TWO SLIPS OF PAPER THAT LED TO TRAGEDY

NZ Truth, Issue 1108, 24 February 1927, Page 9

TWO SLIPS OF PAPER THAT LED TO TRAGEDY

3- _ - S 1 (From. "NZ TruthV §;^^^^^^ kland Representative.) | 1 TEW women who discojSFa let^^feitten by their husband *j j to another woman Wsp. upon joke, m spite of any | j protest that it is nothin^pore. ||j|i I | When George Mau jil LangleJ|||p'an wrote a letter to a § J mysterious Miss "B " at FoxtonJlpmsed a breach between ] | himself and his wife which wa^^^tilated m the Auckland | 1 Maintenance Court. * ffljf | | The Magistrate was unalp to believe that- Ryan's act § 1 bad been a joke and the case Ant against him. Ten hours | | later he shot himself dead on fne verandah of his father-in- | 1 law's home, where his wife waiving. | | In the meantime the quesjpn: "Who' is the mysterious | 1 Miss 'B?" remains unanswered - | i a £iiiiiiiii'ui!iiiiiimiiiHmiiiniiii!iiiiiiiiiMmmiiiiimuiiminiiimniiiiuimiiim

Kathleen • Ryan's honest manner of She countered: "if he thought answering questions and her repeated nothing of the letter, why didn't admission that there was blame on he give me back my ring?" both sides impelled Lawyer Denniston . more than once to compliment her on What happened to the ring? 'asked the straightforwardness with which counsel. 'He said he drank it, reshe admitted that she had done .her f) ed Kathleen. ,He had no right to, share of the quarrelling. . Ulk . c ""fj, xt was. one- my father It was almost pathetic at times .to na " ?,® n , , + . . + see the young, good-looking wife fl D . ld „ he ™ ak ° *»* cx P lanatl ,?£ abo V* glance at her equally young and good- "je letter?" she was asked. "He said looking husband, who was sitting be- other^girl was only a platonic side his lawyer. friendship. At times her blue eyes seemed to mTJuo 0 " 10 '" Suggested Lawyer grow moist, but she carried her- Matthews. self very well and spoke m a clear Kathleen went on to say that she tone for all to hear. used to hear her husband talking on Her husband's counsel suggested ? he „'P' hoi } cie i saying: "Is that you, Glarthat the trouble began when Kath- }° c? ' f and Lawyer Denniston suggested leen's sister married and her fether that it was not a girl at all, but a man wanted someone to keep house for him nc ™ eel a^ en , c^; ' , ' , . . .. inviting the young couple to do so. The, wife's rather then went into the Counsel contended that Ryan agreed witness-box. He gave his name as to live with her father at first, bllt August Frederick. Allwood, draper, finally refused- because he wanted his His statement was that he. had offerwife to live with his mother at Mount ed the young couple a- home at 25/- a Eden but she declined. week. They could take m boarders -Do you know that your father and give him a home, which would strongly objected to your seeing him?" make it a cheap proposition for them, asked Lawyer Denniston. . ' on] y hl f daughter arrived when they "I should think he did after the came to Auckland. He had, he said, a way he had treated me," Kathleen "S* regard for his son-m law, though replied. Her husband, she went on he had never withdrawn his confession to say, -lived with his sister-his m the letter of March 14. mother being away, while the wife and At times ,Ryan had come to the her baby lived with her father. house showing signs of liquor. "Did he ask you to live with him "Over the business of the house," iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiMiiiftiiiiiiiittinitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii>ii>iiitiiii>i>>Ui<)tMiitiiiiititiiiiiiiiitiiiMitiiiinttiiiiiiii!nTiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiititiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Miniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiuiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiii as his wife?" continued Lawyer Denniston. "He would some days; the next he'd say he would have nothing to do with me." ; "He wants you back now?" asked counsel. . Very emphatically the young wife replied: . "No, he does not!" It transpired that a few days after the baby was born Ryan had called on his wife and made a short visit. When the wife was asked why she would not live m the home of her mother-in-law she replied: "I've been m his home once and I'll never go again!" "You admit he has offered you a home and you won't go back?" Standing very upright m the witness-box, Kathleen replied: "I won't go back!" Re-examining 'the wife, Lawyer Matthews elicited the answer that there was no understanding when they were married that he, was to be allowed to go .with other women. In the course of their married life the only article of attire which her hiisband had provided for her was one pair of stockings. He ; had made no offer of a home until the case was m £he ' lawyer's hands. Referring to the- bickering and quarrelling again, Lawyer Denniston asked "her if she had not retaliated, and she replied: "First of all I said nothing — then I did my bit."' : She- admitted that it might be a case of 50-50 and that her husband said the Foxton girl was all a joke, but .when, he found her with the letter he new into an awful rage. ...

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii •Allwood continued, "only the other day he said it was a fair offer and that 1 was a white man." "That was to, patch things up,'.' explained Lawyer Denniston. George Maurice Langley Ryan, tho husband, stepped smartly into the wit-ness-box, m his turn. His carriage was erect; he ckrried himself well and spoke clearly, while his dark eyes glanced from counsel to his wife and back again. The impression conveyed was that he .was a virile, hot-tempered, dashing young man. who wquld have made a very fine soldier on active service. In reply to his counsel, Ryan told how they were married m February, 1925. For -a' while they lived with his people, then they went to Wellington. "Were you happy m Welling- , ton?" asked counsel. "Oh, yes," he answered rather dubiously. But he went on to say that they were never "very happy," as there were frequent bickerings . which became worse, but never serious. His mother became ill and his wife went up to Auckland to keep- house while she was away; he paid his wife's fare. He complained that his father-in-law had never recognized him m any way since his marriage. ' . .' "Your wife had been complaining to him/?" suggested Lawyer Denniston. "I don't know." Ryan considered that Allwood's other daughter had a row with her father and left because of it.