CHARGE OF CRUELTY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2058, 3 August 1893, Page 11

CHARGE OF CRUELTY.

At the Christchurch Police Court a Mra Cribb, residing, at Lincoln, was charged with persistent cruelty to her stepdaughter, aged 12 years On Friday (says the Press) the,6hild,.w«i» put in the witness box, and said she had nob been sent to school for nine or 10 months'. 81 0 had to work — not very hard — clean boots, peil potatoes, scrub the scullery, and do the'bedroom. Her mother was not good to her ; the hit her, pulled her hair, and tied her up to the bed — not very often — once by .the feet. Once she made her strip, and beat 1 her when naked with a stick. She did not always get enoughfood. She did not get anything until she had done her work; Bometimes she got np break" fast and no dinner. When the doctor first saw • her she had marks on her,' left by beatings; there -was a mark left by a belt' buckle-. , She could not get on with her work on account of her feet— chilblains. Her father generally treated her well. Her clothing did ndfc keep her warm. The rope and > sash (produced) were used to tie her to the bedstead and the whip to beat her. She was some^ times tied up for a long time. , After , the police came her stepmother burnt some of' the. clothes she used to wear. On one occasion her feet were tied up to the bedstead while her head/ was on the ground. She was tied up in that way from about half-past 9 till half-past 3. She was tied up because she did not make haste and scrub the scullery. She could not make haste; her feet were sore and covered with blisters. t . • Mr Stringer, who prosecuted, said he did not think the evidence warranted the charge pf actual cruelty against the father ; his share in it would be that he was cognisant of his wife's cruelty. In cross-examination the child said her feet were tied by a sash to the top of the bedpost. Her back was on the ground. It did not hurt her anywhere except her feet. .Since , her mother hit her with the buckle 'she had not beaten her much. The other beatings did not hurt her, much. She had. not been subjected to exposure in cold weather. She had told several untruths. She said to -somebody .that her mother was to be put in a lunatic asylum. She stole things. She had not called. her stepmother a bad name. - 1

Elizabeth Wilkinson said she saw the girl scrubbing the scullery — that was at" 10 a.m. Her stepmother was scolding her, saying she should have no breakfast until she did the work to please her. Witness remonstrated. /'Mrs Cribb said the girl had been at work from halfpast 6 o'clock, and should not have a bite until she did it properly. Witness frequently visited the house and the child was always working, and her stepmother was generally scolding her. Detective O'Connor stated that since the child's admission to the hospital she had increased from 4st 91b to sst 3P>, showing a gain of B£lb. For the defence Alice Cribb stated that the child was rather a favorite . with her. She never beat her until the blood came. She once tied her round the waist with a sash to a bedstead — not to hurt her — because she refused to waßh up and defied her. She once hit her with a strap, the buckle. part of it, because she believed tho girl had stolen a shilling out of a purse and denied it. She had never punished her more than her own children. She bad never tied her up by the feet as, alleged.. The work exacted from her was not -more than she could easily do. She was idle, untruthful, dishonest, and disobedient. She was always well fed ; her food had never been kept from her from Friday morning till Saturday noon. Cross-examined : She could not account for the child getting into such a low condition. She could not account for her hands, knees, and elbows having callosities on them ; it was nob by work ; there was very little work to do. ' Did not know how she came by thebruises on her body ; she was never soundly thrashed. The stroke with a buckle was given in May ; that would be two months before the doctor saw the mark. Did not know how the marks as of a rope came on her ankles. Arthur Cribb gave evidence to the effect that he had never known the child to be badly treated by beating, overwork, or deprivation of food. He never noticed that the child was getting thin and worn-looking as from semistarvation, as the doctors said she was. She was kept from school on account of complaints of her bad behaviour there. . Cribb, 10 years old, said that his sister^ though a very bid girl, was always, so far as he knew, well treated.

Their Worships retired, and after consultation Mr Westenra said that so far as the case against the male accused was concerned it would be dismissed, but they could not understand how he could stand by and allow the illtreatment that was going on. The evidence, however, proved conclusively that the woman had shamefully ill-treated, the -girl,, and she would be imprisoned for two months with hard labour. < : Mr Stringer said applicatipn would be made to the resident magistrate to hand the child over to her grandmother, 'who ,was willing to take her. " ' , . '/,"*' ,