A YOUNG PRIG.

NZ Truth, Issue 95, 13 April 1907, Page 4

A YOUNG PRIG.

BOY'S PLAINTIVE APPEAL.

I Want to Go to Mother.

Promised to be Good and to Go

to Sunday School.

With some prigs and other evildoers, young or old, it seems to be quite the natural thing to squeal like guinea-pigs when judicial stoush is about to be dealt out, and Magistrates, unless it is a first offending case, tell them the only, thing possible, that they, pfaould have thought of the consequences before doing evil. Magistrate McArthur was m an inexorable mood at the S.M.s Court on Thursday morning, when he had- before hdm a bold, bad boy of fifteen years, named Prank G-uild-ford, who is a young prig and a burglar, and who howled like a baby because he was to be taken away from his mother, whom the Magistrate considered, had no control over 'her off-spring. This boy, for his size and his age, is a holy terror. He is a confirmed thief, and it might be for his own good that he was packed off to Burnham, where he might be taught a useful trade and be made a useful citizen. Things like that might happen at Burnham. Frank's pet scheme is to- break into dwelling houses, and there steal whatever he lays his prigging paws on. He is suspected of lots of robberies out at Newtbwn and Kilbirnie, and was found out properly the other day, when Detective Williams pinched him on three charges of stealing. MONEY WASx FRANK'S LONG SUIT, and on April 2 last he broke into a house at Kilbirnie and -got away with £13. He stole money from other houses at Newtown and Kilbirnie on different dates, and did not even turn up his nose at such unconsidered as silver watches, studs, and match-boxes. Anyhow, when he was brought before a bench of J.'sP' on Wednesday, Frank wanted to go straight away back to bis mother, but; Chief Detective McGrath thought a reformatory was more likely to be his destination, and had him remanded to appear the next morning Iretore ' the S,M. When Frank, attended and consoled by his mother, appeared before Dr. McArthur, he did howl ; but he dried up while the Chief of the Demons reoited his little pranks, and said he was a very bad boy, who displayed the ingenuity of an old burglar m breaking into houses. Frank pleaded guilty to the various thefts ; he had no option but to do so, and admitted; spending part of the twelve jims, but stuck to his story that he had lost the balance, He had been previously convicted of "theft at Petone, and had had six strokes of the" birch' on his bare bottom. There was another theft proved against him on another occasion, and the prospect loomed lauge 'before him. of a stay at Burnham, then Frank's promise to be good arid go home to his mother worked the oracle, ifeut he thieved more and more, and got hi^nself into the toils' again. The father of the lad wag dead, it was, stated, and the mother had married again, and lived apart from heir second, experiment. "We'll send him to Burnham/ a said the Magistrate determinedly. . . "No;!.. No! Let' me stay with mother," pleaded the boy. What have you done with the rest of that money ?--I have lost it, ' : <( I don't believe you," was the Magisterial comment. "I'll be a good boy," the boy whined. "Yes, you wall he, hut not with your mother," said Dr. McArthur, who, m response to the mother's pleadings to , give him another chance, said that he had had his chance before and had not heeded the warning. The mother, a mMdle-a-ged, respect? able looking woman, continued to urge for Magisterial leniency and remarked that if Frank was allowed to go home with her it might PROVE TO B^J HIS SALVATION. "I'll order him' six, strokes of .the birch, and he will have to go to Burraham," said the Magistrate, obdurately; 4< He is my only son," pleaded bi» mother. "And it seems that you can't look after him," rejoined Dr. McArthur, who went on to say that the boy had brought it all on himself. Frank joined m the Babel of Voices, and cried bitterly as he once again promised to stay with mother, and wound up with an awful' threat of going to Sunday-school. This threat. he again repeated .after which he wailed "I want to stay with mother."

Dr. McArthair : I dairesay you do. The mother : Give him just this chance.

Dr. McArthur : I will not, Madam, you cannot manage the boy. Frank was then removed to the station, Ms loud and piteous howls punctuating the police court proceedings. He is a bad egg is Frank, and no doubt the people of Kilbirnie and Newtown will feeX more secure of their property now that the State has taken. a hand m his up-bringing. This class of younp- thief is very difficult for . the police to track down. There is a gang of them m Wellington, and it would be very interesting to know who benefits by their prigging operations.