CRUELTY TO CHILD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17872, 29 August 1921, Page 6

CRUELTY TO CHILD.

WOMAN SENT TO GAOL.

SAD WELLINGTON CASE.

"LED A DOG'S LIFE."

"I stand for oie fullest publicity in a case of this kind," was Inspector McIlveney's stern reply to an application by Mr. O. C. Mazengarb in the Wellington Magistrate's Court last week that a case of ill-treatment of a child should be heard in camera.

In the case in question Burdett HillBeckett was charged before Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., with ill-treating her adopted daughter, Dolly Hill-Beckett, and there was also an alternative information of assault against the defendant.

"The unfortunate child is illegitimate," said the inspector of police, " and she came under the care of the defendant last year. In April of the present year an adoption order was obtained." The child was seven years old in March last, and was made to rise from bed at 6 a.m., to clean the house, cook breakfast, and take it to her mother in bed, afterwards doing more work in the house, and then going to a kindergarten school. Her adopted mother was paying Is per week for her at the school, but on 15th of this month Mrs. Hill-Beckett had been written about the non-payment of this sum. The defendant had seen the teacher of the child, and this lady had taken exception to the fact that the little girl had arrived late, had not been provided with any lunch, and had had recourse to takJng the lunches of other children.

g Evidences of a Thrashing.

Defendant had stated that she had given the child Is each week, hut this had not been received by the teacher. Next J day the girl had appeared at school with j a bruise on her forehead, and with her ! legs and arms marked in a manner which indicated that she had received a severe thrashing. Later on the teacher had very properly communicated with the people who look after the interest of such cnildren, with the result that the case had come before him. Dr. Henry, the police surgeon, had examined the child on the 19th, three days after the thrashing, and would be called to give evidence. The clothing ■of the child had been taken I from her, and she had been beaten with | a stick. Later Mrs. Hill-Beckett had ! called at the police station, and the child j had evidently been in very great fear of ! her. adopted mother. The parent had a I right to administer reasonable punish- | ment to a child, but punishment such as this was neither reasonable nor moderate.

The defendant, during Mr. McHveney's address, had continually emitted cries of protest. "If you don't keep quiet I'll send you out of Court and hear the . case without you'," threatened the magistrate at last, and this had the effect of quietening the outbursts. Defendant's Evidence.

After the evidence for the prosecution had been heard the defendant went into the box. She said that " Dolly," the child, had been most untruthful, though a very affectionate, lovable child. Witness had received nothing for her adoption of the child, but had been very fond of her. She absolutely denied that the child had ever risen at six o'clock, but some six weeks ago, when witness had suffered from influenza, she had risen before her fostermother and brought her tea in bed. Beyond washing up, she had done no housework, save for washing down two steps at the back of the house. She had no dining-Toom carpet to be swept, as was alleged by the prosecution. Witness did not keep hoarders, but let rooms. Dolly had free access to the food. Every day when she went to the kindergarten she took some lunch, except on the day when witness had visited the school. She had told her mother that she was short in the money to be paid to the school, and tc try her honesty witness had put some money on the sideboard. This had disappeared, and she had taxed Dolly with taking it. The ojrild had been seen with two threepenny bits by the school teacher. She had refused to admit the fault, and had been ordered to remove her clothes. Witness had not intended to whip her severely, and had felt ashamed when she had seen the result of the beating. She had then put the child to bed, and had been so upset that she had determined never to thrash her again, «

Magistrate's Comments. "The evidence is clear,- perfectly clear; I'm going to convict her on both charges," said the magistrate, Mr. Hunt. "It is the State who handed over a motherless child, and this is the way she treats it. The policeman who brought her to me said he had never seen a child so knocked about as this one. If a dog had been brought to me in this condition I should have sent the person to gaol. This is flesh and blood. Cruelty to children in this country must be stopped, and, fortunately we do not have much of it. Fines in this case wil] be useless. This is a woman of means, arid a fine would have no effect whatever. If J thought she had knocked the child about on the two previous occasions, as was alleged, I should have sent her to gaol for 'six months. Taking all the surrounding circumstances into account, the child has evidently had a dog's life. The defendant is sentenced to 21 days' imprisonment, with hard labour, on the assault' charge. On the other charge she is convicted and discharged. Mr. Mazengarb's .application that the judgment be suspended in order to allow an appeal to be lodged was quashed by Mr. Mcllveney, who cited an* authority for stating that this was illegal. An order wa s also made committing the child to tho industrial school.