The rights of charitable institutions and private persons, who take infants to raise, will be considered paramount to those of the parents when such a disposition of the matter will be manifestly for the best interests of the child. Parents, however, will only be deprived of the right of custody of their child in very clear cases.

1 United States vs. Green, 3 Mason (U. S.), 482; In re Hunt, 103 Cal., 355; Cocke vs. Hannum, 39 Miss., 423; State vs. Barney, 14 R. I., 62.

2 Chapsky vs. Wood, 26 Kan., 650; 40 Am. Rep., 321; Tuggle vs Tuggle, 97 Ga., 658.

Where a child has been for a long period in the custody of third parties, so that new affections have grown up between the child and his custodians, and where the parents of the child are unfit parties to be intrusted with his care, the third parties will be entitled to the custody of the child even against his parents.