ONLY A WORKROOM LARK.

Te Aroha News, Volume VIII, Issue 490, 19 July 1890, Page 4

ONLY A WORKROOM LARK.

s j BIGAMY AT ALBURY. d CONSEQUENCES OF A MATItlj MONIAL ADVERTISEMENT. A case possessing some remarkable features was heard at the Albury Police Court last 1 week, when Frederick Edward French, a J young man, was charged with bigamy. Evidence %vas given by Mr James Mitchell, i painter, that accused was married at No. 1 6, Union-street, South Melbourne, to his (Mitchell’s) daughter on December 17th, 1 1879. The parties lived together for five i iears, and three children wore born of the i marriage. Accused then became involved financially and was declared insolvent, ; and soou afterwards lie ran away with another woman. The wife applied for a divorce, which was refused for want of sufficient evidence, but the Court ordered a judicial separation. Maiy Ann King, dressmaker, residing at North Melbourne, deposed that eighteen months ago she was employed as forewoman in a large drapery establishment in Melbourne, when she inserted an advertisement in a Melbourne paper stating that sho wished to correspond with an eligible man, with a view to matrimony. She received 32 replies, and she selected accused from his photograph. An appointment was arranged and accused showed her a roll of notes and wanted to be married without loss of time. She protested, saying that the insertion of the advertisement was only a “workroom lark.” Accused, however, continued to pay his addresses, and marriage was arranged, but in consequence of the opposition displayed by her parents it was decided that the ceremony should take place at Albury. Accordingly she and accused came to Albury on August 26th, 1888, and were married by the Rev. G. M. Taylor, Wesleyan minister, accused, before the ceremony, representing himself as a widower. The pair returned to Melbourne, and seven months afterwards she learned that accused had a wife living, and she then ordored him out of the house. Shortly afterwards she came to Albury and laid information against accused for bigamy. The witness was subjected to a severe cross-examination, the justification being that she was aware before marrying accused that ho had a wife living. She admitted that since the issue of tho u arrant sho had lived with accused in Hobart, Coburg, and ; other places, and that she wrote letters to him ottering to leave with him for America. • These letters, she said, were written at the 1 instigation of Detective Whitney, Who 1 wished to apprehend accused. On the * completion of her evidence the witness 1 went into hysterics, and had to be carried 1 out of the court. Accused was cominitted ( for trial to the Circuit Court to be held on 1 October!, ... ' .