The Marquis of Waterford Divorce Case.

Cromwell Argus, Volume I, Issue 1, 3 November 1869, Page 1

The Marquis of Waterford Divorce Case.

(From the European Mail.) On the 4th August, the petitioner, John ] Cranch Vivian, prayed for a dissolution of ; his marriage with Florence Grosnevor , Vivian, on the ground of her adultery *, with the Marquis of Waterford,' The re- j , spondent and co-respondent filed answers | ; traversing the allegations in the petition ? : The Solicitor-General, Mr- Prentice, j - Q.C., and Dr SawbeJ|appo;\red for the pe-.j , titioner; Dr Spinks.fl.C., for the respou- | ] dent; and Mr J. B. Karslake, Q.C., and | Dr Tristram for the co-respondent. | . Mr Prentice opened the case in the ah- { « sence of the Solicitor General. He stated j , that the petitioner was the Moil Mr ! . Vivian, M.P. for Truro, and a lord of the | , Treasury. En June, 1801, ho married the j', respondent, who was the daughter of Major j , Rowley, of the East India Company's ser- I vice. They lived very happily together after the marriage, and up to the autumn of last year they generally resided with Lady Kinnoul, in Belgravia-square. In 1863 Captain Vivian became acquainted | with the Marquis of Waterford,'And they j , Avere subsequently on very friendly terms together. The Marquis was a young man j . of twenty-five or twenty-six years of age. Captain and Mrs Vivian sometimes visited j him at his seat of Curraghmore, in Ireland, I and a letter written by the Marquis to [ Captain Vivian wouM show the friendly j relations subsisting bftween them. In this j letter, which commenced, "My dear j Johnny," the Marquis said he was sorry j to hear from Mrs Vivian that Captain Vivian, after all he had done for his party, [ was not to have office, lie went on to say j that he looked on Captain Vivian as one j of his oldest and best friends, and he ex- j pressed his regret at some insult which had I been offered to Captain Vivian while he ; was staying at his house. He added that i if he liad known how Captain Vivian j would have' been treated, he would rather j have cut oft"his tougire than have as'icd him j to his house ; and he concluded b; hoping \ that Captain Vivian would go in office j as soon as any change occurred, 'j he first j intimation that Captain Vivian ever re- j . cruved of his wife's inlidelifcy was on the ' S 4th March, 1860, when two letters were j forwarded to him, one in the handwriting : i of his wife, and the other in the' hand- I | writing of the Marquis. The learned i counsel was about to road the letters, but j Sir J. Kar. lake and Dr Spinks objested ; to their being road until it had been shown i that they were admissible in evidence. j Mr Prentice yielded to the objection, and proceeded with'his statement without j roiding them. Immediatoly after the dis- \ covery of these letters, the Marquis and j Mrs Vivian went off together. Captain' | Vivian was then resiling at 16, Lowndes- j street. He employe* a detective to ascer- j tain whither they ha I gone, and they were ; traced to Calais, and thence to Paris, where j they Were staying at the Hotel, Westminster. Captain" Vivian, accompanied by Mrs Knight, a sister of Mrs Vivian, immediately went to the Grand Hotel at Paris, j Mrs Knight had an interview with Mrs j Vivian at the Grand Hotel, and tried to induce her to leave the Marquis and re- j turn' to England for the sake of the child- j ren—there being three children of the marriage,—but Mrs Vivian'declined. Mrs j Vivian then had an interview with (Japt. Vivian, at the Grand Motel, but what ] passed au that interview could not be j proved; as .the parties could nofr bo exa- ; mined; . But immediately after the inter- • view Mrs Vivian wrote this letter to her husband :—' : 5 o'clock.—l cannot go. I have tried and tried to give him up : and, against his own urgent advice, I shall stay. For God's sake, don't think too hardly of me ; and don't let any one come near me, j or I shall do myself some harm. lam goiug to my ruin, I know ; but it is impossible for me to go back. Try ami forgive i me in your heart. I could not look at j j those poor children after what I have done, \ | and do not send for me, for heaven's sake." : Her sister, Mrs Knight, again saw her, I and she then confessed liei) guilt. She ! continued to live With the Marquis at the | ITo.'cl "Westminster, and thoY were served i there with'the citation in the suit. ! The following witnesses were called : i The Dowager Countess Kinnoul : I have known Captain and Mrs Vivian for j several years, and was present at their I marriage, at St.' haul's, Knights-bridge. i They lived'with mcfintil last summer or j autumn, and they had three children. They lived on most affectionate tortus. . ; The Marquis of Waterford visited them. i I saSv'nothing to lead me to suppose that ■ i there was anything wrong between Mrs I Vivian and the Marquis.' Last voir Cap-

I tain and Mrs Vivian wont to live at 16, Lowndes-strcet. Henry Smith : I am a retired' nc"'3eant j of detectives, On Friday, March!), 1860, i I traced, the Marquis of "Watert'ord and j J. Mrs Vivian to Calais. I went to Calais j ' with Captain Vivian and Mrs Knight, j and we found they had gone to Paris, and j t we followed them. I found them at the ;'. Hotel Westminster. .'Mr Foley, a brother-in-law of Captain H Vivian, proved that Captain 'Vivian 'v-fTs£p very much distressed wtieu Mrs Vivian j \ left her home. I J Mrs Knight, the sister of Mrs Vivian, j k who accompanied Captain Vivian to Paris, ; c ; said : I saw my sister at the Hotel West- j ' minster, and told her that I had come to j j fetch' her back. She said she would not j «0 back. /.After a while I told her that j ) Captain Vivian was in Pqrjs, and she said j she would see him. She wcut to the Grand j Hotel, and had an interview with him. 1 j . was not present,at it.' I asked her to come back to her children, but she refused to i , leave the Marquis. She has never returned i to England since. " '" ■ |'. The service of the citation on the re- j j : sporident and co-respondent was proved ! I by the clerk to the petitioner's solicitors. J and a witnesS was called to prove the | - j handwriting of the Marquis of Waterford's j | letters. ' . , _■_ _ | , The two letters found by Captain Vivian j ; before the elopement were tendeied and j | objected to, and no question being raised j 1 ! as to the fact that it was the Marquis who t ' | was with Hrs Vivian at the Hotel West- | ' | minster, the lettos were withdrawn. Loi'd Penzance : The adultery is plainly j I proved. I pronounce a decree nisi, with j ] j costs against the co-respondent.