A STRANGE CASE

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11223, 31 May 1922, Page 6

A STRANGE CASE

TSLD IN. SUPREME COURT HUSBAND’S PLAN AND WIFE’S DILEMMA. ARREST TOO EXPENSIVE. A strange story was told during tho hearing of an undefended divorce action at tho Supreme Court yesterday. Tho petitioner recounted incidents of a brief married life, and her husband’s - shortcomings in the matter of providing sufficient to meet tile cost of living, which even in 1911 and 1912 still had, to bo met. So marked worn his shortcomings that she took action against him at the Magistrate’s Court, but the order had no beneficial effect upon tho family coffers, though the further working of the provisions laid down had the effect of throwing the husband into prison. There ho was visited by his wife, and was pen’tent indeed, so much so that the wile relented, and, still further affe-cted by the entreaties of his relatives, pressed her claim no further, and the man was released. He proceeded to put space between his home and him solf, and it was not till some time afterwards that his wife heard from him from an Australian port. He wanted to return to New Zealand, ho wrote; certainly he did not want to make another trip to America, hut the captain of the boat refused to pay him off.. However, ho suggested a plan, that slio should set the law in motion, and have him arrested for wife desertion when the vessel arrived at the next port, Newcastle. He had enough money coming to him, ho continued, to pay all expenses if he could, or the law could, persuade the captain to pay him off. Accordingly the wife made inquiries of the local police, but found that before she could set the wheels' going round she would have to put down a sum sufficient to cover' the expense of bringing her husband hack to her under the very safe guidance of the police. She had no money, and so had to give up tho idea, but she wrote to the captain of the ship, and, placed the whole story before him. No answer came to that letter, neither did her husband write again. Apparently his determination to return home, by any means, had faded away.