FATHER'S PROTEST

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23558, 22 July 1938, Page 18

FATHER'S PROTEST

WILL NOT PAY RATES SON WHO LOST HIS SIGHT HOSPITAL NEGLECT ALLEGED “ I shall not pay thepe rates until I have' obtained satisfaction from Kent County Council. I have fought this matter for 23 years and I would rather go to prison than give in now.” , , That ib the attitude, as revealed to the newspaper, News of the World, of Mr Harry T. Willis, of Avenue road, Anerley, South-East London, following Penge magistrates’ decision to commit, him to prison for a month for non-payment of £ 13 rates due to Penge Urban Council. The committal ordef was suspended for a month, and the clerk, Mi J. W. Bennett, informed Willis that if he wanted any further suspension, he must apply in a month’s time. Willis told the magistrates a pathetic story when asked why he hud not paid the rates. “ Twenty-three years ago, my wife gave birth to a son at Locksbottom Infirmary, Kent,” he stated. “ After three days, she noticed that the baby had what appeared to be a cold in its eyes. She drew the attention of the nurse to the child but nothing was done. For four days the child was neglected, and it became blind. “Too Late”, “ Neither the doctor nor the matron saw the child until the eighth day, and then it was too late. The doctor said he was sorry, hut he was afraid the child would lose its sight. The child was sent to a specialist, but he sent the baby back because he could do nothing,” The clerk: I am afraid we cannot go into that. The magistrates are concerned only with your ability to pay these rates. Willis: I cannot pay them. Kent County Council has never paid a penny toward the boy’s upkeep, or even inquired about him. Willis added that it had cost him 30s a week to look after the boy. “ My wife has suffered 23 years of misery through no fault of her own.” he added. “We have to go without things ourselves to pay specialists’ fees for the boy. 1 have applied for a summons against Kent County Council to show cause why they should not maintain the boy. A magistrate has been to my house on two occasions, but I have never had the summons. I Cannot afford to pay these, rates and keep the boy as well.”

When He Will Pay The clerk: If you deliberately refuse to pay these rates the magistrates must send you to prison. Willis; I will pay them when the Kent County Council contributes to the boy’s support. The magistrates then made the order as stated. Afterwards Mr Willis, who is a manufacturer of garden tiles, told the News of the World that his blind boy had cost him more than £2OOO. “ I have never been able to recover a penny of that money from Kent County Council,” he stated. “My wife was told she would never'be able to have any more children because they would be born blind, but all our subsequent children have had perfect eyesight. “ My blind son is now 23 years of age. “ I shall go on protesting and refusing to pay my rates, part of which goes to Kent County Council, until something is done.”