MARTHA TAINUI AGAIN.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 January 1916, Page 7

MARTHA TAINUI AGAIN.

THREE BUSY DAYS OP ÜBEXTY. Christchurch, December 29. Martha Tainui is a half-caste lady, well known to the police in Taranaki as well as in other parts of the Dominion. Her weakness is a love of display, but it has brought with it much trouble. Her first conviction dates back to 1888, and at last she was declared an habitual criminal. For some strange reason the Prison Board gave Martha her liberty on Christmas Eve, and she retained it for three days. This time she seems to have enjoyed her Christmas very well, although she does not seem to have gathered in quite as much cash as usual. The people who helped her to taste the good things of life on Christmas Day draw a veil over the incidents, but there ar e whispers of enjoyment at the expense of certain people who spell Society with a very large On Sunday she descended upon a fashionable hotel, signed "Miss Burnett" in the visitors' book, and explained that she was the daughter of Mr. Burnett, former Mayor of Dunedin, and sister of Mrs. Dalgety. The hotelkeeper was dubious, but he noted that his visitor was fashionably attired. She stayed there for the night. By morning, however, the hotelkeeper's suspicions had been deepened, and Martha was persuaded that there would not be room for her for another night. Martha evidently then drifted round the city, spinning various tales and meeting with varying fortunes. One taxi-driver bewails the fact that she had quite a nice drive at his expense. She tried to buy a motor-car, and get a trial trip in the car to Dnnedin, but the motor salesman decided that "Miss McDonald" could go without that particular car. It also appears that she displayed a great deal of interest in the Christmas race meetings. Yesterday morning Martha had breakfast at the expense of a hotelkeeper, to whom she told a wondrous tale of rich relations and motor-cars. A little later, however, a detective appeared on the scene, and after Martha had struggled a little and had taken some of the skin off the detective's face she went back to the cells.