“The Old Pioneer Spirit.”

Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 132, 7 June 1939, Page 10

“The Old Pioneer Spirit.”

What he described as “a touch of the old pioneer spirit' ' was reported to the annual meeting of the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Society by its chairman (Mr. J. Hellyer). About 8.30 o'clock on Thursday evening, he said, a woman arrived in a big hurry to put in some entries. She put them in and left just as hurriedly. It transpired that her home was at Oamaru. Her husband was ill in bed, but rather than fail in her support of the show, she and her 16-year-old son had driven down Oamaru with her entries, delivered them at the show building, and turned round and gone straight back home again “We could do with a lot more of that spirit right through the country today," Mr. Hellyer asid. “A Dark and Dismal Case." “It is a dark and dismal caso, , ' , was a description of an action to have a decree for divorce made absolute in the Supremo Court before Mr. Justice Blair at Dunedin. The words came from the defendant in the case who objected strongly to the decree being granted. She was stone deaf, and His Honour's remarks had to be conveyed to her by her daughter through an aid-to-heariug device. ‘ ‘ The lawyers in Dunedin have called it a sticky case," she added, “but it is they who have made it so." Despite His Honour's requests that she listen to his explanation, the woman kept on describing lawyers in general and in particular in far from complimentary language, and even criticised the justice meted out by the Courts of New Zealand. After listening patiently for almost an hour to all manner of general comments and irrelevancies from the defendant, His Honour explained that the matter had been dealt with by Mr. Justice Kennedy, who had sot down certain conditions to be fulfilled before a decree absolute could be granted. He was satisfied that the conditions had been fulfilled and he had no option but to grant the decree. The woman was still protesting volubly at the injustices that had been meted out to her when the case was completed.