THE REV J. CLARKE, OF KOGARAH.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1201, 8 March 1895, Page 37

THE REV J. CLARKE, OF KOGARAH.

Sydney, March 1. The Bev James Clarke, against whom a decree nisi of divorce on the ground of cruelty was recently granted, and who was afterwards arrested on suspicion of insanity, has been discharged from custody, the Government medical officer, who examined him, testifying that he is of sound mind. , „ Sydney, March 5. The Primate has appointed a commission to enquire into the Bev James Clarke s behaviour, in consequence of the recent divorce proceedings, and meanwhile has inhibited him from officiating. THE DIVOBCE PBOCEEDINGS. In the action brought in the Sydney Divorce Court by Mrs Annie Clarke against her husband, the Bev James Clarke, for divorce on the ground of Cruelty, the evidence was of an extraordinary character. Mrs Clarke deposed that the cruelty began in April of last year. Her husband hypnotised her. She was sitting down, and he stared at her, and pnt his hands over her eyes. She at once be-

came unconscious. Her husband used to do this frequently —almost daily. He was always finding fault, saying that there was dust on the furniture, and so on. On 3rd September she was at Hornsby. Respondent said that she had told him in one of her mesmeric sleeps that there was gold there. Because petitioner did not take him to the right place he struck her with his hand. On another day he hit her on the arm with his hand two or three times, and then kicked her, leaving bruises. On one occasion she was in the kitchen attending to household duties, and in a very weak state at the time from his illtreatment, when he came to her and told her to take off her clothing. She refused, and he stripped her forcibly. He took her to the bathroom, placed her -in the hath, and threw a bucket of water over her with his full force. The same afternoon she was in her bedroom. He came there, took her clothes out of one of her drawers, and struck her over the head with the drawer, and then locked her in the room until the following morning. Respondent appeared as though he did not know what he was doing. Witness detailed further acts of cruelty, and said that one day her husband tore her clothes off her, and took her into the paddock in a nude state. He then made her roll on the ground, and kicked her when she did not go fast enotigh. Mrs Annesley, the mother of the petitioner, said that a month after her daughter returned from her honeymoon, which was spent in New Zealand, Mr and Mrs Clarke came to witness’ house, and witness objected to respondent putting his wife into hypnotic sleeps, which he did by staring at her and holding his aim out in a stiff manner. The respondent himself gave evidence at some length. He said his wife suddenly aroused him one night and said that she had seen a woman in the room with long dark hair. The tone in which his wife spoke was one calculated to fill a person with a creeping feeling. In the morning his wife looked ill and worn, and he told her to come into the study, where he had a number of letters to write. He placed her in a large easy chair and went on with his writing, speaking to her now and then. By-and-by fii§ attention was attracted to his. wife, who was ip a sort of trance copdh tiqn. Ip answer to his questions she said that she was in the spirit world* That was the first he i?qew with regard to What was called hypnotism, Then he dis„ covered that he had this mesmeric power Or control over her, but he had never had it with regard to anyone else. - He found that his wife would go off into a trance at his will, and sometimes, not always, he found her in that condition voluntarily without his interference at all, and occasionally she used to go off before other people. On another occasion petitioner said that she saw a woman leading a child by .the hand. The first time the petitioner walked in her sleep was about a week after she first saw the spirit. She went out into the cemetery iu her sleeping garments only, and sat on a tombstone for a long' while, said that a beautiful girl was speaking to Hep, and had counselled her to destroy herself. She had beep reading in the paper a few days before about so.me young married lady who had committed spicide at Enmore. IJe had no recollection whatever of doing the cruel things with which he had been charged, What with the worry he had over church matters and trouble about his wife going away, he was perhaps a little more worried than usual; hnt he never, consciously nor willingly, injured his wife in any way. On the night of the 10th October, just before he retired, he thought he heard the side door open, and went outside to see what was the matter, and found bis wife in the paddock without anything on. When he gave his wife a warm hath he simply poured a bucket of cold water pyey. her to. Prevent her taking cold, Judge Windeyep granted a dpprpe saying that he had never h a( i a case in which cruelty more unjustifiable or horrible had been showp.