The Morning herald., 1876-01-04
LEGAL INTELLIGENCE.

LEGAL INTELLIGENCE. ig ~
The following is an account OF an inter
esting case which came before Judge Wales,
last Tuesday, and which appeared IN Tus
HERALD on Wednesday. -,
Judge Wales heard, yesterday, upon =
writ of ha6eas corpus, the case OF Miss
Catharine Hughes, of Philadelphia, vs.
Mrs. Mcfarland, Of this city, wherein the
former claims the custody Of her neiee, a
girl about fourteen years Of age, naled
Bridget McCahey. The father of the child
resides in the county of Tyrone, in Ira1an nd,
and about year ago requested Miss Hughes
to send for the child, and take care Of her,
she did so, paying her passage to this coun-
try. In the month of September, Mrs. Nc
Garland induced the child, who was, on q
visit to Wilmington, to remain with her,
promising to send her to school. Instead
Of doing so she put her in the match factory
near this city, TO work. When this wss
communicated to Miss Hughes, she took
immediate steps to obtain her custody. Z"
The case was heard by Judge Wales to-
day In the Law Library and will give de-
clsion in few days. In the meantime the
girl remains with Mrs. Mcfarland. IL.
Judge Wales gave his decision, as fol-
lows, yesterday: .-4 s:3'yg ,il@
THE STATE. .EX RELAT1oNE, ETC ,vs. MARY
MGARrLAND-oPISI oRJUDGE WALES.
This is an application made at the instance
of Catharine Hughes, of Germantown, for
the custody of her niece Bridget NcCaughey
who is not quite fourteen years old, and, 1t
is alleged, sis unlawfully detained by Mary
Mcfarland" of WILMINGTON. az ~ =
Catharine Hughes is the maternal aunt Of
Bridget. The respondent, Mary McGart-
land, 10 the aunt Of Bridget's father. The
resided In this country. eI H.tv l4y
). Last April Miss Hughes sent money to
Ireland to pay for tho passage Of Bridget to
the United States, and in the following
June was brought to Philadelphia. There
she was placed at service in a private family
by her aunt Hughes, at the wages Of seven
ty-tive cents week. In the month of Sep
: tember Bridget, becoming i'll from homesick-
ness, was taken on visit to Mrs. McGart
land, and shortly after her arrival here p
situation was obtained for her in factory
at two dollars per week. At present she
lives in the family of the respondent and
works daily in the factory. Ht0
It was shown at the hearing that the
wages of Bridget have been sent to her
father, without any deduction for board Or
other expenses, by both Miss Hughes and
the respondent, and there seems to be no
reason to question the motives of either
party for tho interest they manifest in their
Young relative. Both of them are equally
; respectable, honest and trustworthy per-
: sons. Several letters from Bridset's pa
rents were also produced which have care
fully read, and I have gathered from them
that the parents were at first much pleased
to learn that their daughter was with Mrs.
Mcfarland, but afterwards, fearing that
her continued employment in the factory
might be injurious to her health and morals
they express some dissatisfaction and re
quest that she be taken back to Philadsl-
phia. ,...,.t,. ,fl ....o.. (.
confidence In the affection and care OF the
, respondent on the contrary, they guarded.
these letters were written by dictation, and
the parents being illiterate persons, I cannot
. feel sure that they were accurately informed
Of the exact condition and situation Of their
daughter nor can be certain that, If they
were fully advised of the nature and char
acter of her employment, they would not
!, wish her to remain where she Is. The letter
to Mrs. Mcfarland is full of gratitude for
her kindness and of injunctions to Bridget
to lock upon and obey her as Q mother. IT
is true that letter to Mrs. Hughes Of Q
subsequent date, regrets that Bridget was
permitted togo to Wilmington, and desires
that she may return to Fhiladelphia /; but
we are ignorant of the statements and rep
resentations sent over to Ireland to which
7 these letters are in answer, and the latter
must therefore be received with some degree
of caution. .g.:l. T. Ha. !,
Ihave, under tho circumstances, conclu
ded to let Bridget make her own choice OF
her residence. She appears to be intcili-
gent and truthful, and understands the ma
= turc of this proceeding. She has had time
to consider, and has decided to remain with
/ Mrs, Mcfarland. There Is no evidence
that she is in any danger, or is restrained
Of her liberty, or is unlawfully detained.
, Her work here is lighter and easier than 1t
was in her former situation, and, In her
own words, "Shc earns more money to send
to her father" The chief object of the
writ of habcas corpus is to remove illegal or
, oppressive restraint. Here there 10 neither
} oppression or restraint, and the pereon
: whose custody 's sought is Of sufficient ago
and discretion to choose her own place. AS
general rule, father has the right to the
custody of his minor child, but In this case
he is not here to exercise that right, ana the
, evidence does not satisfactorily point out
any one to whom he has exclusively deputed
, his authority. Even If It were clear
that he had appointed another TO act ~ toeo
, parents 1t would not necessarily follow that
, l., oC m sno n i,,1opo ah0yv1d tn d.