GROSS NEGLECT AND DEATH OF AN INFANT.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 6689, 25 September 1882, Page 3

GROSS NEGLECT AND DEATH OF AN INFANT.

CORONKK’d INQUEST, A few days ago information was conveyed to the police that an infant four weeks old, named Henrietta May McCarthy, bad died under each circamitancec as to render an official inquiry necessary. It appeared that <lhe child was born in the Home for Friendless Women, Taranaki ‘Street, on the 18tb of August last, and was, with the consent of the mother and the sanction of the matron of the Hi me, adopted by a woman of qm s k ’onahle character named Christina Jansen, alixi Mrs Walpole, who has recently been living in ■Quin and Grainger-otreeta. It appealed that m sufficient inquiry had been made as to the character of the woman

who adopted the child, but before it was handed over to her the mother signed the ‘following form of agreement, which had been drawn up by the matron ;—” I, Hate McCarthy, do hereby consent and agree to, ■give up my infant daughter to Robert and Christina Walpole, to be by them adopted as their own child, with the full understanding that they take upon themselves the entire reeponsibilty of providing for her whole f itnre, as for their owo offspring ; and do myself, both for the present and all time to come, forfeit and give up every right and claim to the said child, with all tide to interfere in any way whatsoever on her behalf. Wi’ness my hand this 9:h day of -teptember, 1882.’’ (Signed) Kate McCabtht, Witnesses, Patience Steer. S ira L Heart.

An inquest on the body of the child was held at the City Hotel, Courtenay-place, before Mr G B. Davy, Corooer, on Saturday after■ood, when the following evidence was taken : Catharine McCarthy, deposed : I am a ■ingle woman. The body shown to the jury was that of my child, Henrietta. May McCarthy. It was four weeks old. I last saw the child about two weeks since. I gave the child into the charge of Christina Jansen. The document produced is signed by me. This was at the Home in' Taranaki-.-treet. She took the child away. I saw it about two days after. She brought it to me. 1 did not notice anything particularly wrong with'the 1 chiM at that time. I never saw it again alive. I first htard of its death the night hefee last. Christina Jansen brought it to mx'ydginvs at Mrs Williams’. It was then dead. She made no statement as to < the circumstances of the death. Miss Jansen took the child without any, consideration or money payment. She asked me first. I never saw her before she asked me for the child. The matron of the Home made the arrangement with my consent.,.. Miss Jansen came first to to the Home and asked for the child. I declined to do anything without speaking t > the ■natron. Miss Jansen came again, and i saw the matron in my presence. The arrangement was then. made, and the document'prodneed was written out by the matron. Miss Steer, in my prssence, and signed by me. ■ Elizabeth Harris, wife of "William Harris, deposed : I bars seen the body of the child, the ■object - f this inquest, 1 first saw the child about fourteen days ago. It was then in charge of Christina Jansen. She brought it to my bouse. The child appeared well, ■ excepting a bad band and leg it hid. It appeared much largertban it now does, and looked fairly healthy 2 have seen the child every day eiooe that up to the time of its death. I kept the child ,in my house last Wednesday week- all night, because I thought it wonld die. That was because Christina'Jansen -was the worse for liquor, and I thought the child would die In the night, with no one to look after it. It stayed in my bouse from six of that night till between eleven and twelve next day. I had to ask her to take the child and wash it. and give it some king to eat. She wanted to give it some cold water. She said she wanted the little b—— to die. I said, “ Give it something to eat, for God’s sake.’’ I warmed some milk. Sbe said, “ Don’t warm it; give it to it cold.’’ She was not quite sober at the time. I offered the child • some i milk. It would not take it. - Sbe told me after that that the - child had not taken anything for a day and »< night after that, and had not properly woke up, but seemed to be asleep all : the,time. ;,I ; weot |n every day to see Mt. 'On one occasion X said to her that the child bad .been crying a great deal, and asked her to go and see it. It was then in an empty house, on the floor, in a box that I gave her,with a few old rags. The door wps. locked, and I could not get im There eras no one in the boose bat the child. On this occasion she said, ‘‘ Let tho little h try." 1 raid-sbe had better look after it, er it would die, and she would get into trouble over it, and that she bad he'tertake it to a doctor «r to the Hospital. 1 offeied to take it myre'f. She said, “Let the little b—— cry and die ; : I don’t want .it.” I said, "Take it back to the Home where you got it, and tell them wnat you are doing for a living.” She said she would do nothing of the kind ; that she could pay for .tho funeral if the child died. I did not see h' r after tbi->„ or the child either, until she was going to remove eut of tbehon-e. She then told me she was going to take the child back to the Home. This was «n Thursday last. . I neither saw her nor the child again until to-day, but t heard. the child was dead. . Christina Jansen was out every night,"while the child was left in the house alone and the doer looked., , She would be out from six until twelve or one o’clock at night. She was frequently the worse for liquor during the time the : child was in her . charge. I think the. child was thoroughly, neglected during . the ■ time, it , was io Ohrietina Jansen’s charge* . I believe the child would have lived if it had been jproperly attended to. I believe it was starved.; I have seen it lying rolled in a shawl in a hoi witoout any clothing. The time, the child was in my house, it had nothing to eat from 6 in the morning until 11 or 12 the next day, when she took it away. I, tried to give it some milk, hut it wonld not take the teat in its month. I told her on one occasion that the feeding-bottle which she was using-was not clean,.- It looked conr. Sbe tried iVaud said it wai : sour. She did not wash it, bat.put fresh, milk in it,-and offered it to the child. ,

Christina Jansen deposed : I am a tingle woman residing in Grainger-street. The child Henrietta May McCarthy was in my charge »t the time of its death. I got it from Kate McCarthy up at the, ladles’ Htime. t I saw in at newspaper that a. person was wanted to adopt a child, and X made application at tlje address given in the advertisement. I sawj Mr Brittain, the chemist, and , he referred; me to the Ladies’ Borne, in . Taranakiretreet. 1 I went there, and saw the child’s mother, Kate McCarthy. She to'd me to call'in thfe evening. 1 did so, and saw the matron. X told her what I hud come about. ,1 wag a perfect stranger to her. She told. me ’I could have the child, and to come for it at ,10 o’clock next morning, and she would get the paper written out fur me to adopt it. I went next morning. She had the paper written, out, and gave me the ehild and the paper. .The paper is the one now produced. The only clothes the child'had when it was given to me were a dress and a iannel petticoat. I bought a cloak and shirts aad dresses for it the next day. The cost of them was £1 4s 6d. I bought the cloak 'at Te Aro House, and the other things at a draper’s shop, in Manneia-aireet, next Mr Monteith’s. I was living at the time in Quin-street. I was 'alone at the time X took the child, ; I took the -child to my bouse, and put it in iny own bed. 1 bought a feeding bottle, and got some-pre-served milk. I made np the milk with warm water arid ingar. It used to pave three; bottles full a day when I Erst got it, but after a bit it got ill, and I took it to Mr Monteith, the chemist. Mr Monteith stripped the child, and examined it, and told me it had'the disease, and it would never live. -He said it would cot livu more than a fortnight. The child got worse- and worse 'after this, ' and I took it up to the mother: and asked her to take it back,- but she refused, os I had adopted it. This «at about a week before it died., The mother told me Hr. Collins had attended the child.' This was in answer to my -question as to what doctor had attended the child before 11 «k it. I asked the matron if this wan true, but she made no answer. I then took the child boine again, and after that time it was very seldom awake. Latterly it wou d scarcely take the food, . Xt took a little. At first it took about' three bottles frill. Then it would only take about half that quantity, and latterly it refused all food. I ajjifttd out of -Quin-street , the d«y before ; the, child’s death. I took the child - away with ' me. It appeared right enough , then., I 4ook . it to Grainger street; and. put, it jn the'htiPße, and ItK it there aloijft. I asked 41 Mrs Uawkea to come and see child. She •catuo down. ■ The child-was then sucking at the bottle. The next day Mrs Hawkes came ■ again, and X told herhe' child wijb just dying She said it was no use my holding it .iu^my! ' lap any longer, for it was dead.: She told me ■ to put some’water on the fire to, wash it. , X received no money or other consideration, for taking the child. T took the child for come. 'pahy’s sake; ' Had'l-knowq the .state it was' in I would not have taken it.-- When the man with whom' I aih'Jiving cam# home objected to my having the ahd was cross with me' about it. That was why 1 took 'it up 16V the mother again. I- would have _..bcen . glad, to - have. been;, relieved of it. I ,reported the dta’b; of the, -child to..Mr Jobui-ton, tbe Relieving Officer, l who referred me to S'-rgeant Anderson. ' Francis Blake Hutchinson, deposed. I am a •duly registered physician and surgeon. 1 this -morning examined the body of (be child, .the

subject o! this inquest. It was exceedingly wasted. There was evident disease of the light wrist and right knee. They were both very much enlarged. I cut into them, and the large quantity of matter that they both contained ran out. The proper substance of the joints was almost completely destroyed—the result, apparently, of scrofulous infl tmmation, 1 next opened the chest. The heart was healthy, but the lungs were congested, I proceeded no further, having sufficient grounds for accounting for the death. It is evident that the child died of the disease of the joints wi h the congestion of the lungs, but how far tbs diseased condition may have been aggravated by neglect I cannot say positively. The excessive wasting was the immediate cause of death, and is sufficiently accounted for by the disease of the joints and the coojestion of the lungs. If the statements of the previous witnesses as to the treatment the child received are .true, I should say that d.a'h was decidedly a celerated by it, Xdo not think the child would have lived under any circumstances. Had it been better (taken care of it might have lived a few weeks longer. I consider the appearances were sufficient to account for death, even without neglect, F» ie ice Steer deposed : I am matron of the Home for r rieniless Women. A woman named Kate McCarthy was an inmate, and was confined there of a female child, on or about the 18th of August last. A Mrs Williams t >ld me she caused an advertisement to be inserted for some one to adopt the c'oild. An application was made by a Mrs Walpole, who is identical wi h the witness Christina Jansen. She came to me at the Home in Taraua istreet. She said she wished to adopt the child that was advertised. 1 raid I mu-t make inquiries: first, and told her to call n -xt day. She told me she was well known to Mr Brittain. I inquired of him, and he said he did not know anyone of that name. I made no further inquiry. I cot no information from Mr Brittain. Next day Mrs Walpole came again, and it was arranged that she should come for the child at 11 o'clock. The mother principally made the.arrangement in my presence. The woman represented herself as being married, to a seaman named Walpole, on the Beautiful Star, and that she had been married three years. She said she .had plenty of clitbing hr the child. She said she wanted it, because of her love for children, and because she bad. none of her own. It was arranged that she should come next morning, when she brought some clothing for the child and took it away. A few days afterwards the woman herself brought the child back to the Home, . end said she had seen Mr Monteith, .and ,that the child’s band was no batter, and that Mr Monteith bad said she might be aide to rear the child if she could get milk from one cow. She did not express any wish to give the child up. The mother proposed at the first to keep 1 the child another week and see if it got better, as it was known to be diseased, but Mrs Walpole wanted it at once. She never in my presence expressed any wish to return the child, i I acted entirely on the woman’s own representation as to her character, and position. Several children have been adopted from the 1 Home in the same manner. This is the first 1 case in which a child has been given out to a I person not known to myself or to one of the Ladies’ Committee. ■ 1

The Coroner having summed up, the, jury, after,a short retirement, returned the following verdict: —“That.the death of Henrietta May McCarthy arose from natural causes—namely, scrofulous - inflammation of the knee and wrist and congestion of the lungs. The jury further express- an opinion that the deceased was greatly neglected by the person (Christina Jansen) in whose charge she was for some time previous to her death, and also, express their disapproval of the practice disclosed by the evidence of allowing children to be adopted frnm the Home for Friendless Women without proper inquiry.”