Henry and Georgie Martin

TLM-P visited his sister-in-law and her disgraced husband Henry in England in July 1882.¹⁾ He described her and the children in detail, presumably for the benefit of his wife. There was:
1. Willie, about 2 months younger than Meta, and not so stout and strong as his siblings;
2. Sissy, 7 years old, a similar age to 'lost litttle Emeline' and a 'stout, clever child';
3. Hilda, about 5 years old and 'a stout little girl, very strong full of life and good looking, puts me in mind of one of Rose Patersons girls (Rose was another sister of Nora's and Georgie) with dark eyes'; and
4. Claude, about 3 'a fine sturdy little fellow full of health'.
TLM-P was pleased that 'They all made friends with Uncle Tom'.

Georgie he found looking 'well and very nice, quieter than of yore' - not surprising given what she had faced after they left Queensland. Firstly, she had been told, as the ship neared port, that her husband faced criminal charges, accused of embezzlement. Then she had had a serious illness, facing the prospect of leaving her children motherless and with little support in England - given Henry's mother had died, and his step-mother was hostile.(4 July)

The day after his arrival at the Martin's home, and delighting in the children, on 5 July TLM-P met with Henry in his office. Firstly, he asked him to prepare the legal documents required to relinquish his role as Nora's trustee under their marriage settlement on the grounds that he had returned to England. Henry said he had already written to 'Mrs Barton … to relinquish his Trusteeship', so it appears his mother-in-law was not backward in protecting her daughter's interests.

TLM-P then had the unpleasant task of asking Henry Martin to explain the missing cheques for £740, telling him 'exactly and plainly' why government ministers 'Palmer, McIllwraith and others' thought he was guilty of embezzlement.