Assaulting a Schoolmaster.

Patea Mail, 16 September 1880, Page 3

Assaulting a Schoolmaster.

WEISS v, M'LOUGEL IN. At the Patea Court on Tuesday, befo C. A. Wray, R.M., Dr Croft, IL S. Pcacoc and J. W. Kenah, J.P’s, a case of allcgi 1 assault on the master at Whemiaku 3 school was heard. The summons allcg( - that Hugh M’Loughlin, of Whenuakur t did unlawfully assault and beat Williai Lyon Weiss on the Istinstant. Dcfendai pleaded not guilty. Mr Hamerton a| peared for comjtlainant, Mr Ward for d | fondant. W. L. Weiss deposed : I am master i the Whenuakura, school, 1 have been schoolmaster 12 years. On Wednesday the Ist instant, defendant came to tli school about half-past five in the afternooi His daughter had left the school grounc I was leaving the school-room with 1 parcel of books, when the defendant cam 1 in at the gate with his coat off and hi lists clenched. He was running, an looked exceedingly wild, I stood waiting and heard him muttering something witi reference to keeping in his child am hammering her. He began a furious on slaught. First he knocked me down scattering the books and papers, and con tinning to utter words—abusive, I may say I rose to my feet and tried to expostulati with him, but in vain. He would hoar m words of explanation. He had rushed on mi without asking for any explanation After I got up he continued the attack bitting me over the head and body will; his clenched fists, kicking me repeatedly on all parts of the body, tearing my coal about 18 inches (showing the rent ii coat). I tried to defend myself, bul struck no blow, neither did I use any words of abuse. During a pause in the attack I saw him glance round ; and he said when leaving that he wished he had had a stick and he would have beaten me, One term he used was, he called me a lunatic. He went away 7 then without asking explanation. The child had not had time to report to her father before he reached the school. I have still marks remaining on me. There is a mark on my left knee caused by 7 his boot. He cut me on the right wrist, which was bleeding when he loft. I was bruised on several parts of the head, which was exceedingly tender for several days. I felt considerable stiffness in the leg, with a kick. I suffered a dazed feeling on my head during all the next day 7 , being unable to concentrate my mind on the work. Cross-examined by Mr Ward ; How many times have you been complainant in similar cases to this for assults since you became a schoolmaster ? Witness : Never. How long have you been a teacher ? Witness: About twelve y 7 ears. I am not a certified teacher. What was the first complaint that was made against your authority in this school ? Witness : Am 1 bound to answer questions of this kind V Mr Ward ; Next Friday an assault case is to be heard by the parent of this girl against the schoolmaster, in which the whole of these proceedings would come out. 1 must, however, bring out something now, though I don’t think the bench would deal with the ease at present until the other case is heard. Mr Wray: We have informed Mr Hamerton that we could give no decision in this case until the other is heard. Mr Ward ; I have 15 or 20 witnesses who are not here to-day, but will be here on Friday. Mr Hamerton : I was asked on Saturday to grant an adjournment, but the information being laid, 1 had no right to adjourn without the consent of the Court. Mr Ward (to witness) : Have y 7 ou made a complaint against any 7 parent for an assault? It is no use fencing with me. Witness : I am not fencing. I am quite aware of your policy. You wish to brow-beat me. On Saturday last this gentleman called me aside. Mr Ward: I appeal to the Court simply to have my 7 questions put, and if they 7 are irregular the Court can put mo down. Witness: Just after supper on Saturday the counsel for the defence met me, and after speaking suavely 7 for some time as to putting off the case, I heard what he had to say and then told him that by the advice of ray counsel I could not consent to an adjournment. Whereupon he immediately turned and said “ Very well, then : up to this I had intended to make it pretty easy 7 , but now don’t be surprised if I make it pretty rough for you. Mr Wray 7 : I don’t think we need to go into conversations outside. Mr Ward: It is very 7 likely it will be so.

Witness : Your worships will see he is endeavouring to cast insinuations upon me. Mr Ward : I want to satisfy the bench, not me especially. Do not fence the mat3re ter. How often, if ever, have you ], appeared in a court for an assault case? J Witness : I answered that question ira before'ed Wi'W : Answer it again. Witness : Never. Id* . un Mr Ward : How often have complaints t been lodged against you for maltreatment of scholars under your charge V I Witness : It would be a rather hard thing to go over twelve years’ experience. Suppose there are 50, or suppose there are 100 complaints against you. a Witness : Well perhaps two or three at the outside. How many years since the first ? Witness : It is veiy difficult to go over twelve years. a Well, we will bring you clown to modern times. Do you remember Alice Keith. iis * Witness : Yes. I don’t remember an}' complaint with regard to her. *?’ Do you remember Mary Gowland ? th Witness : Yes. Do you remember any complaint with reu" gard to her ? n > Witness : For maltreatment, no. [1 * I simply ask, any complaint ? Witness : As regards complaints, there arc myriads all through a schoolmaster’s 10 career. I fancy there was something 1C said in that case about leaving the school 1> about three o’clock, Do you know anything about Hawkins’ 8 hj children ? y Witness : I have had complaints with lt regard to them. II Do you know Mr Hawkins ? ,t; Witness : Yes. y You are not frightened of him, I supc pose—he is a good strong man ? e Witness : I can’t say I feel any particular fear of him. 3 ‘ Did he make any threat to you ? a Witness : Yes, on one occasion ho lfc threatened me. 'k Just enlighten the Court about that c episode. Witness ; 1 struck his child, in the exei. ’ cution of my duty. In fact .1 boxed his ’ car ; and the father visited me after, and used threatening language. s Did you see him again ? ’ Witness : .1 frequently meet him on the * road and have been in his hotel. 1 Do you recollect his wife saying she 1 would give you a thrashing for the way 3 you treated her children. Witness : No ; If she swears that she ; must be laboring under a hallucination. ' Who is William Mercer? t Witness : Ho is a pupil of mine. i ' Tell the Court how you dealt with him | recently. I believe you had some dis- ( turbance with regard to him, —anything ( crooked ? ( L Witness : His mother wrote me a letter j once about striking her child, but that was . simply a falsehood. , i Do you recollect breaking a slate over , the head of M’Kiltrick’s boy ? Witness : No. How often did you use to thrash , these scholars ? You know a celebrated , doctor used to thrash his scholars all the t year round. How often do you thrash them ? <- Witncss : When 1 consider it my duty j to do so. \ And was that ten times a day or twenty ? Witness : Whenever it was necessary. f Is it in accordance with modern ideas N that thrashing in public schools should be resorted to ? I Witness : I believe it is in all public schools. g Mr Ward : I should like that taken ( down. Where did you come from before taking the Whcnuakura school ? i Witness : From Normanby, c Jell the Court why you left Normanby V t Witness : Because the Patoa Education Board thought fit to send me here. t Did they find any fault with you ? Witness : No fault was ever signified to me. ( Were you ever accused of dragging one of Sheehan’s children by the hair of its , head. t Witness ; Never. Is it a fact that parents have accused you of beating children, over and over again, without a cause, and that you feel 1 very much aggrieved at it being found 1 out ? * Witness : No, most decidedly it is not a fact. If parents come forward and say c so they will not be telling the truth. 1 Have you any preference to any religion } ; in this school ? \ Witness : Ours is a secular system. Will you explain to the Court what you t mean by secular system ? Witness : I am not a lexicographer. I

3 I According to your own lights, what is . the meaning of it ? , Witness : I must ask the Bench whether ■ that is part of what I have to answer V i Mr Ward : I want to see what the animus of this witness is. i Mr Wray : The religious question has nothing whatever to do with this matter. Mr Ward : Is it that yon cannot define the secular system, or do you decline to i do it y ; Witness : If the Bench tolls me it is my duty, I will do it. Mr Wray : Secular is pretty well understood - Mr Ward : This will go much farther next Friday, It is not well enough to try and bluff me olf. That will do. lic-cxamincd by Mr Hamorton, the witness said : It is with the greatest reluctance I use corporal punishment, but there is no other way. It is a painful dut}'. I don’t personally approve of it. I beat the defendant’s girl with a short flat stick, which is now in Court, and which weighs just an ounce, and this is the only instrument I used against the girl. Mr Wray : How did you strike her ? Witness : With the flat side of the stick on the palm of the hand, and I should say not more than two blows on the shoulder also. Mr Hamerton : What was your object ? Witness : To get the girl to exert herself to do the work which I wanted done. Any reasonable person would have called them taps. They were more intended to rouse the girl to energy than anything else. She was crying before I struck her, and she continued to cry. She frequently cries without being struck. When I said I had never been complained against, I meant I had never appeared in any Court for assault. I have never been in any judicial proceedings concerning school affairs since I became a teacher. I have repeatedly whipped both M’Loughlin’s children. They still attend my school. I keep no cane in the school, because I try to do without corporal punishment as much as I can. I have used that small stick and sometimes fern-stalk ; also a piece of deal board, 12 inches long and about 2 or 3 inches wide. Uf course a man varies his stroke according to the weapon he uses. When I whipped this girl, I did not stand up, but sal the whole time. Mr Mercer still sends his children to the school ; Mr M’ivittrick’s and Mr Hawkins’s children also continue to attend. Mr Hawkins said ho did not object to his children being whipped, but ho did not approve of the cars being boxed. If any parent sent me a letter stating that he did not wish to have his children whipped or kept in, I should not do either. But there is a responsibility on a teacher to , bring children up to a certain mark by a certain day for examination. Teaching a , child is like taking a horse to water; you can’t make it drink ; and punishment is unfortunately a means to do that. Mr Ken ah : Is it not possible to administer corporal punishment to a child without striking it on the head ? Witness : Certainly.

Mr Kcnah : I as a fanner know somewhat of the treatment of animals, and it s considered that wc should not strike animals on the head. Witness : 1 think it is not advisable to strike children on the head ; but in the, public school 1 attended, the headmaster who was a doctor of divinity, allowed the younger boys to be struck on the cheek as many as six strokes, administered with the hand. Mr Kcnah ; That was probably a long time ago. Mr Hamerton then called one of the school children, the daughter of defendant, to corroborate the alleged assault. Mary M'Loughlin, 8 years old (who did not understand the nature of an oath), deposed : My father went to school on this night. Mr Hamerton ; Did you sec anything take place between your father and Mr Weiss ? Witness: No. 1 stayed at the gate (beginningto cry). Mr Hamerton: There, she is saying what she has been told, and is beginning to cry. Was the gate open ? Witness ; Yes. How long did your father slay ? Witness : Not very long; a few minutes. I could sec the school. My father stayed in front of the school. How do you know he stayed in front of the school ? Witness: I could sec his hat, and Mr Weiss’s hat; both on their heads. They were standing all the time. Are you sure they both stood all the time ? Witness: Yes. 1 hoard father speak, but could not hear what he said. 1 did

not hear Mr Weiss. My father was pretty cross. It is what he said that makes me think ho was cross. I did not see my father all the time. Mr Wray ; The child’s evidence does not seem material. Mr Hamerton : Very well. Mr Wray : As to a number of witnesses being brought for the defence, we cannot go into any other matter than that of the assault. Mr Hamerton : It is useless to go on with this witness. She has evidently been prepared before coming here. Mr Ward protested against such an imputation on the character of his client, Mr M'Loughlin. Mr Hamerton : Then this is the whole of the evidence for tbc prosecution. The farther hearing was adjourned, by consent, till Tuesday next.