CHILD CRUELLY HANDLED.

Colonist, Volume LVIII, Issue 14364, 16 March 1917, Page 7

CHILD CRUELLY HANDLED.

A GIRL ARRESTED.

NO POSSIBLE MOTIVE

Late on Saturday afternoon a searchparty founds a little gird, -2f years old . named Edith Margaret Asher, in the bush, above North-east Valley (says Monday's Dunedin "Star")- She had •been so shockingly disfigured by blows ■that her father—Mr. Asher, of Crown street, Northeast Valley—failed at first to recognise her. Her head was bleeding, her hair had been cut offj-;her* neck was discoloured in a way that suggested an attempt to strangle her; and every circumstance indicated that a cruel and malignant attack had -bowi | made upon the little girl. The story | ttlueh was afterwards pieced together by the. police, and which led to the arrest of Martha Graham, a girl of 10 years, seems to indicate'that the attack was entirely without meaning- or motive, though abhorrently brutal. It seems that the child was playing with other children in, the early part of the afternoon, and then disappeared. One of her little companions had ;seen her led away by an older girl (not of the party) in the direction of the'bush ° T n Caskie's Hill, overlooking Glenaven. With this information, Mr. Asher and a party of neighbours set out to search. the locality, but it was not Until 5.30 p.m. that they heard the crying of tlie child, and. came upon the scene of her mishandling. Close to the - spot a length of rope was found. She was taken home at once, and examined ijyDrs. De Lautour and Evans, who found that her injuries, consisting largely of abrasions and bruises, were^very extensive.

The same evening the story was communicated to Constable M'Entee, whose prompt inquiry elicited the fact that, the girl who was seen leading the child away—a girl apparently quite unknown to her—had later been - seen hurrying hack down the hill. On Sunday afternoon accordingly Sergeant Thomson and Constable M'Ouilty 'proceeded' to the house of Mi\ S. R. Stedman, at Gleniroy, North-east Valley, and arrested the girl Graham, who was employed there as domestic servant. Her parents live at Clive, Hawke's Bay, and she had been in both the Wellington and Caversham Industrial Schools." " was from the latter institution that Mr. Stedman engaged her some three months ago. He states that she Jiad been particularly good with the children. The Saturday previous she had taken them blaekberrying in the locality, aud had obtained leave to go herself on a similar mission on Saturday last. _

On Monday accused was charged With: having assaulted Edith Margaret Asher solas' to cause actual bodily harm. ■ - Sub-im=pcctvr Mathiesoii asked -for a remand for a week to enable the girl to be placed under medical observation. There was a question as to her mental condition. No motive could be found for her conduct.

She was accordingly remanded for seven da;r=s.