EXTRAORDINARY ACTION.

Waikato Times, Volume 103, Issue 17408, 22 May 1928, Page 6

EXTRAORDINARY ACTION.

JUSTICE OF PEACE ARRESTED .WARRANT AT WIFE’S INSTANCE. ALLEGED ATTEMPTED DESERTION An elderly, well dressed, respectable looking man, who was declared by Mr J. F. Strang to be wealthy, of very good standing, and a Justice of the Peace in full commission, appeared under arrest at the Hamilton Magistrate’s Court this morning charged with attempting to leave his wife without adequate maintenance by intending to leave New Zealand. Senior Sergeant Sweeney explained that the man had been arrested this morning on warrant from Pahiatua and the police asked for a remand for him to appeal at the latter place. Mr Strang commented upon what he described as the extraordinary proceedings adopted in arresting his client. Defendant, he explained, was separated from his wife, and a legal agreement was in force under which he paid her £4 10s per week, and an unmarried daughter £2 per week. He had remitted these sums with unfailing regularity ever since the agreement was made. Defendant went on council, was a man of very good standing, was a Justice of the Peace in full commission and was wealthy. He held two good first mortgages, one for £4,000 and the other for £3,800 in the Manawatu district; he also owned two unencumbered farms in Manawatu, a shop, unencumbered, in the main street, Danncvirke, and lie was quite at a loss to understand the present extraordinary proceedings against him and he felt his position very much. Ilis family consisted of a wife two adult daughters, one of whom was married, and a nullified son. The only thing he could think of as giving rise to the present proceedings was the tact that about 12 months ago lie bought a faim in Waikato, on which there was a morigage of £9,000. Recently he traded this property for an unencumbered farm at Matarnala. Mr said that when lie interviewed the Senior Sergeant on the matter, the latter said the suggestion was that defendant intendedTo leave New Zealand. Council thought the circumstances as related would doubtless convince His Worship that tlie suspicions held against defendant were entirely groundless and as defendant lelt bis position very acutely, council asked the Bench to suppress defendant’s name until Hie circumstances were investigated. ||e had a distinct objection to going back to Pahiatua. Mr Strang thought (lie root of the present proceedings was the nianie.d daughter, whom defendant turned from home many years ago and who had shown him Hie greatest malevolence ever since. The Magistrate, Mr F. W. Plaits, S.M., said he thought it necassary *" remand the case to Pahiatua. lhe Court must presume there was good reason for issuing the warrant. He had only heard one side of lhe case. Meanwhile he would ask the press to suppress lht> name.