The Monckton-Lyuch Cases.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IV, Issue 126, 23 April 1884, Page 2

The Monckton-Lyuch Cases.

« . Extraordinary Revelations. [Post.] ,< f • :; -'•«, The hearing of these cases ! was Uto? ceeded with at the Wellington Resi'denl Magistrate's Court on Monday. The first one taken was that m which Alice Lynch was charged with having, at Auckland, on the 23rd November, 1881, made a false declaration touching the age arid parentage of ono Emma r Mary Ho well . Mr Shaw said the information had been laid by- Em tua Howell-'in ~wiiat .she^ conceived to be , her true . njan»e. She was falsely called Monckton, the certificate of marriage having been, pbiftined by fraud, and a decree f of \ihe Divorce Court, would be required' to dissolve the, union. „ ■: \ ■ Mr Cutten, submitted, that, his learned, friend had no right to make B^ch ' sbitcnients. , .. ; „;;.. -, i ! After i i^ 1 :fcher discussjpn. Mr Sha*obtained' permission to withdraw thp information and substitute one laid iji [the name of Jimma Marj^oucktqn. '■ ■■-„, hit. Shaw stated ,the particijilars j of the case for, the prpscutipn, arid called Owen Lord, Registrar of Births," f l)eath£, ..and Marriages; ab, Auckland, who produced a. book containing entries of marriages from the 22nd September*, 188.1, to the 10th May, : 1882. So.! 386, 22nd "November, 1881," wasja ( notice of the intended marriage oi Charles Henry Monckton, described as a widower, photographer by calling, 36 years of ago, previously of WVUingtou bnfc then pf Auckfand,_w|fch one Emma Mary Howell, described as ; a spinster, 15 k y ears of age, previously liviiigiu Wellington hilt then of Auckland ; to be solemnised at the office of the Regisjirar of Marriage* at Auckland.. The , notioe was signed " Ohas. H. MQbc.k,t6|i., The upual declaration followed, The next declaration set forth 1 that Alice Howell' being the mo|her of the said Emma Mary Howell, gave her consent to the marriage. On the 23rd of November a certificate was granted to Monckton 1 , The Registrar, could not lawfully have issued the cert|lßcafe .Withont the consent of • the mpther, faLher, f br guardian of 'the- girl. The uext document wa*s a certiGctfte; of the birth of Emiria Mary Howell, born at. Napier on 27th September, ,lß69. ! Emma Howell, alias Monckton, deposed that m the month of November, 1881, she was living m Auckland -with her sister, the present defendant. When she left Wellington her .father was j mV this city, Hying with aiiotlter , sister. ;Bter father was 1 now m a Lut^atic^Asyiiuin. Her mother was dead.' 1 She 1 was m Auctland for 'three or four months. On tlie 23rcr November, 1881, 1 witness, Monck(on v and her sister, went to !the Registry Office m Atukland. Prisoher told'lrer that she' was to r get i married. She was then twelve years and two months old. At that time she did not -know vhat marrijigeyWas. She did not *go to : the.*office, when, hbij sisteri and Monckton made the declaration on the^ pcevion&'tjay; Qn the 22nd- she was boarding at the convent, and was taken out and tol J that she vvas to be married the next day . She slept at her sister's hbu'^e that night,' and on the following morning she was married. She could 'not say wKo' ; witnessed the 'mavrijage,! She believed one of the witnesses vsfasa messenger simply called m loi the pur 1 -' :ppse. - The .other was. a. sister, theprisoner, who wrote her nameTas if she were witness'«,;ijiother.) Prisoner also told the Registrar that she was' hey : ■motiier. She fit i'ther eeriitied tliab her father was d^ad. By Mr Cutten — Monckton, however, told her thit if sho ditijnot marry., him, . she and her sister would be turned' on the streetis, , Wox , t wq years, or so after the marriage she had lived with Monckton.' 'She' hkd faaver acknowledged herself to be Monckton's w fe. The letter produced, signed M Eoima Monckton,'' was written by witness. She remembered the day one of her sisters, a Mrs Beckwith, was maj-ried. She was present at the ceremony, but did not recollect wiiat : was said ou ; that occasion. By the Bench — When she was taken frp in, the convent she did not know that she' ( w,as to be married to Moncktou. ' The^ prisbner- 'reserved hdri defence, and was committed to stand her trial at the next sitting of the Supreme /Couftv .> , > ... .■, , -. Charles Henry Monckton • was tl^a I charged with .th.ealleged offence. ; J. 0. Lord gave 'ovidehe'o simijar ta j that, adduced, m the pixivipUH- easel Mrs 1 yuch was the next witness. She st:isecL-that. she had been Uving with/ftfpnekton for about eight years, the^reater -puyt of. the/Jtime as his] wife r He; signed all the declarations on the day-^ of the Kiarriage. " Witness was born, m Auckland m 1854:, andi^as; now 30 years of age. Years agb she had a separation from her husband. , Monckton -was appointed her tjrastee under the separation. "She* was then about^O years of age. Shuoamedown ti6_ Wellington -,frsm W^ngamii^ and tried to support herself and thje girl, Emma. She found' that- «he not do this, ami she went to? live! with Monckton, but; not &x bis wife for some timo afterwards.,. Witness believed^ that nor sister wiis ij how alkmt 17 years of age, and that at the Jini^ the; marriage took ( place . she, was abpu t t.. .l^. She field" this opinion on account of "something 1 wMoh her* mother. said.. There were at one time ;all^ sorts, of. -yarns, about the jvaventage-J the cliild/ 'Witness palmed ilj off as hers because she did not jpeopHbC to.knov' who 'sjVe was. Mrs Beckwith, atiotirer sistbi'i'w'Ho^ wasfcliviihg. in; Cou^-/ tenay Place 1 with Lovell, cajne ttp .fiomChristchurch m the family way,' "atid 'wti's married Hoilßeckwith: whSn the latter'^ was drunk. Witness flt^i>fc jim ..drunk for a fortnight m! order 1 ' that lie might^hot see ! h6i\ sister's condition; , ißy Mr, , Cutten — Mopcktbtf Was ;al.w.ays of, opinion, as, far jas Sih'e . knew, that Emma was "a child which witness had before her marriagei Once jsor twicer he tojdi witoesa v that hV'h%tiv< heard the pirl-wns her sister, and witnesrf/tolU.him Mot;(:p: /believe m any yarns of that sorb. When she put the gifl-iiiforUlfc Qoi&v<mt,£the authorities desired her to take. Emma awayj as sh(si • ta.ught th© children thiags.^hjrt married | Women dught not to^np^v. ? j .-. — —-- 1 > Mfflrsfaret . Beckv-'ith, , wife of Sydnjsf: : • Beckwith, deposed that Moncktjan first lived, iwith sister A lice; at, Wi»Qg;-i i anui, .thei i giwK'iEmma ' being .with,; them. Witness was m the hquse fotiii ; some'tiitie/ and/saw Alice beat j Eaima^ she 4i<l not call her mother; .; (Qt^ dajr/Mpnektoa-Said; tp Eijn)a r Mio (: f you know who that~ is,' ' poxnting:?. .^ , .0., .A.. |-

witness.- EiHjriaireplicJ ' Yes; that w sister -Margaret; 11 and Monckton replied, ■•Go, and kiss your sister Margaret.' On another occasion Monckton went down into the kitohen and said, VJEmma, .where is your sister Alice,' 'She is lying down ontfte bid*.' Witness had heard Alice Lynch tell Monckion that Emma was her sister and that she had had her since she was a child. Emma was now about 14 yearsjand 6 months old. By Mr Cutten— All chis occurred about ■<six-or seven years-ago^-JBttbnessvW-ent ..to, vVanganui at that time to get ' married; * She declined! W say whether was now separated fro ni "EerTi usband and was acting as Loyell's housekeeper. Bef(j?ggel;ung nm^piea^d^fclr coming froni Ctmstclmcu sne resided with her sister m "Wanganui for about a month siaiEyi :Mo r "Shawr-^The accused knew for years past that witness, Alice 1 ;' Lynch/ jaiitl 'jareTthreßjisisters. Witness's mother ttiea tan years ago. The Bench thought the case was one for the Supreme' Court to decide, and the prisoner was committed for trial.