IMPROMPTU BOUTS

NZ Truth, Issue 1206, 10 January 1929, Page 8

IMPROMPTU BOUTS

Byrne's Costly Resort To Fisticuffs In Dance-hall POINTS DECISION IN COURT

(From "N.Z. Truth's" Palmerston North Representative.) Far from collecting 1 a suitably inscribed medal extolling his fistic prowess, Stewart Byrne, allegedly some sort of an amateur boxer from the Hawkes Bay district, paid approximately £15 as expenses for an impromptu little boxing tourney staged by him recently m a Palmerston North dance-hall.

MAGISTRATE J. L. Stout apportionm ed the purse and debited Stewart with quite a tidy little sum. Two bouts m all were staged, both costing £5 and expenses. Brief remarks, made by Stewart during the course of the proceedings raised the bill by a further £2.

Apparently it all occurred this way. Stewart, ,who boxes m the middleweight class when he does his stuff m the padded ring, had been mixing it with Harry Casey, who, as all followers of the noble art can testify, is no mean performer with the gloves. Fx-esh from his exertions, Stewart rinsed the Byrne gullet with a glass or two, and m company with his sparringpartner, donned the habiliments of a gentleman and sought, fresh worlds to conquer m. a dance hall. Perhaps Stewart was a little selfconscious m his two-fistedness, for the trouble all arose when he offered a weighty observation to his companion. A' youth named Fred Price, standing m the vicinity, perhaps hoping- to 8 ' , '

gather further pearls of wisdom from the lips of Steam Hammer Stewart, took up the remark m a spirit of levity and responded jokingly. Apparently the humor failed to stir any responsive chord m the breast of Battling Byrne. After . summing up the situation m terms

allegedly more forcible than polite, Stewart stood Price against a wall for the sake of background and proceeded to administer forcible correction. Senior-sergeant "Whitehouse, who filled the role of announcer m the subsequent court proceedings, m describing the incident stated that "Price very wisely did not retaliate as Byrne was a six-footer and he was only a little fellow." • Evidently, however, Bruce Meybrick Scorgie, who was m the vicinity considered that Big Brother Byrne was overdoing the heavy father stuff and endeavored to separate the pair. Sad it is to record, but Scorgie, far