FOURTH DAY.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4, 25 January 1906, Page 3

FOURTH DAY.

The inquiry into the charges made concerning the management of the Waltham Orphanage was resumed on Monday of last week before Mr. 11. W. Bishop S M Commissioner. ' '

The examination of Mr. Fnedlander was adjourned so as to enable Dr. Upham, late medical officer for thb Lhantable Aid Board, to be called Witness, in reply to Mr. Harper, stated that the Orphanage had been under his care, and he used to visit the institution frequently. He used to see the children often both in the Orphanage and in the streets, and he thought they were looked after very satisfactorily ■ they were fat and cheerful and smiling, and were well clad Ihe ailments they suffered from uere mostly H^J ? { }™ cri ts. He used to see Mrs. Carpenter with the children, and in his opinion she was a very good-natured and kind-hearted woman ; she was always very bright and cheerful, but perhaps her language was a little masculine. The children had the cheapest food he knew because the secretary ran the (institution, and it Mrs. Carpenter attempted to increase the expenditure she was at once called to account by the Board When the two Andrews' children entered the Orphanage they were miserably thin, and were in a most neglected condition, their eyes 'being sore and unclean. Mrs. Carpenter looked after them like a mother. When he saw Frankie Hammond Mrs. Carpenter had him in her own room and looked after him as well as any mother. «hli£ I A nG n l h 5. matron's assistant, Miss McArthur ; she Hooked .after the children well, also. As to the dresses of the two Andrews' children, 'personally he thought they were rather pretty. 6 *h* *« r f eJ3l T- t0 *?" Lane ' witness kn ew for a fact that the restriction of expense related to the Orphanage. He had the same trouble, but he was independent of the Board, and Mrs. Carpenter was not. The Board, he said, consisted practically of the secretary. The difference as to the expenditure ultimately resulted in witiWnwfrf da f smisse + d , the B oard. He had received no instructions from the secretary or any other official as lo his duties concerning the Orphanage To Mr. Cassidy : The most rigid economy was ?wSf b 7 thG S°2 r d - He Was *»htis£?h£ 7 Mrs Sffifr managed to get the children fat. Mrs. Carpenter was practically a slave of the Board. The secretary was continually sending notes to him asking him to account for items of expenditure. He never heard witnesses USC language com Plalned of by previous u-jfj- + uf, at f her qq ° one t was then by (Mr. Lane. Sp A irfr > T r ,/ nd a half ? ears a §° he was told that II? *™SZ B children were living in bad surroundings. VhJI M rs Carpenter, and it was arranged that reSion°sh d w • aketl int ° the Or P ha^ge, and that their religion should in no way be interfered with While «!2 TZ G h-u Lyt^ ltO i 5 the matron ke P* *« P^om^ religion tS 1 ,?" 8 ? shol ! ld 1 / ot s^r on account of their scho g o? ;; w w ™ h tW °i h + lldr^ n Were sent to the Catholic comvLZTtn da^- and t0 + Mass on Sundays. They never SKI?- him rto any ot tne teachers as to ■fH y inco , nvellien cc on account of their religion. Friedland e pr Sr h e J ci . ther , MrS ' Carpenter or Mr imedlander had made a mistake in sayine; he had requested that they should be obtained for gg t he children .withdrawn. SSl ° ner Said that the statemen * had been

To Mr. Lane : The children seemed well enough dressed, though it was suggested to him that the dresses in question were a little iraudy. However, that was perhaps a matter of taste. To Mr. Cassidy : He did not see much of the children] at the Orphanage ; his concern was chiefly about the religion of the two children. He took it for granted that the Board had brains enough and money enough to look after the temporal interests of the children. He never saw the children at meals. The Rev. E. Eliott Chambers, vicar of West Lyttelton, called by Mr. Harper, said he had been in Lyttelton for twenty-one years. He frequently visited the Orphanage and saw the children. He thought they were clean and satisfied.. Hugo Frfiedlandcr, chairman of the Charitable Aid Board, was then further cross-examined by Mr. Cassidy. Witness had expressed his disapproval of Mrs. Carpenter calling the children little devils. There was a good deal of feeling amongst the lady members of the Board concerning Mrs. Carpenter ; half t/he time of the Board was taken up by heckling over matters that could not be proved. He therefore thought it would be better to put Mrs. Carpenter in another position under the Board. To Mr. Bishop : Mrs. Carpenter had a free hand as to securing clothing. He had also often told her that she must not take the slightest risk in regard to the children's health, but should call in a doctor at once if there was the least necessity. In the case of the girl who was at Mrs. Peachy's, the doctor of the Board refused to attend at the house. The doctor had to take his instructions from the secretary. The Commfissioner said lit 'opened up a large question ; it seemed rather derogatory that a member of the Board should Inot have power to call in the doctor in a case which he thought desired it. Witness said the secretary could easily have been communicated with, as his private house was on the telephone. Mr. Bishop : But you are then putting the secretary dn a superior position to a member of the Board. Witness said there were a good many members on the Board, and if all had authority to call in the doctor difficulty would arise. Dr. Clayton was next called by Mr. Harper Witness said he had been medical oiheer to the Chantable Aid Board for the past ten years. He remembered attending the boy Percy Whittle, who had pneumonia. Witness considered the boy urgently needed hospital treatment when he saw him. He had never heard a single word of complaint against Mrs. Carpenter, either by adult or child. Mrs. Clarke, called by Mr. Lane, stated that she lived next door to the Orphanage, and used to see the children playing in the back yard. They always seemed happy, well clothed, and well careL for. The children were particularly well trained, and they were much better cared for than many children she knew in private families. Mrs. Margaret Neville, nurse, called by Mr Harper said she stayed for a fortnight at the Lyteelton Orphanage when Mrs. Carpenter was ill. Witness had the same food as the children, and it was very good She never saw anything to complain of in regard to the cm id i. en . Mrs. Mary Fitzgerald, a resident of Lyttelton for several years, and a member of the Catholic Church stated in reply to Mr. Lane that the two Andrews children used often to have tea at her house. They always seemed well cared for and bright. The dresses referred to were not grotesque or calculated to cause ridicule; she never heard anything said about them. IHe children had every opportunity to speak to her quite freely, but they never made the least complaint. The boy Percy Whittle used to visit her and he always seemed a bright Tittle chap, and was comfortably dressed, but did not seem over-strong. As far as she knew the Andrews children were always well cared lor, and no distinction was made on account of their reiigion. Mrs. Susan Lewington said she had had the chilflren in her house, and had taught them at Sunday School at Holy Trinity. They were well mannered and looked after In every way they showed signs of beine well fed and properly trained. Mrs. Sarah Westlake, called by Mr. Harper said she lived in Wellington, and had known Mrs. Carpenter for seven years. She remembered the green dresses, but there was nothing extraordinary about them The only fault was that they were badly made. She had seen the children having thier meals, and it was very good food, often better than she had on her own table. The children were well cared for and happy.

Fredk. J. Board, ex-chairman of the Charitable Aid Board, was called by Mrs. Harper. He vacated the office, he said, about a year before Mr. Friedlander was elected. He was on the Board nine or ten years, and was a member of the Institutions' Committee most of the time. He never heard any complaints concerning the matron. She was not stinted at all in regard to supplies, but had a free hand. Mrs. Carpenter had a way of calling a spade a spade, but he would not say she was coarse. He would not approve of calling children ' little liars.' Mrs. Alice Neill, Lyttelton, said she had known Mrs. Carpenter for some time, and used frequently to go to the Orphanage in connection with the dressmaking. The children always seemed well cared for. She saw nothing of silence 'amongst them; the only time they were silent was when they were jealous of some of the others.