The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1858-01-19 00:00:00

APPLICATION UNDER THE NEW DIVORCE

ACT AT BATE.

On Wednesday an application under the new Divorce
and Matrimonial Causes Act was made to the Bath
magistrates by Sarah Woolf, wife of Simon Woolf, who
prayed for an order to protect her property, acquired or
to he acquired by her own lawful industry, against her
husband, who had deserted her.
Mrs. Woolf deposed that she was married to Simon
Woolf, of No. 6, Manver's-place, Bath, on the 24th of
March, 1851, at the Registrar's-office. They lived
amicably together for some time, after which her hus-
band, who was of • violent temper, began to and fault
with everything she did; said he hated her, and told
her to leave the house. This went on until one evening
in last year calla could not recollect the day or month,
but thought it was June), when he told her that if she
did not leave the house nest morning he would worry
her to death. He got up at three o'clock in the morning
and seated himself in • chair, said he would not leave
until he had seen her out of the house. She told him
she had nowhere to go, and he told her to go into the
street, and that was too good for her. She left about
12 o'clock that day and took lodgings at No. 1, Henry-
street, which was just opposite. The following week
her husband came over to her lodgings and asked her to
come back to him, but she refused, having heard that
his only object in desiring her return waste get posses-
sion of her clothes. He repeated his calls, but she re-
fused to have anything to say to him, and shut the door
, against him. She afterwards saw him pack up the goods
, which were taken away in a wagon, and he and a young
I woman, with whom he was in the habit of walking out
evenings, left the house and went after the wagon. She
had since heard that they had been living together at
Bristol and at Swansea.

Eleanor Parker, clear starcher, of Prospect-place,
Well's-road, was present at the marriage of the applicant
and Simon Woolf, and had worked for Mrs. Woolf
ever since. She was present when her husband insisted
upon her leaving the house, on Friday, the sth June,
1857. She always considered Mrs. Woolf a good wife,
and that her husband had no reasonable ground for
deserting her.
The Mayor suggested that, according to Mrs. Woolff's
evidence, there was no desertion on the part of the hus-
band, since he had made overtures to her for her return
to his house, which she had rejected.
Mr. Payne (Mrs. Woolff's solicitor) admitted there
was some difficulty in that respect, but he submitted
that there was a sufficient reason operating in Mrs.
Wooltra mind to warrant her in the refusal, namely,
that the husband's object was merely to get her back to
deprive her of her clothes and then send her adrift
again.
The magistrates said there was no proof that such was
the husband's intention, but, even supposing it was, it
was questionable whether that would ustify the wife in
refusing his overtures, because he would only be seeking
to obtain possession of what according to law was his
own property. However, as this was a novel ease,
under a new law, the justice of which the bench admit-
ted, and were desirous of carrying into effect, they
would hear any evidence that could be adduced to prove
that Mr. Woolff's application to his wife to return was
not bond fick ; or to show that she had a sufficient reason
for not going beck.
Win. Henry Hutton, clerk to Mr. Payne, was then
called. He deposed *to several conversations he had
with Simon Woolf, within a few days of the separation,
during which Woolf!' said his wife had £5O worth of
property belonging to him, and that he should try to
get her back to obtain possession of that, after which he
intended to go to Poland, and that he had another girl
looked out to go with him.
After seine deliberation, the magistrates held that as
the applicant had rejected her husband's overtures, she
might thereby have driven him into a wrong course, and
therefore they could not say, in the words of the statue,
that they were " satisfied of the fact of desertion and
that the same was without reasonable cause." They
therefore declined to make the order.