A PITIFUL CASE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 30, 29 July 1911, Page 2

A PITIFUL CASE.

NEGLECTED CHILDREN. SHOCKING CONDITION OF A FAMILY. Christchurch, July 20. Mr. H. W. Bishop, S.M., has many sorry sights to witness from the magistrate's bench, hut a case which came before him this afternoon was one of the most shocking and pitiable that has been dealt with in the local court. i Seven little girls and two boys were charged at the Juvenile Court with being not under proper control and dwelling with a vagrant. The ages of the children are fourteen, twelve, eleven, eight, six (twin's), three, and twins two years oi age. The father and mother, a pov-erty-stricken pair, appeared in court, and the mother had an infant at her breast. The children were bare-footed and illelad. and most of them shivered and cried in front of. the fire. Sub-Inspector McGrath said the surroundings in which the children lived were deplorable. His Worship said the father had a bad record. He had been convicted of vag- | rancy, theft, wilful damage, obslcene language and frequent breaches of prohibition orders. The father said he was a casual worker and earned about 15s a week. His "Worship: What religion are you? "I don't know," was the answer. " In reply to the Magistrate, the woman said she belonged to the faith of the Church of England. The father said he had to go out looking for casual work, and he had not been convicted of any serious offence since the children were born. His Worship: Your record is certainly against you. The father replied that he had given the best of his life to the, country, and had given his blood in his 1 younger days. The .country ought to help'him more. The Magistrate said it was a perfectly awful state of things that a. man should bring a large family into the worud and be unable to keep them. It would cost the country nearly £2OO a year to keep such a tribe. He had seen the conditions under which the family lived, having visited the house with the Mayor. The woman was decent and hard-working and was simply overburdened bv a weight of trouble, of which she should be relieved. The state of affairs he had witnessed was simply awful.

The father interjected that if the country would help him he could keep the children.

His Worship said that when ho was with the Mayor the scenes ho had witnessed were enough to break one's heart. There was no comfort, no decency, and no appearance of a home about the place. The bedding was simply a heap of filthy rags.

Sub-In>pector McCrath said that Sergeant Jackson had said the place was worse still now.

The woman at this stage said she would like to keep the twins and a child next to them, in addition to the baby. Sub-Inspector McOrath said there had been a lot of begging going on, and the children had been in it.

Addressing the mother his Worship fin id that she surely did not wish the children to grow up with records Tike that of their father. There was no room for them in the Christehurch Receiving Home, and they would be committed to the Caversham Industrial School, to be brought up in the Church of England faith. Tt would he a perfectly shocking example for him not to make an order against the father for maintenance, andho would make an order for 2s a week in respect of each child. The father said he was sixty vears old. ' ' His "Worship: And von have a child five months old! The police record shows that you were born in 1857, and that is probably correct. The children were taken away in the police van weeping copiously. Speaking to a reporter, the Rev. P. Rule. Presbyterian social service, agent, said the case was the worst that had come under his experience.