FUSS OVER FUSSELLS' DOMESTIC DIFFERENCES

NZ Truth, Issue 1195, 25 October 1928, Page 9

FUSS OVER FUSSELLS' DOMESTIC DIFFERENCES

His Tragic Message Before ' ■■-.^JI^L (WssssSki Taking Final Plunge «^wiT«B

|= (From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Auckland Representative.) • |j tc Respect me for what I have done; I have held my head up all my life, worked hard and done m\) |f utmost for all, but it has been m vain . . . Goodbye, mother and father. Goodbye to my children. To I| my brothers and sisters and, sisters-in-law and all, goodbye." I| What induced Charles John Fussell, butcher, of Auckland, to scratch these lines m pencil on the back fj of a letter from his wife's solicitor ? Did he (as stated m court) intend to take his life as the easiest way of Ij terminating his marriage to a woman who had given him "considerable trouble," as he alleged ? Or was it I| sheer bluff? Anyway, Charles is still very much alive.

IT was a tale of black eyes and flying dishes that Was told m court when

Emily Maud Pussell proceeded against her . husband for separation and maintenance orders.

Both sides had a good deal to say about the -behavior of the other, for although the wife, m support of her application, claimed that her husband had been guilty of. persistent cruelty, Charles returned blow for blow m the somewhat lengthy bout which took place before McKean.

Emily relied chiefly on evidence of her, husband's alleged "language" to establish her case. According to her story, he was frequently drunk and more than once^ had threatened to "do away" with" her. But she had by no means all the say, for Charles m turn accused her of using "language" and assaulting him.

- Altogether, the long story ( told m court indicated that their married life was by no means happy.

This was borne out by the narrative of their young daughter, who was brought by the wife to give evidence.

If the wife's story is true,. then Charles thinks very little of the idea of taking human life, for she alleged that on one occasion he had taken out a razor and threatened to cut her throat. He had also threatened to commit suicide. . _ - N

The letter he had written, she said, he intended to leave behind .when he said goodbye to the world.

The parties painted each other a very dark hue when the case was being heard, the wife stating that her husband's conduct m the house made her "frightened of him." L Further, his allegations of her misconduct made it impossible for her to live with him any longer!

For his part, Charles claimed that his wife used- "vile language," threw plates at him and blackened his eyes.

The story told against him was a tissue of lie's, he declared, and he went on to accuse his wife of deceitful habits, alleging that there was another man m the case.

He had something to say about his sixteen-year-old daughter, too, calling her a "cheeky, impudent girl" when asked for his opinion of her.

In the words of Magistrate McKean, husband and wife had a very poor opinion of each other.

"My \ husband comes home muddled and. his language is vile," complainant toid her counsel, Lawyer Dickson, when she entered the witness-box.

your husband knowing?-— I went to a friend's place twice.

".1 don't suggest anything wrong, but you know a Mr. Fullerton, don't you? —Yes, I just know him to speak to.

You know each other well enough to use Christian names? — Yes. He is single, isn't he? — No. Well, he is living on his own? — I don't know. . *"" '

Haven't you ever taken things to his place' on a. Sunday?— No.

Counsel left this line..' of. crossexamination and took complainant back to her home life with Charles asking if she attacked her husband when there had been arguments m the house.

Have you ever assaulted him? — I assaulted him when he said that I had many men, including a Chinaman. This concluded Emily's tale of domestic unhappiness. * She left the box to be replaced by hei* sixteen-year-old daughter, who backed up her mother m the allegations against the father.

"What do you know, about your

father?" was the first question put to her by Lawyer Dickson.

"I am frightened of him," was the reply. "His language Is filthy. .It is not fit to hear. He drinks through the week — and he' is worse on Fridays and Saturdays. On one .occasion he threatened to kill mother and then cut his own throat. Mother ran for a policeman ..."

Lawyer Matthews: Then I. take it that you would like to see your father out of the house? — Just because 1 of his language.

Leo Owen Peter spn, a young man of twenty, stated that he had visited the Fussell home "pretty Soften." .

Lawyer Dickson: What do you know about Fussell's drinking habits? — On Fridays , and Saturdays he is drunk.

What was he like on the rest of the week?— All right.

What about his language? — It .is terrible! I have heard him say that he would "do" for her (complainant), when he came home one Saturday night.

Lawyer Matthews: "You are

keeping company with the young girl, aren't you?" Peterson looked sheepish, shook his head and said: "No, sir." Turning" to his client, -counsel asked: "Isn't that so?" Fussell: "I understood that was the position. He did his best." | Counsel's next question, as to complainant being quick-tempered, brought a slow smile from witness. A nod of the head indicated that he thought she was. Peterson was apparently becoming somewhat bewildered by the questions put to him. He merely stared at counsel without answering and when he stepped from the witness-box the lawyer remarked that he was a better tradesman than a witness. Before calling upon defendant, Lawyer Matthews) addressing the bench stated that complainant was quicktempered and on one occasion had thrown a plate at her husband. She also" went out without her husband knowing, he alleged. S.M.: "Well, I don't want to hear about that. She claims that he used bad language." . Counsel : "Yes, but I think we can show that she deceived him." S.M.: "Well, that doesn't give him reason to use bad language." Counsel then called defendant, who declared that he had never threatened to take his wife's life. Regarding the episode of the razor, he said that he had it m his hand only for the purpose of shaving. "She was going out and I asked her to wait a minute. She wouldn't wait . . ". and then there was a bit of a row — I suppose you would call it that," he explained. "She- went for a policeman," Fussell continued, "and when the policeman came he said: Tou don't look like a drunken man or a man who commits suicide.' ... I have worked all my life ". "Don't get excited," interrupted the S.M. as defendant proceeded to babble on m a loud voice. "If you get excited m the box; I can realize' that you would get excited at home," the bench added. . Fussell lowered his voice. "Very, well, .your worship," he answered quietly. But a question from his counsel regarding the state of his wife's temper set him going at full speed again. "It Is vile," he said. "I have had two black eyes . . . and I have a mark