"THE BURNT CHILD”

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 February 1935, Page 11

"THE BURNT CHIL D”

CRUELTY CASE DISMISSED LONDON, December 22. The proverb, “A burnt child dreads the fire” was quoted at Plymouth yesterday, when Mrs. Ella Morris, of Devonport, was summoned for cruelty to an 18-months-old child. The case was dismissed.

Mr. Storry Deans, prosecuting, said Mrs. Morris was caring for the child with a view to legal adoption. “It is alleged,” he continued, “that to teach the child not to play with fire she seized the child by the wrist and deleberately held it over the fire, causing burns of the second degree, that is, raising blisters. It is our contention that you must not teach children by cruel methods. Who is to judge whether the burning of a child’s hand will do it good?” Dr. G. A. Pratt said there were three burns on the child’s hand. Mrs. Dunn, who lives in the same house, said it was found that a doll’s hat was smouldering in the grate. Mrs. Morris gave the child a good smacking, and said another person had put a child’s hand on red-hot bars to teach it a lesson. “All at once,” Mrs. Dunn added, “she picked up the child, and, holding him underneath her left arm, gripped his wrist and held the back of his hand over the fire for about a minute, repeating, ‘Do you feel that?’ The child screamed and would not stop crying.” Mrs. Morris said that she had no intention of- burning the child. “I only wanted to frighten him a little, she added.