GIDDY OLD GEEZER

NZ Truth, Issue 72, 3 November 1906, Page 5

GIDDY OLD GEEZER

Does His Dosigh on Dancing Donahs

And Brutally Neglects' and Stints His Wife of 30 Years.

A festive, old,^ grey-he'&deu 1 geezer, aged 67," who was charged at the Clnistchurch Magistrate's ; Court' this, wcelc'with neglecting to jftovide/'for his deairly beloved wife, Jwas said to dance, wi-th young girls— ttie 'giddy old dog-Wand leave his missus! alpne'eveiry' night, or nearly every ni^ht: that there was a dance on. His name., is 'Alfred .' Parnell,, Smith,, and he is a French polisher by trade, and; it: \s said thkt lie is art excellent workman, earning a few quid a week, and has three houses at Sydenham, on one of which there was a' little to pay, but ; ( not much. According to Mr Joynt,. who. appeared for (the wife, May Elizabeth ,Smith,' it was the most disgraceful case, ab^'; solutely the worse case, ; that had ever been through his hands, /The defendant had been guilty of persistent cruelty to her, and she demanded a, summary separation from him. There was a little trouble about a principal witness, said Mr Joynt ; he refused to a,ccept a subpoena, and said that if he had to go to co^rt. he wouldn't give. evidence. He ask^,.the' ; cour^.to

DEAL WITH THIS MAN, whose najme was Hosking. Mr Bishop said that? the Justices of the Peace Act- provided for that ; •ih the meantitrio the case "would proceed, and he would sde about it. Mr Joynt then went oh to Say that the parties had been married for about 40 years, and that during -the last eight years Mrs Smith hadn't Had a cent ifbm her husband m the way. of, cash. He stopped her account at Strange's for drapery four years ago, and sne had to depend upon her daughters for wear* ing apparel. Smith went 'but .and danced with young ladies of evenings to a considerable eitent, and the wife was not only left to her 1 oWn fe^ sources; but she was half starved.. A medical man w^ould' tell the court that the woman required' proper nourishment, ' and that she hardly ever got nourishing food. Smith didn't deal with a butcher when he wanted, meat, hut went to an auction mart, and often /brought home very -' cronk stuff ', Sometimes it 'was absolutely , stinkmg meat. Mrs Smith was suffering, froia lunus, or some such oomplain^r and had been undergoing treatment at the Christchurch, Hospital ..; cohseqi^htly she required sustaining nourishment. For some years past the woman's life had been

A POSITIVE MISERY,' ' irid it was only by the generosity of her family and the neighbors that She got along at all. A' pennor-th of ijaiik' went into, the house per day. and a loaTof bread, but' that got stale, aid as it wasn't consumed it wasn't suitable for a sick womaii. She cpiiidtt't eat much at any' time. There were i no vegetables brought to the ;house ' but they grew a ?ew of their "owk m summer time. The defendant had said' that he wouldn't give a shjlMrig to his wife, and that' when he died he would .leave , his., houses to the Old Men's Honie. ; . ;vi Dr.' Bett ' 'gave- 'evidence' as id Mrs -j Smith's aijltrient, and he was follow-, ?d ,by the complainant, Stated. | that she bad been ' married to ;Smithl for 4Q years, and had been disgracefully treated latterly by him.' The lady said that she had no cash -from her husband for eighti and led. a i miserable life. The meat was bad ; inferior, coarse stuff, and he brought' it home ' himself k It wasn't fit for use. , There had been^ho vegetables ; Smith wouldn't buy them, especially potatoes which, he 'said, were, costing 2d a ,pound. On one occasion he '

HIT HER WITH A SHOULDER QF, .mutton, . . ::; : and frequently he used bad language to her, calling her a blasted^bifcch v and things like that. She used to have a fire m the kitchen m the win^ ter time, but one day when she had one m the front room Smith threw water over it and put it out. She used to get money from her family for anything she wanted, but it arrived spasmodically. The witness smiled when asked if the defendant ever took her anywhere, she said. He had also told her that when she was dead he would marry again within . a week, and he would marry, a ,y° un S «irl at that. For years her husband had shown hee no kindness at. all, though she had never given him any provocation for bad treatment. In reply to Mr Flesher, Mrs Smith sa^d she had £4 m Xhe Savings Bank' recently, but that was all she had, and had received it from her : daughter, Atholwpod, of Sydney. She could never i order too many groceries as there would be a row m the house, especially if she obtained any luxuries.

The daughter, Mrs Athplwdod, who !iais been only a few weeks over from Sydney, said -that she called on her dear father, and

GAVE HIM RATS

fof not providing her mother with money, even for trams .to the hbspi-: tal. three times a week. The old Wolce replied that he* wasn't going to give her any money. She pointed out that the mother was always very exhausted after leaving the X-rays room, and defendant then saM.it was waste of time to. tr-y; to cure her, as her complaint was a family, one, and was incurable!. The witness responded that Dr. Beti had said that she could be cured, and Dr. Bett shouid- »know better than him (Smith). The witness then inquired what food he had m the house for her mother, and he said there was plenty of meat. Just then her mother brought out some steak which wasn't eatable, and then Smith said he had bought it on Frifiav. (This, was Sunday.) Told, him that he should provide jellies and a lot of better food, and asked him what he was going to do with his money at all? He said that, when he died' he was going to leave it to the Old Men's Home. Then the witness gave him once round about going to dances m his old age, and he said that it was his only enjoyment, and he didn't care what anyone said- about it.- When he died he would take precious fine care that not one of the family would get that much (snapping his linger and thumb). . . ■■■

Beatrice Cox, another daughter, detailed

THE LOVELY LIFE

her mother lived with her father, and said that she asked him for a few bob she had paid for hospital medicine. He thought it was free, but when, she replied iir the negative, he remarked "Blast it to hell, paying for medicine." However, she got her few bob. Arthur Geo. Williams gave evidence as to the wages Smith earned, and Mrs Burrell also testified. Then entered the defendant » Smith, into,the box. He denied the allegations made against him as to starving his wife, and not providing her with cash. He had his three houses mortgaged, and he owed money round town. He had always provided for his wife until she left the house.. He didn't think he had treated her unfairly.Jtxut admitted having once given her

"A BIT OF A SLAP WITH A LEG

OF MUTTON." He^had never hit her before or since,, and, that- hit was only a shove. He only spent a bob or two a month on dancing. .... Magistrate^ Bishop gave the old buster sheol when his case closed. He said it was most emphatically a tfasc for an order, and if he gave the defendant his real opinion about his character it, would surprise him. A man of Smith's stamp who treated his wife m such a fashion as had been disclosed was absolutely beneath contempt. He had begrudged his sick wife train fares, never 1 gave her any cash, ,phly spent a penny a day on milk, hither wjth a shoulder of mutton 'becauise she' didn't please him over something, , and altogether treated her very meanly. He intended making an order that she need no longer cohabit with him; that.he pay 15s towards her. support, and that he find a bond m £100 that he'll pay up. The female witnesses at the, back of the court applauded this. decision, but the row was promptly suppressed, and the old hunks left the court to look for Ms bond. '■<.:..' . ,