A MARITAL MAELSTROM.

NZ Truth, Issue 98, 4 May 1907, Page 5

A MARITAL MAELSTROM.

THE WEIRD AND WOEFUL WORRIES OF THE JWEWHINNEYS.

A Civil Servant's Very Happy Home.

Sinister Suggestions Against a Wife's Sanity.

Durtog- the last week or two there lias been banging fire m the S.M's Court, a matri'Menial dispute, which it was h»ped. no'doiibt, could Ibe amicably arranged without the inevitable publicity aad disclosures of direful aid often dirty domestic details too frflcjuently attendant on such disputes. The case m question is that of the Mewhinneys, the hearing of which commenced last Monday afternoon before Dr McArthur $.$,, Apparently, all efforts' to patch up the differences were fruitless, ittiasmuch as that part of the husband's defence is that bis yduug and pretty wife is mentally agog and therefore tmfit to manage a home and care for husband and ©hil'dam. The parties, Nettie Lena and Oliver Mewhinney are not s-tranig-ers to the Court. The husband is a well-known Civil Servant and m March 1906 the couples' troubles were brought before De McArthur S.M. and 'that Magistrate influenced the parties tc come to some arrangement, the sequel of wlrch lollows m the evidence . Mr Myers appeared for the complain- . ant and Mr Wilford represented the defendent. The wife told Mr Myers that she ha-d been married nearly seven years and that there \s«re two children, aged five years and three years seven months. At: present sne was living m Sydney-street but previously had. resided m. Mount-street, From MaroW of last year her husband had been persistently cruel to lifer, his conduct if it were poss-Me^ toeing 1 worse since their case Was last before the court. One of the arrangements made then was (that 1 she was to receive an alloTvance of £3 PH^ONTH PIN MONEY for self awtf£bhiMren. Twice only haid she got that sum m full, generally ii was made up of vaiious sums of 10s and smaller amounts. Nor had she had the services of a maid, Mewhinney seemed to think that she did not need one. Though not giving the dates, the young woman, instanced several acts of; assaults on the husband's part. He had struck her shortly after marriage. He had (blackened her eyes knocked her down, and kicked her on the' head. Once he toad struck her m tjhe presence of a little . girl, but for the most •of the alleged assaults she had no witnesses. For these described and brutal assaulte Mewhinney jjad ; smal.i reasons v some of which sheF felt 'diffident to relate' in court. Xhi the slightest pretext he told her that she was not a prisoner m the house and that the door was open to her to go andthat he would be glad if she«didgo. He* said : she was" a low woman. No matter what she did he interfered and declared that she could do nothing right, even if it consisted m lighting the gas or fire. A few days after th«?y had conrc to ten arrangement m the Magistrate's room he ar.noitneed h-s intention of refusing to abide by the arrangements, ,parti.warJy m tk payment of her dress m >U3/ II f told her that the lawyers were full up of her. Mewhinney sulked^ she • sard, for months at a time. He had cut off- the telephone, removed the piano, and frequently, when he- was away from she never heard from him* He had i threatened to shoot her, and it tlid ' not matter who was m the house he would taunt her with something that happened before her marriage. J According to her, the husband was a great stickler tor his martial rights', as a sample of his language given by her showed. She had endeavored to live amicably and happy with Wim. She had always tried to do her j best, and cooked his meals- She disliked house-work very, much, still she had done 'her best and she found she could hot live happily with him. Mr Myers : Why not? Mr. Mewhln- j ney does not want to live happily. He says he >d6es not want to 'be happy. He wishes that he was dead. If ever I .wanted to go out he said that it was not often he was at horn*'. ■ • ' Plaintively, she said she wanted her r-Mklrem She wanted to maintain them, though if she had to give then, up she would not desire to see them again. A LENGTHY CROSS-EHAMINA- ' TION. As briefly as can be told the aboye was the substance of Mrs Mewftftmey's complaint and' Mr Wilford, armed with bulky type-written documents then kept her under the lire of a crucial cross-examinat on for nearly two hours. "I believe" he said "that one of your first, boasts to him was that you considered you were the best acVress m New Zealand? No. Noxt she denied that she had made ! a similar boast to a Mrs Onion, a next-door neighbor, nor would she admit that she said that she considered her last court case was one of her best scenes m the colony. Further she. denied having one day shown a beautiful black eye to the lady m question, and that the i.ext day the blackened opfcic had entirely disappeared. Did you tell her that nobody m the colony could beat you m the art, of face make-up? No. She next scornfully repudiated counsel's urcgaUant suggestion that she was then made up with her oyes blackened, and face and lips rouged. She admitted however, saying sometiring albout make-up, tout drew the line at actresses and the stage. Wns it .your custom at nigktlme, especially lait-e at right to go regularly through what you called your night .attack? No Did you ever use that expression? No. Ami a-lso take part m jriiat you

More Allegations of Refined Torture.

called jour balcony scene? Not that I can rememfoer. Do you know. what I mean by a balcony scene? I have a slight idea. Have' you ever ran out on to the balcony screaming? No, never m my life. He did. For what reason? No reason whatever. An inkling of the balcony scene was gleaned from the explanation that her . husband came to her room one night and to resist his advances she RUSHED FROM THE ROOM ; and swung over the balcony. This she preferred doing rather than stay m the room with him all night. And you call, a serious thing like that your balcony scene? There might be a humorous side to it. It tickles you to talk about it? No it is rather serious. The night atftack was again dwelt on and she denied that every night she started on her husband. "Whatever trouble there was, it was always over one thing. She admitted writing to somebody or other that she had great fun peeping thrbugh cracks at her husband, and on the fun question she said she must have a little fun sometime eVen if she had. to make it. Were you always sailing out to give your hus/band a doing?? I cannot remember ever telling anyone that I did.. Quoting : from a letter, Mr Wilford read :~ v JHell.o;. M. you have a letter from me. He is a stink-pot. I am going I>o 'give Mpi a doing : " Was it true that 'yoit were . going to give your husband a doing? No I was not. Is it not a fact that day after day your husband got over the back fence to go to his office with a collar or, neck-tie on;: that you tore the collar and tie off him at .times? -No. Some delicate questions followed ooneernd'n'g her refusal to "hear children, and she said that she had told her husband if it \v«ould make for peace and tep.pi'ness she would bear as many children as he desired. She had tried to humor him m every way by writing and speaking kindly to him bait 'Wtirthout avail. \ Mr Wilford spent some time m reading passages from her letters to her hus'banjd, some of wflrioh were couched m most' effectionate language. She was always longing to be with him again. --She admitted how careless stie was; How lucky it was both were not careless. That she knew he > loved her. That he. had good cause ! to Ibe annoyed with her ; that she promised to alter and that fits of her temper had effected her brain. Most of the letters were written m 1904-5. "All these letters" observed Mr Wilford" breathed of his love to you and your love to him. and did he not m February arrange for you to be taught singing? I went and had my voice tried long before then. She had arranged for the singing lessons she said, and he was not even to pay for them as she was going to do so with needle ; work. During lasia week she had taken the children almost daily "to the house of a Mrs Black. She left the children there one," night, she said at Mrs Black's request. Did you not leave ' the children there and clear off ?— No. You know he is fond of the children? Well he -has A FUNNY WAY OF SHOWING IT. He passes them by m the street. Have you not turned the childrenagainst their father ? No* never. When you are not there they are full of afteottion for their daddy? I cannot say that . > She denied that about a fortnight ago she rang Mewhinney up to come and see her home from Mrs Black's place. It was Mewhinney who rang her up. Anyhow they met at Black's place 1 and according to her story they had wordsi. She went away. Mr Wilfdrd :■ Did not your husband, Mrs Black and her son look for you till four* m the morning? I don't I'ftOW. Did you not jump two fences? No, I only 'jumped one. Did you tell Mrs Black that you heard her calling and that you had slept m the eoaHiouse with the dog>7 I do not rornemiber telling her that. . ' . .• , •■ Did you sleep there ? No, I slept under the house next door. I preferred that to going home with Mewhinney. I Another night it appears she had passed on a sofa m Mrs Black's house. She had eluded the pursuit of her husband and Mrs Black and had doubled back'; she preferred sleeping on the sofa than going home with her husband. She denied that on April 17 last when walking with her husband m Aurora Terrace she had given him the .slip and had climbed up a tree.'. Her version was that she hid behind the tree, and if she had been able to climb it, she would have done so. A 'policeman came on the seen© and., she Wauled to be locked up, arwl there was also some talk about a doctor being sent for to prove that she was mad. She denied stripping herself of all other clothine, and lvm* down on the floor screaming She denied that her house was a veritable pig-sty. That there was FOOD- ROTTING AND STINKING alii over the house, The house, b-lie admitted; was- man untidy conilition, and Mevyhinney had given it out that they were only camping crown. There was no linoleum down, and shfj further deni^tj (hat her own \ clones ware *yis X jO-awt wry where.

A ten-guinea coat was next exhibited by Mr Wilford as a sample of her carelessness ; but she said she had had it- for four years, and that she had very few tweed dresses. It is not a fact that m the daytime, dressed m your niglvt-gown, you Wander" about ?--No. And never clean yourself ?— Mr. Wilford, I have never been dirty m my life. Suggestions were next made about her drinking and visiting places, where drinking goes on. She admitted hav'img a glass of wine occasionally. Do you remember! ' your husband having a few wordrflwith you when you went to see aitffcttie child that died of diptheria, fend i -he asked you not to go, and to stick to your children ?— He said I was not to f O anywhere. ;in order to flaunt him did you not/- 1 bring home a loaf of bread from that place, and flash it m front of his face ?~-I didn't ask him to eat it, I ate it. She went on to say that she was always accountable for her doings. She credited Mewhinney with the pos-; session of a vile temper. She denied ever scratching him, or throwing: things, such as a water-jug, at him. She explained she was jug-glim* with the jug on her finders, and it fell and broke. "On your husband?" queried counsel.—"No,, it did not," she responded. Another peculiarity alleged against ifoe woman was that she was m the habit of charging men with violently assaulting her. One eoisode was mentioned where she had' accused A BOSOM FRIEND OF HER HUSBAND'S , .of assaulting her* Her husband was with her at the time, and both he and his friend wondered what was wrong with her. She denied that she took fits, and then declared herself to be only acting, and, moreover, she would not admit that she knocked herself about when taking these "/its." -It was not true tha<t her husband' had to go and get "his meals away 1 from home. She bad always spoken and acted kindly to him. and she had never attributed to Dr. McArthur the statement that fhe was laving with a madman, and that he would give him six months m gaol. What do you. mean by carryin-tr en with that young' boy, Black?— I am not carrying on with him. She admitted having; a glass of wine with young Black, and Mr. Wilford at a later stage said there were no imputations aprainst her oliastitv. She admitted that youn^ Black had been m her/ bedroom, and that he was m her house late one ni«rht when Mewhennev was there. Has not young Black taught you to smoke ?— I have always been able tn smoke. . "' She was not prepared to a-dmit that young Black through following her about' had neglected his snorthand. tvr»fi%ritin?, and other studies and that Mrs Black was heart-broken. Of Mrs Black she had this to say : "That lady is not m pood circumstances. Mewhinnev has lent her some money, and she is placed dn such a Position that she cannot aay enough for him, even going against me." One or two scenes were ..touched upon m which Black and her -bus hand were concerned. Mewhinney hVd annealed to Black as a man to help him to get his wife into the housn. Some man ro^e alone 1 on a bicycle and she called out that SHE WAS BEING ILL-TREATED, and the man promised to send a policeman along! She was farced to admit that her husband had not touched her ; but the rueful admission came from her lips that she certainly wanted to get away. After a lot of questioning on the point she admitted having taken £36, Government money, that was m her husband's possession. TMs she subsequently returned. She denied "taking/ Mr. Wilford called it "steak ing." £10, though she admitted annexing £5 on one occasion. From the purport of other questions put to her it was sought to show that the house m Mount-street was well supplied with food, even luxuries ; that she had a wardrobe above the ordinary. And she ao-ain denied that the house was m a filthy condition, worse than a pig-sty, an d so disorganised j thay any woman would be ashamed to. have the controlling of it. She was'auite cheerful m admitting that she had not an angelic temper, but what she had was a rood' one, fl nd once aeain she denied Riving her husband a doin?. "I don't understand what you mean by (riving him a doinor," she urged, which Jed Mr. Wilford to naively remark "that Mewhinnev did." Briefly re-examined by Mr. Myers she said that her husband had stolen all his letters to her from her. and she explained that m -writing: so affectionately as she did. she knew she was writ ins to a madman, anil, morpover, had she net .so written she would not have Rot a penny from him. The further l-earing r.f the case was adieumed. till the fallowine: Friday afternoon.