Caution to Wife Deserters.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, 14 April 1891, Page 3

Caution to Wife Deserters.

I PUNISHMENT OF A HEARTLESS HUSBAND. One of those occasional glimpses into domestic tragedies which serve to show that there is truth in the old saw as to the repentance that follows marrying in haste, was afforded in a case dealt with by Mr Graham, R.M., in the Magistrate's Court this morning. Wife-desertion of the cruellest kind was the offence dealt with. Francis J. G. Graham was brought up in custody on the charge of having failed to comply with an order made by the Court in February last for the payment of contributions towards the support of his wife. Accused was a young man, apparently not more tban 25 years of age. According to the statement made by Mr Brown (Brown, Skerrett and Dean), who appeared for the complainant, the parties were married secretly as recently as last October. Mrs Graham's parents, on learning that the marriage had taken place, did all they could to start the young couple fairly in life ; but accused having got all he could out of them, cruelly left his wife after only a few weeks' • connubial relations, her health having in the meantime become impaired from the results of his misconduct. Proof was given as to the failure to comply with the order. The complainant swore that since accused had left her he had been living in openly immoral relations with another woman. Accused's only answer to this was that he had not lived with the other woman " all the time," but had been up country for a while looking for work. The Magistrate — Even from your own confession it was a most disgraceful state oi affairs. Another witness proved the immoral conduct of accused since his marriage. Mr Brown asked the Court to regard the case as an extreme one, and exercise the power of imprisoning the accused for wilful disobedience ot the order, and also causing him to find security that on being re' eased he would keep up his contributions. His Worship said no cases that came before him were more painful than wife desertion. This was a particularly disgraceful one, and he could not allow it to pass without marking his sense of its magnitude. For his past disobedience, and for having attempted to evade the order by clearing out, Graham would be sentenced to three months' imprisonment ; and he must also find a good surety in the sum of £25 that he would comply with the order in future, failing which he would be oommitted to prison for six months, — Post.