Sequel to an Elopement

Feilding Star, Volume XII, Issue 115, 21 March 1891, Page 4

Sequel to an Elopement

• ■• A case involving somewhat peculiar •circumstances was. dealt lately; in ihV Sydney Supreme^ Court. , A man d'n'aniedArthur Nightingale sought to c^obtain a writ of ha b'e'aa corpus to com jpel Joseph Lawier and his wife r to ydehver up his ,- daughter, "^•Jessie Sinclair ..Nightingale, a child ; ,=aged six years. 7 Tbe, facts set out an JSLrs Lawler's affidavit" went to show -that in May or Juue, 1889, two per•s*ißonß': representing" themselves as Mr "•and Mrs Watson, rented a house from - - *her- husband, ( • and, desiring subse■quently tooproceed to Adelaide, Mrs -Watson arranged to leave her r«(i\ughter-Jesßie'-with-' -Mrs- Lawier for oy&aree months 'for, £6, -V which amount r?"was paid-in >advarice. 'She-next heard A'otthe Watsons dn-om* -Johannesberg, ASouth Africa^ and ..in an^early com•tuuuication chey enclosed £7- 10s as an dA3dditionan*cimtFibufeion -to the main- .— '■ teiiau.oe of tlhe. child. .ySince 'then, ; Although several letters were received, V>no fuithei* remittance -had been for■"warded. In January last the .present Aa'pplicantcalled' upon theDawlers and ; -informed them 1 that th'e;child was his, ° «aWddthat" afaout Vtwq years ago . his '■wife eloped from dCooktbw'n with Wat--^son, r who was -a-barber, -and -that : he d -Jh^d -since been spending all his time ~fandihuch of' his" means in searching daughter. ? -He ; asserted that vthe v Lawlers"ihad refused to give the ■ child to him,— but this they denied, .^nd-statedythatrwhenr applicant called 'upon them a promise was made in his behalf thatthe -would -furnish an -affidavit to assure them of his bona :fides, and "als6_pay the arrears due fpr • -the girl's r board and ; lodging. His /Honor ordered the .child to be given yiijAto the parent, , hut allowed no <cWts, as he considered, that respond- • -ren is Were not to. blame, and applicant <dwaa hot sufficiently to blame to "justify >hun in ordering;. him to pay the costs. transfer pf the child ih the vesti--V Ii vie bf the ' court was ~ not affected -without considerable difficulty, but 'the order was" eventually obeyed. — llJunedin Star.