DOINGS IN DIVORCE.

NZ Truth, Issue 181, 5 December 1908, Page 6

DOINGS IN DIVORCE.

THE CHRISTCHURCH CROP.

Co-respondents m Galore.

THE LODGER IN HIS ELEMENT.

Justice Denniston has a Trying Time.

Divorce is fast becoming an institution ia Christchurch, m spite of abolition, by Parliament, of the open door to dissolution contained m the clause which constituted disobedience of an order to confer conjugal rights, a just ground for the untying of the matrimonial knot. The cases were partly heard oh Thursday week, ,when Mrs Ellen Davidson. Dunn, a coarse-looking woman, with a regular flower garden m her hat, sued for dissolution of marriage between herself and William James Dunn, and entrusted the pilotage of her case through judicial waters to Barrister Donuelly. She told Judge DenniirtoD that she was married 'at Brookside, Canterbury, on May 10. One child was born of the marriage, but appalled at the prospect of existence m this miserable world, kicked the . bucket m infancy, and left the parents with no affectionate object to distract them from the awful monotony of married existence. In June, 1903, Dunn appears to have got tired of things. The missus supplied him with £50 to furnish a house .for her m the country, and there was reasonable ground to assume that the temptation of holding so much money at one time induced Dunn to clear out. At any rate he vamoosed, as they say m Sco'L-nd, or Greenland, or somewhere, and wasn't seen subsequently, until uivorce proceedings were instituted on the around of desertion, at the e.xpira wan of five years. Since that time, the wife jived at Aud-in<-ton with fcer mother, Mrs Ann Cunningham, a lady *v listing on private 1 means, and earned her living by working for ma. ' j SHE HADN'T SEEN THE BRUTE SINCE, she said. . , „ ' To his Honor : They were living on bad terms when he left. The woman's mother corroborated the above story. ■ ■ His Honor commented upon the fact tjhat at the end of five years, when mosi e.;uired, Dunn was conveniently found. Mr Donneiiy eM>laiued that he hail made inquiries of the police, and \ learnt that Dunn's mother was li'-ln* at J.e.s ton ; also that the, nian was ti>en m Sydney and was expected .back shortly. . His Honor suggested '■ t-haf it was a coincidence tjhat Dunn should return at/a date when lie was .most required for service of the doqunYents. ■ A clerk m the. employ of. Mr Donn~ll> i testified (h.t Dunn was served with Maxpapers m the present proceedings on an occasion when be was vMtio: Mr . Don' nelly's office, and that Dunn had sign ci j an acknowledgement that he was tht man mentioned m the writ. His Honor remarked llsvt he dicn t .mean to suggest that there h«d i..een collusion, nor "that the £50 \had 1 een '.piVen to Dunn for the purpose stft'cd, but it was his Honor's belief Mliii none of <'!r parties were 'sorry "that the mon^y hail been invested as Dunn had invested it.t However* < a decree nisi' was granted, to be made absolute m three months. '■■ ■

The roma/hce of Elizabeth end Francis Malarkey was a short-lived one, the fool ish pair getting spliced on June IS, 1903, at Chrislchaich. They lr ed iy the beauteous suburb of ' Br-jmlcy, foi two whole months, when it dec ned t« Malarkey that.be hadn't .struck bis affinity, and he put as 'large a space be tween him and his bri<?e as lie coulr possibly do under the distressine; circs It was on August 27 that Frank remarked casually that he was going to take jrun down to Albury, and slie hadn't seei him since. , : . - Mrs Malarkey 'waited a month for hei absent one- to return,' then, fcoline thi pinch ol poverty, she consulted Roller' William. Spiers, estate agent, whose urnrelieved her immediate necessities am' put her m the way ol truci ing hubby, through t the police. 'i • A decree nisi .was graultd, on the application of Lawyer, Leathern.

The blasted co-respondent -was. the cause of rupture m the blissf-.il married relations of Thomas and Eliza Bowiswho, after marriage, lived at Brookside Timaru, Spreydon, and other 'places.- Uri fortunately, there were no chiloren, a circumstance that seems 1o be a fecit ful cause of dissention amon sb, marriid people. It was at eight o'clock -at night on September 10 last when Thorn as went home unexpectedly and saw a man named George Hand get ofi lm nuptial couch and run away. The circumstance wouldn't have been so /bad only the missus ' was on tne bed too Bowis yelled to the man to come har)'. but the invitation merely lent speed !;• the flying Don Juan. Fortunately, Bowi found* Hand's bike on the' premises ' an confiscated 'it. A' few minutes later Han returned . for his machine, but wouldn t tell Brown his name. The injured hus band threatened to brino: the bike rounso the police station, whereupon the >m moral person acknowledged that bis nanv was Georee Hand. BoAvis,' hewever, tol him that he would have to get somebort to identify him before he got his macline, and accordingly Hand brough back person named Charles Wright, who sal isficd Bowis that Hand was- the perso he represented himself xto be. Subs quently Bowis spoke to his wife abou* Hand's presence m the house, and SHE ADMITTED BLUSHFUL RELATIONS. WITH HIM. The exasperated husband ' asked her tc put her admission m writing,, and sh> did so, with ch? erf illness- Thereupon Bowis instituted , proceedings for divorce, through Mr Donnelly, and saw the necessary papers served upon both Hand and the missus. , His. Honor: Upon what terms were you living with her— were they good ?— Yes. Charles Wright, laborer, testified that on the night of September ,10, Mr and Mrs Bowis and. Hand, visited his place, when he identified Hand as the person he represented-himself to be. A statement was signed by Mrs Bowis to the effect that she had fractured the moral code with Hand, and Wright's wife witnessed the signature. Unfortunately, Mrs Wright was, now ill;, expected ■ her <* confinement at any moment, m fact ; and couldn't be present m the Supreme Court to corroborate the facts.

His Honor said he bad never seen -a cage so regularly conducted. Mr Donnelly thanked- his. Honor. His Honor (referring to the subdued character of all the parties) added that he should have liked to have seen a little red blood introduced into the proceedings (not physically, of couise) ; but, m the opinion of his Honor, the case was almost too prosaic. A decree nisi was granted, to fee made absolute . m three months. -

The co-respondent was a prominent figure m the case wherein George Wallis Jolly, a coachbuilder m the Addington Workshops,, sued Mrs Isabella Jolly lor dissolution of marriage on the ground of adultery. The youn^ people were married on July 5, 1905, at Dunedin, but it was the same old tale of childlessness. A youngster or two keeps a woman occupied, and she never seems to think of looking for the caresses of a strange man, except under unusual circumstances The couple lived m Dunedin for eiahteen months, and m January of last year, George took a Billet In the Addington Workshops. Bewigged Doueall got "the story from his client by queries. Jolly >«H !,,-„ miecua "'.^h ]i er mother m Dune-

din, the arrangement being that she was to join her loving hushand m a few months? time, when he should have provided a home for her m Ohristchurch. Meantime, however, he heard that Mrs Jolly had made the acquaintance of a man named Ogle, with whom she -had misconducted herself. "Ogle" is a very appropriate name for a co-respondent, when one thinks of it. The missus visited Christchurch m March or April of last year and frankly admitted to hubby that she had been living with Ogle. The husband ivas willing to overlook this and urged the woman to - remain, m Christchurch. She replied that she would have to return to Dunedin for a couple of weeks, but would, rejoin her first love m Cluistclmfth. • This she failed to do. however, and didn't revisit the Cathedral city until the end of last year, when Jolly told her he would seek for a divorce m his own time. Just before Easter of the present year, Jolly was informed by the police that the woman had been locked up at Dunedin on a charge of "idle and disorderly," arid he was told that if he didn't lake the missus back to his hearth and home, she would be • SENTENCED TO A TERM OP IMPRISONMENT. Jolly went down to the Scotch centre and L^.^ed to take her back, the woman being discharged on that understanding, fcihe promised relor-. nation at the time, and Jolly brought her to L'lir'atchurch, the reunited couple living at Nd. 20 Montreal-street. Bella pursued the rugged, path of virtue for the space of foiir: weeks, when she went out one night and didn't return. The .distracted husband made inquiries and discovered that ogle, the villain of the drama, i.ad arrived m Ch. istchurch from Dunediu, and had again taken possession of the missus. He saw Bella suiise.juently, auo be openly admitted her preference, foi the bold, v bad man, whom she was goiu^ ■_o accuinjiany to the Old Country. The woman and per piVr.mour left for Auckland io etl'er', where the man deserted er after a brief iea-'d of siut.il bli s. >t would appear that one of Bella.• . weaknesses was ; an unquenchable . thirst, .vWh landed her m the booby hatch at' Oijnedin on one : occasion. ' ; John Cowper, who keeps the Tourist Boarding 'House on the South Belt, stated that Ogle and Mrs Jolly came to Kis hashe'Jy on May IS lust, und iepr c - icnted themselves as man and wife. Oide . i.i,ned the book to that effect, and they shared a room m coinmou for three ■:!ays. When the- lady returned ' from Auckland after losing tier temporary husband, she again put up at Cowper's for two or -.Iwiree nights, but tbe boss kicked hef' out m cons.ei.uence of something that came to his ears. . ' Private 'Tec. O'Conr.ell identified a j photo of Mrs Jolly, and Lawyer Lou^aU "out m a document m -which Ogle admit ; tad livint; with the woman, but surest ng collusion between husband and wif.* m ihn present proceedings. ■ A decree nisi was granted, 1o be made iibsolute m three months,' and costs were given. '-against Ogle. ■"■',■' ■

Daniel Dorrie, an electrical engineer, working- m Tuam-street, ' Ohristchurch', was <"the- wicked person .who' desecrated •he happy home of Tho ; rhas* and Annie-; Hawtin. The young i.c t le were married 'not an inconsiderable time ago ai luistchureh, where they rrsided for .two ■ years, but it was not until thsy went to Fendalton that Hawtiu, who is a laborer, had reason to suspect the virtue of iis missus. It was at Easter ..time m the Fendalton home th't Dorrie was present, with Hawtin's brother and wife. Hie missus gave offence, to the wife be- •■ !use*,sne was knocking about" with Doerie, and neglecLed her child. He remon <-tr.ated with Annie, who 'replied th-.t he meant to enjoy -h^rseir,' und th -eaten-* J to leave her husband if lie said much alleged t«at Haw tin's broth.-r, iv ome unspecified " way, had liro'-en uji their home. "I'll" rlear out and go ck to service," she declared. The lady took her wiiful hook on the Friday, sue eeeding Easter Monday, and sent :hubby v post-card to the City Council yaru vhere he was work-ins;, telling him tint the child could be picked up at acer ' cer am address upon application. Th« ■oungster: was then- twelve . months old >.nd howled as loudly as most kids do it that age when a pin is sticking m them. Subsequently the unhappy . -hus-^ tend learnt that the missus was grafting it a hash house, and he went and saw >.pr and endeavored to persuade her to ••eturn. She said she would: come back m condition that he handed over a cash urn of £25 for household ' exes, and, furher, that DORRIE WAS ADMITTED TO THE HOUSE s a boarder (same old lodger). The, exraordinary part of the business is. that lawtm agreed to these singular proposals, and forked out the twenty-five quid. Moreover, he admitted Dorrie to the premises, m consideration of the fact that he paid the missus sixteen bob a week. After they had "been living together' for ;cme time, the deluded husband began to suspect. On Saturday nights, for instance, when he would po' dulif- ily to town ,for the giec lies, he would return to find the doers locked. One nig-Ht at the week erid the key had been turned as usual, and he heard the child crying. When he banged loudly at the door he heard a scuffling noise, and hie missus ! 'Pened the door. As Hawtin ' entered, he saw Dorrie disappearing into his own

I bedroom, and he suspected the worst. He | accused the missus of currying on with > Dorric, but she refused to maKe any admission. Three weeks, as I-lawtin was .going to work, the lady Expressed her intention of going; out that afternoon, and' when he returned she had gone. Hubby discovered that the wife had taken a servant's place at Lawyer Harman's, and one night, as ht was hanging about the premises, with his suspicions aroused to frenzy, he saw Dorrie approach the house, and later the faithless Annie joined him. Dorrie, strangely enough, was still living with Haw tin ,- and when the outraged husband went home he ACCUSED HIS LODGER OF TREACHERY. Dorrie explained that a mutual friend named Mrs Smith had &ent him on a message- toi the missus. The aggrieved husband wasn't satisfied and, kicking Dorrie out (m a metaphorical sense), sold up the 'appy 'ome m October, 1907. In May last his erring, spouse sent a letter to her deserted husband, offering to meet him at the Cashel-street bridge, Christchurch, but he refused to do, so. However, he hung around the vicinity with his brother till the lady got tired of waiting, and then followed her to her residence, 36 Tuam-streee, Linwoou. Mrs Haw tin entered and locked the door, unconscious of the fact that her discarded hubby was watching tne premises from the outside. Fully half-an-hour elapsed before the same old Dorrite appeared, knocled at the door, and was admitted by the missus. Hawtin had- his eyes focussed on the habitation for some time afterwards, and one morning at 7.45 saw Dorrie emerge from the house anft ride away on his bike. Frank O'Ccknell," private tec., raid he called on Mrs Hawtin at the Linwood house m July 1, and, tutor some conversation, asked her where her husband was. "I am not living with him now," she said. After a few more remarks, she admitted living with a man named Dorrie as his wife, and that her illegal partner treated her better than , Dorrie had done. O'Conviell frequently saw Dorrie going into and leaving the house, and was with Angus Donaldson, when that person served the divorce documents on the wayward woman. O'Coanell spoke to Dorrie and asked nim if *i. was true that he and Mrs Hawtia were living together as man and wife. He replied, frankly, "Yes, it's (.uit© conect. ' His Honor granted a decree nisi, to become absolute m ti:ree months, the custody of the cbild to be mentioned when the final application was made. * «- — The tale of Emily Brook's brief married life Isn't very sensational. She met tier Ezra m the cow district of Taranaki. and her marriage notice was published m a New Plymouth paper, m. a column senacate from those devoted to butter, quota•dons, and also the butter-ffit" averages per cow. They lived together two and a balf years, and no kids cursed the union— or rather, there are none living — winch is nothing short of a crime m a district •vJiere tlie staple industry depends' upon tie nunietousness of the child slaves ol the dairy. One day m ..August, IHO3, lUiuily, who is still a well-preserved woman •md loo'cs as though she could make any man reasonably happy, paid a visit to Christchurch, and the br'utaA iszra took'advantage of her absence to disappear.-' She. told. Judge Denniston, at the instigation of Barrister Hoban, that she hadu'l, seen him since, although she caused inquiries to he made concerning his whereabouts. The iady runs a registry office a1 present, which ought to be active train.: ing for her m the inquiry line. She heard THAT HE HAD QUITTED THli . and was now living m far-off St. Louis with another woman. Mrs Brook didn't mention the hussy's name or complexion, both of which ate probaUly liable to' change, m any case. Emily and fcJzra ivere living on fair terms at, .New Plymouth, and .it was the grief of -..e woman's life that Ezra never told her why he "left her. Certain letters were received uy her friends, m which the man tried to hide his trail. Some of them were typed, but one was m the hamiwritine. of hlzra,. whichjiad such peculiar features -=tlmt she easily identified it. An elderly person named Thomas Murphy, who used to be a Customs official, succeeded m tracing, Brook and recognised his handwr^tiu^ when shown the correspondence. A de-' cree nisi was granted, to be made absolute m three months, arid costs were al-. lowed against Brook, who appears to be father far away to collect anything from 1 . •

The married history of Annie and Tom Turner is the same old' story of a compulsory ceremony, when the'fnan marries with a pistol at his head, so /to speak. Thomas, who is a station hand, made an fionest* woman oJE the gtril, who . weaas specs, and looks thirty, a couple ot months before the birth of the child, which saw the light m the Salvarmy Maternity Home on August 14, 1902. The parties were married on June 5 of thp same year, when the man seems to have faded-, out of the woman's life. It is true he promised .to make a home for the miss.us, but lie never came up to time, and hi? unattractive spouse continued to live with the Harmy til/ March,. 1903, when sbfi despairingly tosk up her abode with her mother at Lyttelton. It didn't occur to Tom to take advantage of his matrimohial privileges, and the woman was a wifp m name only. He was somewhere out Hanm'er way herding Jive mutton or something, and although he wrote to the missus constantly up *to March, 1903, she only saw him once m January, at the home of her parents m Lytteiton. Even then THE MEETING WAS MOST UNSATISFACTORY, as he arrived at night when she was m bed and he didn't see her till next morning. He was then m the act of leaving for Christchurch, when he promised to return oii the same Dight and stay with her. Apparently, however, there was something appalling about the prospect, for he didn't come, and on the following day she went into the city to look tor him. She discovered him boarding, the second, outward express and upbraidrd him for Iris fickleness. He replied that he was on his way to Longbeach, and would write to her. He certainly did write ; m fact, ', Tom seems to have been a whale with the pen, . and not '• necessarily witp the sheep pen, but the woman's instinct

found something m the correspondence which conveyed the dpsire of Thomas to get away from it all. Much alarmed, the woman went to Ashburton, and then went into the Longneach district, when she discovered that her unloving spouse nad departed for Gore. 'She then took out a summons under the Destitute Persons Act for desertion, but it had never been executed, as .the police -had been unable to find Thomas. All the money she had received from the departed one was £6 from Hanmer and £1 from Longboach, and she ha x d supported herself and offspring by going out to service. It was through the questioning of Lawyer Flesher that these facts were made plain. Mrs Mary Jane Williams, mother o* the young woman, testified . that she had only seen Turner twice m her life, once when she sued him for the maintenance of his unborn child, which compelled him to marry, and at the marriage ceremony, which must have been a pretty doleful function. A decree nisi was granted, to | be made absolute m three months.

The connubial unblissfulness of Henry and Leah Jane Cashmere, of Uhristchurch, dated from tihe time that hubby acknowledged that he was suffering from a venereal disease' and saved the missus from contagion. This admission led Leah to believe that Henry had been . cohabiting with another cat of reproachful character, and at the previous divorce sittings Lawyer Hunt made this unusual ground justification for divorce. At that particular time the wife testified to her husband's admission that Henry was suffering from the complaint. Also v the bailitl who served the divorce papers upon the despicable husband told- J ldge Denniston that Henry had frankly admitted to him that ■ his physical condition was what

HIS WIFE .HAD GOOD REASON to suppose it to be. The case was so unusual and dubious, -however, that his Hon r or desired still further corroboration and adjourned the application till the present sittings. , /

Mr Hunt then stated that he had additional evidence m the person of Joseph Gilmour, a Woolston laborer, and form* erly a fellow workman with Cashmere. When served with the petition, Gilmour asked Henry if he were going to defend it. "Not much," replied' the unfaithful husband. "There's no use defending it; everybody knows how I'm carrying on, and living with another woman. 1 ' His Honor :. What is the woman's name ? — Mrs Ryan.

Cashmere .was originally charged with adultery with some persph or persons unknown. This evidence fixed it upon a lady co-r'e., and the learned JHulge, after some hesitation; granted a decree nisi, to be made absolute m three months, with costs against Cashmerel