I refused to accept this treatment and said that if they insisted I should have to be dragged away by force. Several wardresses accordingly seized me to take me away. I offered such resistance as I was able to, but was overpowered. Outside the room some of the wardresses commenced to pummel me very severely, inflicting serious bruises upon me and at last I deliberately kicked two of them. I had on a pair of thin house-shoes at the time, because, as you know, we had insisted upon our right to retain our own clothing, so that I could not have hurt either of them very much. They then picked me up and carried me to the cell and on the way treated me very cruelly, twisting my arms, almost throttling me and tearing at my hair with great violence. I remonstrated with them, saying, "You have no right to treat me in this way and I shall complain to the Governor of this cruelty." They carried me into the cell and threw me roughly onto the wooden bed, taking away my shoes, which they did not return for some time. At first I determined to complain to the Governor and to show him the bruises on my arms, but on consideration I remembered that my quarrel was with the Government and not with the wardresses. I did not wish them to get into trouble. Moreover, I regarded the incident as closed, as I heard nothing of any complaint as to my action. I consider I was perfectly justified in what I did and that anyone with arms pinioned, assaulted as I was, would have taken similar action.
The magistrate refused to accept Mrs. Dove-Wilcox's denial of the charge of kicking the wardresses on her way to the visiting magistrates' room, but said that it was "not of a very serious kind," and that he would sentence her to pay a fine of 40 shillings or to go to prison for ten days. He also found her guilty of the second charge of kicking the wardresses on being removed from the visiting magistrates' room, and sentenced her to pay a further 40 shillings or to go to prison for ten days. If she suffered imprisonment, the two terms were to run concurrently, that is to say, she would serve ten days in all. As she had already stated that she would not pay any fine, this was tantamount to punishing her for one of the charges only.
The two women were still weak from their first hunger strike, but they determined to again make the same stand. On their arrival at Holloway, the officials forcibly stripped their clothes from their backs, flung the prison garments upon them, and forced them into the punishment cells, where, in spite of the continual faintness from which they suffered, they steadfastly refused all food until Saturday, August 7th, the third day of their imprisonment, when the order of release was brought.
Footnotes:
[35] It was afterwards brought back to Clement's Inn by a stranger who found it still unopened.
[36] In this bag Miss Garnett had a change of clothing and other necessaries and she realised that if this were taken from her, her determination not to wear the prison garments would be frustrated.