https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/67114767?searchTerm=jame...
The Cornwall Chronicle - 22/10/1870 Page 5
Mansfield v. Mansfield.
Petition for dissolution of marriage on
the ground of cruelty aud adultery
on the part of respondent.
For the petitioner, Mr R. P. Adams
(Solicitor-General), instructed by Mr D.
H. Crisp.
No defence filed.
Jury : — Messrs John Thomson, R. M.
Ayre, Stephen Hopwood, B. H. Douglas,
Gerald Ftzgcrald, Samuel Tulloch, and
Thomas Hogarth.
Mr Adams briefly stated the case, and
called and examined —
Mrs Amy Margaret Genevieve Mans-
field, who deposed — I am the wife of
James Garrett Mansfield ; I was married
on the 21st March, 1853, by the Rev. Mr
Bennett, and lived with my husband about
a fortnight at Hobart Town : we then
went to O'Brien's Bridge, where we resided
for twelve months, after that we went to
Longford; we kept a general store there ;
I have had seven children — four boys and
three girls ; on the 24th May, 1864, we
were living at Longford; my husband
struck me across the face and eyes more
than twice ; my brother James was pre-
sent ; he is now in Melbourne ; one of my
daughters — Edith Rebecca — was also pre-
sent ; my husband had been out, and I
asked him if he had seen the servant ; he
said no ; and I said I shouldn't wonder if
he had ; that was the only provocation
that I gave him ; I imputed to him that
he had been carrying on with the servant ;
he struck me several blows then ; in
August, 1864, he tried to strangle me with
his hands ; he put both his hands round
my neck and used force ; no one was pre
sent when he caught hold of me ; but my
daughter Edith Alice came in when he
had hold of me ; I had given him no pro-
vocation ; I had been sitting up for him,
and I believe I did not open the door for
him directly he knocked at about 3 o'clock
in the morning; in October, 1864, my
husband ill-treated me again by striking
me many times across the face with his
hand, and across my arm with
a walking stick; I supposed the blow
on the face to be with his fist but
I cannot swear ; it knocked me down ; I
was insensible ; he said I had accused a
boy wrongfully, of telling a falsehood ;
I frequently received blows from my hus-
band between November 1864 and Decem-
ber 1865 ; he struck me across my bosom
and across my eyes ; my eyes were black-
ened by a blow with his fist ; Mrs Mary
Gould and Mrs Barton, and my brothers
and sisters saw my eyes blackened ; I had
been to the mill and Mr Mansfield was
not there ; I asked the boy when he came
to tea, where Mr Mansfield had been ; he
was listening but I did not know he was ;
he was behind the piano ; he heard me
ask the boy the question ; I said was Mr
Mansfield at the mill that day ; he said he
was always there ; about an hour after
that, my sister looked behind the piano
and said, there is man here ; Mr Mans
field got up and said "yes, I am here,"
and struck me in the presence of my sis-
ter Catherine in December 1865 he said
if I did not leave his house he would kill
me, and he struck me with his hand across
the mouth ; I think he struck me with his
fist, as my mouth bled very much ; my
father said he thought it would be better
for me to leave home, and I told Mr Mans-
field that ; he then struck me and said if I
did not leave he would kill me : I did leave ;
I went to my father and mother for six
weeks ; then I went to my sister for two
months ; then I went to Scotsdale, and
then back to Perth ; since then I have
been living in town ; I took all my children
away with me ; that is my marriage certi-
ficate ; my maiden name was Watson ;
Mr Mansfield has provided for the chil-
dren since 1865 ; he has not made an allow-
ance for myself ; he allowed me £75 a
year for the children ; that is under a
written agreement; he paid the £75 to
me by cheque or in notes ; he is now at
Carrick ; he has a mill there ; he has never
made any offer to me to return, nor me to
him ; my real reason for leaving him was
his cruelty and bad conduct to me ; he
used to go out at night and not come
home till next morning.
Edith Rebecca Mansfield, aged 16, de-
posed— I am the daughter of James Gar
rett Mansfield ; I was living at Longford
with my father and mother in August
1864. In that month I saw my father trying
to strangle my mother; we were just
going to bed ; when I heard a noise in the
kitchen, and went out and saw my father
trying to strangle my mother against the
wall ; that was somewhere about 9 or 10
o'clock at night; I don't think it was 3
0'clock in the morning ; we generally sat
up for my father ; I have sat up as late as
midnight and as late as 3 o'clock in the
morning for my father; my mother was
struggling to get away from him and
did get away; she was crying ; I
have seen my father strike my
mother in the street with his fist;
when my uncle James and my aunt were
there ; my uncle James is at Ballarat ; on
that occasion my father struck my mother
on the back ; I think that was about two years before my mother left him ; I remember my mother having two black
eyes ; I did not see her on that occasion ;
I was at Perth, and came home two days
afterwards ; I saw him strike her just be
fore she left home ; he struck her on the
face with his hand ; I don't know why he
did that; I was going into the bedroom
at the time ; my grandmother was stay-
ing at the house then ; I saw my father
strike my mother before August, 1864,
but I don't recollect the circumstances;
I have seen him strike her with his fist
several times.
Clara Mansfield, aged about 14 years,
deposed — I am the daughter of James
Garrett Mansfield ; I have seen my father
strike my mother with his clenched hand
in December, 1865 ; my aunt Catherine
was present, and Frederick Soloman, a
young man in the employ of my father ;
I don't remember seeing my mother's
eyes blacked ; I don't know what was the
provocation in December, 1865 ; I believe
it was because he was poked out from be-
hind the piano by my aunt; he then
struck my mother in the face ; he struck
her several times on that occasion ; they
quarrelled often but I did not see blows
at other times ; I was mostly absent at
school.
Brereton Rolla Watson deposed — I am
a brother of Mrs Mansfield ; in December
1865, my brother James, her sister Anne,
and I went to Mrs Mansfield's, and saw
my sister in bed with her eyes blackened ;
we took some of the children to Perth with
us, and I went for Dr. Donlevy ; Mans-
field said he wished he had given her
more and spoiled her beauty for her.
William Kitson deposed — I know
James Garrett Mansfield ; I was in his
employ four or five years ago ; I recollect
Mrs Mansfield leaving home ; I saw him
strike her with his fist about a month ago
before she left home ; they were talking
about a book at the time ; that was at din-
ner ; I and the children were at the table
at the time ; the blow was not a hard one ;
I saw Mrs Mansfield with black eyes
about the time she left home ; I did not
see him strike her then.
Catherine Jones deposed — In Septem-
ber 1867 I was living at Carrick with my
husband John Jones; James Garrett
Mansfield was living at the steam mills
at Carrick ; he asked me if I could accom-
modate a woman at my house ; he told me
it was his Mrs ; she came and stayed at
my house for a fortnight ; I know that
woman now as Christina Illsley; Mr
Mansfield visited her during the day in
my front room ; they were not out of my
sight; they were merely talking; the
woman stayed a fortnight and went away,
I believed, to go to Mr Mansfield's ; I
called her Mrs Mansfield in his presence
at first, and when I found she was not
his wife I requested her to leave the
house ; I afterwards saw her at Mr Mans-
field's place ; she had a baby in her arms,
and was sitting in his house the day after
she left mine ; Mr Mansfield noticed the
baby and spoke to it and played with it ;
she brought a baby when she came to my
house.
Martha Watson deposed— I am a mar-
ried woman and live at Carrick; in
September 1868 Christina Illsley lived at
Mr Mansfield's ; I visited the house and
saw her there ; there were two bedrooms
in the house ; I saw Mrs Illsley's clothes
in Mansfield's bedroom ; his brother
Alexander Mansfield slept in the other
bedroom ; I don't know of my own know-
ledge which bedroom Mrs Illsley slept
in ; I have seen Mr James Garrett Mans-
field kiss Mrs Illsley several times ; I
have seen her in his bedroom ; I saw
her dressing there to go to the reading ;
he was not at home at the time ; I visited
there as a friend of Mrs Illsley ; I had
known her previously ; I dont know whe-
ther she was there as a servant ; he ad-
dressed her by her name "Christina."
Alexander Mansfield deposed— I was
living with my brother at Carrick in Sep-
tember and October, 1868; Christina
Illsley, the wife of James Illsley was liv-
ing there ; she slept in his room ; they
cohabited together.
Mr Thomas Ritchie deposed— I knew
James Garrett Mansfield when he was
living at Newry Mills near Longford ;
Christina Illsley was living with him in
September, 1867, I think; I can
not say as to 1868 ; I rented the mills
to him for six months in 1867;
I advised him to send Mrs Illsley away
as it did not look well to have her there ;
he said, in reply, "No, I intend to stick
to her altogether."
David Henry Crisp — I am the proctor
for the petitioner in this case ; I issued
the process to respondent ; this letter is
in his handwriting : —
Carrick, 28th June 1870.
D. H. Crisp, Esq.
Dear Sir,— I don't think I will trouble
myself in the affair at all, as I don't wish to
incur any expense. If Mrs Mansfield wants
a divorce, let her have one by all means; I
don't care two straws about it.
I can see she intends to have one, if she
means to go before the Court and swear to
the allegations set forth in the citation. In
justice to myself, I am bound to say that she
has fearfully exaggerated with regard to the
illtreatment. I never did illtreat her more than
once, and then she deserved a hundred times
more than I gave her. In point of fact it's
your humble servant that ought to have sued
for a divorce long ago, but since I am a man
and better able to bear the blame than a wo-
man, she can have it all her own way, and I
am willing to become the martyr or the
victim, which you like.— I am, &c,
J. MANSFIELD.
Mr Adams said that was the case.
His Honor said the case had been tried
here in order to save the expense of bring-
ing witnesses across the colony, and the
question was to be decided by the jury.
It was necessary to take care that the
Court should not be made use of by collu-
sion between parties who might put their
heads together to have a marriage dis-
annulled. The questions were whether a
marriage had been celebrated between the
parties. This was proved, and they had
seven children — four sons and three
daughters ; next whether there was proof
that respondent had beaten and illtreated
his wife, Amy Margaret Genevieve
Mansfield. This was fully borne out by
her own evidence, and that of her children
and others. No provocation was shown.
Next as to the adultery ; he considered
the evidence of Mr Ritchie most important
and direct, and it was for the jury to de-
cide whether the allegations were all or
any of them sustained.
The jury retired for a quarter of an hour,
and found eight out of nine allegations
proved as to the striking and threatening
petitioner, aud as to the adultery with the
wife of James Illsley in September, 1867.
The ninth allegation, not proven, was im-
material, as to adultery on other occasions
— proof of one act being sufficient in sup-
port of the prayer of the petition.
