NOT TO BE INFLUENCED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12817, 17 March 1905, Page 6

NOT TO BE INFLUENCED.

A MAGISTRATE'S REPLY TO AX "EXTRANEOUS BODY." [BY TELEGRAPH. — OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Wellington*, Thursday. Dm Mi Arthur, the Wellington magistrate, lias just given a local society 11 pretty clear indication that lie does not propose to allow himself to be influenced in his judicial capacity by any outside body. The other day, when a woman was charged with having left an adopted child alone in the house from eleven in the morning till four in the afternoon, during her absence at a picnic, he dismissed the case, ruling that wilful neglect had not been proved, and thereupon the Society for the Protection of Women and Children sent him a resolution regretting that he should have dismissed the information, instead of using his power of cancelling the adoption papers. The committee also urged that a more careful preliminary investigation Vie made into the fitness of persons applying to adopt young children. This morning Dr. MoArthuv replied to the resolution as follows: —"I duly received yours of the lltli inst., forwarding resolution of your committee re my action on. a recent case before this Court. 1 would respectfully point ont to your committee that the magistrate is in c, much better position to judge of the circumstances of a case than is your committee, and that he is not going to be influenced by any extraneous body, no matter how good its intentions may be. In reference to the last paragraph of your letter. 1 l>eg to inform your committee that the most careful investigation is made into the fitness of persons applying to adopt young children."