THE "UNWRITTEN LAW"

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23263, 4 February 1939, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE "UNWRITTEN LAW"

JTENTION was made of the "unAvriiten law" in a case at Cambridge, England, in which a husband was acquitted of assault. Mr. iVV. B. Wallis, solicitor for the defence, stated: "Although there is no unwritten law in this country, I do suggest that if such a thing happened in another country they would say the attacked man fully deserved .what he got." Mr. Wallis appeared on behalf of Percy William Golding, builder, of Panton Street, Cambridge, who was charged with assaulting Frank Irevor Ewers, of Hobart Jload, Cambridge Golding, who pleaded guilty, said he had known Ewers for several years. On Armistice hiss wife came home very distressed after being, as ho thought, "at a dance. He asked her about this for about two hours, and she told him she went for a ride in Ewers' car, and that they went to a public house in Stretham. She thought she was in safe company. On the way home Ewers stopped the car and made a suggestion. She got out and started walking, but Ewers made her get back into the car. Golding added lie had no sleep the night he learned these facts, and the next day he went to soe Ewers. "Whatever I did to him he could not have Buffered as I suffered," Golding declared. Ewers told the Court he was working on a scaffolding at the top of a house when Golding said ho wanted to speak [to him. When ho descended, "Golding knocked him everywhere," arid he was covered with blood from head to foot. Golding threatened to murder him, saying, if he could not "do him in" with his liands lie "would do it with a gun.'' Ewers denied the alleged Armis-

Assault Charge Dismissed

tice Night incidents, but. admitted ho had taken Mrs. Golding out in his car to Stretham. He denied that he made any advances to Mrs. Golding or that he committed misconduct with her. Mrs. Golding said she thought Ewers was taking her to the dance, and she objected on the way to the public house. She did not want to make a fuss and dare not tell her husband when she got home. It was untrue, she declared, that her husband was leaving her alone late at nights. llemarking that the assault was not disputed, Mr. Wallis stated he Mould not suggest that Golding could take the law* into hiis own bands. It could be imagined, however, what state of mind he was in. He had such an amount of provocation that he could not restrain his hands. The Bench dismissed the case without comment.