EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF PSRSECUTION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2293, 10 February 1898, Page 24

EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF PSRSECUTION.

A PECULIAR CASE OF ASSAULT.

(From Oor Own Correspondent,) Wellikoton, February 7.

An extraordinary case has been engaging fche attention of the police and the people of an inland town in tko Wellington province for the paab few weeks. During a trip up the line to-day I was enabled fco get afc the facts of the case, which have so far not beea published. A girl, 22 years of age, who lives with her parent* in tha town referred to, some time ago became engaged to a baok clerk in Wellingioa. There is a rue in tha bank, however, that clerks are not allowed to marry bill they are in receipt of a certain salary, f\nd the income of the clerk in question was not sufficient in the eyes of fche bank to permit of the marriage of the young couple. Such was fche position when shortly aftfcr the announcbuatnb of the engagement the young man and his fiances began to receive anonymous letters, making t-he mos£ grave and startling assertion? in regard to the latter. Several such letters were received, and oae day la.efc week t&ete fouud ibs way into the columns of the Wellington Evening Post a notice of the marriage of the young couple. This nofc'ce was very circumstantial in it 3 details, giving tho names of tha alleged contracting parties, tha name of the minister, aud tha date of the ceremony. The date mentioned, too, was a holiday, when moat of the townspeople were away, so that though no one saw tbe wedding it was not impoßsib>le thafc ie had takea place. Tha notice, however, turned out

fco be a puce fntiricatioo, and the Post, on receipt of a letter from the father of the girl, htd fco apoiogi-se, aud exp'aiu that, the uouico was incorrect. A few .iayn after this a birth notice and a notice of the death of the ailegtd mother appeared iv fche Fe'ldsng Star. The death notice gave Ihe age of tbe ycui'g woman as 22. This notice Che father again promptly denied. Then two more anonymous letters were senb, intimating that; fche writer had failed iv these tactic-;, but that rio-T personal violence would be resorted to. The day after fche leceipfc of one of thtse letters, the girl waa sitting io an outhouse plucking » fowl, whfra autidsnly the inmates heaifd a startling scream, and on ru&hi»g oat found the girl lyiog on tbe floor covered with dirty Foapy water from a boiler, just behind where she waa sitting, and her hair, which she had nob put up, bui was wearing in a plait, t»arf eus off. The girl's sbory w&s thfcb someone raaafc have eoois behind her, and thrown a dipper full of soapy waiter in her face, partially bliodiuKber. S4v* was then dragged aboufc by Mio hair, which her assailant uJtiatatoly cut off. The sc-veced plait of hair was found lyiug on the fijor. The poor girl haa since be^n very ill. The case i«s a. most extraordinary one, and there ate fll sorts of rumours and theories r^girding io flying about. A strange feature of fche affa.ir ia th'i facfc that she letters are in handwriting which strongly resembles ttw handwriting of the girl herself, and Miafc & younger sister write 3 ia a similar way. The matter ia .also causing the young banker much concern. Upou the naarritge uocico appearing in the Po3fc he was asked aboufc ifc and called upon to produce a cerfcifieafcw from the ruiukter mentioned to the effect that he had nob uat.rried the girl. This was, of c 'urse, readily procurable. Who ia the perpe^a^or of these dastardly aefcu aud with what ohject the persecution haa been iuslifcuted aro questions that are puzzling everyone knowing the facto, and perhaps sooner or later they will he elucidated by the police, who now have the matter in h<«id.