THE INQUEST.

Otago Witness, Issue 2151, 16 May 1895, Page 28

THE INQUEST.

Invbhcahoili,, May I*. An inquest in connection with the babyfarming care at Winton was opened to-day at the hospital, before Mr Coroner Bawson and the following jurymen :— Messrs «f. W. Bain (foreman), A. M'Ewan, A. A. Christophers, N. Johnson, D. Roche, and J. A. Lennie. Mr T, M. Mac Donald appeared on behalf Of the

Crowo 5 Mr J. A. Hanan was present on behalf of Minnie and Charles De*n ; and Inspector Pardy was also in attendance. , Mr Mac Donald intimabed th&b the polioe were not at present prepared with evidence as to cause of death, and tie inqu'ry was adjourned to Monday, 27(h ins*., at 10 SO - «n. On that date, the solicitor for the O-wa mentioned, the police would be ia a ponUon to proceed uninterruptedly with the evidence. The following jury were then sworn in to inquiie into <he circumstances attending tho death of an infant kroirn as Dorothy Bdith :— • Messrs W. H. Hall (foreman), J. B. Watoony R. Brskine, W. Searle, J. D. M'Giuer, and J. H. Kingsland. After the jury hadviewod the body, this inquiry was also adjourned until the 29th hist. A third inquest will in all probability ba held in connection with the skeleton which was found, but no definite date has yet been fixed. rOLICK SEAHCIIKS. The police vigorously continued their digging operations on Dean's l*nd to-day, but did not make any further discovery. They have up to the present confined their attention to that,portion of the ground in front of the premises known as Mrs Dean's flower garden and th« orchard, the greater part of which has btfen turned over. It is thought very unlikely that any more bodies will be found in that portion of the .ground, as the part not operated upon looks comparatively solid. The police, however, will resume digging again to-morrow, as it is desired to make the seatch aa thorough as possible, in case any moie bodies have foeeo buried. . , TBE DEANS' HOUSE. A photograph of the Deaus' house has been taken, and will probably be produced it tho inquest. No od- quatß idea can, however, bo obtained of the condition of the bonce without! seeing it. It is in truth a wretched hovel,.- and the former inmates have apparently had Jitttls or no regard for cleanliness. The hoaie ia an unpainttid weatherboard structure, measuring 18lt lOin by lift 3in, and with a Boi*U l«an-to at the back. The walls are unpapered and the floor uncarpetod, and in the room at the back ia which most of the children slept the ground can be seen between the rough boards of the flooring. There is very little furniture in the house, and the beds are of a veiy rough description, the beddiog portion of which consiits of old bags, is also far from clo*n, and the whole «nrroundiDgs are extremely wretched and squalid. The wonder indeed is how anyone could ba content to live in such a place and in such a state 1 , and it is d fficult to concoive how any mother with the tl'ghttsb spark ef feeling could consent tD her child being brought up in such an environment if the onco paid * visit to the house. The Deans have b* en known iv this district for many years. Mrs Dean is said to be • native of Scotland, and to have come to thia colony from Ta*m\nia in 1865. Bhe thun bor« the name of Mrs M'Cullougb, was supposed to be a widow, end hid two daughters. After her arrival here she was at the Half-way Bush Hotel in the employ of Mr» Ho well b, now a hotellceeper in luvercargill. Bhe married ber present husband over 20 years ago, and tuO pair for some time afterwards kept a hotel ftt Etal Creek, near OtauUu. Prior to beiDg married Mrs Dean kept a small school ia the south of Itivtroargiil. So far aa can ba »soer« tamed the two daughters already referred- to were her only children. Some time ego one of these, a married woinaa, was foupd drowned with her infant in a well at LonjjbuHb. The other daughter is at present liviDg with he* husband at Mataura. THE BABY FA*M. Six year* ego Mrs Dean appears to hav«»tarteJ baby-farming at Wiiiton. She had than two children in ber care, but subtcquently she cb'.ained possession of 13 children, all of whom, were infants, tbe ages of which ranged from four weeks up to nine month*. A young woman ot 20, who had been brought op by Mrs Dean and was living with her up to tLe time of her arrest, states that she kuew of 22 chiHrca who at one time or another were in Mts Dean's keeping. Of thia number, 14 have been accounted for in some way or other, including the children whose bodies were found in the garden at The Larches. One of the children, who died on March 23, 1891, formed the subj. cfc of a coroner's inquest, in connectiou with which it was thought advisable to have a post mortem examination of the body made before taking evidecce. The jury also visited the premises, and, after witite : seß had been examined, Mr Coroner Rawson siid be thought the jury would find no difficulty in arriving at a verdict, as the doctor's evidence proved conclusively that the child died from natural causes. He, however, was of opinion that tho house was too small for ttio nnmbrr of children it contained.- If the jury had an/ recommenda* lion to m*ke with regard to giving the po'ica more control over such establishments he would be happy to forward it to the Government. The inquiry resulted in the jury returning a verdict of " D.ath from natural ca7S*i»," bufc a rider was added to tho verdict recommending that something should to done in the way of legislation to re-t^ct p rsons who adopt such a means of living as Mcs Dean to a cerlaiu number of childueD, according to the accommodation provided, and also that they Bhould bs under inspection. In consequence of the recommendation the Government passed "The Infants Life Protection Act 189^ which provides for the registration cf premises where children under two years o? age not belongiug to the owner of the premises are kept. The condition of Mrs Dean's house, it may be stated, formed about the timo of the inquiry the eubje:t of a gocd deal of comment, and the matter found its way into Home newspapers, a paragraph obcut the matter appearing in the Yorkshire Weekly Pcefc of date May 30, 1891. Tha inquest had the effect of causing one of the mothers of the children to withdraw her child from Mrs Dean's care, and since then the children have gradually deoreastd in numbers until a 6 the time of arrest there were only five children in tbs bonce, besides the young woman of 20 and the girl of IS already referred to. The former is usually away from home in the day time, and wes absent for about two months prior to Mrs Dean's arreat, and consequently knew nothing whatever of the two children whose bodies were found. A GOOD WOHD FOB TEB DKAH9. Those who have come a good deal in contact with Mrs Dean say that she always appeared to have an affectionate regard for the children in her care, and after the death of one of them she had a memorial card printed, which was framed 1 , and always stood on the mantelpiece in tha principal rcom of the house. The lines on tha card are said to be of her own composition, and read as follow: — "In loving memory of May Irene Dean, died October 10, 1889, aged nx months. To those who mourn her here below this consolation's siren : she's from a world of woe relieved, and blooms a rose in heaven." '" It may be mentioned that Mrs Dean received a premium of £30 with this child when it wag five weeks old. All of the children who were in her oharge at the time of her arreat are said to be well-mannered, and show awa of having had some religious training.