COWAN'S CLASH.

NZ Truth, Issue 58, 28 July 1906, Page 5

COWAN'S CLASH.

A BOOKMAKER BASHED.

On Monday night there was a melee outside the Oriental Hotel, just after 10 p.m., when most people were wending their way home from the various places of amusement in Wellington. The trouble was between a bookmaker named Cowan and a wharf laborer whose identity did not transpire. It appears from information gleaned by a "Truth" reporter, that the wharf person was going up the street with his donah, when he passed Gowan and some friends of the latter, and, as the. last mentioned declared, came back and struck Cowan a violent blow and charged him with "slingine" off at Mm. Cowan repudiated the charge and then trot going on the toiler, with the result that a large ' crowd, soon gathered, until the crv of "Johns" sent both the pugilists flying up the street. It is stated by many that the laborer was in error in supposing that Cowan addressed any remark to or at him, while others state that he merelv said "Good-night." This paper does not pretend to judge who was right and who was wrone; in this particular case, -but it is weli aware that there is a growing 1 tendency in this fair city to gibe vulgarly- or to address females as thev pass, and the sooner it is. stopped the better for all concerned, while Cowan would be wise to avoid the company of persons so addicted. Now that publicity has been ejiven as to what happened to Cowan, we trust that the knots of voung men who congregate on the public streets and make remarks to or at defenceless females, will take this lesson to Vioart, and so a,void being, sooner or later, forcibly shown the error of their wavs.