REAL SHE-GIRL STUFF

NZ Truth, Issue 1143, 27 October 1927, Page 6

REAL SHE-GIRL STUFF

"Something Cruel"

Court Story of "Carryings On" — And A Carrying Off ONE HUSBAND AND TWO WIVES (From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Christchurch Representative.) pOLLOW the leader may be all right at a game to interest children, but when it interests supposedly discreet and .matured married folk, the playful element must be said to be non «est.

AND yet, follow the Leader In this case has a tang of sharp, literal truth. Like a lot of other married women, Florence Charlotte Leader had a husband of her very own. Also, like a number of women, Maud Gallagher had not, having dispensed ,with the male side of her matrimonial duality last November. And that is where the rub came m. Somehow or other, Maud Gallagher, a younger -woman, was reduced to the casualty stage through no other instrumentality, she asserted, than some of the excessive muscular robustness of Mrs. Leader, the assault being due to the erroneous belief that the younger woman was "carrying on" with Mrs. Leader's husband. It was not stated m court whether Maud was fond of reading the daily news, but it was admitted that she kept more or less m touch with the Leader, having gone to the pictures with him. Mrs. Leader counter-argued m court, when she was proceeded against by Mrs. Gallagher for assault, that the "going to the pictures" theory was capable of considerable amplification. But whether the man called over the fence: "Come into the garden, Maud," op where the couple actually got to when the air was fresh and the night pretty well balmy, is one of the questions that can be gone into when scientists are discovering where Robinson Crusoe went with Friday on Saturday night.

Fact is, Maud Gallagher was knocked about and she alleged that Mrs. Florence Charlotte

Leader was the par-

ticular instrument of torture. Magistrate H. P. Lawry had the or-

deal of sitting it '■ ~ through, while Lawyer M. J. Burns appeared for the complainant and Lawyer T. W. Brown for the def en- I dant. A tall, nicely-attired, rather pale young woman came forward as the complainant. She had resided with her brother, she said, since she divorced her husband and had two children to keep. She went to work. She tackled the details of a little stoush on the part of Mrs. Leader which had rendered the complainant fearful of the future. The attacks, she said, were illfounded and unjustified, and seeing that Mrs. Leader lived a long way away from her, she was frightened because the lady who had the husband was always hanging about. . Prior to the assault, Mrs. Leader had called her certain names reflecting on her respectability. In fact, mentioned m court, there was no doubt about the intention of the words if uttered. Mrs. Leader accused her of carrying on with her husband. Presumably, said the complainant, the suspicion had grown from the fact that Leader called on her brother quite a lot. They played cards and had common racing interests. Oh, yes, she had been out with Leader; perhaps to a cup of tea or to the pictures, "but nothing more sir." Complainant had been accused of all sorts of things culminating m the assault. "She kicked me and cut me about something cruel ... I saw a constable and told him about it," she added. Mrs. Leader was always about the street following her from work and actually approached her employer m an endeavor to get her dismissed. "Mr. Leader has always been a gentleman to me," she said, when reiterating that she had gone to the pictures with- him. "The truth is, he never had a happy life for years with hep ..." Lawyer Brown: How do you know? —Oh, that's all right. Anyone can tell. Now take this alleged assault . on October 3. How long before that had you seen Leader? — I hadn't seen him for a few days. A few daysl Was that a long absence? Now, didn't you see him last night?— He cam*

round to flee my brother.

Ah, yes, your brother; it wouldn't be you, would it? Is it not a fact that you have been seeing him, day. ln and day out, for years?— l have my work to go to. I have plenty to do. , Apparently. But It is a fact, isn't it, that you are the whole cause of all this trouble by persistently hanging on to this man?— No. Ever give Leader presents — No, I am n °But he carries a photograph of you about with him, doesn't he ?— Goodness, he can have a photograph of anyone, Ca r>id you give It to him?— No, I did not. Probably he took it out of the album or something like that. Now, on October 3, weren't you the aggressor all through?— No, she threw down her bike and started to pelt me with stones. After that she rode behind me and pelted me with stones, calling me terrible names. Under further cross-examination, complainant said the defendant threw down her machine and assaulted her; complainant had not struck m retaliation. ' Fortunately, a young fellow waa passing and offered to take witness home. * ... Lawyer Brown: Are you calling this young fellow?— No, I haven't bothered. No. Or the constable?— No. I could though, if you like. Where did you go on the Saturday before the affair on the Monday?—(lndignantly) I went with ' my brother and the children to the Waimak. Mr. Leader came out on the Sunday. .He never came out at night. Why do you say he never came out at night?— You are accusing him of being there over the week-end. No, I am not. Anyway, with your brother there, it ought to be all right? —Yes, he came out to see my brother and he was with my brother. Haven't you been out very late with Leader and nobody knows where you have been? — No. Were you not abusive to Miss Cardale, the welfare officer, when she approached you? — No. I was not abusive, but she doesn't understand. She's been influenced by Mrs. Leader. Didn't you say you intended to go with this man?— She said: "Why don't you give up going with him?" and I said: "Surely he can come to the house to see my brother if he likes, can't he?" Questioned as to the actual assault, complainant said Mrs. Leader had said: "I'll fix you now," dropping "her ! bicycle and "fixing her by the assault alleged. "She hit me on the bike, too," said witness, leaving the court guessing as to what part of the human anatomy sh© meant. "Then she got me down and kicked me."

Counsel: The plain fact of the mat-

Pocket Discovery

ter is that you have caused the whole of the strife m these people's home and you deliberately persist m seeing this man? — No. To Lawyer Burns, complainant said the other woman was always round about — hiding and watching. It was positively nerve-wracking. Magistrate: Is it a fact that you entice the husband round to your place? — Tour worship, can't he come round to see my brother? His Worship: If you had never done that, it is possible this trouble might never have arisen? — Has a woman a right to take a girl's character and call her a sir? He can come to see me, if he likes. John Gibson, brother of the .complainant, a free-and-easy type who dragged himself wearily into the wit-ness-box and at once rested his hands on the rail of the box and spread out as if for a scrum, said he knew Leader; had known him m fact, "since when he was at Richmond and used to run. "See, sir, I do a bit m th' sportin' line and, just quietly, I'm a. bit lucky at times, too. Y'see, Leader and me are pretty thick like and 'c comes round and we talk it over. "We sort o' split it up like sometimes . . . but this here assault on Mrs. Gallagher, my sister, I won't stand fer. When Mrs. Leader hit her across the face the first time I wanted her to make a case of it. Insults on the street like that wants seeing to."

There had been frequent assaults, he said, and "she used names to my sister . . . Mr. Leader is just a good friend to me and I am a friend to him."

The witness described the week-

end he went to the

1 Waimakariri with his sister, mentioning that Leader came out on the Sunday. Mrs. Leader had nothing to worry about. "He comes to see me," said witness, "and why shouldn't he? Anyway, she can't look after her husband; that's why he comes to me ... "Sometimes when he comes up, he has not had any tea and I am not going to see him go hungry . . . but those names she used on the street were awful." , ! Counsel: I suppose you never use bad language yourself?-— I never come at that m the street. I might use it to a horse m the stable if he trod .on my toe. (Laughter.) You know they have been out together until very late at night?— They have been to the pictures with the kids ; and I have always been handy, any-| way. (Laughter.) A different type of woman answered to the name of Florence Charlotte Leader, the defendant, neatly attired m a black coney-seal coat and rather on the robust side. She gave her evidence straightforwardly, saying that she was the wife of Tom Leader and had known the complainant for about four years. She recalled an occasion at 1.45 a.ra when she saw Mrs. Gallagher at the gate. On that occasion Mrs. Gallagher threw stones at her and then ran inside. "Another time she punched my face," said the defendant, "but Mr. Leader ran away." Complainant was boring him to death. Her husband was always well looked after, with good food and good clothing and they had one of the best of homes. "She told me, when I saw her employer, that if I got her the sack she would go and live with my husband. I told her my husband was too proud for the likes of her." What did strike the defendant as significant m regard to the supposed absence of her husband "on the Sunday," was that he had specifically stated on Saturday that he was going away for the week-end and he had gone away.

As to the occasion she had tackled the complainant with the admonition that if she persisted m carrying on she would "fix" her,

—— — ■ — — — — — » yrho took up the Initiative m the matter of striking and m resisting the onslaught the defendant handed out two pretty good wallops, saying: "That's two I'll give you for the way you treated my husband." A.s for the supposed friendship between her husband and the brother of the complainant, it was hard to understand, as Leader had said: "That ugly j old thing — I wouldn't be his mate." , He certainly had the photograph. 'He got wild when I took it out of hip pocket," said the defendant. "I had taken other things out of his pocket, too, of course, but I need not mention it just now. . ." To Lawyer Burns, the defendant said her husband had never had to go out for his meals m his life. She denied that she had been ordered out of a neighbor's house. Actually, it was the other way about. The neighbor had told her "they were at it again" and allowed her access so that she could watch; Defendant had been informed that a girl was living with her husband at New Brighton. She was going under the name of "Mrs. Lane." She had been heard to say: "I'll have to get the tea ready for my husband." The "husband" was the defendant's.

That just about exhausted the evidence and certainly was enough to exhaust the court, so his worship gave a few crisp words of summing-up. Thus: "There is insufficient evidence of the assault. The case will be dismissed."

Over one hundred years old, and "he thoroughly enjoyed his pipe." That was recorded a while ago of Mr. William Reeves, who passed away recently at Knox Home, Tamaki, Auckland, aged 101. The anti-tobaccoites are never tired of telling, us that smoking shortens life, but if anyone cared to take a 'census of inmates of these charitable institutions, they would discover that great numbers of very old men — yes, and very old women too, derive comfort and consolation from their pipes. Smoking so far from being injurious is really beneficial so long as the tobacco is good and does not contain a heavy percentage of nicotine. The imported brands are practically all of them loaded with nicotine. Our New Zealand tobaccos, on the other hand, contain so little that they may be smoked all day without any illeffects. They are full of flavour and fragrance too, sweet and mellow and delicious. Ask for "Riverhead Gold" if you want a fine aromatic, "Navy Cut" (Bulldog) if you like a good medium, or "Cut Plug No. 10" (Bullshead) if you prefer a grand fullflavoured sort.*

complainant had become most aggressive. Actually, it was the complainant