ALLEGED CHILD ABANDONMEIST

Otago Witness, Issue 3006, 25 October 1911, Page 31

ALLEGED CHILD ABANDONMEIST

EXTRAORDINARY CASE. (From Our Own Correspondent.) AUCKLAND, October 13. The story of a most extraordinary abandonment of a child was related at the Auckland Police Court to-day, when Louisa Williams was charged on remand before Mr E. C. Cutten, S.M., that on Monday she wilfully abandoned a child under the age of 14 years in such a manner as to cause it unnecessary suffering. Mr A. E. Skelton defended accused, who pleaded " Not guilty," and elected to be tried by a jury.Sergeant Ramsay said that about 6 p.m. on Monday he was standing in plain clothes at the corner of Wellesley and Hobson streets speaking to Mr Bass, licensee of the Prince Arthur Hotel. He noticed the accused with a little child coming up Wellesley street West. She had her child by the right hand, and when she got within a few yards of witness and Mr Bass she rushed over in an excited manner, and addressed Mr Bass. " Take your child," she said to him, swinging the child over towards him, and ran down Wellesley street. The child fell heavily, its head hitting witness on the foot. The child was not hurt, but was crying. Witness got two boys to take the child to the police station. To Mr Skelton: The woman was excited and ran away. She was down by Albert street when he picked the child up. The age of the child was two years. .Fred Charles Bass corroborated the evidence of the previous witness as to the abandoning of the child. He saw the accused going down Hobson street a few minutes previous to the incident.' He had known the woman for seven or eight years. She had alleged that he was the father of the child, and he denied the allegation. She had instituted proceedings in the court for the maintenance of this child, and he was defending them. To Mr Skelton: The proceedings had been before the court on several occasions, and had been adjourned without any result being reached. During the time he had known the accused he was chief steward on the Union Company's steamer Tofua.

In reply to his Worship, Mr Skelton said that his questions were directed to showing that in the state of relations between the parties there was not abandonment such as would cause the child unnecessary suffering. He wanted to ask questions dealing with the relations of the parties in Tonga. His Worship said that he would disallow questions of that sort. Continuing, the witness said he knew that the woman was in 1908 a married woman with some children, living with her husband in Tonga. He did not know that she and her husband did not live on good terms, and could not say whether or not she was very much attached to her children. He did not know the children, and would not know them if he saw them. On the 2nd inst. he received a letter from accused which was something like one read by counsel, in which accused asked hdm to help hex to keep the child. When the child was left on' Monday afternoon he did not notice anything strange about the woman.

Jack Davies (nine years of age) said that iSergeant Ramsay gave him and another lad the little child to take up to the. police station. When they got to Queen street the accused came and took

the child away from them. Oorstable Watson was there. Constable Watson said that when the boys came along he was talking to Mrs Williams, who told him what she had done. When she saw the child she said " That's my child," and wanted to take the child hack to the Prince Arthur Hotel. He told her it would be no use. and she had better look after it herself. She walked away, and on looking back he saw that she had left the child behind on the street whilst she was going away from it. She had been living, she said, at Newmarket. To Mr Skelton: The woman seemed distressed about the maintenance, and said she'was very fond of the child, but the father should keep it. He took the child to the police station, and later eaw the mother in Queen street. She said she was going to the police station to see the child. " Constable Bishop said that between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Monday Mrs Williams called at the police station, and asked to see the boy. She gave him the history of her action against Mr Baas. She said she did not consider she was abandoning the child, as she left him with his father. She said she would take the child back and leave it at the same place. Accused was committed to the Supreme Court for trial, bail being allowed in accused's own bond of £IOO and an approved surety of £IOO.