AN UNUSUAL CASE.

Northern Advocate, 28 September 1918, Page 4

AN UNUSUAL CASE.

A SOLDIER'S CHILDREN

QUESTION OF LEGITIMACY

RAISED,

DANNEVIRKE, Sept. 27

A somewhat unusual case was heard before Mr Dyer, S.M., in which Sydney M. Mead, was charged with wilfully deceiving the Government Statistician respecting the number of his children. He first gave the number as three, and subsequently four. Investigations which were made elicited the fact that he had three legitimate and one illegitimate child. The last-named the defendant alleged had been taken by his wife to be brought up as a brother of her last-born child, both legitimate and illegitimate having arrived about the same time. Defendant, however, was not supporting his wife and three legitimate children, but was living with another woman. He has now been put into Class A of the Second Division. He contended that he acted in all good faith, being of the # .ppinion that the illegitimate child had been legally adopted.

He was fined £10 or two months' imprisonment, the magistrate informing the defendant that he was living like a beast.—Press Assn.