A NICE HUSBAND.

Evening Star, Issue 4280, 14 November 1876, Page 4

A NICE HUSBAND.

-The Ballarat correspondent of the Melbourne' ~* Argus' writes on'the 26th October: —"An illustration—let us hope it is a most exceptional one—of .married life in Ballarat - was brought before the City. Bench to-day, which, for cruelty, tyranny, and childish folly, anything) written by any of the liveliest writers of fiction. The j case '■'■■ wafe that of Cordukes v. Cordukes, in which ?'''', , : 'the complainant, Louisa Cordukes, aged ''SMtt^ely l 'sixteen, the mother of one child, '■'-■'■'■Unci bearing another,-sued Kichard Charles Cardukes, her husband, aged''about fiftyforuy and described as a chemist,' for main- -■ '■''.' tenanoe —alleging gross cruelty and ill-treat- * ; taenfr as :the basis of her application. ;Her . V2! evidences wmt to show that in May ; last '. leave Tfier'/'husbaiid on the T; j; '-; good to her, she was induced to go back and ; ;: .•:. Jxve-with him She had..not long returned when the same system of cruelty was re- ,.,••• ; ..Burned.,, • According to her statement, it :'.•.-.' required very little to excite her husband's * . : and whenever he got out of temper he refused to speak to her until she had placed .<-. kletter oniius plate.at table, containing a •' ; •writlen apology, and begging forgiveness. In fact, though living together, all their communications with each other were, for . lengthened,periods, carried on in writing. The cruelty he practised on her was pinchj ;•. ing and • squeezing her limbs, pulling her ears, and slapping her" face, without what • ..jibe, considered.the slightest provocation. On one occasion- since.;the first breach* occurred there was a list of the clothes to be sect to the wash, made. out. On looking! over • it iihe-complained that the name of one of 4 '.the,articles-was improperly spelled. She ontthe'Jother hand, argued that he was wrong, until he got bo angry that he . ordered her not to enter his bedroom for a ;';'.; ..fortnight,'took her to a small room in the nousß, r and locked her in there without any bedding, and with only a sofa, a Bmall table, v ; a ohair, her shawl being the only article ahehad to wrap around her at night. The '-.;,; window of the room was so small that she :,-.' . could pot get out of it, but it was fortunately.low enough to permit anyone from the outside to pass anything into her. For ■ : four days and nights Cordukes gave her nothing, but bread and water, but she managed td&t her sister know her position, and she suppliedher with meat, bread, butter, tea, .coffee, kc, unknown to her husband. v. that Bhe wrapped herself up in her shawl af night he "deprived nef-"of that article on--the second day, and seeing that ehe had used the table»cover as a wrapper afterwards,- he also took that away from Her, and it was only after a number of days ~'.,'' j, of suph imprisonment, and a threat from V-.; r.her friends to punish him, that he let her but, itill denying heraccesß to his room .-. / Becentlyhe gave her half-a-crown to pur- .. chase gome ribbons, but learning that a '>' '■ - ' friend of hef husband was. coming tn see .'- < ' him, and knowing there was scarcely any- • '•■'■ thing vin the house, she appropriated ■the money to the purchase of some ' biscuits, cheese, butter, &c, On learnTt~ * ing'tbafc-she had done-so, h*» gnf. jpfo a great J rage, struck her onj the nosAw-making -■*.-•■ : it bieed freely, slapped; her faceraore the ;'.■'* rings out of her ears, and hurt "he- very much,; and it was for this last cruelty that \ : she took proceedings against him now. The . * while not denying that he had exercised whate he called a wholesome

"JcOTrgctive.". system in his household, and Jawmti&W, ,«& his wife had,

exaggerated the treatment she had received. ] He denied having struck her on the iiose and> tearing the rings from her ears, jbut after being pressed he admitted taking them from her. In aSswerT to couneeLj he said he was" a piously-inclined man; yiat he wished to'bring* up his young wife in the fear and love of God, and took ; hei to Church regularly ; and on being asked iij he held family worship in his house night and morning, he replied, "Always at night, jbut we havn't time of a morning," which elicited a severe rebuke: The Bench considered the wife's statement supported by her witnesses, and the conduct of the defendant heartless, and cruel, and inexcusable, and though'-he offered to take his unfortunate wife back, and promised to te good to her, the did net think he should be trusted, and made an order for 15s a week for the wife, and 5s a week for the infant, with L2 2s costs.