The Sun.
London, England, 1861-08-19 00:00:00

THE SUN: LONDON, MONDAY EVENINC4, AUGUST 19, 1861

did not believe that the defendant would dare to

get into the witness-box and say that the lady was
not his wife, or that a father could act so cruelly

towards his own child as to endeavour to support

such a plea as the one that was upon the retard
He regretted exceedingly that a question of this
description should be brotght before a public tri-
bunal, and he had hoped that some arrangement
would have been come to tiat could have obviated

the necessity for a public inquiry. The defendant,
however, it appeared, persisted in defending the
action, and the plaintiffs, therefore, had no alterna
tine but to proceed with the inquiry, but he re-
peated that the object was not to obtain the paltry
amount of money involved in the inquiry, but that
Major-General Goding might be induced to do
something for his wife and daughter that would re-
store them to their proper position in society.

Miss Evelyn Blanche Coding, a young lady of
very interesting appearance, was then called as a
witness. She deposed that she was the daughter of
the defendant, and she had resided with him and
her mother at the Manor-house, Elstree, for two

years, prior to January last. Witness was seven-
teen years and a half old, and since she was six
years of age she had always been with the major
and her mother, and looked upon them as her
father and mother. While they were living at
Elstree they used to visit the neighbouring gentry,
and also the clergyman of the parish. She had a
brother three years older than herself, but he had
left home two years and a half ago, and was living
in London. Her brother and her father had
some differences before he left. About January
last her mother and father used to quarrel, and
they did so once or twice in witness's presence, and
unfortunately upon some occasions they resorted to
personal violence. On the 28th of January, witness
and her mother left home, and proceeded to London
on a visit, and they returned to Elstree about three
o'clock in the afternoon of the 3d of February.

They proceeded up stairs to the room, occupied as a
bed and sitting room, but found the door locked,
and they asked a female servant, named Ashworth,
to go to Major Goding and fetch the key. She
came back in a short time, and said they were not
to have the key of the room, and they both then
left the house, and witness remained that night at
the residence of Mr. Podmore, a clergyman at
Elstree, and her mother stayed at the house of the
pew-opener. On the following morning she and
her-mother proceeded to London, where they took
lodgings. Her father had told her before this that
he would turn her out of the house, and that she
should never have a farthing of his money, and he
would burn his will, and all money should go into
the law courts. Neither herself nor her mother
had any money when they arrived in London, and
her brother at first supplied them with some, and
witness and her mother were subsequently intro-
duced to the plaintiff, Mr. Pawle, and he advanced
them different sums of money amounting altogether
to £126 for their maintenance. These supplies
continued from the month of February to June.
Cross-examined—She did not know the exact age
of Major Goding, but believed he was about 72. She
and her mother latterly, while at Elstree, had a
separate sitting room, as well as bed-room. She did
not believe that her mother was in the constant
habit of getting tipsy. It was likely that she had
sometimes sent the servants out to fetch gin for her,
and sometimes, when they could not get any in the
house, they used to send to the public-house for
beer. On the afternoon in February when they
went to Elstree, they went in a carriage which
stayed for them, and the reason for this was they
had no money to pay for it. She was quite sure
that when they asked for the key Major Godin4 did
not bend a message to the effect that they should
have it when they informed him where they had
been. She did not say when the message was sent,
" Come along, mamma, he shall know where we
have been," but the reply she made was, "Very
well, it's no use stopping here; come along, dear
mamma shall we go ?" She saw her mother in
Croydon last Wednesday, but she only remained a
short time, and she did not know where she was
now living. Before they came to Croydon they
both occupied lodgings at Pimlico. She had heard
her father say that her mother was tipsy, upon some
occasions, but she did not remember ever hearing
him say that her mother was not a fit companion
for her. Both witness and her brother had rever-
sionary property. Her father, she was aware, had
offered to place her with a clergyman and make her
a liberal allowance, if she would eonsent to leave
her mother, and he had made this offer several
times. Her mother, she believed, had an allowance
of £BO a-year of her own ; and her father, she be-
lieved, had offered to make it up to £2OO a-year if
she would consent not to associate with witness, or
to trouble him. She was not aware that her father
had also promised to pay all the debts her mother
had contracted, if she would consent to be separated
from him and witness. The plaintiff was a stranger
to her when she was first introduced to him, and
her brother took them to his office, in the first in-
stance ; and upon that occasion Mr. Pawle gave her
mother ID. She believed this was done at the
request of her brother, although she supposed the
money was advanced upon the security of
his reversion. She believed that her brother
had borrowed money before from the plain-
tiff upon the same security, and that he
had given him some deed in reference to the
money that was advanced to her mother, and she
supposed that the costs of this action were secured
in the same manner. Her father was notaware that
they were going away in January, and she had
never since that time sought an interview with
him. Most of the money was given to them by Mr.
Pawle, but Mr. Belpage, his partner, upon some
occasions gave them cheques. See believed that the
plaintiff had taken a deed from her brother to se-
cure the repayment of the money when he came of
age. She and her mother used to dine in the bed-
room.
By Mr. Hawkins—They used to have a bit of
boiled fat, which you could not call mutton, and
some potatoes sent up for their dinner. (A laugh.)
Her father used to dine by himself in the dining-
MOM.
By Mr. Bovill—Her brother was not in Croydon.
She believed he came of age on the 15th of July
last, but she was not aware that he executed a deed
on that day, securing to the plaintiff the money he
had advanced.
The Rev. Mr. Plummer, the rector of Elstree, de-
posed that he had been acquainted with the family
of Major Goding since they had lived at Elstree.
The ladies were introduced by Major Goding to him
as his wife and daughter, and they were in the
habit of attending church and visiting other fami-
lies in the neighbourhood in those capacities.
Mr. Chapman, the solicitor to Major Goding,
proved that in February he had a communication
with the plaintiff upon the subject of the aseistance
he had rendered to Mrs. and Miss Goding, and was
informed by him that he had at that time advanced
£36, the sum paid into Court. He wrote to the
defendant, and informed him of all that had taken
place.
In answer to questions put by Mr. Bovill, this
gentleman stated that he knew that Major Goding
had offered Mrs. Goding £l2O a-year, in addition to
her present allowance of £BO, if she would consent
to be separated from her daughter ; and he was most
anxious to provide for them both, but he would not
do so unless the mother and daughter were sepa-
rated. He told this to Mr. Pawle in the course of
their conversation, and also informed him distinctly
that Major Goding would not sanction any arrange-
ment that was not based upon the footing of the
daughter leaving her mother, whom he considered
an unfit person for her to be with. He also gave
Mr. Pawle clearly to understand that Major Goding
would not be answerable for any more money than
what had been already advanced by him. In the
course of the interviews they had together, Mr.
Pawle talked about instituting proceedings in the
Divorce Court for the dissolution of the marriage,
and to procure an allowance, and witness then in-
formed him that there was no marriage to dissolve,
and he was quite satisfied of this fact from the pe-
culiar manner in which the will of an uncle, Mr.
C. Goding, was worded.
Some documentary evidence was put in, and this
closed the case for the plaintiffs.
Mr. Bevil' then submitted that no case had been
made out of either implied or direct authority on
the part of Major Goding for the advance of the
'none) ; and, on the contrary, it appeared by the
evidence of Mr. Chapman that he was distinctly
told that Major Goding would not be responsible for
more money than what had been advanced up to
February, and that the plaintiff, therefore, had no
legal claim, and must be nonsuited.
Mr. Justice Williams expressed his opinion that
the objection was a good one, and said he should
certainly reserve the point if necessary. The diffi-
culty as to his directing a nonsuit, however, was the
plea as to no marriage having taken place, and he
did not think he had the power to order a nonsuit
while that plea remained upon the record.
Mr. Bovill said it might be struck out.
Mr. Chambers said such a plea should never have
been placed upon record, and he would not consent
to its being withdrawn, but would rather hear the
defendant's evidence and take the opinion of the
jury upon it.
The cause was then adjourned until Saturday
mjp
iroeorcsnieaeinddg.
e that
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Mr. Bovill,aoudopdnorenesesothutehmeabsie.sembling of the Court.
Imiryorfeor the
dee deeply impressed
than himself with the painful nature of the inquiry,
or was more anxious to avoid publicity given to it ;
but it was no fault of the defendant that an amic-
able arrangement had not been come to. He was
sure, however, that the jury would see that there
was something behind when they found that the
plaintiff himself had not dared to go into the wit-