LIKE A SAVAGE.

Greymouth Evening Star, 24 February 1920, Page 8

LIKE A SAVAGE.

PEERESS IN AFRICA. (An amazing story of a young peer’s treatment of his girl-wife told recently in the Dublin Nisi Prius Court, when Baroness Carbery obtained a decree of divorce. There was no defence, though two barristers were present to watch the case on behalf of Lord Carbery. We quote from the “Daily Chronicle.”) Serjeant Sullivan, who represented the* petitioner, said that, subject to his Lordship’s sanction, he did not intend to go-very fully into the details of the case, some of which were distressing. The marriage of the parties took place at Paddington Parish Church on J,uly 17, 1913, the respondent being 21 and the petitioner 19 years of age.

After the marriage and the honeymoon the respondent took his wife to East Africa. Lord Carbery might have been ignorant and thoughtless in these early days.

He married a delicately-nurtured girl and took her out to the wilds of Africa. He compelled her to ride long distances on horse hack, and in her then condition the ordeal caused her great pain.

The marvel was that she came out of tho country with her life. When she complained that she was not capable of keeping up with him in his wild life In the jungle ho got annoyed. ,

She used to throw herself on tho ground, writing in pain and agony. As a result of that dreadful expedition in November. 1913, without anything in the smallest degree to alleviate its hardships for a delicate woman, she had an illness. Passing over other details, tho next matter that would be relied on happened on an occasion when the husband and wife were staying at the house of her father, Mr. Metcalfe. For some trivial cause Lord Carbery lost his temper and become very violent. He seized his wife’s hand and with it gave her a blow on the Jape which produced a black eye. That frightened her very much and caused her great pain and suffering.

BACK TO AFRICA. " In July, 1915, he took her again with him to. Africa, where ho had an extensive farm, on which there was no house. He compelled her to live with him in a leaky grass hut like a savage. Here she contracted; malaria. One result of the first trip to Africa was that the lady’s heaving was badly affected.

The malaria increased her deafness and front that time it wa« with difficulty that she could hear people speaking.

In April, 1918, he again toon ms wife to Africa. In the meantime a house had been built on the farm, and they resided there. On the first trip she was absolutely unattended by a person of her own sex, her only attendants being black hoys. On this occasion she was attended by her maid. Out there the respondent one clay lost his temper again and heat her violently with a whip. He seemed to he without any self-control, and a man of that sort was a dangerous companion for a tenderly reared and delicately nutured young girl. Counsel said it would he an act ol kindness not to require him to 'go into matters which wore not going to he the subject of contradiction. Previous acts of misconduct were con cloned, and therefore would not bo referred to.

On July 12 last Lord Carbery loft liis wife at her father’s house and proceeded to Paris via, Folkestone, and Boulogne. Ho was under observation at the time, and on arrival at Boulogne his watcher lost sight of him in the crowd. Lord Carbery, however, arrived in Paris on July 13 and engaged a. room at the Hotel Gallia. He had with him his own suit cases and a lady’s trunks. They were all deposited in Room No. 42. On July 14 a lady called and took some thing's out of the trunks. On July 1G the “observer’’ again picked up Lord Carbery, and saw him enter the hotel in company with a lady at 12.30 (after midnight). They occupied tho same room.

DATS ON HORSEBACK.

Lady Carbery stated in evidence that , after landing at Mombasa, in Africa, they had no conveniences for travelling. Going up country they had long days’ rides on horseback,which were extremely painful to Ivor. She complained of it, hut was, nevertheless, compelled to endure long days in the saddle. At the end of the journey she was in a very exhausted and distressed condition. She had to live in a tent and the had hut two blankets. She suffered intensely from the cold, for they were at an elevation of GOOO feet. They spent their time hunting wild beasts. She was compelled by her husband to live that wild life. He made her hunt and’shoot and tackle savage

animals by herself. When she showed incapacity for the work he abused her. When he compelled her to live in a grass hut in Africa it was the rainy season. There was no glass in the windows, and the rain pene-' trated tho place.' As a result of that condition of living she took malaria and was seriously ill for a long time.

She did not care to go to Africa, but she understood it would he only for a short time. They were there for seven months in 1918. While there her husband struck her with.’ a sjambok three or four times, and her body was marked. His Lordship: Was he under the influence of drink when he struck you?— No, it was his violent temper. Lady Carbery added that there was one child of the marriage, a girl now three years of age. Her busband had admitted and boasted to Per that he had a good time at Cairo .and Zanzibar, and that he ( had misconducted himself. ■ Mr.’ Justice Samuels granted the petitioner a decree of divorce a mensa et thoro on the grounds of misconduct and cruelty specified.