WAS WOMAN INSPIRED BY SPIRITS?

NZ Truth, Issue 1184, 9 August 1928, Page 9

WAS WOMAN INSPIRED BY SPIRITS?

Husband Alleged That Wife Used Occult As Blind To Be In Company of Another Man

"THE MAGNETISM OF MEN WAS BETTER FOR HER- '

(From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Dunedin Representative.) . \ Chicamore and Stam, m their ethereal domain, have done a bit of bad business for Charles Henry Gibbs. Their close, ghostly touch with Charley's wife through spirit seances, have led to announcement by the indignant husband that the way to be happy though mdrried, is to give the wife a cookery-book instead of a volume on spirit phenomena.

r«HICAMORB and Siam, unfortunate\s ly, cannot be represented m the flesh, although a great vdeal materialized recently. ' Once a spiritualist himself— though, on his own word, only out of curiosity — Gibbs launched his heavy artillery against the devotion of his wife, a spirit medium, to the sect, when he opposed her application to Magistrate Bundle for separation, maintenance and guardianship orders on the ground of persistent cruelty. In a wholesale condemnation of spiritualism, and the circle over which his wife admitted that she reigned, Gibbs made the startling assertion that there was no religion m it, that it was out and out hypocrisy and was merely a blind for his wife to be m the company of another spiritualist, described as a male member of her circle. In the course of evidence for both sides, the domestio affairs of the Gibbs' were well dredged, and the magistrate, m awarding his decision m favor of the woman, intimated that he did so, mainly because she was not m a normal state of health; though she claimed that her association with the spirits strengthened her, and that she was m perfect health. . The case formed a morning's absorbing interest for a crowded court and, for the uninitiated, it threw much light on the forms of worship of those who pledge their faith to the continuity of life after death. The plaintiff, Georgina Gibbs, unfolded the story of her unhappy life under' examination by Lawyer B. S. Irwin. Six months ago she and her husband had agreed to live apart conditional on his maintaining her to the extent of £2 10s. per week. Persistent cruelty, accentuated by his fondness for liquor, formed the basis of Georgina'a claim for she alleged that he had ill-treated her, insulted her, and knocked her about for years. Though the' last two years had been the worst, her health had been impaired four or five -years ago when, while she was m a certain condition, Gibbs, she alleged, had hit her on the head with a hammer and tried to choke her. And, as the result of this treatment she lost her child shortly after. Among other unhusbandly. pranks, Gibbs, she alleged, had locked her out at night m the rain. At the end of the arranged period of six months, Gibbs offered plaintiff 30/---per week and then sprung it to £2 if she would keep the matter out of court, but plaintiff considered that she would be unable to maintain herself and her children on this meagre pittance. Lawyer A. C. Stephens, taking up the cross-examination on behalf of Gibbs, subjected plaintiff to a gruelling round while he unfolded the story of

A Spirit Medium

her association with a circle of spiritualists, a bevy of whom followed the case interestedly from the body of the court. ■ ( Counsel: You are a spirit medium, Mrs. Qfbbs?— Yes. And you spend a lot of time with circle meetings? — I do each Sunday night. You carried on a little, m Cannington road, but that was too far out of the way and you induced your husband to move, to Albany Street so that your friends could come to your meetings more easily? — That is not so. I Haven't your children been allowed to roam the streets and hasn't your husband , arrived home and found no meals prepared because of the time you devote to* your work? — No. This spiritualism has had an effect on your nerves and made you irritable? — I don't think it has. Have you ever thrown crockery about or broken the windows? — Only when Mr. Gibbs has hit me. You were friendly with a spiritualist named Stables while your husband was working m Central Otago?— l have known him since he was a boy. Lawyer .'lrwin: But Gibbs Is a spiritualist himself and converted his wife to it. He approved of these circle meetings and actually loaned part of his house to Stables and his wife to carry on the business. Lawyer Stevens: Have you ever lused unpleasant language to your hustoand? — I have -often called him a cad. Plaintiff went on.to say that she frequently had ten or twelve people at her circle meetings, but none were ever held without the presence of women. Counsel: Well, tell the court what went on at these meetings. Speaking with subdued voice, but with great fervor, Mrs. Gibbs said she first asked those who came to the circle to bring the thought of love, peace and harmony, and offer a prayer to that effect. Counsel: Do you call up the spirits? — I speak inspirationally. We draw power from God. If I am going to treat anyone I get the power given to me. You have some Indian spirits under your power, Mra. Gibbs, I believe. Chicamore and Siam are their names, eh?— Yes, for health reasons I use them. ■ You give treatment to some of these people?— Yes, one man, now working in/rurnbull and Jones, was blind and I cured him m three treatments. lam not prepared to treat everyone, though: Only those who believe they are living above earthly conditions. Has Stables ever had,, half an hour alone with you at these meetings? — Only If he came early, which I could not help, and then my husband was m the house. And were the lights ever off ?— No, we had blue lights dimmed, and the blinds down. ■ Mrs. 'Gibbs stated that her circle were always entertained at supper following each meeting, and a small collection was taken up to defray the expenses. ■ " The doctor had never told her that spiritualism had a deleterious effect on her nerves, and she stoutly denied that she had ever neglected her wifely duties m the home to follow her work as a medium. Counsel: You know your husband wants you back without spiritualism? —Yes. Lawyer Irwin: But he is quite prepared to let you starve on 30/- a week if you would keep it out of court* Magistrate Bundle: Do you think it

wise that your children should be allowed to attend these circle meetings? — The peace, love and harmony, and the vibration m the room is good for them. Magistrate: That may be your opinion, Mrs. Gibbs, but don't you think the children should be allowed to form their own opinion? It might do them irreparable harm. Re-examined by Lawyer Irwin, plaintiff said she met her husband at a spiritualists' meeting m his father's home. Lawyer Irwin: You see the danger now of attending these meetings? Evidence m support of the mother's j allegations were given by Phillip Charles Gibbs, a sturdy youth, who said his father had come home on Saturday nights the worse for drink and had knocked his mother about. He had made life very hard for her, and had instilled fear into the children. "They don't seem to suit each other, Dad is a hard worker, but he likes a

drink," said witness. He never troubled about the circle meetings until six months ago, and he used that as an excuse for ill-treating mother. The fifteen-year-old daughter of the parties, an attractive-looking girl, attired m the smart uniform of the Otago Girls' High School, followed her brother into the witness-box, but the J magistrate declined to hear her evidence. . Sydney Dunkley, manager of the children's rest home, was next to give evidence for the wife,, and stated that Gibbs had recently called on him, asking witness to do what he could to bring about a reconciliation. "So far as I could see," witness remarked, "Gibbs was only concerned about hqw he could cut his wife's allowance down, and he seemed certain that he would give her as little as possible." Constable Lemain and Martha Dickie were called, to corroborate plaintiff's story concerning the lock-out, when Gibbs refused, to

give his wife admission to the home after a visit to the pictures. Counsel for the defence submitted that Mrs. Gibbs had failed to substantiate her charge of persistent cruelty as the evidence only dealt with' a six-year-old charge on which the "trouble arose because of her desire to carry on spiritualist work. The defendant, a stockily-built man' with a broad expanse of bald head, and wearing 'horn-rimmed spectacles, took up his place m the v box, armed with a sheaf of notes to which he frequently referred. ■ ' He had been induced by his wife, he said, to shift from Cannington Road nearer the city, his .wife saying that she . would take a greater interest m her home and her children if this were done. "It was a darn sight ■■. worse — fifty times worse," Gibbs replied to his counsel's query as to whether the change had effected the desired result. "I would come home at night and find the children out on the street m the' rain, and the meals not cooked, and if I said anything she would tell me to go to - — and get someone else to do it," said defendant. . "She told me she was not cut out for house-work; that she was a spirit j medium and had no . kink for the ; menial duties of the 'housewife. j "We had a row once and she threw some crockery at me, but I never struck her m my life. "I locked her out on one occasion because she persisted m going out to Spiritualist meetings and never. coming home before 11 o'clock." \ , Commenting on his wife's alleged behavior while he was away m Central Otago, Gibbs stated that she got into communication with a man named Stables and they went together to •circle meetings at South Dunedin. "They spent a good bit of time together-and I found a portion of a love tetter he sent her. but I can't produce it as she got it out of my pocket and burned it. "Till he came on the scene we were quite happy . . . They were seen together so often that they got the wind up," said Gibbs, "so they asked me for a room at home where they could hold circle meetings." The path of true lovs continued to run a chequered course m the Gibbs menage, and one of Georglna's favorite pastimes was to hurl disheartening epithets at her husband, he said. On one occasion she called me a bald-headed, cock-eyed — — , and said she did not know what she saw m marrying me. . (Muffled guffaws from the body of the court.) Gibbs said his wife left home because he broke up the circle and refused to allow the room to be used any longer for meetings. She said that was the last straw.

Spooks Denounced

In a vigorous denunciation of his wife's spirit associations, he said he could see it was all hypocrisy. "There was- no religion m it; it was merely a blind for my wife and Stables to be going about together." Lawyer Irwin: Your father was a spirit medium? — •Yes, I attended his meetings merely out of curiosity. You accuse your, wife of improper relations with Stables., yet you reckon you have asked her' to return to you? — No, I do not accuse her of any such thing. Well, why did you tell the court all that about her if you believed her innocent? You have insinuated immorality. — She would go out with him, but would never go out with me. The Magistrate: But you stated that they got a room from you because they had been seen out too much together? Gibbs: Stables would come early and would chat with the wife alone before the circle arrived. She said there was nothing m it, as they lived m a differ-] ent sphere and on a different plane, and we did not understand them. They considered that they were above suspicion. Lawyer Irwin: Your wife assured you that there Had been no impropriety?— Yes. Yet you told the court that she used her religion as a cloak? — Well, she told me she could give readings and could earn £.10 a week as a.spiritualist. Lawyer Irwin: That's rubbish. Gibbs: It's not. There is any amount of them advertising m the "Star." It's all a scheme for making money and getting other men . . . "She said she did not want women at her meetings. The men's magnetism was better for her and they were better payers. "She would go out on Saturday mornings, and m the afternoon she would take the small girl with her for a blind. "At night' no tea would be cookedsaveloys usually — and at night she would advise me to go and see some good picture while she spent the evening at home. Lawyer Irwin: But since you learned of your wife's friendliness with Stables you loaned them part of your house for circle meetings. That's rather inconsistent? — A man will do a lot of things for peace m the home. ' Gibbs persisted that he wanted his wife back, but he insisted that she should discontinue her spirit communication. "I have had to sell some of my fiu> niture to keep up maintenance payments, and to lose my home and my children' at my time of life is too hard." The cour.t granted Mrs. Gibbs the orders asked . for and fixed maintenance at £2/17/6 per week. "In face of Gibbs' own denial, it is definite that he has the opinion that his wife's conduct is not as it , should be," commented the magistrate. "If the wife were m a normal state of health it would be better for the parties to return to each other", but as she is not, the interests of both would be better served by a separation. His worship commented pointedly on the attendance of children at the circle meetings, and requested the Child Welfare Officer to make inquiries, as he considered such meetings might dp irreparable injury to their youthful minds. And as Mrs. Gibbs left the court, free to indulge m the religion of her seeking, she received the congratulations of a small circle of lady friends; probably disciples of Qhicamore i and Slam.