MARITAL MISERY.

NZ Truth, Issue 116, 7 September 1907, Page 4

MARITAL MISERY.

TKE BUSHES BEFORE THE BEAK.

A Hasty Marriage and Sudden Repentance.

Maud Simmonds was m her seventeenth year when she met Bob Bush, a Dunedin mechanic, and she loved with passion and imprudence. Her obvious condition later induced Robert to do the right thing by the girl and the pair went to live at Musselburgh. The inexperienced husband was getting 35s a week, and a: £1 a week went m lodgings, housekeeping wasn't a gigantic success. Maud became the mother of two bouncing twins, hut the parents did not seem to agree very well, and ,Bush went to live .with his mother. Maud sought and obtained an order for the payment of 12s 6d a week. (It was through the Benevolent . Society, and wasn't binding). Bush's contributions ceased at the expiration of a fortnight, and the girl left for Wellington, where she sought refuge under the hospitable roof of her mother. In fact, both juvenile samples of the married state went home t3 their respective mothers'. There was an element of doubt as to which of the two was responsible for the estrangement. Maud instituted proceedings at .Wellington for the main* tenance of herself and children, and Mr Jackson, for the wife, represented that it was the fault of .the dreadful man, who had certainly written a platasible letter, expressing willingness to take his wife back, ■ but counsel suspected that this was a' preliminary to an application for the restitution of conjugal rights, which is the short road to divorce. Mr Neave, for the absent husband, alleged that the wife had - deserted her husband, and would not e;o back to him ; also* she was not a fit and proper person to have the custody of the children. The evidence of .the .husband had already, been taken m Dunedin. The evidence' of the husband went to show that he dropped across the missus one nisht with a bloke. The husband nut the question to the i bloke : "Do .you know that is my wife ?" The bloke, very NATUTALLY, WAS FLAGGERGASTED. , and made no admission. : . Maud, appeared m the box carrying a crowing infant, which insisted .on v giving unintelligible evidence, consisting principally of "goo-guck !" His Worship ordered the removal of the infant an operation effected with difficulty, as the wife's mother was already burdened with the other twin, . and counsel refused to hold the child. Maud stated that she was married to Bob at Dunedin fourteen months ago. They went out to Musselburgh to live. Her husband was ; getting 35s a week, and they were paying £1 a week for longings. The twins were born on January. 6, and the husband lived with her until the youngsters were two months old, when the parents had a row about some debts. Her husband "punched her about", and then left her and went to his mother's. He contributed nothing towards her support, and she obtained an order of the Court for the payment of 12s 6d a week. He paid this for a fortnight, then the payments ceased, and the wife came up to her mother's m Wellington. The marriage was a forced one; as .she was m a certain condition at the time: Bush did not want to live with her, and • always threatened to clear out when her children were born. Since her arrival m Wellington, she had received an affectionate letter from him asking her to go back, but she suspected that he did not want her, m fact, she was sure of4t. She was now nineteen years of age.

To Mr Neave : She had been living with her aunt m Dunedin. and her husband had not objected to strange men coming to the house. Her husband had had words with a man, who acknowledged to him that he had known Maud b.efore, and there was a row between the two men. Her husband had offered to make a home for her. but she had refused to go, and she had also refused to give up the children. She had not been instigated to this course by her aunt. He was always saying that he did not want to live with her. She did not know that Benevolent societies m Dunedin and Wellington were persistently . ' TRYING TO EFFECT A RECONCILIATION. | He was cruel to her ; he was always punching her and knocking her about and she was compelled to leave him. A married lady named Emma _Simnionds, mother of Maud, stated that she had been maintaining the «*irl and the two children m Wellington for three or* four, months. Mr Neave remarked that the husband was willing and anxious to live with his missus, and the Society for the Protection of Women and Children was moving m the matter. Bush wanted the ! heavenly twins, and . the Society was willing to send them to Dunedin, where the husband had made proper arrangements for their reception. Counsel iterated his. contention that the desertion was on the- wife's side.

Magistrate Riddell said that the evidence of the husband and two other witnesses went to show that the marriage between the two parties had not been a satisfactory one. The wife was not prepared to rejoin her husband, and though there might be fault on both sides, the woman appeared to be the most culpable. His Worship was not satisfied that she was destitute.. He was guided by her appearance and her statement that' she could work and on the evidence he would dismiss the application for an order to maintain the wife. The information re the children .was on a different footing. There were reflections on the character of the wife which might be taken to show that she was not, from one point of view a fit person to take charge of the children, but the youngsters a"peared to be well kept, and he was not prepared to say whether, on the evidence, she was or was not a fit and proper person. He made an order for the payment by the husband of 12s Od per wri .\. towards the maintenance of the twins.