The Winton Child Murders.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XXVII, Issue 1373, 20 August 1895, Page 3

The Winton Child Murders.

(Daily Times' Correspondent.) Invercargill, August 15. One of the letters Minnie Dean; wrote on the morning of her execution was to Mr Banan, her local solicitor,: who appeared with Mr Hanlon, of Dunedin, during her trial in the'Supreme Court. A portion of it (of a private nature) I have, at Mr Hanan’s request, omitted ; the balance runs as follows : Dear Sir, —I know that in you I can place trust, and that you will act for me in every way as if I were present. I will leave it with you to do the best you can with the manuscript I have left, and, for my husband’s sake, to make it as profitable as possible. It will require a great deal of revising, for my brain and memory have been all but. gone; indeed, for weeks after I received sentence, 1 could not have put three consecutive words together. The composition and spelling are very defective 1 have satisfied no morbid curiosity. My aim was to exonerate myself, nob to in criminate anyone. 1 would like you to tell Dean [here follow instructions of a private nature as to the disposal of the proceeds from the sale of the manu script]. I trust iu you to do your best. Remember me, and that the hand that now is writing will, ere you receive this, be cold in death. I thank

you for the attention and kindness you have shown me, and if I am here today the fault has not been yours, ff 1 only knew where my children were, and what was to become of them, L would be at rest, and say God’s will be done. T also want you for —■—’s sake to have it publicly contradicted about my being a drunkard. There are three hotelkeepers in \v inton, and I know that they would he quite willing to sign their name to that effect, that if I was a drunkard I did not get the drink from them. Good bye. May every success be yours. May you live to a ripe old age, and may your end be in peace, for long ere this time tomorrow I will be co(d in death, God bless you.— M. Dean.