FAMILY DISAGREEMENT

Taranaki Daily News, 14 September 1927, Page 5

FAMILY DISAGREEMENT

ALLEGATIONS OF CRUELTY BOT TLE BROKEN OVER SON'S HEAD •lIU JITSU SECURES THREE FALLS. Persistent cruelty, habitual dtnikenness and failure to maintain were the allegations made yesterday' against Harry William Francis Pitt, of Mangorci Road, when his. wife, Margaret Pitt, sought a separation order and the custody of the youngest child, aged 15. Evidence on behalf of the cfaimant had not concluded in the afternoon and the hearing was adjourned until September 23. Mr. R. W. Tate, S.M.. was on the bench. Drink was the root of the trouble, contended Mr. L. M. Moss, who appeared for Mrs. Pitt. Ever since the marriage in 1902 until Pitt went to the war in 1916 he had been drinking consistently. Ou his return in 1918 his drinking had been worse. In 1920 a farm on Mangorei Road was bought with Mrs. Pitt’s money' and she went guarantee to the Land Board which financed the stock for Pitt as a returned soldier. They worked the farm together for 18 months. Pitt then went to Shannon and Raliotn and pursued his trade as a carpenter. For the last 12 months he had been working on the Mokau bridge. He was a good tradesman so long as lie left the liquor alone. From Mokau he came home every three or four months and on occasion he got the worse for liquor in town. He would arrive at his place in the early hours of the morning. At these times lie would threaten violence. Several times he threatened to kill himself and his wife and to do violence to his eldest son, Harry. BROKE BOTTLE ON SON’S HEAD. In November, 1924, matters came to a head. He had been drinking consistently and one night he hit Harry over the hrtid with a beer bottle and kept up the assault after the bottle broke. The mother was terrified and sought refuge with neighbours and was found by- a relative next morning under a hedge; the relative had been sent for by Harry. Further trouble ensued and the police were called in. Eventually, for the sake of the family, the mother agreed to go back and give Pitt another chance. Other trouble occurred and the climax was reached last June when, after two prolonged drinking bouts, Pitt’s conduct became so bad that his wife and family spent a whole night in a neighbour's cowshed a®d next day Mrs. Pitt went to live with relatives. During the last 18 months Pitt had given his wife only £7B and she had had to rely on assistance from her relatives. Though the farm was his wife’s, he-had declined to leave it and she now sought the protection of the law through a separation order, so that Pitt would not be able further to molest ..-.r and the family.

Evidence on the lines of counsel’s statement was given by Mrs. Pitt, who said her husband had made accusations of immorality.

In reply to Mr. C. IL -Weston, who appeared for Pitt, she said her son Harry was more reliable on the farm than her husband. The latter had thrashed /"revor and Douglas unmercifully on oi.e occasion because they had been fishing and had not returned’ home till after 11 o’clock. Trevor and Douglas had gone to stay with their father at Mokau last January, They were there about a week; she had no fear for them then. What cruelty do you allege?—There are some natures to which it is far more cruel to use language such as he did, than if he had lashed with a whip. He spat at me and threw the poker at me. When she had suggested a prohibition order, he had said it would be taking away his manhood. She knew he had a good discharge from the army, and she knew that if he had been addicted to drink it would have affected his discharge. Ho had not lost his job through drunkenness, but because of his unruly temper. She was afraid of him. She had not lost any of the milk cheques during the seven y ars, through her husband’s drinking habits. She had received some of his pension payments. HELPED BY RELATIVES. Counsel suggested that in order to get out of the unhappy marriage, Mrs. Pitt had falsely accused her husband of drunkenness, but this she strongly , denied. Since she had been married 25 years she had always been helped by her mother and sister-in-law. During the last 12 months she would have had about £5O from her mother aud about £75 from her husband. She had been for two trips to Wellington since being on the farm. While at Mokau for eight months Pitt had neither written nor sent money. She denied that before leaving for Mokau her husband had said lie would not send any more money home to be wasted by Harry, and she did not know he had offered to provide neu series for Douglas and -Trevor. There was no conspiracy with her brother to seize the furniture; she had believed the furniture belonged to her and she did not see why Pitt should seize it and break up the home. The receipts and insurance on the furniture were in her name.

In reply to Mr. Moss, Mrs. Pitt said her husband had spent the money he earned himself on drink. If it were not for her fear that he would come home drunk at night she could, be happy on the farm. In the street recently Pitt said 'i» would take out a prohibition order, but lie did not seem to want to do it.

Edward I). Evans, furniture manufacturer, of Stratford, said Mrs. Pitt was his sister. He denied that though the marriage had been a secret one, his mother had been partly the cause of the trouble, because of her aversion to Pitt. His mother had not seen Pitt for about 20 years. The only occasion he had been asked to interfere was in November, 1924, when Harry telephoned him saying there had been trouble at the farm. -Lid not go till next insjru uri.-V HOLDS APPLIED. Arriving there early ho was surprised to see Mrs. -Pitt and three children emerge from under a hedge. It was raining and cold. He was told Pitt had broken a bottle over Harry’s head the previous night. They had been turned out and were frightened to go back. They all went to the house, despite Mrs. Pitt’s protest that she was afraid. Pitt met them at tho door and asked Evans ’.."hat he was there for. He seemed to be suffering from liquor. He ordered liiein oft t4ie farm, but witness said he

would only leave when his mission was finished. Bitt went to strike witness and threatened to kill the whole lot. Witness said: “Well, I’m the biggest and strongest and you had better start on me.” Pitt went to strike witness, but he put a jiu jitsu hold on him that he had learned in the army. Pitt, while on the ground, again threatened to kill them. He got up and attempted to strike witness with a piece of wood. Again jiu jitsu brought him down. This operation was repeated a third time and they came to grips in catch-as-cateh-cau style. Witness was on top. He had determined not to strike a blow and told Pitt so. Witness told" Harry to tell his mother to hurry with the children. Harry misunderstood, however. Unfortunately, he thought witness was being got the better of aud he took up an axe handle and struck his father on the head. It had not been necessary and witness was sorry. RECEIVED WITH ABU.SE. Because he was implicated to a certain extent and in order to be ou the safe side, he reported the matter to Senior-Sergeant McCrorie, aud a constable and a doctor went out. Pitt received them with abuse and they were ordered off. Mrs. Pitt was taken to New Plymouth but later went to witness’ home. Eventually she went buck to Pitt. About ten weeks ago she returned to witness’ house in a nervous and excited state. She said Pitt bad again threatened to kill them all, and she had had to leave him and would never return to him again. He had been drinking, she said. Even yet she had not recovered from the shock. Evans told Mr. Weston he remembered Reid, the carrier, telling him that gelignite traps were laid about the place at Mangorei. This was when it was proposed to move Mrs. Pitt’s furniture. John Robert Jillett, dealer, who had known the family for 16 or 18 years, said the Pitts were old friends of his. H s had often seen Pitt going home about midnight, and he could not say he was sober on those occasions. He had been in the Pitts’ home and had never seen any fault in Mrs. Pitt as a wife and mother. She did not appear to desire to break up the home. He had often tried to persuade Pitt not to drink. Harry E. F. Pitt, 24 years of age, said there had been trouble between his parents ow’ing to drink since he could remember. His father would go to bed for several days after having taken liquor ia the town. He would sulk and speak to no one. He had been drinking home-made damson wine before the incident in November, 1924. On another occasion he made some blackberry wine and this he drank when it was ready. He was carrying a separator bowl on the evening his father struck him with the bottle. He then tipped his father up by the legs and left for town after some neighbours came over. His father and he had had words In the morning

because the former Imd engaged a ploughman whose (services were considered unnecessary. In reply to Mr. Weston, witness said be did not know that he was the cause of the trouble between hi« father and mother. He considered he paid his way on the farm. He milked 15 cows and did the ploughing, besides other work.