The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-11-27 00:00:00

CLERICAL DIVORCE SUIT.

In the Divorce Division, Mr. Justice Butt and a
special jury had before them the suit of Poulton v.
Poulton and Roach. The petition was that of the
Rev. William Herring Poulton, Warden of Queen's
College, Birmingham, for a divorce, by reason of his
wife's adultery with Mr. George Ernest Roach, the
co-respondent. He filed an answer denying the
charge, but Mrs. Poulton did not answer. There
was no defence.
Mr. Inderwick, Q.C. (with whom was Mr. Searle),
who appeared for the petitioner, said that the mar-
riage took place on the 9th of September, 1861, at
St. James's Church, Weybridge. In October, 1883,
the petitioner was asked to take in the house as a lodger
the co-respondent, who came there, and remained
until February of the present year. Unfortunately, it
happened that the foundation of all the misery in the
ease was that Mrs. Poultbn was addicted to habits of
intemperance, which gave her husband the greatest
possible unhappiness. He did the best he could under
the circumstances by keeping her without means, but
the habit seemed to grow upon her, and entirely de-
moralised her. The co-respondent was a thorough-going
young scamp,and he seemed to have taken advantage
of Mrs. Poulton's habits. He would go to her room,
and they had been seen together under circumstances
which left not the smallest doubt that they bad com-
mitted adultery together. He seemed to have passed
his examination for a doctor, and was going away
from the house only this year. Last February they
were all having supper together, when Mrs. Paulton,
who was in a very violent temper, admitted to her
husband that she had been Roach's mistress for years.
Having once made that statement, she stood to it, and
the following day the co-respondent left. He was
afterwards served with the divorce papers, and was
present at the examination of one of the
witnesses, screw evidence had been ttken on
commission, as she was about "to leave the
country. He was not, however, present. A curious
feature of the case was that Mrs. Poulton continued
afterwards to live at the coP.ege, but fearing that she
would spend the money in drink, her husband would
not allow her any. In the event of a divorce, the
petitioner would see that she was provided for. She
had written a number of letters to him, as he would
not give her money, and in one she threatened if he
did not comply with her request that she would pub-
licly announ6e:that for two and a half years she had
been Roach's mistress.

_
The RefgWm. Herring Poulton, the petitioner, was
called, and bore out the opening statement of counsel.
He further stated that he was a clergyman of the
Church of England, and that there had been several
children of the marriage, eight of whom were now
living, six being under the age of 16. The co-re-
spondent came to the college to study medicine.
Evidence was then given of the adultery, after
which Mr. Justice Butt, in addressing the jury, said
that the case was one of the most cruel he had ever
heard on the part of the co-respondent.
The jury found for the petitioner, and a decree
nisi, with costs, was granted, the petitioner to have
the custody of the children, under 16 years of age.

JOB SHUTTLE sat by the open grate upon which the
first fall blaze was burning. He was in a pleasant
mood, as all men are when they are comfortable. 1
suppose, said he to Mrs. Shuttle, that the children
were all at school to-day? You suppose so? Why,
don't you know they were? No, not exactly. I met
Charles down town about an hour after schcol began.
Oh, he was carrying a note from the teacher to her
best young man. That's pretty business. But she
marks him ten in his studies for keeping mum about
it. Oh. that makes a difference.

44‘•tr-a441.,,