THE BARLOW MYSTERY.

NZ Truth, Issue 135, 18 January 1908, Page 8

THE BARLOW MYSTERY.

THE FATHER SPEAKS. Bandsman Bentley's Evidence. A Few Questions m Reply. During the week "Truth" received a visit "from': Mr Barlow, the almost blind father of the 14-year-old boy musician whose death has been the subject of so much speculation m the sense as to whether it was due to suicide or murder. In its last issue "Truth" published the opinion of Mr De Groen, the popular and busy bandmaster, who knew young Barlow well, and who was most emphatic m his belief that the boy was murdered. Mr Barlow himself is also of this opinion. Both' Mr and. Mrs Barlow very justly complain of the

action of the police m the matter of their investigations into THE BOY'S SAD AND MYSTERIOUS END. The police visited the parents' house where the mother and father, with a sort of simplicity, never before m their lives having had anything to do with a member of the force, showed these investigators, first the boy's room, then every article he owned or possessed, and finally told them- everything to the most trifling detail as to the deceased's personal peculiarities or habits. What, then, was the surprise and pain v of Mr and Mrs Barlow to afterwards find that every little item, so innocently and thoughtlessly given, was magnified into a veritable mountain of evidence m support , of the conclusion the . police themselves, for obvious reasons, wished to come to — namely, th^t the hoy had suicided ? Such tactics on the part of the police are despicable, and the proper punishment m the case of those guilty of them would be nothing short of A MOST VIGOROUS BOOTING m the rear. At the inquiry aiid m other ways, Mr Bandmaster Bentley, from whom the boy Oswald and his [brother, went to Mr De Groen, seems -to have set the rumor going ! that the boys themselves very much regretted the transference, and to have thus left it to be inferred — not only that Oswald suicided, but that the change from one band to another was m sorne way responsible for what he did. ' It would have been much better for Mr Bentley not to have invited, in'this way, an inquiry and a comparison into Oswald's treatment as between his (Mr Bentley's) band and Mr De Groen's. "Truth" does not want to worry itk readers with the details of its investigations on this point. It is sufficient to say that the conclusion it has been forced to is that the deceased stood to be INFINITELY BETTER TREATED by Mr De Groeh than he' was ever treated by Mr Bentley. The night after the boy disappeared he was to have started on a long engagement with Mr De Groen at £3 a week. Did Mr Bentley ever offer the boy anything like this? Had Mr Bentley, during the long three years the boy was with him, ever given him £3 a week, or the half of £3 a week, or even the quarter of £3 a week? . As a matter of fact, hadn't the boy over and over/ again done for Mr Bentley the work of a man, and m. return did Mr Bentley pay him the half, or the quarter, of what he would have had to pay a man,? The jealousies of rival musicians are harmless, if not laughable, m so far as they only concern the musicians themselves. ' But "Truth" has a healthy and vigorous detestation of the person, musician or otherwise, who would seek to work off a professional jealousy over the corpse of' * A LITTLE DEAD BOY. "Truth" does not say that this is what Mr Bentley would appear to have been doing. All "Truth" has done has been to put before its readers a few statements, together with a few questions, and on these it is wholly content to simply , leave it with its readers to sum up the position of Mr Bentley for themselves. —Sydney "Truth."