REVOLTING LEWDNESS.

NZ Truth, Issue 73, 10 November 1906, Page 6

REVOLTING LEWDNESS.

; Satyrish Doings m a Railway Yau.

Extraordinary Order m Face of Shocking Evidence.

One of the very worst cases that has been chronicled m Maoriland— and a few have been chronicled— comes from Canterbury, and, as usual, it is printed for the first time m the columns of "Truth." No other pap&r would dare show the parties up, or inform the general community what scoundrels it had m its midst, and who were polluting the city with their obnoxious and undesirable presence. There are any amount of blackguards m every place, who deserve exposure, but it is rare indeed that they expose themselves m their true light— and that at the expense of a woman. It was a maintenance action brought by a female named Emma Large against her husband, Harry Large, who is a barman employed at the New Zealander Hotel, at the convex of Lower High-street and St. Asaphstreet; and the details that were elicited during the hearing were of

THE MOST REVOLTING CHAR-

ACTER that this scribe has had to describe m cold print. They were disgusting m the extreme, loathsome to a degree. The plain,, unadulterated facts are that a few months ago the couple agreed to separate, like a goodly number of pairs m Christchurch agree to do, the husband giving his wife £20 to get shut of her, or words to that effect. She took the amount gladly, and carried herself like a bloated capitalistic personage ; but, alas, you can't feel like that long if you don't hang on to the gonce ; and that's what Emma didn't do. She blewed it m right royal fashion, and had an extraordinarily good time. A bonser time, m fact ; a hilarious time with whiskers on .it, and oiher things that need not be' particularised. And when the oof ran out, notwithstanding a deed of separation, or something of the sort, m which the £20 was mentioned as being the cost thereof, Emma Large came at hubby at the Police Court for maintenance, she being practically destitute m a manner of. speaking, arid had tired of her contract. Lawyer Ijeatham appeared for her, and put the case clearly and concisely, and then Counsel Graham had a fling. He argued at the outset that the deed was a bar to the present proceedings, but this was ruled out. After that little matter had l)e?n disposed of, Graham then said he proposed to show that the woman had

BEEN COMMITTING ADULTERY ; he had witnesses m Court, prepared to prove it. "Very well, get to work with the adultery charge, then," said Cnv. .S.M., who was on the bench. Then followed some horrible allegations. A" thing named Samuel Forbes entered the box, and deliberately said that he had been intimate with the complainant, and he particularised the occasion— it was m a railway carriage coming home from the sports at Little River last Labor Day. It appears that the train was packed, and that twenty men and three women wfere placed m the guard's van. This witness Forbes was one of these, and complainant was another. The van .was badly lighted, or not lighted at aljj, and after he had so behaved with Mrs Large three other men, or brutes, or whatever you like to call them, followed his example, and <thus four had intercourse wfth heir during ithe journey to Cbristchurch. One (Wouldn't think that a man would admit, such ai/ atrocious thing m the .witness box, but this fellow Forbes did so quite shamelessly, and m a manner as though it was nothing out of the way with him. Counsel Leaitham gave the fellow fits, and asked himj if he didn't know that what he had; done was a crime* ; and on the Bcoiindrel replying m the negative Magistrate Day said ■, that such a grossly indecent act, cammitted m a Bubljic place, was punishable with .twelve months gaol, ?and that he would probably get tKai term before (the Court had done with him.; He .was

(AN UNMITIGATED SCOUNDREL' on his own showing. " What are you ?" asked counself, "And where are you employed ?" "I have 'been at Wallace and Laurie's; during the last five months." '"Well, it is five months ' too long, arid! I don't ithink !y<j>u wi'il stay there much longer after I hay/d seen your employers," said coun/el warmly. "You are the lowest/specimen of manhood ftiatl have meffc with for a long time*-" There Wite other witnesses m Court, who "were called by defendant's larwyer, but .when they saw what a reception this Forbes got th«y quite changed their tune on entering' thje witnessbox. One bright article, a brother of Forbes, denied that he had committed adultery with Large, 'tm€ admitted haying seen it perpetrated. . "Are you quite sure you dadn-'t take part jjourself ?" asked Ulr Leatham. "I didn't get a chance," said the witness coolly. Which meant that had a chance been afforded him he would have jumped at it. Mr Day. observed that this case was

,THE TOUGHEST PROPOSITION he ever had before him, and m ordering this witness to lt»ave the box he characterised him as a, low scoundrel. The Magistrate came to the conclusion that the woman should ' getmaintenance, and h'd made an order for 7s 6d a week, together with counsel's fee and costs. So the bartender will have to pay, ' even though liijs missus is the gi (My piece of muslin that she has been stated to be, and that will bo i?av estimated m another case later on. After making the ordfcr, Mr -Day gave '.Lawyer Graham it piece of his mind about his conduct m the matter. Jit was his plain duty as counsel to have warned the witnesses as to the pJDSition— a most unenviable position — ißi which they were placing themselves by entering the witness box. The position now i c J that a summons has. been issued, or was Id have been issued, against Kotert Forbes, for having committed a grossly in«ies€ht affc ig a public place.

and as he has admitted it he is m a particularly tight place. Further, a writ has been issued m divorce m which he is

MADE CO-RESPONDENT, Harry Large being, of course, the petitioner. He charges his wife with having been guilty of improper .conduct with Forbes during a number of months, and one date mentioned is Labor Day, when the big public picnic to Little River happened. That is likely to prove a costly picnic for somebody, It is up to the railway people to make better provision for the public 'on such occasions. Anyhow, one can scarcely conceive of such wholesale lewdness being practised m a compartment without some sort o? protest from somebody therein. The occupants must have been m a, very jolly state all right ; at all events it is one of the most disgraceful occurrences that this paper has had to chronicle, and it is to be hoped that it will never happen on a Maoriland train again. Such wholesale, immorality is positively shocking.