UNDEFENDED DIVORCE.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 87, 12 April 1922, Page 5

UNDEFENDED DIVORCE.

A DUAL DESERTER. > . i An undefended divorce petition was j heard in the Supreme Court this morning I before Mr. Justice Reed, when Thomas ■Pairhurst (Mr. Glaister) sought dissolution of his marriage with Lilian Fairhurst. Lewis Hoeft waa cited as co* respondent. Giving evidence, the. petitioner stated that lie married the re- j epondent in June at 1912, in Newton Heath, Manchester. Together with his wife he then came to New Zealand, and first lived at Henderson, and then at I Auckland. That was in 1915, and in 1916 J 6he left petitioner and lived at Hamilton with co-respondent. He liad not seen | respondent since 1016, but some time ago he saw 'Hoeft, who aeked him what he was to do about it. Hoeft suggested that petitioner should institute divorce proceedings. Petitioner had always been willing to take his wife back. There were jtwo children of the marriage. Evidence wae given by Owen | Hughes, private inquiry agent, who stated that respondent and Hoeft had been living together as man and wife. Hoeft admitted that, but said that respondent had since left him and was then living with a Chinaman in Berharapore. Wellington. Mr. Glaister stated that originally damages were claimed against the corespondent Hoeft. but later withdrawn, as be did not have the means to pay damages it awarded. The Judge granted a decree niei, with custody of the two children te petitioner. Costs were given against the corespondent on the lowest scale.