THE INQUEST ON THE DROWNED CHILD AT WANGANUI.—THE MOTHER COMMITTED FOR TRIAL.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3632, 3 March 1883, Page 3

THE INQUEST ON THE DROWNED CHILD AT WANGANUI. —THE MOTHER COMMITTED FOR TRIAL.

Wanhakui, This day. A coroner's inquest was held yestefday on the body of the half-caste child that was found on the beach on Tuesday last. The evidence showed that the mother, Phoebe Veitch, had taken the child out on Monday afternoon last, stating that an aunt was going to take it up country by that afternoon's train ; that on her return she stated that the child had gone away accordingly, that a lady at Christchurch was coin? to adopt it, and that the mother was never to see it again. "When arrested by the police the mother said she took the child for a walk on the wharf on Monday night and it fell overboard. She did not call out for assistance, because there was no one about, though she admitted it was cruel of her to hold her toncrue. She admitted that the child, the body of which had been found, was hers, but denied killing it. Subsequently, in the lock-up, she made another statement to the effect that the father of the child went for a walk with her on the wharf, the child being with them ; that he threatened to shoot her; demanded the child, and on being refused by her he threw the child into the river. He then threatened to murder her if she said anything about it. She told the police first that'the father of the drowned child, who was not her husband, came from India, and afterwards that he was either a Chinaman or hulf-easto Chinaman. She strenuously denied killing the child herself. At the inquest she volunteered a very long statement of her past four years' history, and repeated the .statement about the man throwing the child off the wharf, and gave a circumstantial description of the man's appearance and clothes. She concluded by solemnly swearing her innocence of the crime. The jury found that the deceased child was thrown into the river either by the mother or the man whom she says is its father. Four jurors dissented from this, and wished for a simple verdict of wilful murder against the woman. The coroner committed her for trial at the April sittings of the Supreme Court on the charge of murder. The accused has led a dissolute life for many years. Her husband left her two years ago. She has three children, each by a different father. The motive suggested for the crime is that the woman was unable to support the two children living with her, both- of whom, however, were apparently well nurtured and cared for. Her third child is kept by her husband's family. The police have been unable to discover any man answering to the description of the man whom the accused churg-cs with throwing the child into the river.