THE MARTIN CASE.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 249, 20 October 1924, Page 7

THE MARTIN CASE.

STATEMENT BY BISHOP CLEARY.

HIS PART IN NEGOTIATIONS. . [>(>.». IT I OX (IF THE CTIURCH. 1,, ilie i.-sue uf tin. 'Month" for Octojier. Aiiirli >■* i<i be published to-morrow, there appeurs :i ptalcment by Bishop Clr.iry un the .Martin case. It is given Jjrreiindi'r in a condensed form. ■■The object of this statement." says ])r. fleary, "is lo correct a series of mure or les« gro.-s printed inisstatemcnts rpunrding my personal contact with, and altitude towards, what has come to be knmvn as 'the Martin cast. ••My lirst information -about the affair followed upon a communication m ndi' to mc, i-.n September "i:i, 1024, by an esteemed Protectant friend of mine, , •n-hii is alsn a longtime friend of the Martin family. lie approached mc on their brhalf, as mw for whom both ho and they entertained feelings of 'respect' ?nd 'tru»t,' with :l request for such "ond oflices as I might be able to render. From him I received statements Blleping undue influence (outsido of pihool) by a teacher at the Epsom liirts' t'ira'mniar School (Miss Terry), incliniiiL' a pupil 'of hers (Miss Mar-pnr.-t Martin) towards the Catholic. faith, ngainpt (it was stated) the ninther's wishes, and loading finally to Jtiss Martin's departure from her home for »n unknown destination." Miss Martin's asc is stated to be 17 years and cialit months. "Active inquiries enabled mc to give. s rpiite definite assurance that the missing young lady had not received shelter in liny convent or other Catholic institution in or near Auckland City. In the 'New Zealand Herald' of September 2.",, I 1 was incorrectly reported as having also stated that she was not in'a Human Catholic family." No mention of •a Roman Catholic family' reached mc in the courw of the reporter's telephoned inquiry, and it was obviously impossible for mc to make any such (Jclinite statement, in view of the. fact that the whereabouts of the talented young lady were quite unknown to mc until September 20, 1D24, three days lifter they had been communicated to Mrs. Martin by her daughter's solicitor. At my request, the (no doubt, quite inadvertent) error about "a Roman Catholic home' was corrected in the '•Auckland Star' , of the same evening, September 23, 1024. Two Conferences. "My second and third contacts with the Martin case took place on September 2.5, 11124. My part therein lias been ■ made the subject of the most flagrant perversions of truth. At 11.80 a.m. on the day mentioned, I -attended a meetin!.' in the office of Miss Martin's solicitor. I went there on the express invitation of Mrs. Martin, conveyed through her solicitor and her old family friend mentioned above, and with the approval of Miss Martin's legal adviser. I hud neither act nor part in formulating any of the conditions upon which Miss Martin was to return to her home. These were matters between the principals and their legal advisers and friends. My attitude throughout was one of earnest desire to co-operate, if it should lie in my power, for the restoration of the voting woman to her family." * "Neither mother nor daughter was present at the meeting mentioned in the ]a°t preceding paragraph. The four . persons present—Mrs. Martin's solicitor | and her friend. Miss Martin's solicitor. | and the present writer—arranged there j for a meeting between mother and daughter, to take place at four o'clock that same afternoon. It was considered undesirable to have this meeting in the city, where the two ladies might be incommoded'by curiosity-mongers. A joint and repeated request was, therefore, made, to mc by Mrs. Martin's representatives to have the meeting between mother and daughter, and the hoped-for reconciliation, take place in the Bishop's house, Ponsonby. Miss :usirtin's legal adviser joined in the request, and mother and daughter had an affecting meeting there. It was the first occasion on which I met either of them. There were also present the above-mentioned old family friend of the Martins, the two legal advisers, nnd (by previous request ot the parties) the writer of these lines. "At that conference. Mrs. Martin, on her own initiative, set forth, in substance, the following conditions for her j daughter's return: (a) The free exercise of the latter's religious convictions; (b) the daughter not to enter upon any course of religious instruction with a view to becoming a Catholic, until a month had elapsed and Her then present condition of strain had passed away; and (c) that, for twelve months, she should not hold communication with the teacher already mentioned. The present writer pressed these three conditions upon the daughter's acceptance as fair and proper, nnd urged her to return to her mother's house. The la-at-men-tioned condition Miss Martin could not, at that conference, see her way to accept, but *he did so afterwards. A further meeting between mother and daughter took place in the Bishop's House, Ponsonby, on September 20, 1924, at the united request of Mrs. Martin, her two representatives, and Miss Martin's solicitor. It was a strictly private interview between mother and daughter, without the intervention of outside par-j ties. I have no knowledge of what took j place there; but I am informed as follows: That amc evening Miss Martin wrote to her mother notifying her re- ; turn on a visit; this was mutually con- j tinned between them on the following j morning (.September 27) ; and on Monday, j September 20, 1924, the young lady was at home, to remain there. " Sheer Fabrications." "My part in these conferences has been made the subject of what I must regretfully describe as a series of sheer and seemingly deliberate fabrications. Not one of these deplorable perversions of fact emanated either directly or indirectly from any of the parties to the conferences. I do not impugn the good faith with which these misrepresentations were published by the Press, on the assumption, presumably, of their substantial accuracy. Some of these inventions are already refuted by the plain statements of fact set forth above. "Both Mrs. Martin and her representatives returned thanks to the writer of these lines for the good-will and kindly and helpful feeling shown by him throughout these conferences." The Taxi Incident. Dr. Cleary refers to a statement relating to the conference at the Bishop's house on September 2:">—that Mrs. Martin and her solicitor "had to send a taxi to an appointed rendezvous to liring the girl (Muss Martin) to the con-fiM-rnre" from her unknown abode. The "Month" publishes a statement hereon by Miss Martin's solicitor, Mr. R. JlcVeajrh. He says, in substance, that, at the conference in question he was re-

luested by Mrs. Martin and her solicii\r to take their taxi (then standing at •he gate) to bring Misa Martin to the •onfercnee, she faying failed to attend. 'The our broke down on the way, at he foot of Wellosley Street, on account if want of petrol, f then proceeded on : oot to Miss Martin's place of temporary reeidence. She consented to it tend the conference, and we returned jn foot to the place where the taxi had •nme to a stop. The driver was not -\rn then ready to proceed, but. after i few minutes' delay lie started for the Bishop's hou.se, having obtained wtrol somewhere in the vicinity. "n this slender foundation was built up the injustifiable assertion that the mother iiid her solicitor 'had to send a taxi to m appointed rendezvous to bring the lirl to the conference.' When leaving ilie Bishop's House, after that conferMice of Septrmber 26, I stated my inlontion of Riving the daughter's address lo the mother. In this I was strongly supported by Dr. Clcary, and the young | lady's address was given by mc to Mrs. Martin on the following day." The Church's Position. "No Protestant church, or football I'lub, or other voluntary association," :ontinuc3 Bishop Cleary, "is bound by ar responsible for, the unauthorised private act of an adherent member." For the same reason the Church would be in no way compromised even it were established that a Catholic teacher had used undue religious influence, outside school hours, as alleged, upon a, pupil, or if she had inducted the latter (as she did not) to leave her home. For neither the Church, nor I as its local head, nor any dignitary associated with mo in the | KlminUtration of the diocese, had | either act or part in, or any knowledge nf, any religious influence alleged to have been exercised upon Miss Martin, | :>r of the cause of her departure from her home." In conclusion Dr. Cleary says: "1 violate no confidence when, in view of the documents perused by mc, I make the statements that a 'pear hereunder: — "1. If the fresh inquiry of October 1 had taken place, it would have resulted in some extremely interesting developments. One of these might well he another inquiry into specific allegations of, undue religious influence, in no way s connected with any Catholic teacher. " 2. I can, further, state in the most definite and emphatic way that the immediate cause of Miss Martin's departure from home was not connected in any way with any Catholic person, or with any Catholic institution, or with any religious views held by the young lady in question."