THE FOSTER DIVORCE CASE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 299, 16 December 1911, Page 17

THE FOSTER DIVORCE CASE.

JIB. BEECHAM AOT> MES. FOSTEB FOUND GUIUTI OP MISCONDUCT. A DECREE NISI. The Jniy In the Foster DtTorce ease on October 31 found that tnere bad been misconduct between Mrs. Foster and Mr. Beeeham, and a decree nisi was granted the petitioner, with. costs against the co-re-spondent. TThe principal characters who haw figured In the case are: — Mr. Geo. Sherwood Foster, an artistpetitioner. Mrs. Maud Christian Foster, hi 3 wiferespondent. Mr. Thomas Beeeham, the musical director —co-respondent. Miss Heyman.—a mutual friend. Roche —a detective, i Mr. George Sherwood Foster, the artist, petitioned for the dissolution of his marriage on the ground of alleged misconduct between his wife, Maud Christian Foster, and the co-respondent, Mr. Thomas Beecham, the well-known musical conductor. The allegation was denied. Counter-charges of cruelty and misconduct against the petitioner were withdrawn during the bearing. Mr. and Mrs. Foster were married in 1906, the lady being an American of artistic attainments. After a while there was trouble, and in 1300 Mrs. Foster made the acquaintance of Mr. Beeeham, with whom, she said, she became associated In his musical schemes. The evidence was concluded on October 7, when Mr. Dickens, K.C., addressed the Jury for the co-respondent. On the lng Monday Mr. George Elliott, K.C., for Mrs. Foster, asked the jury to direct their minds to the one Issue in the case—that of the alleged misconduct between Mrs. Foster and Mr. Beeeham. It was strange that, notwithstanding the fact that Mrs. Foster's letters were Intercepted, only two could be found the Intimate terms of which were not capable of a perfectly Innocent interpretation. Whatever else the Jnry might think, they would, said counsel, be satisfied that there had been no guilt between these two people. MB. BBBCHAM AND HIS FATHKB.

Counsel quoted from the letter Mrs. ' Foster wrote Sir Henry Cook, who hap ' pcned to be solicitor to Sir. Beecham's S father. In that she raid:— ! "He (Mr. Beecham) is certainly the j greatest musical personage of to-day, and will place England musically ahead of other countries, given time and courage. 1 say courage simply because the boy ha* lost all interest In life, has not felt any for years and years, and I think perhaps I am the only person who knows this, and to whom he talks. He longs for his fath«r, not the money. Sir Henry, for he says, quite broken-heartedly, 'What can that boy back? My father does not care for me. He is what I have wanted all these years, and there Is not an hour during the past eight or ten years I would not hare gone straight to him had I not been led hand and foot.' He admires his father tremendously, and Is nearly crazed at the feeling of losing his father. I ask him why, in God's name, he does not tell all this to his father, and he only answers, 'He would not believe mc.' It ie too perfectly terrible, I think, and the greatest tragedy I know of. It grieves me to death, who am an outsider and can do nothing to help. He Is now only thirty, I am glad to say." The letter also referred to "his little wife." That, said Mr. Elliott, was not the kind at letter a lady would write who desired to take away the husband of another woman. The fact of the matter was that Mrs. Farter, like many other men and women, had come to tore and admire Mr. Beecham in th e sense of his being the exponent of music in England's interest.

BOCHE, THE DETECTIVE. Boche. the detective, added counsel, was an unmitigated scoundrel and blackguard, and when he thought Mr. Foster had 6pent all hie money went over to the other sld*. The code mentioned In the case had been invented to enable Mr. Beecham to meet the detective, and nothing more. Turning to the allegation that an attempt was made to get a woman Into Mr. Poster's house In Bedcllffe-square, counsel said that neither Mr. Beecham nor Mrs. Poster, In their wildest or most reckless mood, would for a moment bare lent themselves to any such plot, or even thought of such a thing. THE CASE FOB MB. FOSTEB.

Mr. Shearman, for Mr. Foster, pointed ou\ that they bad heard some wonderful flower* of oratory. They had heard about the "harp of life," the "acid of remorse." and so on, but what had they heard of the true facts of the case? Mr. Elliott had ended a quotation from "Gray's Elegy" with the words "living lyre," and he (Mr. Shearman) suggested that aptly described hla (Mr. Elliott's) chief witness. The charge of Cruelty tlie Tflle made against her husband was a wicked charge and supported by rank perjury by the wife in the witness-bos, for there was absolutely no foundation for It. "It Is wonderful the heights of mendacity to which some people can rise," added Mr. Shearman. There was the letter written by Mr. Beecham to Mrs. Foster containing the passage: "All my heart is with you to-night and always, my love, my darling." Yet Mr. Beecham, a man of thirty, had sworn that what brought him and Mrs. Foster together was her interest in his family affairs and his musical interests. Mr. Beecham, said counsel, was obviously not a witness of truth. It was idle to say that the letter was .written at a time when the had forgotten himself. No man would write such a letter to a lady, even though he had a great sentbnenal admiration foe her. As to Miss Heyman, she might not have thought there was anything wrong between Mrs. Foster and Mr. Beecham, but there was no doubt she assisted them in many ways. Counsel suggested that the lady (Mrs. Foster) certainly, and probably Mr. Beecham too, got up a horrible plot to put a good-looking woman into Mr. Foster's house to entice him to misconduct himself. Just before the Court rose for luncheon his Lordship said he desired to se« the leading counsel in the case, with, whom he had a short consultation. THE VEBDICT. On returning after the luncheon interval the learned judge, addressing the jury, said: "I have shown your communication, to counsel, and they desire that I should address a few words to you before you give your verdict" His Lordship then proceeded to earn up the casa He asked the Jury not to allow any sympathy to interfere with their decision. They had heard the evidence, and had to decide which of the witnesses they believed. The question was: Were the circumstances such that, given the opportunity, Mrs. Foster and Mr. Beecham would commit misconduct? The Jury found that misconduct had taken place between the respondent and the corespondent, and his lordphlp granted the petitioner a decree nisi, with costs. The jury also found that Mr, Foster had not been guilty of misconduct ox cruelty to ilia wife.