NEW TRIAL REFUSED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18577, 8 December 1923, Page 12

NEW TRIAL REFUSED.

PAEROA DIVORCE CASE.

JURY'S VERDICT STANDS.

[BY TELEGRAPH. CORRESPONDENT.] HAMILTON. Friday. An application for a new trial of the divorce car.© heard at the Hamilton Supreme Court last week in which William Thomas Stevenson, of Paeroa, sought for the dissolution of his marriage with Beatrice Stc*nson on the grounds of alleged adultery, was refused by Mr. Justice Herdman to-day. Hie jury gave a verdict in favour of the respondent. Mr. Gillies, acting for petitioner, eontend.ad that the jury's verdict was against the weight of evidence and if a new trial was refused it would be tantamount to a declaration that 1 there was a deliberate conspiracy between the petitioner and his brother to get respondent to sign a document of which she did not know the,jfontents, but which in reality was an admission of misconduct. Mr. McDiarmid, for respondent, did not agree that this would be so. Ho contended that the evidence was directly contrary and the jury might honestly have come to the conclusion that they could not decide either way, and as it was a matter for the jury entirely, their verdict was perfectly right. His Honor said it was quite plain to him that respondent was not of the same mental calibre as petitioner and the 1 ju»;v might have decided that she was dominated by her husband and was perhaps tricked into signing the document Throughout she had strenuously denied having misconducted herself with co-res-pondent, and stated with emphasis that she had no£ read the document nor had had it read over to her. His Honor said he was not convinced that there had been a miscarriage of justice and he refused the application.