An Actress' Divorce Suit.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7918, 6 September 1905, Page 4

An Actress' Divorce Suit.

MRS MAKSMORK MORRIS' I'KTITIO.Y. STORY OK MARITAL UXHAPPI_\i:ss. MKLIiOURNi:, Aug. 29. flertrmlc Maesmore Morris, actress, to-da> for a divorce trcm Iter husband. Maes-more Morris, ae- ; couritant, now of Kimberly, South Africa, on tin- ground of desertion. The suit was heard i.vfore .Justice a'Beckett. There was no appearance ■or .the; respondent. The, Court wa. rovvded, and great interest was tak •ii in the proceedings. The atlidav it of the pctic.ncr s. t ' 'ortli that she was 32 years oi age. ■she was horn in London, and came , to Victoria with her father in INS2 On July 1-1. she was manic. ' to respondent by the Rev. Canoe ruckir at Christclmrch, South Yar-i-a. The respondent was then an accountant, ai,d at ilie piesnit turn ■ie was about 3ti years of age. I'r.n; !o her xnariiage the' petitioner was <uppoi till by her parents. During the time she lived with her busjant 1 ■ie partially supported her. Ilee father, Dr. Wilmot, gave her a small dress -allowance, and i the respondent s father, John Morris, of the 1 frrn of Morris and Mceks, contrilmttowards the household expenses. One child, Colin Maesmore, was born of the marriage, and was 'mow 11

years of age. Shortly after the bjrtht oi the child the respondent became addicted to drink and violence. lie would invite people to the house to dinner and come home intoxicated, i ln owing to Ins failing to contribute properly lo the maintenance I of his home, she went on Uie stay, I and in March, I.SD7, the respondent behaved in such a violent maiih.r i that her brother, who was staying ' in the house, took her away. She I complained to her father, and the respondent wrote, ordering her to leave Hie house. Mr John Morris took ■ charge of the child, and the huu.se was hi. Kroin that date petitioner and respjoiidcnl have not lnul tiogcthrr, though the)' have met on a lew occasions. The petitioner had not sceu the respondent since he in suited her from the body of the Theatre Royal, when she was acting The respondent had not contributed lo her support since 18U7, and, nlthough she did everything possible to induce him lo reioim, his conduct remained unaltered. Gertrude Maesmoic Morris, the petitioner, gave evidence in support of her athdawt. She said : "One night during the performance of ''lhc Two Little Vagabonds' at the Theatre Royal my husband came into the stalls in a very drunken state, and inl.rrupled the performance. Hj was most aliisive. He called me dreadful names, and was thrown out. (Laughter.) Some weeks later I met him in the street, and he asked me to have lunch with him, so that we could have a chat. I waited an houi for him, hut he did not turn up. (Laughter). Subsequent to this, when I was playing in Sydney, 1 re- , ceived a letter from my husband, saying , lie had taken a suite ol rooms for me at the Grand Hotel on my return to Melbourne. 1 sent .ny father to the Grand, and he found they knew nothing about it. (Laugher.) 1 heard of him, bul did not see him. On another occasion, as the Theatre Royal was closing, ihe stvage doorkeeper came to me uid said that Mr Morris was at the door very drunk and fighting a lamppost. (Laughter.) He was abusive, and threaten!d to do for me. li, .•onsequenre of this 1 left with my ii'other by the front entrance. Sincv the time 1 left the house at my lusband's ■ order he has never sai;; anything else to me, or ofl'ered m money." A decree nisi was granted.