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New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVII, Issue 982, 31 December 1908, Page 23

ox present is the indispensable pair of horns, which are borne in solemn but solitary state by the landlord to the swearing-in sanctum. There the “oath” is recited by his assistant, who, 4n his ancwnt black gown, wig and ’bands imparts the necessary “official” aspect to the proceedings. Having duly kissed the hbrns, the stranger be-, comes a-freeman of the place and entitled to all the rights and privileges' attaching thereto. - ■ A very curious custom is in vogue at an inn in Yorkshire. Between Halifax and Bradford lies the village, of, Shibden, at the' public-house of which .every first Sunday in May a small bake is presented tb th ( e first arrival. This cake is madq "priricl-” pally of treacle and dough, and' is of the variety universally pdpiilar in Yorkshire as “parkin.” By calling as early 'as three in the morning Halifax men in former years secured the cake; but last May it was taken by an enterprising young fellow from Bradford, who arrived half an hour before any caller from Halifax. The origin of this quaint custom is lost in its antiquity. ,’J For many years past ‘a,,;/jpeculiar practice has been observed*, at two public-houses at Holmes Chanel, Cheshire. Tliere, as elsewhere, jit is the custom to ring the old year out and the new year in. But there it is also the custom for the ringers to afterwards adjourn to the . two inns referred to and be entertained by the landlords. These facts were disclosed a few years ago, when the landlord of the George and Dragon, one of the hospitable establishmeptfe, was charged before the magistrates with keeping his premises open and selling drink during prohibited hours on New Year’s morning. It was explained that the only guests present were the privileged ringers, and in deference to a very old custom the justices felt justified in dismissing the summons, and the case was in that way disposed of. —Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette.