe on The Worst Street in London.
So are we really to believe that clever Mr McCarthy DIDN’T know about the broken window and the means of accessing MJKs room by putting an arm through it? I should think everyone in and around Millers Court knew… it’s a tiny almost claustrophobic place, and they’d all have seen Barnett/Kelly doing it... Added to which, McCarthy’s apparent inability to come up with a spare key and rather obvious use of a pickaxe to open the door must be seen again as an attempt to distance himself from the crime…If he didn’t have a key for all his premises, just how did he propose to evict non-paying tenants and regain access to his properties? All I can say is that it must’ve been an exceptionally well worn pickaxe!
Fiona Kendall’s granddad was allegedly told that Kelly’s possessions were parcelled up and sent off to her brother in the army...a brother who couldn’t be traced, couldn’t be arsed to make himself known, or turn up at the inquest...so where did they get his name and address from? Not from letters in the room, otherwise the police or coroner could’ve traced the brother. From letters subsequently arriving? Possibly I suppose, though under the circumstances, would the brother have wanted anything MJK possessed (not a lot)... and would McCarthy have coughed up the postage for sending off a load of tat? There is no record the authorities were ever subsequently notified of this name and address...I suppose it could’ve been since lost like most of the records, but it’s more likely to me that the poor woman’s meagre possessions would’ve been hocked, flogged or simply discarded.
A further point of interest is MJKs fish & potato supper? If Blotchy didn’t bring this, (and he’s recalled to be carrying a can of beer – not a parcel)...then where did it come from? The obvious place is surely McCarthy’s shop? Wonder who served her/him and why they didn’t come forward?
Even the timing of Mr McCarthy's availability fits in with a possible TOD of between two thirty and four...just after closing time perhaps?
Circumstantial? Yes of course but at this distance in time, almost everything is...I’m not necessarily making a firm suggestion that McCarthy’s the Ripper...I’m merely saying we should all be asking ourselves more questions about him, rather than just accepting him as the hard man but fair...he should at least surely be seen as more of a suspect, than some of those listed...(one of those in South Africa at the time, another in Scotland...give me a break...or as my old mum would’ve said, and frequently did, Gertcha!)
All the best
Dave
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