A PAINFUL CASE.

Otago Witness, Issue 1917, 13 November 1890, Page 24

A PAINFUL CASE.

CHARGE OF BABY FARMING.

A case came before Mr E. H. Carew, R.M , at the Ctty Police Court on Thursday, the surroundings of which were of a very painful nature. Myra Smith, a middle aged woman, was charged ou the information of Constable Walker, that ou or about the Ist day of Novem. ber, at North-Easfc Valley, she having the Charge and control of a boy under the age of 14 years, and named Arthur Chesterfield Hayee, did unlawfully and wilfully illtreat and neglect the said child in a mauner likely to cause it unnecessary suffering, and to injure its health.

j Sergeant-major Bevin said that the facts of the case were as follows : — The defendant, Mrs Smith, lived at Sunuydale, in the North-East Valley. She was not a widow, but had a husband giving somewhere in England, he having left her some nine or ten years ago. For some time past, Mrs Smith had been taking in children belonging to other people, and adopting them, and from something Constable Walker heard, he went to defendant's house in company with Miss Miller, of Mornington, on Saturday afternoon last, $bout 5 p.m. The house consisted of three rooms and a kitchen, and in the house were found five children, the oldest apparently about the age of four years. The woman besides these had five children of her own, and when Constable Walker examined the place he fouud them all in a very pitiable state. He would allow the constable to describe the place to his Worship, and he would prove that the children were greatly neglected and were, id fact, in dire want. i Mr Carew: Did she keep what is nailed a ?' baby farm."

Sergeant-major Beviu : Yes, your Worship ; she takes in children and fehe has five of her own to look after. { Mr Carew : Weil, at the present I propose to deal with the case as one of summary jurisdiction. i Constable Walker then stepped into the box, and said that on Saturday last he went, in company with a .young lady named Miss Miller, to the defendant's house. He had previously beea informed that Mrs Smith kept a baby farm, and that sha illtreated and neglected the phiidren in the house. On arriving at the house J;he.y ha<l to wait some time before they were admitted, and when they did get iv witness told the woman what they bad hoard. She denied having illtreated the children, and bet attention was then drawn to a child which had been taken away from her on the previous evening, which bore evident signs of having been sadly neglected. She replied that sbe had been sick and was unable to attend to it. Witness then asked permission to look through the house and see the children that wore there. After some time she consented to do this, and took him into one of the front rooms There he found four children, whose ages ranged from 12 months to three years. Mrs Smith sr«id that the oldest was four years, but that wa» not his opinion. There was also in the room a boy about 12 years old. Three of the children were sitting on the floor, and one was standing near the fire-place. The effluvium arising from this room wa9 sickening in the extreme. The windows and doom were evidently kept securely closed, aud the atmosphere was thick and evil smelling. There was not a stick of furniture in tho room, beyond a small box, 2ft long, 2ftwide, and a foot deep. He did not see what was in the box. Witness then n«.ked Mrs Smith to undress one of the children, which she did, and he observed that the lower portion of the child's body bore signs as if it were scalded, the skin being red and the fl^sh inflamed and swollen. The whole of the body of the child was covered with a mass of filth. There were also blue and black marks ou the hip, which had the appearance of healed-up fiore.i. Ib also appeared to be weakly nnd delicate, and its clofches were simply sticking together wiMi filth nnd dirt. Witness asked Mrs Smith why she allowed them to get in that state, and her reply was that she had been sick and could not look after the children. Witness then went into another and saw two truckle bodsteais, which were the only bedstead* he found ia the hou?e. The bedding of «hpse hfdsfcpads appeared to ba composed of an old sank. In one of the bet's there was a baby two or thrc-e months old. Witness was about to lift up the covering of the bed, when he whs stopped by Mrs Smith Thr-re was very little food in the house— principally a few loaves and about a pound of cornflour ; and in answer to a question put by witness, Mrs Smith said she got her milk from a woman living np the hill, but as far as witness saw there was none in the house. He then got the child Hayes oat of the room to where

Misu Miller was, but Mrs Smith refused to allow tho latter to go into the room where the other children were. It was only on Monday week laHt the woman got another child from a lady of Roslyn.

Mr Carew: Do you think that the state the child was in was injurious to its health ?

Constable Walker : Most assuredly. Sergeant-major Beviu: Is this the child in court with its mother that you saw in the house ? I Witness : I believe it is, but there is a vast improvement. I don't think, however, I would venture to swear it is the same child. , Mr Carew (to defendant) : Do you wish to ask any questions ? I Defendant : There were three bedsteads in the house. i Witness : I could find only two.. ! Mr Carew : Are you positive there were only two iv the room ? I Witness : Yes, your: Wort-hip. I may state, further, that besides the defendant there were also her father in the house and two or three boys, the eldest of whioh was Sunder 13 years of age, „,The father was -a very old man, about 70 jears of age. ' • ITo Sergeant-major r Bevin : What struck witness as being, most peculiar, was that when Mrs Smith .was undressing the child it gave forth no sound, and did not cry iv any way. He had a very strong suspicion that the child was drugged.

Jane Miller, daughter ot Mrs Miller, residing at Moruingtou,. was next: called. She 6aid she went with Constable Walker, to the defendant's house ou Saturday last. : She did not think the child then in court wa§ the same one as the one she saw at the house. ..The latter was clothed iv a small cottony drefes, and it was in a filthy state and coverediwith. sores. Mrs Smith objpcted to witness goivg- into the other rooms, as she said the place wa3 cot in, a fit state, to be seen. The child she saw .was in.q very neglected end miserable state, and seemed to be ill-fed. The smell in tho house was simply sickening, And it was no' place in which to ren'r children. Witness was .very sick herself after .coming out of the house, which was simply' due to the sickly smell

In answer to the Bench, defendant said she "d not wish to give evideuce. The black marks on the child were caused by, the Maori pock. His Worship : You can go on with the next case. I will reserve my decision in tbh. Defendant was then ' charged — that, having fhe custody, of a .child, under 14 years of age, named Robert White, she- did unlawfully illtreat the said child, and behave in i\ manner towards it which was < likely- to injure its health. Constable Walker gave similar evidence to that given in the previous case. He stated further that about four months ago a child died in the hous<% and the death of a child was reported to his Worship about four years ago, but he had heard from several undertakers that other children nad-died since then.

Miss Miller also gave evidence. i Defendant stated that whenever any of the children were sick she 'always called in medical aid, and she was possessed of a doctor's certificate touching the death of the child just mentioned by Constable Walker. '• i Mr Carew then ; addressed- -defendant- as follows : — " If this case had been-brought before the Supreme Court, you would make yourself liable' to be imprisoned 'for a terni Mot exceeding two years,,, an.4 .you.,', would" als&/ have tojjay in addition a penalty of £10Q. ButTbeing* brought before me to be dealt with in' V summary manner, , l am , pot able to inflict p penalty .of more than three months' imprisonment. ' You are convicted and sentenced to ihtee months' imprisonment on eaoh charge, the' sentences to run concurrently."