A SHOT IN THE NIGHT

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

A SHOT IN THE NIGHT

Faithless Husband's Suicide Outside Wife's Home

___ _ _ ■- ; : — c ; ,. PLEA S A N T- ,™'' m, " m,L W\ looking, well-spqk-1111111* A i /en y ° un » woman, F*||p\| /v § air " complexioned 'Z^\^M I and neatly f rocked, 'T^r >l * l '"!Mw# a dark-haired, wellte*isy JfiffffizZM. se t-up, virile young Th.iu-!r '^^ m an— husband and g^^T^rll^J^e and the magistrate »/-c^^^^^etf^ on the bench, and ' tne stage ..is set for the law to adjudicate between thepair who, such a little while ago, swore words of- love and undying affection for each other. Lawyer Matthews, for Alice Kathleen Ryan; asked for maintenance for the wife and child, while Lawyer Denniston sponsored .'the,, husband and. Magistrate Salmon .'lent a patient ear. Setting out the case for the wife, counsel contended that there had never been a settled home; there had been some trouble over other women. "Ryan has a weakness for not telling the truth—and the other sex; at times the two seem to go together," said the lawyer. The young' wife was called into the witness-box to unfold her unhappy domestic story. They were married about two years ago and at the present time she was living with her father. Very shortly after the marriage they went to Wellington, as Ryan had obtained a billet m the defence department. While they were there her husband had lived m barracks for all but two months. She had no proper home and since she had come to Auckland he had refused to provide for her. , "You had some trouble about his conduct with other women?" suggested Lawyer Matthews. "Yes," replied the neat-looking young wife. "I found a letter which he had written to a woman." Letter to Miss "B.'l "Is this the letter?" asked counssel. It was, but the husband's counsel objected to the letter being put m, as it proved to be a copy made by the wife of the original. Finally this letter and another were\ both admitted as evidence on the understanding that the • originals would be forthcoming. "Fort Dorset, Seatoun, Wellington, 10.2.'26. ..-•;-. "Dear 'B, I can't , for the life- of me remember how to spell your name correctly, sp I am compromising with 'B. If you really expected to see me back m Foxton last Wednesday I am sure you must have been disappointed. "The day. after I arrived here (Monday), I met with an accident to my leg. .This is my first day out of bed, so you see I haven't, had much of a chance of writing to you and explaining my absence. "I will get a few days' leave and with a lot of luck, the help of God, and a number of lies from myself I might be able to get to Foxton this week-end-. "I tackled- my friend, the Right Rev. Humphries, on Sunday night, but after he had informed me what a decent chap he thought I was, excepting for an entire lack of honor where your own sweet sex are concerned, and that he thought so much of you that he did not want .•-■to' • endanger your sweet innocence, I did not have the heart to kick him. "I 'wonder if you love me or whether you are playing with me? Anyway, I am going to limp up to you and find out. ;."Do you remember your promise? Cheerio, sweet I 'B. Yours ever, G. Ryan." (Twelve crosses followed.) "And he said the letter was all a joke?" asked counsel for the wife. "Yes," she replied, "but he stole my ring and would not give it back- unless I gave him the letter." Another letter was produced by Lawyer Matthews which Ryan had written to his father-in-law from Kilbirni©, . Wellington, dated March 14, 1926. ■■''".''.' "Mr. Allwood, Dear Sir.— Owing to reasons that Kath "will explain to you llllllllllllllllllllillllllliillllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllillllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllill

5 : _ : 'it is impossible for me to take over your house as I had arranged to do. "After discovering an infidelity of mine, of which she will show you ample proof, Kath refuses to live with me any longer. "I freely admit all the fault of our separation; all my knowledge of Kath proves her to be a decent, good woman, and since pur marriage she has been all that a man could wish -a wife to be. "Everything that has occurred, has happened through my own beastliness and irresponsibility.. I have no excuse |to offer. All I can say is to repeat that you' have been particularly unfortunate m your sons-in-law. ."Tendering you my sincerest sympathy, which I suppose will not be acceptable to you. I remain, - yours sincerely, G. Ryan." When the lawyer finished reading it Kathleen said: "He has since contradicted it. He has said lam not a good wife." The Other Women , •Harking back to the first letter, Kathleen's lawyer asked: "What, did he do when you found this • letter to Miss -'B?" " He asked me to give it back to him, and because I would not he took my ring and said he would not give it back to me until I gave him the letter," replied the wife. "Did he ever threaten you?" — "Yes, he said if I was a man he'd cut my throat." ."You did not run much risk," Interjected her husband's lawyer. ; Kathleen hid the ' razor, but things did not run along at all happily; there were many disagreements and he refused to live with his wife. The upshot of the rift' was that Kathleen's father made a suggestion that they should come to Auckland and rent his house ' and he would live there with them. The wife alleged that her husband was not inclined to do this and she attributed the trouble to other women, one of whom had bought tickets for Ryan to go away with: her, he had said; another one had rung him up every day. The young couple drifted further apart until the wife came to Auckland and went to live with her father. Then, m September, the baby was born, but though Ryan made a visit shortly after its arrival he had not paid the expenses and the only money his wife had received from him was thirty shillings. For this, she told the -Court, she gave him a receipt. 'Ryan, to make matters worse, drew, £6 from the National Provident Fund at. the birth of his child, but his wife never saw one penny of\ it. "Has. he ever offered to make you a home?" inquired counsel. "Yes, since this case was taken m hand, m a letter dated December 20," came the answer. "He then said he wanted to comeand live at bur place, if he could pay off his. debts and start again." - She Didn't Starve . "He expected you to overlook all that he had done?" asked Lawyer Matthews. "Yes, it would seem so," replied the wife. When Lawyer Denniston opened his guns on Mrs. Ryan he commenced: "You knew what he was when you married him?" "He had nothing," answered Kathleen. "At Wellington, when he was m the Defence Department, he was getting £4 per week. I lived at Island Bay, and he paid my board— thirty shillings a week." "You didn't starve?"— l didn't. | "You had money of your own?" — "Yes, I made money by selling my own fancy-work from door to door, but he r,pent* a lot of money on cigarettes alone." "You didn't 'go short of money? continued Ryan's counsel. "No. Thanks myself." \ "There was nagging and bickering on both sides?"— " Yes, I'll admit that." J||llll||||lil!illll!iillllillllllllllllll!ll!!l!!lll!llllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllllll'