WIFE v. HUSBAND.

NZ Truth, Issue 123, 26 October 1907, Page 6

WIFE v. HUSBAND.

A DOMESTIC DOG-FIGHT. The Doings of the Douglas*. "GRACE IS A NICE LITTLE WOMAN t"^

TKe sTormy martial relationship existing between William Alexander and Annie Douglas, was partly ventilated m Wellington Court on Monday week, when the missus sued John Alexander for the maintenance of herself and two children. It was a field day at the Hall of Justice, and this particular case was last on the list ; so that when an army of witnesses for either side found them--selves thrown together m the common waiting-room, m the corridor, and m the sacred precincts of the court generally, friction ensued, and scornful remarks hurtled through the atmosphere. Even with a late sittino:, there was only time to hear the remarks of the wife, who is a small, pale, but decisive personage. Her tale of William Alexander's perfidy was interesting. She married him m December, 1902, but he didn't provide a home for her, and she went to live with mother m Riddiford-street. William Alexander who is a carpenter, meantime went to work at Porirua, the place where mentally 'deficient persons gibber at strangers. Subsequently, the pair set up house m Princessterrace, Newtown, which sounds romantic enough, but Douglas departed for Pael'iikariki to do some more work, and the missus went to live with mother again. The next effort to start a home was more successful. The pair are found residing m Berhampore m August, 1004, just like the ordinary married cowl Her husband and one of the voun?sters had been ill, and the wife felt the need of a change after nursing them, and she decided to go to Wanganui. Prior to this, an old schoolmate named Grace Holtz, who had got into trouble and carried about with her A MEMENTO OF HER INDISCRETION m the shape of a squalling kid, applied to Mrs Douglas for the loan of ten bob, as she was m sore straits. Annie didn't have the cash about her at the time, but with the consent of her husband, she took Grace and her unauthorised offspring into her own home. The snake that was taken m and warmed and then bit the hand of its benefactor was a fool of an ingrate. beside Grace, who supplanted the .missus m the husband's affections while she was m Wanganui. William Axender and Annie 'had got on pretty well together up to this time, but on Jul y 13, two days before she went to Wanganui he exercised his husband's privilege to be brutal. She had been down town, and was proceeding to bed when Bill swore horribly, and remarked, "If you don't get out of this I'll smash your face m." The wife had only her nightdress on and she . slipped on a mackintosh and went to 'good old mother's, m the passage of whose abode she remained shivering till two. o'clock m the I morning. She then came home again and knocked at the window. and J William, who had been looking 'on the beer when it was brown, let her m, but subsequently kicked her \ out of bed. When m Wanganui she received separate, sums of 5s and 10s from her husband, and o.s she remained there a month, it might be explained, that she called m at I Halcombc, whero she has a small I property, and. collected some cash there. She returned from Wanganui on August 23, and after paving a visit Ito mother, proceeded to her home m Berhampore. The lady wasn't very explicit about how the row started, but she said something about a letter, and Grace Holtz demanded t'ho missive. She came over and struck Mrs Douejlas twice on the face, while William Alexander held his wife by the shoulders and urged the other to "eivc it to Grace." His familiarity with the strange woman's name was not exceptional, as m one letter to her m Wanganui he had remarked, [ "Grace is doing the cookine;, washing, and mending, and lookinf after the home." In another letter he remarked, "GRACE IS 'A NICE LITTLE and on another occasion he wrote, | with affectionate interest, "Grace has had a bad time of late. with the kid >howling at night." It was not unnatural that there should be a row when the missus returned, and that she should go and live with mother. Mrs Douglas testified that her husband had banged, her on many occasions during their married life, and one Saturday he thumped her on the skull, gave her j a black eye, and battered her face ! generally. He had again been enveli oping beer, and he remarked, with ferocity, as he got m his dirty left, "You have no witnesses to prove this.". Mr 'Jackson (for the defence) : Are you m the habit of using vile, filthy language ? — No. What, never ?— I didn't say never. When do you use it. then ?— I might when I'm wild. Wouldn't you do it if you were wild ? « Magistrate Riddell : You musn't argue. You have a bad temper, have you not ? — l've got an ordinary temper. Witness stated further, under crossexamination, that she didn't know to her own knowledge that there had been anything improper between Miss Holtz and her husband while she was m Wanganui, although she had received two letters from Mrs Russell. When she returned to home from the West Coast there were m the house Mrs Hallev and her daughter, Grace Holtz and Miss Stevenson. Now, is it not true that when you entered the room you screamed, "A nice friend you are of mine !" and rushed at Miss Holtz and slapped her on the face ?— Grace started it first, and Miss Stevenson pulled my husband on: me. My husband used bad language to Miss Stevenson. Annie said, with indignation, that she had not passed herself ofj: as a 1 single woman m Wanganui. She had_ met a nian named Motham m the I train on the homeward journey, but ' she did not tell him that she had had

••|rr r .'...j. a good time In Waffgatiui^' Ifuft slie had taken her rings off and represented herself to he one of the unmarried contingent. She had not, since her return, received letters from men m Wanganui addressed to her m an assumed name, although she had received correspondence from Mrs Cullen, with whom she had been staying. No man had asked her to go .to Auckland with him. To his Worship the witness said that when she went for the trip she left one of the children with mother, and the other with another woman., Mr Jackson '. Now, THIS' IS A DELICATE QUESTION. Have you ever been unfaithful to your husband since you married him ?— No, sir. Mr Wedde, for the complainant, held that this question was not permissive. His Worship : This is not a suite alleging adultery. Mr Jackson : No order can be made under the Act to a woman who has committed adultery. I can prove that as late as May last she admitted it herself. His Worship said the admission or otherwise of such evidence was at the discretion of the Court, and he considered the question irrevelant. If such a thing existed, the husband had his proper remedy. Counsel : He is going to take it. His Worship : I will have no further argument. Counsel : I can give it m the evidence of the husband and other witnesses. His Worship : This is a charge of persistent cruelty, and the question is irrelevant. The wife, still under cross-examin-ation, said that prior to the row her husband was m the habit of giving her £2 out of his wages, and of keep-^ ing £l, although sometimes he gave her move than £2 a week. She was supposed to pay the accounts, and although some were still owing, she didn't believe he was getting bills from all over the place. She acknowledged an unpaid account for chocolates. Her husband had agreed to separation if she would accept 15s a week and give him the children, but this didn't suit her. Since she came back from Wanganui she certainly had gone down to Courtenav Place and asked if her husband was working there but she didn't pour scandalous remarks into the ear of her husband's boss and make it impossible for Bill to get work. She hadn't gone to the job and made faces and CAST OPPROBRIOUS EPITHETS at her husband m front of the other men, but she acknowledged, with a grin, that she had placed her thumb on her nose and extended her fingers derisively m the direction of William Alexander. Since the separation hubby had come to mother's and offered her 10s, but she had not remarked, "You can keep your dirty, b , stinking money !" She didn't require cash at the time, but she accepted 15s from him when he offered it on September 15. These proceedings were commenced on September 27. At this stage the case was adjourned till Monday. ; The domestic miseries of Annie and Willian Alexander Douglas, of Wellington, were further 'ventilated m the. Magistrate's Court on Monday last. The proceedings tending to show that although neither of the principals m the row is a saint of the holiest pattern, still William Alexander isn't the dreadful person he was made out to be, and there wasn't sufficient evidence to grant the earnest prayer of his energetic spouse. That lady called her muchinentionet] mother, Mrs Hamilton, who testified that the couple had never been really happy, but their unhappiness hadn't reached downright misery until trouble descended on their devoted heads with the advent of Grace Holtz. The old lady didn't actually see Douglas strike his missus, but she saw her daughter with a black eye on one occasion, and she nursed another injury, which was attributed . to the brutal Douglas.. That gentleman's language to his spouse wasn't Parliamentary, or, rather, it was of the kind that isn't supposed to bfe parliamentary. The elderly witness couldn't bring her lips to form the lurid expressions,, but she consented to write down the words. The witness testified that DOUGLAS LIKED HIS BEER, and the exhilarating beverage had a marked influence on his conduct. An unmarried lady wearing specs., named Sarah Stevenson (a cousin of the complainant) confirmed the alleged conduct of Douglas when his irate other half returned from Wanganui. William Alexander held his wife while jGraCe Holtz struck her , and Douglas also gave his missus one m the back to go on with. The discoloration of Mrs Douglas's optic, alleged by that lady m the cruelty charge, occupied a fortnight after this, and the ill-used woman also had a mark on her face as. though, someone had bitten her. Douglas was presumed to be the author of these brutalities. John Hamilton, step-father of Mrs Dounias, gave corroborative evidence, particularly m regard to the damaged countenance worn by his stepdaughter at one particular period. It is probable the court thought this witness "puotestcth tob much," for m his groat desire to give excellent evidence for his side, lie swore that he had seen the. young woman with no less than five black eyes m six months. . As Mrs Douglas had only mentioned one damasred window, it is possible that the old boy was regarded as a harmless emulator of a celebrated untruthful person mentioned m the Bible. The defence was a general denial of ihe # nllojrpil cruelty and failure to maintain the apKriwcd wife. Douglas, speaking on his own behalf, soid he had never at any time locked the missus out of bed. ami any statement to the contrary was a chanter of romance. Hir, wife,- who I

had been doing the tourist business m Wanganui, had also given an incorrect version of the scene which took place upon her return to the house at Berhampore. Mrs Douglas accused Grace Holtz of writing a letter when m Wanganui. This Grace denied, and demanded to see the missive. Then the angered missus remarked, "a nice friend you are of mine !" and, gave Grace two on the point to fill m time, but transgressed Marquis of .Queensbury rules BY KICKING THE GIRL' with great determination. "She then hurled herself at her miserable husband, and planted a left and right on his countenance before he could recover from his astonishment. Next she let her tongue loose on Grace, and gave an excellent illustration of the inadequacy of the .English language to express one's thoughts at moments of great excitement. The two women closed, and Bill Squires's nineteen-round scrap with Jack Sullivan was a mere circumstance beside this engagement for velocity and earnestness. Douglas succeeded m separating the combatants, but suffered some injury m the process. The infuriated missus then went to the kitchen to put. some eggs away, but returned and hurled filthy language at her unmarried rival. Douglas denied that he had given the missus a black eye at any time, and had never seen her with a sombre peep- j er. The only occasion on which, he had done anything which might be construed into an assault upon his wife, was once when he asked her to clean a dirty knife-box, and she refused, and called him by a name which could only be expressed m the most filthy language. He then boxed her ears with his open hand. With regard to Grace Holtz, his own wife had come to him and asked him to take her and her unauthorised infant m. When the missus proposed her ' trip to Wanganui, Douglas offered to go into lodgings till her return, but Mrs Douglas remarked, "Oh, GRACIE WILL LOOK 'AFTER YOU while I'm away." Douglas denied that he had been guilt^ of misconduct with Grace ; m fact, he had a sort of male chaperon m his aged father, who came down from Paekakirihi • when the missus sloped, and staved at the Berhampore house, most of the time while his daugh-ter-in-law was away. The old boy, who owns the Berhampore house, and allowed the, "young people to live there rent free, testified later that his son's missus had a devil of a temper and awful tongue, and he wouldn't live m the same house with her for untold wealth. Douglas junior stated that up to the time when his wife cleared out to her mother's he was getting £3 a week, which he gave to his bedmate, with the exception of a few shillings, and she was supposed to pay the bills. She had written once only from Wanganui for half-a-crown, and he had sent her ss. In the week secceedinc; her return, he had only earned £1 12s, and he went to her mother and offered her 10s. This she repudiated with scorn and the remark, "I don't want your dirty, stinking money." In two subsequent weeks, however, she had ac cepted two sums of 10s. On September 2 she came up to Berhampore and asked him to forgive her, and she would tell him everything . She then confessed that she had committed adultery with a o-asworks man. Matristra'te Riddell thought this evidence- was not admissable. He pointed out that the husband had offered to take his wife back. Mr Jackson said the offer was open up to the time of her making the admission of adultery with a man named McDermott m May. Douglas said that .when the conversation took place they were sitting on the bed, and he thought she was going to "make it up," but when she made the dreadful admission aforesaid, he got un and walked out. Later, he found a letter on the mantlepiece asking his forgiveness AND CONFESSING THE ADULTERY. The real trouble with his wife was about Grace Holtz, who was now getting 10s from his father as domestic m the house. It was his intention to seek a divorce from his remarkable missus. Douglas admitted to Mr Wedde that he had destroyed the letter containing the damaging admissions received from his wife on September 2. He didn't keep it because he didn't think these proceedings were cominer on. He refused to live with his wife after her confession, but he couldn't account for the fact that his solicitor had written to his missus ten days after the confession, offering, on his behalf to take her back— and he presumed his memory was bad concerning the dates. He didn't think Iris wife's letters from Wanganui betrayed jealousy. although her mind had been poisoned by another woman. He couldn't throw Grace Holtz out into the street. His wife had written, "as soon as I come back, Grace and her parcel will be thrown ' out into the street." To which Douglas replied, "If there's any throwing out, I'll do it; that girl has behaved herself." , "\ To the Bench : The ages of the children were four years and three years. One was with its grand-* mother, and he obtained possession of it by strategy. No ; he didn't steal it ; he got it after they showed him a dirty point. The wife and the grandmother put the boy against him, and wouldn't allow him to kiss" the urchin. A married woman named Mary Ann Huddy, the much-advertised Grace Holtz, and Wm. Douglas, senior, gave corroborative evidence. It will be remembered that Mrs j Douglas admitted having met a man named Metham m the train on the way back from Wanganui, but she repudiated the allegations that she had informed Metham of the rood times she had had m Wanganui ; that she had taken her rings off there aM .GALLIVANTED 'ABOUT. WITH MEN as a single woman. Mr Jackson desired to call Metham to give evidence on this point, but the Magistrate considered it unnecessary. aspersistent cruelty was only allied. Counsel had also to do without . the testimony of another witness I

whose evidence concerned duct of Mrs Douglas. Mr Wedde quoted autb show that it was not m cruelty should extend o\ of time. Mr Jackson pointed ou specific acts of cruelty \- bv Douglas, who admit, his wife - once, and a si cruelty must m law be ere and brutal one to the Court. •In the course of his re Worship said that apparei Holtz was the cause of t-r With regard to the charge tent cruelty, the acts were and spread over a lengtr Neither of the parties were< of a good temper, and m : nection an order could not With regard to the suit h tenance, offers of money hai made by the husband, but tj peared to be faults on boi The husband had acted injuc and the girl Holtz should * have been accommodated wij ings m some other house, \ Douglas had failed on both ! and the informations would | missed. No costs, however, be allowed. \