"CONSCIENCE" GIFTS

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 52, 29 August 1925, Page 16

"CONSCIENCE" GIFTS

MONEY AND GOODS IN KIND.

The Chancellor.of tho Exchequer is not the * only person to whom conscience money is sent. To date. I have received, ■writes "A. Par&on" in the "Daily Mail," 22 "conscience" remittance's "in. cash aiul; four in kind—a- kneeling-iust; a largo and expensively bound hyum-book, a rosebush, and 'a hat. .

The maty sent "in replacement of one taken'as a joko many years ago," was all right; "but the. hymn-book was of a type no lorigei" used, the rosebush (to be planted in'tl.iechurchyard "to tnako good one thoughtlessly broken") declined to prow, and ■ iho-Tiat—svideiitly intendod for my predecessor" and sent by an exchorister who."', admitted, with sorrow, that he had'-annexed the original and used it on:a.Guy Fawkes effigy—was of ii size, and'shape;that.made it useless to me. And, the old vicar being dead, I couldn't pass it on to him. Ultimately it was sold for sixpence. In cash, the highest remittance I have received was £10 from. "One who should have put more in.the collection bags." I ■was somewhat curious as to the identity of the donor, but my warden told me not to worry. Tho description, "One who should have put more in tho collection bags," applied in his opinion, to everybody, dead; or alive, who had attended the church, for the last 20 years. Three people sent £5, £2, and £1 respectively in. adjustment of pilfered hymn-books— those inscribed "Not to bo taken away," you know! and no fewer than fivo have confessed to having annexed and eaten harvest festival apples, grapra and so on, and sent var£i,na, kutiis in satisfaction. Tho gentleman, however, who sent 2sto replace ;i "pomhox theft, and naked that it ba acknowledged in a certain daily paper had nr> 'prnro of proportion. To spend 5* in acknowledging 2s is not business ! The smallest sum 1 havn received iva-ss 3d.—"to stop my conscience, worrying me." An illuminating I.K. said : ''T bought sweets. ini:jc:id u£ putting the nou-cv in the' bag".."