BREACH OF PROMISE CASE.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIII, Issue 9116, 8 April 1908, Page 7

BREACH OF PROMISE CASE.

SCHOOL TEACHER AWARDED £3OO. An action for £IOOO damages for breach of promise was brought by Laura Twemlow against Edward John Walsh in the Supreme Court, Sydney, on March 24, Plaintiff, a public school teacher at Rossi, stated that she became engaged to defendant in November, 1903. He was a property, belonging to his mother, of about 2000 acres. He had snoken about having a property of bis own. They had quarrelled last year because defendant was paying addresses to another lady, with the result that the defendant broke off the engagement. Plaintiff said that she had spent about £l2 on house linen in anticipation of her marriage, and for this she had no further use. Her age was thirty-six. His Honour told the jury that defendant admitted the promise to marry, and that he had broken that promise. The only question, there fore, was the assessment of the amount of damages. The law allowed them to give damages for injured feelings, because it was considered that it was a very great indignity to a lady, after becoming engaged, to be jilted. They were entitled, therefore, to take into consideration the length of the engagement, namely, four years in this case. All that time plaintiff had not been able to enter into any other matrimonial engagement. When she ii became engaged, she had passed the heyday of her youth, and was now 36 years of age. ! The fact of her being “thrown over” might pos- ' sibly be against her future matrimonial prospects, and that could be i taken into consideration as well as her loss pecuniarily. I The jury returned a verdict for plaintiff for £3OO damages.