A CADGER CAGED.

NZ Truth, Issue 98, 4 May 1907, Page 6

A CADGER CAGED.

The country mug) and. the man who gets drunk, and who has cash about his anatemy, and who looks "a good thing," is always the bloke who falls m when the town cove drops across him, and expresses a hope that he won't lose Ms health owing; to the" excessiveness of the weather. The reason why the out-back-chip tumbles into the' well of unfinanciality through ioairi-x his money is that he thinks he knows too much for the city sharks, who' are always on the _}o<)k-out for him, ; but when they spot him, and shout for him, and Si treat him kind, lie" alters his v opihion and thinks he has found true friends ;-. a rid, the old narrative has to be told to the police, aoid enquiries are made which may or may not be successful. , There are far too many of these harpies running around loose m Christchurch just now— ah overplus, or whatever you like ; t& call it from -the Zibishun. Their favorite trick is to follow, drunken men, who appear to te new fleas on an old blanket, otherwis'eV new coons m town, and tret them to shout, and to otherwise cozen and cajole them', and get them a : w a .v and relieve them of their cash and jewellery— assuming that, they have any. There was a joker named Georee Thomas before, the Christchurch Magistrate's Court, who adc/pted a new device. He wasn't grafting, but SIMPLY LOAFING ROUND after men with coin m their- kicks, and' he knew the Johns were watching him, and that he might eej; chokied without benefit of clergy ; so he put his hand m a sling, and^said dt wa's 'poisoned. Not a bad dbdp-e to get but of doins graft, and to sain sympathy, but he tfook too much M pdison" the same night, and got drunk with ereat magnificence, and murdered sobriety and: piety at one fell swoop. So he was incontinently boxed, and next day a vagrancy charge was preferred against him. Acting-Tec. Ward didn't seem to think much of the man; be.. had known him for eight months, and he had done so little work that it wasn't worth mentioning . Thomas was often m the company of thieves and drunken men. ?Tec Gibson corroborated. When arrested the prisoner bad a couple of bob on him. Fe lived with a nest of thieves, and his speciality was country mugs: The josser was given three .months' hard labors and during that time has do'soned hand may have time to mend —if it hasn't mended right away.