Strange Affair at Katikati

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume IV, Issue 1208, 24 December 1904, Page 3

Strange Affair at Katikati

h School Sensation

Thk extraordinary bohnviour of it couple of young lad ■•, aged six and Bight yours rcspndiveh, attending the public school a few miles beyond Atbcnree, bus caused tho teacher, Miss Chapman, no end of troublo and annoyance. Tiio incident oc curred hist Friday week, tho day on which the school was breaking up fur tho Christinas holidays. Tho children hud got to hear that tho teacher had sonic presents for the scholars, and thojtwo lads in question, arriving at an earlier hour than usual, made a raid on the school, extracting from n cupboard four penknives, a dozen or morenew rubber erasures, and a number of poncils. They secured sonro pens and pencils from the desks, and carried off about thirty painted maps. The maps were tho work «f the pupilduring tlm yi'i.r, and wore intended 10 be placed amongst the exhibit at thi. f iK \\\. coming Waiiii lndus'ii.il and i. iculinral Show. The keys of the cupi i :' were also <. a iii-ri-.*.i I,l'f. ,he iund ■

of the clock m\ \hv school-room f»i*tifr:>r,s «-■ m .1 sv.io of disorder. Upon tin- u.-ww making ih:. discovery .die q:.t'.-■ion.al the lad*. A-, fIVHt t'lf'V denied ;ill knimiwl;;,; ol ilio ■ilV'tir, bin liitftr, when one of the missing maps was foiiii'.l, the bnys owned 'o hav'ng kko:i tin' i'.iticlrs. Mis.s Chapiimn b-rjiifii ol the culprits to tell her what ihcy hud June wim the things, mid where they hud put them, but nil to no purpose biie then caned thoiu, mul at intervals during the morning repented the punishment. But still ilioy refused to give any information as lo the missing articles, Sho then threatened to send for a policeman, but this failed to intimidate thorn, Tho teacher, in dosporation, re. sorted 10 the cold water process. Seizing one of the lada by lib ankles, she turned him upside down, and, suspending him over a bucket of wuor, plunged his hoad into it. This experiment was repeated time and again, but the choking, apluttering Id still remained obstinate. Thus tho whole morning was occupied in thrnsiiig, ducking and threatening. At last tho six-year-old said he would take the teacher to the plico whoro the things woro hidden. Much relieved, the teacher and tho boy started off. He led her through ti-tre'e scrub for half a mile, idling her that they had taken (he things ut long way from iho school. At last, becoming impatient, the tenchor questioned him, when he said "it was not thu place at all." Tho feelings of llm lady can bo bolter 'imagined than described. Tho elder boy madu a similar oiler, giving overy assurance bo w.mld go straight to the place where tho things had been hidden, After tramping some distuneo ho gave much tho. samo reply as his broiher, lleainvhllo Miss Chapman h.ul organised tho wholo school into a search party, and thoy sonrched diligent'y all over the school grounds and amongst tho titrce scrub round about, but nothing was found. From 9 o'clock in tho morning till 5 o'clock in tho (ivoning tho unfortunate teacher was engaged with ibeso two boys in tho vain endotivour to recover tho missing property, Needless tj say, die mother of the children also administered severo thrashings, but with no bolter results than those of tbe teacher's, The following day the boys uppearod at Court before Mr G. Vesey Scwiut, J,l\ but they still refuao'l to givo any information, and were put in tho lock up, and kept there till 8 o'clock that night, Mr Stewart thereupon decided to appeal to Colonel lloboris, resident magistrate at T.uiranga, to see what could bo done with the iucorrigibles.