The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-09-10
HSEE $500
BOY FOR HIS FATHER.
Ten Year Old Will lie Lillls
Testifies Against His
Step Mother in Her
Divorce Case.
4 MOST SURPRISING WITNESS
Called for tho Defence, Her Testi-
mony is Of More Benefit to
the Complainant.
. MOST SURPRISING WITNESS

49, a. ~ ---
vice Chancellor stevens continued this
morning the hearing in the case of Dena
Lilis against her husband, Patrick Liils'
for divorce The first witness was Will
lam Lillis, the father of the defendant,
who Is named In the cross bill as CO.
respondent. His testimony bore out the
allegations of his brother:
Policeman Reilly corroborated Mrs. Lii
lis testimony given yesterday, as to be-
ing obliged to leave the house one night
and seek the protection sofsthe police. he
said he met her IN the street and she
told him thai her husband had driven her
out. She was thinly clad, having on only
q. wrapper pulled on over her night dress.
She was in her stocking feet. Inc po1
liceman said she told him that she was
obliged to run for her life. hi ponce
man then went back to her house with
her and saw that she got in. Mr.. DIXON
worked a good while with Reilly ana
submitted him to a severe c-ross-examina-
ton, but was unable to shake the ponce
mans evidence. The Vic~e-Chaneellor
asked Reilly if Mrs. Lillis appeared TO
have been drinking that night, and he re-
piled that he was positive she had not.
Sergeant Charles w. Harrington told
u SOkuS " IA Jus
April 16, 1895, after William had been
arrested for the fight in the Lilis' apart
ments. 2 He found Lillis in bed, drunk.
He had been told that there had been
a shooting ARRAY and he went up to
see If LilIis was hurt. There was no
marks on him nor could the Sergeant
find any trace of the shooting. Mrs.
Iillis gave him a A-calibre bulldog re-
yolver. Every chamber was loaded n
there was an indentation in the cap as
though an unsuccessful attempt had been
made to discharge them. The Vice Cham
cellor asked Harrington also If he ever
saw Mrs. Lillis under the influence OF
liquor or when she appeared to have
been drinking, and, like all the previous
witnesses, Harrington said he had never
seen Mrs. Lillis under the influence OF
LIQUOR. Benjamin Drake, a switchman on
the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western
Railroad Company. the next witness, tes-
tilted that he was standing on the COM
pany's bridge over Henderson street one
evening when he heard a woman's
scream. Then he saw Mrs. Lillis stand
ing on Henderson street, near the front
entrance to her husbands saloon. The
door opened and Lilhs appeared in the
So0rMay WHICH Mcfn he s1 threw wa at Mrs. Liliis,
and barely. grazed her head.
Mrs. Liilis then attempted to enter the
did not go in. Drake then went down
from the bridge and advised Mrs. Lillis
to go and spend the night with some
afraid to pass under the bridges alone and
the witness replied that he would go with
her only he was afraid of -Lilhs. When
ton to explain what he meant by that,
he said he had heard that Lillis was a
dangerous man when angry.
The complainant rested at this point,
and Mr.. Dixon called his first witness,
who proved a sore disappointment to him
and a source SOU @so of gra%tii Spa. n,t to Mes was
Mrs. Anna Gockter, a portly, elderly fe-
male, who was deeply impressed with the
kissed the book with a responding smack,
and the s~tenographer had Strengthened
out her somewhat peculiar name, Mrs.
~Cockter was ready for business. To Mr..
Dixon's questions she said that she knew
Mr.. and Mrs. Lilis, and frequently called
at their home. which calls were returned
friend brought Mrs. LilHs to the witnesses
home: Mrs. Lillis was Ill, and Mrs. Cock
ter allowed her to lie down In her bed
She was drunk, wasn't she?' asked
Mr.. Dixon.
mo, sir" replied the witness, .'she was
What" roared Mr.. Dixon, "do YOU
mean to say she was not drunk?"
Il 90, replied the witness.
"Didn't you tell me, and several other
people," demanded Mr.. Dixon, that she
came to your house ~paralyzed drunk?'
re ri may ab1 haze Y said said 5 so," t was tr the witnesses ness
saw the lady drunk once in my life"
In vain did Mr.. Dixon question and
brow beat the witness. he would not get
her to acknowledge that she had ever
seen Mrs. LIllis intoxicated.
Then MI. Dixon called Willie LilIls, the
~defendant's son by a former marriage. AT
the request of Messrs; Queen and Ten
to leave the room while the boy was tes-
tifying. The Vice Chancellor examined
the boy as TO his knowledge of the nature
taketh a false oath shall be damned sat
isied the Vice Chancellor. and the boy
was sworn. He began testifying In a
parrot like recitation. which at times he
ing the exact words he did before until a
suspicion arose in the minds of those that
heard him that he had been coached.
His testimony was favorable to his ia
Their inasmuch as . it tended to show
that all his fathers acts of cruelty were
due to his step-mother's ill-treatment of
Mrs. Lillis as to her being beaten and
driven out by her husband. During his
testimony he used the words two cops" -,
A puzzled look came into the Chan
cellor's face.
Two what?" he asked.
Cops" said the boy.
Cops what are they?" asked the
perplexed Vice Chancellor.
That's the boys word for policemen
said Mr.. Tenant.
oh! OH l see.' said Mr.. Stevens, as
q broad smile broke over his face.
The boy said that his stepmother always
.ill-treated him.. She hit him with a stove
litter and a poker over the head. She also
knocked him down and kicked him in the
stomach, He was still on the stand when
court adjourned.
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