Woman Defends Her Honour

Manawatu Times, Volume 66, Issue 114, 15 May 1941, Page 4

Woman Defends Her Honour

IN DIVORCE PROCEEDINGS When a married woman alleges adultery against her husband, the other lady in tho picturo is never named as corespondent but sho has tho privilege of intervening, by leave of the Court, in order to clear her name. This step was taken in the Palmerston North .Supreme Court yesterday by Mrs. Mavis Myrtle Polglase when the divorce i>etition of Helen Elizabeth Rovell, of Auckland, against Claudo Leslie Revel!, plasterer, of Palmerston North, was called. .She denied the allegations of misconduct with respondent. Mr. A. M. Onglcy appeared for petitioner, Mr. L. G. H. Sinclair for respondent and Mr. H. R. Coopor for Mrs. Polglase. The case came before tho following jurymen:—Messrs W. L. Birnie (foreman), T. T. Reid, T, B. Beale, P. R. Milverton, A. B. Laing, L. M. Hastie, F. G. Murphy, F. C. Conway, D. G. Cameron, jU. Cater, W. Mitchell and F. K. Judd. The evidence of petitioner was that she was married on May 22, 1929, at Palmerston North, and a separation deed was entered into in November, 1938. She then told of watches sho and her brother kept on Mrs. Polglase's house in Church Street. About 9.20 p.m. on the night of February S, respondent and Mrs. Polglase arrived in a car and went inside. At 10.30 tho lights went out and she and her brother waited till about 11,45 p.m. Rovell had not left by then, his car still being outside. The next evening they resumed the watch on tho Church Btrcet house, her husband’s car again being outside. They knocked on the door aftor the lights w r ont out but nobody answered. They then -waited till 5 a.m., Rovell making no appearance during that time. The car was still there when they left. During the waits they had heard children’s voices and also adult voices, the latter being those of her husband and Mrs. Polglase. To Mr, Cooper: While on a visit to her mother at Mangapeehi, a certain

man there took her out for motor rides and one woek-ond sho stayed at his mother 's place at Frankton. Counsel: Was that man there also? Witness: Yes. Counsel: You would have been very shocked wouldn’t you, if somebody, under those circumstances, had accused you and that man of adultery? Petitioner: I would. Counsel: But you don’t hositate to brand your husband and Mrs. Polglase with adultery just because he happened to stay there one night.’ Mrs. .S. 11. Jones, with whom Re veil boarded after tho separation, told the jury of a practice Bevell ’had of not being homo for w r eek-ends. He would go away Fridays after tea and return Monday mornings. Sometmes he called in on Saturdays to see if there was any mail and occasionally Mrs. Polglase would be with him. The child he took with him on each occasion. Francis Neville Baker, of Feilding, brother of petitioner, gavo evidence regarding tho watch, kept on tho Polglase house in Church Street, corroborating his sister’s testimony. It was the first time lie had seen Mrs. Polglase. Answering Mr. Cooper, witness said ho and liis sister did not try to discover whether there -were other adults Ln tho house. This concluded petitioner’s case. Air. Sinclair moved that the case be withdrawn from the jury for want of sufficient evidence. The fact that respondent and Airs. Polglase were friendly was not denied. His Honour thought it a matter for tho jury. In evidence Rovell said ho first met Mrs. Polglaso iu August lust. His daughter was very friendly with, the Polglase children and went to play with them quite a lot. On the nights of February 8 and 9 in addition to himself, Airs. Polglase and the children, there were two women in the house. On the first of these two nights ho retired to bed about 7.30 p.m. so it could not have been him and Airs. Polglase who wore seen to arrive by car at 9.20 p.m. To Air. Oiigley, respondent denied that lie used to spend nearly every week-end at tho Polglase. house. Most of those occasions were spent in a tent at the beach. Sometimes he -went to l

Wellington. The week-end of February ' 8-9 was the first he spent at Polglase ‘ and he did so because his daughter was I' sick. Mrs. Georgina Elizabeth Jenkins, of Palmerston North, .said she was tho guest of Mrs. Polglase for the weekend of February 8-9, the occasion when Revell was there also. Another inmate was an elderly lady who boarded with Mrs. Polglase. Witness and Mrs. Polglase occupied the front room and Mr. Revell a back room. They heard no knock on the door on Sunday night. Mrs.' Polglase left for her work at 3.45 R.m. Monday morning, being duo on duty at 4 a.m. Adultery could not have been possible. Arthur Hector Jenkins, labourer, of Palmerston North, confirmed February 8-9 as the week-end his wife stopped with Mrs. Polglase. At this stage the Court adjourned until this morning.