GRECIAN BEND

NZ Truth, Issue 1151, 22 December 1927, Page 5

GRECIAN BEND

Otto Was A Man of Deeds, Indeed (From "N.Z. Truth's" Te Awamutu Rep.) When Greek meets Greek it is facetiously said that they open a fish shop. When Greek meets Assyrian it is not definitely known that they .opeii anything. Thirtyone years sago m Sydney, a Greek met an Assyrian, the latter becoming Mrs. Otto Sheweiry. THE principals m this new alliance drifted over . to New Zealand after a time and took up residence m Auckland, Where they resided for about seventeen years, Otto styling himself a merchant: .The couple reared afamily of seven children and then the wife considered she had done her duty to her adopted country m regard to the family personnel. This apparently did not altogether please Otto, and m the Hamilton Supreme Court the other day he admitted that this was his main grievance against his wife, from whom he sought a divorce. For some years petitioner hap kept a small store at the little coastal village of Kawhla, a matter of forty miles from Te Awamutu. I It was to this sleepy little spot that ho took his wife and some of his family, and It was here that they finally left him to look after himself. They had had quite enough of him and his peculiar ways, it was said. Otto is of a very excitable nature. His wife also considers him brutal and unbearable to live with. He had, she stated, m opposing the divorce, been persistently cruel to her and while she admitted that she deserted him, as he alleged m his petition, she contended that she was compelled to take that step because of his persistent cruelty. On another occasion he locked up his shop to prevent her and the children getting food. His language was at times hair-raising, and his general excitability rendered life with him unbearable. One day as she was bending down at the stove, he emptied a lot of cinders over her head. Because of some little thing that offended him one day, he struck her m the eye and knocked her down when she had one of the children m her arms. To spit m her face was one of his pet. ways of showing his disapproval of her. One afternoon when she was entertaining a friend at tea, something was said of which he did not approve, and he spat at her, but eh© "managed to dodge the shot and.,- " The Judge: Hit the visitor, 1 Suppose? Yes. (Laughter). The husband, whose volubility had to be frequently restrained, admitted that his chief grievance was that; his wife would not provide him with additional children. He was a great family man, / ■ ... He denied persistent oruelty a,ncl said that his wife deserted him without cause. She had since proceeded against him for maintenance and an order was made under which he -,|>aifL her £4 a week. •••'%•*. He was prepared to contflffti'Bf '•«• this payment if he could -gel' hjj^kf/ divorce. He was 68 years'*^ stg.s?v and the question of. whetmr h^er-. wanted to get married again was ■■• his own business. The Judge: Did you empty cinders over your wife's head? •■",.. Petitioner: I would not do a thing like that to any lady. . :)•' After hearing both sides, his honor' refused to make a decree, stating tnat while respondent had"' deserted petitioner, his cruelty had paused ncr to do so. ' .. " <\