DIVORCE PETITION FAILS

Evening Star, Issue 22974, 3 June 1938, Page 16

DIVORCE PETITION FAILS

STRONG COMMENT ON PRIVATE DETECTIVE EVIDENCE NO ADULTERY PROVED [Per United Press Association.] AUCKLAND, June 2. The hearing of the divorce action in which Henry George Donald, a fellmonger, sought a divorce from Agnes Mary Donald on the ground of alleged adultery was concluded before Mr Justice Callan and a jury of 11. David Brideson, a butcher, was named as corespondent, and the petitioner claimed £I,OOO damages from him, and also the custody of the petitioner’s 14-year-old son. The defence directly denied all allegations of adultery. In his summing up His Honour said he felt he should refer to the evidence given for the petitioner by private detectives. Judges of great experience had said that the evidence of paid detectives. should be approached with care and, indeed, viewed with suspicion. The occupation of a private detective was not a jileasant one, His Honour continued. Judges had selected certain classes of people whose evidence should be weighed with particular care, and among these were accomplices, paid private detectives, and for another reason, children. These remarks, however, referred to private detectives generally and not necessarily to those engaged in this case. The jury retired for two hours and a-quarter before returning with an answer of “ No ” to each of tho two issues—viz., whether tho respondent had committed adultery with the corespondent and whether the co-respon-dent had committed adultery with the respondent. The jury added the following rider:— “The jury is very dissatisfied with the evidence given by the professional witnesses for the petitioner, and is of the opinion that the said evidence borders on perjury.” The petition was dismissed.