AN ABANDONED CHILD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14145, 21 August 1909, Page 5

AN ABANDONED CHILD.

PARENTS IN COURT.

FATHER PLEADS GUILTY.

It will be remembered that on May 12 last an infant, child, three weeks old, was found in the ladies' waiting-room of the Newmarket railway station. The police were informed, and on making investigations ascertained that a Mr. and Mrs. Homiston were the parents of the child and bad left for Vancouver. The Fijian police authorities were immediately informed of the matter, and when Joseph and Katherine Homiston arrived at Suva, en route for Vancouver, they were arrested on a charge of unlawfully abandoning their infant child, and detained until the arrival of Constable Nash from Auckland, who brought them back to this city. Owing to the illness of the male accused, they were not able to appear in the Police Court until yesterday, when Messrs. S. Hanna and William Hall, justices of the peace, were on the Bench.

Detective McGrath prosecuted, but the accused, a delicate-looking young couple, were unrepresented by counsel.

Evidence was given by Sergeant Archibald M-jPhee, as to finding the child ; by his wife, Elizabeth MePhee, as to receiving it; by Hannah Hutchinson, superintendent of the Door of Hope, who had since tended it; and by Richard Philpott, Thomas Hancock, and William Joseph Aylward, as to seeing the male accused with the child on May' 12 in the precincts of the Newmarket railway station. Margaret Cameron, nurse and midwife, gave evidence as to the birth of the child and as to seeing Mrs. Homiston off by the boat. According to witness, in reply to a query from her the female accused had said she had sufficient milk to last the child till they reached Vancouver, thus giving witness to understand that the child was with them.

John Henry Turn bull deposed that the male, accused had spoken to 'him before the birth of the child concerning his desire that it be adopted. John Nash, police constable, gave evidence as to the extradition of the accused at Fiji. Peter Thomas McMahon, detective, stated that on June 23 last the male accused had had a conversation with him, the female accused being present. The male accused said: "Have you found Mr. Notion yet?',' Asked by the detective who he was referring to, he said he would like to make a statement as to how the child left his possession. Both the accused then made statements, which witness took down in writing, read over to them, and obtained their signatures. The male accused, in his statement, said that ten days previous to May 12 last he had advertised for a person to adopt a baby boy. He had got three applications and had replied to one from one Frank Notion. Accused and Notion had met by arrangement at a certain hotel, and had made . all arrangements for Notion to take- the baby. Accused was to pay £15 premium and to leave the child at the Newmarket railway station between noon and one o'clock on May 12. Accused arrived at the station at 12 o'clock. When he arrived there he did not feel too well and had a glass of wine at an hotel. He then walked back to the station and met Notion, paid him the £15 premium, and left the child with him. The reason why he wished the child to be adopted was that he already had two, he was practically an invalid, amd his wife was in indifferent health. In these circumstances two children were quite enough to look after. The female accused, in her statement, said she had not known anything about her husband's action in having the child adopted until she had accidentally opened a reply to his advertisement one day. Her husband had then told her of the arrangements he had made. When on the boat he informed her that he bad fixed things up all right, that he had paid the £15 premium, and given the child to a Mr. Notion, of Papatoetoe. Detective McMahon, continuing his evidence, said that though lie and other police officers had made inquiries all over the place, they could find no trace of Mr. Notion.

This concluded the case for the prosecution.

The male accused pleaded guilty and the female accused not guilty. The male accused said he wished to correct, that part of his statement referring to his meeting Notion at the Newmarket railway station. He had gone to the place with that intention, but Notion had not turned up. He had, therefore, abandoned the child at the station.

The male accused was committed for sentence, and the female accused for trial, bail being allowed in each case in two sureties of £25 each, or one of £50.