A FORCIBLE RETORT

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 374, 27 April 1910, Page 2

A FORCIBLE RETORT

SENATOR TRENWITH KNOCKS A MAN OUT. Senator Trenwith made what may be justly described as a forcible retort to a Labor intcrjector after his meeting at South Melbourne Town Hall during the recent election campaign. The meeting ■was a particularly noisy one. Senator Trenwith was in no mood, after it was over, to deal gently with post-mortem insult by the boo-hoos. He left the Town Hall, meditating upon the subject of Labor interruption, and was walking down the street ;with his wife (reports the Melbourne Argus). The noise of organised rowdies gave way to silence for the night—he was forgetting all unpleasantness. His peace was rudely 'broken. One of the Labor boo-hoos came ,up 'behind him. "Yah! Trenwith!" he cried. "You twister!" The Senator might have forgiven the "twister," but he certainly would not forgive the foul word used in the presence of his, wife. Singular as it may appear to the boo-hoo type, foul language before ladies is not considered good form in decent society. The angry Senator acted up to his insulter's second qualification. He twisted—twisted round suddenly, and struck the astonished offender with all his strength. The blow caught the man on the angle of the jaw, and he fell to the pavement, where he lay for a while to think over this new and unsuspected capacity of insulted Senator. As he thought over the niattfr a crowd gathered, attracted by r'ne prone figure on the ground, and a policeman arrived, attracted by the crowd. Senator Trenwith explained. The man had used gross language before his wife. Ife asked whether Senator Trenwith would care to proceed further. Noreplied Senator Trenwith, "l! thing he's had enough." So the constable let go the man's collar, and he slipped away into the darkness.