LONDON TOWN TALK.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5666, 28 May 1879, Page 3

LONDON TOWN TALK.

The special corresp. indent of die Aryus has the following :—X am myself unfortunate in my little economies, which have generally the effect of making me extremely uncomfortable without making me any better off ; but as an example of total miscarriage in this direction, I have never heard of anything more complete than the case of one Mr. William George last week, who through haggling for a sixpence with a cabman lost a box full of gold watches and his personal liberty. The fact was he had just broken open a jeweller’s shop, and had the contents in the cab with him, and yet at 2 o’clock in the morning be must needs be disputing his fare to Westminster Bridge, and thereby attracted the attention of the police. If the question were one of principle—mere tenacity of his rights and a love of justice—that is another thing ; but if it were from a mere habit of economy, and looking at every sixpence, I have no sort of sympathy with him.

But of all the curious and unexpected developments of human nature, that exhibited by the churchwarden of Little Hormead, Hertfordshire, the other day, is certainly the most remarkable. He was summoned before the bench of magistrates for brawling in church, a common thing enough now-a-days; indeed, a clergyman ought to have a pair of white gloves given him—like a judge at a maiden assize—when there is no brawling ; but what he did was this, “he burst into church,” as the clergyman was about to dismiss the congregation, without his hat, crying out, “ you have given them no sermon,” and added threats about reporting him to the bishop. It is probably the tirst time that any member of a congregation has been found to complain that there was no sermon. But, on the other hand, he does not seem to have been in church, but like some abnormal inversion of the dog in the manger, was angry that other people did not get what he did not want himself.

The times are hard, no doubt, with us Britishers, but none of our towns have yet been reduced to the condition of Elizabeth (“ city ’ of course), in the state of New Jersey, which, it seems, on February 1 declared itself bankrupt. It pwes wages to workpeople to the amount of £12,000, while no official has received his salary since October last. It is expected that the gas (which comes from outside I suppose) will be out off from the whole town, and the public schools, at which there are 7000 children, will have to close their doors.