SEPARATION ORDER

Greymouth Evening Star, 28 August 1929, Page 10

SEPARATION ORDER

_ —■ -■-»- I MARRIAGE UPSET BY ’QUAKE. NELSON, August 26. Before Mr. T. E. Maunsell, S.M., at the Magistrate’s Court to-day, Esther Ross (Mr. H. Cheek) applied for a separation order from her husband, Thomas Ross. Mr. Cheek said that the defendant was formerly licensee of Ross’s Hotel 'at Murchison. Up to the time of the recent earthquake the parties had been married for something over 25 years and the complainant , had worked, with her husband, and helped him to build up his business in tne various hotels he had been in. The complainant had never drawn any formal wages. There had been some estrangement between them since the earthquake. About a week afterwards a message was sent from the police that they should go back to look after the hotel. The defendant refused to go, but the complainant went, and had been support*

. ing herself since. She could not hold 4>< a publican’s license unless the separa- * tion order was granted. The defendant had done nothing to maintain the com- 4* plainant since the earthquake. X The complainant gave evidence along 4* ' the line of counsel’s statement. She * said she went back to Murchison on X ’ June 29. t ’ The Magistrate, to the defendant: J . “Are you offering any opposition to the * 1 separation?” T The defendant: “No, there was mu- 4. ' tual agreement to it.” T J An order for separation was made 4,. ’ accordingly. The complainant made j no application for costs or for main- T teuance.