ODDMENTS OF NEWS.

Feilding Star, Volume VI, Issue 1675, 20 December 1911, Page 4

ODDMENTS OF NEWS.

It was stated at a meeting of the I Watford Guardians that there had ' been a decrease of 25S tramps during \ tho four weeks since stone pounding ' had been in force. It was decided to obtain twelve more stone pounders. i During the past six months an average of 150 motor cars a wee!? | have been shipped abroad through i tho port of New York alone. As a climax to this heavy exportation a special traiu from Detroit arrived in New York tho other day loaded with 100 cars, SO of which are for Lou*Jon and tho balance for Australia. ..us is the largest single shipment of motor cars ever made. ,

Four flower sellers from Battersea—three brothers named Pen fold and a young man named John uur-rm—-all of whom had ochred faces and were attired in motley, filed into tho dock at tlie Westminster Police Court to answer the charge of begging with a guy. One of the Penrolds said he had been out with a guy for twenty ycjars, and his family had done tho same long beforo his time. "It is a time-honoured custom," he stated, "and we had not the slightest idea we were doing wrong.'-" The magistrate dismissed tho case.

. fear Robert Stout, tho Chief Justice, is well acquainted with the forbears of Mr Yeitch, the newly-elected member for Wanganui. He says he had the honour to be one of tho pallbearers at the funeral of Mr Veitch's maternal grandfather in Scotland, and he had vivid recollections of tlie skilful performances of the old gentleman on the violin. Sir Robert was also well acquainted with Mr Veitch's lather, and ho says that if the new M.P. possesses anything like his ancestor's ability he will be a man 'to reckon with.

Dr. Body Carpenter, who has lone; enjoyed the reputation of being a born raconteur, is responsible for a story of a missionary meeting held in a village. The vicar, Mr Ingham by name, was deemed by his parishoners rather a busybody. At a meeting a missionary described the cannibal habits of a tribe among whom some missionaries met their death. He described a native feast, at which a large pie had appeared, having as its central ornament a human thumb ! Then he asked rhetorically, "And whose thumb do you think it was 7' A villager saw his opportunity, and answered, "Iso warrant it were Parson Ingham's thumb, for lie has it in every one's pie." The rest' of the story naturally was ineffective.