SEPARATED AFTER FORTY-TWO YEARS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 92, 9 December 1931, Page 5

SEPARATED AFTER FORTY-TWO YEARS

MAINTENANCE ORDER \ WIFE'S ALLEGATIONS OF DRUNKENNESS AGAINST-- -- HUSBAND DlgTURBANCES AT NIGHT ^ Allegations of persistent crue- • Ity, failure to maintain axiff. habitual drunkenness, were the' grounds upon which Lucy Knight" • of Rotorua on Monday peLitiotied Mr. S. L. PaterSofi, S.M. ' for separation and maintenance ord- . ers against her husband, George " Knight. Guided by her solicitor, Mr J. D. Davys, Mrs Knight claimed that * her husband had persistently abusedher, and was almost continually un-. -■ der the influence of drink. The wife stated that Knight used to get up atall hours of the night and create a disr " turbance until the early hours of the morning. Knight denied all the allegations oi" misbehaviour and ill-usage, and claim- " od that his wife had refused to speak to him or to disclose to him any of her business. He admitted that he (jwned a property outside PalmerstonNorth valued at £13,000 and that he owned £1900 worth of war bonds, but claimed that he had always adequately maintained his wife and been very' liberal in his treatment of his children. The parties had been married 42* years and had brought up a family - >f 12 sons and daughters, of whom :he youngest, aged 19, gave evidence n support of her mother against Jier * lather. . . After hearing evidence, thej Magis.rate found tljat the, wife , had shown suffjcient grounds for an order and ;ranted a separation, with,, mainten-^ : nce at the rate of £2 a week. . Mr. J. D. Davys appeared for thewife, and Mr. E, Roe for the hus*-* band. . Got More In , In evidence, the wife stated that : he had left the defendant on accountvf his drinking habits. He Used to come home the worse for drink three or four times a week. He kept liquor in the house and whenever he started to run out ha got more in. He often used tp ask people into ihe house to drink with him. It was ten months since she had 1 3ft the house and although she had -;one back to him for three weeks I is behaviour had been such that she 1 3±"t him again. Defendant had an in- . ome of £800 a year derived , from a roperty outside Palmerston North. This farm w.as a free-holding valued i t £13,750. At the beginning of the year, however, her husband had put off one of her sons who was managing the property. . Get Up in Middle of Night Describing her husband's behaviour, -ats Knight said that Jbie used to get up in the middle of the night and l ang about with a stick. He would ■iave his tea about 6 o'clock and go io bed for a few hours; then he would wake up and tell her to get out of bed. He would start a disturbance about 11 o'clock and would continue sometimes till 6 o'clock in the morning. He used to abuse his! family rnd relations and on one occasion he gave her youngest daughter a smack n the_ head "to show her who was boss." Cross-examined by Mr. Roe, Mrs Knight stated i/hat the trouble began before they came to Rotorua to live. "Objected to Everyone" Mr Roe inquired whether it was not a fact that her husband had objected to her forming a friendship with a Maori family living nea'r by. Mrs Knight said this was true, but "he objected to everyone." The Maori, she said "was just as decent as anyone else." Mr. Roe produced a solicitor's letter from plaintiff's counsel in which "she admitted that there was no mention of drunken behaviour on the part of her husband. She admitted that her husband had given her a house in Palmerston North valued at £1900 and a motor car but this latter, she stated, was worn out. The Wife added .that her husband had helped to wear it out. "I did as much work on the farnl as he did," she stated. f Mr. Roe: As a matter of fact, you are a comparatively well-to-do woman as a result of your husband's efforts? I did as much as he did. In reply to further questions, Mrs. Knight admitted that she owned mortgages worth several hundred pouhds. She stated that on one evening Constable Kelly who was a neighbour had come to the Maori's house to ask her to' come home. She said that on this particular evening her husband had walked up and down outside. the house until she had left. Mr. Roe: What would you say if Constable Kelly says that he has never seen your husband in a drunken condition ? The Magistrate : I would say that he was a singularly unobservant man, Mr. Roe.,. I have seen the man in that condition myself. . . " Smiled Over Fen.ce,, Continuing Mrs". Knight "stated that after she left home. her husband used to send men round to her who asked to be taken in as boarders. He also used to follow her and walk round the house at nights. He used to bring a girl with him and smile at her over the f ence. Mr.^Roe: What do you mean about this girl? Are you inferring anything ? Oh, no; but I don't think it was very nice. You know perfectly well that he does not want a separation after all

tnese years oi married life? Oh yes he does, he is enjoyfng it. I spppose he is living out at the hote) nqw. On orie pqcasion, Knight's';J»f other had 'picked her up in. a car and tried to talk to her ,aHpjut the. affpir. Mrs.. : Knight stated/ however, that he was "like the other ihan, not fi'Fto talk to.'-' He ,was thre.e .p.arts drujjk and burst intb tear.sK, T /' , Asked whether she could not live With her husband again ijhe wife said it was impossible for her to do so. She would not "go through it all again." Mr. Davys: Mr. and Mr§. McFarlane, on whom my friend has seen fit to make reflections on account Of their colour, have been exceedingly kind to you? Yes they took me in one night when I left home. Mrs Knight stated that at one titne Continued on Page 6 Column 3