TARRED AND FEATHERED.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 3769, 10 August 1907, Page 3

TARRED AND FEATHERED.

Opunake Resident Severely Handled. The N.Z. Times’ New Plymouth correspondent says ; —A most unusual occurrence is reported from Opunake. A man who has been residing in the district a short time brought himself into disorder by a breach of social laws. The ire of the people in the little seaside town was roused, and it was decided that the man should be punished, and hunted out of the district. Accordingly, on Saturday evening, a crowd of from sixty to seventy persops marched to the house where the offender was living. The man was pulled out, and the crowd dragged him along the road to a water-table. Here he was given a good sousing. He was then placed on his feet, and covered with tar and shavings. He was pulled along the road a little further, and then rolled off a small bridge into a creek. After the refresher in the cool — very cool —waters, the object of attention was taken out, and compelled to go on his knees and humbly apologise to the man whose home he had desecrated. In the meantime, sereams of “Murder!” had reached the town, and Constable Hickmen ran off to the scene of the proceedings. He stopped the operations of the crowd, and took the man away. He was a sight pitiable to behold. The coating of tar, shavings, and mud took considerable shifting. On Sunday the crowd took a trap to the house to drive the man away. This was prevented, however, and on Monday Constable Kelly, of Rahotu, escorted him out of the town. A large crowd followed the constable and the refugee, humming the “ Dead March” to concertina music. The constable was cheered and the man hooted. The man was brought to New Plymouth last evening by Detective Boddam. Court proceedings are expected.