MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 22 June 1923, Page 2

MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

I « THURSDAY, JUNE 21. (Before Mr J. S. Barton, S.M.) ACTION FOR SEPARATION AND MAINTENANCE. Hearing in tile case of Burgess v. Burgess, ciaun for separation and maintenance, was concluded in Corrt yesterday. , Mrs .burgess, cross-examined by Mr Matthews, said it would be about sixteen years since she first saw Jdr Thomson about the trouble with her husband. She was reluctant to commence proceedings for separation, and ne/cr discussed the matter with her friends. Her main object was to get her little girl away from her husband, and she would sacrifice everything tor that object. Her girl was not so well and hapny as she would be with her.. Her husband had jeome. to Eltham recently, and had complained of the people she was with. He had threatened to take poison as the outcome of his objection to her friends. After the trouble she was on one occasion on the way to see her little girl at his sister's house, when he met her, and objected to her going. She did not know what his idea was, but she was frightened at this aspect. Ke had bought a costume tor her, on which he had paid a small deposit, and she, considering he could not afford it. had returned it and taken out the deposit on other goods. ■; To Mr ODea: The reason they had to leave a house in Princes Street was that defendant was in arrears with the rent. The house had been hers, and she lost it in an endeavour to save his position. When she was married she did most of the furnishing. Her husband had never taxed her with taking too much liquor. He had had drinks at tho same time, and had brought liquor to the house of late years. He had never complained of her conduct with other men.. Mrs liickerton had boarded with her for twelve months. Once she did not &et home until after midnight because of very bad weather. She •wanted her children'to be with her, especially her youngest child. She had gone out and tried to get work since she was married. She had had only one holiday in seven years, and had been during one year at not more than j throe or four race meetings. When he was iti hospital she had gone to see him every day, and had sat with him. He could not say that any time had she been extravagant, and she had had no clothes from him for a year. Ha would give her things one day and take them back the next. He had also threatened to break up her personal effects and the furniture. She had always been used to having a glass of stout on account of illness. On most occasions when she had gone to races she would have tickets given to her. i To Mr Matthews: She sold the piano given her byjier mother, and put the proceeds into another. ; Clara Burgess, daughter of the previous witness, said the trouble held been going on tor years, and there were continual rows. There had never neen too much money in the house. The men whom her father brought to the houso had all been quite friendly with him. She recounted the incidents connected with her mother getting bruised. Her father and mothe-r had an alterca- ; turn about the latter going to the wiiiv ! shop. Her mother came homo later in the evening. Next day they went to , the pictures with a friend' and her father objected to their going. Afterwards there was trouble between them and her mother was ordeired out of the house, and went to friends. This had | happened two or three times. There were many quarrels, mostly aboitt triivial things, because ho had a uuick temper. Things of that kind happened on many occasions, and once he said he would take poison. Her father i would make a row if her mother spoke ! to anyone he did not like, but he was j friendly with the men she knew and , who came to the house. When he was ,in the hospital life. r mother had o-iven a 'lot of time to him. She earned hm ,own living, and she and her sistor • would both prefer to be with their , mother. ; ! To Mr Matthews: It was only dur!ing the past twelve months that the position bad Income acute. Her father 1 had always done a lot of work in the house wjlimgly until perhaps lately . and since her mother had been away he had done the same. Her sister hail been quite happy, and had gone to school us usual. The whole cause of the trouble lately before her mother tort: wm.s that her father had ob,eetwl !>tlic f"ends «h.p mado. When her lather was away they had had liquor in jthe house. i Tv the Magistrate: Mrs ];ieKert<m ' had been boarding in tho hou.se, ami left about thiee months a<j;o, bein<r told by her father to go because lie wanted the room she occupied. T(\¥ v Matthew.s: She did not know how jM.r s Bickertou came to leave, tnit ; thought it was because of her conduct jin the house. She said the putting out jor her mother by her father always fol- , [owed an argument between them on the question of her friendship with people or whom he did not approve, and he said that she had better go to her !n<Mids if she would noc give them i:-> ! On one occasion her mother had pricked kc-r own and the little giri's i-lotho; and her father found this out, and "it , caused another argument. Hei mol'ier was often out in the afternoon, but nearly always had had the dinner ready ', at night. She had attended to all tho i sill a. rs of the house, hor father haviri"i^ivcrii her the money to do so. As far as slie recollected they wer« all present , wnen the .arrangement to go to the picl.im's w«s mrwlc Her father was always willing and keen to provide ! clnlhcs for hvv little sistor. but he J l:i ,j ! not yet :iot all she wanted I To Mr ()'|>oa: Her mother, slio tno-i'.isht, was frightened of her father ar.d he had threatened on occasion when very angry at her not coming back v.iK.!i sent for to do for her, but

sho would not suppose lie would take such a step. She remembered Mrs liickertou leaving, and was sure that he never asked her to come back. ! Essie Burgess, younger daughter oi the parties, to Air O'i>ea, said she would prefer to live with her mother. To Mr Matthews: Her mother jn>d been good to hor, and had come to see ker frequently. To the Magistrate: She would like to live with, her lather and mother together. In addressing the Court. Mr Matthews said it was very ea o y to see that the position was impossible nr the house, and this trouble had arisen out ot the woman's drinking .and bad companions. The father had only recently found out these bad features, and he had tried in every way to get her to redeem herself and drop her bad ways and companions, but sue wouid not do so- ' He was very ready and anxious to take her home and do her very best to redeem himself. he had been quite ]ustile din all he has done, and had used no cruelty. Naturally, he has taken a firm stana, and told her she must stop her goings on or get out..He submitted there was no case to answer. Mr ODea sai<J there was proof of failur© to maintain for two months, the ! husband leaving the wife without means. He had on several occasions told her to get out. The case had only come to the Court because they could not come to an understanding. "As regards the drink, he held that some liquor was necessary for her, and there was no evidence that she took this to excess. He had brought men to the house, and then complained that she was too frxMidly with them. It took v-ary little to- establish cruelty, and he quoted a case in which it* was defined .as "fear of another person," and an<»thar case in which there was no physical cruelty. He referred to the proved injuries done to her by the hus band. A separation was snggested, but he insiste-d on having the younp-er child Both children had shown that they loved their mother, while they wer© also fond of their father, but how, he added, could tliev be allowed to go on :n the terrible life that it must be for both of then*. Mir Matthews said there was no doubt plaintiff had provoked defendant to such an extent that at last he had to take a stand, for she had created an impossible position. He said that his client hud found her once ready packed to get away with her younger child, rind that caused him to take the action he had. He had tried in every wav to arrange a settlement. His Worship, in summing up, said it was a painful «\se in all its bearrnes, j especially when it was remembered children were concerned. The evidence I snowed that defendant was of an emotional temperament. Plaintiff was by no means free from faults. Men complained of by him had been brought to the house, and there was evidence of drmkn-'g. It may lie saJd that every- i one was free to exercise his own rights m sncli ;\ matter. Drink might go into homes ami do no harm, but there was no doubt that it was the supreme !■ breakc of homes, and in this case was j or.o of tho f-hief factors in the present state of twiners. He had given full attention to tlv> ali'^ntion.s of c«" t :eltv. bur there wore only two incidents bearin" on this iwsport. One was the ordering of phuntifl' out nl'ter tK c row. and was hard to justify. Then, as to the bruising of her arm, sho had little ground for complaint. After frequenting the wine shoo as she did, a dispute ended in a tns?!e, but there were not sufficient ground:- io, r basing an a legation of cru^Uv. Then ns to the i allegation of failure to maintain ho ' would have to tin*', that there were not st:itiei<Mit reasons for her refusal to livo with Fioi- husband It must be admitted tbnf \i- was no f. t j,,> on l !n} , rv j^] )ifs of a British matron to go into hotels with men not her husband, and one a reputed bookmaker. The evidence thatdrink and bad companions had been tbo ' cause of the foub'e was thoroughly well : grounded The la.uiHv aiul home life were such that there were 75 i^ev ppy>t. • chance that the children would sink to '< the same level. She was proved to be guilty of such conduct us Lis made her case impossible to succeed and disentitled her to the protection rirovid^d by the. law. The order sought by her was refund POLICE v. HAWKINS. Mr. ODea applied for a rehearing of the case Police v. Minnie J. Hawl kins, which came <m a Weelc ago, when.

defendant was ordered to pay £2-0 on account of arrears for the maintenance or her children, or in default 21 days' imprisonment. The rehearing was granted and evidence was taken again bergeant Henry conducting the case for the police. It was subsequently decided to adjourn the case until July 17 pending the result of defendant's an! ■plication to the Education Department tor the return of her children.