TWO-WAR VETERAN.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 204, 29 August 1929, Page 8

TWO-WAR VETERAN.

LOST BOTH WIVES. I OLD SOLDIER'S STORY. i'i). . . . .....' i•fUNUSUAL BIGAMY CHARGE. ■y l ' ... ■ ■ ' ; . j| WOMAN SENT FOR TRIAL. j ■I" A most unusual story was unfolded at the Police Court this-'morning, during the hearing of a bigamy charge brought Ugainst Minnie C'lamest Ilorrocks, a :'middle-aged woman. ■' t Accused appeared before Messrs. A. J. igtratford and R. T. Michaels, J.P.'s. ■jfHic charge alleged that as she had mar- ' Wed William Arthur Meredith at the office, Monmouth, England, ■fn October 9, 1912, and had subsequently i|'one' through the form of marriage with George Earl at the registrar's office, Auckland, on December 21, 1921, she committed bigamy. v ; . Detective-Sergeant T- Kelly prosecufted, while Mr. Ray appeared for accused. *; Missed Two Wives.

f|t; William Arthur Meredith, master Sftaiior, at present residing at Christ- :, church, said that when a widower he 3married the accused at Monmouth, England, on October 9, 1912. Shortly after !i?the marriage he and his wife left for ■IJTew Zealand and went straight to Christchurch. Witness subsequently en•iijisted and joined the Third Reinforce: jyjnents. He went to the war and reSturned about 18 months after the Armis: '■ tice. On his return he tried to trace his iwife, the accused, but failed to do sol 5 ; He had not seen her' until this morning. siThe last he saw of her was when she I'i&w him. off at the wharf at Wellington: j as. he, left on, the Tahiti about lifroyember,, 1916. ' Meredith added that hie second Avife. He marjjfied his first wife just before the South ifMrican War. Witness left her to go to j|iie Boer War, but after returning from jjfcctive service there he could - not trace either; Subsequently he'found that ijjiislfirstwife'had died. Accused told witness- when he married her that she was '• $ 'widow;. . Prior to her marriage to jjhim; accused -was employed by witness rifjis, a tailoress. j*! Madeline Ann Heffernan,. a married Jwoman residing at Auckland, was the 'next' witness. " She knew the accused Inprior to her marriage with George Earl, ijfpltness was present when accused was jjjpaarried:to.Earl at the Auckland Regist]!]car?s; Office on December 21, 1921, j '$ Tie JRegistrar of Births, Marriages 'itnd'Deaths at' Auckland, Frank Evans; ijjlhen gave evidence,, producing the certincate of accused's marriage to Earl. Both Marriages Admitted.

Detective White, of Hamilton, said he interviewed the accused at Ngaruawahia ■on June 29 last, when she made a state- , jiiuient, which, she. afterwards . signed. ■[Accused was, shown a copy of the inarjriag© certificate .concerning her marriage ;.itb ; Meredith^ : in 1912, and jadmitted that 'she was l the person mentioned, and ,'that the particulars were correct. .: Accused was also shown the Icertificate: of her marriage to Earl, and made a similar admission. ; In the statement accused said she-,was first married .!at Plymouth', England, to a- inan who , died/in Pretoria,; and that fishe was a wjdpw when she married iMeredithi.'Accused said she did.not conisider she was married, to Meredith, as •he had told her that jhe Vl was married ijbefore he married her. After she had .finished drawing Meredith's pay while Hhe was at the front she said she went ilt'o various" towns in New Zealand keeping herself, by going out washing and Ijcleaningl Meredith, she said, took her jjmarriage lines with him when he went. l*way, as he said it necessary to do bq if she v was to draw ,his pay. Afteriwards accused came to Auckland and ■•yprked at a city hotel. There she met "» chef and for some time lived with him. Later ehe met Earl and became friendly with him. She admitted marrying Earl on December 21, 1921. She once asked Meredith if he had been married previously, when he replied that he had, but .paid, his. wife had no claim upon him he was in England." wrote me several letters," said accused. "In several of them lie Ifaid he was having a good time with "tiis first wife. After that I stopped drawing Jiis money and wrote telling %im I would have, nothing more to do him. I had not heard of him '|ince and did not know that he had returned to New "Zealand from the war. 1?; thought X was free to marry, as one M his relatives in Christchurch told me '#nce that I was not his wife. If I had ftfot thought I was not married to him, I'would not have married Earl." :' Committed for Trial. gt%Mr. Kay submitted that a prima iacie ■ case had not been made out by ihe evidence. No evidence had been

called or given that Meredith's first wife j&as dead. Counsel submitted further J&at Meredith had no legal right to marry accused in 1912. Mr. Ray added that accused for some time kept the letters written her by Meredith stating that he was- having a good time with his first wife whom he met while in England. However, she had since lost them.

«& The justices considered that a prima facie case had been - made out and that the accused should be dealt with by the Supreme Court. -

Accused pleaded not guilty, reserved 4er defence, and was committed to the Supreme Court for trial. Bail was allowed.