DEFENDED DIVORCE SUIT.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11482, 2 September 1915, Page 6

DEFENDED DIVORCE SUIT.

BEAN V. BEAN AKD THOMPSIN. The bearing of tho defended divorce oa.fi© Bonn v. Boan and another, a. husband'* petition, was continued at tho Suprome Court to-day before, Mr Justice Chapman. Air A'.pars appeared for the petitioner, Georgo Vincent Beau, Mr Ore.-,sen for tho respondent, Annie Jane Bean, and MiBishop for t ho co-respondent, Robert King Thomp.on. Too witness Taylor, examined the previous day, produrved. a book. in which he had entered a. wonw of tho occasion when bo had Keen Thompson go into Bean's house th.rou.gii tho back door, also tho occasion when he had seen a. couple by Sparks's Bridge. To Mr Aipers: He bad not made the entries at tho request of Bean, nor for tho purpose of enmity against Thompson . The petitioner, recalled, corrected a previous statement, by saying' that the last rent payment made bv hie wife*; was on November 13, 1914, not No- j vernber, 1913, as he. had previously .said. Eliza, Jane Stevens, wife of Thomas Stevens, said that since the beginning of IDIS she had known that Thompson was a frequent visitor to Bean's house. The day after Good Friday Mrs Bean said to her that, she was feeling lonely because Thompson had not come aud she had expected him. As witness arrived at Mrs' Bean's house the respondent !,aid: •" I thought you were King. He ought to'be.round tonight, but perhaps he thought Mr Bean might be homo." She gathered from Mrs Bean's conversation thai King visited the house on Mondays and on. Thur days to make . arrangement; tor Friday. Many, times witness had advised Mrs Bean about her conduct but the respondent only smiled. The witness, detailed other 1 conversations w ; t>h Mrs Bean concerning meetings with' Thompson. She warned Mrs. Bearii that she. had overheard people speaking about her, and Mrs Boan replied that she supposed that- things which could not he done openly, were not rigHt. Mrs Bean also- told .her that she wa~ going to live with Thompson before the 1 summer was over. On another occasion; when speaking of the possibility of .Thompson leaving home, Mrs'Bcjan. said that if King wont she would. go too. Witness said: "It would be the best thing to do." Mr=- Bean, replied : ! " Oh. no, Tebe. it would bo wicked." ! and witne's said: "It would not be as bad as it is at present." Mrs ''can j said: V What can 1 do,.Tobe:' I love , him." She repeatedly said that she I lo Tr ed Th'~nins°nr Witness Mrs Bean that if'the : nv€!etrvrs with Thompson ca mo to Bean's ears th«re would hi trouble, hut the respondent replied that Bean would never allow the matter to get into the newspaper.; fcr io-'T of disgracing his children. Mrs Bean expressed -'nxiet-v to rend . full reports of . the Bunn case in order- to learn something of tbe drugs ia<'iitiori<;d, and witness said : " What do p 'S a woman of your ago want with things of this sort?" Mrs Boan said: "You never know what you want When you have'a fa,"cy boy and your husband hasn't snoken to yon fT four nT-nths." 1 "+er Mrs Bean said to her: "You see King and T haven't got into trouble yet." Mr Gre r v°n. You've lived in Feudalton for a long time, M''s Stevens Withes®: Yes. I knew you, Mr Gresson, when vou were .a Little boy. Mr Gre son : ju,st thinking of it when you went into the witness box. witness denied that there wss auv ill-fcelino- between herself and the Tbompso- funily. At first she did not take Mrs Beau's conversation .about' Thonip«on seriouslv, .but at the end of June, when she spoke to Mr Bean. she. felt sure there was something wrong. To Mr r isho»: Mrs Pean told- her +, -af c he had never loved anyone but Thompson. ' Elizabeth Dyer, of Joseph Dyer, living in Sprevd^n,-s"id that early this year sh-o met l\'rs Bean at Mrs Stevens's h-tise. Previouslv she had had a Ikywing acquaintance with 'V-" " - n ■ THe wek witness visited Mr" B"an with Mr« P.«herts, and Mr« Bean spoke of Thompson. She said tlr>t was King Thomas-op ; that he was ofte-i at.the hms™ ancl on the bovs' bwl during +he Lator when Mrs Be ,ir > r'ferrod to Thompson as her boy, witness said that it was not right for a wonia-i o f her a rr e to have a boy. She said that if mvthing h°"rK»ntd the hoy would not marry the respondent or act honourably by her. siv>ke out because she not take confidences of that kind wi+hout Protest. Mr« Boan was serious when she spokfe of Thompson. Tim closed the case for tho petitioner. Mr Ores-son said that the case for 1 respondent was a complete denial of 1 the allegations. He hoped to be able to show that since 15 Thompson had not been inside Bean's house. 11 ' would be shown that on Julv 1 Thompson could not have been at tho Wonse ' as stated bv Bean and Taylor. With regard to the incident at the gate on April 29 there was no doubt that Thomp'on brought Mrs Brian home, but den'ed that they kissed. Poth Mrs Bean and Thompson would deny that there had ever anv familiar- ' ity between them. Mrs Bean would 1 fav that B.ean never charged her with ' kissing Thompson, and the correspondent would sr>ea-k similarly as to the interview with Boan on the .following day. With reference to the ' adrnis- ' sions said to have beien made by Mrs Bean to comparative strangers, .he 1 submitted that, a woman , who had committed adultery would hardly have ta'ked in that way. Mrs Bean, might be a vain woman, who pssuaged her vanity by talking of her "fancy boy," talk of which probably Thompson had never heard. The respondent was then ca'led. She stated that since her marriage wu,h Benn his sulky disnos'tion had' oausod unhappiness. Since her own two boys went to work he had not got on too well. They Would not help him in the garden on Snndiys. Twice for a month and once for four months lie had gone without speaking a word to her. At Fenda! ton the Thompson's house, was the only one she had visited intimately, and she had been in the hab t of taking bruised fruit and scraps, probably every third night. She had notchanged in her habits lately, except that she had g'ven up the garden work. She never went out at nignt except to the Thompson's house. It wa-' not true that she was out practical.)' every night in* May. She had known Thompson during the tivo yeans, but she had spoken to li.rn only dur ng the past two. Thompson used to plai T I with the children, to go out with her sons, and bring messages from h s moI ther. The row mentioned by the petitioner as occurring on April 29 hap- . pjned in the middle of May. She did not kiss Thompson, nor did her husI band accuse her of <t. Thompson was . merely seeing her home from his mo- ' their's house. Her husband hud often complained -that she d.d not dre&s we)! , enough for h m to go out, and so, when it wins not necessary to pay naonov oti , the mortgage, she bought clothes for herself and the children. bite was never at Sparks' Bridge with Thompson. and was never behind the fence with Thompson. Since April 15 Thompson had not been at her house, and she had seen him only when coining from the train, ox on one occas on when he stopped at th© gate as lie was passing. Her first knowledge of any divorce pro- . ceedmgs was when the patit on wa; . sen-6d on heg. Mrs Stevens had not ■ been a frequent visitor to the house of late. Sha bad never been out with Thompson and. never told Mrs Stevens that siiG bad arranged to go out with 1 him. " | Air Gre c son: Have you had many ' j conversation* with Mrs "Stevens? 'j itnesv. Oh, not, many. J | Mr Gresson. Can you explain tho " jc«".nvor--ations det.iile-d by Mrt Stovem? ' WitivsM I can't '.-xpbui. C^n-

I timiiniz, the wituoss said that when slje j we', Mm Dyes, Mrs Stevens &a.id: j I " Look, we want to tell your for-' j tune." Mrs Dy«r had said that she ! was jjo'ng so .-tart as a fortum.'-teller. | In telling witness's fortune with cards, Mrs Dver piekod out or.o card and said: " That's a. dark num. He's » p~;K-i. friend to you.' M"s jok"ig!y remarked : T'wi':- Kiisg Thompson. 'Hi'it'll 1)0 your At'W that Thompso i iolunjrly reteif.'d to as ho.r-hoy. '.Mr Or'-v-on : Do von d<-.nv all -tlv coiivtTH.Tt-iojis ! by Mrs Stevonsi' Wit.no-s: A!: of thorn •vseop?iiiec th" rc-fcrc-ncos so my "hoy, 1 ' wheh J, have exjil.i'iw d. Mr bnv *• i•;t i oianr.c MI'J;. Mrs I/Joan •■•ti d than, sh<' never mentionoii aus I.'ii,!u about Bunrt's case, or tlio di'Uu's ou ntioiiod in that c'J-f'.'-. i Proceeding.)