FEMALE FUR FLYING.

NZ Truth, Issue 416, 14 June 1913, Page 7

FEMALE FUR FLYING.

/>-^^VWieh- th<s.. Ladies Don't Hit "itV Considering the ' unaccountable scarbity of female "scraps" which: find, jtheir way into the Christcmirch Magistrate's Cour&tpe "mill" enacted before a pair of Justices of the Peace on 3<*riday -of last week; came as quite a pleasant relaxation, and, judging by ithe attendance of ladies m court, the base at issoe' carried the keen interest of friends, relatives and neighbors of jEhe i .combatants. " . . . ::Ellen Holland (MrT^Jphnston) is the Jwife of he who "caretakes'-' the Christiehnrch Bowling green, aid she sought jto « have Bertha /McCleary, a laborer's ■wifej bound ? over to keep ' the peace. Bertha, who is apparently about one rung higher than Ellen on' the social; ladder, was championed by Lawyer CRowe, and didn't see why Jshe should pc bound over. "-' According to Mrs. Holland; she was along one of the main - thbrbughfares quite peacefully with her friend, Mrs. -Babble, on the evening of May 24, when Bertha sighted her, and after shaking hands, and saying, "How id*doi w to Mrs. Kibble^ swivelled ' round jto Ellen, and said, "I don't want' to fepeak to you, you — — -." Naturally, mien felt very much hurt at being. called such. 'ah unladylike name^— in \ fact, she was too overcome to' reply. lA, day or two later Bertha was again jdreadfully nasty. Ellen was m the Street, and. Bertha on her bicycle pedalled along : > yerys closely to -her and said as she passed, 'Tou think you're femart, ain't you?" Ellen took strong exception to such behavior, and, as fcho told the Bench, she ; felt like smacking, the woman's face, so there; land she would like her bound over^jwithcpsts., .. Mrs.;4iice Kibble, a coy young thing 'ot about forty; substantiated all that lEHen had said, although she was sorry jto| liave to come into the court. She jSaaiiy wouldn't like to say what Mrs. MeCleary said, so she got over the <difficolty by writing it (and spelling it jßorrectly) on a sheet of- foolscap. Mr Eowe managed to get a word " m Jiere, and ; said . that ' Mrs. Holland was evidently, annoyed, because Mrs.. Me-* jCSeary would\npt visit thpr. ; . Bertha McCleary ' appeared' to feel lier position keenly. She was nicely dressed, and was v=ery careful that her fejdrta should not touch Ellen as she made her way to the witness-box. In a- voice thick with emotion, she told the justices that nothing 1 was farther from her mind than -to call Ellen such '» name as; the dash indicates. Ellen muttered something when she saw 3Bertha, and the latter, not quite catching the remark, said, "Why; don't you jtalk English, you Boer?" "Witness had toot on any occasion told Ellen that she {thought herself smart, and as for the .RTOTd which Mrs. Kibble wrote on the — she had -never heard such an In cross-examination, Mr. Johnston's first shot registered a bull's-eye. rNow, I want yo\i to be careful," he ' paid. "You have stated that' you are jthe wife of James McCleary. Do you Isweaf you are his' wife?"— " Sir (with jwithering scorn), I refuse to answer." Mr. Johnston: Weren't you coming Jtroxn the hotel when yob saw Mrs. XfoDand? — Yes, I had' been there to get ]the ale for Sunday's dinnah. Didn't . you have a "spot" or two yourself while you were m the hotel? H-*Spot, w sir? I don*t know what you mean. ' Well, a couple of drinks?— l had one fedass of ale-^-only. During the remainder of the long - pross-examination, t Bertha admitted jtfcat she had seen Mr. Johnston, with

a view to settling the proceedings, and had refused to pay 10s 6d costs to [quash the case. Since then she had been indisposed, but had_ruhg him up on 'the 'phone two or three times about the case. • A' long list of .lady witnesses supported Bertha's statement about her calling Mrs. Holland a Boer, and the justices, with a reinark> on the absurdity of bringing such squabbles into court, dismissed the caso.