RUCTIONS IN THE CIRCUS

NZ Truth, Issue 1253, 5 December 1929, Page 8

RUCTIONS IN THE CIRCUS

Ringmaster Roughly

Handled

(From.,"N.Z. Truth's" Te Awamutu

Rep.)

DBHIND all the greasepaint and tinsel of the Tew-Webb "famous" circus of buckjumpors, wire walkers, aero-' bats, clownß and what-notß, behind all the merry jests of the clown and the smileH arid guiles of the gaily bedecked lady performers, was a spirit pf rancour hidden- from the audience. But it broke out immediately the crowd, which had witnessed the performance at Ohaupo, had departed. A.s a result, the ringmaster and part propriotor, William George Webb, became a patient m the Waikato Hospital for nearly a week. The personnel ot the circus was thirteen souls. With such a number they might have known something would happen. They had only become a circus a week before. Webb had been living with Stanley Tew and his wife for a fairly lengthy period, and about the time of the Hamilton Show, Webb and Mrs. Tew threw m their lot m, a circus venture, after a proper agreement of partnership had been drawn up. They were not a happy family, however, and trouble commenced to loom UP from the first bang of the drum and blare of the cornet. ' The afternoon the circus arrived at Ohaupo there was a general feeling of ill-will towards the ringmaster. Things were not going too well, and everybody was more or less out of sorts. Webb considered that Mrs. Tew was doing too much "bossing." Mrs. Tew thought Webb was too sulky, bad tempered and abusive. Orowd Was Restive The show did not start that night until, nearly a quarter to nine. Webb said this was the fault of the male staff, who were more or less m a state of insui*rection because Mrs. Tew had told them she was boss of the show. Mrs. Tew said it was due to Webb's sulkiness. He would not enter the ring. Wherever the fault lay, the crowd were not going to stand for much greater delay, and their impatience found vent m whistling and cat calls. . The circus had concluded and the crowd 'had departed; then the real.circus commenced. " The residents of the peaceful little township of Ohaupo had scarcely climbed into their beds when their ears were assailed by upraised voices, yells and profanity, apparently proceeding from the direction of the circus. The din "is said to have been audible half-a-mile away and to have been kept iip till about '.two m the morning. ■■••.- v According to Webb, Mrs. Tew asked him if "it was true he had told one of the hands that he intended to quit at Hamilton. ■ . ' He replied that such was the case unless the show was run properly, whereupon, he Bald, Mrs. Tew up and "plugrgre.d him on the nose." Tew then hit him :on the jaw, the wire walker kicked, him on the cheek, the roughrider punched him on top of the head, Tew then kicked him m the ribs and ,^he clown jumped on him. When finally he was allowed to rise, he went into the tent bruised and bleeding, where later Mrs. Tew came and advised him to clear out as the pusfa was coming along to "kick his inside out." She added that "they were going to kick him to pieces and that she would be unable to stop them." Sent To Hospital Webb then went out on to the road and walked away. About two hours later he returned and collected his blankets. Subsequently, as he lay on the Ohaupo "station, a doctor was called by someone and lie was removed to the Waikato Hospital suffering from injuries to his head, face, leg, ribs and spine. As a result, Stanley Tew had to face a charge of assault before Mr. Wyvern Wilson at the Hamilton Court last week. i The whole circus was there to hear it, and the public interest was 'shown by the crowd m the court.Webb, 'who still bore visible evidenoe of his battering, said Mrs. Tew had caused a lot of insubordination amongst the men by declaring that she was boss o£ the show. She had thus undermined his authority and he was powerless to order the men about. He then volubly recounted the story of the assault, substantially as already stated. Tew, his wife, the clown, Eric James Scarfell, the wire rope walker, David King, and the rough rider, Christopher John Shaw, all gave evidence m denial of Webb's story of the assault. They spoke of Webb's ill-temper and his abusivenesa, and while all admitted he was an excellent ringmaster, they thought he was- little good for anything else and certainly- not a very, desirable boss. l They all denied assaulting him, Tew" and his wife stating that the trouble arose over Webb abusing Mrs. Tew. When Tew spoke to him about it, Webb, he said, rushed at him. . They "had a good rough-and-tumble, and if Webb was injured it must have been as a result of falling on a tent' •peg or against the front of the motor truck. Tew said he kept Webb all last winter. . The magistrate preferred to believe Webb's story and convicted and fined Tew £ 5 and 'coats. » ■ THESE ARE THE. MONTHS THAT CAUSE ILLS! TAKE STEVENS' HEALTH SALT! From now until spring, weather con ditions are such that the average person does not get sufficient exercise' outdoors. As a result, bodies becomo sluggish, the powers of thinking and concentration are dulled— and evince this dullness m a listless feeling and headaches. For your . health's sake take that pre-breakfast glass of Stevens' Health Salt! It stimulates tardy organs, assuring a gentle riddance of those impurities which cause the body to slow up. Fall m line with the thousands of active, happy mortals who would rather miss thel; breakfast than go without theii Stevens' Health Salt. Your chemist and grocer both stock Stevens' Health Salt. 2/6 d. per bottle.* 2