THE CAMPBELLS' DREAM OF LOVE

NZ Truth, Issue 1194, 18 October 1928, Page 9

THE CAMPBELLS' DREAM OF LOVE

Richard Resented Ella's Sister Turning His Home Into Cabaret Every Sunday Night

BROKE TWO BROOMSTICKS OVER HUSBAND'S HEAD

(From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Christchurch Representative.) ' . // the man who had promised before the altar to love and cherish you, expressed the fervent hope m later years that you would contract cancer, accused you of helping u y cur daughters to become Women of the streets, and said that your nearest and dearest relatives were women of ill^fame, would you suffer his taunts and abuse m silence ? . j • According to Ella Gertrude Campbell, the conduct of her husband, Richard Hamilton Campbell, became unbearable and at last she sought legal assistance m escaping from his profanity and habitual drunkenness. ' ; '

/"•AMPBELJj is a waterside worker of V/. somewhat refined appearance, but he is' equipped with that fund. of expletives and superlatives which is born of his occupation, Maybe a curse or two, added to a "heave-ho," aids materially m the prompt and efficient emptying. and refilling of the ocean liners which frequent the port of Lyttelton, but there is a time and place for everything. "Ritchie," as he was known to • his wife, has apparently not acquired the art of expending his skill at cursing m the proper quarters. On the other hand, Campbell says he was apprehensive of a disintegrating influence on the domestic tranquillty of his home m the person of his. sister-in-law — a lady, on her own admission, quite capable of fighting her own j battles. "■.-.' \ ' '.-.... . Life does not promise to. run too sweetly m the Campbell menage until this influence is entirely removed. .Those capable of speaking with authority on such subjects declare - that the first seven years of mar? ried life are the worst, but the j Campbells have traversed, a couple of laps without reaching that long-looked-for haven of marital serenity. . •■. ■■■ . •■■ ■■ •; .- ■ i Just what they thought of each other, and things m general, concerning their very much disturbed home life, formed the subject of an application by the wife to Magistrate H. P. Lawry last week for separation, maintenance and guardianship orders against "Ritchie" on the grounds of failure to maintain, persistent cruelty and his habitual penchant for the amber liquid. In unfolding her story to the magistrate, Ella did not claim for her spouse the beer- drinking championship of Lyttelton watersiders, but she averred that he could drink his fill — and then some.

Wandering Feet

Six children 'had blessed' the union over a period of fifteen years of married life, the eldest being a girl of fourteen, whose work as a domestic, contributed' fifteen shillings weekly to the household Exchequer, while the youngest was a child of five. . One ■. of .Ella's particular grievances was that "Ritchie" -had acquired the habit- of boring deeply into the weekly pay-roll . each Friday m an* apparently unsuccessful effort to swamp his thirst. This, she said, wa/S unfailingly a preliminary canter to a more serious working gallop eaqh Saturday, when another cargo of Canterbury "emulsion" was, taken aboard. But "Ritchie" is accustomed to storing cargoes and — if his wife's story is to be believed— he never made any error about the quantity of liquor his skin could hold before his plimsol became submerged. .On days off, when' things were slack I on the waterfront it was tflso his habil) to let his feet wander casually into the inviting portals of a beer saloon, with the inevitable result. It was Campbell's subsequent behavior when he arrived home, however, that formed the basis of his wife's complaint. ? Lawyer G. A. Connal's invitation to inform the court just what really happened drew from Ella the reply that when Campbell sailed 'home with full canvas to the wind, he used disgusting language to the children and to herself, while he also expressed himself m very definite terms on her sister's character. Her complaint, she said, was more m view of his insulting talk to the children than anything else. . Things had come to such a pass that the police had been sent for five times since last May; His drinking habits had led Campbell into trouble about three or four years ago m Lyttelton, since when he had been a regular patron of many taverns doing business m the port and m the city. ,

Her Sorry Story

On the evening of" the last Thursday m September, there was a disorderly scene at the home. Campbell, it appears, had been drinking- and at last gave vent to his pentup feelings towards his sister-in-law! She had her piano stored at Campbell's home arid he hit on the ingenious idea of ladling out his spleen on the instrument, from which he removed seven hammers. Campbell informed his wife, that if her sister d!d hot get out of the house and take her piano with her, he would knock her down. An altercation followed, and, m the presence of a policeman, who had been called m, Campbell, struck his sister-in-law, carrying out his threat to the last letter. Reverting to their domestic r*e- . lationships, Ella told- a sorry story of her struggle for existence. For the past eighteen months she] had been out to work herself, for, she ' declared, if she did not get some money m, she and her six children would have starved. . . In fact, it was over twx> weeks, since "Ritchie" had put anything into the family coffers. ' " ; .■'". . As a result of the scene over the piano, a police sergeant had advised the complainant to leave her husband, which she had done. . ; \ : • % "I have been chased out of the house with the children many times into the rain," Ella added, giving a little more color to her narrative. . A rather different complexion, was placed on the domestic life of the Campbells when Lawyer R. C. A.bernethy commenced his cross-examin-ation. ' V -Mrs.- Campbell agreed with counsel's statement that ever since they had been married she had received "Ritchie's" wages, but added, by way of qualification: "What's left of them." Evidently sensing that counsel had yet a good deal of - ammunition m his magazine, Ella hopped m first with a torrent . of wor-ds about her children

almost starving, except for the food she bought with money earned by herself. "Every penny I earn- 1 spend on- the home," she declared, adding that even the clothes she stood up m were bought and paid for by herself. . , She knew her husband earned good money, but she could* not inform the court as to what portion of it she had received from Campbell m the last six months. Handing up a photograph of the children, counsel .suggested that none of them looked at all underfed or scantily clothed, a remark which brought a storm of. protest from . Mrs; Campbell, who /indignantly . claimed all the credit for their healthy and happy appearance. . She went .on to say, m a highpitched arid excited voice, that the 1 25/---she earned, together' with her daughter's wages of 15/- were not sufficient to keep the house goihg'and she had been compelled . to borrow from ■ her. sister. .■ . . • ■ 7 ' : ' ' •■ ■■ ' Lawyer Abernethy: "We will come to your sister presently," a remark which' caused a chuckle from the sister mentioned, who, to obtain a better view of the proceedings had to stand up m the back of the crowded court to see over the dock, which obstructed her view. Ella, iir reply* to further questioning,

said she was not aware that her husband had averaged £4/16/5 every week for years, but she was definitely certain that if he had, she had not received it from him — nor even sufficient to maintain' the comfort of their home. The magistrate: Don't you think, Mrs. Campbell, that if he gave up drink altogether things would be all right at home?— No. Why?— Because. , . Because why?— Because he "can't trust me. Lawyer Abernethy endeavored to disprove this statement so far as the financial arrangements were concerned, by suggesting that Campbell had to go, cap m hand, every Monday to his wife for sufficient money to buy his train ticket to work. '; ■ Ella's reply to this assertion was one of supreme confidence m the knowledge that if she did not have the money to pay his fare for him, he would never get to work. "*. She hopped m with what was intended to be a winning hit when she said that on one occasion he came home drunk on, pay night =and could not acr count for seventeen shillings. On another occasion, he took her to a d.ance, but during the evening .; he ducked off to an hotel to spend the- change from the admission, money, which she had provided herself. - ' " Lawyer Abernethy: "And is it not a fact that at that dance a man asked you how about being his girl for the night?" ■ : ? • Ella (slightly confused): "That was

at another dance, but ,my husband heard it. There have been a lot of things said that my husband is not man enough to speak up, but he takes it out of me when he gets me home." A more intimate .phase of the .Campbells' domestic combat was entered into by counsel when he asked Mrs. Campbell how many broomsticks ,she had broken over her husband's 'head. Her initial calculation was one. "And so would you have done the same,"' she hurled at counsel. "He said I was making my daughter a .";— — ."; "He's nothing but a dirty, filthymouthed creature," she screamed hys - I te'rically, "and if he says such things about my children I will die fighting for them. He shouldn't call them curs and morigrels like he does." Ella denied , that her sister's frequent presence m the house had caused the trouble, v • • - '■'■■■'.. -Counsel: Is. she not separated from her husband?— No/ she 'left him because he would hot maintain her. . • And isn't 'she -there frequently with a strange man? — She comes up on Sundays and. on her day off, but both she. and her friend ;• come with "Ritchie's" permission. . '„.'".' .. .: ... : "There have been rows and rows long before Evelyn: ever entered the house," Ella added as an afterthought. Counsel: Are you, not standing by your sisters a bit?— They had no

' iwiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniMiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiimiii mother and I will stick up tot, them always. .*.,,. Despite counsel's effort : to get m with another question, a verbal cascade tumbled from Mrs. Campbell, who, bursting into tears, sobbed something about her husband telling' her to put flowers on her "mongrel father's grave." "And dad never did him any 'harm," she concluded. Harking back to the broomstick obligato on her husband's head, Mrs. Campbell, on a second reckoning, admitted that two handles had been broken asunder on "Ritchie's" top-piece. ■■ • • • "And I would hang for it," she added with an air of defiance, tempered/with self-satisfaction, "for the filth heuseS m front of the children." ■• Mrs. Campbell was working- herself into such a state under Lawyer Ab.ernethy's consistent barrage that toe S.M. requested her not to get so excifld or he would be unable to proceed with the case. .;• ; ';."' '.:■ :,'■' > . ||. This had the effect of bringing H& the witness back to earth for ; a "^ while, but she quickly ascended again to hysterical heights when she related another instance of Campbell's vituperous tongue. "On one occasion," she said, "after I told him I thought I had cancer, he said he hoped I had, as it would do me good." ; ..' ' ■ , ■' Mrs. Campbell continued to deny the allegations of her husband's counsel that. "Ritchie" had been compelled. to seek the shelter of a locked bedroom against a poker . attack by his wife. This, she declared, was a weapon she never used. . ■ ' . .A^s for her > sisteiy she never illtreated Campbell except when he hit her, '.'■■■"■"' Counsel: You are a bit pugnacious, aren't you? . . This was Greek to filla, who replied: "What, do you mean? I'll admit I'm not "well educated,", • .-... Counsel: "Youi^Kave . the fighting sph'it, what?" . , ' , ;,.; Ella informed counsel that, she could stick up for her' rights. "I - should , have been here years ago," she added mournfully amid another outburst of muffled sobbing. ■..■» : -._ , ; To the; S.M., Ella intimated. that, she had frequently asked her husband to discontinue using such language before' the children, but he would not. . ;. S.M.: "Don't you think that if he . stopped the liquor, that would stop the trouble?" > ; Lawyer Abernethy, interjected that Campbgjl had nothing whatever aga,inst his Avife. His sister-in-law was the whole cause of the family disturbance. Campbell was willing to take, out a prohibition order though he. did riot think it necessary, as he refuted the allegations of excessive drinking.. Continuing :■ his cross-examlriationj counsel ' suggested" that Campbell . hoa removed the hammers. from the piajfto ■ . ■-; ...'■. n '

merely to get rid of its owner, but Ella replied that' her sister ; had never been a nuisance. ' : In fact, Campbell . had asked her to store the piano at the house, as he had his violin and they could play together, Counsel: I think on, 1 the night of the piano incident, your ; sister threw a jug at Campbell? — Yes, that was for what he called her. He said: "Get out of the house, you ..before -'I kill you!" In answer to the magistrate, Ella admitted that only once m ten years ■ had Campbell been before the court for drunkenness. She had not applied for a prohibition order against ■ him because he had threatened to kill her if. she did. Ella survived the gruelling crossexamination fairly well, but showed signs of fatigue when she stepped down to take her seat beside her counsel. She was succeeded m the box by her daughter, Jean, a pretty youngster, who. gave her answers quietly, but clearly. ■ ' > . She told of dissension m the family circle through her father's drinking habits arid said she had seen him coming home drunk two or three times a week. He had frequently used bad language m front of her. . To her father's counsel, she said she was taking her mother's side, because she knew "mother was m the right." She knew that her auntie came with dad's permission, because she had heard him extending, an invitation to. auntie to come to the house.She went for the police on the night of the piano incident because she was frightened for her mother. She told the S.M. that .even when Campbell was sober, he was irritable and snappy, and frequently used bad language without waiting to get drunk. Lawyer Corinal proposed closing his

Jazz On Sabbath

case at this stage, but the magistrate drew his attention to the fact that the chief witness, had intimated m her evidence that she was calling her sister; as this was a vital point m the defence, the sister should be tendered for crossexamination. So up stepped Evelyn Mavis Smith, a stockily-built young woman, m a black satin coat and dark straw hat. She went to her sister's, she said, on Sundays and on her day off, principally to do her washing. •■■■■ . • . She had lent her sister money, but being of a philanthropic nature she didn't expect it— nor want it — back. She agreed that she had left her husband and that she took; another man with her sometimes when she went to her sister's house. Counsel: Isn't it a fact that you and this man turn Campbell's house into a music-hall every Sunday night from 7 till 107—No, he has asked me to go there. You know that you are the cause of the trouble, don't you? — I have always got on well with him and never done him any injury. I have only had two rows with him as far as I can remember . . ■ . and I haTve known him for a good while. Your sister fights your battles, I think? — No, she doesn't. I can fight my own,, but we have got to stick up for ourselves, . . : A storm of belligerent cross-talk between witness and Lawyer Abernethy ensued, from which emerged the statement that Campbell had come, into the room and said: "Get up, you mongrel. If you don't get out I'll kill you!". Describing the incidents leading up to Campbell rendering her hors-de-combat, Evelyn stated m a jarring tone that he went for her, but the constable who had been called, held him back. "I then went for •' him and he knocked me down," ' Counsel: "And what did you do?" Evelyn (feelingly): "Nothing uny.l I

That Strange Man

cqLme round. Then I gave him the jug." ; Counsel: Yes, and I think you cut his face and' dislocated a finger?- r i Well, I'm not going. to let him call me "a low — — — " and say the same thing to my sisters. Why, he even insulted my poor little deaf and dumb sister once! Evelyn supplemented these remarks by stating- that she was afraid to go to the . house. There was always, trouble when her name was brought up. . - Counsel: "I think that is admitted." Campbell, m his defence, admitted that he took liquor on Fridays and had sometimes gone home drunk, but his drinking had never impaired the exchequer to such an extent as alleged by his wife. . ■ His sister-in-law was the whole trouble. from his point of view. -He had objected m strong terms to his wife about her sister bringing a strange man to the place. ~ '-■ . With the object of driving- lier out, ■he had conceived the idea of tampering with the piano, but immediately he Mad commenced the operation his wife lodged a.ri objection and went for her .s[iste£.-.--.::V:- ' ■ . ■■_■■' Things- -apparently became a trifle torrid, arid, according to Campbell, \yhen his .sister- in -law • had cut his eye, thickened "his ear and dislocated his finger— held: jip for -the court's inspection—he hopped' m- itid put the stopper on things. ■ : . ; His violent objection , to a' weekly programme of jazz music was retailed to Lawyer ; Cohnal, " whose crossexamination was brief and to the point. "I'll admit that I have used some awful language, but I . was tormented and I am sorry for using it," he said. JJ?he separation sought by Ella has riot yet been granted, for .the magistrate adjourned the application sine die to see how Campbell behaves under a prohibition order, which the court ordered him to take out