MISS SUTHERLAND'S SIEGE

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 203, 21 May 1908, Page 5

MISS SUTHERLAND'S SIEGE

•According "to", tho'. accounts 'coiitalnedMn'-tho Australian . papers thu, .'trouk)lo at Alolbqurrio between Ai iss. SitthCrl.'i"i^, fteidcrsiiitl manager; of thoi\ : >;[ Gii:'kuon's Ron-es, y i cam-1 paign appears to fiato'bean con .Vi:lWd oa my spirited "■ lilies, particularly "i>/ .•.;.uss£ iijUici-' land.- ;.,Evory means .has, bciu ,tlic committee. to, ejeset; ilir.s.buthir'Sncl, uut' ail; had- 'proved. unsuccessful. However, n.:i nf■rangenujiit was linally. made that- .Shoywouk! vacato tlii> premises on Thursday; May, 8, and the. ladies . wero congratulating,/ thatchings' we'ro going''.to-end,satisfactorily after, all. . On tlio Saturday the new .matron 'and : her. assistants arrived, - and;took''posses-, sion s bf . things'. . A, fresh .outburst occurred, through Miss -Sutherland's taking exception to the action of the nihv■ matron .in interfering with tho mahagement of 'tho children at : tho Parkvillo Home before she . was .entitled ,t6 do :So.v The ■ nurses were ordered off tho r placo. at. the Latrobe Street Home also, and when- as a male/Teproscntativei-of the committee appeared' 1 to ,'remonstrate'with''. the , angry.-lady, *he ; was'. simply '.taken by -tho collar and:forcibly 'ejected with the.help of an assistant, considorably to his astonishment. . . AVhilo these .battles-were taking place at • Latrobo Street the Parkvillo Homo . had also beoh tho scene.- of trouble which -called for 1 polico intervention. AVhen tho now manageress, loft. Parkvillo'at' 7 ;o'clock . on Saturday evening sho left in charge of the ' promises .Miss M'Lean, ,'a • now sub-matron, and iliss'-yrbland, the teacher of thd'Statesupported school, at.which the children of the Homo are. educated/ Miss Sutherland; ; con- • sidering herself: to bo- in charge till the fol- . lowing Thursday; objetod to-.thoir.. presence, •'(and an'angry seeno, ensued, wliioh culminated ■ir. Miss Sutherland sending for Sergeant Costello, and ' asking. him. to cject the' young liidies. Tho sorgeant'was loth to use violence, ' and'tried to soofcho tho angry disputants,'but yet his blandishments failed', to. altor tho ..attitudo- of, Miss M'Lesin and Miss • Vroland. Shortly after 9 o'clock Miss M'Lean left- at the request of. Mrs. M'Callum, a. member of tho committee, who was present,, but Miss • Vroland stayed r until twonty minutes jto "one, wh'on. Mrs! Morgan returned, tho pdlico having in'tho njeiintimc paid threo visits, to tho house. , After that, tho house was placed, in a state of A chaincd and padlocked .Wte. Wked hy a double-locked door, faced

all visitors to the Latrobe Street Home, and no 0110 who was not a friend was allowed to onter. ■ /' On tho Thursday, according to her agreement; Miss Sutherland pcaecfully retired from tho Children's Homo at l'-arkville, and took up her quarters at tho receiving homo in Latrobo Street, wlicro she proposes to carry. on tho work in future. Most of tho children have gono 'with her, so that tho evacuation has 3iinply meant another triumph. During tho past few days (says a Mclbourno paper) Miss Sutherland has been engaged in removing her belongings, and three van-loads of furnituro were taken to. the receiving home; where sho proposes to carry on tho work in tho future. She stated that the Homo would afford "amplo accommodation for present requirements,.and that several ladies had como to her with offers of assistance, amongst tho number being some of tho members of tho society's committeo who had resigned. • Sho would, sho said, continuo to retain the services of tho staff Who had remained loyal to her., throughout the and did not anticipate any legal difficulties as far as.tho children were concerned."

When Miss Sutherland took her departure from .tho Parkvillo Homo tho newly-appointed matron (Mrs. Morgan) was left in charge, and several mcmhors of the committeo visited tho institution during fcho afternoon. Mrs. Hughes (vice-president) arid other ladies took tho Press representatives over tho Homo, with tho object of showing, them tho exact stato of affairs, and many of tho rcoms.certainly did present a barren appearance. An observation that tho ladies wero doubtless glad tho troublo was over drew forth tho reply that it had'" only jiist begun," and that the, committeo would havo to seriously consider tho position within tho next few " You see," remarked ono of tho ladies, ." tliero are only • thirty-five children left, and tliero wero 110 hero a few weeks ago.';- What has .become of them all?!' Then it will cost a. lot of money to refurnish the Horiie, awl wo are without .'funds. We want you to place; the .matter ibeforo tho public, in order that jaiir friendsvmay.rally to our assistance. It is a grand work that tyie society has been carrying on here, and it would bo a ,pity to see it languish."