A GLIMPSE OF HISTORY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 127, 7 September 1910, Page 2

A GLIMPSE OF HISTORY.

To the Editor. Sir,—Once upon a time, in a town not many hundreds of miles from New Plymouth, there came a young girl with her baby, requesting of the good people a lodging. 'lmmediately all their righteous doors were strictly closed. She was as a contaminated thing in the streets; neither hotel, Iboarding-house, nor private individual would admit the awful erring one. At last, a more benevolent and self-sacrificing policeman ventured to befriend the frail girl, conveying her to his home. Comment is almost needless. In the very selfsame town, a young Lothario, for certain reasons, broke his "promise true" to hb whilom love. She, in a paroxysm of despair, rushed home. Her father, on being told that her faithless one would not marry • her, turned her out of doors. She, his young daughter, not being of age, the legality of the proceeding might be questioned. Not very far from the charming town are groves, which a crystal lake adorns. Prom the poetic bridge spanning the etream '*he hapless girl closed her sorrows beneath the wave. Query: Who was the baser wretch —the deserting villain or the godly father ?-I «n,etc.. c.w.w.

I Speaking of Auckland, Madame Calve the great French operatic singer, said she was surprised to find such a beautifully situated city in this part of the world. The impression in Europe regarding New Zealand was that the Maoris were to foe, seen in their pas about the streets of the cities. She was, therefore, surprised to find a highly-pro-gressive town, which compared favorably with many of the cities in the older countries. In support of a petition for divorce heard at the Supreme Court in- Christchurch, a sordid story of drunkenness and cruelty on the part of the respondent husband was told by the woman who sought relief. The petitioner stated that three years after the marriage she started her husband in business in a bottling store —very unwisely, remarked her counsel, Mr. Alpers—and he at once commenced an undue consumption of his stock-in-trade, with the result that he had to abandon the .business. By mortgaging her furniture, the petitioner provided a boxing saloon for her husband, but having failed through intemperance, he worked for some time •hawking bottles. During one drinking bout he attempted to hang himself. Mr. Alpers: "Did you interfere?" The petitioner: "No, my sister did." "That's the worst of meddling relations," commented counsel. In a second case, in which drunkenness was made the grounds of the petition, the wife stated that during the whole of their married life of fourteen years her husband had bee* drinking continuously, with only brief intervals of sobriety, none of which had ever exce«ded a week. - ■ /-'■■ v..„. :... V V V '. '.. ..,.,'.■ •.**./:■: ■■: