The Wairarapa Daily TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1889. Better Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 3341, 22 October 1889, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1889. Better Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

The Koyal assent lias been given to ■an Imperial Act under the above title. Under its operation little and defenceless children will be raised to a new and better position, and it will lie found that by the mere fact of the ; r residence on British soil they have acquired rights to which they have hitherto been strangers. The Act has in substance been divided into two parts, the first dealing with child treatment, and the second with child employment. The chief and most important alteration is that of the starting point whence the law can be set in motion, Hitherto, a child must have become chargeable to the parish before proceedings against its parents or guardians can bo taken, and must be shown to be of legitimate birth to render its father liublo for its proper maintenance By the new Act this is altered. To ill-treat, neglect, abandon, or expose a child renders the person doing it liable to a penalty of from three months' to two years' imprisonment, and also to a fino of from L 25 to LIOO, and any person, whether legitimate parent or not, having the custody or control of a child, is made responsible for its proper treatment. The age of child protection is made to correspond with that of child control, being fixed at fourteen for a boy and sixteen for a girl. If a child be found wandering, the court will, in addition to its committal to an industrial school, have the power to impose three months hard labor and a fine of L 25, upon those whose ill-treatment or neglect drove it from home. Where children have to be taken away from those who ill-treat them, the Court may, if it be the father who is in fault, place them under the solo custody of the mother, or, where no reliable relative is forthcoming, in the custody of uny person willing (o take the responsibility, and may order the. guilty parent to regularly contribute towards its maintenance in its new home. As regards employment the child beggar is not to be considered the guilty person. Without, as hitherto charging the child, the police may remove it to a place of safety and proceed against llic real offenders and may at once arrest anybody they see ill-treating a child or exposing it, or in any way indicting on it unnecessary suffering. If ho deem necessary lie may take the child to the hospital and charge the woman or custodian at the station, Injured children may be taken out of the custody of their injurers, pending hearing, and until the case is determined. All child hawkers are to be put under the local authorities, upon the understanding that it is not the little hawker who is liable, but the persons who profit by its operations. The uocessity of an oath is abolished, and a child will not be excluded from Court because it does not understand the nature of an oath. If this Act in all its bearings be faithfully carried out, it will work the emancipation of the little ones who have too long suffered cruelty (illfQllgji strict adhesion to the principle of ptt-ypntajgkiras and rights. This Act would seem'on flip face of it to bo a most beneficent measure, and one that we might copy with advantage in New Zealand. Still, there are one or two considerations which may deter us in this colony from following tlio excellont example set by the English Parliament, However needful a '* Better Prevention of Cruelty to Children" Act may be it is probable that a "better preyentio)) of kindness to children" Act is still raoio necessary. In this Britain of the sQuth the tendency is to kill children with MiVlsess. The annual consumption of sweet!),' for example, is somewhat appalling; and ijie juvenile of the period is, through tbe (larpl/ss good nature of his too affectionate parents, rapidly developed into a premature dyspeptic, If ft circus comes along, the over-fond parent tipgnds his last shilling to demoralise his offspring with a view of wild horses rushing round a ring at the rate of six miles an hour, and an effluvia of animalisod sawdust, As for costume, it is difficult ,at the \vorst of times to find in a Sunday's wall; an ill-dressed elijld. This being the case, there might be a companion measure to the English Act for "better prevention of kindnas'S to children," under which to ovor-indulgs, pamper, or coddle a child should render the person doing it liable to a penalty of from jfcliree months jo two /years imprisonment. We quite agree with tlio spirit of tiie jSjiglish Act, under which any person baling or .custody of a child should be lipid responsible for its proper treafjninii What that prope? treatment is the statute referred to does not specify, but wo believe King Solomon's definition caunot be improved upon.

In those modem days the progress of social legislation is from a sentimental point of view all that could be wished, but wo fear that tho practical outcome of it fy extremely doubtful, Messrs Lowes & lOrns add 12 twoycar old steers to their list for Wednesday next. The ordinary fortnightly meeting of tho Loyal Masterton Lodge taken placo this evening. Mr F. H. Wood adds to hia catalogue of stock for sale at Taratahi •several lines in cattle. Tenders are invited by the Wairarapa North County Council for bridge painting and road repairs, Eketahiuia to Tmui Road. Specifications may bo seen nt Mr Jones' Store, Eketahiuia. It was supposed a great mine containing noma Bix hundred pounds of gun cotton would bo exploded at Welli'iiccou to-day when General Edwards inspected tho Fort, but the operation will he postponed till General Schaw returns from Auckland. The mine has been laid six weeks. The opening of the boating season at Wellington will not take place lor nearly a month in consequence of both Clubs having to removo their sheds to now sites on account of the reclamation works.

General Strange has been very successful in obtaining orders for the Maxim gun, one uf which he took round the Australasian calonies in order to illustrate its powers. New South Wales takes 12, Victoria 10, Queensland 11), and iSow Zealand 1. At Tuam, County Gjlway, Ellen Reddington, a servant, went to bed with grease on her arm, which attracted the rats, and being a heavy sleeper, she was not roused till terribly mutilated. By the will of the late Mr Charles J, Eley, which has just been proved, the Cremation Society of England receives a legacy of 1200 duty free. Mr Eloy's remains were cremated at Working,

The Inmaii Hour City of Paris, which arrived jn Qneenstown on August 14th from New York, made the passage m live days 23 hours 28 minutes, This is the fastest on record, beating her previous famous passage by 14 minutes. The following report was presented to the Masterton Road Board meeting on Saturday;—J have the honor to report for tho information of the board that tho late rains liavo scoured and deepened the Black Creek at Fernridgo, and it I will be necessary to erect a bridge over tho same during this summer or it will otherwiso he closed for winter traffic, bcin? at tho present time in a dangerous ! state. Woolf's contract at Mild Miki is nearly completed, and will be so in a few days, I would therefore recommend a chequo to be made out for the amount of the contract and held over until due completion of tho work.' Knpki is progressing natistactorily with his concontract on Mr Stuckey's Road, and will shortly ooiiiplute the same. Harold has nearly finished the leiiciug on tho Bluff Road, 1 would also recommend that a cheque be made out for the amount of the contract and paid over to him on duo completion of tho work. Tenders have been invited, and will close to-day, for the painting, etc, of the Wangaehu Bridge. The sum of i'l3 9s is in the hands of the North Wairarapa County Council with which to meet the expense. Wolf will make a start during the ensuing week at his contract for felling on ,'iorthcroft's Road.—l am. etc, M. MoKbmib, overseer.

There is at present on a visit to Auckland Mr H. J, Browne, of Melbourne, an old Victorian colonist of nearly forty years standing, and father-in-law to the Hon, Mr Deakin, Chief Secretary of Victoria. He is oil a tour to the old countrv after so long an interval, and to revisit the scenes of his youth, He leaves by the next mail steamer for San Francisco, and will lecture m the United •States whilo en route to England, Mr Browne is accompaniod by his wifo and family. He is a prolific writer, Among bis works published either in Australia or in London bsing " Rational Liberty," " Tho Religion of the future,"'' Holy Truth," "Conflict Between Authority and Reason," Atheism Philosophically Hofiited," and " The Grand Realities," Mr liroirno is a man in middlo life, a native of Edinburgh, and a son of the Hev. Arch. Browne, of the Established Church, of that city,

A country correspondent writos:-In theso days of Government retrachment ciii) nothing be donu to suppress the superfluous vital energy of that numerous class of officers, the district coroners. One-half the inquests held in the colony are quite unnecessary, and calculated only to harass the feeiiues of relatives and frionds. Very keen is the scent of thow officials for a dead body. Sam Slick relates how a travelling showman ■ in America was so harassed by tho coronors in every district he passed through who insisted on holding an inquest on an Egyptian mummy which lormed A portion of his show, that in self-defence bo had to sot rid of that inturestins relio. Seriously spoaking uoroner's inquests should only bo held at tho instance of tho pollco when they consider that the circumstances of the case warrant it. Exohango. Some people have peculiar ideas about fishing, inoro especially, of course, persons who have a love for the gcntlo art and therefore themselves practice it. On Saturday morning Install angler was whipping the Hutt stream and lost his cast just as a pedestrian had come over to him to piiaue tho extent « r his sport for the day. Quoth this one to the angler, as he espied the line with no bait or hooke on it—"Dear me! Is that how you catch trout?" evidently under the impressiou that the "spotted beauty" would "rise" at the end of a, bit of string. The angler did not tako the "rise" ojit of (lis questioner mat ho might. have dona, but explained tho position, "Ah!" said Petor Simple, "yes, you must loso a lot casta on the snags; now I should suggest, as a remedy for that, putting small piecos of cork on the hook points." Our angler was fairly startled at this novel idea, but, recivcring himself effusively thanked Peter Simple, and promised to keep the notion "steadily in view. 1 ' By this timu he had fixed up another pjwt and luid.recommenced fishing, and piwtifly 'honked what lie assured, liis simple friend in all good faith ho belioved .tu bo the champion trout of the season. For fully traity-livo to thirty minutes ho played that lish, and finally landed a nine pound eel. " God bless me," exclaimed his companion. "I had no Idea a trout was like that !" and hero our angler felt the time had oorao to play low down upon this simple minded'wai), fqriii uiilinokipi! tho eel, the slippery customer djsgorged a gopd sized trout. " Th!?.' ! said he to Fe'er Simple, holding tip the disgorged fish, "is the trout 1 was after and this (pointing to the col) is a pet eel I always havo with mo when fishing, having trained it to rotrieve, and without its assistance i should noyor ha l 'P landed that trout. Not a bad notion is it ? Almist as good as your bits of cork qn the jiouks, Yes!" and Peter Simple went homo to write to his brother in Lnglatd abjut trout fishiiijf in Now Zealand,—Press. All the new makes and colours in ribbons we have in profusion.' Wide nlihpns for nilllnory, the newest widths for neckwear, j)i /('qii-iij/ftt', fyllk, ml'm rfri/wf, moire driiid, ami jifopkc, and ip all t!|o new colours, such nfsuiiiion'i'wmih titscwi, «i|f dt nil,moms, vkiixroh\ser/ie«l,i!:e. Pongee sash ribbons, in. buttercup, terra cotta, cardinal, mosses, maroon, cream, reseda, gold, and white. Wide striped sashes, in colours to match dresses. Black moire sashes, and all tho fashionable colonrs in coloured moire sashes. Real torchon laces, new patterns; millinery laces, Swiss embroidered laces, arcophancs, crepes, tulles, itc. Ladies' leather belts, in black and art shades. Drsj;s buttons, in ivory and metal, to match every shiido i)f dress fabrics. Fashionable "Pirectoire'.'aud.''Lorraine" frontsi p]so, linen fronts, \vithouuVtb'hjatchya''deoided novelty,'at Te Aro House;' Wellington', ' \Vc have a very'grand essbrfihe'nt'of sunshades to show to the ladies of Wellington, and Wairarap'a, comprising'thc very latest I'ngyeltics" in liberty silk, in moss, yiciix ierra rpge%, cardinal, Ac,; shot, in reVgodd, grey, j)!jjy,'bi ; jjw|), ftp, The style generally approve,! i? a (jritcofu mqdiMiw of the HEn lout cijj" or ''Husband beater," Cull at To Aro House, WeUirigtpiwAm,

Wo publish in our amuaoment column the very esccllont propamine, arranged for the second of tho series of Volunteer Concerts to be held at the Theatre Royal on Friday next. Tho Wellington police aeserb thoy hara a clue to tho robWs of the Fraton R«l----way stutinii but anticipate some difficulty in securing a conviction as only notes and silver wero taken, We liavo received another communication from Mr J.'Vilo, ,!unr., on the subject of the Mauriceville Ranger, but as it coi'tains nothin? now on the matter, or of a genoral interest we have not given the letter publicity,

Messrs Lowea and lorns announce a general sale for Saturday next, They will also sell the privileges in connection with Masterton Agricultural and Pastoral Show comprising a publican's booth, a refreshment booth a fruit stall, and tho right of games, Another'caso of typhoid fever has broken out in Wellington, a child of ono of the domestics at tho Lodge at Government House being tho sufferer. This will have the effect of banishing the Governor and family from the Empiro City for a moie lengthened period. Mr George Friend has been appointed tutho office uf Clerk of tho House, vacated by Major Campbell's resignation. Ho was formally years chief assistant and Mr H. Ottoreon, Becond Clerk Assistant, succeeds to tho position hitherto held by Mr Friend, The Stewards of the Mauteitmi-Opaki Jockey Cluli, with the object of popularising their mooting liavo decided to reduce tho tariff at the gate to Is, and for horsemen to Is 6d. This will doubtless | induce a much larger attendance at. the Eaca meeting ai.d increase tho valuo of tho privileges and the Club will likely bo a gainer by its liboral movement. Good news trom Wellington, aud quite true, you can get a splendid harmonium from L 5, piano or organ from Llo, organ with divided octave touplars all in solid black walnut cases friin Ll7. This beats all the cheapest houses in town. Pianos tuned fov7s, or by.the year four visits LI, travelling expenses added; All kinds of musical instruments tuned, cleaned, and repaired, new reeds put in acenrdeans. Concertinas, harmoniums, and organs; also liberal exchanges made. Any instrument may bo purchased on the time payment system frnm'ij Cd per week. Call and exchange your old piano for a now one at F. ,1. Pinny's Musical Instrument Depot, Manners-street, Wellington. (Sole agent of the celebrated Worcester organs.)—adyt