MARITAL MISFITS.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 151, 27 June 1924, Page 8

MARITAL MISFITS.

AGONY DAY AT COURT. HEAVY WORK IN CHRISTCHURCH. (fly Telpsirupli.—Spuoial tc. ••Star.") UHKISTCHURCH, Thursday. Si .mow-here it is alleged there is a quotation "That marriages were made in Heaven," but to the Court reporter tins see.ins a misquotation to make the best of. it. Agony day at the Christcliureh Magistrate's Court is usually a heavy day, and seldom is there any exception to a long list of erring, missing or generally misbehaved husbands. Investigations show that Christchurch holds i lie record in this respect so far as the cities of the Dominion are concerned. The work on the maintenance cases at ih(> Christchurch Magistrate's Court lias increased so much that it has been found necessary to have a special maintenance branch. The number of clerks has been increased, and the maintenance i.fiiccr works overtime. There are about live thousand cases on which maintenance is paid. The Justice Department has never made out returns in this matter, but it has been known for long that the Christchnrch figures greatly exceed those for other centres. This year there are more cases than ever. Every -week the Magistrate puts thrc.ugh an average of easily six new maintenance orders a week. It is stated that there are at least two hundred and fifty, and probably a good many more new cases every year. Informations for failure to maintain have increased enormously. There are Tio definite figures for these either, but Court officials state that their work in tliis branch has increased out of all recognition, especially in the last few months. There are between four hundred and five hundred Court cases every year for failure to maintain, and there* are many other cases which are never ventilated in the Court at all. In one week recently, and it was not an exceptional week either, there was nearly a score of eases. The clerk at the Magistrate's Court who handles the payment of maintenance money has almost as much money passing through his hands as a bank teller. One average day this week there were fifty-two payments "in." and thirty-eight payments "out." The sum of £113 was taken over the counter, and £94 was handed out. Friday is the "rush" day for these payments, arid a roaring business is done on that day. Apparently this horrible example is no deterrent, as there is a socalled "Matimonial Agency" not so very far from the Magistrate's Court, which carries on a peculiar but thriving trade. Such agencies are always on the lookout for suitable husbands for "young spinsters of fifty." One at present can even "place" a boy of abont sixty or seventy summers for a sixty-year-old widow, who is still willing to repeat the experiment. It is even whispered that the lady who , keeps one of these matrimonial agencies regularly calls at .he Magistrate's Court to collect the maintenance money from her own erring husband, which all goes to show that Cupid is not always the cute little devil that one is apt to think he is.