AS A PAINTER HE COULD TINT THE FLESH MANY HUES

NZ Truth, Issue 1189, 13 September 1928, Page 10

AS A PAINTER HE COULD TINT THE FLESH MANY HUES

For Physical Exercise, William Would Lambaste Wife Two pr Three Times A Week j— THe Accusation —

WHILST Zita Hose James wasn't ,bf the type to be able to resist his he-man tactics forcibly, she possessed enough initiative to adopt the only other course open to her— to depart] to a more/ calm and secluded haven. ■'■'.. .'. .'.■ ' ''.--■ •■.'.■'■ Arid so It came about that In the early part of last month, after her husband had demonstrated his affection for her, per. medium of his ever ready hand, she packed up traps and removed to the more peaceful abode of her married sister. ■■. , Last week Mrs. James took her troubles to; the Wellington Maintenance Court and asked' Magistrate Salmon to grant her legal separation from William and his fistic prowess. She also asked for maintenance, and when the bench had heard her tale,- granted both requests; . '■'■•'■ Lawyer Percy Jackson was on hand ■to support the wife's petition and successfully conducted .Mrs. James m the narration of the various episodes which eventually led, to her. leaving her husband's domicile. < The parties had only been living together a comparatively short space 'of time, having joined hands m holy matrimony In February -of 1925. No young olive branches appeared on the domestic hearth to brighten 'the scene and bind the young couple together m a more sacred bond. William Edward had a penohant, it would aeem, for lambasting his. wife, and two or three times a week Perpetual Fear indulged In a little physical exercise at. her expense. Quite recently he had blackened her eye and bruised her throat. To give variation to modus operand! m. tormenting his wife, he threatened to take her life, and as a 1 grand finale cut his own throat. •■' Once he ■ bnought home &■■'■ packet which, she maintained, contained poison, for she saw - it ; marked' on the ou*tslde. He mixed some of the pAVder the packet contained with water m a tumbler and tried to force her, to take It. w . . So nervous and- distraught did she become that m the end she was an absolute physical and nervous wreck, living m- perpetual -bodily' fear of her husband. She was frightened to live with him. .., v. ■ About- a. week after.'. she. had left the rooms which 1 they were renting, she met William m the street when he had violently assaulted her. Their '-little meeting took place while she waswith a! friend, and when .the -husband" tore his. fife's hat from her head, the I friend rsji for assistance.;,,; .... : ;. : '.>.;;." .^Counsel: You; werJe at..* partyjiajt. the Regents tea-rooms recently ?— Yes, ; the managerese gave a small party. I asked my husband if I could go. He agreed. /' . ' x ■ At what time 414 you arrive home from: the ; party?— lt was about 11.30 when I arrived back. | ; Where was your husband when you

A CAVE-MAN SUBDUED

(From"N.Z. Truth's" Special Wellington Representative.) William Edward James is a painter by trade, but artistic decoration with the aid of a brush is not his only capability — he has managed at odd moments to paint his wife's eyes a brilliant dar^and violet hue. James is something of a cave-man and believes m our prehistoric forefathers' advice to "treat 'em rough." When his wife didn't exactly see eye to eye with him, he generally proceeded to assert his sex superiority with blows.

arrived home ?^— He was standing at the front gate — near the road. What did he do: to you?-r-He black- 1 ened my eye and bruised both'my arms. Has he ever blackened your eye before? — Yes, twelve months ago. How did that happen? — He came home late one night making a noise. I asked him to be quiet. He came over to the bed and smacked me over the face, breaking my false teeth. Did he ever attempt to give you any poison ?-—Yes,/six months ago.

I saw poison on the packet. My husband put some m a glass of water and tried to make me take it, but I spilled the contents of the tumbler on the floor. Witness further added that her husband had a razor with him and was going to "do" for himself w.ith it. Did you meet James m the street recently?— Yes, he knocked my hat off and abused me for. leaving and taking my own belongings. He also screwed up and damaged my hat. What was his object m stopping you? — He asked for another . dhance and wanted me to go back home again. Witness was on the verge of tears when Lawyer T. P. Cleary rose to cross-examine her. To him Mrs. James said {that up to six months ago

her husband had given her from £ 4 LOs. per week maintenance. Since then 'he had reduced it to £3 per week. Lawyer Cleary: You were working at that time and earning money? — Yes, 35/- a week. . ; You were able to bank some money, were you not?r-Yes, I did bank a little. On August 4, you say your throat was marked?— Yes. Did you leave then or stay another night? — I left immediately — about" an hour afterwards. i Did you make any complaint out-

side about your husband ill-treating! you? — No. He said he would "do" for me if ever I said a word to anyone. Defendant's counsel had something to say to Mrs. James m connection with parties she had attended. Was not the Regent party the first of several such gatherings ?— There were two other parties— one at Ngaio.j Mrs. James Intimated that she arrived home from the- Ngaio party at 3.30 a.m., but her husband had not objected! Etc had only just arrived home himself. ... . Reverting to the question of black I eyes, witness stated that no one was present on either of the occasions; she had mentioned. Her huaband, she said. was always very nice to her when any- | one was present, but always used to

Her Breath Smelt of Whisky, and She Went To Too Many Parties To Suit His Fancy — • Bill's Defence —

ill-treat her when they were alone together. Mrs. Ross, sister, of petitioner, corroborated Mrs. James' evidence m certain details. She had, she said, seen her sister with a black eye some 12 or 15 months ago. On this occasion there was one tooth missing m her false teeth. "I asked James," she said, "what he was knocking my sister about for, and I hit him about the head and face several times. He apologized later." In answer, to Lawyer Jackson, Mrs. Ross said she had seen bruises on her sister's neck and arms. • Lawyer Cleary: You have never actually seen , James strike his wife though? — No. And you were living with them m the same house for nine months at Kelburn?— that is so. The little street fracas which had so perturbed Mrs; James on August 10 was related In detail by Mrs. Collins, another witness called by petitioner's counsel. James, she said, had followed behind them for some distance, eventually overtaking them at a corner, where .he grabbed his wife's hat and tore her purse to pieces. His language at this time was anything but polite. Several other witnesses corroborated petitioner's stqrj\ William Edward James, m the witness-box, denied his wife's tale of cruelty. Of course,*" he said, there had been petty squabbles, but nothing of any serious ;: . nature. He admitted. AU Frizzled Up however, having struck his wife on one occasion when he came home one Saturday at dinner time and he found his dinner all frizzled up. The trouble first started between them the night. . his wife went to the Regent party. He had no knowledge of her going. He did not strike his wife on that occasion, but she got her sister to come around, and make him apologize for ''going crook" at her. Twice on her return from parties she had fallen against pieces of furniture and .her breath smelt of whisky. To his counsel, William stated most emphatically that he had never attempted to poison his wife or threaten her with a razor. Under Lawyer Percy Jackson's crossexamination, James went through the charges of cruelty his wife imputed to him, and denied them all. In this, he received sotne support from his landlady who. said, when her turn came to step into the box, that so far as she could see, the parties before the. court were a very amiable pair. Magistrate Salmon, however, thought there was' ample corrobdration of the wife's story and granted her petition on the grounds of persistent cruelty. For the future James will have the pleasure : of . contributing 35/- a week towards his wife's finances. A little matter .of £ 2 2s. for solicitor's fee and 10/- witnesses' expenses tie also has to settle. ■•'.'•