Lionel, the Luxurious.

NZ Truth, Issue 881, 14 October 1922, Page 1

Lionel, the Luxurious.

Following last week's reference - to the anti-Chinese League by "Truth's" Dunedin correspondent, we are asked to explain who Lionel Terry is. We hesitate about answering the question, because we suspect the. majority of the present generation of bur readers would havo to be introduced to the Champion Lunatic before they could appreciate the information. Lionel came to New Zealand from overseas With a mission some two decades ago, and picked upon Wellington for carrying out the dramatic part of his mission — which was the elimination of the Yellow Peril m white communities. Being treated as a crank m pushing his anti-Chineseism, he calmly picked out a decrepit old John m Haining Street, Wellington, and shot him down, k coolly explaining: Now the authorities will see that I am serious m my mission! Instead of being hanged off hand— for he had committed his startling bit of propaganda. in the presence of witnesses — he. was sent to an asylum for life. He made one escape, but is still looked upon as harmless. To-day he is 1 thriving m Seacliff. He leads the life luxurious. - He seems to be well supplied with money. It issaid that he is a remittance man, of good English connections. He has a garden plot all to himself, and grows all his own salads. He is a keen and clever kitchen gardener, and will not •take any greens for his meals that iu-e not freshly picked (that is one of his anti- John kinks). He always was a fellow — and gentlemanly withal, as EtheP Dell would put it. There is a ; good story extant (and now first' published) concerning- Lio-, hel's athleticism. * For weeks on end he had the staff/ of male attendants jx). geacliff run off their legs because of his daily challenges to run them races. He became not only a nuisance, but a .menace, the suspicion being created that there was a motive behind his placing the strongest men out of the running, so to speak. Thus it came about that one day a stranger who was ah athlete joined 'the stall. He reversed the usual procedure, by chal-* lengfng Lionel, under v condition that he was given a week 'to train. At the. end of the week he ran Terry off (his feet, literally— and L.T. has not been Been on t'i© challenge track since. '