LAW AND POLICE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12279, 25 May 1903, Page 7

LAW AND POLICE.

§| 'j gufREME COURT.—Civil Sittings. ( '/ DIVOIIOP PROCEEDINGS. •• i W JUSTICE COOLLY and a jury were again j - e d at the Supreme Court on Saturday j | A divorce case of Heinitz v. Hcinitz | \d'Wilson. I A bailiff, named Edward Hughes, stated 1 ii ft he watched the respondent house for Sv hours when she Jived in \ermontDISU3 She was visited nightly by some ;■ a'jrec • • was the end of 1902. Ho men.' j a light doors travel from tho kit- ; • 1 to the bedroom, and on some occasions 'IfetettS to the conversation- which went on i'"- 'iv! e ilr Baume. Occasionally he did work rivnte detective. A man named Bassett Shim 10s a night to watch the respon'ft'* house. Tong, a Chinese interpreter, fas jho concerned in watching the house. •• Inffleinw; they crawled under the house, d endeavoured to locate themselves beSpath the bedroom to listen to the conversa- ? " They formed their plans while lying Xler trees near by. . . Further evidence of watching was given by ' Private detective named George Bassett, who siwke to seeing Wilson and others visit - jo'adent's house at, Ponsonby. Ho served [he petition on Wilson at Whmigarei. Considering Hcinitz a badly-used man he volunteered to get him out of tho hole he was in ], up. Da id his expenses. Out of his own ! lykct he had paid Hughes £12 and Tong j about £3, but lie had received an advance of £26 through Mr. Bruce, from a friend of ' tb« petitioner. . Counsel addressed the jury on the alleged (id"jltery between respondent and Wilson, i!■ Mr. Justice Conolly summed up. He refelted in scathing terms to the work of private detectives. Bassett, who had been in this "dirty trade" for years, found out that Heinitz was in a hole, having to pay £1 1 week to a wife whom he did not want to have anything to do with, and offered to help him. All the witnesses were obtained by Bassett, and this fact, to his mind, tainted the evidence. The jury would have to decide whether this case was the result of an honest desire on the part of the petitioner to get rid of an adulterous wife, or whether it was part of a prearranged plan to get rid of his wife by some way or other, even, as far hack as 1891, before she came to Now Zealand. The jury, after a short retirement to consider two points, raised by counsel— the respondent committed adultery with the co-respondent, and whether the co-respon-dent committed adultery with the respon- ' replied in the negative to each question. _ . . His Honor then dismissed the petition, with 55 guineas costs, and disbursements, to be paid by the petitioner. POLICE COURT NEWS. Mr. H. W. Brabant, S.M., presided at the Police Court on Saturday morning. Drunkenness: Frank Roberts was fined ss. or in default 24- hours' imprisonment, and Geo. Peterson was fined 10s, for having in his possession a revolver and cartridges while drunk. , Remanded: A half-caste Maori named John Hunter was remanded to appear at Dargaville a week hence on a charge of breaking and entering a store at Maropiu, and stealing a quantity of bee;- therefrom.