NEWS BY MAIL.

Hokitika Guardian, 27 December 1924, Page 4

NEWS BY MAIL.

COOK'S LOAN TO COACH.MAN. LONDON, Oc tober 2.1. 1 low an illiterate coachman with 2s a week pocket money became involved in debts amounting to £3OOO through borrowing Cl twelve years ago was told at llrighton Bankruptcy Court yesterday. The coachman, Thomas Penfold, aged OH, said that of his ,C2 a week wage he gave his wife .‘l3s a week for house keeping. ['enfold in his petition stated his liabilities as 121,722 135., but now said he had over-estimated them by Cl,ooo, llis assets amounted to CIO. The chief creditor was a Miss Parks a cook employed at the same house as i’enlold, who claimed CD33. “ I don’t know how much I owe her,” said Penfold, " but at first she stated her claim as C1,!)3.‘1.” Penfold said his troubles began 12 years ago when he borrowed Cl from .Miss Parks to pay a betting debt, lie bad further losses and kept borrowing. The Oflicial Receiver: Am 1 to understand that you lost all this money on betting:-'—No ; I had to keep paying the interest. On one occasion 1 borrowed CIO') to pay interest. Tim Oflicial Receiver: The rain of interest was enormous. Penfold : J have been paying CUI3 a month in interest. It took me nearly a fortnight to make that out. The Oflicial Receiver: Where did you get the money? I had to borrow from Pol or to pay Paul. Were you iit vour right senses: T don’t know. The Oflicial Receiver, saying the principal had been paid many times over, added that as lion-registered moneylenders the creditors were liable to be proceeded against. After Pen fold bad promised n it to b , l or borrow against the Registrar adjourned the hearing. TRAFFIC LINK LONDON. October 23. A broad whitewash line, painted fortyyards along the middle ol A\ hitehall, at the Westminster end, represents the latest atcinpt in London at systematic traffic control. Traffic entering Whitehall often strays beyond the middle of the road and causes confusion. The idea of the line is to divide traffic into two distinct streams. The police traffic authorities hope that the experiment will lessen some of the confusion. The whitewash line is used mi corners and bends in some country-town roads. MKSMFRIC TUNC IT.. LONDON, October 23. The extraordinary tongue of a South American snake was described to the Fellows of the Zoological Society by .Miss .loan Proctor. F.Z.S.. Curator of Reptiles at the London Zoo. The tongue has three colours which correspond with the reptile’s forehead, cheeks, and under-jinv. The result is that when the snake puts out its tongue the effect is as if the pointed snout itself Ims suddenly shot out into a strange ami wriggling point. From the snake’s point ol view the result is all that could be desired. Lj-.aids see their foe suddenly making tin- most remarkable grimaces and renisiiii moli'il to tin? snot. This micamiy fascination holds tlm lizard enthralled for the remainder or its life usually a matter of seconds. KISC-S CHRISTMAS CARD. LONDON. Del. 3 b The King’s Christmas card tins year depicts Charles I. and tlm Pilgrim Fathers. Charles is shown granting, m January ]li2!t. the charter necessary f. raise tin* little Puritan settlement ol Massachusetts to the status of a colony. There is also the «|iin(atinii from .Shakespeare, “’flic llcatnis give sule.y to your pnrp ise.” Tlie Hi card slum:- -i Sphinx and a Pyramid oast which Mary and Jo,;cp!i arc travelling. Beneath is the (,notation from St .Matthew: "He tons lln- young child and his tnotlici. . . • and deparle-l into Kg.vpl. The Prince of Wales’ card shows tinmicie'it ceremony :-f 'lie Doge r,l Venice casting a ring into the sea-the wedding of the Adliali". Princess Mate Viscountess l.asielles’s card poitravs I lie escape ot Mary Oueen ot Scots front Loch Levi n (astle. Accompanying it is tin- <|iiotaliou : “An eve to see the sunny side of every chance and change that time may bring.”