CHRISTCHURCHIANA.

NZ Truth, Issue 137, 1 February 1908, Page 6

CHRISTCHURCHIANA.

(From Ovut Ohristchuroh Correspondent)

TALLEN BY THE WAYSIDE!

prnuken Dan Munday and the Married Molls. (For years and years Daniel Munday Called out the names of debtors and fceliniquents at Lyttelton Court m Ifche capacity of clerk of the court ; many thousands <?t pounds went ■through 'Ms hands, many an- entry tiad he to make, m his books/ and many ;a' time he- had ; to receive ; an audit. And now 7 m his old days, he Is a shaky wreck j with no visible liorae bar the Asbburton Old Men's sHome, which is open to all wl A H are wntitled to its privileges. It i. certtainly very hard luck for an old public servant to have to end his days In such uncongenial surroundings ; Mothers have fared better ; they are blessed with everything that conduces to make one's declining days " appy, peaceful and comforting. Biu lunxlay ,has long ago knuckled down to Jthe inevitable, and the., only thing .fchat he has been deploring; lately is ftis despoliation by two children of »ia, two allegedly married women, iwho were arrested for having gone (through his pockets and relieved him of £2 6s and a flask of whisky. The told chap had been let/ out of the SLBhfourton Home on holiday, tripped to Christahurch, and intended going \o Suroner to see some friends; But beer, or tanglefoot "of some kind, teat him, and he fell T*y the wayside Tor sleep vatid ; rest by, the iquarry .on jLytteltbn-rbad. Along came a petticoat named Farrell— whose front na.me is Haunah—and seeing that the »ld bloke was soraewhait;, incapable, she asked bird for the price of her fcram lar* to town,- as she was stone fcroks. She" fiddled about Ms pockets and • ■ ' v' TOOlt ; & SOY, jwronnsing to comic hack with the ••hange. . But the lady: never materialised, and, later on, ihe met her ■ on jfehe street, and. taxed her with it. fHifi old cove evidently wasn't as yjrunk as he appeared to be. Feebtenjess g-ave one the impression that he was Wind, faU-down-a-well drunk, j&he denied knowledge" of the • baisiiaesa, but subsequently told him that shie had given Him fifteen bob back. IThis was untrue. Regarding another iwpmau, Riley, Ellen of that ilk, who ,was floating round with Farrell, and iwho is grey-haired '■ and wears a cloak, Munday says she came, to him .while he was lying down, and not tmly took six bob ; m silver, but a roV. That was all the oof he had. His sole remaining assets were his personality, Ms purse, and (as he thought) a flask of whisky. But .vrheu, he went to swig that he, found itbat it had disappeared too. So the poor old devil had nothing m the I ,wide world. By this tim<e Constable' Hampton, o£ Sutnner, had been told ttbat a 'helpless, old' man was lying on i&e wayside ; "he went along- and •found that ho was all right, and latw: on •he recognised : both women who fend gone through him. So they were' arrested. At the Court both pleaded not guilty, but the evidence was a*«.lnst them. "When Farrell was jugged she said that if the old bloke wouldn't prosecute her husband would repay the quid when he returned from •work. Mother Molly Riley told the toonstabjie that' she had a bad" memory, and didn't . really know what had happened. A chap named Day, who r*t« evidence for the police when the •air were jugged, said that he saw frarrell kneeling down alongside the old man— nothing more. The police kjad been led to believe that something more happened. However, the •ridence satisfied the Court, and the pair of Sumner daisies who drink like hell and* > LEAD YOUNG MEN ASTRAY ■wjule their husbands are -away,, presumably grass seeding,, were each, finod.a iquid and ordered to make restitution of the money stolen. Otherwise quod was fixed as a temporary, residence. The prosecutor, Munday, is well fcnown to old identities of ChristBhuroh and Lyttelton. He dropped m lor a share of a sheep '. station or something m the North • Island, concerted his portion into cash, returned to the Cathedral City and— well, Vrink is really no name for it. He and his wife got. through the amount lying to their credit at : the, bank, and then the^ hypothecated a splendid house and furniture. The bailiff took the latter away and a sorry ■couple slept on the bare boards. .This couldn't last long-; and. the end was near. Mr Nelson took the house over, and the next home of the pair was the Jfshburton JHwae, where 1 ; Both now arel