SURLY SCOTT.

NZ Truth, Issue 138, 8 February 1908, Page 6

SURLY SCOTT.

Brought to His Bearings ia the Police Court, Domestic squabbles are frequent .•nough all the world over, and when the details of some of them find their way into cold print they make very furious reading. The wife seems to be always the aggrieved person ; the hen-pecked husband has to bear his lot m silence. But this by the way. JMrs Fanny Scott, of Dallington, .Christchurch, has been very badly treated by her hog of a husband, William Page Scott, a little sooner who is pretty well known m and around Christchurch. He is too handy with his fists (m his own home) is Scott, and has a vile tongue— the tongue of a dirty, low blackguard. The pair, who are very much unsuited to each other, have been married seven, and a half years, ,and there are seven child_cn, but Mrs Scott has been married previously, and brought two children :With her to the Scott menage when* she very foolishly took him for better or worse. And it has been very much "worse" so far as she is concerned, because they, have been separated three times, - and she has had the cow three times before/the Court. flThe other day the:badly-Ifreated wofcaan proceeded against the little Ibrute for maintenance, and charged him with persistent cruelty, wherefer she asked for a separation order, ifr Cassidy appeared for the complainant and. Mr Smithson for the defendant. / In the course N of painful evidence Mrs Scott -said that her- husband ifras a tea merchant, or pekoe dealer, *r something ih that line, and they lived on a nine and a half acre plot at Dallington. It was three years aince they were last separated. They had come together again 01^ his promising not to ill-use her again m any JWay. But this promise he hadn't kept for HE HAD STRUCK HER REPEATEDLY. Dn December 17 she was remonstrating with her little girl abouit something when Scott came out t ,of the children's bedroom and said- ..t0 the youngster : "Don't take any notice of that " (calling her -a foul name). He then punched heor m the face, with his fist several tiones, and she rushed into the . kitchen, for the Joker for use m self-def<tnce. .He grasped the instrument oikt f of her hand and hit her a number? o£ blows with it, including one on "the hand, fahich was very badly hutft. The eldest boy, Edgar, aged. 11 years, rushied m, and catching hold of the stove take, he commenced belaboring Scott With it. When the latter s#w the state of her hand lp» desisted . from maltreating her further. She w*as obliged to goto Dr. Gibson's for! treatment, being driven into town by one frgilvie, bom Burwool. She lujtd visited the doctor's three times .-jbi all. and the hand was still bad. fDurtng ■Bh. last three years she hadti't received a penny from her husband. She had two cows, but their milk 'didn't realise much In the way of money, yet she was . EXPECTED TO KEEP THE HOUSE GOING on 1 the proceeds. There was plenty of fruit and vegetables m the garden, of course ; but she paid for all lecessaries. In reply to Mr Smitbson, witness Reiterated her statement on this , score, and mentioned that Scott always set v her aside m froait of the children and used most odious language to her m. their presence. Scott only bought meat for the house once i, week. Latterly she iadn't been cohabiting with him owing to a little disagreement. Her husband slept m tho children's room amd she slept m a tent with the boys* However, she got the meals just Vke same, and had hers inside the houses She couldn't dive with Scott any longer. The evidence of W/illiam Oizilvie is »f interest. Ogilvie» is a milk-seller residing at Burwood, and it- was he who picked Mrs Sfcott up and drove her to the doctor^. He also drove heir back to Da_tington the same, night. The place was locked up on arrival, but Mrs Scottb got through a .window, Ogilvie promising to Stay and see if the husband would offer her further violence. Scott rose from bed and' afterwards invited him (Ogilvife) into the house*, where, during the course of conversation,, he Baid to the woman, "I wish to God I had broken your otljer arm." On fthe following Sunday : bight the two men met on the roadi, when Scott asked Ogilvie to take .his side of the case at Court. i Mr Cassidy : Did hejask you to swear to anything ?— £res, be wanted me to admit that I anad, heard Mrs Scott say that his (fSeott's) sister was a prostitute.. lipoid him she didn't say anything ''Of the sort. ,He then called me a d liar five times ; he also called me a b— — a similar number of times. Did he during tb'is interview say anything about yo_t and Mrs Scott ? "-iTes; he said he/would give me. £200 If I would take /her away and marry her. Anything said* -about the children ? —Yes, I was to take five of them, and he'd .keen the remaining two. Was he sober ?— Oh, yes, it was on a Sninlay nietfvtf. Well, people seem to be able to get drunk on Sunday night. How did the interview end .?— He said, "PUT UP YOUR PROPS." and I said. "You dare to strike me. 3 * Little Edea.r Scott', who took hfe mother's part, told his tale of the squabble, and said he hit his father with a rake. His father was swearing at his mother. iHe denied that, the latter exhorted him to "deal it out to him", when ie was hitting his father. For the defence evidence was -given as to character, as if that had anything to do with punohintg one's wife or using awful language. Three men who had known Scott the bute for long years— .Alex. Duncaii, Wm. Yarv f 3WQp' 1 "ud J. Tonkins— said that- Scott was"the acme of -respectability, or words to that, effect, and they, had never known him to swear or drink. In fact be w'ps seemingly siioh a saint that be should be wearing a bisftop's gciit-TSi . .In answer to a facetious ttts£'rv from M»- Cns^'dv. tWe trio ada mi'tfed that they had never seen m „-,!_£.ott performing with a jfoket.

I Then defendant William Page Scott I (tea-dealer) stepped jauntily into the I box, with a sick smile on his face, [and a point blank denial of everything on his lips. He didn't strike the missus on the face on the occasion alleged, he said, or at any other time. But she grabbed at a poker, and the -boy at the rake, and . they went for him. He had nothing at all m his hands. The missus shied the poker at his head ;he bobbed and missed it. Then the woman came at him with her arms m froht of her and grabbed him. It was just then that she received the injury to her hand, for the boy, who was belaboring him made a mistake and hit his mother. Nothing further happened. Regarding maintenance, he always kept the home, buying everything and paying cash for.it. It was quite untrue that' the missus paid. Mr Smitbson : She had money from the cows ?— Yes, I bought her three cows to keep her ouiet— to amuse herself with (laughter). i The idea of a woman going m for the cow industry for pure amusement is really tno rich for anything. A humorist, like Scott is badly wanted up Taranaki way, where the SLAVES OF THE BAIL badly want teaching that pulling teats is pure fun. Proceeding with his lying evidence, Scott denied having said m front' of Ogilvie that he /wished to God he had broken the woman's other arm. In the interview with Ogilvie on the Sunday, though;- he did call him a b once, but the other fellow had applied the opprobrious term to him a number of times. : Mr Cassidy , was about to cross-ex-amine the miserable being m the box, but the S.M. said it wasn't necessary. "He was quite Satisfied witn the case as it was. He didn't intend making any remarks about it. He was quite satisfied with the evidence of Sirs Scott arid the independent testimony of Ogilvie. The defence wasn't to be believed at all, md he was surprised at Scott denying the main allegations. During the hearing it transpired that the defendant owned a quarteracre plot and' a six-roomed house m Tuam-street, Christchurch. He valued it at. about £1500, but there was a mortgage of £600 on it. The Court ordered sorry Scott to contribute at the rate of two quid a week towards the support of his wife and children, and also to pay costs.