William Eustace Brown - NZ Herald 19/3/1892

I thought you might want to know what happened to the REAL William Brown,my great uncle-and his dad,my great grandfather.....taken from the NEW ZEALAND HERALD 19th March 1892

A DISTRESSING CASE.

A SON ROBS HIS FATHER.

At the Police Court yesterday morning, before Messrs. J. Gordon and F. L. Prime, J.P.'s, William Eustace Brown was charged with having, on the 16th March, at Surrey Hills, feloniously stolen one gold watch, valued at £8, the property of Samuel Carey Brown.

Sergeant-Major Pratt explained that the prosecutor was the father of the accused, and he understood that Mr. Brown wished to speak to the Bench with a view to having the charge withdrawn. Mr. S. C. Brown, the Mayor of Newton, then came forward, and said that he did not desire to have the responsibility of having the boy sent to prison. Mr. Gordon, J.P. The responsibility rests with the Bench, and not with you. Mr. Brown continued that of course the responsibility remained to a certain extent with himself, as it was for him to call evidence, or to refrain from doing so. He had suffered a great deal from the conduct of this young man in the past, but when he found that he had stolen his watch he thought he would have him prosecuted. The boy's mother was at present very ill, and on further consideration, Mr. Brown thought he would not press the charge, as he believed the boy would come out of prison worse than when he went in. Hitherto the offences had always been against himself. He had done everything possible to influence his son for good, but apparently without success. On the present occasion the boy had asked him to give him another chance, and offered to allow himself to be locked up at night, promising to alter his methods. He had been led away by bad companions, with whom he was accustomed to drink and walk the streets. Mr. Brown said he intended to have bars placed over the windows of his son's room, and not let him out at night at all. He would ask that the case might be withdrawn.

Mr. Gordon said that he supposed the lad had heard what his father had stated, and asked him if he admitted that it was true.

The Prisoner Yes, it is all quite true.

Mr. Gordon: I hope you feel your position.

The Prisoner Yes, I do.

Mr. Gordon then pointed out to the lad that he had certainly placed himself on the brink of the prison, which was very sad. considering the respectable walk in life of his parents. It was a pitiful thing for a young man as he was to be so lost to all moral sense and sense of duty as to rob his own father. If he did this he would not, perhaps, be likely to stop at robbing others, strangers would certainly not have the same sympathy for him that his father had. Since he had promised" to reform, he hoped he would keep his word like a man, The case was dismissed.

It is what they call "tough love" now!
Trev