CANTERBURY. WIPE: BEATING.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 305, 21 September 1860, Page 3

CANTERBURY. WIPE : BEATING.

[From the Lyttelton Times.)

One of those revolting cases of brutal violence and cruelty committed by a husband on his wife, which so often disgrace the records of British' policecourts, was a short time since brought before the magistrates at vGhristchurch by the police. The defendant is (and ,we regret to state the fact) one of the very early Canterbury colonists. . For a period extending over the greater part of the past two years, James Hill has perpetrated upon his wife a series of acts of cruelty* which he brought to a close on the night of Sunday fortnight last, by abusing her in language too gross, for publication, by savagely striking her about the head with his fist, and finally by twice locking her out of the house after sundown, together with her baby, then only twenty-four days old. On this Sunday, most of our readers may remember, the weather was most inclement from 11 m the forenoon till 3 in the afternoon, the wind blowing from the south-west, with hail, rain, and sleet. At,nine p.m. it cleared, but the evening was bitterly cold and raw, the nigiit's frost as sharp and keen as any; that, has been felt during this unusually severs winter. Yet this: was the occasion selected by^ James Hill for driving out of the home he had sworn to provide for her 'insickness, in health; for better, for worse,' ah unoffending, all-enduring wife, who had barely passed through the third weekfrom the day of her confinement. And as if this act of gross inhumanity could hot be complete of itself, his helpless infant is turned out into the raw night air, when it should have been snugly, healed in its warm cot, surrounded by every care and comfort its father's

means could afford.' True it is, (that Hill afterwards admitted his wife into ,the house: but on the following day, without money, food, or clothes I other than they'had oh them, she was sent adrift with her baby. She sought and obtained, at the hands of a humane and charitable neighbor that' shelter and protection of which her husband had thus rudely and unlawfully deprived her arid her child. ••-- • •/■: .-^- "^ :•■■■'.■■■" -- : The conduct of the previous evening formed a befitting preparation for the Sabbath-day's performances. About six, p.m. on Saturday,. Hill returned home in liquor, threw his eldest child, a boy only eighteen months old, down on the flooi^ grossly abused his wife, set her hair on fire (let us hope accidentally), and then struck her three times with his fist under the ear. '; The,intervals of rest which this hapless wife enjoyed; from ruffianly persecution extended at best over a month' at a tune, often not more than three •days out of the seven. ' The eldest infant, too, has fallen in for his share of brutal ill-usage. This poor little creature, in the month of March or April, was taken up from bed, undressed, by his father, and thus exposed, at the age of about three months, was carried out at midnight to a creek near the house with threats of drowning him. Some of the other cruelties practised upon her, the disclosure of which seemed to be wrung with difficulty from Mrs. Hill during her examination were:— Turning her out of doors last winter in her night dress at three o'clock in the morning, and in this state keeping her shivering outside in a sharp frost for the full space of an. hour, till her increasing importunities at last wearied her husband, as the widow's did the.unjust judge, into seeking rest from/her cries, by allowing her to re-enter the house.;?<& a. - Agaih/'vHieh nursing her eldest child, this un-' feeling ruffian pinched his wife's breast so cruelly: that it bled, and the marks of his violence remained there still to within two months of the day when her second baby was born. So that for twelve months this much abused woman bore on her person,the undeniable evidence of this act of malicious cruelty. We.vouch for these facts as detailed in the evidence, of which we can only spare room this week for a summary. r Not a word of complaint was uttered against this unfortunate victim of her husband's brutal temper and drunken habits. It was neither asserted that she was a slattern nor lazy, nor addicted to the free use of a sharp tongue: on the contrary, it was showp that her conduct was orderly and respectable, her household duties performed with attention and regularity; that she was quiet, dutiful, and submissive. The recital of this poor woman's wrongs made the listeners' blood boil with indignation, and with an almost irresistible desire to lay hands on her unmanly torturerand subject him to a taste of the path he had been in the habit of inflicting. Had any brother, roused by a righteous anger to retaliate on Hill's person the injuries offered to his sister, been called to answer before the proper tribunal for usurping its functions in personally, redressing his own grievances, we are convinced that the smallness of the fine inflicted would have pronounced that the provocation was greater than could be reasonably borne,: although it would have been necessary to vindicate the supremacy of the law. How the Resident Magistrate could have stopped short at the infliction of a fine of only £5 in this case, we are utterly at a loss to conceive. If ever a month's imprisonmentwith hard labor was richly deserved by any man, that punishment was due to defendant. It may indeed be said that the actual charge against him was only, one of assault on the particular Sunday, and that .other grosser acts of violence imported into the history of the case could only be held to support the demand for having him bound over to keep the Queen's peace. In strictest law this may be perfectly correct. ; Still there stands the fact: the power of imprisoning/was not exercised. We most certainly think it should have been, when the Magistrate stated that he inflicted the highest pecuniary fine, and regretted that he could not make a heavier one. .../.■ .■-. No; doubt if the law of New Zealand pnly permits ji fine of £5 in such instances of violence las the pne now brought prominently- under notice, it must )>e quite insufficient to prevent their frequent occurrence, and to deter men of brutal dispositions from giving unrestained play to their taste and capacity for inflicting bodily pain on those who are entitled to their protection and kind treatment. We know well that for one such case a wife will bring to light against her husband, fifty will be kept secret; Even the defendant Hill would not i have been brought to justice by his wife; His conduct only came by chance to the ears of a neighboring Magistrate, who very properly ordered the to enquire into it, and take pro- | ceedihgs against him if necessary. But let there be only once held up in terrorem the fear of a £20 fine, dr of a six months' imprisonment such as the law of England authorises, for every fifty cases. which now occur, perhaps not ten would be then revealed. , Not: many years ago in England, the repeated publication of charges proved against men for savage ill-treatment of women and children created so strong a sensation that it was at last taken up by Parliament, and an act was brought in and passed, which very soon had the intended effect of greatly reducing the number of charges. Those who could only be appealed to through their feelings as brutes, and in no way through their kindly sympathies as reasonable human beings, soon found the difference between the old law of fine and the new one 9f imprisonment, and at length contrived to exercise a control over their disposition for aggression, which they could not. be compelled to do before. We sincerely trust that the necessary alteration in the existing law, which seems so deficient, will before long be effected. We cannot, however, indulge the hope of much from a legislature engrossed as ours .must ba with a study of the arts of war to the exclusion in great part of those of peace and social order. Were we here in the full enjoyment of the legitimate advantages of representative government, it would not be difficult to^ attract public opinion, anddireetly interest it in claiminganearlyamendraentofthelaw. Asitis, andas we before had occasion to observe, the Government and Legislature are sitting at such a distance that public opinion cannot be brought to bear upon them .with its due weight and authority. We must therefore be content to wait in patience till some unheard of outrage at Auckland, by a lucky accident for the weak and unprotected, forces the question jinto notice, and brings it to a practical solution by the General Assembly* .' : ThbJ Railway.—We have much pleasure in being able to state that intelligence from a reliable source has been received through the medium of a private letter addressed to a gentleman in this province, that the Duke of Newcastle (Secretary of State for the Colonies) has given the Governor free permission, if he thinks fit, to assent to a Loan Bill for any amount necessary. As we already have reason to believe that his Excellency is in no way opposed to the scheme, and that the members of the two houses are likely to be compliant, we may, with every show of reason, consider the Lyttelton and Christchurch Railway in a fair way to be launched into existence. Notwithstanding the uncertain state of the weather on Tuesday last, the ball in aid of the Taranaki Fund came off with great spirit. The evening, fortunately, was fine, and rewarded those who had made* up their mmdsto iome despite the inauspicious promise of the morning. The Hall was tastefully decorated, and the arrangements very good and well, carried out,'owing to the indefatigable exertions of the Secretary, Mr. Ollivier, who deserves great credit for the preparations made under his Superintendence. We aie glad to congratulate the promoters of this, ball on the success of the main object in viewj namely, the collection of a considerable sura of money to be added to the amount already subscribed in aid of the Taranaki Fund; and although the amount ot tickets sold gave promise of a large attendance, the number of people who"actually came were quite sufficient to ;

Irouder the dancing pleasant, and the room not overqrowded. The only drawback to the evening and to the dancing reaching perfection, proved: to be • (lie dust, which we are. arc informed was an evil 'winch could not be prevented, as it was feared that if the floor was washed, as has been usually done, the damp state of the weather .would not have allowed of its drying in ' time for the ball. The dancing continued until two in 4he morning, Mr, Button's programme being entirely worked out, affording thereby a proof that the company were well satisfied with this part of the arrangements. The performance of the band showed a marked improvement in their dance music- Some pieces were very creditably executed, but at the same time there is a good field for advance towards the attainment of that precision which renders the dance a pleasure instead of a toil; The supper was provided, by several contributors, as well as the wine, and the lighting of the Hall was also supplied by private liberality. We hope-in a future issue to be able to furnish the particulars if ! the number of tickets soldand the amount collected; which will prove a handsome addition to the Relief I Fund. ; , The little church in the Heathcote Valley has been opened for Divine Service, the building being sufficiently' advanced to allow of the congregation meeting, though there is much yet to be done before it can ba consecrated. The church is an unpr3tehding wooden structure, simple in its design and pleasing in its effect. We believe it is a copy of the little church af St. Lawrence, Bonchurch, lale of Wight, and is likely to prove, when finished, Very suitable both in appearance and capability to the wants of the inhabitants of the valley. The means for its erection have been contributed partly from the Church funds and partly from the liberality of the landholders inhabitants of ~the vicinity, many of. whom have spared p# -trouble to further "the cause. It iia.s also* received assistance from some upon\vhom it had. no local claim. The Rev. H.-Fendall^ the incumbent of the Lower Heathcote District^ performed i the service, alluding to the event of the opening; in a very excellent and suitable discourse. A comparatively large congregation was present, and a satisfactory collection was made in aid of the building fund. When we reflect that this valley is the first object that meets the eager glance of every : new comer on reaching the summit of the Bridle i Path, it is pleasing to know that before long {he eye will be gladdened with an object that <vili re- \ call the better part of their home recollections, and prove that the land of their adoption, while holding out a sure promise ot comfort and plenty in material things, is not a place where their souls will be suffered to perish for lack of food.

The Weather.—We have again been visited with some days of severe weather, such: as has not been before experienced by the oldest settler. On Sunday last a little after noon, the rain commenced to fall heavily, and continued, to do so for more than 40 hours. During a considerable part of this time a heavy gale accompanied the deluge of rain. Every river, rivulet ana gulley was filled with water, and much of the flax and low land was overflowed. The sides of the rivers are in some places undermined by the current, and parts washed away. The rain driven by the wind penetrated into many of our temporary boarded houses, and rendered them for the time uninhabitable for residence, and in some cases the water descended the chimneys and extinguishing the fires, rendered cooking impossible. Considerable injury was also sustained by various persons, among •others, Mr. Greengoe, the brickmaker, suffered very much from the flood; having had 25,000 raw bricks placed.in the kiln ready for burning, entirely destroyed, the foundations of the kiln undermined and the building rendered useless. At the same time the heavy downfall of water has rendered us some compensation, in that it has cleansed our streets, and washed out our drains very effectually, and much to the advantage of our future oomfort an d health. — Standard.