BEGGING LETTERS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21342, 17 November 1932, Page 12

BEGGING LETTERS

WINNERS OP £IO,OOO

REQUESTS FOR MONEY GIFTS

AN OFFER TO SELL ORCHIDS

BELGIAN CLAIMS A REWARD

Hundreds of begging letters have been received by Mr. J. E. Cornes. of Mount Eden, and. his son, Mr. J. W. B. Cornes, of Mount Roskill, winners of a £IO,OOO prize in the Irish Free State sweepstake on the Cesarewitch Stakes, run at Newmarket, England, last month. Scores of people have written asking for gifts of £5, £lO and larger sums up to £IOO. The Cornes' letter-boxes are filled twice daily with letters offering to sell them motorcars, yachts, nine and ten-roomed houses, grocery and boot shops, sheep and daiiy farms, and requests for contributions to charitable institutions, picnics and Christmas treats for children.

One man wrote asking for £l5O to enable him to lake his wife and family for a holiday. Ho said he was earning only £2 a week and had seven children to support. They would all be greatly benefited in health if they could have a good holiday. When the £l5O failed to arrive, his wife wrote Mr. Cornes a, curt letter reprimanding him for his lack of sympathy and demanding the money immediately.

One writer raised a doubt whether so handsome a prize as £IO,OOO would do the fortunate owners any good. He called the attention of Mr. Cornes and his son to the temptations arising from the possession of wealth, and concluded: "May God bless you and save you from any evil consequences. I humbly pray that your windfall may be a real blessing and not a curse, that it may bring joy, and not sorrow and trouble."

A Belgian's Warning Letters have been pouring in upon the Comes family from all parts of the world. A shrewd Belgian gentleman wrote from Brussels on October 8, when Mr. Cornes and his son had drawn the horse Sandwich, but before the race was run: "A lot of persons, less or more conscientious, are going to give you false informations and engage you to sell your ticket at less or more advantageous conditions. I beg of you, do not sell your ticket. Keep it, listen to nobody, and do not rely upon prognostics given by the newspapers. A cousin of mine who is living in England is in a very close relationship with a person approached every day by the proprietor of the horse Sandwich, and my cousin has just written me that your horse will be among the first three, and likely to be the winner. "I certify that the information I am giving you is coming from a very reliable source, and I do believe I am alono to know it. I don't ask any remuneration for the advice I am giving you, but being confident in your righteousness and fairness, I am sure you will not hesitate to send me a reward if, as I believe, your horse is among the three winners." A man in Queensland, styling himself "the orchid king," sent the Cornes his hearty congratulations. As a postscript, he made haste to add that he could supply "the famous Toffti orchid, which flowers three times a year, for 255, the very pretty Cooktown orchid for ss, and pencil orchids from 12s 6d to £2 10s each, according to size."

Offers to Sell Farms Great numbers of people have written to the lucky prize-winners with the request that they supply the name and address of the person from whom they purchased the winning ticket. Some of the writers frankly express doubts as to the credentials of some ticket-vendors and feel confident that any information the Cornes can supply will be sound, shrewd and reliable. "For 20 years I have been a Tattersall's trier, but alas, no luck; please send me a reliable address," is a typical letter of this kind.

"We heard of your good luck and we thought you might think of buying a farm," wrote a farmer and his wife. Appended was a full list of the chaitels. Another man who owned two farms used all his persuasive powers to induce the fortunato prize-winners to purchase one of them, together with 70 cows and heifers. Although the majority of the letters appear on the surface to be innocent appeals for the address of a reliable ticketagent, the writers frequently cannot resist the temptation to hint that a cash donation would be welcomed. As, for instance, the girl who wrote: -"Dear Mr. Comes, I do not have the pleasure of your acquaintance, but I was thrilled to read in the paper that you had won £IO,OOO in the Irish Sweepstake. Can you tell me where I can buy a genuine ticket ? My mother is not at all well. She fell over a log a few weeks ago and hurt her leg. It would bo lovely if she could go away for a holiday." Prophecy in a Tea-cup

Another young woman wrote: "Dear Sir, I see where you have won £IO,OOO in the sweepstake. Can you give me the address of the peoplo you bought the ticket from. My pirl friend and I would love to go to the Old Country. My friend's mother lives there. She is over 80 years of age and, as you can guess, she would love to see her." Another woman wrote: "I want to buy a ticket in the next Irish Sweepstake. I had my tea-cup read tho other day and the lady tea-cup reader told me that November was my lucky month. Kindly send the right address." It is unlikely that more than a very small proportion of the letter-writers will receive a reply. Mr. Cornes and his son do not expect to receive their prize-money until about Christmas, and in the meantime they are so busy with their business that they have very little time for letterwriting. In any case, it would take a week to answer them all.